Full text of "The Victoria history of the county of Essex. [Edited by H. Arthur Doubleday and William Page]"

Founded by 



GOL.DWIN SMITH I IQOl 
HARRIET SiVlITH 



THE VICTORIA HISTORY 

OF THE 
COUNTIES OF ENGLAND 



A HISTORY OF 
ESSEX 

VOLUME IV 



THE VICTORIA HISTORY 

OF THE 
COUNTIES OF ENGLAND 



EDITED BY R. B. PUGH 




THE UNIVERSITY OF LONDON 

INSTITUTE OF 

HISTORICAL RESEARCH 



Oxford University Press, Amen House, London, E.G. 4 

GLASGOW NEW YORK TORONTO MELBOURNE WELLINGTON 
BOMBAY CALCUTTA MADRAS KARACHI CAPETOWN IBADAN 

Geoffrey Gumberlege, Publisher to the University 



PRINTED IN GREAT BRITAIN 



64 6017 



INSCRIBED TO THE 
MEMORY OF HER LATE MAJESTY 

QUEEN VICTORIA 

WHO GRACIOUSLY GAVE THE TITLE TO 

AND ACCEPTED THE DEDICATION 

OF THIS HISTORY 




Aerial View ok Chipping Ongar from the North-East 
The castle mound is shown in the mid-foreground 



Copyright Aerojilms 



A HISTORY OF THE 
COUNTY OF 



ESSEX 



EDITED BY W. R. POWELL 
\ 



VOLUME IV 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



PUBLISHED FOR 
THE INSTITUTE OF HISTORICAL RESEARCH 

BY THE 

OXFORD UNIVERSITY PRESS 

AMEN HOUSE, LONDON 
1956 



DA 

bio 

£71/6 
V.4 



CONTENTS OF VOLUME FOUR 



Dedication. . . . ""^^^ 

••••■..... V 

Contents 



List of Illustrations and Maps 
Editorial Note . 



Essex V.C.H. Committee 

Qasses of Public Records used .... 
Classes of Documents in the Essex Record Office used 
Note on Abbreviations 



Topography 



Ongar Hundred . 
Bobbingworth. 
ChigweU 

Fyfield . 
Greenstead 
Kelvedon Hatch 

Lambourne 

High Laver . 
Little Laver . 

Magdalen Laver 

Loughton 

Moreton- 

Navestock 

Norton MandeviUe 
Chipping Ongar 
High Ongar . 
Abbess Roding 

Beaucharap Roding 



iz 
xi 

xiii 

XV 

xvii 

xviii 

xix 



Where not otherwise stated. Architectural De- 
scriptions by Margaret Tomlinson; bridges, 
roads, postal services, and public services 
(except in ChigweU) by Gladys A. Ward; 
Roman Catholicism from information sup- 
plied by the Revd. B. C. Foley; Methodist 
Churches (except in Lambourne) by G. Har- 
rington; all other Nonconformist Churches 
by W. R. PowELL;Primary Schools by A.F.J. 
Brown; Charities by Susan Reynolds. 

By W. R. Powell 

By Audrey M. Taylor .... 

By E. J. Erith. Architectural Descriptions 

from information supplied by the Ministry 

of Housing and Local Government . 

By Audrey M. Taylor .... 

By W. R. Powell 

By E. E. Barker, W. R. Powell, and Audrey 

M. Taylor ..... 

By W. R. Powell. Parish Government and 

Poor Relief by D. M. M. Shorrocks 
By Audrey M. Taylor .... 
By Audrey M. Taylor. Parish Government 

and Poor Relief by J. H. Holmes 
By Audrey M. Taylor. Parish Government 

and Poor Relief by J. H. Holmes 

By W. R. Powell. Architectural Descriptions 

from information supphed by the Ministry 

of Housing and Local Government . 

By Audrey M. Taylor. Parish Government 

and Poor Rehef by D. M. M. Shorrocks . 

By E. E. Barker, W. R. Powell, and Audrey 

M. Taylor ..... 
By W. R. Powell .... 
By W. R. Powell .... 
By W. R. Powell . 
By W. R. Powell. Parish Government and 

Poor Relief by D. M. M. Shorrocks. . i88 
By W. R. Powell. Parish Government and 
Poor Relief by D. M. M. Shorrocks . 197 



18 

43 
58 

63 

72 
87 

97 

103 



129 

139 
150 

15s 
171 



ES. IV 



IX 



CONTENTS OF VOLUME FOUR 



Shelley . 
Stanford Rivers 

Stapleford Abbots 
Staple ford Tawney 

Stondon Massey 



Theydon Bois 

Theydon Garnon ..... 
Theydon Mount ..... 
North "Weald Bassett .... 

Analysis of Some Medieval Tax Assessments: 
Ongar Hundred ..... 

Analysis of Hearth Tax Assessments for 
Ongar Hundred, 1662, 1670, and 1674 . 

Analysis of Bishop Compton's Census of 1676: 
Ongar Hundred ..... 

Indez^ 



By Audrey M. Taylor .... 

By W. R. Powell. Parish Government and 
Poor Relief by J. H. Holmes . 

By Audrey M. Taylor .... 

By Audrey M. Taylor. Parish Government 
and Poor Relief by D. M. M. Shorrocks . 

By E. E. Barker, W. R. Powell, and Audrey 
M. Taylor. Architectural Descriptions by 
J. H. Farrer and Cynthia E. Booth. 
Parish Government and Poor Relief by 
D. M. M. Shorrocks . . . . 

By A. A. DiBBEN 

By A. A. DiBBEN 

ByA. A. Dibben . . . . 

By W. R. Powell. 



Parish Government and 



Poor Relief by D. M. M. Shorrocks , 

By M. W. Beresford . . . 

By K. H. Burley ... 

By K. H. Burley ... 
ByW. R.Powell . . . , 



page 

203 
208 

222 



240 
249 
258 

275 

284 
296 

3" 
313 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS 



The three maps are based on the Ordnance Survey, and like the illustration of painted glass facing page 185 
are published with the sanction of the Controller of H.M. Stationery Office, Crown Copyright reserved. 
Additional information for the map facing p. 1 10 was supplied by the ChigweU Urban District Council. 
The drawings of Fyfield Hall and Lampetts are by Miss Cynthia Booth, based on a survey made by the 
National Buildings Record in 1954. Thanks for the loan of photographs and other pictures are due to Mrs. C. 
Blaxall (Kelvedon Hatch Old Church), the Cement and Concrete Association (Bank of England Printing 
Works), Mr. D. A. J. Buxton (Town Hall, Chipping Ongar), the Minister and Deacons of White Roding 
Congregational Church (Abbess Roding Congregational Church), and the Minister and Deacons of Chipping 
Ongar Congregational Church (Stanford Rivers Congregational Church); and to the National Buildings 
Record and the Essex Record Office for the loan of several photographic and other prints. The portrait 
facing p. 280 is reproduced by courtesy of the Mayor and Corporation of Saffron Walden. The block for 
the illustration of Lucton Secondary Modem School was lent by the Essex Education Committee. Unless 
otherwise stated, all photographs were taken in 1955 by Mrs. Margaret Tomlinson. 



Air View of Chipping Ongar, 6 June 195 1 . frontispiece 

Map of the Hundred of Ongar, drawn by Cynthia Booth page 3 

Arms of ChigweU Urban District, granted 195 1 „ 18 

Buckhurst Hill. Air View from the west, 4 June 1952 facing 

ChigweU Village ............. 

Barns at Rookwood Hall, Abbess Roding. Photograph by G. N. Kent, 1940 . . „ 
Dews Hall, Lambourne, refronted c. 1740, demolished c. 1840. Drawn by J. P. Neale 

and included in his Fietcs of the Seats of Noblemen and Gentlemen in England . . . (2nd 

Ser.), Vol. i (1824) 

Luxborough House, ChigweU, rebuilt 1716-20, demolished c. 1800. Dravm by Metz. 

From a print, published in 1783 by Harrison & Co., in the Essex Record Office „ 

Fyfield Hall, sections and plan '. . . . 

Lampetts, Fyfield, sections and plan • 

Fyfield Church /»"».? 

Bomb Damage at Navestock Church. Photograph by G. N. Kent, 1940 . . . „ 
Fyfield Church: chancel in 1834. Drawn by A. Suckling and published in his Memorials 

of the ... Architecture of Essex {l%if<;,) » 

Lambourne Church in 1825. Drawn by J. P. Neale. From a print, published 1825, in the 

Essex Record Office .......■•••>> 

Greenstead Church in 1748. From Fetusta Monumenta (Sec. Antiq.), Vol. ii (1789) . » 

Kelvedon Hall, built f. 1743. Photograph from Co»»/ry Z:»/^ 1941 

Lambourne Place, formerly the Rectory, built f. 1740 

Map of Loughton, drawn by Cynthia Booth and Margaret Tomlinson ... . „ 

Loughton Street Plan, drawn by Cynthia Booth > 

Mid-20th-century Buildings at Debden. 

Roman Catholic Church of St. Thomas More, opened 1953 

Bank of England Printing Works (Architects, Easton & Robertson; Consulting En- 
gineers, Ove Arup & Partners). Interior of main printing haU under construction, 

1954 

Nonconformist Churches. 

Abbess Roding Congregational Church, buUt 1729, demolished c. 1900. From an oil 
painting ....••••••••"" 

Stanford Rivers Congregational Church, built 1820, burnt 1927. From a photograph of 

1927 • • ■ • - " 

Buckhurst HiU: Palmerston Road Congregational Church, buUt 1874 . . . „ 

Loughton: Methodist Church, built 1903 " 

Former village school at Greenstead, built f. 1846 ' 

County Primary School, High Ongar, built 1 867 . • • • _• • " 

xi 



18 
19 
19 

30 

30 
48 
50 
52 
52 

53 

53 
61 
82 
82 
no 
III 

112 
112 

113 

113 
113 
113 
126 
126 



LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS AND MAPS 

Loughton County High School for Girls, built 1908 facing page 127 

Lucton Secondary Modem School, Debden, built 1950 „ „ 127 

Navestock Hall, built early 1 8th century, demolished 1 8 1 1 . Drawn by J. Chapman. From 

J ... History of Essex 6y a Gentleman, 'Wol. in {ij-ji) »» » 136 

The former Rectory, Stondon Massey, built early 17th century, demolished c. 1800. 

Drawn by 'C.H.' From The Gentleman's Magazine, Ixxv (i), facing p. 105 (1805). „ „ 136 

Wynter's Armourie, Magdalen Laver, containing part of a 14th-century aisled hall . „ „ 137 

Black Bailor Guildhall Cottage, Moreton, probably a Guildhall off. 1473 . . . „ » I37 

Former Steam Mill, Navestock „ „ 156 

Town Hall, Chipping Ongar, demolished 1896-7. Photograph off. 1890 . . . „ » 156 
Castle House and the Moatof Ongar Castle in 1832. From Thomas Wright's ffij/ffry of 

... Essex, ii, ■^■^0 „ „ 157 

Greenstead Hall in the later 1 8th century. From A New Display of the Beauties of England 

(3rd ed.). Vol. i (1776) ,, „ 157 

High Ongar Church: i2th-centuryTympanum. Photographby G.N.Kent, 1942 . „ „ 184 

Litde Laver Church: 12th-century Font Bowl , „ 184 

Painted Glass in High Ongar Church: Arms of Jane Seymour. From Hist. Men. Com. 

£wf;ir, Vol. ii (1924), plate facing p. xixvii » » 185 

Shelley Hall, Mural Painting of f. 1590. From .E.^.T (1913) n.s. xii, 26. . • „ „ 185 

Beauchamp Roding Church ............. 202 

Magdalen Laver Church ............. 202 

Toot HiU Windmill, Stanford Rivers. Shattered by lightning 1829. Print as sold for the 

benefit of the miller . . . . . . . . . . . „ „ 210 

Old Loughton Hall, burnt 1836. Fromanearly-igth-century water-colour, £..1^.7.(1903) 

N.s. viii, 345 ,, ,, 226 

Albyns, Stapleford Abbots (derelict in 1955). From an estate map of 1654, E.R.O. 

D/DC27/1121 „ >, 226 

The River Roding and Passingford Mill from Passingford Bridge „ ,,232 

Loughton: Trees in Epping Forest showing the effects of lopping . . . • » » 232 

Cutlers Forge, Stapleford Tawney . . . . . . . . . „ „ 233 

Stanford Rivers: Tent and Tarpaulin Factory, formerly the Ongar Union Workhouse . „ „ 233 
Post-Reformation Churches. 

Kelvedon Hatch Old Church, built 1750-3. Photograph byConstanceBlaxall,f. 1942 „ „ 270 

Theydon Bois, built 1850 ............ 270 

Theydon Mount, built 161 1-14 „ » 270 

The Church and Priest's House, Theydon Garnon. DrawTiand published by W. Franklin 

in 1818. From a print in the Essex Record Office. ......„„ 271 

Stondon Massey Church in 1833. Drawn by A. Suckling, and published in his Memorials 

of the ... Architecture of Essex (\%\')^ ........„„ 271 

Portrait of Sir Thomas Smyth (151 3-77). By an unknown artist. The original, which is 

in Saffron Walden Town Hall, was presented to the corporation by Sir Charles Smyth 

in 1771 and is presumed to have been copied about that time from an earlier work . „ „ 280 

Hill Hall. East front, reconstructed f. 1 7 14. Photograph from Coa»/ry Z,//f, 1908 . „ ,,281 
Hill Hall. The Great Hall before 20th-century alterations. Photograph from Country 

Life, 1908 „ » 281 

Semi-detached Houses at Theydon Bois, built f. 1900 ......„„ 286 

Post-1945 Housing Estate at North Weald » » 286 



XU 



EDITORIAL NOTE 

The first volume of the Victoria History of Essex was published in 1903 
and the second in 1 907. A little work on other volumes was put in hand in 
1907 and 1909, but nothing came of it, and it was not until 1950 that any 
desire to add to the Essex volumes in the series openly displayed itself. 
In that year, however, two conferences of the Local Authorities in Essex, 
specially convened, resolved to raise a local fund so that work on the history 
of their county might be resumed. The three County Boroughs, and most 
of the Municipal Boroughs, Urban Districts, and Rural Districts agreed to 
contribute in proportion to their populations, and the money thus found 
was used to meet the local editorial expenses. The Essex County Council 
extended some useful practical help. A 'Victoria History of the County of 
Essex Committee' was set up in 1951 to ensure a proper use of the money, 
and appointed a local editor (Mr. W. R. Powell) and assistant editor (Miss 
Audrey M. Taylor). It has met ever since under the chairmanship of Sir 
John Ruggles-Brise, Bt., and besides a few co-opted individuals, consists 
of representatives of the participating Local Authorities and the learned 
societies in Essex. Mr. J. G. O'Leary, Public Librarian of Dagenham, who 
had cheerfully shouldered the burden of appealing for financial support, 
undertook the duties of secretary. With this Committee the University of 
London agreed to collaborate, and so was formed another of those partner- 
ships for the promotion of local historiography, the prototype of which is 
described in the editorial note prefixed to the seventh volume of The 
Victoria History of Wiltshire. The University of London will ever grate- 
fully recall the local generosity which made this partnership possible, and 
the Essex Authorities the opportunity thus afforded them of bringing out 
in instalments a modern history of their county. 

The present volume presents some special features. Thanks to the exten- 
sive system of topographical indexing adopted in the Essex Record Office 
it has been possible to exploit the large accumulations of historical material 
in that Office in systematic fashion. This has enabled contributors to pre- 
pare fuller accounts of parish government, the administration of poor 
reUef, and the maintenance of roads and bridges than have as yet appeared 
in the series, while the history of the descent of land since the 17th century 
has been enriched, as perhaps never before, by the use of private estate • 
documents. Secondly, the publication by the County Council of Essex 
Parish Records 1240-1894 so recently as 1950 suggested that the brief 
descriptions of the earlier parochial registers of each parish, commonly 
included in the topographical volumes of the History, might be dispensed 
with here. Thirdly, in 1921 the Royal Commission on Historical Monu- 
ments published the second volume of its report upon the buildings of the 
county earlier than 171 4. The existence of this volume rendered com- 
parable treatment of the buildings in Ongar hundred superfluous, but the 

xiii 



EDITORIAL NOTE 

ground had to be traversed anew in pursuit of later buildings falling outside 
the Commission's purview. In the course of this inquiry it was found pos- 
sible to correct or amplify some statements appearing in the Commission's 
reports, particularly in the light of recent research on medieval timber- 
framed structures. In later volumes, however, it is probable that a less- 
detailed treatment of the buildings will be found advisable, especially in 
areas that are richer in architectural interest than this one. Similarly, other 
features may be modified where this can be done without rendering them 
less scholarly. 

The compilers have received help from many people living in Essex or 
connected with the county. The Essex Education Committee, the County 
Planning Department, and Chigwell Urban District Council permitted 
access to certain records and answered questions. The Eastern and North 
Thames Gas Boards, the Eastern Electricity Board, and the London 
Co-operative Society also supplied much information. The records of the 
Wanstead and Woodford Methodist Circuit were examined by permission 
of the Revd. J. R. S. Hutchinson. Information from the records of the 
Essex Congregational Union was communicated by Mr. J. S. Appleby. 
The Ministry of Housing and Local Government allowed the use of their 
unpublished lists of buildings of architectural or historical interest. Certain 
architectural descriptions, notably those of medieval houses, owe much to 
the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments, and in the parish of 
Fyfield special surveys were made on request by the National Buildings 
Record. Many local- residents, whose kindness is acknowledged in footnotes, 
gave information or permitted the inspection of their houses. The galley 
proof of each parish article was read by at least one person, usually the in- 
cumbent, living or working in the parish, and many valuable suggestions 
resulted. The County Archivist (Mr. F. G. Emmison) and his staff per- 
formed special services at all stages, Mr. Emmison himself reading many of 
the articles in draft or in proof. Mr. D. W. Hutchings of Ongar carried out 
field surveys for all parishes, gave much information, supplied references 
from periodicals, and read the whole volume in proof. 

R. B. PUGH 
W. R. POWELL 



XIV 



ESSEX 

VICTORIA COUNTY HISTORY 

COMMITTEE 



President 



Col. Sir Francis Whitmore, Bt., k.c.b., c.m.c, d.s.o., Her Majesty's Lieutenant 





Chairman 






Sir John Ruggles-Brise, Bt., o.b.e.. 


T.D., D.L. 




Representatives of the following Local Authorities* 




County Boroughs: 






East Ham West Ham Southend-on-Sea 




Municipal Boroughs: 




Barking 


Chelmsford Chingford 


Colchester 


Dagenham 


Harwich Ilford 


Leyton 


Maldon 


Romford Walthamstow 
Urban Districts: 


Wanstead and Woodford 


Benfleet 


Braintree and Hocking Brentwood 


Bumham-on-Crouch 


Canvey Isknd 


Chigwell Clacton 


Epping 


Frinton and Walton 


Halstead Harlow 


Hornchurch 


Rayleigh 


Thurrock Waltham H 


oly Cross West Mersea 



Braintree 



Chelmsford 

Lexden and Winstree 



Rural Districts: 

Epping and Ongar 



Halstead 



Maldon 



Representatives of the following Societies 



Barking and District Archaeological Society 
Brentwood and District Historical Society 
Chingford Antiquarian Society 
Essex Archaeological Society 
Essex Field Club 



Roman Essex Society 

Southend-on-Sea and District Antiquarian and Historical Society 

Waltham Abbey Historical Society 

Walthamstow Antiquarian Society 

Woodford and District Historical Society 



W. Addison, Esq.")" 
Councillor H. A. BRiDCEf 
Alderman A. L. Clarke 
Alderman L. DANsiEf (resigned 1954) 
F. G. Emmison, EsQ.f 



Co-opted Members 

M. Fitch, EsQ.f (from 1954) 

M. R. Hull, EsQ-f 

K. J. Lace, Esq. 

E. O. Reed, Esq. 

G. O. Rickword, Esq. 



F. W. Steer, EsQ.f (resigned 1953) 

• The following Local Authorities, not being regular subscribers, have made donations: the Municipal Borough of Saffron 
Waldon; the Urban District of Basildon. t Members of Editorial Committee. 



XV 



ESSEX V.C.H. COMMITTEE 

Editorial Committee 
Alderman D. Thorogood (Chairman) Professor H. C. Darby, o.b.e. 
Professor F. J. Fisher Canon J. L. Fisher 

E, R. Gamester, Esq. (from 1954) Mrs. G. A. Ward 

together with the persons marked with a dagger 

County Secretary: J. G. O'Leary, EsQ.f 

Treasurer: C. H. Chown, EsQ.f (resigned 1955) Alderman D. L. FoRBEsf (from 1955) 

General Editor: R. B. Pugh, EsQ.f 

Essex Editor: W. R. Powell, EsQ.f 
t Members of Editorial Committee 



XVI 



LIST OF CLASSES OF PUBLIC RECORDS 

USED IN THIS VOLUME, WITH THEIR 

CLASS NUMBERS 



Chancery 

Ci Proceedings, Early 

Cz Proceedings, Series I 

G3 Proceedings, Series II 

C5 Proceedings, Six Clerks' Series, Bridges 

C6 „ „ „ Collins 

C8 „ „ „ Mitford 

Cio „ „ „ Whit- 

tington 

C21 Depositions, Country, Eliz. I — Chas. I 

C47 Miscellanea 

C54 Close Rolls 

C60 Fine Rolls 

C66 Patent Rolls 

C78 Decree Rolls 

C99 Forest Proceedings 

C132 Inquisitions post mortem. Series I: 

Henry III 

C133 Edw. I 

C135 Edw. Ill 

C136 Ric. II 

C137 Hen. IV 

C138 Hen. V 

C139 Hen. VI 

G140 Edw. IV 

C141 Ric. Ill 

C142 Inquisitions post mortem. Series II 

C143 Inquisitions ad quod damnum 

C145 Miscellaneous Inquisitions 

C146 Ancient Deeds, Series C 

Court of Common Pleas 

CP2 5(i) Feet of Fines, Series I 

CP25(2) „ „ „ II 

CP40 Plea Rolls 

CP43 Recovery Rolls 

Exchequer, Treasury of the Receipt 

E32 Forest Proceedings 

E40 Ancient Deeds, Series A 

Exchequer, Queen's Remembrancer 

E 1 3 3 Barons' Depositions 



E134 Depositions by Commission 

E137 Estreats 

E150 Inquisitions post mortem. Series II 

E164 Miscellaneous Books, Series I 

E179 Subsidy Rolls, &c. 

E210 Ancient Deeds, Series D 

Exchequer, Augmentation Office 

E301 Certificate of Chantries and Colleges 

E3 1 5 Miscellaneous Books 

E3 2 1 Proceedings of Court of Augmentation 

E326 Ancient Deeds, Series B 

Exchequer, First Fruits and Tenths 

E331 Bishops' Certificates of Institution to 

Benefices 

Exchequer, Lord Treasurer's Remembrancer 
E 372 Pipe Rolls 

Home Office 

HO67 Acreage Returns 
HO107 Census Returns 

Duchy of Lancaster 

DL25 Ancient Deeds, Series L 
DL30 Court Rolls 

Justices Itinerant 

JIi Assize Rolls, Eyre Rolls, &c. 

Special Collections 
SC2 Court Rolls 

State Paper Office 

SP12 State Papers Domestic, Eliz. I. 



SP16 

Sr44 »» '» " 

Court of Wards and Liveries 
Wards 5 Feodaries' Surveys 

Court of Star Chamber 

St. Ch. 8 Proceedings, Jas. I. 

Court of Requests 

Req. 2 Proceedings 



Chas. I. 
Entry Books 



xvn 



LIST OF CLASSES OF DOCUMENTS IN THE 
ESSEX RECORD OFFICE 

USED IN THIS VOLUME, WITH THEIR 
CLASS NUMBERS 



Court of Quarter Sessions 
Q/SR Sessions Rolls 
Q/SB Sessions Bundles 
Q/SO Sessions Order Books 
Q/AB County Bridges 
Q/AC Committees 
Q/RDc Inclosure Awards 
Q/RRp Returns of Papists' Estates 
Q/RRw Returns of Nonconformists' and Roman 

Catholics' places of worship 
Q/RTh Hearth Tax Assessments 
<2/RPl Land Tax Assessments 
Q/RPr Registers of Parliamentary Electors 
Q/RUm Public Undertakings: plans of schemes 
Q/RSg Deputations to Gamekeepers 
<2/RSw Workhouse Agreements 
Q/RLv Recognizances of Licensed Victuallers 

and Alehouse-keepers 
Q/CP Clerkof the Peace: Precedents 



Q/CR Clerk of the Peace: Parliamentary Re- 
turns 

County Council Transferred Records 

G/EM Poor Law Guardians, Epping Union: 





Minute Books 


G/OnM 


Poor Law Guardians, Ongar Union: 




Minute Books 


eposited Records 


D/D 


Estate and Family Archives (many sub- 




classes) 


D/AE 


Archdeaconry of Essex Records 


D/Cl' 


Diocesan Records: Tithe Apportion- 




ments and Maps 


D/P 


Parish Records 


D/Q 


Charity Records 


D/T 


Turnpike Records 



Transcripts 

T/ (Document or collection indicated by 

addition of another letter) 



Some of the foregoing classes contain sub-classes which are denoted by additional letters, not shown here but 
fully cited in footnotes in this volume. The group called 'Transcripts' includes all forms of copies or catalogues 
of documents of which the originals are elsewhere. The wills proved in the court of the Archdeacon of Essex 
(D/AE), cited in this volume as 'Archd. Essex', were transferred from Somerset House, London, to the Essex 
Record Office while this volume was being printed. 



XVIU 



NOTE ON ABBREVIATIONS 



E.A.S. 
E.R.O. 
P.M.G. 



Among the abbreviations and short titles used the following may require elucidation: 
Essex Archaeological Society 



CA. Belh Essex 
Ch. Plate Essex 

Ejt.T. 
E.R. 

Essex Par. Recs. 
Feet ofF. Essex 

Hist. Essex by Gent. 
Hist. Mon. Com. Essex 

Morant, Essex 
Newcourt, Repert. 

PJi. Essex (E.P.N.S.) 



Essex Record Office 
Postmaster-General 

C. Deedes and H. B. Walters, Tie Church Bells of Essex (1909) 

G. M. Benton, F. W. Galpin, and W. J. Pressey, The Church Plate of 

Essex (1926) 
The Transactions of the Essex Archaeological Society 
The Essex Review 

Essex Parish Records, ed. E. J. Erith (1950) 
Feet of Fines for Essex (E.A.S., issued in parts: Vol. i, 1899-1910; Vol. ii, 

1913-28; Vol. iii, 1929-49; Vol. iv, pt. I, 1947) 
A New and Complete History of Essex by a Gentleman (6 vols. 1769-72) 
Royal Commission on Historical Monuments (England): An Inventory of 

the Historical Monuments in Essex (4 vols. 1916-23) 
P. Morant, The History and Antiquities of Essex (2 vols. 1768) 
R. Newcourt, Repertorium Ecclesiasticum Parochiale Londinense (2 vols. 

1710) 
P. H. Reaney, The Place Names of Essex (English Place Name Society, xii, 

1935) 



XIX 



THE HUNDRED OF ONGAR 

THE hundred of Ongar, lying in the south-west of the county is 
roughly oval in shape and about 17 miles long. Although only 10 
miles from London at the nearest point and 27 miles at the farthest it 
is still mainly rural. The River Roding flows south-west through the 
hundred. In the summer it is usually no more than a narrow stream but is some- 
times severely swollen in winter, and the repair of its many bridges was a serious 
problem down to the 19th century. In the Roding valley the land is never 
more than 200 ft. above sea-level. Elsewhere it is usually under 300 ft. and 
there are few hills. 

The south-west corner of the hundred is largely urbanized, for here is 
Chigwell Urban District, which includes the towns of Loughton (with Debden), 
Buckhurst Hill, and Hainault, and now has a population of about 56,000. 
Even here, however, the forests of Epping and Hainault and the old houses and 
cottages of Chigwell recall a simpler society. Farther north and east there is 
gently undulating country with high hedges, meadows, ploughed fields, 
streams, and spinneys as far as Chipping Ongar. The soil of this south-western 
half of the hundred is mainly London Clay, with some areas of Boulder Clay 
and some patches of glacial sand or gravel.' It is a land of mixed farming, with 
many dairy herds and sheep. 

Chipping Ongar, which gave its name to the hundred and was for long the 
principal place in it, was an ancient market-town and contained a. Norman 
castle. Though very small it still has some local importance as the administra- 
tive centre of the Ongar Rural District. North of it the landscape changes. 
There are low hedges, few trees or meadows, and the roads are narrow. The 
soil is almost entirely Boulder Clay. It is good corn land and cattle are com- 
paratively rare. The end of the hundred is reached at Beauchamp Roding and 
Abbess Roding, which are as remote and isolated as any part of Essex. 

Nucleated villages are unusual but there are many hamlets and scattered 
farms. The older farm buildings are timber-framed and either plastered or 
weather-boarded. They are often enclosed by moats, especially in the north. 
Brick houses of the i8th century and later are fairly common. Few are older, 
but among them is Hill Hall (in Theydon Mount), a 16th-century mansion 
noted for its early use of renaissance detail. In and after the 1 6th century the 
south-western part of the hundred was a fashionable residential area for wealthy ' 
landowners and a number of large houses were built there. In the 1 8th century 
and later landscape gardeners transformed the surroundings of some of these - 
houses. In most parishes the church stands on an isolated site beside the princi- 
pal manor house, and is usually a small flint building with a short, shingled 
spire. But by far the best-known church, the Saxon church at Greenstead, is 
not of flint at all, but has walls of timber. 

■ For the geology of the area see F.C.H. Essex, i, I (map), which still represents the latest information 
available cartographically. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 

In 1086 the west of the hundred — Loughton, Chigwell, the Theydons, and 
North Weald — and the area around Chipping Ongar were thickly wooded.^ 
By the end of the 1 6th century the only large areas of woodland remaining 
were Epping and Hainault forests. Most of Hainault Forest was destroyed 
about i860 but Epping Forest was preserved after a notable controversy. 
Hardly any evidence has been found of open-field arable cultivation in the 
hundred. Commons survive in several parishes. In others they were inclosed 
in the i8th or 19th centuries but in most they had been inclosed before 1700. 
Apart from the forest inclosures the landscape of the hundred probably changed 
little between the Conquest and the middle of the 19th century. Building 
development started in the south-west about i860, when the railway from 
London was extended to Loughton, Epping, and Ongar, and continued slowly 
until 1939. Since 1945 the London County Council has built two large 
housing estates, at Debden and Hainault. 

Until the 19th century most of the inhabitants of the hundred were engaged 
in agriculture and its ancillary trades. There were many water-mills along the 
Roding and a few windmills on higher ground. Brickmaking was carried on 
in many parishes in the London Clay area and there was a little beer-brewing 
with hops grown locally. Agriculture is still predominant outside the towns. 
Brickmaking continues in a few places but brewing has entirely ceased. There 
are light industries in Loughton and Buckhurst Hill but the towns are mainly 
residential. 

Domesday Book lists some 40 estates under Ongar hundred. 3 Seven other 
estates, though not so listed, seem clearly in this hundred in 1086.+ These 47 
estates contained 103 hides in 26 villages distinguished by separate names. 
Most of these villages later gave their names to the parishes of the hundred, but 
there were several exceptions. The Domesday Theydon was later split into the 
three parishes of Theydon Bois, Theydon Garnon, and Theydon Mount. The 
Domesday Laver similarly became three parishes and Stapleford and Ongar 
each became two parishes. The Domesday Rodinges, to which three Ongar 
hundred and thirteen Dunmow hundred entries relate, was eventually divided 
into eight parishes, two of which were in Ongar hundred. In contrast to these 
places where 'the fission of vills' occurred were some which later became part 
of parishes larger than themselves: Alderton and Debden, which were separate 
Domesday villages were later included in the parish of Loughton, Woolston 
Was merged in Chigwell parish, Passfield in High Ongar, and Little Stanford 
in Stanford Rivers. The case of Stanford is specially interesting, for it shows 
the process of fission starting in 1086 but later reversed. This may also have 
happened in two other places: there are separate references in Domesday to 
Fyfield and 'the other Fyfield' and to Navestock and 'the other Navestock', but 
there was no later fission in either village. One place which later became a 
parish in this hundred is not specifically mentioned in Domesday: Stondon 
Massey which was probably included in an entry for Margaret Roding (Dun- 
mow hundred). The connexion between Stondon Massey and Margaret 
Roding was subsequently maintained by the payment of tithes from Marks 
Hall in Margaret Roding to the Rector of Stondon. A tithe-rent charge is still 

2 Cf. F.C.H. Essex, {,375. 

5 Ibid. ^2j—^j\. passim. Occasional ambiguities in Domesday Book make the total doubtful to within two 
or three. 4 y.C.H. Essex, i, 537^, 538a, 540<?, 554a. 



ONGAR HUNDRED 

paid by the owner of Marks Hall to the Rector of Stondon, and until early in 
the 19th century the parishioners of Stondon included Marks Hall in their 
annual beating of the parish bounds. Loughton, which in 1086 was partly in 
Becontree hundred, was from the 14th century or earlier wholly in that of 




* Marks Hall in Margaret Roding has always paid tithe to Stondorj Massey 

Ongar. North Weald Bassett seems to have been partly in Harlow half-hundred 
in 1086 and continued to be thus divided between Harlow and Ongar.s One 
very small place, Plumtuna, has not been certainly identified.^ 

The 13th-century eyre rolls give little additional information about the com- 
position of Ongar hundred. Stondon Massey is mentioned in the roll for 1 226- 
7.7 In the same year a tithing of Epping was listed under Ongar hundred ;8 



5 Ibid, i, 397, ii, 350. 
' J.I. 1/229. 



Ibid, i, 529. 
Ibid. 



But see P.N. Essex (E.P.N.S.), 153. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 

this was probably part of Theydon Garnon, whose boundary in later times ran 
through the middle of Epping town.' In and after the 13 th century there were 
usually reckoned to be 26 parishes in the hundred, including North Weald and 
Loughton. Greenstead, a very small parish adjoining Chipping Ongar, was 
sometimes omitted from official lists.' In the Middle Ages the parishes in 
Ongar hundred were normally identical with the 'vills'. There were occasional 
exceptions: in the taxation assessment of 1 320, for example (see below, p. 300), 
Norton Mandeville was included in High Ongar. The same assessment and 
others of the 14th century listed under Ongar hundred the hamlet of Roding 
Morrell, which was situated locally in White Roding parish (Dunmow hundred). 
For the purpose of these assessments Roding Morrell was included in Abbess 
Roding, but there was never any permanent and parochial connexion between 
them. The inclusion of Roding Morrell in Ongar hundred possibly originated 
in the acquisition of the tenancy in chief of the manor of Roding Morrell by the 
lords of Ongar hundred." 

A document concerning the hundred drawn up in 1543-6 and based on 
earlier records includes a list of 'the names of the vills, parishes and hamlets' in 
the hundred. 12 Marden Ash (in High Ongar) and Greenstead appear to have 
been grouped with Chipping Ongar, and Ashlyns (a detached part of High 
Ongar) with Bobbingworth. Chivers End was mentioned as a hamlet of High 
Ongar: it was probably identical with the Passfield of 1086. Barringtons was 
mentioned as a hamlet of Chigwell and Abridge of Lambourne. There was an 
entry for Roding Morrell and one for Westwood (a detached part of High Ongar), 
which was grouped with Chipping Ongar. Apart from the above all the places 
mentioned were parishes. 

Saxton's Map of Essex, 1 5j6 shows hundred boundaries and the location of 
parish churches. It correctly places the 26 churches of Ongar hundred, al- 
though the hundred boundary is inaccurately drawn in relation to some natural 
features, for example in the south-west corner, at Chigwell. Morrell Roding is 
not shown as belonging to the hundred. '^ The Map of Essex, iSyS, by John 
Ogilby and William Morgan, has a more accurate delineation of the hundred 
boundary. That of Robert Morden and Joseph Pask, about 1690, shows 
Thornwood (in North Weald) as in Harlow hundred. That of Philip Overton 
and Thomas Bowles, 1726,' also shows Hastingwood (in North Weald) as in 
Harlow hundred, Berwick Berners (in Abbess Roding) as in Dunmow hundred, 
and Roding Morrell as a detached part of Ongar hundred.'* Chapman and 
Andre's Map of Essex, lyjj shows the hundred boundaries with precision. 
C. and J. Greenwood's Map of Essex, 1824 is the first to give parish boundaries, 
but the delineation of these is often inaccurate. The first edition of the Ordnance 
Survey 6 inch Map (published 1868-84) indicates parish boundaries precisely 
and shows the detached parts of several parishes, in this hundred notably High 
Ongar, Magdalen Laver, and North Weald. The origin of such detachments, 
where it can be explained, lies in the manorial and church history of the 
parishes concerned. 's 

The census reports of 1 801-41 give Roding Morrell as a separate hamlet of 

' See Theydon Garnon. Epping parish was in Waltham half-hundred. 
'" e.g. Feud. Aids, ii, 204-6. " Morant, Essex, ii, 471. 

'2 E.R.O., D/DRg 1/197, and see further below. 

'3 Copies of this and the other maps mentioned below are all in the Essex Record Office. 
'* For Berwick Berners see also Morant, Essex, i, 138. '5 See especially High Ongar, Church. 

4 



ONGAR HUNDRED 

Ongar hundred. Those of 1811-41 note that Thornwood and Hastingwood 
were in Harlow hundred and those of 1 821-41 show Berwick Berners as in 
Dunmow hundred.'^ The 1851 census, though not arranged by hundreds, 
states that the hamlet of Birds Green was partly in Beauchamp Roding and 
partly in Willingale Doe (Dunmow hundred). In the late i8th and early 19th 
centuries Birds Green was for some purposes certainly reckoned as part of 
Dunmow hundred, though no evidence has been found that this was so at any 
earlier date. 

The lordship of Ongar hundred was given by Henry II to Richard de Lucy." 
It descended along with the manor of Chipping Ongar (q.v.) to the Rivers 
family and subsequently to the Staffords, earls of Stafford, and later dukes of 
Buckingham. At various times in the 14th and 1 5th centuries the hundred was 
in the king's hands for short periods owing to the minority or forfeiture of its 
owners.18 It was finally forfeited to the Crown along with the manor of Chip- 
ping Ongar in 152 1. In that year Henry VIII appointed his yeoman Robert 
Stoner as bailiff and 'wardstaff' of the hundred,' « and in 1543 the hundred was 
granted for life to John Stoner, serjeant-at-arms.20 In 1547 it was granted to 
Richard Rich on his creation as a baron.^' It descended along with Paslow 
Hall in High Ongar (q.v.) until the death in 1673 of Charles Rich, Earl of 
Warwick. In the subsequent partition of the earl's estates the hundred was 
allotted to Henry St. John, who in 1689 granted it to Philip and Rowland 
Traherne." In 1694 the Trahernes conveyed it to Sir Eliab Harvey of 
Barringtons in Chigwell (q.v.) and it subsequently descended along with 
Barringtons. Vice-Admiral Sir Eliab Harvey was lord of the hundred in 1 8 14.^2 

The original meeting-place of the hundred is not definitely known. The site 
of Ongar castle and Toot Hill in Stanford Rivers have both been suggested. ^^ 
In and after the 1 5th century Ongar hundred was closely associated with 
Harlow half-hundred, whose lordship had also been acquired by the Staffords.^s 
From the late i6th century Ongar and Harlow were grouped with Waltham 
half-hundred, the common meeting-place being at Waltham Holy Cross.26 
These Waltham meetings, however, were probably for business other than that 
anciently associated with the hundred. It is not known whether separate meet- 
ings for Ongar hundred alone were held in the 1 7th century. 

On a quo warranto inquiry in 1277 John de Rivers, lord of the hundred, 
claimed no return of writs within the hundred except the withdrawal from the 
sheriff of the King's debts and the execution of the other orders of the king 
therein." As to pleas of withernam he said that the hundred had been grante d 
by Henry II to his ancestor Richard de Lucy and that Richard and his descen- 
dants had had those pleas. The Crown advocate rejoined that in Henry II's 
time there were no such pleas and that in any case they were not mentioned in 
Richard de Lucy's charter. 

'* But in and after 1 83 1 the population was enumerated in Abbess Roding as part of Ongar hundred 

'7 Plac. Quo Warranto (Rec. Com.), 232; Rot. Hundr. (Rec. Com.), i, I53- 

'8 e.g. Cal. Fine R. 1413-22, 362; Cal. Pat. \ifil-ll, 561. 

'9 L. y P. Hen. Fill, iii (2), p. 973. 

20 L. y P. Hen. Fill, xviii (i), p. 193. According to the 1 543 grant Stoner was to be bailiff and wardstaff 
of the hundred, not its lord, but the 1 547 grant to Rich, quoting that of 1 543, states that the hundred had been 
granted to Stoner for life. " C"'- P"'- ' 547-8, i lo-i i. 

" E.^.T. N.s. ix, 402; E.R.O., D/DCw T26. " E. Ogborne, Htst. Essex, 236. 

^ E.A.T. N.s. xviii, 192. ^5 Morant, Essex, ii, 482; E.R.O., D/DP M570, 585, 588, 595. 

2* Norden, Description of Essex, 1 594 (Camd. Soc), 12; E.R.O. Guide, i, 3- 

" Plac. Quo Warranto (Rec. Com.), 232. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX . 

On the same occasion Rivers also claimed view of frankpledge. This was not 
opposed but in fact before 1 277 this jurisdiction had in some cases already been 
alienated to the lords of individual manors. It was stated in 1 274-5 that the 
lords of Fyfield, Stapleford Tawney, Woolston (in Chigwell), Stapleford 
Abbots, Loughton, Navestock, Beauchamp Roding, and Theydon (Mount.?) 
possessed view of frankpledge and the assize of bread and ale, that the lord 
of Woolston also had gallows and the lord of North Weald Bassett had all 
pleas.28 

In the document of 1 543-6, already mentioned, the lord of the hundred 
held no courts leet in any of these places nor in Chipping Ongar, Greenstead, 
Stanford Rivers, Abbess Roding, and Shelley. At four other places, Norton 
Mandeville, Roding Morrell, High Laver, and Navestock, courts leet were said 
to be held by the lords of the manor but the common fine was customarily paid 
by them to the lord of the hundred. During the Middle Ages the manors of 
Chipping Ongar and Stanford Rivers (q.v.) were held in demesne by the lords 
of the hundred and there was thus no need to include them in the list of leets. 
At Greenstead, which was also omitted from the list, the lords of the hundred 
were tenants in chief of the manor.^' Courts leet for the manor of Abbess 
Roding (q.v.) were certainly being held in the 1 5th century. But it is clear 
that the document of 1 543-6, so far as it relates to courts leet, does not describe 
16th-century practice, for it omits many manorial leets that are known to have 
existed in the 14th and 15th centuries. 

At High Ongar (q.v.) courts leet were being held for the manor of Paslow 
Hall at least as early as 1271, and for that of Newarks Norton in 1487. At 
Abbess Roding, in addition to the leet of the capital manor, there was one for 
Berwick Berners manor in and after 1382. At Kelvedon Hatch (q.v.) there 
was a court leet from 1390. 

The manuscript of 1 543-6 quoted above was probably drawn up for John 
Stoner when he acquired the hundred and revised somewhat during the next 
three years.^o It includes the text of the grant of the hundred to Stoner, and 
states that the customs and duties it records were observed in the time of Edward 
III and Robert Bruce, King of Scots, and long before 'when the Saxons 
inhabited this realm'. In support of this statement it refers to ancient records 
made by Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hertford [sic] and Essex, Constable of 
England, and 'lord of the said liberties and hundreds' dated at Pleshey, 10 July 
II Edward III (1337) and to other records 'written in the Saxon tongue'. 
These records have not been traced. Humphrey de Bohun (d. 1361) is not 
known to have held the hundred of Ongar, but his successor and namesake 
Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford and Essex (d. 1373) held the hundred 
of Harlow, which later came into the possession of the earls of Stafford, the lords 
of Ongar hundred. The document of 1 543-6 was probably prepared so that 
Stoner might exact his legal dues as lord of the hundred. All tenants' names in 
it were up to date but the section relating to the courts leet and some others 
described below certainly did not represent 16th-century practice; an anti- 
quarian interest may have led to their inclusion. Probably much of the docu- 

28 Ro/. Hundr. (Rec. Com.), i, 1 53. For North Weald see also Cat. Anct. D. i, A. 755. 

^' But Roding Morrell, which was included in the list, was also held in chief by the lords of the hundred. 

30 E.R.O., D/DRg 1/197. The MS. was formerly in the Round collection at Birch Hall, Colchester. It was 
calendared in Hist. MSS. Com. J4th Rep. Apf. ft. IX, p. 5, and was also described and partly printed by W. C. 
Waller, E.A.T. n.s. ix, 212-19. 



ONGAR HUNDRED 

ment was indeed based on early- 14th-century records and described the 
customs of that period. 

The document lists the names and tenements of all those owing suit at the 
three weeken court or other courts of the hundred, and the names and tene- 
ments of those liable by reason of tenure to maintain prisons and pounds. It 
also lists the vills which by custom came to the sheriff's tourn, in each case with 
the reeve, the copyhold tenants from which the four suitors at the tourn were 
chosen, and the free suitors at the tourn. These places are identical with those 
in which, according to the document, courts leet were held by the lord of the 
hundred, or from which he received the common fine, except that Abbess 
Roding and Beauchamp Roding occur only in the tourn list. 

The document describes at length the annual ceremony of the wardstaff of 
the hundred. 31 This started on the Sunday before Hock Monday, when the 
hundred bailiff cut a willow wand from Abbess Roding Wood: this was the 
wardstaff, which gave its name to the bailiff's alternative title. The staff was 
conveyed from the wood to Rookwood Hall, where it was placed in the hall. 
There it remained while the bailiff refreshed himself. It was then taken 'by 
sun shining' to Wardhatch Lane near Longbarns (in Beauchamp Roding) and 
was there met by the lord of Rookwood Hall with all tenants of the Abbess 
Roding 'Watch', whose duty it was to guard the staff. The lord of Rookwood 
Hall had also prepared 'a great rope called a barr' which he now caused to be 
stretched across the lane to stop passers-by. The wardstaff was laid beside the 
rope while the bailiff called the roll of the watch, and charged them 'to watch 
and keep the ward in due silence so that the king be harmless and the country 
scapeless'. The watch lasted until sunrise next day, when the lord of Rook- 
wood Hall took up the wardstaff and made a notch in it, signifying that he and 
his men had performed their duty for the year. Finally he handed the staff to 
the bailiff to be taken to the lord of the manor of Fyfield, delivering as he did 
so 'the tale of the wardstaff', a narrative in Middle English verse relating how 
his watch had carried out its duty.^^ The staff was then presented to the lord of 
Fyfield Hall, who examined the notch made in it by the lord of Rookwood 
and then went through a ceremony similar to that at Abbess Roding. The 
Fyfield Watch, which was kept at the 'Three Wants' in Fyfield, was followed on 
successive days by seven other watches at different places in the hundred, pro- 
ceeding in a clockwise direction. 

Elsewhere in the same document there are details of the number of men in 
each watch, and the names and tenements of those who were bound to provide 
the men. The smallest watches were those of Abbess Roding (3 men) and 
Theydon Garnon (5), the largest Magdalen Laver (19) and Chigwell (14). 
Those who furnished the men for the watches had to pay %d. a man, probably 
for food. The lord of Lambourne Hall also provided straw for his watch.33 

There is a reference to the wardstaff of Harlow hundred in the reign of 
Henry IID+ but the earliest contemporary reference that has been found to the 
wardstaff of Ongar was in 1 33 i, when Robert William of Havering, who had 
been outlawed for felony, was said to have held land in Lambourne for which 

3' This part has been printed: Salmon, Hist. Essex, 68-70; Morant, Essex, i, 126-7. 

32 Although the narrative appears to be basically in Middle English it is not entirely homogeneous and there 
are some later word forms. 

33 For the watches and their services see E.A.T. n.s. ix, 216-19. 
3+ Morant, Essex, i, 127 n. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 

he paid is. a year to the bailiff of the hundred for sheriff's aid, did suit at the 
three weeken court, and paid 2{J. a year for the wardstaff. He had to find two 
men to watch the wardstaff for a night and to pay /\.J. a year for this, and also 
had to provide a pound for distraints taken in the hundred for debts owed to 
the king and a prison to guard prisoners taken in the hundred for a day and a 
night.35 It seems unlikely that a wardstaff ceremony was still observed in the 
1 6th century, but references to the wardstaff occur in records as late as the 
reign of James I.^^ 

35 Ca/. Inf. Misc. ii, p. 286. 3* Morant, Essex, i, 127 n. 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



BOBBINGWORTH 



Bobbingworth, commonly called Bovinger, is a 
parish immediately to the north-west of Chipping 
Ongar.' The middle element in the name of the parish 
suggests early Saxon settlement.^ Bobbingworth now 
has an area of 2,595 acres. ^ It was formerly 1,642 acres 
but was increased in 1946 by the incorporation of the 
detached part of High Ongar lying immediately to the 
west of Bobbingworth and of the detached part of 
Moreton (^ acre) lying to the north-east of Ashlyns (see 
below).* In 1801 the population was 216. s By 1841 
it had grown to 357; then it declined to 270 in 1901.* 
In the first half of the 20th century it was a httle above 
300 until the incorporation of the detached part of High 
Ongar brought it to 483 in 1951.' 

The land rises from about 150 ft. above sea-level in 
the east and 200 ft. in the north to 3 30 ft. in the extreme 
south-west. A stream flowing into the Cripsey Brook 
forms part of the northern boundary. Reynkyns Wood 
lies on the western boundary. The road from Chipping 
Ongar to Epping enters the parish by Ackingford Bridge 
over the Cripsey Brook and runs north-west. About 
200 yds. from Ackingford Bridge Pensons Lane, for- 
merly called Finings or Pinions Lane, runs south-west- 
ward to Greenstead. Nearly J mile farther along on the 
north side of the Ongar-Epping road lies Waterend 
Farm, a building probably of the 17th century but with 
additions on three sides of late 1 8th-century or early 
I gth-century date. Bilsdens* is J mile west of Waterend, 
to the south of the road. About i mile from the bridge 
the main road is joined by Blake Hall Lane which leads 
north to the village of Bobbingworth. Blake Hall' 
stands in a park to the east of the lane. The rectory'" is 
near the north entrance to the park. About 100 yds. 
farther north a small gate leads to a thatched and 
weather-boarded tithe barn of the 17th or 1 8th century. 
At this point the lane branches, one branch, known as 
Gainthorps Road, running northwards towards More- 
ton, and the other, known as Church Road, running 
westwards past the church and school." The church is 
on the south side of Church Road immediately to the 
west of Gainthorps Road. A short lane divides the 
church from the school on the west and leads south to 
Bobbingworth Hall.'^ On the south-east side of the 
churchyard is an incomplete moat, suggesting the pre- 
sence of an earlier manor house. 

On the east side of Gainthorps Road, some 400 yds. 
from the church, stands Gainthorps Cottage, a timber- 
framed house recently converted from two tenements; 
it dates from the i6th or early 17th century. A little 
farther along this road are four pairs of council houses. 
Opposite these houses a lane leads westward to New- 
house, a timber-framed farm-house, of the i6th or early 
17th century, built on a half-H plan. The wings origin- 
ally projected to the north with a small staircase block 
in the angle of the east wing." There are two pairs of 
council houses on the lane leading to Newhouse Farm. 



Hobban's Farm is J mile west of the church, to the 
north of Church Road. It is an 18th-century house, 
similar in appearance to Bobbingworth Hall. Opposite 
Hobbans, Church Road is joined by a road running 
south to Lower Bobbingworth Green and Greenstead. 
At the Green is Sayers Farm, a square red brick house 
apparently rebuilt in the middle of the 19th century. 
At Notts Corner, about 300 yds. west of Hobban's 
Farm, Church Road is joined by a road which runs 
north to Padler's End and by Mill Road which runs 
south from Notts Corner to meet the Epping-Ongar 
road at the hamlet of Bovinger Mill. Here the single- 
story brick and roughcast buildings, including the pre- 
sent post-ofBce, standing to the north of the site of the 
old mill, formed the mill-house and an adjoining 
bakery.'* 

About J mile north of Notts Corner on the east side 
of the road to Padler's End stands Muggin's Farm, an 
18th-century house. About J mile farther north a lane 
leads west to Bobbingworth Lodge, a farm-house of the 
17th century, much altered about 1920. A fine brick 
chimney-stack with six octagonal shafts was damaged 
by blast in 1944 and later rebuilt to its original design. 

Five pairs of council houses stand on the east side of 
Moreton Bridge Road, in the north-east corner of the 
parish, near Moreton Bridge. Ashlyns is in the north- 
west, and Cold Harbour in the south-west, of the pre- 
sent parish of Bobbingworth.'' Wardens Farm, to the 
south of Bovinger Mill, is timber-framed and weather- 
boarded and probably dates from the second half of the 
1 7th century. It is built on a half-H shaped plan with 
wings projecting to the north-west. The front was 
faced with brickwork in the i8th century. Ashlyns, 
Cold Harbour, and Wardens were all in High Ongar 
parish until 1946. 

References in the sessions rolls to communications in 
Bobbingworth chiefly relate to Ackingford Bridge.'* 

In 1582 and in 1600 Finings Lane, from Ackingford 
Bridge to Greenstead Green, was said to be in decay, 
the parish of Bobbingworth being responsible for its up- 
keep." In 161 8 it was said that Bobbingworth and 
Shelley shared the responsibility for the highway lead- 
ing from Ongar via Shelley Bridge to Moreton.'' This 
road evidently then, as now, lay partly in Bobbing- 
worth, partly in Shelley, and partly on the boundary 
between these two parishes. 

The London-Ongar railway, which was opened in 
1865, runs across the south of Bobbingworth." Blake 
Hall station on this line is situated about i mile south 
of Lower Bobbingworth Green in the parish of Stanford 
Rivers. 

Postal facilities were extended to Bobbingworth 
when a receiving office was set up at Moreton in 1 846.^" 
it had its own sub-post-office in 1874.^' According to 
the county directories letters came through the Ongar 
office. 



' O.S. 2\ in. Map, sheet 52/50. 

^ Chief Elements in Eng. Place-Names 
(E.P.N.S. i (2)), 42. 

2 Inf. from Essex County Council, 

* Census Retns. 1931; County of Essex 
{Rural Parishes) Confirm. Order l')46. 

5 V.C.H. Essex, ii, 350. 

<• Ibid. 

7 Census Retns. 1 9 1 1 f. j Inf. from Essex 



County Council. 

8 See below, Manor of Bilsdens. 

» See below, Manor of Blake Hall. 

'0 See below, Church. 

' ' See below, Schools. 

'2 See below, Manor of Bobbingworth. 

'3 Hist. Mon. Com. Essex, ii, 22. 

•♦ Inf. from Mrs. Burling at 1 1 Bovinger 
Mill, opposite site of old mill. 



" For Ashlyns see High Ongar. 
" See Chipping Ongar, p. 157. 
" E.R.O., e/SR 8o/5«, 149/43. 
■8 E.R.O., (2/SBa 1/32. 
" See Chipping Ongar, p. 158. 
2" P.M.G. Mins. 1846, vol. 



87, p. 



" Ibid. 1874, vol. 132, min. 4759. 



ES. IV 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



Water was supplied in the village by the Herts, and 
Essex Waterworks Co. in 1899.^^ Two of the four 
pairs of council houses in Gainthorps Road have a 
sewerage system.*-' There is no supply of gas,*-* but 
electricity was laid on in 195 1 .^s There is a small parish 
room, and a large army hut at Blake Hall can be used 
for meetings.** A branch of the county library was 
opened in February 1939." The football and cricket 
clubs have their own grounds.*' 

Bobbingworth has always been a rural parish devoted 
almost exclusively to agriculture. The large landowners 
were all resident in the parish from the last quarter of 
the 1 6th century until the beginning of the 1 8th cen- 
tury.*" It is not clear whether the owners of Blake Hall 
were resident in the parish during the first quarter of 
the 1 8th century. By 1735 the lord of the manor, 
Richard Clarke, lived at the manor house but did not 
farm the estate.'" He let Blake Hall manor farm to 
Robert Crabb and Bilsdens farm to Samuel Corney.3' 
These two farms continued to be let until after Capel 
Cure purchased the estate in 1789." After John Poole 
sold the manor of Bobbingworth to Charles Houblon in 
1708, the owners of Bobbingworth Hall were generally 
not resident in the parish until J. A. Houblon sold the 
estate to Capel Cure in 1834.33 

In 1840 the parish consisted of 1,628 acres-S-* Capel 
Cure of Blake Hall owned 1,058 acres of which he 
farmed nearly 700 acres himself.35 He let Water End 
Farm (297 acres) to Jonathan Lewis, and Hobban's 
Farm (61 acres) to G. Pavitt.3* This Capel Cure, son of 
the purchaser of Blake Hall, was a conscientious farmer 
and landlord. After his father's death in 18 16 he 
kept a notebook recording his farming activities 
and the entries show him to have been energetic and 
methodical.37 He toured his estate personally and 
carefully noted down the area of the individual farms, 
their state of cultivation, the condition of the buildings, 
the repairs which he had ordered, and the industry of 
the tenant farmers.3 8 He put a new tenant into Bilsdens 
in 1827, some three years after he had observed that this 
farm was 'shamefully mismanaged'.'' But he was kind 
and encouraging to industrious tenants. On a rent day 
in 1828 he gave a rebate of j^io to one tenant 'who is 
an industrious man, with a large family'.-*" At the end 
of his estate notebook Capel Cure copied a well-known 
passage from Sydney Smith: 'there are so many tempta- 
tions in the life of a country gentleman to complete 
idleness, so many examples of it, and so much loss to 
the community from it, that every exception to the 
practice is deserving of great praise' .■♦' Capel Cure 
himself was certainly one of the exceptions. 

In 1840 there were only two other substantial 
owners in the parish; J. Stacey owned Perrils Farm 
(89 acres) and Sayers Farm (112 acres), both of which 
he farmed himself, and G. Thistlewood owned, but 



" Inf. from Herts. Sc Essex Waterworks 
Co. 

" Inf. from Canon E. H. Gallop, Rector 
of Bobbingworth. 

M Ibid. 

" Inf. from Ea»t. Elec. Bd. 

" Inf. from Canon Gallop. 
, " Inf. from County Librarian. 

*' Inf. from Canon Gallop. 

"> See below. Manors of Bobbingworth, 
Blake Hall, Bilsdens. 

» E.R.O., D/DCcTi/3. 

>■ Ibid.; D/P 127/8. 

» E.R.O., e/RPl 685-700. 

" See below, Manor of Bobbingworth. 

" E.R.O., D/CT 38. 



35 Ibid. 36 Ibid. 

3' E.R.O., D/DCc E6. 

38 Ibid. 3« Ibid. 

« Ibid. 41 Ibid. 

« E.R.O., D/CT 38. 

«3 Ibid. 

■M E.R.O., D/DCc E6. 

•»5 ff'Aile's Dir. Essex (1848), 414. 

<' E.R. xl, 163. Photograph at E.R.O. 

«' Ibid. 

■" Kelly's Dir. Essex (i()iz, J914). 

*'' Inf. from Mrs. Burling. 

5° H'hite's Dir. Essex (1848), 414. 

5' E.R.O., D/DCc E6. The evidence 
suggests that J. Lewis may have been 
Cure's estate manager. He also acted as 



did not occupy, Newhouse Farm (i ig acres).** There 
was only one other farm of over 40 acres.-" 

Then, as now, there was mixed farming in Bobbing- 
worth. A three-course rotation of crops was generally 
followed, wheat, barley, and either beans or clover 
being the usual crops.** 

In 1 848 there were in the parish a cornmiller, who 
was also a baker, and a land surveyor.*^ The windmill 
was a wooden post-mill, turned by hand, with a brick 
'round house' below.** It probably dated from the 
1 8th century and the post, which was inscribed '1640', 
may have been an earlier one reused.*' The mill be- 
came disused between 191 2 and 1914.*' The upper 
part of it was blown down in 1923;*' the round house 
stood for some time afterwards. 

The land surveyor mentioned in 1 848 was Jonathan 
Lewis. 50 It was probably the same Jonathan Lewis 
who drew up some of the local tithe maps at this 
period and who did much surveying and other work 
for Capel Cure on the Blake Hall estate.^' 

This estate, totalling some 3,800 acres in Bobbing- 
worth and other parishes,^* must have employed a con- 
siderable amount of domestic as well as agricultural 
labour in the middle of the 19th century. 

In 1066 BOBBINGWORTH was held by 2 free- 
men as I hide and 30 acres and was worth 
MANORS 40^.53 In 1086 it was held of Ranulf 
brother of Ilger by Richard and was worth 
60J.S* In the early 13th century it seems to have been 
held in chief by Hamon de Marcy.ss Hamon ap- 
parently left as his heir Serlo de Marcy, lord of Stondon 
Massey (q.v.), who was dead by 1 244.5* In that year 
Serlo's sisters and heirs, Alice wife of John de Merk 
and Agnes wife of Nicholas Spigurnel agreed to divide 
between them the tenements in Bobbingworth and else- 
where which Denise, widow of Hamon, and Agnes, 
widow of Serlo, then held in dower. s' Afterwards it 
was evidently agreed that the Spigurnels should hold 
the Bobbingworth tenements of the Merks, forin 13 11- 
12 William son and heir of Ralph de Merk granted the 
overlordship of these tenements to Humphrey, Earl of 
Hereford and Essex (d. 1322) who in 1 3 1 2-1 3 granted 
it in fee tail to his youngest son William de Bohun, 
later Earl of Northampton. ss In 1328 the manor of 
Bobbingworth was held of William by the service of 
\ knight's fee. 5' He died in 1360 and was succeeded 
by his son Humphrey, later Earl of Hereford and of 
Essex.*" After Humphrey's death in 1373 the over- 
lordship passed through his daughter Eleanor to Anne 
wife of Edmund Earl of March.*' After the deaths of 
Edmund (1425) and Anne (1432) the overlordship 
passed to Anne's brother Humphrey, Duke of Bucking- 
ham (d. 1460).** In 1475 the manor was held of 
Humphrey's widow Anne.*3 In 1485 and 1493 it was 
held of Jasper, Duke of Bedford (d. 1495) and his 

overseer of the parish for many years before 
1827 (see below. Parish Government and 
Poor Relief). 

52 See below, Manor of Blake Hall. 

53 V.C.H. Essex, i, 540,2. 
5« Ibid. 

55 Feet of F, Essex, i, 148-q. 
ss Ibid. 57 Ibid. 

58 DL25/1592, 1453. 

59 Cat. Inq. p.m. vii, p. 104. 
'" Complete Peerage, vi, 472-3. 
*' C 1 37/90; Ci ;i()l 1 2 ; Complete Peerage, 

vi, 474-5, viii, 453. Anne was grand- 
daughter of Eleanor. 

<>^ Complete Peerage, ii, 388. 

" C140/52. 



10 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



BOBBINGWORTH 



wife Katherine whose first husband had been Henry 
Stafford, Duke of Buckingham (d. I483).*'* 

Nicholas Spigurnel died before 1 27 5 .*5 Sir Edmund 
Spigurnel, son of Nicholas, died in 1295-6 leaving his 
widow Clarice to hold for her life i messuage, i 
carucate of land, and 50J. rent in Bobbingworth.** In 
1297 his brother and heir John granted the reversion 
of this estate after the death of Clarice to Henry 
Spigurnel, probably his younger brother, and to the 
heirs of Henry.*^ In 1328 Henry Spigurnel died in 
possession of this estate, which was then described as a 
manor.*^ He was succeeded by his son Thomas who 
in 1332 quitclaimed all his rights in the manor to 
Robert de Hakeney, citizen of London, and his wife 
Katherine.*' In 1361 Thomas son of Robert de 
Hakeney granted an annuity of ^^lo from the manor to 
James de Lacy and his heirs.'o Thomas de Hakeney 
left at least one sister, Katherine, as his heirJ' In 1 389 
Maud de Enfield, who was perhaps the widow of John 
de Enfield and perhaps also the sister of Thomas de 
Hakeney, granted the reversion of the manor, then 
held for hfe by Joan wife of Luke Morell, to Ralph de 
Tyle and his wife Alice, daughter of John de Enfield, 
to John their son and to the heirs of Alice.'^ In 1403 
Thomas Horsman and his wife Margaret and John 
Abberbury and his wife Alice granted the reversion of 
the manor, after the death of Joan Morell, to Sir John 
Ashley and his heirs.'s The conveyances of 1389 and 
1403 led, after the death of Joan Morell, to a contest 
for possession of the estate. 

Joan Morell died on t6 May i409.7't At that time 
Alice and Ralph de Tyle and their son John were dead 
and the next of kin of Alice was her cousin Thomas, a 
minor, son of her father's brother Thomas de Enfield." 
On 22 May 1409 William Wodeward and his wife 
Agnes, a kinswoman of Thomas, were granted custody 
of the manor.'* Shortly afterwards, by letters patent 
which apparently were antedated to 20 May 1409 the 
custody of the manor was given to Helming Legat, 
who was closely connected with Sir John Ashley, and 
William Loveney." The grant to the Wodewards was 
annulled and they were removed from possession of 
the estate.'* They then proceeded to complain by peti- 
tion in Parliament and in June 1410 the case was 
examined by the king's council." In the course of the 
hearing Helming Legat stated that at the instance of 
Sir John Ashley he had released all his claim in the 
estate to John Habhale, a servant of Ashley.*" At the 
close of the hearing the council declared that the grant 
to Legat and Loveney should be revoked on the 
ground that when it was made the grantees did not 
fulfil their legal obligation of revealing other gifts which 
they had received from the king.*' At the same time 
the council secured an acknowledgement by Loveney 



that the letters patent dated 20 May were sealed after 
the letters dated 22 May.*^ In accordance with the 
council's judgement the Wodewards were restored as 
custodians of the estate in October 1410.*' 

It is not clear whether Sir John Ashley took any 
further steps to obtain possession of the manor after his 
attempt in 1409. An inquisition taken in 14 12 
declared that Thomas de Enfield was the heir to the 
estate in virtue of the fine of 1389.** By 1420, how- 
ever, a lawsuit was begun to contest Thomas's claim. *5 
In 1420 William Ashley, brother and heir of Sir John, 
came to an agreement with Nicholas Thorley whereby 
Nicholas was to pay the costs of the action and a further 
70 marks to William in return for which William was 
to enfeoff him with the manor or with half of it, if only 
half was recovered.** It is not clear how far the action 
was pursued. In January 1424 an inquisition declared 
that in virtue of the fine of 1389 Thomas de Enfield, 
who had come of age in October 1423, was entitled to 
the estate.*' In March 1424 Thomas conveyed what 
he described as 'all my manor of Bobbingworth' to Sir 
Lewis Robessart and others who granted it to Nicholas 
Thorley.** In August 1424 William Ashley conveyed 
what he also described as 'my manor of Bobbingworth' 
to Nicholas Thorley and the heirs of Nicholas.*' 

In 1442 Sir Nicholas Thorley died leaving as his 
heir Walter Estoft, son of his sister Katherine.'" Alice, 
Countess of Oxford and widow of Nicholas, ap- 
parendy held a life interest in the manor of Bobbing- 
worth." In 1445 she granted this life interest to her 
son John de Vere, 12th Earl of Oxford, and to Sir 
Reynold West and Richard Wentworth who im- 
mediately sold it to Sir Thomas Tyrell.'^ At the same 
time Sir Thomas purchased the reversion from Walter 
Estoft.'s In January 1464 Sir Thomas Tyrell con- 
veyed the manor to Sir Peter Arderne and others who 
in December 1466 granted it to Walter Wrytell.'* 
After Walter's death in 1475 the manor of Bobbing- 
worth followed the same descent as that of High Laver 
(q.v.) until 1 5 10." 

In 1 5 10, when they made a partition of the rest of 
their inheritance, James and Eleanor Walsingham and 
Edward and Gresilda Waldegrave agreed that they, 
and the heirs of Eleanor and Gresilda, should hold 
Bobbingworth manor in common.'* In 1575, how- 
ever, the owners of the manor. Sir Thomas Walsing- 
ham, grandson of James and Eleanor, and John 
Rochester of Terhng, son of William, son of Gresilda 
by her first husband John Rochester, made a physical 
division of it." It was agreed that John Rochester's 
share of the estate should be the manor house which, 
with its appurtenant 6 acres, was then in the occupa- 
tion of John Poole who was a freeholder and copyholder 
of the manor; 175 acres of demesne land of which 117 



'♦ Cal. Inq. p.m. Hen. VIl, i, pp. 61-63, 
383; Complete Peerage, ii, 73. See note 
under High Laver manor. 

65 CH3/+/6. 

" Feel of F. Essex, ii, 84; C. Moor, Kts. 
of Ed'w. I, iv (Harl. Soc. Ixxxiii), 269. 

<>■> Feet of F. Essex, ii, 8+; C. Moor, Kts. 
of Edtv. I, iv, 269. 

68 Cal. Inq. p.m. vii, p. 104.. 

*"> E.R.O., D/DB T96/6. 

"> Cal. Close, 1360-4, 258. 

'■ E.R.O., D/DB T96/37. 

" Feet of F. Essex, m, 211; C 137/90. 

" Feet ofF. Essex, iii, 240. Alice Abber- 
bury may formerly have been Alice dcTyle. 
Alternatively she and Margaret Horsman 
may have been sisters of Thomas de 



Hakeney. 
" C137/90. 

75 Ibid. 

'6 Cal. Pat. 1408-13, 231, 240; Cal. 
Fine R. xiii, 148, 192-3. 

" Cal. Pat. 1408-13, 231, 240; Cal. 
Fine R. xiii, 192-3. 

'8 Cal. Pat. 1408-13, 231, 240; Cal. 
Fine R. xiii, 192-3. 

79 Cases Before King's Council 1243-1482 
(Selden Soc. xxxv), 9^-95 j Cal. Pat. 1408- 
13, 240; Cal. Fine R. xiii, 192-3. 

80 Cases Before King's Council 1243-1482, 

93- 

8" Ibid. 94. " Ibid. 

83 Cal. Pat. 1408-13, 240; Cal. Fine R. 
xiii, 192-3. 



*♦ Cl 37/90. 

85 E.R.O., D/DB T96/28. 

8« Ibid. 87 C139/13. 

88 E.R.O., D/DB T96/33-35. 

89 E.R.O., D/DB T96/31. 
9" Complete Peerage, x, 236. 

9' E.R.O., D/DB T96/41-42; CP 

25(0/71/279/^44- 

92 Ibid. 

93 Cal. Close, 1441-7, 392-3. 
9« E.R.O., D/DBT96/51. 

95 C 1 42/2 1/2; Cal. Inq. p.m. Hen. yil, 
i, pp. 61-63, 383; L. Sf P. Hen. Fill, 
i, p. 103. 

96 E.R.O., D/DB T96/69. 

97 E.R.O., D/DB T98; yisits. of Essex 
(Harl. Soc), 97, 280. 



I I 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



acres lay together, 56 acres which were in the occupa- 
tion of four copyholders at rents totalling £,z 1 3/. a 
year; and the rents, amounting to {j. 19/. i,d. a year, 
and services of all the twelve freeholders.'* The share 
of Sir Thomas Walsingham was to be 218 acres of 
demesne land which lay in two parcels of 122 acres 
and 71 acres and several smaller ones, and 44 acres 
which were in the occupation of four copyholders at 
rents totalling C't 4^- * year." 

John Rochester was dead by 1584.' He was suc- 
ceeded by his second son Edward who in 1 586 sold his 
half of Bobbingworth manor to the above mentioned 
John Poole.* This estate afterwards became known as 
the manor oi BOBBINGWORTH HALL.^ 

The demesne land acquired by Sir Thomas Walsing- 
ham in I 5 7 5 was sold by his son Sir Thomas Walsingham 
in 1598 to Robert Bourne, owner of Blake Hall (see 
below).* The greater part, if not all, of this land after- 
wards remained as a permanent part of Blake Hall 
estate, some of it being attached to the manor of Blake 
Hall and some of it to the manor of Bilsdens (see 
below).' 

John Poole died in 1602 having devised Bobbing- 
worth Hall to his son John with the stipulation that 
his widow Lora was to have 'her dwelling and house 
room in the new parlour belonging to Bobbingworth hall 
and the two upper rooms over the same parlour'.* John 
Poole the son, a London alderman, died in 1633.' His 
considerable estate consisted largely of claims on 
foreigners and these had to be recovered before 
legacies totalling about ;^lo,ooo could be paid.* He 
devised the manor of Bobbingworth to his wife Anne 
for life and then to his brother Richard after whose 
death John son of Richard was to inherit the estate.' 
Richard Poole died in about 1642."* In 1674 John 
Poole, son of Richard, made a settlement on his own 
son John when the latter married Mary Powel." By 
this the manorial rights, the capital messuage with its 
appurtenances, and 93^ acres passed immediately to 
John the son who was also to receive a further 71 acres 
on the death of his father.'* The elder John retained 
the free disposition of about 12 acres.'' Immediately 
after the settlement he leased to the younger John 39i 
acres of the 71 acres in which he retained a life interest, 
at a rent of ^20 a year.'* The elder John died in about 
1676." The younger John died before 1701, leaving 
his widow Mary to enjoy a life interest in the manorial 
royalties, the manor house, and 93^ acres under the 
terms of the settlement of 1674.'* He left the 71 acres 
which he had inherited on his father's death to his son 
John who was also to have the reversion of Mary's 
estate.'^ In 1701 John Poole mortgaged his rever- 

»« E.R.O , D/DB T98. w Ibid. 

• Ibid. » Ibid. 3 Ibid. 
4 CPz5(2)/.38/,7so. 
» E.R.O., D/DCc E6; T/M 210, 213. 

Morant stated {Eisex, i, 148) that the 
eatate which Walsingham sold to Bourne 
in 1598 was reattached to Bobbingworth 
Hall by the Houblons in the i8th cent., 
but surveys of c. 1725, 1804, and 1820 
make it clear that at least 160 acres re- 
mained attached to Blake Hall. 

« E.R.O., D/DB T98. This is a large 
group of documents. 

» E.R.O., D/DB T96/83. 

• E.R.O., D/DB T98. 
» E.R.O., D/DB T96/83. 

'» E.R.O., D/DB T98. 

■' Ibid. " Ibid. " Ibid. 

•* Ibid. » Ibid. '« Ibid. 

" Ibid. " Ibid. " Ibid. 



sionary interest to Charles Houblon for ^^600.'* In 
1704 he sold to Houblon for ;^i,o8o the 71 acres he 
had in hand." In 1708 Houblon also bought the 
manor house and the lands mortgaged to him by John 
Poole in 1701, Mary Poole selling her life interest for 
^^498 and John Poole his reversionary interest for 

The estate which John and Mary Poole sold to 
Houblon in 1704-8 consisted of a large part of the 
estate acquired by John Rochester in 1575. Houblon 
also bought other property in Bobbingworth.*' He 
may have bought a small part of the lands sold by 
Walsingham to Bourne in 1 598." 

Houblon never made his home in Bobbingworth.*' 
He died in 1 7 1 1 .** From this time the manor descended 
in the direct male line of the Houblon family until 
1834.*' From 1729, when Jacob Houblon took up 
residence at Great Hallingbury, until 1834 the owners 
of Bobbingv/orth manor did not live on their Bobbing- 
worth estate.** In 1833 this estate consisted of 6 acres 
of woodland in hand; 231 acres of arable and pasture 
in the occupation of John and Thomas Speed at a rent 
of ,^205 a year; 6 copyhold messuages and 26 acres of 
copyhold land, rents for which totalled £1 6s. \d. a 
year; and freehold lands, rents for which totalled 
^i 7/. <^d. a year.*' In 1834 John Archer Houblon 
sold this estate, and his share of the advowson of 
Bobbingworth (see below) to Capel Cure of Blake 
Hall for ^fifijj of which ;^577 was paid for the timber 
on the estate.** The manor of Bobbingworth has 
subsequently remained in the family of Capel Cure. 
It had copyhold tenants as late as 1919.*' 

The present farm-house is timber-framed and weather- 
boarded and is probably of early-i 8th-century date. It 
is L-shaped and has a hipped tiled roof with moulded 
brickwork to the central chimney. 

In the 1 2th century the manor oi BLAKE HALL 
was held of the honor of Boulogne by Pharamus 
of Boulogne, great-grandson of Count Eustace of 
Boulogne.'" It is not clear whether Pharamus held 
the manor in demesne. He died in 1 183-4 ^'^'^ was 
succeeded by his only daughter and heir Sibyl de 
Fiennes." Sibyl was holding the manor of the honor 
of Boulogne in 1221-2.'* By the early 14th century, 
however, the manor was, apparently, no longer con- 
sidered part of that honor." 

Sibyl's heir was her son William de Fiennes.'* 
William's grandson. Sir William de Fiennes (d. 1302), 
was second cousin of Eleanor of Castile, to whom he 
pledged part of his estate in 1 275 when, at his request, 
she engaged to pay ^1,000 to Humphrey de Bohun on 
the latter's marriage with William's sister Maud." It 



»<i Ibid.; E.R.O., D/DWv T51. At the 
time of the sale Poole still owed Houblon 
the ;^6oo he had borrowed in 1701 and 
£i%S interest on the loan. Houblon had 
therefore to pay Poole only ,^215 in cash. 

" A. A. Houblon, The Houhhn Family, 
ii, 1-2. 

" Cf. Morant, Eiiex, i, 148. And see 
note 8 above. 

^3 A. A. Houblon, Tie Houhhn Family, 
ii, 2. " Ibid. 

'5 Ibid.; E.R.O., D/DCc T2; D/DCc 
E2, 6. 

'« A. A. Houblon, The Houhlon Family, 
i, 1 1 f. From 1717 until 1729 Jacob son 
and heir of Charles Houblon lived in Bob- 
bingworth with his uncle Jacob, then 
rector of the parish. 

*' E.R.O., D/DCc E2. The lands occu- 
pied by John and Thomas Speed were 



divided into 4 farms : Bobbingworth Hall, 
Rachells,Hobbans, and Galnthorps. In 1 829 
they had agreed to pay a rent of ^270, but 
this had been reduced to ,^205 when J, A. 
Houblon succeeded to the estate in 1831. 

" E.R.O., D/DCc T2 ; D/DCc E6. 

" E.R.O., D/DCc Mi. 

3° Bk. of Fees, 1428 ; Genealogist, N.s. xii, 
145—51. For Pharamus see also Manor of 
Lam bourne. 

3' Bk. of Fees, 234-5; Genealogist, n.s. 
xii, 145-51- 

" Bk. of Fees, 240, 1435. 

'3 Cal. Inq. f>.m. V, p. 349. 

3* Bk. of Fees, 235; Genealogist, N.s. xii, 
149. 

35 Complete Peerage, vi, 466, ix, 283 ; C. 
Moor, Kts. of Edtv. I (Harl. Soc. Ixxxi), ii, 
21-23'; De La Chenaye-Desbois et Badier, 
Diclionnaire de la Noblesse, viii, 39-41. 



12 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



BOBBINGWORTH 



is likely that William granted the overlordship of Blake 
Hall to Eleanor of Castile, for her grandson, Gilbert, 
Earl of Gloucester, was holding it when he died in 
1 3 14.3* Gilbert was succeeded by his sister and coheir 
Elizabeth de Burgh, Lady of Clare, of whom the manor 
was held by the service of J knight's fee. 37 Afterwards 
the tenancy in chief followed the same descent as that 
of Magdalen Laver manor (q.v.).'* 

In 1 3 14 the tenant in demesne was Robert de 
Hastings who sold the manor to Adam Atforth.^o It 
was subsequently held by Sir John de Loundres.'*" In 
142 1 Sir Robert Brent died in possession of the manor 
leaving as his heir his sister Joan wife of John Trethek.'^' 
In 1424 John and Joan Trethek conveyed the manor 
to William Trethek/^ William immediately granted it 
to Sir Reynold West, Richard Wentworth, and Richard 
Arderne in exchange for the manor of Poldu (Cornw.) 
which they had acquired from Nicholas Thorley and 
his wife Alice, Countess of Oxford/^ West, Arderne, 
and Wentworth were probably acting as trustees for 
Nicholas Thorley in the purchase of Blake HaU as they 
certainly were in the purchase of Bobbingworth manor 
(see above) in the same year. Sir Nicholas Thorley 
died in 1442, leaving as his heir Walter Estoft, son of 
his sister Katherine.'^^ In about 1 504 William Thomson 
became lord of the manor .♦s At the same time he pur- 
chased 217 acres of land from Robert Brent.^* William 
and his wife Agnes, who may have been a daughter of 
Walter Estoft, were still in possession of the manor in 
151 1, but by September 1512 Sir William Capel was 
lord.*7 At that time John Glascock farmed the manor 
at a rent oi £% Sl year.* * Capel died in 1 5 1 6, leavin g as 
his heir his son Giles who, with his sons Henry and 
Edward, conveyed it in 1 539 to Sir Richard Rich, later 
1st Baron Rich.*' In 1563 Rich conveyed the manor 
to John Waylett.5" In 1564 Waylett granted it to 
John Glascock who in 1562 had been described as 'of 
Blake Hall'.s' In 1598 John Glascock, perhaps the 
son of the purchaser of 1 564, sold the manor to Robert 
Bourne but retained 56 acres of its demesne land for his 
own son George. ^^ In the same year Bourne pur- 
chased from Sir Thomas Walsingham the demesne 
lands which Walsingham's father had acquired in 1575 
as his share of Bobbingworth manor (see above).s3 In 
1628 Bourne purchased some land from John son of 
George Glascock. 5* In 1639 Robert Bourne died, 
having settled Blake Hall manor on his wife Katherine 
for hfe with remainder to his son Robert.ss The 
younger Robert had only one child, a daughter Alice 
who in 1656 married John, 3rd Baron Digby, and 
afterwards 3rd Earl of Bristol.s* She died without issue 
in 1658.57 Robert Bourne made a settlement whereby 



Digby was to hold the manor for life with remainder to 
John Cooper, nephew of Bourne.ss Bourne died in 
1666." In about 1675 Cooper tried unsuccessfully to 
sell his reversion.*" At that time he rented the manors 
of Blake Hall and Bilsdens (see below) from Digby for 
^462 a year." He succeeded to the estate on Digby's 
death in 1698 and died in 1701.*^ His heirs were his 
sisters Dorothy, wife of Richard Thompson, and Anne, 
wife of Charles Fowler.^J In 1 709 they sold the estate 
to John Clarke for ^8,ooo.*« Clarke died in 1726 
having devised the manor to his eldest son Richard.*' 
In 1735 ^^^ manor house was in the occupation of 
Richard Clarke and the manor farm in that of Robert 
Crabb.** Richard died in 1770, apparently leaving 
considerable debts. He had devised the manor to his 
brother Dennis who by his will of 1770 devised it to 
his sisters Ann, wife of Sir Narbrough D'Aeth, and 
Catherine, wife of Barnabas Eveleigh Leigh, for their 
lives with remainder to his nephew Narbrough 
D'Aeth.*7 Catherine Leigh died before i78o.*8 In 
1780 Sir Narbrough D'Aeth, nephew of Clarke, 
mortgaged his reversion of the manors of Blake Hall 
and Bilsdens (see below) and the advowson of Bobbing- 
worth for ;£i,ooo.*9 Between 1781 and 1788 Sir 
Narbrough and his mother Lady Ann D'Aeth borrowed 
further sums on the security of their Bobbingworth 
estate, making the total mortgage {j],ioo in March 
1788.70 Before this they had mortgaged their other 
properties for sums totalling at least ;^I4,500." It may 
have been this load of debt which made Sir Narbrough 
sell his Bobbingworth estate to Capel Cure in 1789.72 
Since that time Blake Hall has remained in the family 
of Capel Cure. By Morant's time it no longer had 
manorial tenants.73 In 1 840 Blake Hall farm consisted 
of nearly 220 acres and was in the occupation of Capel 
Cure.7'« At about that time Blake Hall was the centre 
of an estate of some 3,800 acres, mainly in Bobbing- 
worth and neighbouring parishes.75 It included the 
manors of Blake Hall, Bobbingworth Hall, Bilsdens, 
and Ongar Park (in High Ongar, q.v.) and a total of 
some 20 farms. 7* Capel Cure was the impropriator of 
Norton Mandeville (q.v.) and Compton Abdale 
(Glouc.) as well as patron of Bobbingworth.77 

In about 1700 Blake Hall was a typical timber- 
framed Essex building with two gables to the front.78 
This house appears to have been completely demolished 
early in the i8th century. The central rooms at the 
front of the present house are part of the Georgian 
mansion which superseded it. In 1 804 the house was 
of two stories with seven windows across the front, a 
colonnaded porch, and a central pediment.79 By 1 804 
the straight avenue of trees, which in the late 1 8th 



'* Cal. Inq. p.m. v, p. 349 ; Complete 
"Peerage^ v, 707, 712-14. Joan of Acre, 
daughter of Edward I and Eleanor of 
Castile, married Gilbert, Earl of Glouces- 
ter, and had by him a son Gilbert who 
became Earl of Gloucester on his father's 
death in 1295. 

" DL30/123/1861; Complete Peerage, 
iii, 245. 

« C136/106; €138/56; Ci39/i9S9i 
Cal. Close, 1419-22, 1775 Cal. Close, 1422- 
9, 248-9. 

" DL30/123/1859; Cal. Inq. p.m. v, 
p. 349. 

«» 01,30/123/1859 and 1861. Possibly 
the John Loundres who was knighted in 
1397 : Shaw, Knights of Engl, ia, Ix. 

••' C138/56. 

« Feel of F. Essex, iv, 3. 

« Cal. Close, 1422-9, 120, 144. 



♦• Complete Peerage, x, 236. 
••5 DL3o/i23/i859 and 1862. 
«' DL30/123/1859. 

«' CP25(2)/ii/5i Mich. 3 Hen. VIII. 
<8 B.M. Add. MS. 40,6323. 
" £142/30/16; CP25(2)/i2/67 Mich. 
31 Hen. VIII. 
50 CP40/1207. 
5- CP25(2)/i27/i624; E.R.O., QjSR 4. 

52 DL30/123/1861. 

53 CP25(2)/l 38/1750. 
5t DL30/123/1861. 

55 Sepulchral Mems. of Bohhingworth, ed. 
F. A. Crisp, 33. 

i<> E.R.O., D/DMgT3i ; Complete Peer- 
age, ii, 322. 

5' Complete Peerage, ii, 322. 

58 UL30/123/1861-2; E.R.O., D/DAc 
24-25. 50 E.R.O., D/DMg T3 1. 

<>» E.R.O., D/DAc 24-25. " Ibid. 



" DL30/1 23/1 862 ;£.y4.r.N.s.ici, 177. 

« DL30/123/1862; E.R.O., D/DCc 
T./.-3. 

64 E.R.O., D/DCcTi/1-3. 

6s E.R.O., D/DCc T1/3. 

" Ibid. " Ibid. 

M Ibid. '» Ibid. 

'0 E.R.O., D/DCc Ti/i and 2. 

" Ibid. 

'2 Ibid.; E.R.O., D/DCc T4. 

'5 Morant, Essex, i, 148. 

'4 E.R.O., D/CT 38.- 

75 E.R.O., D/DCc E6. 

7' Ibid. 77 Ibid. See below, Church. 

7* As shown in a small drawing on an un- 
dated map at Blake Hall. For photostat of 
map see E.R.O., T/M 2!o. 

7» This is -shown on an estate map of 
1804. For photostat of mao see E.R.O., 
T/M 213. 



13 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



century had led direct from the doorway to the road, 
had been abandoned in favour of curved approaches to 
north and south.*" In 1822 the house was remodelled 
by George Basevi,*' but it is not clear how much work 
was done at this time. The rooms facing the garden 
with their two semicircular bays may be of this date 
or a little earlier. A service wing to the north was also 
built by 1822. About the middle of the 19th century 
the house was greatly extended. ^^ A third story was 
added to the central block and a new wing was built 
on the south side. Early in the 20th century a fine late- 
I7th-century staircase, which came originally from a 
house on the south side of Pall Mall, was inserted in 
the hall.'3 Between 1940 and 1948 Blake Hall was 
requisitioned by the R.A.F. and during this time the 
library and drawing room with the bedrooms above 
were thrown together to form an operations room. 
This wing has not yet been restored.*^ 

The manor of BILSDENS derived its name from 
the family of Billesdon. In 1496 Joan, widow of Sir 
Robert Billesdon and daughter and heir of John 
Williams, died in possession of a messuage, 280 acres 
of land and 20 acres of meadow in Bobbingworth and 
other parishes. *5 This estate, which was then called 
'Monkis alias Bobynford', was worth 100/. and was 
held of one Brent.'* Joan's heir was her son Thomas 
Billesdon.87 

After Joan's death her Bobbingworth estate may 
have passed, with her Marshalls estate in North Weald 
(q.v.), to Sir William Fitzwilliam. In 1581 William 
Bourne died in possession of the Bobbingworth estate 
which he apparently purchased from Richard, ist 
Baron Rich, in 1566.** William bequeathed to his 
wife Margaret 'household stuff, corn and cattle at 
Gippes alias Billesdons'. '» In his will he also mentioned 
his house there.'" 

Bourne's son Robert purchased the manor of Blake 
Hall (see above) in 1 598 and the Billesdon estate, which 
was described as a manor in 1675 and later, afterwards 
descended with Blake Hall." It was occupied by a 
tenant until 1828, after which it was farmed by the 
owner himself'^ In 1840 Bilsdens farm consisted of 
237 acres of which 136 were arable. '3 

The back part of Bilsdens house is timber-framed 
and probably dates from the 1 5th or early i6th century. 
It apparently consisted of a central hall with two cross- 
wings. The hall has been much altered but in both 
cross-wings the lower part of arch-braced roof trusses 
are visible on the first floor. In the roof space at least 
one king-post with four-way struts remains. This was 
evidently the manor house of which William Bourne 
died possessed in 1581. An estate map of Bilsdens 
dated I76i''* has a rough drawing of the house from 
which it appears to have been L-shaped and gabled. 
The present front rooms were added late in the i8th 

•" Ibid.; Chapman and Andre, Map of 
Essex, J777, sheet xii. 

" Drawings at Blake Hall in the posses- 
sion of Major N. Capel Cure. 

" Drawings and photographs as above. 

" Inf. from Mrs. Capel Cure. This was 
probably Schombcrg House, built in the 
last decade of the 17th cent. 

•< Information from Mrs. Capel Cure. 

'• Ca!. Inij. f.m. Hen. Fll, i, pp. 541-2. 

" Ibid. 87 Ibid. 

" Sepulchral Mems. of Bohhingiuorth, ed. 
F. A. Crisp, 31 ; Morant, Essex, i, 149. 

»9 Sepulchral Mems. of Bohhingivorth, 3 I. 

»o Ibid. 

«■ E.R.O., D/DAc Z4-25; D/DCc T 



century and these were faced with brickwork probably 
about 100 years later. 

It seems that Hamon de Marcy held the advowson 

of Bobbingworth in the early 13 th cen- 
CHURCH tury.'s After his death, which occurred 

before 1244, his widow Denise held it in 
dower.'* In 1244 it was agreed that at the death of 
Denise it should pass to Alice and John de Merk and 
to the heirs of Alice who, by another agreement, be- 
came overlords of the manor of Bobbingworth (see 
above)." In about 1262 John de Merk was patron of 
the living.'' In 1 280 Ralph de Merk, probably the son 
of John, granted the advowson, with J acre of land, to 
John de Lovetot for 30 marks." Lovetot still held the 
advowson at his death in 1293, but by 1328 it was in 
the possession of Henry Spigurnel, tenant in demesne 
of the manor of Bobbingworth." In 1332 Thomas 
Spigurnel granted the advowson as well as the manor 
to Robert de Hakeney.^ In 1365 and 1368 John King 
presented to the living.3 In 1389 Joan Morell was 
holding a life interest in the advowson which from that 
time descended with the manor of Bobbingworth until 
1575.'* In 1575, when Sir Thomas Walsingham and 
John Rochester divided Bobbingworth manor between 
them, they agreed that the advowson should remain in 
common and that they should present to the living in 
turn. 5 In 1582 Thomas Barefoot presented pro hac 
vice by concession of Sir Thomas Walsingham.* In 
1 598 Sir Thomas Walsingham granted his rights in 
the advowson to Robert Bourne, owner of Blake Hall 
(see above) .7 Afterwards the owners of the manors of 
Blake Hall and Bobbingworth had alternate rights of 
presentation. They sometimes sold their single turns. 
In 1669 John, 3rd Baron Digby, then life tenant of 
Blake Hall, granted his next turn to John Robinson of 
Stapleford Tawney.' In 1673 Robinson sold it to Sir 
John Archer, a Justice of the Court of Common Pleas, 
who presented in 1678.' In 1692 James LordelJ pre- 
sented Jacob Houblon.'o When Charles Houblon, 
brother of Jacob, purchased the manor of Bobbing- 
worth from John and Mary Poole in 1708 he also 
purchased their right to half the advowson." At that 
time Mary Poole held a life interest in it with remainder 
to John Poole. '^ The advowson remained divided be- 
tween the owners of the manors of Bobbingworth and 
Blake Hall until 1834 when Capel Cure of Blake Hall 
purchased the manor of Bobbingworth and the alter- 
nate right of patronage annexed to it.'3 In 1838 Capel 
Cure presented W. M. Oliver. ■■• Since that time the 
living has remained in the gift of the Capel Cures.'' 

In about 1254 the rectory was valued at 5 marks.'* 
In 1291 it was valued at £(> 13/. 4^2'." In 1428 the 
church was still taxed on this valuation.'' In 1535 the 
rectory was valued at ,^13 6;. 8d'." Its 'improved' 
value was [^do in 1604, ^^81 in 1650, and ;^ioo in 



./.-3. 

" E.R.O.,D/DCcE6iD/CT38iD/DCc 
T1/3. 

93 E.R.O., D/CT 38. 

9« E.R.O., T/M 211 (photostat). 

«5 Feet ofF. Essex, \, 148-9. 9' Ibid. 

97 Ibid. 98 ^.^.r. N.s. xviii, 19. 

99 Feet of F. Essex, ii, 28. 

' Cal. Inq. p.m. iii, pp. 131, 133, vii, 
p. 124. » E.R.O., D/DB T96/6. 

3 Reg. Sudbury (Cant. & York Soc), i, 
244, 260. 

* Feet of F. Essex, iii, 211; Newcourt, 
Repert. ii, 66. 

5 E.R.O., D/DB T98. 

' Newcourt, Repert. ii, 66. 



7 CP2s(2)/i38/i75o. 

8 E.R.O., D/DB T98. 9 Ibid. 
10 Newcourt, Repert. ii, 66. 

" E.R.O., D/DB T98; D/DWv T51. 

■2 Ibid. 

■3 E.R.O.,D/DCcTi/i-3;D/DCcT2i 
D/DCc T4i J. Ecton, Thesaurus, 270; 
J. Bacon, Lib. Reg. 615. 

^* Sepulchral Mems. of Bobbingixiorth, ed. 
F. A. Crisp, 38. 

'S Kelly's Dir. Essex (1874 f.); Chel. 
Dioc. Tear Bk. 1952. 

'* W. E. Lunt, Val. of Norwich, 336. 

■7 Tax. Eccl. (Rec. Com.), 21*. 

'8 Feud. Aids, ii, 205. 

»» Falor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), i, 437. 



14 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



BOBBINGWORTH 



1661.^° The tithes were commuted in 1840 for 
^455;2' there were then 32 acres of glebe." 

The rectory was built by the Revd. W. M. Oliver in 
1839^3 near the site of an earlier parsonage.^ It is a 
three-story square house of gault brick with a two- 
story wing on the north. A difference in brickwork 
suggests that the top story may have been a later 
addition. 

The parish church of ST. GERM J IN consists of 
nave, chancel, vestry, and north tower. At different 
periods parts of the church have been rebuilt so that 
very little medieval work now remains. In particular 
subsidence on the south side has necessitated constant 
repairs. 

The date of the original nave is not known but it 
may be indicated by a 13th-century piscina in the 
south wall, now reset, which has a pointed head and 
attached shafts. In 1909 Frederic Chancellor stated 
that during then recent work to the south wall ancient 
oak uprights were found embedded near its west end.^' 
He suggested that these might have represented part 
of a pre-Conquest church, but in the absence of better 
evidence this must remain extremely doubtful. 

The chancel, replaced in 1 840, was probably of the 
14th century. In 1835^* it is described as of ancient 
appearance and the east window as 'a good specimen 
of the decorated style of architecture'. The nave roof 
is of the trussed rafter type and may be of the 1 5th 
century. Probably also in the 15 th century a wooden 
bell tower was added beyond the west end of the nave.^' 
This appears to have been in two stages, the upper one 
of smaller diameter, and to have had a small shingled 
spire.2* The church still had a small north porch in 
the early 19th century^" and this may have been of late 
medieval origin. 

The nave is said to have been rebuilt in red brick in 
1680.30 In lyyo considerable work was done to the 
interior of the church including the erection of a west 
gallery presented by Jacob Houblon.^i The nave walls 
were again largely rebuilt in 18 18 and fitted with oak 
windows. 32 In 1 840 the chancel was rebuilt in gault 
brick at the rector's expense. ^3 The 14th-century style 
of the demolished work was probably copied, parti- 
cularly with regard to the east window. In 1840 a 
north tower and porch were built, a Mr. Burton being 
the architect.34 They are of gault brick and the style is 
again inspired by the 14th century. The tower has 
three stages with pointed openings and a castellated 
parapet. The lowest stage combines the functions of a 
ringing chamber and a north porch to the church. The 
red-brick vestry was built in 1864 at the expense of the 
Capel Cure family.3s It occupies the same position as 
the wooden bell tower demolished in 1840. In 1902 
seven new nave windows with stone tracery were pre- 
sented by the Revd. W. M. Oliver after his retire- 
ment.3* These replaced the wooden windows of 181 8. 
The nave roof was restored in 1907.37 In 1931-2 
repairs were carried out to the roof and the south wall 
of the nave and the 18th-century gallery was removed.38 



The stone font is of the 15th century with an octa- 
gonal bowl and a moulded shaft. In 1770 the bowl was 
removed and a new one fitted to the pedestal.39 In 
1936 the original bowl, carved with the initials 'J.P.', 
was discovered in the churchyard at Little Parndon. 
It was presented to Bobbingworth by the Netteswell 
and Little Parndon Parochial Church Council and now 
occupies its original position.^" There is an iron-bound 
chest with two locks of the 17th century. The pulpit 
has early 17th-century arabesque ornament. The 
panelling and reading-desk in the nave appear to have 
been made up of woodwork of various dates, the oldest 
probably of the early 17th century. The seating in the 
nave is of early 19th-century date, the more elaborate 
pitch pine pews of the chancel probably date from 
1840. 

The plate includes a cup of 1635 inscribed with 

*T C 

initials ^ , also a paten inscribed 'Bovinger 1684'. 

The plate now in use is of 1933. 

Six bells were presented by the Revd. W. M. Oliver 
in 1 841.'" In 1834 an acre of land in the parish called 
Bell Acre formed part of the glebe; by tradition the 
rector was supposed to provide bell ropes and hassocks 
for the church from the rent it yielded.*^ The then 
rector, however, refused to observe the tradition since 
there was no documentary evidence to support it.*' 
The custom appears never to have been revived. 

In the chancel are two reset brass inscriptions, one 
to William Bourne (1581) with an achievement of 
arms and one to Robert Bourne (1639) with two 
shields. Before its rebuilding in 1840 there were 
several inscriptions in the chancel to members of the 
Bourne family and others which have now disappeared.** 
These included an unusual incised slab bearing the 
arms of the City of London and of the Grocers' 
Company together with a standing figure of William 
Chapman (1627) who married a daughter of Robert 
Bourne.*' In the nave are several tablets to the Capel 
Cure family including the first Capel Cure of Blake 
Hall (1820) and his two wives (1773 and 1804). On 
the nave roof are painted hatchments of the Capel 
Cures and Pooles. 

Vestry minute books for Bobbingworth survive for 

the periods 1 667-1 789 

PARISH GOVERNMENT and 1 808-1922. There 

AND POOR RELIEF is also a separate book 
of overseers' accounts 
for the period 1789-1827.** 

Until 1702 vestry meetings usually seem to have 
been held only at Easter in each year.*' From 1702 
until 1758 meetings were held at Easter and Christmas. 
From 1758 there were several meetings each year, held 
at irregular intervals of between 2 and 19 weeks. 
Intervals of 5-10 weeks were common. In the early 
19th century between four and eight meetings a year 
were recorded. 

Until Jacob Houblon became rector in 1692 the 
vestry minutes were brief and uninformative. It was 



^o E.y^.T. N.s. xxi, 78, 83. 

" E.R.O., D/CT 38. 

" Ibid. 23 E.R. xiv, i86. 

M Chapman and Andre, Map of Essex, 
lyyy, sheet xii. 

25 E.A.T. N.s. li, 175. 

2' Wright, Hist. Essex, ii, 359. 

" Ibid. 'The Steeple and the steeple end 
of the building is of wood.' 

2' Drawing on a Blake Hall estate map 
of 1 804. Photosta tat E.R.O. (T/M 2 1 3). 



2« Ibid. 

3" Inf. from Canon E. H. Gallop, Rector 
of Bobbingworth. 
3> E.R.O., D/P 127/25. 

32 Vestry book 1808-1922. 

33 Ibid. " Ibid. 
35 Ibid. '' Ibid. 

37 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1929). 

38 Inf. from Canon E. H. Gallop. 

39 E.R.O., D/P 127/25. 

« Inf. from Canon E. H. Gallop. 

15 



«■ Ch. Bells Essex, 18 1-2. 
■•2 Rep. Com. Char. {Essex), H.C. 216, 
p. 218 (1835), xxi (i).- 

«3 Ibid. 

** Wright, Hist. Essex, ii, 359. 

■•5 E.y^.T. N.s. xii, 321-2. 

*6 The following information is derived 
almost entirely from these books which are 
at the Essex, Record Office, on loan from 
the Rector of Bobbingworth. 

♦7 E.R.O., D/P 127/8. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



the practice to record only the appointment of officers 
and the balances remaining in officers' hands at the end 
of each year.*? Moreover the minutes were never 
signed.'" Houblon exercised an immediate influence 
on the parish records. He scarcely ever missed a vestry 
meeting and he wrote the minutes himself. At Easter 
1693 he began a separate account book containing 
detailed overseers' accounts, which were always duly 
audited and were signed by the parishioners who passed 
them. Thomas Velley, who succeeded Houblon as 
rector in 1740 also attended vestry meetings regularly 
and during his incumbency the parish records were 
kept, though rather less methodically, on the lines that 
Houblon had laid down. J. Lipyeatt who succeeded 
Velley in 1751 appears, however, to have taken practi- 
cally no part in conducting parish business. He did not 
sign any minutes after December 175 1. In the next 
four years his curate, J. Wells, usually signed the 
minutes but afterwards neither incumbent nor curate 
appears to have attended vestry meetings until 1782. 
The complete absence of officers' accounts in the parish 
books between Easter 1755 and 1758 may reflect the 
initial apathy aroused by the incumbent's lack of 
interest. In April 1782 the curate, then J. Lipyeatt 
the younger, did sign the vestry minutes and his signa- 
ture appeared twice more in the next seven years. 
During the period 1759-89 the churchwarden was 
almost invariably the first to sign the minutes and this 
practice continued into the second quarter of the 19th 
century. The rector rarely attended a meeting in the 
early 19th century. 

The number of parishioners who attended vestry 
meetings varied between I and 8 but was usually be- 
tween 2 and 4. In the century after 1666 members of 
the Poole family, lords of the manor of Bobbingworth 
until 1708, took an active and leading part in parish 
government. John Poole, lord of the manor from 1674 
until about 1701, and his son and heir John, frequently 
held parish office. Each of them held the office of over- 
seer for several years. They nearly always attended 
vestry meetings and signed immediately after the rector. 
The younger John continued to take an equally pro- 
minent part in parish affairs after he had sold Bobbing- 
worth manor in 1708. From 1708 until 1720 he never 
missed an Easter vestry. From 1721 until 1740 William 
Poole was equally active and prominent. The Houblons, 
owners of the manor of Bobbingworth from 1708, were 
not resident in the parish and took no personal part in 
its government. In the period down to 1789 the 
owners of Blake Hall scarcely ever attended a vestry 
meeting but Robert Crabb, who occupied the manor 
farm in 1735, frequently held some parish office be- 
tween 1726 and 1781. 

The work of the vestry consisted mainly in nominat- 
ing parish officers, granting rates, agreeing on the 
recipients of weekly collections, and approving officers' 
accounts. One of the rare occasions in the i8th century 
when other business was recorded was in April 1708 
when it was resolved that in future the church clerk 
should be paid 20s. a year out of the churchwarden's or 
overseer's rate 'in lieu of what he has hitherto received 
yearly by the house as a former custom it being a great 
hindrance to him in the loss of time to go about to 
receive the same'.'" 

There were two churchwardens each year from 
1666 until 1682. s' During this period these officers 
usually served for 2-4 years consecutively.s^ From 

« E.R.O., D/P 127/8. « Ibid. 



1 68 1 until about 1793 there was only one office of 
churchwarden. From 1690 until 1771 it was the 
practice to spend many consecutive years in this office. 
Thomas Nicholls served as churchwarden from 1700 
until 1724, William Poole from 1724 until 1740, 
Samuel Corney from 1741 until 1753, and Robert 
Crabb from 1759, if not before, until 1771. For a 
time after 1771 the number of consecutive years spent 
in the office tended to lessen and from about 1793 it 
again became the practice to have two churchwardens. 
There was usually one overseer. Until 17 17 it was 
usual for the overseer to serve for 2 or 3 years con- 
secutively. George Read served for 4 years from 17 17 
until 1 72 1. After his appointment for a fourth year 
in April 1720 it was agreed that 'having served 4 years 
he shall be excused 7 years following'. Read's suc- 
cessor, William Hamshire, also served 4 years con- 
secutively, but 3 years remained the usual term of office 
until 1 744. From 1 744 until 1 8 1 o the overseers nearly 
always served for one year only. They seem to have 
been chosen on a rota system and occasionally the officer 
chosen appointed another man to perform the duties 
of the office. Thomas Woodthorp acted for Capel Cure 
in 1796-7 and again in 1 801-2. Jonathan Lewis, the 
vestry clerk, acted as overseer for Capel Cure in 1 808-9 
and for William Clark in the following year. During 
the year ending at Easter 1 8 1 1 Lewis again acted as 
overseer, but on what basis is not clear. If he received 
any payment for performing the duties of overseer 
during these years, such payment was not made, it 
would seem, out of the poor rate. In April 181 1, how- 
ever, a meeting of the vestry agreed 'for Jonathan Lewis 
to be the acting Overseer for the year ensuing and to 
have a salary of ^^lo p. annum and to be paid for 
journeys'. Lewis continued to act as salaried overseer 
every year from 181 1 until 1835 with the possible 
exception of the year 1819—20. Each year there was 
a formal agreement at the Easter vestry to renew his 
appointment. In 1822 his salary as overseer was 
increased to ;^l 3 1 3/. 

Constables were nominated in Vestry at least from 
1667. Until 1 72 1 the parish always had two of these 
officers, each of whom served several years con- 
secutively. From 1 72 1 there was only one constable 
for the parish and he usually served for many years. 
Richard White was constable from 1721 until at least 
1740, and R. Perry from 1744 until at least 1760. 

Two surveyors of highways were nominated annually 
until 1700 after which there was usually only one 
nomination until 1742. The surveyor was chosen from 
a rota of landholders, as appears from the rector's note 
on 26 December 1722, 'Mr. William Poole Surveyor 
as a Deputy for the Revd. Tho. Wragg Clerk for 
Gainthrops'.53 From 1742 there were several nomina- 
tions each year for the office of surveyor but there are 
indications that there was only one acting surveyor. 

From 1666 until after 1750 the overseers, church- 
wardens, constables, and surveyors were each granted 
separate rates for which they were directly responsible 
to the parish. Until 1702 it was the custom for each 
officer to present an annual account at the Easter vestry. 
Occasionally one officer was ordered to pay another 
officer's deficit out of his surplus. From 1702 the sur- 
veyors submitted their accounts at Christmas instead of 
at Easter but the other officers continued to make their 
annual account at Easter. From 1758, if not before, 
the overseer submitted interim accounts to the vestry 



5° Ibid. 



s' Ibid. 



S2 Ibid. 



S3 Ibid. 



16 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



BOBBINGWORTH 



at intervals of 5-10 weeks in addition to his final 
annual account at Easter. There is no evidence that 
the interim accounts continued after 1775, but in view 
of the increasing costs of poor relief it is very probable 
that they did so. By 1772, perhaps before 1760, the 
churchwardens, constables, and surveyors were no 
longer granted separate rates. Their expenditure was 
met by the overseer who included it in his account. 
This practice continued until 1 8 1 1 . From 1 8 1 1 to 

1 8 1 2 there was again a separate highway rate and from 

1813 to 1 8 14 there was a separate church rate. 

In 1720 the rateable value of the parish was about 
^^917. In 1790 a 2J. dd. rate produced £106 15^.; this 
implies a rateable value of about ;£854. During the 
Napoleonic wars the rateable value was generally be- 
tween j{^90o and £(^\%. In 181 5 a reassessment was 
ordered as a result of which the rateable value became 
^^1,635; in 1823 it fell to ;^i,559 and in 1831 rose to 
^1,586. 

There was evidently a poorhouse in Bobbingworth 
in 1692— 3, for in that year \os. was paid by the overseer 
for 'straw at the allmnshouse'. By 1783 the poorhouse 
was situated in Pensons Lane, and seems to have been 
the cottage which Robert Bourne (d. 1666) left in 
trust to provide clothing for the poor.s* It was rented 
by the overseer at ^^i 10/. a year. In 1779-80 the 
poorhouse was fitted with a 'poor's oven.' In 1784-5 
the building housed at least one poor family and in each 
of the years 1791-2, 1797-8, 1800-1, 1803-7, and 
i8i9-2oit housed at least one poor person. In 1807—8 
1$. 6d. was paid by the overseer for '6 yards cloth for 
strawbed for poorhouse'. Minor repairs were often 
carried out and in 1 807-8 more substantial repairs were 
done at a cost of ^^55. In 1823 the stove was repaired. 

In most cases, however, poor relief was given, in 
various forms, outside the poorhouse. In each of the 
years 1 8 1 3-1 5 there were 20-2 1 adults on 'permanent' 
outdoor relief. 5 5 Provision for the poor was made in 
various ways including the binding out of paupers' 
children as apprentices, the provision of spinning- 
wheels, the payment of rent and allowances for lodging 
or nursing, the provision of wood and clothes, and the 
payment of weekly doles. 

Parish apprentices were allotted on a rota system to 
farmers in the parish. In the period between 168 1 and 
1 7 1 8 three 'great' farms and thirteen 'lesser' farms were 
on the rota. About 1 1 children were apprenticed 
during the period. 

In 1787-8 a spinning-wheel was purchased for John 
Little at a cost of is. 6J. In 1 799-1 800 spinning- 
wheels cost the overseer £2 4/. In several of the follow- 
ing years 'the poor's spinning' occurs as an item of 
expenditure in the overseer's accounts. 

In 1692-3 there seem to have been 2 widows receiv- 
ing weekly doles, the cost to the parish being 5/. 6</. 
a week. In 1 7 19 there were 4 weekly doles amounting 
to js. In the years between 1758 and 1775 there were 
usually 9 households, including several widow house- 
holds, receiving weekly doles, totalling between 
16/. ()d. and £1 \s. a week. In 1777-8 there were 10 
households which throughout the year received doles 



which totalled ;{Jl 5/. a week. In each of the years from 
1780 to 1797 there were 15-21 households in receipt 
of regular weekly doles which cost the parish between 
£1 5/. and £2 2s. 6d. a week. From 1797 the doles 
increased, reaching their maximum of ^^8 5^^. 6d. a 
week in 1801. They then declined to £2 ijs. 6d. a 
week in 1808. From then until 1819 there were 
usually about 16-18 households in receipt of constant 
relief at a total cost to the parish of about £2 i js. bd. 
a week. From 1 8 19 until 1827 the number of house- 
holds dependent on weekly doles varied between 20 
and 27, the total weekly cost ranging from ^^3 to ^5. 
In 161 3-14 the cost of poor relief was £^ los. 
which was distributed to 5 people.'* In the last years 
of the 17th century the total cost of poor relief was 
always below ^^20 a year and was sometimes as little as 
£j. In the 1 8th century much higher figures were soon 
reached, rising to an average of ^^32 a year in the three 
extreme years 17 16—19. There was then a rapid fall 
to a minimum of £3 14/. 5</. in 1723-4. In the period 
1725-42 figures have survived for only seven years. 
These are within a range ^£16-^31. In the period 
1743-54 expenditure only once fell below ;^45 and on 
two occasions reached nearly ;^6o. In 1754-5 it was 
£TI- Between 1759 and 1771 it averaged about £%<i. 
In 1772 the cost reached the £100 level and from then 
until 1782 it remained fairly stable between ;^ioo and 
;^i20 a year. It then rose to ;^i65 in 1782-3 and to 
;^I97 in 1784-5. In the next ten years the cost 
remained within the range ^^i 60-^^190. In 1794—5 it 
was ^^170. In 1795-6 it jumped to £2"]},. After a 
slight drop in the next three years it rose to ^^290 in 
1 799-1 800 and then in the following year to ^£505, its 
maximum. In 180 1—2 the cost was £450. It then 
dropped to ;^293 in 1802-3. Between 1803 and 181 1 
it varied between ^^246 and £33 1 a year. It then rose 
to £477 in 1812-13. After this it varied between 
^280 and ;^48o, the peak year being 1819—20. 

In 1836 Bobbingworth became part of Ongar Poor 
Law Union. 

In 1 807 and 1 8 1 8 it was stated that there was no 
school in the parish.s7 In 1822, with the 
SCHOOL support of Capel Cure of Blake HaU (see 
above), a girls' school was established 
which by 1833 had 24 pupils.58 It was a dame school, 
with a Sunday school attached,^' and it is said to have 
been situated in a house which the estate carpenter had 
erected in the churchyard.**' In 1846—7 there were 
still only 24 girls attending, the sole educational pro- 
vision for boys being the Sunday school.*' W. M. 
Oliver, Rector of Bobbingworth, considered a National 
School to be 'much wanted'.*^ In 1855-6 Capel Cure 
built 'a good, substantial schoolroom'*^ and a teacher's 
residence next to the church, but until about 1869 only 
girls seem to have attended it.** By 187 1, however, the 
pupils included 1 8 boys,*5 an addition made possibly in 
anticipation of the requirements of the Education Act. 
In the same year an inspector reported to the Educa- 
tion Department that only 47 places were needed to 
secure universal elementary schooling in the parish and 
that 5 5 places were available at the school.** 



** See below, Charities. 

55 E.R.O., g/CR i/io. 

5« E.R.O., Q/SBa 3. 

5' E.R.O., D/AEM 2/4 (Archdeaconry); 
Retns. Educ. Poor, H.C. 224, p. 248 ( 1 8 19), 
ix (,). 

58 Educ. Enquiry Ahur. H.C. 62, p. 267 
(1835), xli. 



59 Nat. Soc. Rep. 1832, p. 36; Nat. Soc. 
Enquiry into Church Schs. 1 846-7, pp. 2-3. 

"> Ex. inf. Mrs. G. Day, Headmistress, 
1952. 

61 Earlier, in 1822-3, Capel Cure had 
sent boys from his estate to Moreton 
school {E.R.O., D/DCc E6). Whether he 
continued to do so, after 1823, does not 

17 



appear. 

'2 Nat. Soc. Enquiry into Church Schs. 
1846-7, pp. 2-3. 

'3 E.R.O., D/AEM i/i/i. 

<>♦ Kelly's Dir. Essex (1870). 

's Retns. Eltm. Educ. H.C. 201, pp. i to- 
Ii(i87i),lv. 

'•'' Min. of Educ. File 13/26A. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



The Capel Cures continued to support the school 
until 1904, apparently without assistance from public 
funds,*' retaining it as their property but allowing it to 
be administered as a Church school.*' An inspector, 
visiting it in 1 896, found the buildings in good repair 
but the scholastic standard low.*' The school did not 
officially pass under the control of the Essex Education 
Committee until some three years after the 1902 
Education Act. In 1904, when there were 42 pupils, 
the senior teacher received his salary of £,\o not from 
the Local Education Authority but presumably from 
Capel Cure and the proceeds of the weekly fees of 2d., 
paid by each pupil.'" In that year the Education Com- 
mittee considered the provision of a Council school in 
the parish, but decided to give the existing school non- 
provided status if the managers would spend ;^i5o on 
an additional classroom. The Education Committee 
accepted some financial responsibility for the school 
until the new classroom was completed in igo6." The 
average attendance rose from 36 in 1905 to 53 in 19 10, 
but fell to 42 in 1927. After the reorganization of the 
school for juniors and infants in 1936 and the transfer 



of seniors to Chipping Ongar, it fell further to 27 in 
1938. In 195 1 the school was granted controlled 
status.'^ In May 1952 it had two teachers and 33 
pupils.'J It stands a httle west of the church. It is 
a red-brick gabled building with stone dressings 
dated 1856 and inscribed with the initials of Capel 
Cure. 

Robert Bourne of Blake Hall (see above), by will 
proved 1666, left a cottage and land to 
CHARITIES provide clothing at Christmas for four 
poor old people of the parish.'* The 
rent was £^ 5^. in 1708 and ^^13 in 1866 when the 
property was sold for ;^500 which was invested. The 
house seems to have been used before then as the parish 
poorhouse.'s In 1950 the income of ^^13 9J. 41?. was 
used to buy clothing vouchers of ^^4. 

John Pool, by will proved 1839, left ;^ioo in trust 
for the repair of three graves in the churchyard. This 
was not legally a charitable bequest and the legacy was 
apparently never paid, although in 1921 it was thought 
that the income had once been received.'* 

For the Bell Acre see above — Church. 



CHIGWELL 



Chigwell lies in the south-west corner of Ongar 
hundred, on both banks of the Roding, at a distance of 
12 miles from London.' The ancient parish had an 
area of 5,009 acres.^ It contained three distinct sections. 
The village of Chigwell, on the east side of the Roding, 
was the main settlement and included the parish 
church. Chigwell Row, a mile south of the village, was 
a roadside hamlet on the edge of Hainault Forest. The 
third section was Buckhurst Hill, ij mile from the 
village on the west bank of the river. Until the 19th 
century much of Buckhurst Hill was within Epping 
Forest and there were only a few scattered houses in 
that part of the parish before the modern development 
took place. The soil of the parish is mainly London 
Clay, but there are thin patches of glacial gravel in and 
around Chigwell village and smaller patches at Buck- 
hurst Hill and Chigwell Row. 

For ecclesiastical purposes the ancient parish was 
divided by the formation of the district of Buckhurst 
Hill in 1838 and that of Chigwell Row in i860. Both 
these districts became separate ecclesiastical parishes in 
1867.3 Buckhurst Hill was made a separate urban 
district in 1895.'' Chigwell and Chigwell Row to- 
gether constituted the civil parish of Chigwell from 
1895 until 1933, when that parish was merged with the 
Urban Districts of Buckhurst Hill and Loughton to 
form the new Urban District of Chigwell. 5 

For several centuries the south-west end of the parish 
and Chigwell Row have been predominantly resi- 
dential, with houses occupied mainly by people with 
interests in London, while the rest of the parish has 
always been devoted to agriculture. Modern develop- 
ment has emphasized this contrast. Buckhurst Hill and 
much of Chigwell Row have been built up but Chigwell 
village has retained its rural appearance. 

From the west bank of the Roding the ground rises 
steeply from about 50 ft. to 267 ft. at Buckhurst Hill, 



and then falls to about 1 50 ft. at Ching Brook, which 
roughly defines the western boundary of the ancient 
parish. On the east of the river the land rises to 2 1 3 ft. 
in Chigwell village and then falls away to Chigwell 
(formerly Edensor's) Brook, which flows south-west 
from the centre of the parish to join the Roding near 
Luxborough. South of the brook the land rises to 
Grange Hill (235 ft.) and the ridge of Chigwell Row 
(280 ft.). From these heights there are long views over 
the Thames valley to the hills of Kent. Near the north- 
east boundary is Lambourne Brook, another tributary 
of the Roding. 

Chigwell was formerly in the 
forest of Essex and two small 
patches of woodland still exist 
within the area of the ancient 
parish. Lords Bushes at Buck- 
hurst Hill cover 90 acres be- 
longing to Epping Forest. At 
Chigwell Row there are some 
50 acres which form part of 
Hainault Forest. 

The main road from London 
to Ongar, here called High 
Road 




Chigwell Urban Dis- 
trict. Or J a stag at rest 
passes north-east through proper, on a chief gules 



three axe-heads bendtvise 

sinister ivith blades doivn- 

ivards argent. 

[Granted 1951-] 



Chigwell village. From the vil- 
lage Roding Lane runs west to 
Buckhurst Hill; near the lane on 
the east bank of the river are the 
R.A.F. Station, Chigwell, and the Buckhurst Hill 
County High School for boys. The R.A.F. Station is 
on the site of the ancient manor house of Chigwell Hall. 
Beyond the river to the west Roding Lane passes a 
public park and finally joins Palmerston Road, Buck- 
hurst Hill. 

Buckhurst Hill is a residential area developed mainly 
during the past century. It consists of an inner ring on 



6' Ibid.; Retn. of Schs., iSg3 [C. 7529], 
p. 714 H.C. (1894), kv. 

'8 Retns. Elem. Educ.{lSyi),fp. IIO-II. 

'0 Min. of Educ. File 13/26A. 

'» Ibid.; Essex Educ. Cttee. Handhk. 
1904., p. 183. 

" Min. of Educ. File 13/26A; Essex 



Standard, 29 Oct. 1904. 

'2 Min. of Educ. File 13/26A. 

'3 Ex. inf. Essex Educ. Cttee. 

'« Rep. Com. Char. {Essex), H.C. 216, 
p. 2i8(i835),xxi(i). 

'5 E.R.O., D/P 127/8, 25; see above — 
Parish Government and Poor Relief. 



" Char. Com. files. 
' O.S 2^ in. Map, sheet 51/49. 

2 V.C.H. Essex, n, 350. 

3 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1899). 

4 Ibid. (1933). 

5 Chigviell U.D. Official Guide (2nd ed.), 
p. 22. 



Il 




BucKHURST Hill: Aerial View from the West 



Copyright Aerofilms 








Chigwell Village 




Barns at Rookwood Hall, Abbess Roding 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



CHIGWELL 



both sides of the railway station, dating from about 
1 850-1900, with building to the north and south 
mainly of 1920-39. From West Buckhurst Hill the 
Loughton road and the Epping New Road run north, 
the London road (via Woodford) runs south and the 
Chingford road runs west. 

From Chigwell village Vicarage Lane runs south- 
east to Chigwell Row. Haifa mile north of the village 
on the High Road are Rolls Park and the site of Barring- 
tons (see Manors). Opposite Rolls the main road is 
joined by the road leading from Loughton via Loughton 
Bridge. North of Rolls the main road is called Abridge 
Road. Half a mile north-east of Rolls, immediately 
south of the Roding, is Woolston Hall (see Manors). 
Pudding Lane and Gravel Lane run south from 
Abridge Road near Woolston to Chigwell Row. 

Half a mile south of Chigwell village High Road 
joins Hainault Road which leads to Grange Hill, and 
then via Fencepiece Road to Ilford. A mile south-west 
of Chigwell, to the west of High Road is Great West 
Hatch (see Manors) and near this on the opposite side 
of the road is the Manor House (formerly the Bowling 
Green, see Manors). Luxborough Lane, leading from 
Great West Hatch north-west to Buckhurst Hill, takes 
its name from an ancient manor in this area. 

High Road leaves the parish just before reaching 
Woodford Bridge. Manor Road, leading from Wood- 
ford Bridge to Chigwell Row enters the parish im- 
mediately to the south of the Manor House. Between 
Manor Road and High Road at this point there is a 
small built-up area dating mainly from about 1900. 
There is recent ribbon-development farther east on 
Manor Road before the junction with Hainault Road. 
At Grange Hill there is a housing area of 1920— 39, and 
in Fencepiece Road there is some similar development 
and also some houses built since 1945. To the east of 
Grange Hill is the large Hainault housing estate built 
since 1945 by the London County Council. Part of this 
is m Chigwell Urban District, and part in the Boroughs 
of Ilford and Dagenham. Other houses west of Chig- 
well Row are mostly modern. From Chigwell Row 
Romford Road runs south-east to Romford and 
Dagenham. Manor Road continues east of Chigwell 
Row to Lambourne End as Lambourne Road. 

Chigwell village, Chigwell Row, Gravel Lane, and 
Pudding Lane contain a number of houses dating from 
the 17th and i8th centuries, many of which are 
described below. 

The railway from London to Epping passes through 
Buckhurst Hill, where there is a station. A loop line 
from Woodford to Hainault, Newbury Park, and 
Leytonstone branches east from the Epping line. There 
are stations at Roding Valley (South Buckhurst Hill), 
Chigwell (J mile south of the village), and Grange Hill. 
Hainault station, which serves the London County 
Council estate, is just outside Chigwell parish. Both 
these lines are now electrified and form part of the 
Central London Line. 

Before the 17th century the repair of the parish 



roads was largely a matter of charity, and many be- 
quests were made for this purpose, for example, those 
of Cicely Rypton (1551)* and George Scott (1588).? 
In 1592 the surveyors of Chigwell presented eight 
parishioners at Quarter Sessions for refusing to do their 
statute duty on the roads. 8 In 1682 the Woolston 
manor court presented the surveyors themselves for 
failing to repair a footbridge and threatened them with 
a penalty of £5 if they failed in the future.' 

The most important road in the parish in early times 
was the London-Abridge road, which was also the 
main road (via Theydon Bois) to Epping. This follows 
closely the line of an old Roman road, passing near the 
site of a Romano-British settlement near Woolston. ■" 
The charity founded in 1557 and 1562 by Joan 
Sympson for the repair of this road is described below 
(see Charities). Her endowment was regularly used 
for this purpose in the i6th and 17th centuries," but 
in spite of it ten rods of the road between Chigwell 
village and Abridge were in a bad condition in 1647." 
From 1763 the road was maintained by the Middlesex 
and Essex Highway Trust.'^ In 1866 the parish 
resumed responsibility for the road.'* In 1668 part of 
the road between Chigwell and Abridge was diverted 
near Rolls to enable the owner of that house. Sir Eliab 
Harvey, to extend his grounds." 

It is remarkable that until 1 890 there was no proper 
road between Chigwell and Buckhurst Hill. Before 
that there was only a track running from Luxborough 
Lane, through the Roding and along Squirrels Lane, 
which lay approximately on the line of the present 
Lower Queen's Road, Buckhurst Hill. This track was 
often obstructed.'^ A 'church way' from Buckhurst 
Hill to the parish church at Chigwell existed in 1 586. 
As it included three stiles it was presumably a foot- 
path." The construction of a new road across the 
Roding from Buckhurst Hill to Chigwell was discussed 
by the parish vestry in 1855 and 1 864. Nothing, how- 
ever, was achieved until in 1 890 the present Roding 
Lane was opened.'* Before this the people of Buck- 
hurst Hill could only reach Chigwell, without fording 
the river, by way of Woodford or by Loughton 
Bridge. 

Gravel Lane," Pudding (formerly Patsalls) Lane,^" 
Vicarage Lane,^' and Hainault Road (formerly Fortey 
or Horn Lane)^^ all figure in records from early times. 
They were all gated at the forest end to keep out stray 
animals.23 The gate house at the upper end of Hainault 
Road still exists. 

The road from Grange Hill to Ilford was not made 
until 1833, and that from Chigwell Row to Romford 
about 30 years earher; both were paid for by public 
subscription.^* In the former case, however, a track 
must previously have existed, for in 1662 Fortey 
Lane was described as the road from Chigwell to 
Barking.25 

Manor Road undoubtedly replaced an ancient 
track.2* As late as 18 17, however, it was held that it 
was not a public highway because it was only a 'fair 



' Archd. Essex 1 1 3 Thonder. 
' P.C.C. 98 Leicester. 
» E.R.O., Q/SR 119/29. 
' E.R.O., D/DEs M102. 
■» E.A.T. N.s. xvii, 188; Notes on a 
Romano-British Settlement at Ckigivell 
(Essex Field Club, 1903). 

" E.R. xix, 1—7, 70—77. For the later 
history of the endowment see Charities. 
■2 E.R.O.,Q/SR 332/51. 
" Essex Highways Repairs Act, 3 Geo. 



Ill, C.58, estabUshed this responsibility. 

14 E.R.O., D/P 1 66/8/1 1. 

'5 Cat. S.P. Dom. 1667-8, 72. The 
Crown granted Harvey licence to alter the 
course of Loughton Lane; this must also 
have involved the alteration of the main 
road. '<• E.R.O., D/DDa Mi-ii. 

■7 E.R.O., <2/SR 97/24. 

■s E.R.O., D/P 166/8/11. 

■9 Gravelly Lane, 1650: E.R.O., D/DEs 
Mioi. 



2» P.Af.£'j«x(E.P.N.S.), 55; also Pater- 
sall Lane, 1447: E.R.O., D/DEs M94.. 

2* Wycaryes Lane, 1492: will of John 
Hewyt, Archd. Essex 141 Winterborne. 

22 Robert atte Forteye lived at Chigwell 
1293: E326/885. 

2J Chapman and Andre, Maf of Essex, 
lyyy, sheet xvi. 

^•t Kent and Essex Mercury, I Sept. 1833. 

" E.R.O., e/SR 392/12. 

2<> E.A.T. N.s. xvii, 233-5. 



19 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



weather road'.^' Its extension from Chigwell Row to 
Lambourne End {c. 1790) has been described under 
Lambourne. 

At Buckhurst Hill the Loughton-Woodford road is 
of ancient origin. It became important early in the 17th 
century when the road from Loughton to Epping 
through the forest was completed, thus providing a 
new direct route from London to Newmarket.^* In 
the 18th century it came under the control of the 
Epping and Ongar Highway Trust, which about 1780 
remade the section between Buckhurst Hill and 
Loughton-^' In 1834 the trust completed its new road 
from Woodford to Epping, by-passing Loughton.^o 
A short stretch of this Epping New Road runs through 
Buckhurst Hill. 

The only other roads in Buckhurst Hill before the 
19th century seem to have been a lane leading from 
the 'Bald Faced Stag' to Langfords (now Westbury 
Lane) and another, on the opposite side of the main 
road, leading to Whitehall in Chingford (now White- 
hall Lane). In 1791 and 1796 the parish resisted 
magistrates' orders to repair the latter road. 3' Of the 
newer roads in Buckhurst Hill Queens Road was taken 
over by the parish in 1867, Princes Road and Victoria 
Crescent in 1870, Victoria Road in 1881, and Alfred 
Road, Albert Road, Gladstone Road, and Russell Road 
in 1883. Kings Place Road was taken over in sections 
in 1870, 1879, 1881, and 1883.32 

The combined Domesday figures for Chigwell Hall 
and Woolston give a total of 2 3 villeins, 4 bordars, and 
8 freemen in 1066, to which a further 4 bordars had 
been added by 1086.33 In 1391 there were 72 houses 
in the parish. There was a small concentration round 
the church in Chigwell Street but most of the houses 
were scattered throughout the parish.3't They prob- 
ably included most of those known to have existed in 
the 15th century, among which were the following:35 
Little Londons, Tumours, Martins (now Marchings), 
Brownings, Serjeants, Birds, and Coles (now Taylors 
Farm) in Gravel Lane; Billingsbourne in Millers Lane 
(off Gravel Lane); Pettits and Barns a/ias Fulhams in 
Pudding Lane; Appletons (now Old Farm) in Green 
Lane (a track off Vicarage Lane); Tailours and the 
manor house of Barringtons (later Rolls) in High Road, 
and Woolston Hall off Abridge Road. At Chigwell 
Row were Sheepcotes, near the Lambourne boundary, 
Whitehall (formerly Gullivers) with Goodhouse and 
Haywards near by, Skynners which later became the 
'Maypole' and stood behind the site of the more recent 
inn of the same name. Old Bennetts, Hatchmans, Pear- 
smiths, and Page Hall, all of which stood near the 
present Hainault Hall, and Hatch House near the later 
Clare Hall, with perhaps a dozen smaller houses. At 
Grange Hill there was Grange Farm and in Hainault 
Road, Ekes (formerly Youngs). In Chigwell village a 
few houses are known to have existed in the Middle 
Ages, and in the 15th century there were probably 
more than a dozen, including the Grange, Church 
House, and Ringleys on the site of Grange Court. 
Farther south in High Road there were houses at 
Broomhill and West Hatch, Brookhouse Farm and the 
old mansion at Luxborough. At Buckhurst Hill there 



were a few houses in the 15 th century, among them 
King's Place and Monkhams. 

Some of these houses have disappeared and the others 
have been rebuilt or so much altered as to leave few 
traces of their early origin. Among the oldest surviving 
houses in the parish are the Retreat at Chigwell Row, 
Woolston Hall (see Manors), Marchings, and Brown- 
ings, all of which date from the i6th or early 17th 
centuries. Marchings is a two-story house, timber- 
framed and roughcast. It was probably built early in 
the 1 6th century but has been much altered. Brown- 
ings is a two-story building, also timber-framed and 
roughcast, with an old tile roof. It has a front of three 
gables, the centre one being much wider than the 
others. The Retreat, now a cafe, was probably built 
in the i6th century but only a small part of the present 
building is original. There are old timbers inside. 
Details of some Chigwell houses and their furnishings 
in the 1 5th-i7th centuries are contained in the printed 
series 'Old Chigwell Wills'.36 

In 1 67 1 there were 168 houses and two forges in 
the parish.3' In addition to the houses already men- 
tioned were Bacons (on the site of Montfort House), 
Morgans (later Great House and now the Grove), 
Wheelers a/ias Butlers Bennetts (now the Chace), 
Langhall (now the Foxhounds), Taylors Hall (on the 
site of Willow House), Clare Hall, Bowls, and some 
cottages, all in Manor Road. In Pudding Lane Clark's 
tenement (later Burnt House) had been built and in 
Chigwell village there were houses on nearly all the 
present sites. The original manor house of Chigwell 
Hall had fallen into disuse after the building of a new 
house near the church (see Manors). Existing houses 
which in their present form date from the 17th century 
are the 'King's Head', Chigwell School, Harsnetts, 
Woodlands at Chigwell Row, the Foxhounds, Brook- 
house Farm, Church House, Pettits Hall lodge. 
Tumours and possibly Grange Court. 

The 'King's Head' in Chigwell village was made 
famous by Dickens in Barnaby Rudge, where it figures 
as the 'Maypole'. It was an important inn. From 1713 
and possibly earlier it was regularly used for meetings 
of the Court of Attachments of Waltham Forest.3 8 In 
the 1 850's it was a favourite resort of public authorities 
banqueting at the public expense, and was famous for 
pigeon pie.39 The main part of the building is of three 
stories with attics and cellars and exposed timber- 
framing. Each upper story overhangs and there are 
four various-sized gables. There is a large roughcast 
chimney-stack with diagonal shafts. There have been 
many alterations and additions to the building. The 
Chester Room on the first floor has 17th-century 
panelling. 

The original part of Chigwell School was built soon 
after the foundation of the school in 1629.^" It is a 
one-story building of red brick with an old tile roof. 
There have been additions in the 1 8th century and 
later. Harsnetts is a two-story building opposite the 
school, now divided into two houses. 

Woodlands, at Chigwell Row, is a two-story build- 
ing, roughcast, with a tile roof and a rebuilt chimney- 
stack of four shafts. The 'Fox and Hounds' consists of 



2' Chelmsford Chronicle i Aug. and 
14 Nov. 1817 ; indictment at Essex Assizes 
against the parish for failure to repair the 
road. 

28 See history of Loughton. 

" Ibid. 

30 Ibid. 



3' E.R.O., D/P 166/8/10. 
" E.R.O., D/P 166/8/1 1. 
33 r.C.H. Essex, i, 432*, 553A. 

3* £179/147/60. 

35 The following details of local houses 
have been gathered from the author's col- 
lection of notes and abstracts of court rolls, 



public and private records and other sources. 
3' E.A.T. N.s. I, 237, 312; xi, 10, 150, 

335- 

37 E.R.O., 6/RTh 5. 

38 W. R. Fisher, Forest of Essex, 95. 
35 Dickensian, xv, 211. 

« y.C.H. Essex, ii, 544. 



20 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



CHIGWELL 



two stories and attics and is of red brick. Brookhouse 
Farm is a timber-framed and roughcast building having 
an old tile roof and a central chimney-stack with six 
diagonal shafts. Church House, though mainly of the 
1 8th century, incorporates obvious remains of a 17th- 
century building, including a chimney-stack. It is of 
two stories, timber-framed, and roughcast. Pettits 
Hall lodge is of similar construction, with a cross gable 
overhanging to the right.^' Tumours, on one of the 
oldest sites in the parish, is particularly interesting. In 
the entrance hall there is a fine 17th-century fireplace. 
Late in the i gth century the house was encased in red 
brick in Gothic style. Cloisters were built on the north 
side and a chapel behind the house to the west. These 
alterations were probably planned by Miss Ada Palmer. 
The Palmers lived at Tumours from about i860 to 
about 1914.'*^ Ada was a painter and sculptor and 
many of her works are preserved in the house. During 
the Second World War Tumours was used for military 
purposes and a hutted camp was built in the fields to 
the north-west. After the war the house was acquired 
by Dr. N. Beattie of Ilford and maintained by hipi as 
an International Youth Centre.^3 Grange Court, 
which was remodelled in 1774 was probably built in 
the late 17th or early i8th century. It is a large and 
handsome three-story house with lower side wings, and 
is built mainly of stock brick. It is now part of Chigwell 
School. 

During the i8th and early 19th centuries several 
new houses were built in the parish and many old ones 
greatly altered or completely rebuilt. Among those 
which in their present form date from the i8th century 
are Chigwell Lodge, Brook House, the stables at 
Barton Friars (originally the stables to Grange Court), 
Vine Cottage, and Tailours, in High Road, and Sheep- 
cotes and Hainault Hall at Chigwell Row. Flint 
Cottage, The Haylands, Little Haylands, and Belmont 
Park, in High Road, are of the early 19th century. 
Crosby House at Chigwell Row is an early-i 9th-century 
remodelling of an 18th-century house. Great West 
Hatch, New Barns in Luxborough Lane, and Barring- 
ton Lodge and Forest House at Chigwell Row were 
entirely new houses built in the i8th century. Many 
smaller houses also date from the i8th and earlier 19th 
centuries. The old house at Luxborough was replaced 
about 1 720 by a large mansion, but this was demolished 
about 1800. There was small-scale but continuous 
new building throughout the parish and by 185 1 there 
were 396 houses of all sizes.*^ 

The population of the parish was 1,351 in 1801. 
By 1 841 it had risen to 2,059. It declined slightly to 
1,965 in i85i.''5 Between 1850 and 1870 Chigwell 
Row was greatly changed by the inclosure and destruc- 
tion of most of Hainault Forest (see Agriculture). At 
Buckhurst Hill part of Epping Forest was inclosed and 
some of it built over. 

The rapid building at Buckhurst Hill was a result 
of the extension of the railway from Woodford to 
Loughton. By 1871 there were 1,080 houses in Chig- 
well parish, nearly all the increase being at Buckhurst 
Hill.'^* The only other building of any importance had 



been in Hainault Road.*' By 1891 the number of 
houses had increased to i,27i.'»8 The population of 
the parish rose to 6,324 in 1891 and 7,294 in igoi.*' 

It is interesting to compare the development of 
Buckhurst Hill between 1851 and 1901 with that of 
Loughton (q.v.). Both places were affected at the same 
time by the coming of the railway and both were 
involved in the controversy concerning the inclosure 
of Epping Forest.50 At Buckhurst Hill development 
was much more rapid than at Loughton and was much 
more concentrated round the railway station. In- 
closures from the forest were much smaller at Buckhurst 
Hill than at Loughton, mainly because Buckhurst Hill 
had a smaller forest frontage, but most of the inclosures 
at Buckhurst Hill were more quickly built over and 
thus became exempt from the provisions of the Epping 
Forest Act of 1878. Loughton's growth took place 
within the framework of an ancient village. At Buck- 
hurst Hill a new town sprang up on farm land and 
forest. 

Growth was much slower after 1 901. The opening 
of the Woodford-Ilford loop line in 1903 caused some 
building in Chigwell viOage and at Grange Hill, and 
there was also some development near Woodford 
Bridge. In 193 1 the total population was 8,948 
(Buckhurst Hill U.D. 5,486; Chigwell C.P. 3,462). 
Between 193 1 and 1939 there was much new build- 
ing, in Hainault Road, Manor Road, Forest Lane, 
High Road, and in various parts of Buckhurst Hill, 
especially at Monkhams. Shortly before 1939 Chigwell 
lost one of its oldest houses, the Grange in High Road, 
which was demolished after a fire." It dated from the 
15th century.52 

Since 1945 restrictions have prevented large-scale 
private building, and much of Chigwell has been 
designated as a part of 'the Green Belt'. The new 
Hainault estate, however, has added 1,900 houses to 
the urban district since 1945. There has also been 
some building of local council houses. ■ The Grange 
Farm Camp, Chigwell, opened in 195 1, provides 
large-scale facilities for camping, swimming, and many 
other types of athletics (see also Charities). In 1953 
the population of Chigwell Ward was estimated at 
14,000 and that of Buckhurst Hill Ward at i2,ooo.5J 

There was a regular coach service from Chigwell to 
the 'Blue Boar' at Aldgate from 1790.54 In the 1820's 
Mary Draper of the 'King's Head' ran a daily service 
to Aldgate. 55 In 1840 a coach left the 'Maypole' at 
Chigwell Row every morning, calling at the 'King's 
Head' on its journey to the 'Three Nuns', White- 
chapel, and returning by the same route in the even- 
ing. 5* In 1845 the Ongar coach to London also passed 
the 'King's Head'. 5' William Fowling kept a coach at 
his house next to the 'Maypole' at Chigwell Row; from 
1 844 it ran from there to the 'King's Head' and back 
to connect with the Ongar coach.s* After his death iri 
1 84859 his widow kept two coaches for some years, one 
ran to London daily and the other to the newly opened 
railway station at Ilford.*" In 1858 these coaches were _ 
taken over by William Claydon who in 1864 moved to 
Vicarage Lane.*' For many years before the building 



<■ This is the old Pettits Hall. The 
present house of that name is modern. 
" Kellys Dir. Eneic (1859 ^O- 
*' Inf. from Mrs. Beattie. 
♦* H.O. 107/1770, 195/1. 
45 y. CM. Essex, \\. 350. 
■•' Census Retn. 1 87 1. 
« E.R.O., D/P 166/11/16-18. 



<8 Census Retn. 1891. 
*•> V.C.H. Essex, ii, 350. 
s» See Loughton; also Agriculture, 
below. 51 £•.;?. li, 13. 

52 Hist. Mon. Com. Essex, ii, 48. 

53 Inf. from Chigwell U.D.C. 
5-t E.R.O., D/P 166/28/9. 

55 Dickensian, xv, 21 1 ; Pigol's Dir. Essex 



(1827). 
5' Pigot's Dir. Essex (1840). 
5' Kelly's Dir. Essex (1845). 

58 Ibid. 

59 Chigwell Par. Reg. 

«» ff'Aile's Dir. Essex (1848). 
<" Chigwell Par. Reg.; E.R.O., 
166/11/12-28. 



D/P 



21 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



of the Ilford loop a coach ran every morning and even- 
ing to Woodford station, the Ilford coach being dis- 
continued.*^ Coaches owned by Nelson of the 'Bull', 
Aldgate, ran to Chigwell Row until i868.*3 In 1848 
Henry Chipperfield ran a wagon three times a week 
from Chigwell to London and John Wilton ran one 
daily from Chigwell Row.*^ In 1878 William Claydon 
ran a wagon to London four times a week.*5 

Before the building of the railways Buckhurst Hill 
had many coaches passing through every day, to 
London, Cambridge, Norwich, Bury St. Edmunds, 
Dunmow, and elsewhere. 

The Eastern Counties Railway extended its line 
from Woodford to Loughton in 1856, with a station 
at Buckhurst Hill. In 1903 the Ilford loop was 
opened, with stations at Chigwell and Grange Hill.** 
In 1937 a new station was opened at Roding Valley, on 
this loop, to serve the southern part of Buckhurst Hill. 

In 1839 there were postal receiving houses at Chig- 
well and Chigwell Row.*' By 1863 there were two 
post-offices at Chigwell, and sub-post-offices at Chigwell 
Row and Buckhurst Hill.** By 1874 there was a tele- 
graph office at Chigwell.*' In 1886 there were two 
post-offices at Buckhurst Hill, one of them having the 
telegraph, and the Chigwell Row office also had the 
telegraph.'" The telephone was in use at Buckhurst 
Hill by about 1906." By 1922 there was a telephone 
exchange in Chigwell village.'^ 

The first serious attempt to improve sanitation was 
in 1854, when the Epping 
P UBLIC SERFICES Guardians appointed a paro- 
chial committee to remove 
nuisances.'3 Such committees were again appointed in 
1857 and 1859.'* In 1868 the vestry decided to ap- 
point a Sewer Authority under the Sewage Utilization 
Acts, 1865 and 1867, and the Sanitary Acts, 1866 and 
i868.'5 Two months later it resolved to appoint mem- 
bers of this authority, but another resolution to form a 
Special Drainage District for Buckhurst Hill was with- 
drawn after strong opposition.'* A sewage-disposal 
plant was installed at Buckhurst Hill, but the growth of 
this part of the parish soon overtaxed the plant. In 1 876 
a local doctor complained to the vestry of the filthy state 
of the roads, ponds, and cesspools in lower Buckhurst 
Hill." This protest was largely instrumental in obtain- 
ing an improved plant.'* From 1870 the local com- 
mittee was controlled by the Epping Rural Sanitary 
Authority." In 1895 the Buckhurst Hill Urban Dis- 
trict Council became responsible for sewage disposal 
within its area, and the Epping Rural District in the 
restof the ancient parish.*" In 1933 the whole area was 
taken over by Chigwell Urban District Council. 

In 1874 water was being supplied to Buckhurst Hill 



by the East London Waterworks Co. In that year the 
parish vestry tried unsuccessfully to arrange for supplies 
to be extended to Chigwell and Chigwell Row.*' It 
made another attempt in 1879.*^ The date at which 
the extension took place is not known, but by 1907 
Chigwell and Chigwell Row were being supplied by 
the Metropolitan Water Board, successor to the East 
London company. *3 The company had opened a 
reservoir at Buckhurst Hill about 1895, to replace the 
previous water tower.** A mineral spring at Chigwell 
Row which existed in the i8th century had fallen out 
of use by about i8oo.*5 

The Chigwell and Woodford Bridge Gas Co. was 
formed in 1 863 and gradually extended its area. By 
1867 it was supplying gas to Buckhurst Hill. In 1873 
it was reincorporated as the Chigwell, Loughton and 
Woodford Gas Co. Its works were in Snakes Lane, 
Woodford.** In 191 2 it was taken over by the Gas 
Light and Coke Co.*' 

Electricity was brought to Chigwell soon after the 
First World War by the County of London Electric 
Supply Co.** 

An unsuccessful attempt in 1792 to build a pest- 
house in Chigwell is described below (see Parish 
Government and Poor Relief). A Village Hospital, 
supported by subscription, was opened at Buckhurst 
Hill about 1875, on the initiative of Dr. C. H. Living- 
stone.*' The Medical Provident Home, Buckhurst 
Hill, was opened about 1890.''" These hospitals were 
closed in 191 2 when the Forest Hospital was opened at 
Buckhurst Hill." This was extended in 1920 and 
1930.9^ It is now administered by the Forest Hospital 
Management Committee. '3 

Great West Hatch was formerly a branch home 
of the Royal Eastern Counties Institution for Mental 
Defectives. '■• It was taken over by the London County 
Council about 1938 and is now under the South 
Ockendon Hospital Management Committee's The 
neighbouring Little West Hatch is under the same 
management.'* The Epping Hospital Management 
Committee has recently opened a Chest Clinic at Buck- 
hurst Hill." 

The Female Refuge Home, Buckhurst Hill, opened 
about 1875 and later known as the Preventive Training 
Homes, under the Rescue Society for Girls, continued 
until 1914.'* 

A Female Benefit Society meeting at Chigwell Row 
was registered in 1808, and the Anchor and Hope 
Benefit Society meeting at Buckhurst Hill in 1832." 

In 1884 the vestry resolved to maintain a fire engine 
which was to be purchased by public subscription.' 
This was later taken over by the Buckhurst HiU Urban 
District Council, which built a new fire station.^ This 



«> Kelly's Dir. Essex (1874 f-)- 

" Dkkensian,xv, 14.7. 

<•* IVhite's Dir. Essex (1848). 

's Kelly's Dir. Essex {i%7i). 

" E.R. xii, 165-70. 

" Figot's Dir. Essex (1839). 

'8 IVhite's Dir. Essex (1863). 

<"> Kelly's Dir. Essex (1874). 

'» Ibid. 1886. 

" The National Telephone Co. opened 
services in Loughton (q.v.), which adjoins 
Buckhurst Hill, in 1906. 

'» Kelly's Dir. Essex (1922). 

" E.R.O., D/P 166/8/11. 

'♦ Ibid. 

" Ibid. The Acts were 28 & 29 Vict. 
(1865) C.75; 30& 31 Vict. (1867) c. 113; 
29 & 30 Vict. (1866) C.41 ; 31 & 32 Vict. 



(1868) ciis. 
'« E.R.O., D/P 166/8/11. 
" Ibid. 

'8 E.R.O., D/P 166/24/20-22. 
" Ibid. 1 66/24/ 1. 
80 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1899). 
»■ E.R.O., D/P 166/8/11. 

82 Ibid. 

83 E.R. xvi, 57. 

8* Buckhurst Hill, pub. J. W. Phelp 
{c. 1897: a local handbook). 

8s Miller Christy and M. Thresh, 
Mineral Waters of Essex, p. 43. 

8* Chigwell, Loughton and Woodford 
Gas Act, 36-37 Vict, c.xxi (1873); 
E.R.O., D/P 166/11/31-33 (Rate-books). 

87 S. Everard, Hist. Gas Light & Coke Co. 
299. 



88 Personal knowledge. 

89 Buckhurst Hill, ed. J. W. Phelp. 

90 Ibid. The booklet contains photos of 
the Village Hospital and the Provident 
Home. 

9' E.R. xxi, 224. 
«2 E.R. xxxix. 156. 

93 HospitalsDir. Eng. and ff'ales (1952), 
p. 70. 

94 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1933). 

95 Hospitals Dir. (1952), p. 77. 

96 Ibid, i personal knowledge. 
9' Hospitals Dir. (1952), p. 73. 

98 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1878, 1914). 

99 E.R.O., g/SO 20/225, 33/'97. 2'°- 

1 E.R.O., D/P 166/8/11. 

2 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1899); Buckhurst 
Hill, ed. J. W. Phelp. 



22 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



CHIGWELL 



was closed in 1933, after the opening of the stations at 
Loughton and Grange Farm, Chigwell.3 

Allotments were instituted by the parish vestry in 
1867 at Grange Hill and Ghigwell Row.'' 

The origin of the Chigwell Row recreation ground 
is mentioned below (see Agriculture). It has been taken 
over by the Urban District Council, which has also 
provided grounds near Chigwell station and at Roding 
Valley. The Buckhurst Hill recreation ground has also 
been taken over by the council. s 

Until the 19th century Chigwell was a rural parish 
devoted mainly to agriculture. 
JGRIC ULTURE The soil is clay. At Buckhurst Hill 
and Chigwell Row there were for- 
merly extensive stretches of woodland forming part of 
Epping Forest and Hainan It Forest. Apart from the 
forests the southern part of the parish has always been 
used for pasture, possibly because most of the wealthier 
inhabitants lived there and preferred such surroundings. 
The remainder of the parish has always contained a 
higher proportion of arable land, but even there pasture 
has predominated. 

Little is known of agricultural practices in the parish 
during the Middle Ages. Certain iields at Buckhurst 
Hill appear to have been still divided into strips in the 
13th century but were consolidated after coming into 
the possession of Waltham Abbey about 1300.* Such 
records as remain of this period show that pigs were the 
main source of revenue, as was usual in this part of 
Essex, where the forests provided good pannage.' 
Assarts from the forests were numerous in the 1 3 th and 
14th centuries, although rarely of more than an acre in 
extent.* At Woolston in the 15th century pigs were 
still the most common animals, but cattle, sheep, and 
geese were also kept." Most of the arable land appears 
to have been worked by the lord of the manor using 
customary labour until towards the end of the 15th 
century, when labour services had been generally com- 
muted.'" Between 13 12 and 1534 some 100 acres 
arable belonging to the demesne of Woolston had been 
converted into pasture." Grazing land was certainly . 
regarded as more profitable than arable. The will of 
John Fuller of Serjeants, dated 1 671, charged his 
widow to 'make no waste by ploughing' on the land 
which he left her in trust for his children.'^ An unusual 
crop, greenweed, was raised in a field at Buckhurst Hill 
in 1664. '3 It was probably used for dye. 

During the i8th century more land probably passed 
under cultivation. A tithe survey of 1800 shows that 
there were then 973 acres of arable. Wheat accounted 
for 280 acres, oats 291 acres, potatoes 32 acres, barley 
25 acres, beans, peas, and vetches 26 acres, and seeds 
129 acres with 190 acres fallow. There were 2,310 
acres of grassland and 30 acres of privately owned 
woodland. The remaining 1,696 acres of the parish 
were made up mainly of the forest waste at Chigwell 
Row and Buckhurst Hill.'* According to Vancouver's 
tables of 1794 the yield of crops was slightly above the 



average for the county.'s James Hatch of Claybury in 
Barking, lord of Chigwell Hall, who owned some 800 
acres in Chigwell apart from waste, was one of the 
correspondents who supplied Arthur Young with in- 
formation for his General View of Agriculture in Essex 
(1807). He reported that crops of potatoes, well 
manured on a rotational system, had obviated fallow 
land. He stated also that fourteen years was the mini- 
mum lease that he would grant because tenants could 
not 'make the necessary exertions in draining and 
manuring under a shorter term'.'* Young considered 
that the forest waste in Chigwell was a handicap to 
good husbandry, any advantage gained by rights of 
common being far outweighed by the damage done by 
deer and poachers." He suggested that 750 acres 
waste worth %s. 6J. an acre could be improved to 25/. 
by inclosure. 

Small inclosures had been continuing in the 1 6th and 
17th centuries, sometimes by grant in manor courts and 
sometimes by silent encroachment.'* In 1851 Hainault 
Forest was disafforested by Act of Parliament." The 
Hainault Forest Allotment of Commons Act, iSjS,*" 
provided that 701 acres (mainly within the parish of 
Chigwell) should be allotted as common of that parish. 
By the Chigwell Inclosure Award 1863 most of this 
common was inclosed.^' The largest allotments went 
to James Mills, lord of the manor of Chigwell Hall, 
who received 209 acres, and Mrs. Lloyd of Barringtons, 
who was granted 72 acres absolutely and an additional 
50 acres on condition that she maintained it for use as 
a public recreation ground. ^^ 

Meanwhile, at Buckhurst Hill, inclosures were being 
made from Epping Forest. In 1858 James Mills pur- 
chased the forestal rights of the Crown in his manor of 
Ghigwell Hall.^3 The Epping Forest Commission re- 
ported in 1877 that 257 acres had been illegally inclosed 
within this manor between 185 1 and 1871.2'' By 1877 
most of these inclosures had been built on or had be- 
come private gardens and were therefore exempt from 
the provisions of the subsequent Epping Forest Acts. 
An important exception was Lords Bushes, which con- 
tained 92 acres and became part of the forest once more 
under those Acts. Unlike those at Chigwell Row, there- 
fore, the inclosures at Buckhurst Hill did not signi- 
ficantly increase the agricultural acreage. 

A fair proportion of the parish is still devoted to 
farming, mostly in the north and east, and is now evenly 
divided between arable and pasture land. 

From medieval times men with interests in London 
have made their country homes 
OTHER OCCUPJ- in Chigwell," and the indi- 
TIONS genous population, when not 

engaged in agriculture, has 
been largely occupied in catering for their needs, either 
in goods or services. In the second half of the 17th cen- 
tury four cordwainers, a butcher, a weaver, a mason, a- 
carpenter, and a brickmaker are named in various 
records.^* They are typical of the tradesmen generally 



3 Buckhurst Hillj ChigijueU dnd Lough- 
ton Oficial Guide. 

* E.R.O., D/P 166/8/11. 

5 Official Guide. <> E.R. Ivii, 96-99. 

' E32/12, 13, 16. 

« Ibid. ; W. R. Fisher, Forest of Essex, 
323. 

» E.R.O., D/DEs M 94 ff. (Court Rolls 
of Woolston). 

'» E.R.O., D/DEs M94-95. For a 
manorial grange and bakehouse in the 
Middle Ages see Parish Government. 



■' E.R. Ixii (Jan.), 51. 

"■ Archd. Essex, 131 Atterbury. 

■3 E.R.O.,e/SR 402/131. 

M E.R.O., D/P 166/3/1. 

'5 Young, Gen. View of Agric. in Essex, 

i. 325. 354- 
"■ Ibid, i, 395. " Ibid, u, 95. 

18 E.R.O., D/DDa M14, D/DU 97/2. 
'« 14 & 15 Vict. C.43. 

21 21 & 22 Vict. C.37. 

" E.R.O., g/RDc 66. For Hainault 
Forest before inclosure see Chapman and 

23 



Andre, Map of Essex, I'jyy, sheet xvi. 

22 The recreation ground was at Chigwell 
Row, adjoining the remaining portion of 
Hainault Forest. 

23 W. R. Fisher, Forest of Essex, 352. 

24 Rep. of Epping Forest Com. H.C. 187, 
pp. 79-81 (1877), xxvi. 

25 Court Rolls :E.R.O., D/DDa Mi-i 3, 
D/DEs M80-109, D/DU 97/1-9; Wills 
and other records. 

^^ Abstracts of records in possession of 
the author. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



until late in the 19th century. In 1848, in addition to 
the usual shopkeepers, there were a pianoforte maker 
(at Chigwell Row), a violin-bridge maker (at Chigwell), 
and a brewer." A map of 1858 shows 'Hainan It 
Brewery' in the position of the present Forest Cottages, 
near the 'Maypole' at Chigwell Row,^* but it seems to 
have closed soon after.^' 

In 1 85 1 there were 1,294 persons over 14 years of 
age in the parish, of whom 438 were engaged in agri- 
culture, 320 were domestic servants or gardeners, 221 
were professional business people or gentry, 1 5 5 local 
tradesmen, 60 were engaged in the building trades, 3 5 
were licensed victuallers or their servants, 19 were 
police, forest keepers, or other officials, 1 1 carriers, 8 
were still at school, and 27 unemployed paupers. One 
house. Rolls, had 15 servants, another 10, and 5 houses 
had 6 or 7.30 

There is evidence of brickmaking from the 17th cen- 
tury onwards. In 1668 Sir Eliab Harvey of Rolls was 
granted a royal licence to inclose land near his house to 
make bricks.^' A brickworks at Luxborough has 
operated intermittently for nearly a century, and bricks 
have been made at the lower end of Buckhurst Hill 
since 1870.'^ Much of the output of these works 
was used for local building. Both works have been 
owned in recent times by Messrs. W. and C. French 
Ltd. of Buckhurst Hill, a business which was started by 
Mrs. Elizabeth French in the i86o's, with a fleet of 
carts largely occupied in supplying gravel to parish 
authorities for roads. From this beginning it has risen 
to be one of the largest public works contractors in the 
world. The head office is still at Buckhurst Hill. 33 

From 1800 until 1843 a watch-making business was 
carried on at Marchings in Gravel Lane by John Roger 
Arnold.3'* He was the son of John Arnold (1736 .'-99), 
a noted watchmaker who made a number of improve- 
ments in the design of chronometers.35 J. R. Arnold 
was associated with Dent and Arnold of the Strand, 
London, and in 182 1 patented, from Chigwell, an im- 
proved expansion balance for chronometers.3* His 
foreman, Thomas Prest (d. 1852), started business on 
his own account at Chigwell Row in 1821.37 He 
patented in 1820 the attached winding movement of 
watches, as opposed to the detached key.3 8 His business 
was continued by his son Thomas Prest (d. i877).39 

In recent years planning authorities have not con- 
sidered the parish suitable for industrial development, 
except for a small area in lower Buckhurst Hill.*" Local 
employment has therefore been mainly confined to 
agriculture, the distributive trades, and catering for 
visitors to Epping and Hainault Forests.'" 

A hiring fair was being held at Chigwell on 30 Sep- 
tember each year in the period 1792 to about i860. It 
had ceased before 1888.''^ 

The best-known inn at Chigwell, the 'King's Head', 
has been mentioned above (see p. 20). The present 



'Maypole' at Chigwell Row was built in front of an 
earlier house.''3 There has been an inn there at least 
since 1770, and the old house, now demolished, can be 
traced back to 1505.'''' In 1843 the 'Maypole' served 
over 2,000 customers from Fairlop Fair after the magis- 
trates had refused permission for refreshments to be sold 
in the neighbourhood of the fair.'ts At Buckhurst Hill 
the 'Roebuck' now stands slightly south of its former 
site, where it stood at least since 1770.** It was popu- 
lar in the late 1 9th century as a resort of Londoners 
visiting Epping Forest. The 'Bald Faced Stag' has been 
traced by name back to 1752.'" It was probably the 
house of Richard Dennis who in 1720 described himself 
as a victualler.''* The 'Bald Hind' at Grange Hill was 
known in 1770 as the 'Bald Faced Hind'.'" The 'JoUy 
Wheelers' near Woodford Bridge first appears by name 
in 1778.50 

James Basire (1769-1822), engraver, lived and died 
at Chigwell Row. His eldest son 
fFORTHIES'' James (1796-1 869), also an engraver, 
was born there. Samuel Bellin ( 1 799— 
1893), another engraver, spent his early life at Burnt 
House in Pudding Lane. Henrietta Lady Chatterton 
(1806-76), miscellaneous writer, lived at Rolls from 
1852 to 1855. Roger Fenton ( 1 5 6 5- 1 6 1 6), theological 
writer and one of the translators of the Authorized Ver- 
sion of the Bible, was Vicar of Chigwell 1606-16. 
Samuel Harsnett(i56i— i63i)ismentioned below (see 
Church). Admiral Sir Eliab Harvey (1758-1830), 
who commanded the T/m/raire at Trafalgar, was lord 
of the manor of Barringtons (see above) and lived at 
Rolls House. He was M.P. for Maldon 1780 and for 
Essex 1803-12. Richard HoUingworth (1639-1701), 
Royalist pamphleteer, was Vicar of Chigwell 1690- 
1701. Samuel Howitt (1765 .'-1822), painter and 
etcher, lived at Chigwell Row in his youth. Admiral 
Sir Edward Hughes (1720 .'-94) was lord of the manor 
of Luxborough and lived at Luxborough House. 
Joshua Jenour (1755-1853), author, hved at Chigwell 
Row from 1792 to 1804.52 Thomas Johnson (fl. 17 1 8), 
classical scholar, was headmaster of Harsnett's Gram- 
mar School 171 5-18. Admiral Richard Lestock 
(1679 .'-1746) lived at Chigwell Row 1709—46. 
William Penn (1644-17 18), Quaker and founder of 
Pennsylvania, was educated at Harsnett's Grammar 
School. George Robert Rowe (1792-1861), physi- 
cian and medical writer, lived and practised in Chigwell 
village from about 1823 and was buried in the church- 
yard. Helen Maria Williams (1762-18 27), authoress, 
was living at Grange Hill in 1826. 

The manor oi CHIGWELL, later known as CHIG- 
WELL HALL alias CHIGWELL-AND- 
MANORS WEST HATCH, was held in 1066 by 
Earl Harold. After the Conquest it was 
given to Ralph de Limesi, whose chief seat was at 
Wolverley in Solihull (Warws.).53 The tenancy in 



" White' 1 Dir. Essex (1848). 

" E.R.O., D/DLo P5. 

" No brewer is mentioned in Kelly's Dir. 
Essex (1859). 

3° H.O. 107/1770, 195/1. Wives and 
children over 14. have been included under 
their husbands' or fathers' occupation un- 
less stated to have been otherwise em- 
ployed. 

3' Cal. S.P. Dom. 1667-8, 72. 

32 E.R.O., D/P 166/11/34-51; Kelly's 
Dirs. Essex, passim; personal knowledge. 

" Ibid. 

" E.R.O., D/DEs M8ij Par. Reg.; 



personal knowledge. 3s B.N.B. 

36 Pigot's Dir. London, (1817-32); E.R. 
Ivi, 79. 37 E.R.O., D/DEs M81. 

38 E.R. Ivi, 78 i M.I. in Chigwell church- 
yard. 

3^ M.I. in Chigwell churchyard. 

♦" fV. Essex Reg. Planning Schm. igjj, 
p. 105. 

'" Kelly's Dir. Essex (1879-1933); per- 
sonal knowledge. 

■•2 Rep. Com. Mkt. Rts. [C. 5550], p. 
161, H.C. (1888), liii; White's Dir. Essex 
(1848); Kelly's Dir. Essex (1859). 

« E.R.O., D/CT 78. 



ft E.R.O., D/DEs M95; Q/RLv 25. 
*5 Dickensian, xv, 147. 

46 E.R.O., Q/RLv 25; D/CT 78. 

47 Authentick Tryals of "John Stvan and 
Eli-3sabeth "Jeffryes. They were hanged for 
murder near this house. 

48 Archd. Essex, 89 Goates. 

49 E.R.O., Q/RLv 25. so Ibid. 

51 For all Worthies see D.N.B. 

52 See also Parish Government, below, 
and E.R.O. D/DEs M80-81. 

53 V.C.H. Essex, i, 553*; Dugdale, Hist. 
Warius. 342—3, gives the Limesi-Dodyng- 
sells pedigree. 



24 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



CHIGWELL 



chief of the manor descended in the Limesi family and 
their heirs the Dodyngsells. John de Dodyngsells held 
it in i35o.5't 

Alan de Limesi, son of Ralph, granted the tenancy in 
demesne of the manor to Richard de Lucy, the Justiciar 
of Henry II, to hold for i knight's fee. 55 The grant was 
confirmed before 1163 by Gerard de Limesi, Alan's 
son. 5* De Lucy's interest in the manor subsequently 
passed through his daughter Maud, wife of Walter 
Fitz Robert of Woodham Walter to the Fitzwalter 
family.5' Walter, Lord Fitzwalter (d. 1406) held 
I knight's fee in Chigwell.58 

After acquiring the tenancy of the manor Richard de 
Lucy enfeoffed Ralph Brito, who held of Richard for 
I knight's fee. 59 Some time after this Richard appears 
to have enfeoffed William de Goldingham so that he 
became the overlord of Brito, holding of Richard for 
I knight's fee.*" In 1 169-70 WiUiam de Goldingham 
enfeoffed Robert son of Ralph Brito with the manor, to 
hold for I knight's fee.*' 

During the reign of Richard I Robert Brito suffered 
imprisonment and forfeiture for his adherence to Prince 
John.*^ In the 20 years that followed there were several 
disputes concerning the ownership of Chigwell. Before 
his imprisonment Robert Brito had leased the manor for 
ten years to Andrew Blund of London. The lease still 
had six years to run when the manor was seized by the 
king.*3 While the king had possession a suit was brought 
by Geoffrey Mauduit, claiming the manor.** Mauduit 
apparently succeeded in getting possession of it for a 
time but he was later ejected through the legal action 
of William son of Robert Brito and Wilham's mother 
Philippa.*5 In 1214 Andrew Blund sued William Brito 
for the unexpired portion of the ten-year lease, and the 
court awarded him 50 marks in compensation.** In 
1226 Gilbert Mauduit, presumably Geoffrey Mau- 
duit's heir, quitclaimed a knight's fee in Chigwell to 
William Brito.*' About 1235 Alan son of John de 
Goldingham quitclaimed all his rights in Chigwell to 
William son of William Brito.** In or about 1254 
William Brito's daughter was patron of the rectory and " 
probably held the manor also.*' Soon after this, how- 
ever, the Goldinghams appear to have acquired the 
tenancy in demesne. In 1258 William de Goldingham 
made a conveyance of property in Chigwell'" and in 
1298 John de Goldingham was lord." John died be- 
fore 1 3 16, leaving a son and heir John.'^ 

John son of John de Goldingham was knighted and 
was still hving in 1 349. '' He died about 1 362 and was 
succeeded by his son Sir Alexander de Goldingham.''* 



In 1 3 8 1 Sir Alexander had licence to impark his garden 
and 50 acres of land adjoining his manor of Chigwell.'s 
He died in 1408 leaving his estates to his wife Isabel for 
life with remainder to his son Sir Walter Goldingham.'* 
Sir Walter was dead by 1435 when his widow had be- 
come the wife of Matthew Hay." Sir Walter's daugh- 
ter Eleanor married John Mannock of Stoke by Nayland 
(Suff.) who inherited the manor in right of his wife 
after the expiration of a life interest held by Matthew 
and Elizabeth Hay.'* Mannock died in i47i'9 and 
was succeeded by his son John who died in 1476, leav- 
ing Chigwell to George Mannock his elder son.*" 

In 1 53 1 George Mannock leased the manor to John 
Kempe for 1 5 years,*' but four years later sold it to the 
king.*2 In 1537 a 21-year lease was granted to WiUiam 
Rolte, serjeant-at-arms,*3 and this was upheld when 
Kempe claimed in respect of the earher lease.** Rolte 
died in 1 541, leaving the residue of his lease to George 
Stoner*5 who apparently transferred it soon after to 
his son John.** In 1550 Edward VI sold the manor to 
Sir Thomas Wroth, who died in 1573.*' Sir Robert 
Wroth, son of Sir Thomas, married, before 1578, 
Susan daughter of John Stoner.** Chigwell descended 
in the Wroth family in the same way as the manor of 
Loughton (q.v.) until the death in 1642 of John 
Wroth. *9 John's estates were then apparently divided 
between the two sons of his brother Henry: John 
Wroth, who took Loughton (and Luxborough, see 
below), and Sir Henry Wroth, who took Chigwell.'" 

Sir Henry Wroth sold Chigwell in 1669 to Sir Wil- 
liam Hicks of Ruckholts in Leyton, ist Bt." The 
manor descended with the baronetcy to Sir Henry 
(commonly called Harry) Hicks who took possession 
after the death of his mother in 1723.'^ Sir Henry, 
while retaining the manorial rights, sold the demesne 
lands of the manor and built himself a house near 
Woodford Bridge, formerly called the Bowling Green 
but now the Manor House."^ He died in 1755.''* His 
elder son, who became the 4th baronet, was blind and 
Sir Henry left his estates to his second son Michael 
Hicks, who died unmarried in I764.'5 Michael left 
the estates in trust for the benefit of his blind brother 
Sir Robert and his sisters Ann Burton and Martha 
Petty, with successive remainders to Howe Hicks of 
Witcombe (Glos.), a relative, and Howe's second son 
Michael.9* 

Sir Robert Hicks died unmarried in 1768 but the 
trust continued until 1799 when Michael Burton, son 
of Ann, sold his interest in Chigwell to Michael, son of 
Howe Hicks." This Michael had changed his name 



5* C143/298/1 5 i cf. y.C.H. Warms, vi, 
125-6. 

5 5 Madox, Formulare An^licanum^ p. 42. 

56 Ibid. Cf. Stenton, pint Century of 
Anglo-Norman Feudalism^ 161. 

5' Complete Peerage., v, 472. For de 
Lucy's heirs see also Chipping Ongar. 

58 Cal. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Com.), iii, p. 312. 

59 hiadox., Formulare Anglicanumyp. 178. 
'» Ibid. 368. <" Ibid. 44, 179. 
'^ Cur. Reg. R. 121 3-1 5, 205. 

«3 Ibid. 

'* Ibid. 1199-1201, 196, 207. 

'5 Ibid. Robert Brito was dead by 1200. 
King John appears to have reversed the 
forfeiture in favour of WiUiam Brito. 

" Ibid. 121 3-15, 205. 

«' FeetofF. E!!ex,\,ji. 

" E3'5'/3'/204- 

'9 E.A.T. N.s. xviii, 18. 

'" Feet of F. Essex, i, 235. 

" Cat. And. D. i, B. 974. According to 



W. A. Copinger, Manors of Suffolk, iii, 272, 
Alice daughter of the last named William 
Brito married Sir William de Goldingham. 

'2 Cal. Anct. D. i, B. 912, 961, 963. 

" Feet of F. Essex, iii, 95. 

'* Reg. Sudbury (Cant. & York Soc), i, 
235; and see Church, below. 

'5 Cal. Pat. 1381-5, 36; E326/12448. 

^<• P.C.C. 16 Marche. 

" Feet of F. Essex, iv, 21, 22. 

'* E210/10551. 

'» P.C.C. I Wattys. '<> C140/59. 

8' E.A.T. N.s. ix, 273. 

" E31S/31/126. 

83 E326/642O. 

85 P.C.C. 36 Alenger. 

8' E.R.O., D/DRg 1/197: MS. relating 
to the 'wardstaff' of Ongar hundred c. 1 550. 
The MS. is described and partly printed in 
E.A.T. N.s. ix, 212 f. And see above, 
the Hundred of Ongar. 

25 



87 Cal. S.P. Dom. 1 547-80, 28 ; Cal. Pat. 
1549-51, 68; ibid. 1550-3, I7i P.C.C. 
16 Pyckcring. 

88 £:.^.r. N.s. viii, 148. 

89 Ibid. 348. 

90 Ibid. 348. Sir Henry Wroth probably, 
did not inherit until after the death of his 
father, Henry Wroth, the elder, which 
occurred between 1653 and 1656: P.C.C. 
437 Berkeley. 

'■C5/499/6; CP25(2)/653 Trin. 21 
Chas. II; CP43/346 rot. 130. 

«2 Burke's Peerage (19 1 3): St. Aldwyn; 
E.R.O., D/DDa M4. . 

93 Lysons, En-virons of London (18 10), i, 
641 ; T. Wright, Hist. Essex, ii, 386. 

'♦ Burke's Peerage (191 3), St. Aldwyn. 

95 W. Hicks-Beach, A Cots-wold Family, 
Hicks and Hicks-Beach, 259; Burke's Peer- 
age {igij), St. Aldwyn. 

96 Hicks-6each Estate Act, 40 Geo. Ill, 
c. 78 (priv. act). «' Ibid. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



in 1790 to Hicks-Beach.'* In 1800 a private Act of 
Parliament was passed to enable him to sell Chigwell 
and other property, which were still subject to the 
limitations imposed by the settlement under the will of 
Michael Hicks in 1764." The purchaser was James 
Hatch of Bromley (Mdx.), a wealthy malt-distiller. He 
paid over ^30,000 for the manor of Chigwell (including 
West Hatch) and the estate of 1,430 acres.' 

Hatch died in 1806, leaving three daughters, Caro- 
line wife of John Rutherforth Abdy, Jemima later wife 
of Christopher James Mills, and Louisa later wife of 
William Rufus Rous. The eldest daughter and her 
husband, who changed his name to Hatch-Abdy, acted 
as joint lords of Chigwell until her death without 
issue in 1838. The lordship then passed to Caroline's 
nephew James Mills, who died in 1884, also without 
issue.^ Mills was succeeded by William John Rous, 
son of the above Louisa. Since Rous's death in 19 14 
the manor has been invested in trustees, chief among 
whom was the Earl of Stradbroke.3 In 1839 James 
Mills's estate in Chigwell comprised about 900 acres.'* 
This included Luxborough and Buckhurst (for both of 
which see below). 

The original manor house of Chigwell Hall was be- 
side the Roding where the R.A.F. Station now stands.' 
The moat which had surrounded the house survived 
until 1937, when it was filled in by the contractors 
building the R.A.F. Station.* The site had been de- 
serted by the middle of the 17th century and a new 
manor house built near the church and the site of the 
modern Bramstons.' This house had evidently been 
rebuilt by about 1870.* The house now known as 
Chigwell Hall is a little to the south of the previous 
house, on the opposite side of Roding Lane.' The 
Manor House near Woodford Bridge has been greatly 
altered. It has fine wrought iron gates dating from the 
1 8th century. It is now a convent. 

In 1359 William de Melcesborn appointed attornies 
to give seisin of his manor of WEST HATCH to 
Nicholas Ploket."" In 1389 William Tasburgh clerk 
and John Bekke granted to Sir Alexander de Golding- 
ham lands and tenements in the vills of Chigwell and 
Barking called 'le Westhach and Bookhurst', once be- 
longing to Nicholas Ploket and previously to William 
de Melcesborn." West Hatch subsequently passed 
along with the main manor of Chigwell Hall.'^ The 
two manors were usually described in the 17th century 
and later as the manor of Chigwell-and- West-Hatch. 
The present house of Great West Hatch dates from 
about 1 800. It is of stock brick with two stories. It is 
now used as a hospital (see Public Services). 

The manor of APPLETONS, now known as Old 
Farm, was in Green Lane. It probably took its name 
from the family of Thomas Apilton, who with his wife 
Anne was party to a fine of 1402 relating to 180 acres 
of land and 20 acres of meadow in Chigwell. '-J Later 



in the 15th century Philip Malpas held Appletons: it 
passed on his death to his daughter Elizabeth wife of Sir 
Thomas Cooke.''' She died about 1484 having settled 
it upon her son John Cooke in reversion. 's John died in 
i486 holding it as a tenant of John [George ?] Mannock, 
lord of Chigwell Hall; his brother Sir Philip Cooke was 
his heir.'* Appletons was later in the hands of William 
Cooke, probably the brother of Sir Philip." In 1520 
William sold the manor to Sir John Brygges and John 
Senewe of London." ' Senewe died in 1537 leaving 
Appletons to the children of his sister Elizabeth, who 
had married John Hill." About 1 540 Tristram Cooke, 
son of Thomas, son of the above William Cooke, sought 
possession of the manor.^" He appears to have had some 
success, for in 1 564 the children of John Hill took pro- 
ceedings against his representatives for unlawful entry.^' 
The plaintiffs seem to have won their case : the Woolston 
court roll of 1 567 recorded a declaration that Thomas 
Colshill, Thomas P~uller, and others who were shown 
to be the descendants of John Hill, jointly held the 
freehold of various lands, part of their ruined tenement 
called Appletons.^^ Colshill sold his share to Thomas 
Fuller who died about 1 575 leaving the house of Apple- 
tons, in which he lived, to his nephew Henry Fuller of 
North Weald Bassett, probably a relative of the Henry 
Fuller who owned Stocktons (see below) about this 
time.23 Thomas Fuller had presumably bought the 
other shares in the property, in addition to that of 
Colshill. 

Henry Fuller died in 1602.^^ Appletons passed suc- 
cessively to his son (d. 1623) and his grandson, both 
named Henry.^s Henry Fuller of Appletons appears in 
a presentment of 1668.^' Thomas Buckford held 
Appletons from 1671 until his death in 1688." In 
1692 another Thomas Buckford sold it to Francis 
More.^8 More's granddaughter Winifred Pitfield 
(d. 1753) married Solomon Ashley, who died in 1778 
holding Appletons.^' He left it to Humphrey Stuart, 
presumably in trust for his son Solomon Ashley who 
was named as the owner in 1783.30 In 1802 Stuart 
sold it to John Blades, on whose death in 1830 it passed 
to his daughter Elizabeth, wife of John Blackburn." 
A Joshua Blackburn was given as the owner in 1839: 
the farm then comprised 63 acres.32 Appletons was still 
owned by the Blackburns in 1 873.^3 The present farm- 
house is a red-brick building that appears to date from 
the late 19th century. 

The manor of BARRINGTONS (or LITTLE 
CHIGfVELL) took its name from the family of Bar- 
rington which held the tenancy in demesne from the 
1 2th to the i6th century. It is probably identical with 
the estate of 2 hides and 1 5 acres which Robert Gernon 
was said to hold in Chigwell in io86.3'» The overlord- 
ship appears to have descended like that of Battles in 
Stapleford Abbots (q.v.) until the death in 1 267 of 
Richard de Montfichet. In 1 274 J knight's fee in Chig- 



" Burke's Peerage (19 1 3), St. Aldwyn. 
»» Hicks-Bcach Estate Act, 40 Geo. Ill, 
c. 78 (priv. act). 

■ E.R.O., D/DB T330. 
» E.R.O., D/DDa Mi 2, 13. 
3 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1933). 
« E.R.O., D/CT 78. 
5 See above, p. 18. 

* Personal knowledge. The moat is 
shown on the 0,S.2\ in. Map^ sheet 5 1/4.9. 

' See above, p. 20. 

* O.S. 6 in. Map (ist edn.), sheet Ixvi. 

9 Now the headquarters of the Metro- 
politan Police No. 5 District Sports Club. 
■0 E315/42/63. 



" £326/5532- 

^* Morant's statement {Hist, Essex, i, 
166) that Walter Wrytell held West 
Hatch in 1475 is incorrect; Wrytell held 
the reversion only: cf. E326/8684. 

" E,A,T, N.s. X, 318. 

"♦ Cat. Inq. f.m. Hen, VII, i, p. 38. Sir 
Tho. Cooke was Lord Mayor of London, 
1463. 

'5 Ibid. 

'6 Ibid. 

" Visits, of Essex (Harl. Soc), 39. 

" Ci/390/29. 

" P.C.C. 13 Dvngeley; C3/101/23. 

" C 1/969/43-^. 

26 



" C3/101/23. 

" E.R.O., D/DEs M97. 

" Archd. Essex 125 Gyll. 

^* Ibid. 351 Stephen. 

" Ibid. Filed Will, 1625, 35. 

" E.R.O., D/AEA/44. 

" E.R.O., D/DU 97/2. 

28 Ibid. 

" E.R.O., D/DU 97/7. 

30 E.R.O., Q/RJ i/ii. 

3" E.R.O., D/DEs M81. 

32 E.R.O., D/CT 78. Henry Hancock 
was tenant. 

33 E.R.O., D/P 166/11/37. 

34 V,C.H. Essex, i, 553*. 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



CHIGWELL 



well and elsewhere was assigned to Philippa, wife of 
Roger de Lancaster and granddaughter of Margaret de 
Bolbec, sister of Richard de Montfichet.^s On his death 
in 1 360 John de Vere, Earl of Oxford, held J knight's 
fee in Chigwell.s* It had probably come to him by re- 
versionary grant in the same way as Stansted Mount- 
fichet.37 

The manor continued to be held of the earls of 
Oxford. In 1537 it was held of the then earl as of the 
honor of Hedingham Castle.3 8 

The de Veres appear to have had an earlier interest 
in the manor than that which came to them in the 14th 
century. Early in the 1 2th century an Aubrey de Vere, 
one of the ancestors of the earls of Oxford, enfeoffed 
Eustace de Barrington with land in Chigwell which 
afterwards descended in the Barrington family.'' It 
seems probable that before enfeoffing Barrington 
Aubrey de Vere had been tenant in demesne holding 
of Robert Gernon. 

The family name of Barrington was derived from 
Barrington (Cambs.). Eustace de Barrington held land 
there in 1 1 30.''<' He also held land in Hatfield Broad 
Oak which was later known as Barrington Hall, and he 
was a forester of Hatfield Forest, serving under Robert 
Gernon.*' His son Humphrey de Barrington received 
confirmation by Aubrey de Vere of the grant previously 
made to Eustace.*^ Humphrey was succeeded by his 
son, another Humphrey, who was a minor at his father's 
death, which took place early in the reign of Henry II.*' 
The younger Humphrey lived until the early 1 3th cen- 
tury; he was under-sheriff of Essex and Hertfordshire 
in 1 197.+* He was succeeded by his son Sir Nicholas de 
Barrington who held the manor in 1 2^g.*^ Sir Nicholas 
was succeeded by his grandson, Nicholas, who was lord 
in 1274 and died about l330.-«* The manor then 
passed to the younger Nicholas's son Nicholas Barring- 
ton III, who settled it in 1 344 on his eldest son John.'" 
John died about 1368 and his son and successor John 
about 1426.** Several deeds relating to Chigwell be- 
tween I3i9and I384suggest that the Barringtons were 
at least occasionally resident in Chigwell during that 
period.*' Certain copyhold lands within the manor of 
Woolston were held by this family and the descent of 
these as shown in the court rolls was probably the same 
as that of the manor of Barringtons. 5" 

Thomas son of the last named John Barrington died 
in 1472 leaving his manor of Chigwell to his wife Anne 
for life with reversion to his son Edmund. 5' Anne is 
said to have died on the day after her husband.s^ In 
1479 Margaret, formerly the wife of a Thomas Barring- 
ton, was declared to have previously held the manor 
jointly with her husband.*' On her death in that year 

" Cal.Chu, 1272-9,82. 

3' Cal. Inq. p.m. r, p. 522. 

3' Cf. Morant, Essex, ii, 577. 

J8 C 142/82/62. 

39 Morant, Essex, i, 166. 

«> W. Farrer, Feud. Hist. Camhs. 233. 
In the I2th-i4th cents, tlie usual form of 
the name was Barenton. 

■•' G. A. Lowndes, 'Hist, of Barrington 
family', E.A.T. n.s. i, 251 f. The original 
charters used by Lowndes are now in the 
British Museum: Add. Ch. 28313-637. 
Some of them are calendared in Hist. MSS. 
Com. yth Rep. App. pp. 537 f. 

** Morant, Essex, i, 166. 

«3 Hist. MSS. Com. yth Rep. App. p. 
588. 

+• E.A.T. N.s. i, 255; V.R.O. List of 
Sheriffs, 48. 

*5 E.A.T. N.s. i, 257; B.M. Add. Ch. 



28478. 

■•' E.A.T. N.s. i, 261-3. Sir Nicholas's 
son Nicholas had predeceased him. 

■•' Feet of F. Essex, iii, 72. 

4« E.A.T. N.s. i, 267, 272. 

«» E326/917, 919, 921, 961, 964, 969, 
1849; £315/32/119; E315/41/58, 217; 
E3 1 5/42/200. 

so E.R.O., D/DEs M94-109. 

»■ P.C.C. 6 Wattys. 

" E.A.T. N.s. i, 273. " C140/70. 

54 The elder Thomas certainly had a son 
Humphrey : P.C.C. 6 Wattys. 

55 E.R.O., D/DEs M95; P.C.C. 38 
Holgrave. 

s* C142/30/18. " C142/82/62. 

5> CP25(2)/l26/l62I. 

'9 The Barringtons continued in Hat- 
field Broad Oak until the 19th cent.: 
f./i.r. N.s. ii, 50-54. 



Barringtons passed to her husband's brother Humphrey 
Barrington. Humphrey and his brother were probably 
sons of the Thomas Barrington who had died in 1472.** 
Humphrey Barrington died before 1487 and was suc- 
ceeded by his son Nicholas, who died in 1505.55 
Nicholas's son and heir Nicholas died in 1515.'* John 
Barrington, son of the younger Nicholas, died in 1537.5^ 
He was succeeded by his son Thomas Barrington, who 
sold the manor of Barringtons in 1563 to Thomas 
Wiseman of Great Waltham,'* thus breaking a con- 
nexion which had lasted for as long as 450 years.59 

Thomas Wiseman died in the year that he bought 
the manor and was succeeded by his third son Stephen, 
who died childless in I567.*" Stephen's heir was John 
Wiseman, son of his brother William.*' In 1573 Wil- 
liam Tyffin of Wakes Colne did homage for Barringtons, 
presumably on account of his marriage to Mary, widow 
of Stephen Wiseman, who had a hfe interest.** During 
his hfetime Stephen had demised the manor with certain 
lands in Chigwell to John Morley and one Goldringe 
who were to pay rent to him and after his death to his 
widow; this rent was in arrear and was the cause of 
legal proceedings.*' John Wiseman died in 161 5, 
leaving Barringtons to his eldest son Thomas, who con- 
veyed it in 1617 to John Hawkins.** 

In 1626 Hawkins and his wife Sarah sold the manor 
to William Rolfe.*s Rolfe sold it in 1629 to Henry 
Jackson, who in 1630 and 1634 claimed forest rights in 
respect of the manor.** In 1639 Jackson sold Barring- 
tons to Thomas Wilmer, whose father had already pur- 
chased Rolls, the mansion house of the manor.*' The 
first surviving court roll of the manor (1653) gives as 
lords Edmund Denny and Thomas Wilmer.** Wilmer 
was a major in the royalist army; he had probably sold 
half the manor to Denny to pay the fine for his delin- 
quency.*' In 1 65 5 he sold the remaining half to Robert 
Abdy of Albyns (in Stapleford Abbots, q.v.) and John 
Chapman of London.'" Abdy and Chapman were 
apparently trustees for Robert Abbott of London, who 
made his will in 1657, leaving a moiety of Barringtons 
to his wife for life and in 1658 added a codicil leaving 
all his manors to his executors in trust to provide por- 
tions for his children." The executors were Abbott's 
wife Bethia and John Chapman her brother. In 1668 
Abdy and Chapman conveyed this half of the manor to 
Sir Eliab Harvey and John Prestwood.'* Eliab died in 
1 699, leaving all his manors in Essex to his son William." 

Edmund Denny, who had acquired the other half of 
Barringtons from Thomas Wilmer, died in 1 6 56, leaving 
it to his wife Anne for life with reversion to his cousin 
William Gardner.'* In 1657 Anne married Francis 
Comyn of London, vintner, and in the same year 

<"> C142/147/148. '■ Ibid. 

''2 Morant, Essex, i, 1 66; Mary was 
sister of Andrew Jenour of Great Dun- 
mow: Ci42/i47/i48; Morant, Essex, ii ,' 
222; Fisits. of Essex (Harl. Soc), 222. 

63 C3/327/2. 

** C142/359/115; Morant,£iKr, i,i66. 
's CP25(2)/4I5 Mich. 2 Chas. I; 

CP43/I76- 
" CP43/i84;C99/i3om.88;C99/i32 

m. 16. 

67 C66/3067 m. 34i CP25(2)/4i8 
Mich. 15 Chas. I. 

'8 E.R.O., D/DU 97/1. 

'9 Cal. Ctee.for Compounding, 2535. 

'"> C54/4020 m. 21-22. 

" P.C.C. 305 Wootton. 

" CP25(2)/653 Hil. 19 & 20 Chas. II. 

'3 P.C.C. 42 Pett. 

'♦ P.C.C. 317 Berkeley. 



27 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



Gardner surrendered to Comyn all his rights in the half- 
manor. 's The court roll for 1659 names as lords Abdy, 
Chapman, Thomas King, John Jekyll, Edward Cotton, 
and John Berrisford.'* The last four were presumably 
trustees to the settlement made on the marriage of Anne 
and Francis Comyn. Anne died in 1694 and Francis in 
1697." Their half of the manor passed to their son 
Francis Comyn who sold it in 1700 to William Harvey, 
who thus became owner of the whole manor.'* 

William Harvey died in 1 731 and was succeeded by 
his son, also named William, who died in 1 742.'" The 
younger William was succeeded by his son, a third 
William Harvey, who died in 1763.80 The manor then 
passed to WiUiam Harvey (IV), son of the last owner, 
who died unmarried in 1779, leaving Barringtons to his 
brother Eliab, later Admiral Sir Eliab Harvey.*' The 
admiral died in 1830 without surviving male issue. He 
left the bulk of his estate, including Barringtons, to his 
eldest daughter Louisa, wife of William Lloyd of Aston 
Hall (Salop). In 1839 the estate in Chigwell consisted 
of about 420 acres. '^ Lloyd and his wife acted as joint 
lords of the manor until his death in 1843, after which 
Louisa was sole lady until her death in 1 866.^3 Her son 
Richard T. Lloyd succeeded to the manor and died in 
1898. Barringtons then passed to Richard's eldest son 
Lt.-Gen. Sir Francis Lloyd, who died without issue in 
1926. The manor then passed to the Revd. Rossendale 
Lloyd, brother of Sir Francis. ^^ Soon after this the 
manorial rights were sold to Philip Savill, from whom 
they passed to his son Mr. Lawrence L. Savill of 
Comenden Manor (Kent) who is their present owner. *5 
The freehold of the Barringtons estate, however, re- 
mained in the Revd. Rossendale Lloyd who died in 
1940 and was succeeded by his son Mr. Andrew F. 
Lloyd.86 

Rolls House, the capital mansion of the Barringtons 
estate in modern times, is now (1953) in process of 
demolition, much of the older part having already dis- 
appeared. It was a two-story building with attics, 
partly timber-framed and partly of brick. The former 
kitchen block was built about 1600 and late in the 17th 
century the north-east and north-west wings were built 
or rebuilt, making the house L-shaped. Early in the 
1 8th century a long addition was made on the south-east 
side of the north-east wing and there were later additions 
on the south and south-west.*'' 

The manor oi BUCKHURST alias MUNKEN- 
HILL alias MONKHAMS probably formed part of 
Barringtons (see above) until 1 135, when William de 
Montiichet granted to the abbey of Stratford Lang- 
thorne his wood of Buckhurst.** The grant was later 
confirmed by Henry II.*' The abbey's estate was 
increased by other grants: in 12 17 Matthew de St. 
Tronius and Rose his wife quitclaimed to the abbey a 
third part of 55 acres in Chigwell which was her dower 
from her former husband Geoffrey Levenoth, and in 



1230 William Fitz Edric granted to the Abbot of 
Stratford | carucate and 8J acres in Chigwell. 9" In 
1240 the Abbot of Stratford came to an agreement 
with the Abbot of Waltham, a neighbouring land- 
owner, concerning the agistment of cattle." In 1253 
Henry III granted the Abbot of Stratford free warren 
in his demesne in Chigwell and Woodford.'^ The 
boundary of the parish at Buckhurst Hill was for long 
ill defined and the manor of Buckhurst seems to have 
extended into Woodford. 

Stratford Abbey retained Buckhurst until the Dis- 
solution. "3 In 1 521 John Saunders had a 41-year 
lease from William Etherway, then abbot, of a tene- 
ment called 'Buckhurst alias Monkyn'.'* By 1 527 the 
lease had passed to Ralph Johnson of Woodford. '5 In 
1547 the king granted a tenement called Buckhurst 
and a grove called Monk Grove, formerly belonging to 
Stratford Abbey, to John Lyon alderman of London 
and Alice his wife, to hold by jj knight's fee.'* Sir 
John Lyon died in 1564 seised of this property." He 
was succeeded by Richard Lyon, son of his brother 
Henry, who died in 1579.'* Richard's son Henry 
Lyon died in 1590." In 161 1 Henry's son George 
Lyon leased the manor to the sitting tenant Joan 
Newman for 21 years.' In 16 16 John Lyon sold the 
property to Thomas Hill of London,^ and Hill sold it 
in 1649 to William and George Nutt who were 
brothers.3 

George Nutt was dead by 1656 when his son George 
sold his interest in Monkhams to his uncle William 
Nutt.* In 1669 William Nutt settled it on his son on 
the marriage of the latter.' The younger William died 
in 172 1, leaving the manor to his son William who sold 
it in 1725 to William Cleland of Woodford.* Cleland 
sold Monkhams in 1735 ^^ Sir Joseph Eyles, Kt., who 
was already owner of the neighbouring estate of Lux- 
borough (see below) .7 Eyles died in 1740 and his 
widow and executors sold the manor in 1 746 to Robert 
Knight, I St Baron Luxborough, whose father had 
bought Luxborough from them three years earlier.* 
Lord Luxborough sold both properties in 1750 to 
James Crokatt.9 Crokatt sold them in 1767 to Baker 
J. Littlehales, who conveyed them a few days later to 
Sir Edward Walpole, K.B.'" Walpole sold them in 
1775 to Samuel Peach." In 1781 Peach went bank- 
rupt and Buckhurst and Luxborough were bought 
from his creditors by Sir Edward Hughes, whose 
widow Ruth sold them in 1 799 to James Hatch, lord 
of Chigwell Hall.'^ Thereafter they passed along with 
Chigwell Hall. In 1839 the farm of Monkhams 
included 178 acres and was let by James Mills to 
William Death. '3 The farm survived until 1936, when 
it was broken up for building. The house, which was 
then demolished, stood at the south-west corner of 
Lords Bushes. '■» Its site is now Farm Way and Farm 
Close. 



" C6/139/54, 142/39; CP25(z)/552 
Mich. 1657. '6 E.R.O., D/DU 97/1. 

" E.R.O., D/DEs M104; P.C.C. 90 
Pyne. 

" CP25(2)/830 Trin. 12 Wm. III. 

" Morant, £««r, i, 167. '" Ibid. 

" P.C.C. 204 Warburton. For the 
admiral see above. Worthies. 

«^ E.R.O., D/CT 78. 

«3 E.R.O., D/DU 97/9. 

8« Burke' i L.G. (17th edn.), p. 1538. 

*' Inf. from L. L. Savill, Esq. 

" SarVjL.G. (i7thedn.), p. 1538. 

'' hiu. Mon. Com. Essex, ii, 48. 

" F.C.H. Essex, ii, 130. For this manor 



see A. R. J. Ramsey, Monkhams (Woodford 
Hist. Soc). 8« Ibid. 

«» Feet off. Essex, i, 49, 86. 

»■ Harl. MS. 4809, fo. 3, 4. 

« Cal. Chart. R. 1226-57, 433. 

'^ In 1 29 1 the abbey's property in Chig- 
well was valued at ^12 lys. zd.l Tax 
Eccl. (Rec. Com.), 25. 

»♦ Ci/i 165/23-25. 

« E.R.xlv, 168. 

»<> Cal. Pat. 1547-8, 41 ; Cal. S.P. Dom. 
1 547-80, 4. 

" C142/14./39. "S C142/194/47. 

*' Lysons, En'virons of London (1796), 
119. 

28 



I E.R.O., D/DB T347 (deed of 1649); 
C3/359/34. ^ Ibid. 

3 E.R.O., D/DB T347. ■» Ibid. 

5 E.R.O., D/DBT345. 

P.C.C. 200 Marlboro'; E.R.O., 
D/DDa T42, 43 

' Guildford Museum Deeds 51/3/50. 

' Ibid. Knight's father had originally 
purchased Luxborough (see below) in 1 716. 

» E.R.O., D/DDa T42. 
■o Ibid. " Ibid. 

'2 E.R.O., D/DDa T39, 40; ibid. 
D/DBT352. 

" E.R.O., D/CT 78. 

'* Ramsey, Monkhams, 10. 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



CHIGWELL 



The manor of GRANGE, which gave its name to 
Grange Hill, was originally part of Chigwell Hall (see 
above). In 1258 William de Goldingham and Aline 
his wife confirmed to Robert, Abbot of Tilty, gifts to 
the abbey of 3 messuages and 2344 acres of land in 
Chigwell. '5 The original donors were Herbert the 
chaplain, John Fitz Gilbert, Margery de Chigwell, 
and John the Miller and Agnes his wife, all of whom 
were evidently tenants of Chigwell Hall. The land so 
granted became a grange of Tilty Abbey and remained 
in the possession of the abbey until the Dissolution.'* 
In 1536 William Baker of Epping, carpenter, rendered 
his first account to the king as lessee of Chigwell Grange. 
He held the manor on a 3 1 -year lease from Michaelmas 
1532, at an annual rent of ^^3 10/." In 1538 the 
manor was bought from the Crown by Thomas 
Addington of London, skinner, for j^6o.>8 Addington 
died in 1543 and was succeeded by his son Thomas." 
The younger Thomas conveyed the manor to James 
Altham of London, clothworker, at a date not exactly 
known, and in 1555 Altham granted it to Anthony 
Browne of South Weald.^" In 1555 the manor was 
said to consist of 4 messuages, 60 acres of land, 200 
acres of meadow, 40 acres of pasture, and 10 acres of 
wood: it would thus appear to have been reduced by 
about 100 acres since the 13th century. Later in 1555 
Browne sold 14J acres of land in Chigwell, of which 
1 1 J acres were part of the manor of Grange, to John 
Stonarde and others. This small holding later became 
the endowment of a road charity founded by Joan 
Sympson.2' 

In 1558 Browne endowed his newly founded gram- 
mar school at Brentwood with this manor and other 
property, confirming the grants by his will of 1565.^^ 
The grammar school remained owners of this estate 
until about 1900, since when various sales have taken 
place, mostly for building. In 1839 the property con- 
sisted of some 140 acres.^3 Grange farm-house was 
about 300 yds. east of the junction between Hainault 
Road and Manor Road.^'* 

The manor of KING'S PLACE alias LANG- 
FORDS alias POTELLS, at Buckhurst Hill, prob- 
ably originated in the purchase by Edward III (through 
his son John of Gaunt) in 1360 of a messuage and 92 
acres of land from Matthew de Torkeseye.^5 In 1372 
Alexander de Goldingham, lord of Chigwell Hall, 
released to the king all his rights in this property 'now 
commonly called the Neweloggelands in Chigwell'.^' 
From this release it is clear that Matthew de Torkeseye 
had held the estate as a tenant of the manor of Chigwell 
Hall. In 1378 Alan de Buxhull was granted custody 
of the king's new lodge in Waltham Forest, free of rent 
on condition that he kept the houses in repair.^' In 
1476 Edward IV enlarged the estate by the purchase 



of a neighbouring estate from Robert Langford and 
others.28 Soon after this Edward IV granted the custody 
of the whole property for hfe to Sir John Risley and in 
1485 Henry VII confirmed the grant.^' Risley ap- 
pears to have later received a grant of the estate in tail 
male, but he died without a male heir and in 1513 
King's Place was granted in tail male to William 
Compton.30 Compton was later knighted and died in 
1528, leaving a son and heir Peter, who died in 1539." 
Peter's son Henry was created Baron Compton in 1572 
and died in 1589.3^ WiUiam, 2nd Baron Compton, 
negotiated with the queen in 1596 for the reversion of 
the manor of King's Place (in default of the issue of the 
1st baron), but nothing appears to have come of this.^J 
Early in 1597 the queen granted the reversion to 
Thomas Spencer and Robert Atkinson. J-t During the 
1 6th century the estate was leased to at least two dif- 
ferent tenants. In his will dated 1 541 William Rolte, 
tenant of Chigwell Hall, mentioned his lease of King's 
Place.35 In 1576 Richard Hayle left his lease of the 
property to his wife Agnes.'* 

Although there was no failure of the heirs male of 
the I St Baron Compton King's Place seems to have 
passed out of the hands of the 2nd baron soon after 
1597. In 161 2 Thomas Covell described himself in 
his will as of King's Place. 3' His daughter Elizabeth 
had married Roger Forster in 1610.38 She died in or 
before 1622, when Forster married Mary, eldest 
daughter of John Penington.^' In 1624 King's Place 
was settled on Forster and Mary.*" Forster died in 
1633 and Mary married Michael Ernie, who died in 
1645.'" Mary finally married Sir Thomas Perient and 
lived at King's Place until her death.''^ 

The estate was, however, settled in 1657 on her 
daughter Mary Ernie on the marriage of the latter 
to Henry Goodricke of Grays Inn.''^ Mary and Henry 
are said to have sold it a year later to William Livesaye,+* 
whose son and namesake later sold it to Elizabeth 
Colwall, widow, with successive remainders to her 
sons John and Arnold. John Colvvall died without 
issue before 1680, when his mother settled King's 
Place upon Arnold Colwall-''^ By 1705 the manor had 
passed to Arnold's son, Daniel Colwall of the Friary, 
Guildford (Surr.)."** Arnold's widow Susanna married 
Foot Onslow and appears to have had some interest in 
King's Place in 1705 and 1708.''' 

In 1716 Thomas Gibson and John Jacob, trustees 
under Daniel Colwall's will, sold the property to 
Percival Chandler, who lived at the farm until about 
I730.'t8 He is said to have sold King's Place in 1 741 
to Oliver Marton, who died in 1744.'" Marton was 
succeeded by his son Edward, who died in 1758, 
leaving the property to his brother the Revd. Oliver 
Marton. 50 A year later Oliver sold King's Place to 



" Feet of F, Essex, i, 225. 

" In 1 29 1 it was valued at ^4. lis. ^d.: 
Tax. Eccl. (Rec. Com.), 25*. 

" E.R. xix, I. 

'8 C142/70/32. '0 Ibid. 

" Cal. Pat. 1554-5, 234., 255. Later in 
1555 Anthony Browne was granted 
custody of the person and lands of Ralph 
Addington, son of the younger Thomas, 
who was a congenital idiot: ibid. 73. 

" Cal. Pat. 1554.-5, 12; E.R. xix, i. 
See above, p. 19; Charities. 

^2 P.C.C. 20 Stonarde. 

" E.R.O., D/CT 78. 

2* O.S. 6 in. Map (ist edn.), sheet Ixvi. 

" Feet of F. Essex, iii, 128; E.A.T. 

N.S. X, 313-14. 



^'£40/11027; Cal. Close, 1369-74, 
470. " Cal. Pat. 1377-81, 199. 

28 E.A.T. M.S. X, 314. The Langfords 
estate can probably be identified with 
Potells, which got its name from the 
family of Richard Potel (1285): P.N. 
Essex, 54. 

2« Cal. Pat. 1485-94, 103. 

30 L. & P. Hen. Fill, i, p. 493. 

3' C142/47/58; Complete Peerage, iii, 

39°- 

32 Complete Peerage, 111, 390. 

" Cal. S.P. Dom. 1595-7, 308; F.C.H. 
fVarivs. V, 65. 

3« Morant, Essex, l, 170. 

35 P.C.C. 9 Alenger. 

36 P.C.C. 6 Carew. 

29 



37 P.C.C. 2 Capell. 

38 Par. Reg. 35 Ibid, 
■f E.R.O., D/DBT271. 

*■ Mar. Lie, Bp. of Loniion (Harl. Soc. 
xxvi), 224. 

■•2 Par. Reg. Holy Trin. Minories, 
London. 

« E.R.O., D/DACT85, 86. 

*♦ Lysons, En-virons of London (18 10), i, 
645. 

♦ 5 Guildford Museum, Onslow Deeds 
865, 872-3. ♦<* Ibid. 

♦' Ibid., CP25(2)/923 East 7 Anne. 

*8 Lysons, Environs of London (18 to), i, 
645;E.R.O., D/P 166/8/1. 

♦9 Lysons,'ibid. 

50 Burke's L.G. (15th edn.), p. 1544. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



Robert Jones of Babraham (Cambs.).s' Jones died in 
1774, leaving an only daughter Anne who married 
General J. W. Adeane, who inherited all Jones's 
property." The general died in 1782 and was suc- 
ceeded by his son Robert Jones Adeane. 53 On Robert's 
death in 1 8 10 King's Place passed to Henry J. Adeane, 
who died in 1847. '« In 1839 the property consisted 
of 1 56 acres.55 In 1853 the executors of H. J. Adeane 
sold it to the National Freehold Land Society who 
shortly after broke it up for building development.'* 
The name of this ancient manor is retained in King's 
Place and King's Avenue, Buckhurst Hill. 

The manor of L UXBORO UGH probably took its 
name from the family of Loughteborough which lived 
in Chigwell in the 14th century. William de Loughte- 
borough was named in a Forest Roll in 1324 and in 
1 3 16 Henry Doule and Eve his wife quitclaimed to 
William de Loughteborough a messuage and 132 acres 
in Chigwell.57 Robert de Loughteborough and 
Margaret his wife were assessed to the subsidy of 
1390.58 In 1559 Francis Saunders and Margaret 
Valentyne, widow, sold the manor of 'Loughbroughes' 
to John Stoner, who built himself a house there.s' 
Stoner died in 1 579, leaving the manor and the house 
to his wife Anne with reversion to his only daughter 
Susan, wife of Sir Robert Wroth, lord of Chigwell Hall 
(see above).*" In 1580 Anne conveyed her interest to 
Robert and Susan,*' and Luxborough passed along 
with Chigwell Hall until 1642, when the estates of 
John Wroth were divided. Luxborough then passed 
to John, elder son of Henry Wroth and nephew of the 
above John Wroth, by virtue of a settlement made in 
1640 on the marriage of John the nephew with Anne 
Gallard, widow.*^ Anne's will, dated 1675, was cited 
in legal proceedings in i676.*3 She left Luxborough 
for life to her son by her first marriage, John Gallard, 
with successive remainders to her son John Wroth for 
life and her grandson John Wroth for ever.** Her 
husband John Wroth had died in i662.*5 John Wroth 
her son died in 1708.** In 17 16 her grandson John 
Wroth sold Luxborough, then heavily mortgaged, to 
Robert Knight, cashier of the South Sea Company.*' 
After the failure of the company in 1720 Knight's 
Estates, with those of the governors and directors, were 
vested in trustees and in 1724 the manor of Lux- 
borough was bought from these by Sir Joseph Eyles, 
Kt.** Eyles died in 1740 and in 1743 his trustees con- 
tracted to sell the property to Knight, who had 
returned from abroad on receiving a royal pardon for 
his activities in the South Sea Company.*' Knight 
died in 1744, before the completion of the sale. Before 
his death he had settled his estates on his son, Robert 



Knight later created Baron Luxborough, and the 
manor passed to the son on completion of the sale.'" 
In 1746 Eyies's trustees also sold Buckhurst to Lord 
Luxborough, and the two manors subsequently 
descended together, becoming part of the Chigwell 
Hall estate in 1799.'' 

The 16th-century manor house at Luxborough built 
by John Stoner was rebuilt, probably in 1716—20, by 
Robert Knight.'^ Prints of 1787 and 1788 show 
respectively the south and east fronts of the house.'' 
It was of two stories and appears to have been of brick 
with stone or plaster dressings. To the north and east 
were lower two-story ranges of stables and outbuildings. 
The south or garden front had a central doorway with 
a small classical porch. The entrance front on the east 
side was more impressive. Between two projecting 
wings was a recessed portico of five bays. Corinthian 
columns the full height of the building supported an 
entablature and pediment. Flanking this the parapet 
was balustraded. The house was demolished about 
1 800 by James Hatch.'* 

The small manor of STOCKTONS alias SER- 
JEANTS lay in Gravel Lane. John Stokton was 
mentioned in the Woolston court rolls in I462.'5 He 
was later knighted and became Lord Mayor of London 
in 1470.'* He died about 1473, leaving his Chigwell 
property to his younger son William, who died in 
1483." In 1 543 Edward Brockett conveyed Stocktons 
to John Potter.'* Potter died about 1 546, leaving all 
his lands in Chigwell to his son Thomas, who jointly 
with his wife Margaret conveyed Stocktons in 1567 to 
John Watson and Elizabeth his wife.'" In 1 1;90 Henry 
Fuller of North Weald Bassett left Serjeants to his son 
Richard.*" Henry Fuller of Serjeants was mentioned 
several times in the Woolston court rolls between 16 14 
and 1 62 1 *' and the property seems to have remained in 
the Fuller family until the end of the 17th century. 
About 1700 John Fuller sold it to Edward Green who 
died in 1707, leaving his 'farm in Gravel Lane' to his 
son John.*^ John Green died soon after, leaving it to 
his mother Ann Green.*' In 1 709 she left her freehold 
estate called Serjeants to her son Charles Green.** By 
1763 it had passed into the hands of the Harveys, 
owners of the manor of Barringtons: in that year it was 
let by Emma Harvey, as guardian of her son William 
Harvey. *5 The lease described the property as fields, 
barns, &c., containing 21 acres. After the i6th century 
the farm was never termed a manor. In 1687 it was 
even questioned whether it was a freehold.** 

In 1066 the manor of WOOLSTON was held by 
Earl Harold. It was then taken by King William and 
in 1086 was held by him in demesne.*' During the 



5» Lysons, ibid. '^ Ibid. 

" Burke's L.G. (15th edn.), p. 1 1. 

5* Ibid. 

55 E.R.O., D/CT 78. 

5' E.R.O., D/P 166/11/17-20. 

5' E32/16; Feet of F. Essex, ii, 165. 

5' E179/147/60. 

5' CP25(2)/i26/i6o7; for the house see 
below. 

'» P.C.C. 50 Arundell. 

" E.R. xiv, 2. 

*= £.y*.r.N.8.viii, 347-8. 

«> C10/181. 

♦* Ibid. '5 Ibid. 

«' E.A.T.-n.i.v'm, 181. 

«' E.R.O., D/DDa T37. For the 
Knights see Complete Peerage., iii, 1 10. 

'* Ibid. For Eyles see Burke's Extinct 
and Dormant Baronetcies, 190. He was 
Sheriff of London 1726. His brother Sir 



John Eyles, Bt., was a governor of the 
South Sea Co. Sir Joseph bought Buck- 
hurst (see above) in 1735. 

<"> E.R.O., D/DDa T37. 

'» E.R.O., D/DDa T37. 

'^ See Buckhurst. 

'^ Hist, Essex by Gent, iv, II. 

'3 E.R.O., Prints, Chigwell. They are 
from Harrison's Picturesque Views of the 
Principal Seats (c. 1790) which states, 
probably in error, that Lord Luxborough 
built the house. And see plate facing p. 30. 

'* Ogborne, Hist. Essex, 245-6. The 
house is shown on the O.S. i in. Map (ist 
edn.) for which surveys were made about 
1797. Hatch died in 1806, having ac- 
quired the house in 1799. 

'5 E.R.O., T/P 17. No mention has 
been found of tenants in Chigwell named 
Serjeant from whom the alternative name 



may have come. A Roger le Serjaunt is 
thought to have given his name to 
Sergeants' Green in Waltham Holy Cross, 
which is not far from Chigwell: P.N. 
Essex (E.P.N.S.), 32. 
'^ Strype, Sto%u's Survey of London, i, 

" P.C.C. 9 Wattys; E.R.O., T/P 17. 
'8 CP25(2)/i3/73. 

'9 Archd. Essex 55 Bastwyck; CP25(2)/ 
127/1631. 
80 P.C.C. 76 Nevell. 
8' E.R.O., D/DEs M99-100. 

82 P.C.C. 57 Lane. 

83 E.R.O., D/DEs M104. 
8* Archd. Essex 51 Luck. 

85 Nat. Libr. of Wales : MSS. of Andrew 
Lloyd. 
8' C8/394/25. 
87 F.C.H. Essex, i, 432A. 



30 




Dews Hall, Lambourne 
Refronted c. 1 740, demolished c. 1 840 




LuxBORouGH House, Chicwell 
Rebuilt 1716-20, demolished c. 1800 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



CHIGWELL 



1 2th century the manor was granted to the Sanford 
family to hold in serjeanty by virtue of the office of 
chamberlain to the queen. 88 A John de Sanford held 
the manor in 1210— 12*9 and Cecily de Sanford in 
i2ig.9o Gilbert de Sanford held Woolston in 1236, 
in which year he officiated at the coronation of Eleanor 
of Provence." He was still hving in 1248,'^ but was 
dead by April 1249 when the wardship of his daughter 
and heir Alice de Sanford was bought by Fulk Basset, 
Bishop of London. 93 In June 1249 the bishop sold 
the wardship to Hugh de Vere, Earl of Oxford, who 
married Alice to his son and heir Robert.'* In 1259 
John de Rivers, lord of Ongar hundred, granted to 
Robert de Vere and Alice his wife a release of 41/. rent 
at their view of frankpledge at Woolston. 's In 1265 
Robert's estates were forfeited for his part in the 
Barons' War ; the tovraship of Woolston was then said 
to be worth £(> 6s. 8J. a year.'* Robert recovered his 
estates under the Dictum of Kenilworth, but before 
this, in October 1265, all Alice's hereditary lands had 
been restored to her.''' 

In 1284 Robert and Alice granted the reversion of 
Woolston after their deaths to their daughter Joan and 
her husband William de Warenne, son and heir of 
John de Warenne, Earl of Surrey (d. 1304).'^ Robert 
died in 1296; Woolston was then being held of him 
and Alice by William le Plomer." Alice died in 1 3 1 2. 
She had outlived both her daughter Joan and William 
de Warenne and Woolston passed to John, Earl of 
Surrey, son of Joan and William.' Before 1321 John 
conveyed the manor to his sister Alice and her husband 
Edmund Fitz Alan Earl of Arundel.^ Woolston did 
not escheat after the execution of Arundel in 1326 be- 
cause it was his wife's inheritances Alice died between 
1330 and 1338, and the manor passed to her son 
Richard Fitz Alan, who had been restored to the earl- 
dom of Arundel in 1330.'' In 1345 Woolston was 
being held for life by Isabel Dispenser, the divorced 
wife of Richard. 5 Richard died in 1376.* The manor 
passed to his son Richard, Earl of Arundel, who was 
executed in 1397.' The attainder of this earl was 
reversed in 1400 and his titles and estates were restored 
to his son Thomas, who in 1405 granted Woolston for 
hfe to his servant John Wele.* Thomas died in 141 5 
and John Wele in 1420.' Shortly before he died Wele 
was involved in a Chancery action against the king in 
respect of Woolston.'" In 142 1 the manor was 
divided between Thomas's three daughters, Elizabeth, 
Duchess of Norfolk, Joan, Lady Bergavenny, and 
Margaret, wife of Rowland Lenthal." 

In 1425, shortly before her death, the Duchess of 



•• J. H. Round, Kingi Sergeants and 
Oficers of State ^ I 32 f. Woolston was one 
of five manors appurtenant to this ser- 
jeanty, the others being Margaretting and 
Fingrith (in Blackmore) in Essex, and 
Great Hormead and Nuthampstead (in 
Barkway) in Herts. 

89 RedBk. ofExch. $07; Bk.ofFee!,iii. 

»» Bk. of Fees, 275. 

»' Ibid. 589; J. H. Round, op. cit. 133. 

" Bk. of Fees, 1361, 1412. 

95 Complete Peerage, x, 214. 

0* Ibid. 

95 Harl. Chart. 55 D. 24. 

96 Cal. Chart. R. ii, 57; Cat. Inq. Misc. 
i, p. 200. 

9' Complete Peerage, x, 216. 

98 Cal. Pat. 1281-92, 173. 

99 Cal. Inq. p.m. iii, p. 230; Cal. Fine R. 
1272-1307, 378. 

* Cal. Inq. p.m. v, p. 2 1 6. 



» Feet off. Essex, ii, 204. 
3 Complete Peerage, i, 242. 
♦ Ibid. 243. 

5 Cal. Pat. 1343-5,488. 
' Complete Peerage, i, 244. 
' C136/101. 

8 CT38/45. 

9 Ibid. ; Complete Peerage, i, 246. 
'» Cal. Close, 1419-22, 116. 
" Cal. Fine R. 1413-22, 389-90. 

Elizabeth was widow of Thomas de 
Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk (d. 1399). 
Joan was widow of William Beauchamp, 
I St Lord Bergavenny. 

"z Feet of F. Essex, iv, 6; Cal. Pat. 
1422-9, 341. 

■3 Cal. Close 1429-35, 338-9 ; Ci 39/62; 
C139/142. 

'■• Ibid.; Ca/. Fine R. 1445-52, 222. 

■5 Cal. Pat. 1446-52, 512. 

'6 J. C. Wedgcwood, Hist. Parliament: 

31 



Norfolk granted her third part of Woolston to Norman 
Babington and Margaret his wife.'^ Norman died 
holding it in 1434 and Margaret held it at her death 
in 145 1. '3 It then passed to Norman's brother Sir 
William Babington.'* In the same year Sir William 
settled the manor upon his sons William, Robert, and 
Thomas Babington and the heirs of Robert.'' Sir 
WiUiam died in 1454, his son William in 1474 and 
Thomas in 1471,'* but it is not known how this third 
of the manor passed between 1471 and 1485, when it 
had come to William Scott (see below). 

In 1428 Joan Lady Bergavenny enfeoffed Robert 
Darcy and others with her third part of Woolston. '^ 
In 1457 the surviving feoffees settled the property on 
Joan's grandson, Thomas Ormond, with successive 
remainders to his brothers John Ormond and James, 
Earl of Wiltshire." In 1476 Thomas Ormond con- 
veyed it to William Scott and Robert Hardyng." 

After the death of Margaret Lenthal her third part 
of the manor was held by her husband until he died in 
1450. It then passed to John de Mowbray, Duke of 
Norfolk, grandson of the above Elizabeth, Duchess of 
Norfolk, and to George Neville, later Lord Bergavenny, 
great-grandson of Joan, Lady Bergavenny.*" In the 
division of Margaret Lenthal's inheritance between 
Mowbray and Neville the third part of Woolston was 
assigned to Mowbray.*' In 1468 John de Mowbray, 
Duke of Norfolk, conveyed the property to Thomas 
Hoo and others.** This was the first of a complicated 
series of conveyances between various parties, including 
George Neville, by which this third of Woolston was 
conveyed to WiUiam Scott and Robert Hardyng.*' 

By 1485 all three parts of the manor had been united 
in the hands of William Scott, who had been acting as 
lord three years earlier when he signed an agreement 
between his baihff and his tenants, detailing the ser- 
vices to be performed by the latter.** He died in 149 1, 
leaving Woolston to his fifth son George, who died 
without issue in I534.*5 George probably lived at 
Woolston Hall. At his death the manor was said to 
include 10 acres of arable, 24 acres of meadow, 80 
acres of pasture, 8 acres of wood, and £<) rent.** 

George Scott's heir was Walter Scott, lord of the 
manor of Stapleford Tawney (q.v.), who was the 
grandson of John Scott (d. 1 527), eldest son of William 
Scott (d. i49i).*7 Walter Scott died in 1550 and his 
son Roger in 1 585.** George, son of Roger Scott, died 
in 1589.*' Neither Walter nor Roger nor George 
acted as lord of the manor, for by the will of George 
son of William Scott a 99-year lease of Woolston had 
been granted to William's sixth son Hugh.'" Hugh 

Biographies i43g-isog, 31-32. 

" Feet of F. Essex, iv, 12; Cal. Pat. 
1422-9, 486; E.R.O., D/DP T51. 

■8 Cal. Pat. 1452-61, 355; E.R.O., 
D/DPT51. 

■9 E.R.O., D/DP A470. Hardyng was 
a London goldsmith and was probably act- 
ing as Scott's financial agent. 

" C139/143. 

2' Cal. Fine R. 1445-52, 266. 

" E.R.O., D/DPT51. 

" Ibid.; E.R.O., D/DP A468, 469. 
The conveyances cover the period 1468— 
73. M E.R.O., D/DEs M95. 

'5 P.C.C. 19 Dogett; Cal. Inq. p.m. 
Hen. P'll, i, p. 334. For the early history 
of the Scotts see E.R. Ixii (Jan.), pp. 42-44. 

^<> C142/82/4. " C142/82/4. 

28 C142/208/181. 

29 Crisp, Par. Reg. of Stapleford Tatvney, 
38. » P.C.C. 28 Hogen. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



acted as lord of the manor until his death in 1 540, and 
so also did his son George.^' 

When George son of Roger Scott died in 1589 he 
left Woolston in his will to his two daughters Elizabeth 
and Mary.32 This bequest was, however, invalid 
owing to a settlement made under the will of William 
Scott (d. 1491). By that settlement the manor passed 
to George Scott, son of Hugh, who was already the 
tenant of Woolston under the 99-year lease. This 
George Scott was living at Woolston Hall when he 
became its owner.^J He died a few months later, in 
December I589.3'« He had made his will before 
inheriting the freehold, leaving his lease of Woolston 
to his grandson George son of William Scott. Accord- 
ing to the settlement of 1 49 1 the heir to the freehold 
was William Scott, eldest son of the George Scott who 
died in December 1589. William never acted as lord 
of the manor. He died in 1597." George, son of 
William Scott, who had inherited the lease of the 
manor, acted as lord from 1590 onwards.^* He died 
in 1648.37 He never lived at Woolston Hall, which 
was let to various tenants.ss About 1640 he had 
settled Woolston on his son and heir George Scott, 
who inherited the manor in 1648 and died in 1683.3' 
The last named George Scott was succeeded by his 
son William, who died in i72 5.'"> William's elder son 
George inherited the manor but died unmarried in 
1727.*' He was succeeded by his brother Thomas 
who died in ijjj.*^ Thomas's son, George Scott, was 
a minor, and manor courts were held until 1741 in the 
name of his guardian. Sir Robert Abdy, Bt.'*' George 
died childless in 1780, leaving Woolston to his second 
cousin Robert Bodle of Clare Market, London, a 
picture-frame maker.'*^ 

Robert Bodle died in 1785, leaving Woolston in 
trust for the benefit of his son Robert, who came of age 
in I79i.'*5 The younger Robert held Woolston until 
his death in 185 1. In 1839 his estate consisted of 350 
acres in Chigwell parish.** He left two daughters, of 
whom the elder, Mary Elizabeth, inherited the manor 
but died unmarried in i872.'*'' The younger daughter, 
Louisa, had married George Watlington as his second 
wife, but died without issue before her sister. After 
the death of Mary Elizabeth Woolston passed to John 
Watlington Perry Watlington, son of Thomas Perry 
by his wife Maria Jane, daughter of George Watlington 
by his first wife. J. W. Perry Watlington died childless 
in 1882, and his estates passed to his sister Louisa wife 
of Robert Peel Ethelston. She died in 1892, leaving 
Woolston to her second son Robert W. Ethelston. He 
died in 1914 and the manor was subsequently vested 
in trustees.''^ Shortly before 1939 Woolston Hall was 
sold, possibly for the first time since the 12th century. 



It is now a sports club belonging to the Co-operative 
Wholesale Society.*' The building is L-shaped in plan, 
with the main front facing south-east. It is of two 
stories with attics, partly timber-framed and plastered 
and partly of brick. It was built about 1600, possibly 
incorporating remains of an earlier house. The south- 
west front has an early 18th-century eaves cornice and 
a Doric porch with paired outer columns. The house 
was 'modernized and improved' early in the 19th 
century, probably by Robert Bodle. so Over the mantel 
shelf in the entrance hall is an oil painting, installed by 
George Scott (d. 1780) depicting his arms impaling 
those of his wife Jane (Gibson) and several trophies.si 
Chigwell church (see below) has existed at least 

since the 1 2th century. The advowson 
CHURCHES was originally appurtenant to the 

manor of Chigwell Hall (see above). s^ 
By about 1254 a vicarage existed as well as a rectory.ss 
The names of the vicars have been recorded from the 
early 14th century. They were presented by the rectors 
and at first held only permissive office. In 1374, how- 
ever, a vicarage was formally ordained by the Bishop of 
London on the application of Henry Marmion then 
rector and Richard de Benlace, then vicar.s* Shortly 
before this, in 1362, Sir John de Goldingham, lord of 
Chigwell Hall, conveyed the advowson of the rectory 
to Corpus Christi College, Cambridge,5s but there is 
no evidence that the grant became effective. In the 
same year as the grant Alexander de Goldingham, son 
of Sir John, presented to the rectory, and he did so on 
several later occasions up to 1386.56 In 1388 Sir 
Alexander conveyed the advowson to John, Lord 
Bourchier.s' Bourchier presented in 1392 and his son 
Bartholomew, 3rd Lord Bourchier, in 1400.58 In 
1404 Bartholomew conveyed the advowson to John 
son of William Doreward of Bocking.5' This grant 
was confirmed in 1425 by Sir Walter de Goldingham.*" 
In 1439 John son of John Doreward gave the advowson 
to the priory of St. Botolph, Colchester, and in 1440 
the rectory was appropriated to the priory, which pre- 
sented to the vicarage of Chigwell in 1442 and 1443.*' 
The appropriation was short-lived. In 1447 a new 
rector was presented by the Archbishop of Canterbury 
and in 145 1 a new vicar was presented not by the 
priory but, as previously, by the rector.*^ 

In 1460 the priory presented Ralph Bird to the 
rectory.*3 In 1465 the king granted the rectory to 
Kemp's Chantry in St. Paul's cathedral, newly founded 
by Thomas Kemp, Bishop of London.** The office of 
priest in this chantry was united with that of penitentiary 
in the cathedral. In 1470 Ralph Bird became Pre- 
bendary of St. Pancras in the cathedral.*s Soon after 
this the prebend was formally united with the offices 



" E.R. Ixii (Apr.), p. 53. 
" P.C.C. 24. Leicester. 

33 E.R. Ixii (Apr.), pp. 53-54. 

34 P.C.C. 98 Leicester. 

35 Chigwell Par. Reg. 

3' E.R.O., D/DEs M98. On several 
occasions during George Scott's lifetime 
the manor was vested in trustees. 

3' P.C.C. 75 Essex. 

3' E.R. Ixii (July), p. 4.0. 

39 P.C.C. 75 Essex; P.C.C. 22 Hare. 

*» P.C.C. i64Romncy. 

*■ Chigwell Par. Reg.; P.C.C. 74 
Farrant. 

•»2 Par. Reg. 

<3 E.R.O., D/DEs M108. 

** P.C.C. 417 Collins. William Bodle, 
father of Robert, had married Elizabeth, 



daughter of George Scott, brother of the 
William Scott who had died in 1725: 
Visits, of Essex (Harl. Soc), 706. 

■•5 P.C.C. 491 Ducarel. 

«6 E.R.O., D/CT 78. 

■»' Par. Reg. 

•»8 Burke's L.G. (15th edn.), 712; 
Kelly's Dir. Essex (1933). 

« E.R. Ixii (Sept.), p. 45. 

50 Ibid. 

51 Ibid. For recent photos, of Woolston 
Hall see E.R. Ixii (Apr.) 49, (July) 37. 
For some details of the furnishings of the 
house in 1588 see E.A.T. n.s. xi, 338. 
The house then included a 'great chamber', 
a 'garden chamber', a 'gallery chamber', 
a 'green chamber', a kitchen and a brew- 
house. 



5^ Newcourt, Repert. ii, 140—2. 

53 E.A.T. ti.s. xviii, 18. 

s* Reg. Sudbury (Cant. & York Soc), 
i, 176—9; Marmion died in 1375. For his 
will see E.A.T. N.s. xi, 1 1 . 

55 Challenor Smith, Additions to Neiv- 
court^ 29. 

5' Newcourt, Repert. ii, 142. 

5' Feet of F. Essex, iii, 209. 

s8 Newcourt, ibid. 

59 Ca/. Close, 1402-5, 297-8. 

'"' Feet of F. Essex, iv, 5. 

" Newcourt, Repert. ii, 140-2. 

" Ibid. 

'3 Ibid. 

'* Ibid. 141. 

'5 Ibid, i, 195. 



32 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



CHIGWELL 



of penitentiary and priest of Kemp's chantry, and 
subsequent prebendaries of St. Pancras were sinecure 
rectors of Chigwell and presented to the vicarage until 
1848, when the rectory was vested in the Ecclesiastical 
Commissioners and the advowson of the vicarage in the 
Bishop of London.** The patronage has subsequently 
been exercised by the bishops of the diocese in which 
Chigwell has been, and the present patron is thus the 
Bishop of Chelmsford.*' 

In about 1254 the value of the rectory was stated to 
be 15 marks and that of the vicarage 10 marks.** In 
1291 the church was valued at 25 marks.*' When the 
church was appropriated in 1440 its annual value was 
said not to exceed ^^^24 and the vicarage was then 
valued at 18 marks.'" In 1535 the vicarage was valued 
at ;£i8." In 1839 the rectorial tithes were commuted 
for ;£900, and the vicarial tithes for £500. There were 
then 54 acres of rectorial glebe and 10 acres of vicarial 
glebe.'^ 

In and after the i6th century the impropriators 
usually farmed out the rectorial glebe and tithes. Thus 
in 1540 the rectory was leased for 31 years to Hugh 
Fen of Stepney.'^ In 1 5 64 William Colshill and Barbara 
his wife, who had succeeded to Fen's interest in the 
lease, conveyed it to Nicholas Fulham of Chigwell.'* 
In 1569 Fulham sold the lease to Robert Spakman.'s 
From 1635 to 1660 Thomas Andrews, a relative of 
Roger Andrews, vicar in 1605-6, was lessee of the 
rectory.'* William Andrews was lessee in 1697— 
1729." In 1753 the rectory was being leased by 
James Crokatt of Luxborough." On his death it 
passed ( 1 776) to his daughter Jane, wife of Sir Alexander 
Crauford, ist Bt." In 1791 a new lease was granted 
to Sir Alexander for the term of the lives of his children 
James, John, and Cecilia.'" The reversion of the lease 
was offered for sale in 1800 for j^i 3,000. It was 
bought by George Clark of West Hatch*' on whose 
death it was sold to William le Gros, also of West 
Hatch.*^ Le Gros died in 1820 and John Boote 
bought the lease.*' Boote held it until 1848 when the 
rectory came into the hands of the Ecclesiastical Com- 
missioners. They evidently bought out the unexpired 
portion of Boote's lease about the same time.** 

The Guild of the Holy Trinity had an altar in the 
parish church. *5 At the time of its dissolution in 1 548 
the guild owned a house and some 9 acres of land, and 
also had 60 sheep and 10 cows. The net annual value 
of these endowments was ;^i 10/. 6<2'.** The land con- 
sisted of Fishes, Little Berdes, and Brockesfeld (Brook- 
house Seld). It had been given by Thomas Ilderton, 
stockfishmonger of London (d. 1527-8), for the pur- 
pose of endowing a priest to sing at Trinity altar. 
Ilderton also left the 10 cows to the guild.*' The sheep 
were the gift of William Butler. When the property 
of the guild was valued by the royal officials in 1548 
the net income was assessed at 41/. 6/, the value of the 



stock at £8 and the total value for purchase at ^^5 3 1 3/. 
In the same year the property was sold to John Whyte- 
horne and John Bayly of Chard (Som.).** It is not 
clear when the guild had been founded. The earliest 
reference to it is in 1 5 17, in the will of one John 
FuUham.*9 

The parish church of ST. MJRr THE VIRGIN 
consists of nave, chancel, south aisle, and chapel. The 
timber bell-turret at the west end of the aisle is sur- 
mounted by a small copper spire. There is a south 
porch and a vestry on the north side of the chancel. 
The walls are of flint rubble covered with cement and 
have dressings of limestone. The roofs are tiled. In 
the churchyard, between the south porch and the main 
road, is a double row of ancient yew trees. 

In its original form the church dates from the late 
1 2th century, when it would have covered the ground 
now occupied by the south aisle, which was then the 
nave, with a chancel somewhat smaller than the present 
chapel. Of this early church only the south wall now 
remains. In this wall is a fine Norman doorway with 
semicircular arch ornamented with double chevrons, 
panelled tympanum, segmental soffit, and free-shafted 
jambs. The window immediately to the east of this 
door also probably dates from the 12th century but has 
an inserted mullion and is modern externally. On the 
inside of the south wall on the east of the door is a 
holy-water stoup from which the basin has long dis- 
appeared. 

In the 15 th century a north aisle was added, the 
original north wall being opened to insert the existing 
arcade of four bays, of which the two centre arches are 
moulded, with moulded piers, capitals, and bases. The 
Scott family of Woolston Hall (see above) claimed the 
chapel of this aisle as their private property.'" As they 
first obtained possession of the manor about 1475 it is 
not unlikely that they were responsible for this addition 
to the church. About the same time the chancel was 
probably lengthened and the western bell-turret added 
to the end of the former nave. The turret is made of 
eight stout vertical timber posts with curved braces and 
the whole frame stands independently of the fabric, 
being walled round at the time of its erection, with a 
window of three pointed lights in the west wall. Soon 
after this the aisle was extended from the old north 
door (opposite the present south door) to bring its west 
wall level with the bell-turret. This extension was 
carried out by Thomas Ilderton, the benefactor of the 
Trinity Guild (see above), who gave instructions in his 
will (1527) that he should be buried in the aisle and 
that an inscription on his grave should record the 
extension for which he had been responsible and also 
his gifts to the guild." This brass inscription existed 
as late as 18 10 but has since disappeared.'^ At about 
the same time as these works were carried out the nave 
was probably re-roofed. Many of the existing roof 



" E.R.O., D/P 166/11/12. Several 
prebendaries between 1470 and 1848 
presented themselves to the vicarage. 

" Crockford's Cler. Din. passim ; Chcl. 
Dioc. Tear Bk. (1952). 

6« E.A.T. N.s. xviii, 18. 

M Tax. Eccl. (Rec. Com.), 2ii. 

70 Newcourt, i?tf^tfr/. ii, 140. 

'■ Fahr Eccl. (Rec. Com.), i, 437. 

" E.R.O., D/CT 78. At that time the 
Revd. .\. R. Chauvel, Prebendary of St. 
Pancras, was also vicar. 

'3 Cat. And. D. iii, A. 5524; Newcourt, 
Reperl. ii, 141. 

'« Ibid. " C3/62/52. 



T> E.R.O., D/AEV/5, 7. 

" E.R.O., D/AEV/16-21. 

'8 E.R.O., D/DB T337. 

79 Lysons, Environs of London (18 10), i, 
64.8. 8» Ibid.; E.R.O., D/DB T337. 

*' Lysons, op. cit. i, 648. For a survey 
of the glebe of the rectory and of all tithe 
payers c. 1800 see E.R.O., D/P 166/3/3. 

" Ibid. 

M Ifhite'! Dir. Essex (1848), 415; 
E.R.O., D/P 166/11/2-11; E.R.O., 
D/CT 78. 

84 E.R.O., D/P 166/11/12; ibid. 166/ 

3/3- 

85 E.A.T. N.s. X, 236-8. 

3Z 



8' Ibid. The gross income was 43J. ^d. 
Reserved rents of ys, lod. and an annual 
payment of 55. to the poor were chargeable 
against this. 

8' Ibid. 238. For Ilderton's will see 
ibid. 316. He also extended the north 
aisle (see below). 

88 E.A.T.N.s.x,ZiSiCal.Pat. 1547-8, 
287. 

89 Archd. Essex 3 Sell. 

9» E.R.O., D/DEs M82, L3. Many 
members of the family were buried in this 
chapel. «' E.A.T. ■!).$. X, 316. 

92 Lysons, Environs of London (1810), i, 
647- 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



timbers in the present south aisle date from this 
period. 

Early in the i6th century the church must have 
been in good repair, but a century later the chancel 
was said to be ruinous.'-J About 1600 a gallery was 
built at the west end of the old nave, on the order of 
Samuel Harsnett (vicar 1 597-1605, later Archbishop 
of York).'* At the Archdeacon's Visitation in 1638 it 
was ordered that the chancel floor should be raised by 
three steps and properly paved, that a new rail should be 
made round the communion table, the belfry boarded 
with deal and the spire shingled.'' 

In 1704 the church was undergoing repair.'* In 
1722 a second gallery, for the charity girls (see below, 
Schools), was built at the west end of the north aisle. 
In 1745 a subscription was raised for 'ornamenting the 
steeple', when presumably the weather-vane was 
added." The roof of the old nave was repaired in 
1800: this involved repair of some of the old roof 
timbers and the replacement of the lead covering with 
tiles.'* Meanwhile, in 1793, another gallery had been 
added, and in 1805 a fourth was built." One of the 
new galleries was probably that at the east end of the 
north aisle which was the private pew of the Hatch 
family, lords of Chigwell Hall (see above).' 

The spire was re-shingled in 1835.^ By this time the 
accommodation of the church was becoming insuffi- 
cient for the needs of a growing population. In 1853 
there was a proposal to extend the church by the addi- 
tion of a south aisle.3 This plan, which would have 
destroyed the south door and all the remaining Norman 
fabric, was abandoned, but in 1854 there was con- 
siderable restoration. This included alterations to the 
windows in the south wall. It was carried out under 
the direction of F. T. DoUman.* The church was not 
actually enlarged until 1886, when Sir Arthur Blom- 
field prepared plans upon which the present nave and 
chancel are based.' The old nave became the present 
south aisle and the old north aisle was demolished to 
make way for the present nave, which is considerably 
larger. In 1 896 the nave and chancel were redecorated 
and the alabaster reredos and pulpit, both designed by 
G. F. Bodley, were installed.* The oak screen in the 
south aisle is a War memorial, unveiled in 1920.7 

In 1552 there were three bells, to which three more 
were added in 1693. The three original bells were 
replaced in 1737, 1743, and 1771. All five bells were 
recast in 1910, and at the same time a sixth was added.' 

The church plate is among the finest in Essex. There 
are two silver cups, one given in 1607 by John Pening- 
ton of Chigwell Hall, the other inscribed 'a widow's 
gift A. A. 1633' (she was Alice Andrews, a relative of 
Roger Andrews, vicar 1605-6, and Thomas Andrews, 
lessee of the rectory 1635-60). There are four silver 
patens of 1609, 1632, 1633 and 1832, and a silver 
flagon inscribed with the arms of William Scott of 



" E.R.O., D/AEA/14. 

9* Ckignvell Register (1907), 14.. 
«5 E.R.O., D/AEV/7. «« Ibid. 17. 

" E.R.O., D/P 166/8/11. The copper 
covering was not paid for by this sub- 
scription. This came much later. 
98 E.R.O., D/P 166/8/10. 
M Ibid. 166/5/6. 
■ E.j4.T. U.S. xii, 137 f. Probably the 
1805 gallery, since James Hatch acquired 
Chigwell Hall in 1 800. 
» E.R.O., 166/5/6. 
' Ibid. 1 66/8/ 1 1. 
* E.A.T. N.s. xii, 138. 
5 E.R.O., D/P 166/8/11. 



<■ E.R. V, 65. 



* Ch. Bells Essex, 209 ; E.R. xix, 204. 
« CA. Plate Essex, 98. The 1607 plate 
illustrated, p. 122. 

"> For Harsnett see E.R. xxi, 2 1 and li, 9. 
For his brass see f^.C.H. Essex, ii, 544. 
It was originally set over his grave in the 
old chancel, now the south chapel. 

'^ Rampston was buried in Chingford 
church:£.^.r. N.s. X, 186. 

'^ For Ilderton's brass see above. For 
the unknown man see E.A.T. N.s. x, 185. 

" E.A.T. N.s. X, 237, 312; xi, 10, 150, 

335- 
'♦ St. Winifred's was the gift of Mr. J. 



Woolston Hall and dated 17 13. The 1632 paten was 
also given by Alice Andrews.' 

In the chancel is the well-known brass to Samuel 
Harsnett (d. 163 1), Vicar of Chigwell and later suc- 
cessively Bishop of Chichester, Bishop of Norwich, and 
Archbishop of York.'" There is a brass in the nave to 
Robert Rampston (1585), a benefactor to the poor of 
this and other neighbouring parishes." In the south 
chapel is a wall monument to Thomas Colshill (1595), 
Surveyor of the Customs under Edward VI, Mary, and 
Elizabeth, and Mary (Crayford) his wife. On the 
south wall of the nave is a monument to George Scott 
(1683) and Elizabeth (Cheyne) his wife. (1705). 
Along the roof of the south aisle is a series of painted 
hatchments of arras relating to families that have been 
prominent in the parish, including those of Scott of 
Woolston, and Hatch-Abdy of Chigwell Hall. The 
brasses of Thomas Ilderton (1527—8) and an un- 
known man {c. 1 5 10), which were formerly in the 
church, have now disappeared.'^ 

Numerous small bequests to the church of Chigwell 
in the 15th and i6th centuries were recorded in the 
series of articles on 'Old Chigwell Wills' by W. C. 
Waller.'3 

The ancient parish of Chigwell was divided in the 
19th century by the creation of new parishes at Buck- 
hurst Hill and Chigwell Row (see below). In 1935 
the small church of ST. WINIFRED was built at 
Grange Hill as a chapel of ease to St. Mary's, Chigwell. 
It is a small brick building faced with cement. Adjoin- 
ing it is an iron mission room, erected about i886.''* 

The parish church of -Sr. JOHN THE BAPTIST, 
Buckhurst Hill, was built in 1837 as a chapel of ease. 
In the following year Buckhurst Hill was constituted 
a separate ecclesiastical district." In 1848 the minister 
there had an income oi £60 a year, of which ;^40 came 
from the Ecclesiastical Commissioners and the re- 
mainder from pew rents.'* Buckhurst Hill became a 
separate parish in 1867. The living was endowed with 
j{^200 tithes by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners (as 
owners of the rectorial tithes of Chigwell) and was 
declared a rectory under the District Church Tithes 
Act, 1865.''' The patron of the new rectory was the 
Vicar of Chigwell until about l93i,whentheadvowson 
passed to the Bishop of Chelmsford.'* 

The church consists of nave, chancel, aisles, north 
porch, and tower with pinnacles and spire. It origin- 
ally consisted of nave, chancel, and tower," and has been 
several times enlarged.^" It is a stone building in the 
Early English style. 

The mission church of ST. STEPHEN, Albert 
Road, Buckhurst Hill was built as a chapel of ease to 
St. John's in 1876.^' The mission church of ST. 
ELISABETH, Chestnut Avenue, Buckhurst Hill, 
which is also in this parish, was opened in 1938." 
They are both small brick buildings. 

' E.R. XXX, 46. 



Sanders ; for the iron room see Kelly's Dir. 
Essex {1SS6, 1890). 

'5 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1859, 1933). 

■6 E.R.O., D/P 166/3/3. 

" Kelly's Dir. Essex (1895); E.R.O., 
D/P 166/3/3. The Act was 28 & 29 
Vict. C.42. 

** Kelly's Dir. Essex, passim. 

■9 prate's Dir. Essex (1848). 

"> Kelly's Dir. Essex (1933); Buckhurst 
Hill, pub. J. W. Phelp {c. 1 897 : a local 
handbk.). 

^' Kelly's Dir. Essex (1933). 

22 Inf. from Canon I. Whitehouse, 
Rector of Buckhurst Hill. 



34 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



CHIGWELL 



In 1848 a room in the old workhouse at Chigwell 
Row was being used for services. It had accommoda- 
tion for 100 but was then overcrowded.^-! Chigwell 
Row became a separate ecclesiastical district in 1 860.^ 
The parish church was built in 1867, and in the 
same year Chigwell Row became a separate parish.^5 
The living, like that of Buckhurst Hill, was declared 
a rectory, having been endowed with tithes which in 
1886 were estimated to produce j^343 a year, and 6 
acres of glebe.^* The advowson was at first vested in 
the bishop of the diocese, but from about 1 874 has been 
exercised alternately by the bishop and the Crown.^' 

Bartholomew Hartley Foulger of Chigwell Row, 
by will proved 1930, left ^1,000 for the upkeep of the 
churchyard, provided that certain graves and his family 
memorial tablet were kept in repair. In 1950 the whole 
income was spent on the churchyard.^* 

The Revd. Alfred W. Gross of Woodford Wells, by 
will proved 193 1, left X^ioo duty-free to maintain 
Chigwell Row church and churchyard. In 1950 the 
whole income was spent on the churchyard.^' 

The church oi ALL SAINTS is a stone building in 
Gothic style. It originally contained nave, chancel, 
aisles, and west porch. A tower was added in 1903.30 

The church of ST. PAUL, Hainault, was built in 
195 1, and in 1953 became the centre of a new Con- 
ventional District which includes parts of the parishes 
of Chigwell Row, Chigwell, and the Ascension, Collier 
Row, together with part of the Conventional District 
of St. Francis of Assisi, Barkingside.s' 

A private chapel at Tumours Hall, Gravel Lane, 
was used for public worship for some years about 
1912.32 

The Convent of the Sacred Heart of Jesus and Mary 
(formerly the Manor House) at 
ROMAN Woodford Bridge was consecrated 

CATHOLICISM in 1925. It is served from Wood- 
ford.33 A school is carried on in 
connexion with the convent.3'* The church of the 
Assumption was opened in Manford Way, Hainault, 
in November 1953.35 



PROTESTANT 
NONCONFORMITT 



On 31 May 1804 a nonconformist chapel was 
opened at Chigwell Row.3* 
The minister was a Mr. 
Booth. Among the original 
trustees were Joseph 
Fletcher, shipbuilder of Shadwell Dock, and Isaac 
Gould of Loughton. Henry Fletcher had bought 
Clare Hall in 1801, and its name had been changed 
to Chapel House.3' The chapel was usually described 
during the 19th century as Independent and supported 
the Essex Congregational Union. In 1829 the minister 
reported that his congregation numbered 200-50, of 
whom 100 'may properly be called dissenters, accord- 
ing to our system'. 3 8 In 1831 the chapel opened a 
school (see Schools). During the early 1840's, under 
its minister the Revd. T. Hill, it made itself responsible 

" E.R.O., D/P 166/3/3. " See below, Schools. 

M Kellfi Dir. Essex (1870). " Calk. Dir. (1954), 129. 

" Ibid. 

" Ibid. (1886). 

" Ibid. (18701). 

'» Char. Com. Recs. 

" Ibid. 

30 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1933). 

" Inf. from the Revd. P. H. Wingham. 

3^ Kelly's Dir. Essex (19 1 2); inf. from 
Mrs. Beattie of Tumours Hall. The 
chapel is still used for private services. 

" Brentwood R.C.) Diocesan Tear Bk. 
>953- 



for the mission at Abridge (in Lambourne, q.v.).'« 
During the next ten years the Chigwell Row church 
was in difficulties.t" In 1857 the British School was 
temporarily closed and the church itself barely sur- 
vived. In the following year, however, the school was 
reopened and the church was said to be reviving.*' 

The church experienced further difficulties during 
the next few years, partly as the result of Anglican 
opposition.*^ About 1866, however, it began to sup- 
port a mission in Chigwell Road, which later developed 
into a small church (see below).*3 The church at 
Chigwell Row could usually afford to keep a minister 
at this period. In or about 1882 it once again under- 
took to support the Abridge church.** In 1904 there 
were 37 members, 80 Sunday school pupils, and 3 
teachers.*5 In 1925 the numbers were 52, 53, and 10 
respectively.** The society is now (1952) a United 
Free Church with 80 members, 50 Sunday school 
pupils, and 18 teachers. It has had a lay pastor since 
1938.*' 

The church is a rectangular building of gault brick 
with stone or cement dressings. If this is the original 
building of 1804 the front must have been altered 
during the second half of the 19th century. Beside it 
is an iron building used as a schoolroom. This was 
brought from Leytonstone in 1880.** 

In 1866 the Essex Congregational Union was 
making a small grant to help mission work in Chigwell.*' 
In the following year it was reported that a room in 
Chigwell Road had been opened for worship and that 
congregations numbered about 130. Services were 
held by the Revd. F. Neller, of the Chigwell Row 
Congregational Church.^" In 1870 the mission was 
flourishing, but the landlord had given the members 
notice to quit.s' About 1875 the Chigwell Road 
society appears to have become associated with one at 
Woodford Bridge: in that year they had a joint super- 
intendent, E. W. Skinner.52 From this time support 
was being given by the Woodford Congregational 
Church.s3 

In 1890 the two missions were united under the 
superintendence of G. H. Giddins, minister of the 
Ray Lodge Congregational Church, Woodford, which 
church had itself been founded by the Woodford Con- 
gregational Church. 5* Land was bought in Smeaton 
Road, Chigwell, near Woodford Bridge, and an iron 
chapel was given by T. W. Orr. Financial support by 
W. H. Brown enabled a resident missionary to be 
retained from 1903 to 1932.55 The chapel remained 
under the care of the Woodford Congregational Church 
when Ray Lodge became independent in 1930, and in 
1947 became a branch of the Woodford Green United 
Free Church, in which the Woodford Congregational 
Church was merged. 5* There is a lay pastor at the 
Smeaton Road church. The iron building was 
damaged by enemy action during the Second World ■ 
War.57 



3* Evangelical Mag. xii (1804.), p. 334. 

37 E.R.O., D/DEs M81. 

38 E.R.O., Q/CR 3/2/23. 

39 Essex Congr. Union Rep. 1847, pp. 
20-21. 

■to E.R.O., D/P 166/3/3. 

•»■ Essex Congr. Union Rep. 1858. 

<2 Ibid. 1859, i860, 1861. 

<3 Ibid. 1866 f. 

" Ibid. 1882. 

■•5 Congr. Tear Bk. 1904. 

♦« Ibid. 1925. 



<' Congr. Tear Bk. 1952. 

** Essex Congr. Union Rep, 1880. 

« Essex Congr. Union Rep. 1866. 

50 Ibid. 1867. The room was in the 
house of a Mr. Root. 

s' Ibid. 1870. 

5= Ibid. 1875. 

53 A. G. Kidd, 'The Pioneers, a Short 
Hist, of the Woodford Green United Free 
Church' (Typescript, 1948). 

5< Ibid. 

55 Ibid. 

5' Ibid. ■ 

5' IHd. 



35 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



The first nonconformist meetings at Buckhurst Hill 
took place soon after the extension of the railway from 
Woodford. In i860 Mr. Gingell, of Hill Farm, Buck- 
hurst Hill, a Baptist missioner at Epping, built two 
cottages near his home. In one of them his daughters 
opened a Sunday school.'* About 1863 he built a 
mission room in Alfred Road, where he and Noah 
Heath held services, assisted by students from Spur- 
geon's College, London.'" In 1864 the Woodford 
Congregational Church started a Sunday school at 
Buckhurst Hill.*° Congregational services were 
opened soon after this in a room next door to the 'Bald 
Faced Stag' and also at the house of a Mr. Straker, 
'Fairlands', Epping New Road.*" In 1866 all the 
above missions united to form the Buckhurst Hill Con- 
gregational Church. In that year a schoolroom was 
opened in Palmerston Road, at a cost oC £l^.So for the 
land and £1,700 for the building.*^ About £1,500 
was already promised by supporters of the new 
church.'s The church was at first associated with that 
at Woodford, but in 1868 William Dorling came 
to Buckhurst Hill as the first minister.*'' Three years 
later he left the church after a disagreement with some 
of the members and took part of the congregation with 
him to form the King's Place Independent Church 
(see below). In 1872 W. H. Charlesworth became 
minister at Palmerston Road and in 1 874 a new church 
was built there at a cost of £6,ooo.*5 Charlesworth 
remained until 1890. In 1904 there were 75 church 
members, 80 Sunday school pupils, and 10 teachers.** 
A new organ was installed in 1907 at a cost of £350 
and in 191 3 the schoolroom was enlarged.*' In 19 14 
there were 100 members, 65 pupils, and 11 teachers.** 
The church celebrated its jubilee in 1924 and a brief 
history was compiled to mark the event.*' In 1925 
there were 117 members, 160 pupils, and 20 teachers.'''' 
A mission station was opened at Roding Valley in 1948 
and in 1952 the church had in all 164 members, 140 
pupils, 1 8 teachers, and 2 lay preachers. The minister, 
the Revd. N. F. Perry had been there since 1947." 

The church is an imposing stone building consisting 
of nave, chancel (facing north), transepts, and south 
tower with pinnacles. Behind it to the north is the 
earlier schoolroom, of red brick with a slate roof. 

In 1 87 1 the Revd. W. Dorling seceded from 
Palmerston Road and took some of the members with 
him to form the King's Place Independent Church. 
He was a man of strong character and advanced 
thought, a powerful preacher and an able writer for 
Tie Christian World. His resignation from Palmerston 
Road was the result of a controversy that had arisen 
within that church concerning the doctrine of the 
'larger hope', of which Dorling was a strong advocate. 
This doctrine was distasteful to part of his congregation, 



which preferred that of eternal punishment. Among 
his supporters, however, was a large and influential 
section of the church.'^ These people acquired a site 
at the other (east) end of Palmerston Road opposite 
King's Place and there built an iron church which was 
opened in October 1871. Dorling was appointed 
'Pastor of the said chapel for life or until he should 
voluntarily resign the . . . ofiice'.'-s The King's Place 
church was known locally as 'Mr. Dorling's church'. 
It is remarkable that those who contributed to its 
erection were largely those who had subscribed towards 
the original building at Palmerston Road in 1866.'-* 

Dorling remained pastor at King's Place for 3 5 years, 
retiring in 1906. He died in I9I2.'5 His congrega- 
tion had in 1887 built a brick church on the site, ap- 
parently retaining the original iron church until 1900, 
when they sold it to the Baptists. After Dorling's retircr 
ment the brick church was also sold to become the 
Palmerston Road Baptist Church (see below). The 
proceeds of the latter sale went to Cheshunt College, 
where Dorling had been trained for the ministry.'* 

The Queen's Road Baptist Church, Buckhurst Hill, 
was formed about 1861, when the Revd. H. Cousens 
became minister." In 1866 a church was built at a 
cost of £1,200, with accommodation for 250.'* In 
1869 there were 37 members.'' Cousens remained 
until 1885, and was succeeded by the Revd. E. G. 
Ince, who came from Australia.*" Soon after 1890 the 
church was closed.*' It later became known as Buck- 
hurst Hill Hall and was used for public meetings and 
entertainments. It was enlarged in 1912.*^ It is now 
used as a branch of the County Library. It is a small 
red-brick building. 

Soon after the closing of the Queen's Road Baptist 
Church meetings were resumed by some of the mem- 
bers under the leadership of Noah Heath. They hired 
Rigg's Retreat, Princes Road, from 1894 to 1897 and 
in 1899 founded a church, with the Revd. J. R. Cox 
as minister. *3 In 1902 an iron building was erected in 
Princes Road. The church lost some members soon 
after this to the Palmerston Road Baptist Church (see 
below).*'' In 1906 Cox was succeeded by his son F. A. 
Cox and in 19 10 there were 55 members, 70 children 
in the Sunday school, and 7 teachers.*' By 1930 there 
were only 25 members, 45 children, and 3 teachers.** 
From 1924 to about 1933 F. .A.. Cox was again minister, 
but the church appears to have closed about 1934.*' 
It stood near the west end of Princes Road on the north 
side.** 

The Baptist church, Palmerston Road, Buckhurst 
Hill, was founded in 1900, when the iron building 
that had been the original King's Place Congregational 
Church was bought by the London Baptist Associa- 
tion.*' Many early adherents came from the Princes 



5' G. Teverson, Brief Chronicle of so 
Tears Service^ i8y4—ig24 (a history of 
Palmerston Rd. Congregational Church, 
Buckhurst Hill) ; W. T. Whitley, Baptists 
of hondon^ 189. 

5^ Ibid. For the later history of the 
Alfred Road Hall see below. 

'° A. G. Kidd, 'The Pioneers'. 

" Essex Congr. Union Rep, 1866; G. 
Teverson, Brief Chronicle. 

^^ Teverson, op. cit. 

'' Essex Congr. Union Rep. 1866. 

'* Congr. Tear Bk. 1867, 1868, 1869. 
Mr. A. W. Dorling of Woodford Green, 
grandson of the Revd. W. Dorling, now 
owns the original letter inviting his grand- 
father to Palmerston Road at an annual 



sa/ary of ,^300, guaranteed for the first 
three years. ^s Teverson, op. cit. 

<>*> Ibid.; Congr. Year Bk. 1904. 

67 Teverson, op. cit. 

'8 Congr. Year Bk. 19 14. 

<"> G. Teverson, Brief Chronicle of 50 
Years Service. 

'» Congr. Year Bk. 1925. i 

" Ibid. 1952. 

'2 Inf. from Mr. A. W. Dorling. 

" Ibid.; Congr. Year Bk. 1913 (obit, of 
Revd. W. Dorling). 

'4 Inf. from Mr. A. W. Dorling. 

75 Ibid. A note on his career was printed 
in Congr. Year Bk. 1 9 1 3 ; The Christian 
PVorld 2 Apr. 193 1 contained a note on 
the centenary of his birth. '* Ibid. 



" Bapt. Handhk. 1 869 ; W. T. Whitley, 
Baptists of London., 189. 
'8 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1886). 
'9 Bapt. Handhk. 1869. 
80 W\nt\ey, Baptists of London, 189. 
8" Kelly's Dir. Essex {i%()^). 

82 Ibid. 1933. 

83 W. T. Whitley, Baptists of London, 
2+4. 84 Ibid. 

85 Bapt. Handhk. 1910. 

8* Ibid., 1930. It seems possible that the 
church was closed for a time about 19 17— 
20 : Whitley, Baptists of London, 244 ; 
Bapt. Handhk. 1916-20. 

8' Bapt. Handhk. 1933, 1934. 

88 O.S. 6 in. Map ( 1 92 1 edn.), sheet Ixix. 

"> Whitley, Baptists of London, 249. 



36 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



CHIGWELL 



Road Baptist Church. A Baptist church was formally 
constituted in 1909, taking over the brick building of 
the King's Place Congregational Church, which had 
closed in 1906."' By 1930 there were 56 members, 
45 Sunday school pupils, and 13 teachers." In 195 1 
there were 74 members, 87 pupils, and 16 teachers. '^ 
For most of its history the church has supported a 
minister. 

The church is of red brick, in similar style to the 
Methodist church (see below) which was built 
two years earlier. Beside it is the earlier iron 
church. 

For a short time before 1827 there was a Wesleyan 
Methodist congregation meeting at Chigwell. This 
had certainly ceased by iSig.'^^ This mission had 
probably been carried on by members of the North 
East London Circuit, which a few years later built a 
small church at Abridge in Lambourne (q.v.). 

No other reference has been found to Methodism in 
Chigwell until 1878. In that year Edward Pope, 
founder of the Loughton Methodist Church (q-v.), 
bought land for ^200 in Queen's Road, Buckhurst 
Hill, upon which an iron church was erected. '♦ In 
1880 this was put in trust and included in the Wanstead 
and Woodford Circuit. In 1886 a new brick church 
was built to the design of Charles Bell of New Broad 
Street, London, at a cost of ;^i ,940. In 1898 new floor- 
ing was installed for £t^o. In February 1908 the 
organ of the Palmerston Road Congregational Church 
was bought for £<)$'< the old organ was sold to the 
Loughton Wesleyan Church for ;{^45. 

In 1 9 10 it was decided to station a minister at Buck- 
hurst Hill. A house was leased in 191 7 and bought two 
years later. 

In 1928 the jubilee of the church was celebrated 
by the building of the Jubilee Room, behind the school- 
room. This cost £s^o. In 1934 the Buckhurst Hill 
minister was transferred to Loughton and a lay pastor, 
Mr. G. J. Gaisford, was appointed to Buckhurst Hill. 
This arrangement continued until 1937, when Mr. 
Gaisford left. The church now (1953) shares a minister 
with the Hermon Hill church at Wanstead. Its 
membership is 90. The building is of red brick, in 
Gothic style. 

A new Methodist church was opened in Burrow 
Road, on the Hainault estate in 1952. '5 

The present Salvation Army hall at the north end 
of Alfred Road, Buckhurst Hill, is probably the build- 
ing erected about 1863 by Mr. Gingell (see above, 
Palmerston Road Congregational Church). The 
Salvation Army has used it for at least 20 years.'* It 
is a small building of stock brick. 

The Plymouth Brethren have a small hall in Queen's 
Road, Buckhurst Hill; it is of stock brick and was built 
in 1884." 

Princes Hall, Princes Road, Buckhurst Hill, has 
been used for religious meetings since 1886 or earlier.'^ 
It is a small red-brick building. 



The surviving court rolls of the manor of Woolston 

Hall run from 1423 to 1749" 

PARISH and are continued by court 

GOFERNMENT books for the period 1750- 

jiND POOR 1863.' There are no rolk for 

RELIEF 1460-82 and 1509-46 and 

there are a few short gaps later 
in the series. The manor court took an active part in 
local affairs until the end of the 17th century. Ale- 
tasters were appointed regularly until 1640 and con- 
stables until 1840. In the early 19th century, when 
there was a single constable, he combined this office 
with that of woodward, and the court continued to 
appoint a woodward by that title alone up to 1862. 
There appears to have been a manorial grange and 
bakehouse which was derelict by 1463.* The court 
dealt with minor nuisances and occasionally with cases 
of assault. In 1578 the Poor Relief Act of 1576^ was 
invoked to deal with an 'idle woman' harboured in the 
house of a manorial tenant. In 1427 and 1606 it was 
presented that the lord of the manor ought to repair 
bridges, but in 1682 the parish surveyors were pre- 
sented for failing to repair a footbridge. 

There are court rolls for the manor of Chigwell Hall 
for the periods 1 595-1619 and 1687-1721 and books 
for 1734-99 ^"'J i882-i90i.'» So far as can be judged 
from these rolls alone this court during the 17th 
century and later dealt only with business relating to 
the copyhold tenements of the manor. There are no 
records of the appointment of local officials in the 
court, but in 1790 the parish vestry nominated two 
constables, one for Chigwell Hall lordship and one for 
Barringtons lordship (see below). 5 Neither was the 
same man as was appointed constable by the Woolston 
court in the same year. 

Existing court rolls of the manor of Barringtons cover 
the period 1652-175 1.* On every occasion except one 
during this period the court met only as a. court baron. 
In 1695 it also viewed frankpledge, and appointed a 
constable. The appointment by the vestry in 1790, 
however, suggests that a constable was appointed for 
this manor on occasions after 1695 which were not 
recorded in the rolls. 

There is little information concerning poor relief 
before the i8th century. The Guild of the Holy 
Trinity (see above. Church) took a regular part in 
relieving the poor. The poor men's chest in the parish 
church is mentioned in 1 5 50,' and the collectors of the 
poor in 1564.' 

Vestry minute books have survived for 1712-49, 
1 789-1 804, and 1847-94.9 There are overseers' 
accounts for 1821-36 and an almost complete series 
of bills for i784-i836."> 

For a large and fairly populous parish attendance at 
the vestry was normally not numerous; there were 
rarely more than twelve ratepayers present. Meetings 
were usually held in the vestry room, but in 1870 and 
1872 exceptionally large attendances necessitated an 



'» Ibid. 

»' Bapt. Handbk. 1930. 

»^ Ibid. 1951. 

" E.R.O., Q/CR 3/1/66. 

^* The following acct. is based on an 
address by A. W. Leach at Wanstead, 
1919 (reported in Mins. of Local Preachers 
Mtg. Wanstead and Woodford Circuit), 
Trust Deeds and other church records. 

95 Inf. from Rcvd. P. H. Wingham. 

96 Inf. from local resident. 
«' Kelly's Dir. Essex {i%%6). 



98 Ibid. 1886 f. 

99 E.R.O., D/DEs M9+-109. 

> E.R.O., D/DEs M80, 81, D/DZn 
I, 2. 

2 E.R.O., T/P 17. 

J 18 Eliz. 1,0.3. 

■• E.R.O., D/DDa Mi-I2. 

5 E.R.O., D/P 166/8/10. 

<• E.R.O., D/DU 97/1-6. 

' Will of John Hill: Archd. Essex 2.1 
Thonder; Will of Nicholas Sympson: 
Comm. Ct. London 144 Clyffe. 

37 



8 Will ofThomasHewett: Archd. Essex 
114. Newington. For Charity relief see 
Charities, below. 

9 E.R.O., D/P 166/8/1, 10, II. 

**> Ibid. 166/12/1-7, 10-12. There are 
many other miscellaneous parish records : 
see Essex Par. Recs. 78. Unless otherwise 
stated information below is from the 
vestry minutes and overseers' accounts 
and bills. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



adjournment to the 'King's Head'. At the 1872 meet- 
ing more than 200 attended to discuss an advance to 
the Chigwell School Board. In the later 1 9th century 
the ratepayers of Buckhurst Hill, who outnumbered 
those in the rest of the parish, disliked travelling to 
Chigvi'ell for vestry meetings, especially because there 
was still no direct road between those two parts of the 
parish. 

There seems to have been no particular system of 
rotation in appointing parish officers. Until 1770 
churchwardens were appointed for two successive 
years but afterwards they often served for longer terms. 
From 1730, or earlier, one churchwarden was ap- 
pointed by the vicar and the other by the parish. Over- 
seers of the poor usually served only for one year, two 
being appointed each Easter. There is a vague sug- 
gestion that during the 1 8th century one was appointed 
for the lordship of Chigwell Hall and the other for 
that of Woolston. Three surveyors of highways were 
appointed each year, one each for the lordships of 
Chigwell Hall, Woolston, and Barringtons. This 
office was often taken by the gentry, and in the middle 
of the 18th century William Harvey, lord of Barring- 
tons, served his own lordship for many years. There is 
no evidence that the vestry nominated constables before 
1790. A resolution of 1721 prohibited the appoint- 
ment of a deputy by any parish officer without the 
vestry's approval. A paid assistant overseer was ap- 
pointed in 1827 and served continuously until 1839, 
when he became the relieving officer for Epping Dis- 
trict under the Epping Board of Guardians. An 
assistant overseer was again appointed in 1 840, and in 
1852 he was also made collector of the poor rate and 
paid a commission of 3 per cent, of the rates collected." 

In 1727 there were 2 men, 5 women, and 5 children 
receiving regular poor relief A year later a house in 
Chigwell was converted into a workhouse and in 1733 
the vestry resolved to send all out-pensioners there. In 
1730 a workhouse master had undertaken to maintain 
the poor for a lOi/. rate, but this arrangement seems to 
have lasted only a few years. In 1745 all pensioners 
were ordered to wear the parish badge. The work- 
house remained adequate for the needs of the parish 
until 1790, when a larger house in Gravel Lane was 
taken on lease. This was used as the parish workhouse 
until 1836 when it was taken over by the Epping 
Union, '2 which used it until the new Union house was 
opened in 1838. '^ In 1796 the poor were farmed out 
to a workhouse master at 15 guineas a year; he also 
received 2 guineas for acting as parish beadle. 

Of the 94 surviving settlement certificates dated 
between 1699 and 1791 received by the parish officers 
60 were issued by parishes in south-west Essex, 12 
elsewhere in the county (mostly in the north-west), 6 
in Hertfordshire, Cambridgeshire, Norfolk, and Suffolk, 
12 in London, Middlesex, Surrey and Kent. One was 
for a blacksmith from Taunton and one for a barber 
and wig-maker from Berwick-on-Tweed. The others 
were from Wellingborough (Northants.) and Steeple 
Aston (Oxon.)."* 

The 106 surviving apprenticeship indentures drawn 
up between 1671 and 1809 show that most pauper 
children were apprenticed to masters within the 



parish. '5 For many years the ratepayers took these 
children as apprentices on a rota system. In 1727 a 
woman paid a fine of ;^io to avoid takmg a child 
allotted to her. In 1730 it was resolved not to pay 
relief to travellers through the parish even though they 
carried passes; it was considered that as the main road 
through Chigwell led only to Ongar such passengers 
had no need of assistance. 

In 1792 one of the overseers was Joshua Jenour, a 
well-known author and pamphleteer and a man of 
advanced views.'* In that year he planned to build a 
pest-house out of the poor rates. As he had not con- 
sulted either his fellow officers or the vestry, the church- 
wardens ordered him to desist. He moved a resolution 
at a subsequent vestry meeting that the house should be 
built, but this was defeated. Among his supporters were 
three local doctors, while the opposition came mainly 
from the farmers and larger ratepayers. In 1794 the 
vestry supported a plan proposed by John Conyers for 
the relief of the poor of the hundreds of Ongar, Harlow, 
and Waltham, but later withdrew support. In 1795 
the high price of flour was met by subsidizing from the 
rates the bread bought by the poor from local bakers, 
and by the agreement of the wealthier inhabitants to 
use flour from which 7 lb. bran a bushel had been 
extracted. In 1 800 it was decided to provide the poor 
with substitutes for flour, mainly rice and potatoes, and 
the ratepayers were urged to use similar substitutes 
themselves. 

The overseers' expenditure in the year ending at 
Easter 1724 was ^^151, and in 1745 £180. In 1783 
the total poor rate was ^485." Expenditure rose to 
j{^7i6 in 1791 and in 1801 the poor rate was yri,o86.'8 
Between 1 801 and 1 821 the rate fluctuated consider- 
ably; it was highest in 1820 (£2,519) and lowest in 
1 811 ((£630), but was usually between /^i,ooo and 
£2,000." Overseers' expenditure was £1,339 in 1823 
and £1,614 in 1836. 

There are few references to the work of the sur- 
veyors of highways. Some of their activities are 
described above (see p. 19). Nor is there much 
information about the constables. In 17 14 the vestry 
ordered that the stocks, watch house, and whipping- 
post should be repaired. John Rowe, constable in 
1828-32, arrested while in office 207 offenders, includ- 
ing burglars, highway robbers, and cattle thieves. 
Probably most of the offences took place not in Chig- 
well itself but in the forest at Buckhurst Hill or 
Chigwell Row, both notorious haunts of criminals.'" 
In 1 840 Chigwell became part of the Metropolitan 
Police District.^" In 1 8 5 1 there were a sergeant and 
four constables in the parish.^' In 191 1 there were 3 
sergeants, 2 acting sergeants, and 18 constables, 
attached to J Division, Metropolitan Police.^^ Chigwell 
Hall is now the sports club for No. 5 District, Metro- 
politan Police. 

The history of Chigwell School, founded in 1629 
by Samuel Harsnett, Archbishop of York, 
SCHOOLS was described in an earlier volume of this 
History?^ It is now an independent 
public school. A new dining-hall and workshop build- 
ing was opened in 191 o;^'* a memorial chapel was 
added in i924;25 an assembly hall was built to mark 



" E.R.O., D/P 166/11/6, 166/8/11 

" E.R.O., G/EM I. 

" E.R.O., G/EM 2. 

■« E.R.O., D/P 166/13/1B. 

'5 Ibid. 166/14/1. 

■' 1755-1853:866 AA'.B. 



■' E.R.O., Q/CR i/i. The poor rate 
had to meet some charges other than 
relief of the poor, such as rates for county 
bridges. '« E.R.O., Q/CR 1/9. 

'» Ibid. 1/12. 

■9" Kent and Eisex Mercury, 2 Aug. 1832. 



2» Land. Gaz., 13 Oct. 1840, p. 2250. 

21 H.O. 107/1770, 195/1. 

22 Essex Almanac, 1911. 
" V.C.H. Essex, ii, 544 f. 
" E.R. xix, 161. 

^5 Ibid, xxiiv, 103. 



38 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



CHIGWELL 



the tercentenary of the school (1929) and in 1948 
Grange Court was acquired as a junior school. In 
1953 there were 350 boys, under the headmaster, 17 
assistant masters, and i mistress.^* Buckhurst Hill 
County High School for boys was opened in 1938. In 
1953 there were 549 boys under the headmaster and 
19 assistant masters." 

In 171 1 there was a Charity School at Chigwell 
attended by 10 poor girls who also received caps, bands, 
and aprons from a private benefactor.^* In 17 13 the 
school was receiving ;^i6 a year from subscriptions and 
a girl had recently been put out as an apprentice.^" 
There were still only 10 pupils in about 1768, when 
the school was supported mainly by the collection at an 
annual sermon. 30 By the early 19th century, however, 
'the Charity School' (presumably the same) was 
attended by 72 girls. 3' It was then endowed with ;^I32 
Stock and was called the Blue School because a dozen 
or more children received a blue uniform. ^^ 

In 1 8 1 8 the Blue School was united with a School 
of Industry for girls, founded in 1 8 1 5 . The latter had 
been supported by subscriptions, charity sermons, and 
by the proceeds of the pupils' work, which amounted 
to j^7 in 1815-16 and ^{^16 in 1817-18. It was held 
in a house which in 1 8 1 5— 1 6 was rented for £c) a year, 
and its mistress was paid ^^14 14^'. in 181 5-16 and 
;^27 6s. in 1 8 17-18. From its foundation it had been 
in union with the National Society, and this association 
was maintained after the amalgamation with the Blue 
School, the first title of the new school being the 
National School of Industry for Girls. In the new 
school the 'blue girls' continued to wear their uniform 
as long as they behaved well. Misconduct was pun- 
ished by the transfer of the uniform to others considered 
more deserving. The endowment of the Blue School 
was transferred to the new school and a further legacy 
of ^100 seems to have been received in 1818 from a 
Mr. Lewis.33 

Until about 1838 the number of pupils seems to 
have remained constant at about 45." After 18 18 the 
salary of the mistress rose to ^^30 together with lO- 
per cent, of the children's earnings and a coal allowance. 
Subscriptions rose steadily and income continued to 
be received from the children's work.35 The school 
was supervised by a Ladies Committee. In 1836 this 
decided to build a new school, with accommodation 
for 100 girls, in order to provide for the increasing 
population. The vicar gave a site on the Vicarage 
Field.36 The committee realized £202 from the sale 
of endowments, collected j^i 73, and received ^5 5 from 
the government, £21^ from the National Society and 
;^io from the Diocesan Board.^^ The new schoolroom 
was built opposite the grammar school.^* It was 
opened as a National School in 1838.39 

The Ladies Committee continued to manage the 
school. It was energetic and successful in obtaining 
subscriptions and other local support. But the standard 
of teaching was low. In 1841 an inspector found a 



poor achievement in the three main subjects*" and in 
1852 another inspector reported that the curriculum 
was limited and that the teaching methods were those 
of the early monitorial system.*' The school also had 
a bad reputation locally at this time. In 1848 the 
retiring Vicar of Chigwell described it as very ineffi- 
cient . . . 'principally because of some antiquated rules 
enforcing the wearing at church of . . . ugly caps and 
short-cropped hair — this offends the little tradespeople, 
who prefer sending their daughters 2^ miles to a British 
and Foreign [i.e. Dissenting] school at Chigwell 
Row' .12 

In 1875 the school appears to have received its first 
annual grant from the government. The average 
attendance was then only 47 .^^ The population of the 
parish was increasing rapidly, however, and attendance 
rose to 75 in 1886 and 114 in I902.« The annual 
grant rose from £2% in 1875 to ^^54 in 1886 and ^^i 19 
in i902.'ts In 1904 there were 155 children under 3 
teachers and a monitor, and the average attendance 
was 131.'** In order to provide for the increased num- 
ber of pupils the school was enlarged in 1891 to ac- 
commodate 200.*' Under the 1902 Education Act it 
passed under the administration of the Essex Educa- 
tion Committee, Epping District, as a non-provided 
school. The average attendance fell to 10 1 in 191 5 and 
85 in 1929, but rose to 138 in 1938. In 1935, at the 
request of the managers, the name of the school was 
changed to St. Mary's Girls and Infants Church of 
England School. In 1947 the school was granted con- 
trolled status. In 1948 it was reorganized for junior 
girls and infants and in 1950 it was closed in accordance 
with the County Development Plan.** The building 
is opposite the grammar school. It is single-storied, of 
red brick with a tiled roof. 

In 1 807 there was a Church of England Sunday 
school in Chigwell, apparently for boys and girls.*' In 
1820, after the establishment of the National day 
school for girls, the Sunday school seems to have been 
reserved for boys. It was then in union with the 
National Society and had some 50 pupils. so It did not 
lead to the formation of the usual type of National day 
school for boys because the English School, which was 
part of Archbishop Harsnett's foundation, already pro- 
vided the necessary facilities.s' The English School 
was sometimes called the National School.s^ In or 
shortly before 1881 the English School was dis- 
continued. In that year the parish vestry passed a 
resolution deploring this fact and protesting against the 
refusal of the governors of Harsnett's Schools to allow 
the Chigwell School Board (founded 1 87 1 : see below) 
the free use of the English School building and the 
annual grant of ^^20 that had been paid to the English 
School. The resolution pointed out that this refusal 
contravened one of the clauses of the scheme drawn up 
by the Charity Commission for the management of 
Harsnett's Schools. '^ The protest was forwarded to 
the Commission and appears to have been successful 



" Tuhlic Scis. Year Bk. {1953). 

^' Inf. from Essex Educ. Cttee. 

28 S.P.CK. Acct. of Char. Schs. (171 1), 
22. " Ibid. (17 1 3), 26. 

3° Morant, Essex, i, 170. 

3' E.R.O., D/AEM z/4. 

" E.R.O., D/P 166/28/3. 

" Ibid.; Nat. Soc. Reps. 1820, 1828. 

3* Ibid, j Educ. Enquiry Abstr. H.C. 62, 
p. 270(1835), xli. 

" E.R.O., D/P 166/28/3. 

3' Ex. inf. Nat. Soc. 



37 E.R.O., D/P 166/28/3. 

38 Ex. inf. Nat. Soc; E.R.O., D/CT 78. 

39 E.R.O., D/P 166/28/4.. 
« Ibid. 166/28/3,4. 

♦' Mins. Educ. Ctlee. of Council, 1852, 
vol. ii [1624.], p. 286, H.C. (1852-3), 
Ixxx(i). « E.R.O., D/P 166/3/3. 

♦3 Rej,. of Educ. Cttee. of Council, 1875 
[C. 1513-1], P- 53'. H.C. (1876), xxiii. 

« Ibid. 1886 [C. 5123-1], p. 518, H.C. 
(1887), xxviii; Schs. under Bd. of Educ. 
igo2 [Cd. 1490], p. 68, H.C. (1903), li. 



«s Ibid. 

♦' Essex Educ. Cttee. Handii. 1904, p. 
145. ■" Kelly's Dir. Essex (1899). 

♦8 Min. of Educ. File 13/61; inf. from 
Essex Educ. Cttee. 

*' E.R.O., D/AEM 2/4. 

5» Nat. Soc. Rep. 1820. 

5" F:C.H. Essex, ii, 544-6; E.R.O., 
D/P .66/3/3. 

52 e.g. in 1862-3: Kelly's Dir. Essex 
(1862), IVhite's Dir. Essex (1863). 

53 E.R.O., D/P 166/8/n. 



39 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



at least as to the building, for in 1886 the English 
School was stated to be under the supervision of the 
school board. 5* It was handed back to the grammar 
school in 1898.55 

In 1886, however, the school board completed the 
building of a new boys' school in Chigwell village, on 
a site to the east of the High Road, at a total cost of 
^2,893.56 There was accommodation for 153 boys. 
The average attendance rose from 55 in 1886 to 105 
in 1902 and the annual grant from ^^32 to j^i2l.5' 
By the Education Act of 1902 the school passed under 
the administration of the Essex Education Committee, 
Epping District. In 1904 there were 128 boys under 
4 teachers.58 Numbers fell to 85 boys in 1930.59 
When St. Mary's School was closed in 1 9 5 o the County 
School was reorganized for mixed juniors and infants 
and in May 1952 there were 199 children on the roll 
and 6 teachers.*" 

In 183 1 the nonconformists in Chigwell Row set 
up a day school at which in 1833 there were some 50 
pupils who paid a fee of zd. a week.*' In 1 8 39 its sup- 
porters built a permanent schoolroom near Miller's 
Lane. The government made a building grant of ^^80 
and the school was completed in 1 844. The trust deed 
stated that the purpose of the school was to educate the 
poor according to the principles of the British Schools 
Society.*^ During its early years the school gained some 
pupils at the expense of the National School for Girls 
at Chigwell, which was unpopular among the small 
tradesmen of that village.*^ In spite of this it en- 
countered difficulties and in 1857 seems to have been 
closed. In May 1858 it was reopened with the help of 
the Essex Congregational Union: there were then over 
70 pupils.*'* But difficulties continued.*5 

In 1 87 1 a school board of 5 members was set up for 
the parish of Chigwell.** In 1873 the supporters of 
the British School transferred their building to the 
board, retaining their right to use it for religious pur- 
poses. *7 There were then some 52 children in atten- 
dance.** In 1885 the school was rebuilt, after a fire, to 
accommodate some 165 children.*' 

Average attendance rose from 86 in 1886 to 104 in 
1902 and the annual grant from ;^7i to ^^loi.'" By 
the Education Act of 1902 the school passed under the 
administration of the Essex Education Committee, 
Epping District, as a provided school. It was re- 
organized for girls and infants, the accommodation 
being estimated in 191 1 at 90 places for girls and 60 
for infants. The average attendance was 88 in 1910, 
72 in 1929, and 56 in 1938. In 1948 it was re- 
organized for junior girls and infants, the seniors being 
transferred to Grange Hill Temporary Secondary 
School." In May 1952 there were 93 pupils and 3 
teachers.'^ The increase was due to the building of 
the Hainault estate. The school is on the north of 



Lambourne Road near the Lambourne boundary. It is 
single-storied, of red brick with a tiled roof and has a 
teacher's house attached. 

By 1845 there was a National School at Chigwell 
R0W.73 It was apparently held in a cottage. In 1852 
local Churchmen raised ^^190 or more towards the 
cost of a permanent schoolroom. The government gave 
£10, the National Society ^£25, and the owner of the 
site gave the land. The building was finished in 1853.'+ 
It was used as an infant school in connexion with the 
National School at Chigwell.'s It still existed in 1874 
but it was discontinued shortly after, presumably be- 
cause of the establishment of the new board school.'* 
The building was subsequently used for parochial pur- 
poses, and was known as All Saints Schoolroom.'' It 
is of red-brick and stands on the north side of Lam- 
bourne Road near All Saints Church. 

St. John's National School, Buckhurst Hill, was 
built in 1838 by local Churchmen. The lord of the 
manor gave a site next to the church and the National 
Society contributed ^35. The building cost ^{^209, 
most of which was defrayed by local subscribers.'* By 
1840 there were about 50 pupils, nominated by sub- 
scribers. Parents paid zd. a week for the first and \d. 
each for other children." In 1846 there were 43 
children under a mistress who was paid £\<^ a year and 
3 monitresses.*" In 1866 the Charity Commissioners 
authorized a new scheme of management which gave 
control of religious teaching to the minister (later the 
Rector of Buckhurst Hill) and the management to the 
Vicar of Chigwell, the minister, and 6 representatives 
of the subscribers.*' In 1869 Edward North Buxton 
gave additional premises in Albert Road. These were 
used for an infants' school.*^ 

The district of the Chigwell school board, founded 
in 1871, included Buckhurst Hill, and a board school 
(see below) was promptly built there. The National 
School maintained its voluntary character and continued 
to use the building next to the church. The managers, 
however, let the Albert Road infants' school to the 
board at a nominal rent, retaining the right to use the 
building on Sunday and two week-nights.*-' The 
average attendance at the National School rose from 7 1 
in 1872 to 158 in x886, and the annual grant from ^48 
to ^^140.*^ By 1882 or earlier the school had ceased to 
take boys, but in spite of this the rapid increase neces- 
sitated its enlargement and this was carried out in 
l887.*5 The average attendance continued to rise: in 
1899 there were 237 girls and 88 infants.** In 1904 
there was official accommodation for 394, but there 
were 403 children on the roll, under 1 1 teachers and 
3 monitresses.*' By the Education Act of 1902 the 
school passed under the administration of the Essex 
Education Committee, Epping District, as a non- 
provided school. The average attendance fell to 298 



5« Kelly's Dir. Essex (1886). The vestry 
minutes for 1 88 1—6 also contain references 
to 'the Board School, Chigwell' which 
must mean the English School. 

J5 E.R.O., D/P 166/28/10. 

" Min. of Educ. File 13/60. 

5' Rep. of Educ. Ctlee. of Council, 1886, 
p. 518; Schs. under Bd. of Educ. igo2, 
p. 68. 

5' Essex Educ. Cttee. Handhk. 1904, 
p. US. 

s» Min. of Educ. File 13/60. 

<•" Ibid.; inf. from Essex Educ. Cttee. 

" Educ. Enijuiry Ahstr. H.C. 62, p. 270 
(1835), xli. 

*» Min. of Educ. File 13/62. 



^3 See above. 

'♦ Essex Congr. Union Reps, 1858, p. 11. 

'5 Ibid, i860, p. 7. 

^^ County Companion, 1 880. 

" Min. of Educ File 13/62; Chelmsford 
Chronicle, 26 Jan. 1872. 

^8 Rep. of Educ. Cttee. of Council, 1874 
[C. 1265-1], p. 322, H.C. (1875), xxiv. 

69 Min. of Educ. File 13/62; Rep. of 
Educ. Cttee. of Council, 1886, p. 518. 

"> Ibid.; Schs. under Bd. of Educ. igo2, 
p. 68. '■ Min. of Educ. File 13/62. 

'* Inf. from Essex Educ. Cttee, 

'3 Kelly's Dir. Essex (184S). 

'^ Inf. from Nat. Soc. 

'5 Kelly'sDir. Essex{i%sS, 1862, 1870). 



^<• Ibid. 1874, 1878. 

" Ibid. 1902. 

'8 Inf. from Nat. Soc. " Ibid. 

8" Nat. Soc. Enquiry into Ch. Schs. 
1846-7, pp. 4-5. 

8' Min. of Educ. File 1^14-6. 

SMbid. 13/45. 

'3 Min. of Educ. Files 13/45, 46. 

*■• Rep. of Educ. Cttee. of Council, 1872 
[C. 812], p. 407, H.C. (1873), xxiv; ibid. 
1886, p. 518. 

8s Inscription on school building; Kelly's 
Dir. Essex (iSSi). 

86 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1899). 

8' Essex Educ. Cttee. Handhk. 1904, p. 
144. 



40 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



CHIGWELL 



in 1914 and 225 in 1930. In 1938 it was reorganized 
for junior girls and infants. ^3 In May 1952 there 
were 326 children and 1 1 teachers.*' The school was 
given controlled status in 1951.90 

The school board for Chigwell parish was at first 
strongly opposed locally and in 1872 a petition for its 
removal was sent to the government." This failed, 
but with other protests it may have caused the board 
to drop its plan to build a school to replace the National 
School at Buckhurst Hill. In 1872 the Board built a 
school in Princes Road and accepted the use of the 
infant department of the National School (see above), 
paying only a nominal rent but accepting responsibility 
for repairs.'^ The board school at first accepted both 
boys and girls, but from about 1886 it took only boys, 
the girls attending the National School. '3 Attendance 
at the board school rose from an average of 1 39 in 1873 
to 246 in 1886 and the annual grant from ^^95 to 
^236.''' In 1884 the infants' school was enlarged to 
about 164 places and in 1894 the boys' school to about 
362 places. 95 By the Education Act of 1902 the schools 
passed under the administration of the Essex Educa- 
tion Committee, Epping District. In 1904 there were 
290 boys on the roll, under 9 teachers, of whom 2 were 
certificated, and 153 infants under 5 teachers, i of 
whom was certificated.'* Attendance dechned to 229 
boys and 91 infants in 1938, when the schools were 
reorganized for junior boys and infants, and in 1940 
the boys' and infants' departments were amalgamated 
in a single establishment. '^ In May 1952 there were 
326 children, under 13 teachers.'* The building in 
Princes Road is single-storied, of yellow brick with a 
slate roof Attached is a teacher's house of similar con- 
struction. 

Owing to the building of the large London County 
Council housing estate at Hainault the Essex County 
Council has since 1945 been carrying out a programme 
of school development in this area which was still 
incomplete in 1952—3. The following schools were 
established during this period." 

The Grange County Secondary Modern School 
(mixed), Manford Way, was opened in September 
1950. In May 1952 it had 421 pupils and 24 teachers. 

Manford Way County Primary School was opened 
in November 1948. In May 1952 the junior school 
had 468 pupils and 1 2 teachers and the infants' school 
had 320 pupils and 9 teachers. 

The Coppice County Primary School, Manford 
Way, opened an infants' department in September 
1952 and in the following November had 213 pupils. 
The junior department was to be opened in 1953. 

Grange Hill County Primary School, Woodman 
Path, is a temporary school, opened in February 1948 
with accommodation for 240 juniors and 160 infants. 



In September 1950 there was accommodation for 760 
children. In May 1952 there were 888 pupils at the 
school. 

A branch of St. Anthony's Roman Catholic School 
was established at Woodman Path in September 1952, 
and in November 1952 had 344 pupils. This and all 
the above primary schools are for mixed juniors and 
infants. 

There have also been a number of private schools in 
the parish of Chigwell. In 1588 John Cambes of 
Chigwell was presented before the Archdeacon of 
Essex for 'that he teacheth a scoole'.' In 1795 a Mrs. 
King advertised the opening of a school in Chigwell 
for young ladies.^ In 18 10 there was a boarding 
academy for young gentlemen at Chigwell under the 
supervision of John Ray, the fee being 30 guineas a 
year.3 Ray died in 18 16, when the school apparently 
closed.'* 

About 1824 F. C. L. Khngender opened a school at 
Buckhurst Hill House,' held on lease. By 1831 he 
had raised mortgages totalling j^i.ooo on the property* 
and in 1833 he offered the premises for sale at ^1,690, 
asking nothing for any goodwill attached to the school.^ 
He was adjudged bankrupt in 1834.* Francis Worral 
Stevens, who had been a master at Bruce Grove, 
Tottenham (Mdx.), under Rowland Hill, took over 
the school and continued it until 1848.' The house 
was then empty for a year but the school was reopened 
in 1 8 5 1 by Thomas Bickerdike who in that year had 
an assistant master and 1 5 boarders between 9 and 14 
years of age."" Bickerdike left Buckhurst Hill in 
1853 and the house was not afterwards used as a 
school." 

Between 1850 and 1859 there was a school near 
Broomhill run by Mary Moss.'^ In 1851 she had 15 
boarders of both sexes between 3 and 10 years of age." 
Miss Howell and Miss Lake had a girls' day school in 
the High Road from 1848.'* In 1854 they moved into 
part of the premises of Harsnett's Grammar School 
and remained there until 1865. ■' 

Hannah Hurren had a day and boarding school at 
Chigwell Row from 1848 to 1850.'* From 1856 to 
1869 the Revd. William Earle, M.A., had a boys' 
school at Grange Court in Chigwell village." In 1878 
the Misses Ann and Catherine Howell had a private 
school at Broomhill, the Revd. W. L. Wilson a col- 
legiate school at Oakhurst in Horn Lane and there 
were five private schools at Buckhurst Hill.'* Oakhurst 
later became a school and home for destitute Armenian 
boys under the Revd. G. Thoumaian." From the late 
19th century the Sisters of the Sacred Hearts of Jesus 
and Mary have kept a school at the Manor House in 
High Road, near Woodford Bridge.^" In 1950 there 
were also two private schools at Buckhurst Hill.^' 



** Min. of Educ. File 13/46. 

" Inf. from Essex Educ. Cttee. 

»» Min. of Educ. File 13/46. 

»' Ibid. 13/45. See also E.R.O., D/P 
166/8/11 : 9 May 1872, for a resolution 
of the vestry protesting against the pro- 
posed expenditure of the school board. 

»» Min. of Educ. File 1 3/45 ; Chelmsford 
Chronicle^ 26 Jan., 12 July, 15 Nov. 1872. 

«3 Kelly's Dir. Essex {iSSi, 1886, 1890). 

»« Rep. of Educ. Cttee. of Council, 1873 
[C. loig-i], p. 407, H.C. (1874), xviii; 
ibid. 1886, p. 518. 

" Min. of Educ. File i 3/45 ; Schs. under 
Bd. of Educ. igo2y p. 68. 

'" Essex Educ. Cttee. Handhk. 1904, p. 
144. 



" Min. of Educ. File 13/45. 

»8 Inf. from Essex Educ. Cttee. 

90 The following account is based on 
information from the Ministry of Educa- 
tion, Essex Education Cttee. and Miss 
E. A. Phillips, Headmistress of Staples 
Road Infant School, Loughton. 
■ E.R.O., D/AEV/14. 

2 Chigwell Church Mag. Feb. 1939. 

3 Essex Union., 9 Jan. 18 to. 
♦ Chigwell Par. Reg. 

5 E.R.O., D/DDaMi3. 
<■ Ibid. 

' Kent and Essex Mercury, 29 Oct. 
1833. 

8 Essex Union, 18 Feb. 1834. 

9 E.R.O., D/DDa M13. 



■o H.O. 107/1770, igsl'- 

" E.R.O., D/P 166/11/17. 

" E.R.O., D/P 166/11/14-23. 

" H.O. 107/1770, 195/1. 

'« ff'hite's Dir. Essex (1848), 417. 

■5 E.R.O., D/P 166/11/12-29. 

■* IVhite's Dir. Essex (1848), 417; 
E.R.O., D/P 166/11/12-14. 

" E.R.O., D/P i66/«/ii, 166/11/20- 
33. This house has recently been bought 
by the governors of Chigwell School. 

'8 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1878). 

'» Ibid. (1899). 

" Ibid. (1899). 

^" Chigwell U.D. Official Guide (2nd 
edn.), p. 34. ' 



ES. IV 



41 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



Nothing certain is known concerning the foundation 
of Coulson's Almshouses, which adjoin 
CHARITIES Chigwell School to the north-east. 
The words 'Coulson's Almshouses 
1557' inscribed upon the building were evidently 
added at the rebuilding of 1858. In 1849 the gram- 
mar school records were said to include a document 
of 1 61 9 implying that the almshouses built by Thomas 
Coulson then stood on the east of the school.^^ A 
family called Coulson had lived in the parish since 1 592 
at least.^5 One of the houses in 1 849 also bore the date 
1664, but this may have commemorated an extension 
to the buildings.^* In the late 1 8th century the owners 
of land called Cardhams paid a rent charge of ^^4 for 
the maintenance of four poor widows and also repaired 
the almshouses and nominated the inmates. In 1803 
the owner was not allowed to nominate them because 
he did not live in the parish and he refused to repair 
the houses unless his obligation could be proved. ^5 This 
could apparently not be done and a subscription was 
raised for the purpose in 1820.26 j^ jg^j tjie rent- 
charge was reassigned to Brookhouse Farm:^' it was 
thereafter paid until its redemption in 1938 for ;^i6o 
which was invested.^* 

In 1834 the almshouses consisted of three two- 
roomed tenements under one roof. The parishioners 
then nominated the inmates.^' After various earlier 
attempts, the almshouses were reljuilt in 1 8 5 8 by public 
subscription in their present enlarged form. In 1864 
the vestry added to the endowment ^100 received by 
them in consideration of the closure of a footpath. 
This was used to pay each almswoman 6s. %d. a 
quarter.3o ^ further gift of j^20 was added in 1869. 
In 195 1—2 the charity's income was £j js. Over ^10 
was spent on the almshouses and their occupants, the 
excess being met out of the other funds of the United 
Charities (see below).^' 

By his will of 1585 Robert Rampston of Chingford 
left rent charges to be applied for the benefit of the 
poor in various Essex parishes. ^^ That for Chigwell is 
£z a year, charged on Stone Hall in Little Canfield. 
In 1835 it was spent on bread which was distributed 
about Lady Day to poor persons in proportion to the 
size of their families. In 195 1—2 it was used for the 
general purpose of the United Charities. 

Mary Fountain, by will proved 1 804, left ^^90 after 
expiry of a life interest, in trust for two blind women 
of the parish. 33 The will was unsuccessfully disputed 
in Chancery and the legacy was paid in 1817. In 1834 
there were no qualified beneficiaries in Chigwell and 
the income was intermittently paid to two blind women 
in Whitechapel. In 195 1—2 the income was £2 6s. %ii. 
and gifts of £1 each were made to two blind women, 
one in Chigwell and one in Buckhurst Hill. 

James Hatch, lord of Chigwell Hall manor, by will 
proved 1807, left j^i,ooo in trust to maintain his tomb 
at Little Ilford, to make an inscription in Chigwell 
church recording the bequest, and for the most 



deserving poor of Chigwell not in receipt of parish 
relief 3< The provision for the tomb was invalid, but 
payments were apparently made for it at various times. 
In 1834 £10 was distributed in small cash gifts. In 
195 1-2 the income was £,2St of which ;£20 were 
distributed in gifts of j^i each. 

Mary Grainger, by will proved 1808, left ^1,000 
in trust for eight poor widows of Chigwell of over 50 
years of age.35 Preference was to be given to the moral 
and industrious and distribution was to take place on 
St. Thomas's Day. In 1835 ^31 los. was distributed. 
In 195 1-2 the income was ^{^22 10/., of which j^20 
was distributed in eight gifts of ^^2 \os. 

Mrs. Barbara Fisher in 1809 bequeathed ;^ioo to 
the poor of Chigwell.36 In 1834 the interest was used 
to buy bread which was distributed to the poor accord- 
ing to the size of their families. In 195 1-2 the income 
of C'i 6j- was used for the general purposes of the 
United Charities. 

Mrs. Rosetta Waddell, by will proved 1866, left 
£25 for the benefit of the deserving poor of the parish 
who were not receiving parish relief.3' In 1896 the 
income was used to supplement the endowment of the 
almshouses, in gifts to the almswomen. In 195 1-2 it 
amounted to 13/. and was used for the general pur- 
poses of the United Charities. 

By a scheme of 1899 all the above charities were 
united under one board of trustees who were to carry 
out the original purposes of each.^s In 195 1-2, in 
addition to the payments specifically mentioned above, 
a payment of £j 4/. was made to Chigwell County 
Primary School. Apparently the trustees believed that 
this sum had formerly been paid to St. Mary's Girls' 
School, but there appears to be no mention of such a 
payment in the scheme of 1899 or elsewhere in the 
Charity Commission Records. 

Joan Sympson, by will proved 1562, left £io for 
the repair of the highway between Chigwell and 
London.3 9 This was added to a trust which she had 
founded three years earlier. In 1 871 a small piece of 
land, apparently allotted earlier in respect of common 
rights, was sold for £^^.^° In 1938 a field comprising 
the whole landed property of the charity was sold for 
j/^3,150. By 195 1 the charity held ^1,080 stock. In 
the early 19th century the charity appears to have been 
virtually dead, probably because the road was then 
being repaired by a turnpike trust.*' Trustees were 
appointed in 1857 and later in the century the charity's 
income was used to repair the footpath along the 
Abridge-Woodford road. In the 20th century the 
charity has paid the county council for the repair of 
the road. Much of the income has been reinvested: 
in 1947 none was spent. 

The Harsnett Charity (1629), the main provision of 
which was for the foundation of the schools at Chigwell, 
included an endowment of ^^lo a year to be spent on 
bread to be given to those poor people of the parish 
who attended church, and 20^. a year to the parish 



" E.R.O., D/P 166/8/11. The date 
must have been an error since the school 
was not founded until 1629. 

23 Chigwell Par. Reg. 

" E.R.O., D/P 166/8/11. 

25 Rep. Com. Char. (Essex), H.C. 216, 

pp. 223-5 ("835). «i (>); E-R-0., D/P 

166/8/11. 
" E.R.O., D/P 166/8/11. 
" Rep. Com. Char. (Essex), pp. 223-5. 
28 char. Com. files. 
» Rep. Com. Char. (Essex), pp. 223-5. 



30 E.R.O., D/P 166/8/11; Kelly's Dir. 
Essex (1899, 1933). 
3^ Ciiar. Com. files. 

32 P.C.C. 40 Brudenell; Rep. Com. Char. 
(Essex), ibid.; Char. Com. files. 

33 Rep. Com. Char. (Essex); Char. Com. 
Recs.; MS. Book 'An Acct. of Donations 
&c., to the Poor of Chigwell', in possession 
of the Trustees of Chigwell United 
Charities. For Mrs. Fisher see below, 
Fisher's Charity. 

34 Ibid. 



35 Ibid. 

36 Ibid. 

3' Char. Com. files; 'Acct. of Dona- 
tions &c.' 

38 Char. Com. files; Chigwell Par. 
Mag., Sept. 1926. 

39 Char. Com. files; E.R. xix, 1-7, 70- 
77; E.A.T. N.s. xi, 153. See also Topo- 
graphy, above. 

■»" See Agriculture, above. 
4' There is no mention of this charity in 
the 1835 Report. 



42 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



CHIGWELL 



clerk for ringing the church bell daily at 6 a.m.''^ In 
1834 both these payments were still being made, 
though the clerk was no longer required to ring. A 
Chancery order of 1863 ignored the provision for the 
clerk, which thereafter lapsed, but continued the pay- 
ment for bread. In 1871 this also was stopped by an 
Endowed Schools Scheme which ruled that the ^lo 
was to be applied to educational purposes. An old 
bread cupboard used in connexion with this charity 
was for many years attached to the inside wall of the 
church near the south door. About 1900 it was found 
to be delapidated and was moved to the vestry .■♦3 



John Crowfoot, by will proved 1903, left /Cs°° '" 
trust for the distribution of coal at Christmas among the 
poor of the parish of All Saints, Chigwell Row.« For 
some years part of the income was used to give a 
bonus to the parish coal club, but in 1950 the whole 
income of ^14 5/. ^J. was used to buy coal for 22 
people. 

Philip Savill, by will proved 1922, left ;^i,ooo in 
trust for gifts to 100 deserving poor of the parish of 
Chigwell Row, preferably Anglicans.*' In 1950 the 
income was £2$, which was distributed in cash to 12 
people. 



FYFIELD 



Fyfield is about 2 miles north of Chipping Ongar,' 
and has an area of 2,450 acres.^ Its name is derived 
from the 5-hide unit of assessment used by the Anglo- 
Saxons.3 In several respects it is one of the most inter- 
esting parishes in the hundred. There is an unusual 
number of moated sites and pre- 18th-century houses. 
Four houses, Fyfield Hall, Lampetts, Dame Anna's 
Farm, and the rectory, date from the Middle Ages. The 
church, which dates from the 12th century, is one of 
the few in the district with a central tower and north and 
south aisles. Considerable sums must have been spent 
on its erection and on alterations and additions in the 
13 th and 14th centuries. Fyfield thus seems to have 
been a place of some importance and wealth in the 
Middle Ages and this is borne out by the taxation 
statistics printed below (pp. 300 f). As late as 1671 it 
was more densely populated than any other place in the 
hundred except Chipping Ongar and Moreton (see 
below, pp. 306 f.). In 1801 the population was jii.'* 
Fyfield was then sixth of the parishes in the hundred in 
order of population density.' The population rose 
slowly to 629 in 1861.* It subsequently declined to 
468 in 1 88 1.' There was some later fluctuation but in 
1921 it was again 468.* There was an increase to 693 
in 193 1 ' and in 195 1 the population was 710.'" The 
present density is much lower than in those parishes 
of the hundred where there has been great building 
development but is still higher than in most of the 
rural parishes. At the end of the i8th century the 
principal centre of population was Norwood End, in 
the north of the parish. Since that time most of the 
houses there have disappeared and the population is 
now concentrated mainly in the village of Fyfield near 
the centre of the parish. This is one of the few nucleated 
villages in the hundred and near it to the east are the 
parish church and the ancient manor house of Fyfield 
Hall. 

There are hills rising to about 260 ft. above sea-level 
in the south-east and 280 ft. in the north-west. In the 
valley between these two hills is the River Roding which 
enters the parish in the east and flows south to form 
part of the southern boundary before leaving Fyfield in 
the south-west. At this point the land is below 1 50 ft. 
Witney Wood is in the south-east, and there are some 
small patches of woodland in the north-west. The road 



*' Rep. Com. Char. {Essex) ; Char. Com. 
files. 
•♦3 Inf. from the late Howard Wall. 
+♦ Char. Com. files. 
45 Ibid. 
' O.S. 2} in. Map, sheet S'^JS°- 
* Inf. from Essex County Council. 
3 Chief Elements in Eng. Place-Names 
E.P.N.S. i (2)), 36. 



3 so- 



il f. 



♦ V.C.H. Essex, ii, ' 
5 Ibid. 
' Ibid. 
' Ibid. 

* Ibid.; Census, 191 
« Census, 193 1. 

"> Census, 195 I. 

>' Inf. from Mr. Filshie of Witney 
Green. 

43 



from Chipping Ongar enters the parish in the extreme 
south-west and runs north-east to the Rodings and 
Dunmow. Close to the south-west corner a drive leads 
off the east side of the road to Folyats, an irregularly 
shaped roughcast house built about 1914 by J. W. 
Newall of Forest Hall in High Ongar (q.v.). The site 
was chosen for its fine view over the Forest Hall estate." 
About I mile farther along the road a lane leads east- 
wards to Herons Farm.'^ The West Ham Open Air 
School stands on the west side of the road about 2 50 yds. 
beyond the turning to Herons. A little farther to the 
north is the hamlet of Clatterford End. Here there is 
an L-shaped block of cottages of late 17th or early 1 8th- 
century date, with pargeted plaster panels of zigzag 
pattern. Clatterford Hall, on the east side of the road, 
is a red-brick house, probably of the late i8th or early 
19th century. There have been picturesque alterations 
at various later dates. Clatterford House on the opposite 
side of the road has similar chimney-pots. It was prob- 
ably built about the middle of the 19th century.'^ 

Beyond Clatterford End Ongar Road is joined by a 
road which leads westward to Moreton and by a lane 
which leads northward to Lampetts. '* About J mile 
along on the north side of the road to Moreton is Penny- 
feathers. This house stands on a moated site and appears 
to date from the late 17th or early i8th century. 
Farther west on the same road are four pairs of council 
houses. 

Nearly J mile north-east of the road junction, on the 
south side of Ongar Road, is the village of Fyfield. The 
post-office is at the north end; from there a road known 
formerly as the Street and now as Queens Street, runs 
southward. On the east side of Queens Street is a row 
of houses of which the most northerly is the Queens 
Head Inn. These have external details mostly of the 
1 8th and early 19th centuries but the structures are 
older. At the south end stands the block of two houses, 
called Bruetts, devised by Anthony Walker in 1687 for 
the use of the church clerk'' and of the schoolmaster."' 
North of Bruetts is another house known as Brewitts. 
This appears to be a 16th-century structure with later 
additions. It is said that there was once a tannery at the 
back of it.'7 All the buildings on the west side of the 
Street have been built since the middle of the 19th cen- 
tury. They include the Mission Hall.'* 

'2 See below, Manor of Herons. 

'3 It does not appear on the Tithe Map 
of 18+2: E.R.O., D/CT 148. 

'♦ See below, Manor of Lampetts. 

'5 See below, Charities. 

'6 See below Schools. 

" Inf. from Mrs. B. S. Blowes, present 
occupier. 

■8 See below. Nonconformity. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



South of the school the road turns sharply eastward 
by Fyfield Bridge and continues to the eastern boundary 
of the parish as Willingale Lane. West of the bridge a 
drive leads northward to Fyfield Hall." Nearly oppo- 
site the drive is the church.^" At the south-west corner 
of the churchyard stands the building which in the late 
19th century was known as the Vicarage.^' There is a 
water-mill^^ on the River Roding about 200 yds. south- 
west of the church. Until early in the 20th century 
there was a windmills about 200 yds. west of the 
water-mill; the track leading to the windmill still exists. 
A little to the east of the church a lane known as Church 
Lane leads southward to Cannon's Green, formerly 
Bury Green. Wethers, formerly White Hall, stands at 
the north end of Church Lane on its east side. This 
house contains a fine oak staircase of late i6th- or early 
17th-century origin. Near the staircase is the base of an 
original chimney. The house was altered and probably 
much reduced in size in the early 1 8th century. Later 
still brick wings were built at the back. On the west 
side of Church Lane, opposite Wethers, is a row of 
three cottages which has gabled dormers and one chim- 
ney with diagonal shafts. At present only one tenement 
is occupied. South of the row is a single-story three- 
roomed cottage which was church property from at 
least the 17th century until 1947.^^ It probably dates 
from the i6th century. Since 1947 it has been re- 
thatched and plastered and thoroughly reconditioned. 
South of this cottage there are seven pairs of council 
houses. The cottages at Cannon's Green are mostly of 
the 1 8th or early 19th centuries. Two of these have 
some curious coursed rubble walling consisting of 
knapped flints mixed with broken brick, possibly 
material from a demolished building. One of the two 
may have belonged to the church in 1835.^5 Near the 
church to the east is Fyfield House, a brick building 
which dates from about 1830. Almost opposite Fyfield 
House is the rectory .^^ At Witney Green, about ^ mile 
east of the church, there was in about 1768 a 'fair man- 
sion house, some time the seat of George Pochin 
Esquire, SherrifFof this county in 1700'." The present 
farm-house appears to be mostly of the early 19th cen- 
tury with an addition of about i860, but at least one 
wing has evidently been demolished. In the yard is a 
fine symmetrical red-brick stable range dated 1777. 
An old farm-house and buildings, all demolished in 
1886,28 stood about 100 yds. to the north.^' Little 
Witney Green, opposite Witney Green on the west 
side of Willingale Lane, is in course of demolition. It 
appears to have been a small timber-framed house of 
the early 17th century. 

North of the village the road from Ongar is known 
as Dunmow Road. Ponders Lodge Farm, on the east 
side of this road near the post-office, is a two-story 
timber-framed house with a T-shaped plan. Part of the 
front oversails and has curved brackets to the soffit 
probably dating from about i 500. The large chimney 
and back wing may be later additions. The sash win- 
dows and pargeting patterns on the plaster are of the 
1 8th century. On the opposite side of the road there 
are several cottages which date from the 17th century 
and earlier. A little to the north of Ponders Lodge 



Farm is the Black Bull Inn, beyond which there is a 
single-story weather-boarded cottage belonging to the 
church and perhaps dating from the 17th or i8th cen- 
tury. 

Opposite the Black Bull Inn a road leads north- 
westwards to Norwood End. This area of the parish is 
now more sparsely populated than it was in 1777.30 At 
Holme Garden in Norwood End there is a moat en- 
closing an area which is about 1 50 yds. across and con- 
sists of two adjacent sites of roughly rectangular shape. 
In 1770 there was a local tradition that Henry, Lord 
Scrope (d. 141 5) had a 'magnificent seat' on this spot.^' 
On the west side of the road, opposite the moat, stands 
the Nook, a small timber-framed building which prob- 
ably dates from the early 19th century. It has the 
appearance of a small school or nonconformist chapel 
of that period and is said to have been a 'nonconformist 
academy'.32 It is now a private dwelling and is in pro- 
cess of being rebuilt. A little to the north of the Nook 
a track, formerly a lane, leads south to Green's Farm 
and then to Makings Farm. Green's Farm stands on 
a moated site and appears to date from the late 17th or 
early i8th century. Makings Farm probably dates 
from the early 17th century. It is much altered but 
retains a chimney with diagonal shafts. North-west of 
Holme Garden is Dame Anna's Farm. This stands on 
a moated site and is a timber-framed two-story house of 
medieval origin. It appears to have consisted originally 
of an open hall possibly with a two-story wing at the 
west end. The vertical timbers, which are exposed 
internally, are close-set and heavy. The screens passage 
across the east end of the hall is still in existence. The 
screen itself is of chamfered oak studs alternating with 
tall single panels, probably of i6th- or early 17th- 
century date. There is a two-story porch at the front 
of the house and a small staircase wing at the back; 
these two features may have been added when a ceiling 
was inserted in the hall. The heavy beams supporting 
this ceiling, now sagging, are probably of the i6th cen- 
tury. The brick chimney with four diagonal shafts 
appears to have been inserted near the west end of the 
hall at the same period. There are indications that the 
east end of the house is also a rather later addition, as 
two separate partitions exist side by side to the east of 
the screens passage. The westernmost of these has two 
curved braces to the tie-beam which are visible on the 
first floor. The upper story of the gabled porch over- 
sails on three sides and has curved brackets to the soffit. 
The moulded oak door-frame is of i6th- or early 17th- 
century date. In the window east of the porch is a frag- 
ment of heraldic glass of the 17th or 1 8th century. This 
has the incomplete inscription 'Chard and Brom'. Prob- 
ably in the present century the west part of the front 
was faced with red brick. Three-light sash windows 
were inserted, those on the ground floor having large 
decorative lintels of stone or cement. There is a brick 
single-story addition at the east end of the house. From 
Dame Anna's Farm a lane leads north-westwards to 
Hales Farm, formerly Old Hides Farm, which probably 
dates from the early 17th century. 

Nearly J mile from the Bull Inn northward along 
Dunmow Road is the site of a big house, called Pickerells, 



'^ Sec below, Manor of Fyfield. 

" See below, Church. 

" Ibid. 

" Sec below. 

*5 Sec below. 

*^ See below, Church. 

'i Ibid. 



^' Ibid. 

^' Morant, Essex, i, 135. 

28 Inf. from Mr. Filshie, present oc- 
cupier. 

" E.R.O., D/CT 148. 

3" Chapman and Andre, Maf> of Essex 
J777, plate xii. Cf. O.S. 6 in. Map (ist 



cdn.), sheet xlii. 

3' Hisl. Essex by Gent, iii, 334. 

32 Inf. from Rector of Fyfield. Mr. 
Cooke of Dame Anna's Farm calls it 
'Norwood End Church'. See below, Non- 
conformity. 



44 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



FYFIELD 



which in the i8th century belonged to the Brands of 
Herons.33 Unlike Herons, Pickerells descended to 
Thomas, 20th Lord Dacre (d. i85i).34 By 1835 the 
house had disappeared,3s but old foundations have been 
found on the site during the last few years.s* The farm 
which has been called Pickerells since before 1 873^' was 
known as Ash's Farm until after 1842 when it was 
owned by Lord Dacre.3 8 It stands about 300 yds. to 
the north of the site of the former Pickerells and prob- 
ably dates from the late 1 7th, or early 1 8th, century, 
with a front addition of about 1800. 

The inhabitants of Fyfield were at first responsible 
for the upkeep of Fyfield Bridge,3' but in 1616 Robert, 
3rd Baron Rich, lord of the manor of Fyfield, was said 
to be responsible for it.'"' The parish was again respon- 
sible for the bridge in the early 19th century. It is not 
included in the list of county bridges about 1800'" or 
in 1830.42 In or shortly before 1835 it was said that 
the occupier of Fyfield Hall estate, with the assistance 
of the neighbouring gentry, had recently erected a 
bridge at Fyfield, from plans and specifications by 
George Bridges, a London builder.^s In 1835 part of 
the bridge appears to have been a county charge.** In 
1858 the county surveyor noted that the bridge was 
built of oak and that in 1 856 it had been widened at the 
expense of the county which was responsible only for 
the additional width.^s 

In 1 79 1 a wagon went at noon on Saturdays from 
Fyfield to the 'Saracen's Head', Aldgate.** In 1826-7 
a coach ran from Ongar and Fyfield on every day except 
Sunday, to the 'Bull', Aldgate, passing through Abridge 
and Chigwell.'t' The vans of S. Clements and the 
wagons of Thomas Nichol also served Fyfield and other 
villages.** In 1848 George Yeallett was carrier to 
London on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday.*' In 
1862 a coach went daily to London. so 

In 1 840 a 'memorial' for a postal service in Fyfield 
and other parishes was sent to the Postmaster-Generals' 
and in 1845 Fyfield asked for a receiving office. s^ The 
request was shortly granted. S3 In 1877 an application 
for a money-order office was refused, s* but in 1881 
a post-office was established, serving also Cannons 
Green, 55 with delivery extended in the next year to 
Norwood End. 56 A telegraph office was opened under 



33 See below, Manor of Herons; Hht, 
Essex hy Gent, iii, 333. 

34 E.R.O., e/RPl 685-737. 

" Ref. Com. Char. {Essex), H.C. 216, 
pp. 227-8 (1835), x)ci (i). The explana- 
tion of the disappearance of the house may 
lie in the fact that from 1 7 80, if not before, 
until after 184.2 the land belonging to 
Pickerells Farm was occupied by the Ash 
family who also occupied other farms in 
the vicinity. Pickerells was possibly 
demolished for better utilization of the 
land. In 184.2 William Ash lived at Ash's 
farm-house (sec below). 

" Inf. from Mrs. Doe of present 
Pickerells. 

3' O.S. 6 in. Map (ist edn.), sheet xlii. 

38 E.R.O., D/CT 148. The Brands 
owned 'John Ash farm' before 1768; 
Morant, Essex, i, 135. This was almost 
certainly the farm described as 'Ash's 
Farm' in 1842. The latter was, however, 
described as Golds in Chapman and Andr6, 
Map of Essex jyy;, plate xii. John Ash 
occupied nearly all the Brands' estate in 
Fyfield, including Pickerells and another, 
slightly larger, farm, by 1780. He was 
succeeded in 1827-8 by Mrs. Ash who 
was still the occupier in 1832. In 1842 
William Ash occupied 'Ash's Farm' which 



included the land on 
Pickerells had stood. 

39 E.R.O., Q/SR 75/33, 142/24. 

40 E.R.O., e/SBa 1/26. 
4> E.R.O., 2/ABz 2. 

42 E.R.O., e/ABz I. 

43 Wright, Hist. Essex, ii, 338 n. 

44 E.R.O., Q/ABz 2. 

45 E.R.O., Q/ABz 3. 

46 Uni'versal Brit. Dir. (1791), i, 24. 

47 Pigot's Com. Dir. (1826-7), App. 51. 

48 Ibid. 82. Cf. Chipping Ongar, p. 158. 

49 irhile's Dir. Essex {i%^i),4it). 
so JVhite's Dir. Essex (1863), 726. 

5" P.M.G. Mins 1840, vol. 52, p. 535. 

52 Ibid. 1845, vol. 80, p. 406. 

53 ff kite's Dir. Essex (ii6T,),yzS. 

54 P.M.G. Mins. 1877, vol. 168, min. 

5933- 

55 Ibid. 1881, vol. 219, min. 8958. 

56 Ibid. 1882, vol. 232, min. 7276. 
5' Ibid. 1893, vol. 497, min. 8078. 
58 Ibid. 1923, min. 5644. 

!» Inf. from Chief Constable of Essex. 
Kelly's Dir. Essex first mentioned a 
sergeant-in-charge in 1898. 

60 Inf. from Herts, and Essex Water- 
works Co. 

6> Inf. from Rector of Fyfield. 

62 Inf. from East. Elec. Bd. 

45 



guarantee in 189357 and the telephone service was 
estabhshed in 1923.58 A police officer is stationed in 
the parish.59 

Water was supplied by the Herts, and Essex Water- 
works Co. in the later 19th century*" but there is no 
sewerage system.*' Electricity was supplied to most of 
the parish in 1938.*^ The village hall was built about 
1920,^3 and a sports ground was opened in 1951.** A 
branch of the county library was opened in 1937. 

Fyfield has always been a rural parish devoted mainly 
to agriculture. No evidence has been found to support 
the tradition that Henry, Lord Scrope (d. 141 5), lord 
of the manor of Fyfield, lived in the parish,*5 nor is 
there evidence that any other lord of this manor lived 
in Fyfield in medieval times. Certainly no owner of the 
manor has been resident since early in the i6th cen- 
tury.** The owners of Herons never lived in Fyfield 
except for a period in the 1 8th, and perhaps in the 1 7th, 
century.*' The Brands lived in Fyfield during the first 
part of the 1 8th century,*^ but by 1768 Thomas Brand, 
then lord of the manor, was no longer resident.*' Sub- 
sequent owners of Herons never lived in Fyfield.'" The 
owners of Lampetts lived in the parish in the 17th cen- 
tury and in the first half of the 1 8th century," but after 
the death of John Collins in 1750 they were not resident 
until at least the latter half of the 19th century.'^ 

In 1842 E. F. Maitland owned 387 acres in Fyfield, 
the Hon. W. P. T. Long-Wellesley 288 acres, the 
Revd. J. B. Stane (of Forest Hall in High Ongar, q.v.) 
263 acres, J. B. Stane 216 acres, and the trustees of 
Eleanor Kirwan 238 acres.'^ None of these owners 
farmed their land themselves.'4 J. M. Wilson owned 
112 acres which were part of the manor of Envilles in 
Little Laver (q.v.).'s There were three other substan- 
tial owners in the parish; Lucy Evans owned but did 
not occupy Dame Anna's Farm (131 acres); Thomas, 
Lord Dacre owned but did not occupy Ash's Farm 
(116 acres) ; and Captain Harry Ord held, as trustee of 
Mrs. Ord, Green's Farm (70 acres) which was occupied 
by W. Whitney, and Hale's Farm (58 acres) which was 
occupied by J. White.'* There were three other farms 
of over 40 acres." 

Fyfield has always been a parish of mixed farming 
with a heavy predominance of arable. In 1086 there 

which the first 



63 Inf. from County Librarian. 

'4 Inf. from Rector of Fyfield. 

65 See above; and below, Church. 

" See below. Manor of Fyfield ; E.R.O., 
Q/RTh I, 5; ibid. Q/RPl 685-737; ibid. 
D/CT 148. 

" See below. Manor of Herons. 

«8 Hist. Essex by Gent, iii, 338; Wright, 
Hist. Essex, ii, 339 n.; see below, Church, 
The Brands may have lived at Pickerells, 
a substantial house; see above; and 
Morant, Essex, i, 135. A new house was 
built at Herons soon after Thomas Brand 
disposed of the manor : sec below. Manor 
of Herons. 

" Morant, Essex, i, 135; Hist. Essex by 
Gent, iii, 334; Complete Peerage, iv, 16— 

'7- 

70 E.R.O., Q/RPl 685-737; see below. 
Manor of Herons. 

" E.R.O., Q/RTh I, 5; Morant, Essex, 
i. '35; Wright, Hist. Essex, ii, 339. 

'2 E.R.O., Q/RPl 685-737; ibid. 
D/CT 148. 

'3 E.R.O., D/CT 148. 

'4 Ibid. 

'5 Ibid. 

'<■ Ibid. . 

" Ibid. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



were 5 ploughs in the manor of Fy field; there was 
woodland for 400 swine, 10 acres of meadow, and also 
a hive of bees.'* In 184 1 it was estimated that there 
were 1,655 acres of arable, 425 acres of meadow, and 
1 20 acres of woodland." 

In 1086 the manor contained a mill,*" and in 1281 
there was a windmill there.*' A windmill was in use in 
the parish until about 1910*^ when it was blown down 
and cleared away. It was an open-based wooden post 
mill.83 A mill on the River Roding is still using water- 
power to grind cattle food.'* The building is weather- 
boarded and appears to date from the i8th or early 
19th century. The mill house is a double fronted 
plastered cottage probably built about 1 840. 

The Fyfield Pea {Lathyrus tubemus)'^^ has been 
naturalized at Fyfield since about 1800. It is a native 
of Europe and West Asia.** It can still be found in 
hedges and fields in Fyfield, in particular in a field east 
of the rectory, but is considered to be not so plentiful as 
formerly. 

The works of Ernest Doe & Son, tractor repairers, 
are opposite Pickerells. 

In 1066 FYFIELD was held by Leuric as a manor 

and as \\ hide and 30 acres and was worth 

MANORS ^5.*' In 1086 it was held by Roger of 

John son of Waleran and was worth [,1 .^^ 

In 1094 the manor was still held of John by Roger.*' 

Maud wife of Hasculf de Tany was heiress of John.'o 

It is almost certain that Maud held the manor of 
Fyfield in demesne early in the 12th century." Grae- 
land de Tany, son of Maud, died in 1 179-80.92 His 
son and heir Hasculf, and the successors of Hasculf, un- 
doubtedly held the manor in demesne of the king in 
chief by knight service, the amount of which was re- 
ported as I fee until 1428 and afterwards as ^ fee.'^ 

Hasculf de Tany died in 1 192-3.9'' He was suc- 
ceeded by Gilbert de Tany who was probably his son 
and who died in 1 22 1 leaving a widow Emma who had 
dower in Fyfield. '^ In 1221 the heirs of Gilbert were 
described as William de Fambridge, Maud wife of 
Adam de Legh, and Nicholas de Beauchamp.'* In 
1223 Adam and Maud de Legh granted their rights in 
the inheritance to Stephen son of Alan de Normanby 
and Alice his wife and to the heirs of Alice.*' This 
Stephen seems to have been known later as Stephen de 
Langton.9* In 1230 it was reported that Stephen de 
Langton held \, and Nicholas de Beauchamp \, of 
Gilbert de Tany's barony of 7J fees." A large part of 
Gilbert's estate in Fyfield was evidently allotted to 
Nicholas de Beauchamp, who died in 1 243 in possession 
of an estate there consisting of 254 acres of arable, 8 
acres of meadow in demesne, 6 acres of pasture, a wood, 
rents amounting to 69;. \d. a year, and some works." It 



is not certain what happened to this estate when Nicholas 
died. He left a minor, whose name is unknown, as the 
heir to his other estates.^ Part of his Fyfield estate, how- 
ever, may have passed to Stephen de Langton. Stephen 
and his wife Alice had some interest in Fyfield at least 
as early as 1228, but it is not clear what was the extent 
of this interest before the death of Nicholas.^ It is cer- 
tain, however, that in 1258 Stephen had in Fyfield a 
messuage and a carucate of land which he then granted 
to Roger de Beauchamp and to the adult heirs of Roger 
to hold of him by the service oi\ fee and a yearly rent 
of 1 1 1 J. ^d., 1 30 quarters of wheat, and 150 quarters 
of oats.* After Stephen's death Roger was to hold the 
premises in fee and to be quit of the annual rent.' 
Stephen was dead by 1 26 1.* In the quo warranto in- 
quiries of 1274-5 it was reported that Roger de Beau- 
champ held the manor of Fyfield of the king in chief at 
I fee and that he held the assize of bread and ale and 
view of frankpledge, but by what warrant was un- 
known.' Roger died in 1281 in possession of an estate 
in Fyfield consisting of a messuage, 2 carucates arable, 
2o(.?) acres of meadow, 10 acres of pasture, 80 acres of 
wood, a windmill, and rents amounting to £6 13/. \d. 
a year.* He was succeeded by his son John.' In 1295 
John de Beauchamp received licence to enfeoff Henry 
de Enfield, Alice his wife and John their son with 44 
acres of land which they were to hold of the king by 
^ fee.'° Henry de Enfield was probably lord of Envilles 
manor in Little Laver (q.v.). In 1303 it was reported 
that John de Beauchamp and his tenants held I fee in 
Fyfield." In 1309 John de Beauchamp settled the 
manor of Fyfield on his son Nicholas but reserved a life 
interest for himself '^ John was still alive in 1320, but 
by 1329 Nicholas was in possession of the manor." In 
1332 Nicholas received licence toenfeoffjohn Hotham, 
Bishop of Ely, with the manor.'* In 1334 the king 
granted to John Hotham and his heirs free warren in 
all their demesne lands of the manor. '5 In November 
1334 John, Bishop of Ely, received licence to grant the 
manor to John son of Peter Hotham.'* In 1337 Sir 
John Hotham received licence to grant the manor to 
his son John and Ivetta his wife to hold to them and 
their issue with remainder to Ivetta's brother Henry, 
son of Geoffrey le Scrope, and his heirs." John died 
without issue in 13 51.'* In 1355 his widow Ivetta 
granted the manor to her brother Henry le Scrope to 
hold during her life at a rent of ^^62 1 3/. \d. during the 
lifetime of Mathias de Beauchamp, who was probably 
the occupier, and ^^66 13/. \d. after the death of 
Mathias." Ivetta was dead by I374.2*' Her brother 
Henry, ist Lord Scrope of Masham, then held the 
manor in his own right until he died in 1392, leaving as 
his heir his son Stephen, 2nd Lord Scrope, who died in 



'8 y.C.n. Essex, i, 545a. 
" E.R.O., D/CT 148. 
«» F.C.H. Essex, i, 545a. 
8* Cal. Inq. p.m. ii, pp. 235—6. 
82 E.R. x\, 168. 

85 Ibid. 

8* Inf. from miller. 

85 r.C.H. Essex, i, 38. 

86 Clapham, Tutin, and Warburg, Flora 
of Brit. Isles (1952). 

8' r.C.H. Essex, i, 545a. 

88 Ibid. 

89 /4nn. Mon. (Rolls Ser.), iii, 428, 430- 
I ; see below, Church. 

«» f^.C.H. Essex, i, 545, note 2 ; E.A. T. 
N.s. viii, 104-5. 

" Ann. Mon. (Rolls Ser.), iii, 430-1 ; 
Mon. Angl. v, 88-89 j see below. Church. 



'2 Ann. Mon. (Rolls Ser.), iii, 430-1 ; 
E.A.T. N.s. viii, 104-5; P'P^ ^- "^° 
(P.R.S. xxix), 6. 

" E.A.T. N.s. viii, 104-5; Feud. Aids, 
ii, 136, 160, 222; Cal. Close, 1454-61, 

94-95- 

9* Pipe R. 1 193 (P.R.S. N.s. iii), 8. 

95 Ex. e Rot. Fin. (Rec. Com.), i, 71-72 ; 
Feet of F. Essex, \, 6y. 

9i> Excerpta e Rot, Fin. \, 72. 

9' Feet ofF. Essex, \, 67. 

98 Feet of F. Essex, i, 74. 

99 P/^OfiJ. 1230 (P.R.S. N.s. iv), 137. 

■ Cal. Inq. p.m. \, p. 288 ; Ex. e Rot, Fin. 
(Rec. Com.), i, 402. Nicholas also held 
the advowson. 

2 Cal. Inq. p.m. i, p. 288. 

5 Feet of F. Essex, i, 74, 1 1 6, 1 20, 134. 

46 



* Feet of F. Essex, \, 232. 5 Ibid. 

6 Cal. Close, 1 261-4, '6; Ex. e Rot. 
Fin. (Rec. Com.), ii, 364. 

' Rot. Hund. (Rec. Com.), i, 153. 

8 Cal. Inq. p.m. ii, pp. 235-6. 

9 Ibid. 

'" Cal. Pat. 1292-1301, 144. 
'* Feud, Aids, ii, 136. 
'2 Feet of F. Essex, ii, 125. 
'3 Feet of F. Essex, ii, 200—1 ; Cal. Pat. 
'3-7-3°. +50. 
'♦ Cal. Pat. 1330-4, 235. 
'5 Cal. Chart. R. 1327-41, 320. 
■' Cal. Pat. 1334-8,46. 
" Ibid. 487. 

^8 Cal. Inq. p.m. \x, pp. 429—30. 
'9 Cal. Pat. 1354-8, 174. 
" Cal. Pat. 1 374-7. 34-35- 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



FYFIELD 



1406.2' The king then assigned the manor to Margery 
widow of Stephen in dower, for life, with reversion to 
Henry, 3rd Lord Scrope, son and heir of Stephen.^^ In 
May 141 3 Margery granted the manor to Henry for 
40 years at an annual rent, on condition that the estate 
should revert to her if Henry should die within her life- 
timers Henry was beheaded in 141 5 and the king then 
took possession of the manor of Fyfield with the rest of 
Henry's lands.^'' Margery immediately petitioned for 
restitution of the manor as her right and in November 
141 5 obtained it.^s She died in 1422.^* The Crown 
then took possession of the manor the custody of which 
was in February 1423 granted to Sir John de Langton 
and John de Aske." In December 1423 John le Scrope, 
brother and heir of Henry, 3rd Lord Scrope, recovered 
the lands which his mother Margery had held in 
dower.r' Later John recovered the barony. When 
John, Lord Scrope, died in 1455 he held the manor of 
Fyfield jointly with his wife Elizabeth who survived 
him.2' She died in 1466 and the manor then passed to 
her son Thomas, Lord Scrope, who died in 1475.3° In 
1476 Elizabeth widow of Thomas was granted custody 
of the manor during the minority of her son Thomas, 
Lord Scrope.3> When Thomas, Lord Scrope, died in 
1493 he was seised of Fyfield jointly with his wife 
Elizabeth who survived him.^^ Elizabeth died in 1 5 17, 
having outlived both her only child Alice, iuo jure 
Baroness Scrope, and her grandchild Elizabeth.33 The 
heir to the manor of Fyfield was then Eleanor, widow 
of Ralph, Lord Scrope, who had settled the reversion 
on her before his death in 1 5 1 5.2^ Eleanor died before 
25 March 1531.35 The manor then passed to the 
daughters of Elizabeth, sister and coheir of Geofirey, 
loth Lord Scrope: Alice wife of Charles Dransfeld, 
Elizabeth wife of Nicholas Strelley, Dorothy wife 
of Lancelot Esshe, and Agnes wife of Marmaduke 
Wyvill.3* In 1537-8 these sold the manor to Sir 
Richard Rich, afterwards ist Baron Rich.3' After- 
wards the manor followed the same descent as Paslow 
Hall manor in High Ongar (q.v.) until the death of the 
EarlofMornington in 1863.38 It then passed to Henry, . 
1st Earl Cowley, a cousin of the Earl of Mornington." 
After Lord Cowley's death in 1884 the manor was held 
by his son William, Earl Cowley, who died in 1895.^" 
By 1898 the manor had passed to Andrew Alfred 
CoUyer Bristow of Beddington (Surr.) who kept it 
until his death in 1906-12, after which it was held by 
his trustees until after 1937.^' 

In 1842 Fyfield Hall farm consisted of 288 acres 
which were in the occupation of Thomas Horner.^^ 
At that time the farm was still owned by the Wellesley 
family, lords of the manor of Fyfield.''3 By the end of 
1865, however, the farm, or at least part of it, had be- 
come separated from the manor. J. L. Newall who was 



at this time purchasing the Forest Hall estate (see High 
Ongar), bought part of Fyfield Hall farm in 1865 and 
the remainder in iij\.** Afterwards the farm de- 
scended with Forest Hall until the estate was sold, in 
several lots, in I9i9.'»5 At that time the farm consisted 
of 224 acres which were let to G. and D. W. White at 
a rent of £342 a year.''* 

Fyfield HalH' is a timber-framed house of various 
dates. The plan is complex, having at the core part of 
an aisled hall, possibly of the early 14th century. This 
was of two approximately equal bays, the axis running 
east and west. The south aisle is now missing. At the 
east end, also on an east-west axis, is another medieval 
structure, probably of later date than the original hall. 
Parallel to the hall and built against its north aisle is a 
two-story range, dating from about 1500. Three more 
gabled wings have been added at different dates. One, 
at the north-west corner of the house, contains the stair- 
case and is probably of the i6th or early 17th century. 
The others, at the south-west corner and across the east 
end of the north range, date from the i8th century or 
later. The early plan is remarkable for its use of the 
east— west axis throughout instead of the more usual 
cross-wings of medieval times. 

The timbers of the north aisle of the 14th-century 
hall are mostly in position, although concealed by later 
work.^' Between the bays stands an oak post from 
which the curved braces forming the two arches of the 
'nave arcade' spring. The lower part of this post, octa- 
gonal on plan and about 1 5 in. in diameter, can be seen 
in a cupboard on the ground floor. The capital has a 
14th-century moulding and the base has long spur stops. 
Above the level of the springing the post has a square 
section and is carried up to support a massive plate run- 
ning longitudinally at the junction of the 'nave' and 
aisle roofs. At each end of the hall the projection of the 
plate is over I ft. in length, suggesting that the original 
14th-century building had overhanging gables. Most 
of the original timbers of the 'nave' roof, which is of the 
trussed rafter type, are in position, all heavily blackened 
with smoke from an open hearth. An unusual feature is 
the presence of straight wind-braces, pegged through 
to each rafter and crossing at the top. The bracing 
members of the central truss are missing but the position 
of mortices and slots in the main members strongly sug- 
gests that long straight braces crossed between the collar 
and the apex of the roof and formed a scissor truss. 
There are indications of smaller braces below the tie- 
beam. In the north aisle the position of a window can 
be determined by the presence of mortices for diagonal 
muUions on the underside of the wall plate. The south 
aisle has been destroyed, but the central post is still in 
place. It has been cut back so that its mouldings and 
octagonal shape are obliterated. 



" C136/78/1; 0137/56; C(Jm/>/«/<P«r- 
age, xi, 561—4. 
" C145/294; C139/4; Complete Peer- 

C 139/4; Cal. Closef 



C139/4; Cal. Close, 
251; Complete Peerage, 



" CI45/294-; 
1413-19,251. 

" C145/294; 
1413-19, 229, 
xi, 566. 

^5 Cal. Close, 141 3-19, 229, 251. 

** Complete Peerage, xi, 564. 

" Cal. FineR. 1422-30, 28. 

'« Cal. Fine R. 1422-30, 66-67. 

" Cal. Close, 1454-61, 94-95 ; Complete 
Peerage, xi, 566—8. 

3" C140/21; C140/53; Complete Peer- 
age, xi, 569. 



3" Cal. Pat. 1467-77, 582, 599; Com- 
plete Peerage, xi, 569-70. 

32 Cal. Inq. p.m. Hen. VII, i, p. 396. 

33 C142/33/121; Complete Peerage, xi, 

57'- 
3* C142/33/121; Complete Peerage, xl, 

571-2. 

35 Complete Peerage, xi, 572. 

36 E.R.O., D/DCw M102; y.C.H. 
rorks. N.R. i, 234; Complete Peerage, xi, 
572. Geoffrey, Lord Scrope, son of 
Thomas, Lord Scrope (d. 1475) had suc- 
ceeded his brother Ralph in 1515 and died 

unmarried in 1517- 

37 CP40/1098R0. i48;CP25(2)/i2/65 
East. & Trin. 29 Hen. VIII; CP25(2)/ 
12/66 Trin. 30 Hen. VIII; E.R.O., 

47 



D/DCw M102. 

38 E.R.O., D/DCw M115; Complete' 
Peerage, ix, 241. 

3» Kelly's Dir. Essex (1870 f.); Complete 
Peerage, iii, 480—1. 

*° Kelly's Dir. Essex (1878 f.). 

I' Kelly's Dir. Essex (1898 f.). 

« E.R.O., D/CT 148. 

« Ibid. 

« E.R.O., Sale Cat. A. 225. 

45 Ibid. ••' Ibid. 

■17 See p. 48. 

48 Many of the features described were 
discovered during a survey made in 1954 
under the auspices of the Royal Com- 
mission on Historical Monuments and the 
National Buildings Record. 



probable _ 

'Scissor* Iruu 







Scale For Sections 



OmCINAL HALL 



2-3TORXY WrNG CISOO 



5UMION AA 



Rafters renewed 



Rafters renewed 



Probable 
Lovvrc 



h ^ ^ ^ ^ p 

'4 



tt 



•■.'/'■■ !-:.! 



B II 



I I 



i 1 I t^l 1^1 i 




B fl P H H 



^ 



3 R H.:^ 

! 



^ 



5E.CTION 66 Of ORIGINAL HALL 



C CO 




)8th. or iptb.c 

WINC 



I ° !!. . . . . n .NOH-TH II A J 5tt i; 



Scale for Plan 



30 35 aofect 




M t O 

Wl 



E. V A L 

MC 



J 



CR.OUND FLOOR. PLAN 

FYFIELD HALL 




ONGAR HUNDRED 



FYFIELD 



The structure east of the hall is divided from it by a 
space about 6 ft. wide, possibly an external passage. 
Part of it was open to the roof and at one time a central 
truss was fitted with a king-post. There is some smoke- 
blackening of the roof timbers. 

The two-story north range is built alongside the aisle 
wall but is independent of it structurally. It is of four 
bays, divided in the roof by three king-post trusses. The 
westernmost king-post is rebated and hollow-chamfered, 
suggesting that at this end there was an open roof visible 
from an important upper room or solar. The upper 
floor oversails along the north side and has curved 
brackets to the soffit. The ends of the joists are con- 
cealed by a moulded bressummer, over 40 ft. long, en- 
riched with a running design typical of about 1500. 
The nail-studded entrance door is probably original. 

The reconstruction of the hall probably took place in 
the i6th century. A ceiling was inserted and the central 
chimney built. The introduction of an upper story 
needing light and head-room would necessitate the 
demolition of the south aisle. The staircase wing may 
be of the same period but the other additions are later. 
The chimney in the north range was built in two stages, 
the older stack having a shaped panel which probably 
carried a date or initials. The upper part of the south 
chimney is now dated 1700. 

The sash windows, including the splayed bays on the 
south front, were all inserted about 1886. The timber 
porch and the loggia were added after 1945. In the 
garden to the east of the house there is a rectangular 
fish-pond known as the 'Catholic Pond'. 

The manor of HERONS was in the ownership of the 
priory of Little Leighs when the latter was dissolved in 
1536."" Its earlier history is uncertain but its origins 
are perhaps to be found in several estates which may 
have been merged by the priory at the end of the 13 th 
century. 

Leighs priory may have possessed lands in Fyfield 
before 1247. In 1211-12 Oger son of Ernald de 
Curton held i fee in Tendring and Fyfield. 5" Oger 
apparently granted the fee to Thomas de Lungevill' 
who in 1223 conveyed at least part of it, including lands 
in Fyfield, to William de Curton, brother of Oger. 5' In 
1233 Eustace de Curton, who may have been the son 
of William, granted 100 acres of land in Fyfield to 
Ralph Gernon, probably the founder of Leighs priory." 
Ralph, who apparently owned no lands in Fyfield at his 
death in 1247, may have granted this estate to the 
priory.53 

After 1282 the priory may have acquired in Fyfield 
two other estates each of which had formed a separate 
manor in the i ith century. In 1066 one was held by 
Alwin as 80 acres and as one manor worth 3o;.5'* In 
1086 this was held of Count Eustace of Boulogne by 
'lunanus' and was then worth 40;. 55 The other manor 
was held in 1066 by Brictmar as 40 acres and as one 



manor worth 5/.S* In 1086 this manor was held of 
Count Eustace by Richard and was worth lo/.s' These 
two manors were probably merged in the 1 2th century. 
The overlordship passed with the honor of Boulogne to 
the Crown after the death in 1 1 59 of William, Count of 
Boulogne. The mesne tenancy was held in the reign 
of Henry II by Pharamus of Boulogne, great-grandson 
of Count Eustace of Boulogne. ss It descended to 
Pharamus' daughter Sybil wife of Ingram de Fiennes 
and subsequently to her son William de Fiennes.5» 
Afterwards Ingram son of William de Fiennes appa- 
rently held the manor.*" In 1248 he granted to Ralph 
de Marcy i messuage and 1 20 acres of land in Fyfield 
toholdof himat a rent of 32/. a year." This estate was 
equal in extent to the combined acreage of the two 
Fyfield manors which were held of Count Eustace in 
1086. In 1282 William de Fiennes, son of Ingram, 
conveyed some rights in Fyfield to Robert Burnell, 
Bishop of Bath and Wells.*^ It is not clear what was the 
effect of this conveyance. Soon afterwards, however, 
Leighs priory may have acquired the manor and added 
to it lands acquired previously from Ralph Gernon. In 
1 29 1 the priory had an estate in Fyfield valued at 
£7 10s. ia'.63 In 1 303 and 1 346 it was reported that the 
priory held in Fyfield J fee of the honor of Boulogne.** 
This estate may have derived its name of Herons from 
one who farmed it in the 14th or 1 5 th century.*' 

Immediately after the dissolution of Leighs priory in 
1536 the manor was granted by the Crown to Sir 
Richard Rich, afterwards ist Baron Rich.** On his 
death in 1567 it passed to his son Robert, 2nd Baron 
Rich, who settled it on his eldest son Richard when 
Richard married Katherine Knevett.*' Richard's death 
without issue in 1 580 was followed by that of his father 
in I58i.*8 The manor then passed to Robert, 3rd 
Baron Rich, who in 16 12 conveyed it to Robert 
Bourne.*' In 1643 Richard Bourne, who may have 
been a nephew of Robert Bourne, conveyed the manor 
to Alexander Benton and Richard Master.^o In 1694 
Thomas Richardson and his wife Anne granted it to 
-Charles Nowes to hold during Anne's life." In 1697 
Charles Nowes and his wife Ann, and John Brett Fisher 
and Judith his wife conveyed the manor to John Savill.72 
By 171 1 the manor was owned by Timothy Brand of 
London.'^ Afterwards it passed to Thomas Brand who 
may have been Timothy's grandson and who also owned 
Pickerells Farm.''' Before 1768 Thomas Brand was 
succeeded by his son Thomas who in 1771 married 
Gertrude, suo jure Baroness Dacre.'5 Before 1780 
Thomas Brand granted Herons to Thomas Brand 
Hollis, although he retained in Fyfield a considerable 
estate, including Pickerells and Ash Farms, which later 
descended to his son Thomas, Lord Dacre (d. 1851).'* 
Thomas Brand Hollis was owner of Herons until about 
1804 when it passed to Dr. Disney." In 1811-12 
Disney was succeeded by the Revd. John Bramston 



*' L. fef P. Hen. ^111, x, p. 420. 

50 ReJ Bk. of Exch. 580; Bk. of Fees, 
238. 

" Bk. of Fees, 242, 1435; Feet, of F. 
Essex, i, 49, 63. 

" Feel of F. Essex, i, 93, 114; r.C.H. 
Essex, ii, 155; E.A.T. N.s. xii, 90. 

" Cal. Irtq. p.m. i, p. 292; Ex. e Rot. 
Fin. (Rec. Com.), ii, 23. 

5t V.C.H. Essex, i, 467*. 

55 Ibid. 56 Ibid. 57 Ibid. 

5' Bk. of Fees, 1428; Genealogist, N.s. 
xii, 145-51. 
59 Bk. of Fees, 235-6, 240, 1428, 1435. 
'" De La Chenaye-Desbois et Badier, 



Dictionnaire de la Noblesse, viii, 39-41. 

6 ' Feet of F. Essex,\, 181. 

'2 Feet of F. Essex, ii, 36; C. Moor, 
Knights ofEd-w. I (Harl. Soc. Ixxxi), ii, 23 ; 
De La Chenaye-Desbois et Badier, 
Dictionnaire de la Noblesse, viii, 39-41. 

63 Tax. Eccl. (Rec. Com.), 25. 

6< Feud. Aids, ii, 136, 160. 

65 P.N. Essex (E.P.N.S.), xii, 57; Feet 
of F. Essex, ii, 123. 

66 L. & P. Hen. FUI, x, p. 420. 

67 C142/147/141; C142/192/29. 

68 C142/192/29. 

69 CP2<(2)/294 Trin. 10 Jas. I. 

'» CP25(2)/4i9 Mich. 19 Chas. I; 

49 



Sepulchral Memorials of Bobhingivorth, cd. 
F. A. Crisp, 31-33. 

" CP25(2)/828 Trin. 6 Wm. & Mary. 

" CP25(2)/829 Hil. 9 Wm. III. 

" E.R.O., Q/RSg I. 

'■♦ Morant, Essexy i, 135. A Thomas 
Brand was buried in Fyfield in 1718: 
Wright, Hist. EsseXy ii, 339. He was prob- 
ably the father of the Thomas Brand of 
Pickerells mentioned by Morant. 

75 Ibid.; Hist. Essex by Gent, iii, 336; 
Complete Peerage^ iv, 16. 

76 E.R.O.. i2/RPl 685-737 J ibid. 
D/CT 1+8. 

77 E.R.O.,Q/RPl 709-15. 



H 




i 



OS 



vr> 



n 



o 

31 



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a. 



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13 . 



ilijMd 



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Jill ;; 

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cu 




ONGAR HUNDRED 



FYFIELD 



Stane of Forest Hall, High Ongar (q.v.).^* Herons 
remained part of the Forest Hall estate until that estate 
was put up for sale by auction in 191979 In 1842 
Herons Farm consisted of 262 acres of which 205 acres 
were arable.*" From 1813 until after 1842 the occupier 
was James Lucking.*' In 19 19 the farm consisted of 
234 acres of arable and pasture, all of which was let to 
R. and H. Oliver at a rent of ^^3 86 a year.*^ 

The site of the original manor house, partly covered 
by farm buildings, is south of the existing farm-house. 
It was surrounded by a moat with a second moated en- 
closure, perhaps for cattle, to the west of it.^s The 
present house dates from the late i8th or early 19th 
century with a wing of about 1870 on its west side. 
One of the timbered barns may be of the 17th century. 

The manor of LJMPETTS appears for the first 
time under that name in the 15th century.*'* It probably 
derived the name from Thomas Lam pet (see below).*' 

The early history of the manor cannot be traced with 
certainty. It is possibly to be identified, however, with 
the manor which was held in 1066 by Alestan and in 
1086 by Roger of John son of Waleran.** It was then 
held as 30 acres and was worth 20/.*' It is likely that 
after 1086 this small estate was held of the manor of 
Fyfield. In 1475 Lampetts was held of Thomas, Lord 
Scrope, lord of the manor of Fyfield.** In 1485 it was 
said to be worth 40J.*' 

Thomas Lampet was a tenant of the manor of Fyfield 
by 1385 and from then until at least 1396 he was con- 
tinually presented for failing to do suit at the manor 
court.'" He was dead by 141 1." In 1412 it was re- 
ported that Isabel Lampet held lands and tenements in 
Fyfield. 9^ Later the estate passed into the ownership of 
the Wrytell family which had connexions with the 
Lampetsin 141 1. 'J In 1473 Walter Wrytell apparently 
gave instructions that after his death his manor of 
Lampetts was to be used for the maintenance of an obit 
in Bobbingworth church.'^ Later> however, he must 
have changed his mind, for at thet ime of his death in 
1475 Lampetts was settled, by his demise, on his wife 
Katherine for life with remainder to his heirs. 's 

After 1475 the manor of Lampetts followed the same 
descent as that of High Laver (q.v.) until 15 10. In 
1 5 10 Lampetts was allotted to Edward and Gresilda 
Waldegrave to hold to them and to the heirs of Gre- 
silda.9' In 1 539 William Rochester, son of Gresilda by 
her first husband John Rochester, granted the manor to 
Sir Richard Rich, later ist Baron Rich." In 1 564 Rich 
conveyed the manor to John Waylett.'* In 1565 
Waylett granted it to Nicholas Collins.^' The estate 
remained in the Collins family until after the death of 
John Collins in 1750.' He was succeeded by his only 
child Mary who brought the manor in marriage to 
Jacob Wragg, Rector of North Cadbury (Som.).^ After 
Wragg's death in 1785-6 Mrs. Wragg held the estate 
until she died in 1804-5.3 Her executors then sold it 



in 1806 to Ebenezer Maitland who retained ownership 
until after i863.* In 1842 the estate consisted of 330 
acres. 5 The manor house,* which stands on a moated 
site, is a timber-framed structure of two stories. The 
central part was originally an aisled hall of the 14th cen- 
tury, built on an east-west axis and consisting of two or 
more bays. The cross-wing at the east end, which pro- 
jects slightly to the south, was added in the 1 5th century. 
The division of the hall into two stories may have taken 
place in the i6th century and at the same time the 
north aisle roof was replaced by two gables to give light 
to the upper floor; the raising of the eaves level on the 
south side is of much later date. The small staircase 
block in the angle between the hall and the east wing is 
also probably of the i6th century. The west cross-wing 
was probably built or rebuilt early in the 1 8th century. 

The original 14th-century construction appears to be 
somewhat later than that at Fyfield Hall. The position 
of the two longitudinal plates marking the limits of the 
'nave' can be seen in the roof space. Below these lay the 
nave arcades. The post in the centre of the arcade on 
the south side is still partly visible behind plaster in a 
ground-floor cupboard. It is octagonal in section and 
about I ft. in diameter. The corresponding post of the 
north aisle is buried in a later partition. A curved 
timber forming one side of the easternmost arch of the 
south arcade can be seen both from the roof space and 
against the later chimney breast on the first floor. The 
construction of the upper part of the north aisle can also 
be traced, but several of the timbers are missing. In the 
roof space above the nave all the timbers are much 
smoke-blackened. Across the centre is a king-post truss 
with a cambered tie-beam below which were originally 
two large arched braces. One of these is still in position. 
The short king-post is octagonal. It has four-way struts 
and a moulded capital and base. There are indications 
of a second king-post truss near the west end of the hall 
where the addition of the later cross-wing has cut into 
the 14th-century construction. This may represent the 
site of a demolished screens bay. An original doorway 
near the east end of the north aisle, however, suggests 
an alternative site for the screens passage. 

The roof of the two-story east wing is divided into 
three bays by two original trusses, the timbers of which 
are not smoke-blackened. One of the king-posts is octa- 
gonal, the other octagonal on a square base and both 
have fairly elaborate mouldings. This was almost cer- 
tainly a 15th-century solar wing. 

The chamfered beams which support the inserted 
ceiling in the hall have bar-stops of the i6th or early 
17th century. The central chimney and one at the 
south-east corner of the house have diagonal shafts and 
moulded brickwork and are probably of much the same 
date. There is panelling of a similar period near the 
west end of the house. Most of the fittings and panelling 
in the west wing date from the first half of the i8th 



'• E.R.O.,Q/RPl 715-37. 

" E.R.O., Sale Cat. A. 225. 

«» E.R.O., D/CT 148. 

«' E.R.O., e/RPl 718-37; ibid. D/CT 
148. 

82 E.R.0.,5afcCa/. A. 225. 

" Hist. Mon. Com. Rccs. 

8< Cat. Inq. p.m. Hen. VU, i, pp. 61-62, 
383;Ci4C5/52. 

«5 Cal Inq. f.m. Hen. VU, i, pp. 61-62, 

383- 

*' y.C.H. Essex, i, 545a; see above, 
Manor of Fyfield. 

«' V.C.H. Essex, i, 545^. 



88 C140/52. 

89 Cal. Inq. p.m. Hen, VU, i, pp. 61-62. 
»o E.R.O., D/DCw M97. 

»i Eeet of F. Essex, iii, 256. 

92 FeuJ. Aids, vi, 439. 

93 Feet ofF. Essex, iii, 256. 

94 Morant, Essex, i, 135. 

95 C140/52; Cal. Inq. p.m. Hen. VU, i, 
pp. 61—62, 383. 

94 E.R.O., D/DB T96/69. 
9' CP40/1102 rot. 157. 

98 CP25(2)/i27/i624. Cf. Blake Hall 
Manor in Bolibingworth. 

99 P.R.O., MS. Cal. Feet of F. Essex, 

51 



Mich. 7-8 Eliz. (the original final concord 
is now missing). 

■ CP25(2)/i3S/i725; CP25(2)/922 
Trin. 4 Anne; C142/481/44. In the 
records the family name is sometimes spelt 
Collins, sometimes Collin, and occasionally 
CoIIen. 

2 Hist. Essex hy Gent, iii, 336. 

3 E.R.O., Q/RPl 685-710. 

< E.R.O., e/RPl 711-37; ibid. D/CT 
148 ; ibid. 2/RPr 1/27; fVhite's Dir. Essex 
(1863). 

5 E.R.O., D/CT 148. 

' See pi. p. 50. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



century. The roof on the south side, the present sash 
windows, and other details are of the early 19th cen- 
tury. Part of the house is now in use as a farmworker's 
dwelling; the rest is unoccupied. 

The rectory of Fyfield was never appropriated 

although for a long period in the 1 2th cen- 

CHURCH tury the Cluniac priory of Bermondsey 

(Surr.) had the right to receive the greater 

part of the tithes of the parish as well as the advowson 

of the rectory. 

In 1094 Roger, lord of the manor of Fyfield, with 
the consent of his overlord John son of Waleran, gave 
'the tithes of Fyfield' to Bermondsey priory.' In 1 107 
or later Maud wife of Hasculf de Tany and her son 
Graeland confirmed this gift and also granted to the 
priory the advowson of Fyfield church.* In 1183 
the priory released the advowson to the then lord of the 
manor, Hasculf son of Graeland de Tany. After this 
the advowson was held by the lords of the manor of 
Fyfield until 1 890-1 when it was granted by William, 
Earl Cowley, to George Mayor.' The advowson was 
held by Mayor until 1897 or 1898 after which it was 
held by Mrs. A. Hewitt until 1914 or 1915.'" Mrs. J. 
Worthington' Atkin then held it until 1929 or 1930 
after which it was held by Canford School (Dors.)." 
The living is now (1955) in the gift of the Church 
Pastoral Aid Society which controls the Martyrs' 
Memorial Trust, of which the Canford School Trust 
forms part.'^ 

In return for the release of the advowson in 11 83 
Hasculf de Tany confirmed to the priory | of the tithes 
from his demesne, together with those from his demesne 
assarts made or to be made, and undertook to give them 
1 acre of land on which to erect a tithe barn, and also to 
secure to them a perpetual annuity of 40J. payable by 
the parson of Fyfield." In about 1254 it was reported 
that the rectory of Fyfield was worth 24 marks and that 
the monks of Bermondsey received | of the tithes from 
the demesne of 'two lords of that vill' as well as 40/. 
from the parson.'* In 1291 the church of Fyfield was 
valued at ;^I2;'5 the prior of Bermondsey had there a 
portion worth £3 6s. id. and a pension of ^2.'* In 
1 342 the prior of Bermondsey brought an action against 
the parson of Fyfield for payment of the annuity of 40^. 
due to his house." In 1427 the church was still taxed 
on the valuation of 1 29 1. '8 In 1535 the abbey of Ber- 
mondsey still held in Fyfield a pension and a portion 
which were then valued together at ^£4." At that time 
the rectory of Fyfield was valued at £25 "js. 2^^/.^° The 
abbey was surrendered on i January 1538.^' In 1650 
the 'improved' value of the tithes was £1 20 and the 
value of the glebe lands and buildings £s^." The 
tithes were commuted in 1842 for ;^74i; there were 
then 64 acres of glebe.^3 

Anthony Walker D.D., Rector of Fyfield from 1650 



until 1692, helped in the publication oi Eikon Basilike 
and published various books and sermons.^* 

The rectory stands on a large moated site about 400 
yds. to the north-east of the church. It is irregularly 
shaped and has been altered and extended at different 
periods. Running from front to back in the centre of 
the house is a medieval timber roof, probably represent- 
ing part of a two-storied cross-wing of the i 5th century. 
The north end of the roof has curved wind-braces and 
in the south bay is an arch-braced collar beam with the 
king-post missing. East of this roof and at right angles 
to it is another timber-framed wing which may be of 
medieval origin. There are additional wings of later 
date at the west end of the house. In the i8th century 
the whole front was faced with red brick and there are 
some interior details of the same period. In about 1770 
the house was described as 'a large stately brick building 
almost surrounded with a moat which, with the house, 
encloses a pleasant garden'.^s In 1944 blast from a fly- 
ing bomb caused considerable damage and in 1952 the 
front was rebuilt in yellow brick and parts of the roof 
were renewed. The porch and the original sash win- 
dows were replaced. 

Although this building is certainly of medieval origin, 
in the middle of the i6th century at least the rector 
lived in another house, which was then known as 'the 
parson's house' and was situated on the south side of the 
church. In October 1 546 Robert Nooke, then rector, 
let to Humphrey Nycolls, servant to Sir Richard Rich, 
afterwards ist Baron Rich, for 5 1 years, at £2^ Js. 2\d. 
a year, the rectory, church, and parsonage of Fyfield, 
reserving, however, for his own residence his house 
south of the churchyard called 'the parsonnes house'.^* 
By 1610, however, the house to the south of the church 
was not regarded as the parsonage-house for a terrier of 
1610 described the rectory as including 'a Parsonage- 
House, with two barns, and other edifices within the 
yard, and a house abutting upon the churchyard, then 
in dispute at law'.^' In 1650 the rectory was said to 
include 'a parsonage house, glebe lands and a small tene- 
ment'.^* Whatever the source or the outcome of the 
dispute of 1610, a property at the south-west corner of 
the churchyard was part of the glebe in 1842 and re- 
mained so until 1948, when it was sold.^' In the late 
19th century it was known as the Vicarage.^o The back 
part of the building is timber-framed and weather- 
boarded with a tiled mansard roof and dates from the 
1 8th century, if not earlier. The front was added in 
the 19th century and the building now comprises two 
attached cottages. 

The parish church of ST. NICHOLAS consists of 
nave, north and south aisles, chancel, central tower, 
north porch, and organ chamber. The nave and the 
first stage of the tower are mostly of flint rubble with 
some Roman brick. The second stage of the tower is 



' Ann. Mon. (Rolls Ser.), iii, 428, 
430—1. Roger held only 2 of the 4 manors 
in Fyfield at this time. Presumably his 
grant was only of his own tithes. 

* Ann. Mon. (Rolls Ser.), iii, 430-1. 
In these annals the date assigned to 
Maud's gift was 1 107. J. H. Round 
thought this date too early to be probable : 
E.A.T. N.s. viii, 104-5. 

« Ncwcourt, Repert. ii, 261-2; Kelly's 
Dir. Essex (1870 f.); Clergy List, 1842- 
91 ; Crockford's Cler. Dir. (1889, 1891). 

'» Clergf List, 1892-7; Kelly's Dir. 
Essex (1898!); Chel. Dioc. Tear Bk. 

1915. 
" Clergy List, 191 6 f.; Crockford s Cler. 



Dir. (1929, 1930); Chel. Dioc. Year Bk. 
1937 f. 

" Chel. Dioc. Year Bk. I940f. Inf. from 
the Revd. K. C. Stevenson. 

"3 E.A.T. N.s. viii, 104-5. In 1181 the 
parson of High Ongar, who had cure of 
souls in Norton Mandeville (q.v.), paid to 
the church of Fyfield a sack of corn and a 
sack of oats because Norton was so near 
to that church. Norton had its own church 
by 1 1 90, however. 

'■• Lunt, Val. of Norwich, 337. The 
identity of one of the 'lords of that vill' is 
uncertain : see Manors of Fyfield, Herons, 
and Lampetts. 

'5 Tax. Eccl. (Rec. Com.), 21. 

52 



I' Ibid. 

" E.A.T. N.s. viii, 104. 
'* Feud. Aids, ii, 205. 
>9 Falor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), ii, 58. 
2" Ibid, i, 437. 
" V.C.H. Surr. ii, 74. 
2^ E.R. xliv, 161. 
» E.R.O., D/CT 148. 
2« E.R. iliv, 156-72. 
25 Hist. Essex by Gent, iii, 334. 
2' Lond. Episc. Reg. Bonner f. 87*. 
^7 Newcourt, Repert. ii, 261. 
28 E.R. xliv, 161. 

" E.R.O., D/CT 148; inf. from present 
rector. 
30 E.A.T. ti.i.m, 184. 




o 



U 



< 






V- 




o 

o 




Fyfield Church: Chancel in 1834 




Lambourne Church in 1825 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



FYFIELD 



largely of red brick. There is a timber belfry. The ex- 
terior of the church is mostly covered with cement, now 
in poor repair, and numerous buttresses of the i8th and 
19th centuries show where weaknesses have developed 
in the structure. The building differs in several respects 
from the type of parish church found in the district. 
The 1 2th-century plan with the tower standing 'cathe- 
dralwise'3' is unusual, and it is evident that large sums 
were spent on improvements during the 13 th and 14th 
centuries. The chancel in particular has some good 
interior features. 

The nave was built in the 1 2th century. The walling 
at each end of the two arcades is 3 ft. thick and is evi- 
dently the original 1 2th-century work. The lower part 
of the tower is of the same date, including the large stair 
turret on the north side reaching to the second stage. 
The stair has a circular newel of Roman brick and there 
are arches of Roman brick to the round-headed windows 
in the south and west walls of the second stage of the 
tower. The former window has been blocked by brick- 
work and the latter opens into the roof space above the 
nave. There is one very small rectangular opening in 
the north wall of the stair turret, and there are two in 
the east wall. 

In about 1220 a north aisle of three bays was added 
to the nave. The pointed arches are of two chamfered 
orders and rest on circular columns with moulded capi- 
tals and bases. Attached half-columns form the responds 
against the ends of the 1 2th-century walls. In the middle 
of the 13th century the south aisle was added. This is 
similar in general arrangement to the north aisle but the 
arches are moulded and the supporting columns are 
octagonal. The single-light window in the west wall is 
probably of the 13th century but its four-centred head 
was added later. There are traces of colour decoration 
of uncertain date on both arcades. 

The chancel was built about 1330-40. The date 
can be fixed approximately by the detail of the interior. 
All the windows are of the 14th century and have 
moulded labels and head stops. The tracery of the east 
window has been replaced, but the fine carving of the - 
jambs and rear arch survives. On the north side the 
arch has beasts of the chase and on the south a series of 
cowled heads. The jambs are carved with flowers and 
leaves in high relief In both north and south walls are 
two windows, the easternmost being two-light with 
shafts to the internal splays. The other windows are 
single light, the sill of that on the south side being taken 
down to form a 'low side' window. Between the win- 
dows in the south wall are stepped sedilia of three bays. 
The arches are cinquefoiled and between them are 
octagonal shafts of Purbeck marble. The moulded label 
has four carved head stops, one head wearing a mitre^^ 
and anothera curious pointed head-dress terminating 
in a flower. In the spandrel above a third head are three 
balls carved in relief; it has been suggested that these are 
the emblems of St. Nicholas." East of the sedilia is 
a piscina of similar detail and farther east there is a 
credence with one jamb cut off by the east wall of the 
chancel.34 Below the chancel is a vault which has a 
wide arched opening externally under the east window. 



This opening was sealed during the restoration of 1 893, 
but one account of the church suggests that it was for- 
merly pierced with quatrefoil openings,^' possibly for 
the viewing of relics. Another account, given in 1898 
by the then rector, the Revd. L. Elwyn Lewis, referred 
to the existence of arcading internally below the east 
window. 3* The fact that part of the credence is now 
cut off suggests that the lower part of the east wall has 
been widened, perhaps obliterating the arcade. 

Some windows were inserted elsewhere in the church 
in the 14th century. These include one in the south 
wall of the tower and the westernmost windows in the 
north and south aisles. The other aisle windows may 
have been of the same date, but if so they were replaced 
in the 19th century. The south doorway has I4th<en- 
tury splays and the stoup on the north side has a 14th- 
century trefoiled head, probably taken from a window. 
The arch between the tower and the nave is of the 
14th century, much restored. The responds have three 
attached shafts. The north porch retains moulded 
timbers of the late 14th century and a pointed timber 
arch of which the spandrels were probably once filled 
with tracery. 

Early in the 1 5 th century there were some alterations 
at the east end of the north aisle. An east window was 
inserted of which the tracery is now missing; the win- 
dow itself was blocked by the early 19th century .3^ 
Also in the 15th century a niche was built across the 
north-east corner of the aisle. It has an elaborately 
carved canopy with a ribbed vault and probably once 
held a figure of the Virgin.^* The nave roof has three 
15th-century trusses; the square king-posts have four- 
way struts and two have moulded capitals and bases. 

Some years before 1768^' part of the tower fell, per- 
haps after being struck by lightning.'*'* Before the end 
of the 1 8th century the second stage was largely rebuilt 
in red brick and a window was inserted on the north 
side. Above the brickwork is a hipped roof, above 
which is a square weather-boarded belfry with ball 
finials at the corners. There is a small boarded spire. 
The west wall of the nave may have been rebuilt in the 
1 8th century. 

In the first half of the igth century a vestry was 
formed by extending the north aisle eastward as far as 
the stair turret of the tower .■" In 1853 the church was 
restored*^ and in 1875 tracery was inserted in the east 
window at the expense of W. S. Horner.*^ In 1 893 
j^i,300 was spent on restoration.^* Some blocked win- 
dows were uncovered and a new west door and window 
inserted. The window replaced a 'hideous wooden 
structure' of the i8th century .♦5 Both the tower arches 
were largely rebuilt and the chancel roof may have been 
reconstructed at the same time. The oak teredos and 
chancel seating were installed, the oak coming from 
St. Paul's, Knightsbridge.t* The seating in the nave is 
also of the late 19th century, incorporating some i6th-' 
century moulded rails. 

During the incumbency of the Revd. L. Elwyn Lewis 
(1895-1905), who held high church views, a surpliced 
choir was started and the old organ was moved from the 
west end of the church into the vestry.'" In 1 901 a new 



" Morant, Essex, i, 13;. 

3^ This perhaps represents the mitred 
Abbot of Bermondsey: E.A.T. N.s. vii, 
184. " E.A.T. N.s. vii, 184. 

M A print of 1834 by A. Suckling shows 
that the credence was walled-up at that 
time: E.R.O. Prints, Fyficld. See plate 
facing p. 53. 



35 Methuen's Little Guides: Essex, 108. 

3' E.A.T. N.s. vii, 185-6. 

37 Ibid. '* Ibid- 

3« Morant, Essex, i, 135. Cf. Hist. 
Essex by Gent. iii. 337. 

« E.A.T. N.s. vii, 186. 

<■ Ibid. 185. 
*' Kelly's Dir. Essex (1886 f.). The 

53 



Directory of 1874 gave the year of 
restoration as 1852. 

*3 Inscription in situ. 

■" Kelly's Dir. Essex (1895). 

*i E.R. iii, 6. 

to Ibid. 

«' Inf. from Mrs. T. W. Gamage » 
member of the choir at the time. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



organ was installed against the north wall of the tower,''^ 
largely at the rector's own expense.'*' The vestry is now 
an organ chamber. 

The square font bowl of Purbeck marble is of the 
kte 1 2th century.50 Two of the sides are decorated 
with recessed arcading and the other two have a central 
fleur-de-lis flanked by vine leaves. 

The oak screen between the nave and the tower was 
carved by A. J. B. Challis of Clatterford Hall in 19 14.5' 
The pulpit is of the same date. 

There are six bells, all modern or recast. One was 
originally of the 1 5th century, recast twice. The sixth, 
which is inscribed 'Salus et Victoria', was added as a 
war memorial and was dedicated in 1952.5^ Under the 
organ on the north side of the chancel there is said to be 
a slab bearing the indent of a foliated cross, flanked by 
square pennons or axes.53 There is a tradition that this 
covers the headless body of Henry, Lord Scrope, be- 
headed in 141 5.5+ Also in the chance! are some 18th- 
century floor slabs with shields of arms to members of 
the Pochin family and to one of the Beverley family. 
There are also several 18th-century slabs to the Collins 
family of Lampetts and to the Brands of Herons. 

The plate includes a large cup of 1699 given by Dr. 
Anthony Walker, one paten of 1638 and another of 
1798.SS 

In 1570 Elizabeth I granted to Thomas, 2nd Lord 
Wentworth, in fee such 'concealed' estates as he could 
discover to a total annual value of ^^200. 5* In March 
1572, in fulfilment of this grant, she conveyed many 
concealed estates, including one in Fyfield, to Richard 
Hill of Heybridge and William James of London. 5' 
The Fyfield estate consisted of 3 messuages or cottages, 
called the Church Houses, and an acre belonging, then 
or lately in the tenure or occupation of the inhabitants 
of the vill of Fyfield, appointed for the maintenance of 
an obit, a guild, and other similar objects. s 8 Despite 
the grant of 1 5 7 2 , Fyfield chu rch property undou btedly 
included three houses in the early 17th century. In 
May 1659 it was agreed at a vestry meeting that the 
rental of the church rents, then torn and defaced, should 
be copied out 'and be esteemed as the former rental 
was'. 5' The 'Rental of the church houses of Fyfield' 
was then copied into the vestry minute-book. It totalled 
j^3 3/. 4a'. and included £1 from 'the church house at 
Widney Green', ^^i from 'the house in Fyfield street', 
1 5/. from 'the house by the church in which the Clarke 
dwelleth', 3/. from 'Pyckerells', zs. jJ. from 'Long 
Harry's', is. \od. from 'John Palmers houses', <^d. from 
'^ a. meadow in moor-mead', and id. from 'the tene- 
ment called Hatches'.*" In 1668 the 'church field be- 
longing to the church house on Widney Green and 
containing i a.' was let by the churchwardens to Henry 
Spooner for twelve years at a rent of (jj for the whole 
term 'which money was advanced and employed to- 
wards the now [or new] building of the church house 
aforesaid'.*' In 1687 Dr. Anthony Walker devised a 
house called Bruetts, in Fyfield Street, for the church 



clerk to dwell in free.*^ By 1710 the church house 'by 
the church' seems to have been occupied by a poor man 
whose rent of ^^i los. was paid for him by the parish.*^ 
The total of the church rents was then £\ \os. c,d., the 
increase since 1659 being due partly to the higher rent 
for the house by the church and partly to a new item of 
16/. for 'thehoppit by the churchyard'.*'* The annuities 
amounted to 6s. ^d., being zs. 6d. from John Bull for 
Long Harris field, iid. from 'Thomas Palmer', and 3/. 
'out of Pickrills'.*5 By March 1719 the rents totalled 
^5, there being another fresh item of 13^. for 'the 
hoppett by Berrys Green', later known as Cannon's 
Green.** In February 1720 a vestry meeting agreed 
with John Pochin of Witney Green that he should de- 
molish a cottage upon the green belonging to the church 
on condition that he erected another cottage of equiva- 
lent value.*' 

In 1786 it was stated that unknown donors had given 
to the parish for purposes also unknown 'a rent-charge 
of 6s. ^d.', tenements of the then annual value of 
£2 4_f. yd. and land of the then annual value of j^i 9;'.** 
The value of the land was evidently the same in 1786 
as it had been in 1719 but the value of the houses was 
apparently reduced.*' 

In 1835 rents totalling ^^12 9/. from the church 
houses and lands as well as annuities totalling 6s. ^d. 
went into the churchwardens' general account.'" The 
hoppets by the church and on Cannon's Green were 
both let to the rector for i6s. and 13/. a year respec- 
tively, the sums at which they had been let early in the 
1 8th century." The church houses which the overseers 
rented from the churchwardens at ^i I a year for the 
use of the poor were described in 1835 as 'Street 
House', a 'house by the church', and 'a house on Can- 
nons Green' which was said to have been 'built by the 
parish upon the site of an old house, of which the rent 
used to go to the churchwarden's account'.'^ The 
church cottage on Witney Green, whose demolition 
had been ordered in 1720, had apparently been re- 
placed by a house on Cannon's Green which, it would 
seem, was rebuilt before 1835. By 1842, however, the 
church owned only two cottages.'^ One of them was 
on the east side of the church, fronting upon Church 
Lane, and was undoubtedly the house which had ap- 
peared as 'by the church' in the rentals drawn up before 
and after 1659.''* The other cottage, situated imme- 
diately north of the Black Bull Inn'5 on what is now 
known as Dunmow Road, is probably to be identified 
with 'Street House'. The church still owned some land 
at Cannon's Green in 1842, but by that time it had 
apparently disposed of its house there.'* The hoppet 
south of the churchyard still belonged to the church." 

In 1903 part (c. 29 p.) of the meadow called Church 
Hoppet, situated south of the churchyard, was sold 
for £1 4 to the parish council for use as a burial ground.'* 
When the sale was made it was established in the 
face of some doubt that the trustees of the church 
estate were the churchwardens: in fact then and in 1922 



<' E.R. ix, 174. 

■•9 Inf. from Mrs. T. W. Gamage. 

50 There are similar bowls at Moreton, 
Little Laver, and Norton MandeviUe. 

5' Tablet in situ. 

5* Inf. from present rector. 

" E.A.T. N.8. viii, 257; Hist. Essex by 
Gent, iii, 334. 

5* Hist. Essex by Gent, iii, 334; inf. from 
present rector. 

55 Ch. Plate of Essex, 135. 

5« C66/1083 m. 7. 



5' Ibid. 

58 Ibid. m. 21. 
5« E.R.O., D/Pi44/g/i. 
'» Ibid. 
'■ Ibid. 

*2 Rep. Com. Char. (Essex), H.C. 216, 
pp. 225-7(1835), xxi(i). 
'3 E.R.O., D/P 144/8/1. 
<•* Ibid. 
<'5 Ibid. 

" Ibid. " Ibid. 

" Rep. Com. Char. (Essex), pp. 227-8. 



" Cf. Morant, Essex, \, 135, where the 
charities were said to include 'Six pounds 
a year towards the reparation of the 
church, the donor's name unknown'. 

"> Rep. Com. Char. (Essex), pp. 227-8. 

" Ibid. 

'2 Ibid. 

'3 E.R.O., D/CT 148. 

'♦ Ibid. 

" Ibid. 

'6 Ibid. " Ibid. 

'8 Char. Com. files. 



54 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



FYFIELD 



the 'parish warden' — presumably the people's warden 
— acted as trustee, though later the rector and parochial 
church council took some share in the administration of 
the estate." In 1922 a further part (i r., 12 p.) of 
Church Hoppet was sold for {jio to the parish council 
also for use as a burial ground.*" 

From the latter part of the 19th century until shortly 
after 1930 a small outbuilding at the back of the cottage 
near the Black Bull Inn was let as a separate dwelling.*' 
In about 1930 the three dwellings were let for a total 
of about £i<).^^ 

In 1 947 the cottage, then known as Walker Cottage, '3 
on the east side of the church, was sold for ;£i90, most 
of which went to repay Dr. Walker's School Founda- 
tion and the parochial church council for money spent 
on it in the past.** The residue was invested.** 

In 195 1 the charity was divided into two: one part, 
the Church Estate, had an endowment of ^^50 14/., 
presumably arising from the sales of church land, of 
which the income was used for general church pur- 
poses.** The other is known as the Charity for the 
Poor, and has an endowment of ^^61 4/. 312'., which was 
provided by the sale of the 'Walker Cottage'.*' Its 
income was to be devoted to the poor of the parish, 
since the cottages of the charity were in 1834 used for 
the benefit of the poor.** 

The cottage north of the Black Bull Inn still belongs 
to the church but is at present up for sale.*' 

Fyfield was one of the places at which a new Congre- 
gational church or school was 
NONCONFORMITT started soon after the formation 
of the Essex Congregational 
Union in 1798.90 There was, however, no mention of 
such a church or school at Fyfield in the returns of 
1829. A nonconformist mission hall was opened in the 
village in 1894 and is still in use."' It is a small red- 
brick building bearing that date. 

Medieval court rolls for the manor of Fyfield survive 

for the periods 1 3 8 5-97, 

PARISH GOVERNMENT i40i-4,and 1413-43." 

AND POOR RELIEF In the 14th century the 

number of courts held 
each year varied between 2 and 4. Usually two of 
them included view, of frank-pledge. In the 1 5 th cen- 
tury courts were usually held twice a year, at Easter 
and Whitsun, and nearly always included view of 
frank-pledge. The homage numbered 12 or more. 

The courts were largely concerned with the control 
of trade. The commonest subject of presentment was 
breach of the assize of ale ; the offenders against this 
assize were often women, who were presented year 
after year on the same charge. Breach of the assize of 
bread was also frequently presented. Occasionally fines 
were imposed on regrators. Apart from trade offences, 
the most common subjects of presentment at the courts 
were the failure to scour wayside ditches and the ob- 
struction of watercourses. Small fines were sometimes 
imposed for minor assaults. 

Two constables and two aletasters were chosen at the 
Easter court in most years. Aletasters were often fined 
for inefficiency. 

" Ibid. 

80 Ibid. 

" Church Account Book in possession 
of rector J local information. 

*^ Church Account Book; Char. Com. 
61es. 

»3 This name seems to have originated 
in the confusion, apparent for some time 
past, between the Church Estate Charity 



and those founded by Dr. Anthony Walker 
in the 17th cent. 
«♦ Char. Com. files. 

85 Ibid. 

86 Ibid. 

87 Ibid. 

88 Ibid. 



The modern series of court rolls for Fyfield run«, 
with some short breaks, from 1509 until 1 865.91 In 
the first half of the i6th century courts were held in 
most years and often twice in a year. From the middle 
of the i6th century until about 1640 they were held 
once a year. They usually included view of frank- 
pledge. After 1 640 courts were no longer held annually 
and did not always include view of frank-pledge. In 
the second half of the 17th century there were 23 courts 
of which 1 3 included the view. In the 1 8th century 
courts which, nominally at least, included view of frank- 
pledge, took place in 1703, 1709, 171 1, and, for the 
last time, in 1749. 

Most of the business transacted at the courts after 
1509 concerned minor nuisances and breaches of 
manorial custom. In the reign of Henry VIII the pre- 
sentment of breaches of the assizes of bread and ale 
were still common. There were still occasional present- 
ments for assault until 1617. In 1585 a man was pre- 
sented for 'keeping bad order' in his house. Towards 
the end of the i6th century the number of presentments 
of nuisances declined markedly. After 1 589 there were 
rarely more than two or three such presentments at any 
one court. From the beginning of the reign of Charles I 
there were frequently no leet presentments even when 
the court nominally included view of frank-pledge. 

In the 17th century, particularly in the latter half, 
the jurisdiction of the manor court was yielding to that 
of the parish vestry. In 1626 the manor court ordered 
that no one should demise any cottage within the manor 
to any person living outside Fyfield and no one should 
entertain any pauper from outside the parish without 
leave from the churchwardens, overseers, and the 
parishioners. In 1647 the manor court elected as con- 
stables Thomas Gynne and John Church who in 1648 
rendered an account to the parish vestry.'* Afterwards 
the constables continued to account to the vestry"' 
although they were sometimes appointed in the manor 
court until the last decade of the 17th century. A court 
appointed R. Church and J. Church as constables in 
1654. No appointments were made by the next court 
leet which was held in May 1656; it does not appear 
what body appointed I. Allam and A. Kent who were 
constables from 1657, if not before, until 166 1. A 
court leet chose two constables in 1661 and one in 1662 
'for the parish of Fyfield'. The rolls do not record any 
further appointments by the manor court until 1692. 
On the other hand, until 1680 the vestry minutes did 
not include the constables in the lists of appointments 
and reappointments made by the vestry.9* In 1680, 
however, it was recorded that at a meeting of the parish 
on Easter Monday all the old officers, including the 
constables, were 'continued for the following year'.'' 
In 168 1, shortly before a court leet, a vestry meeting 
chose two new constables for the year 1681-2,'* but 
the next court leet, which was held in May 1692, chose 
two constables. The following court leet, held in 
October 1696, also chose T. Luck and E. Havers as 
constables for the parish. It may be, however, that the 
court merely confirmed appointments made at a vestry 
meeting earlier in the year, for in the vestry minutes it 

The Nook at Norwood End (see above, 
p. 44) may have been used as the church, 
or school. 

" Kelly's Dir. Eitex (1933). 

92 E.R.O., D/DCw M97-101. 

" E.R.O.,D/DCw M 102-15. 

»♦ E.R.O.,J>/P 1+4/8/1. 



89 Inf. from present rector. 
9» R. Burls, Essex Congr. 



Union i 19. 



95 Ibid. 
»' Ibid. 



9' Ibid. 
98 Ibid. 



ss 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



was recorded that 'T. Luck and E. Havers were chosen 
as constables for the year 1696'." The rolls record no 
later appointments of constables in the manor court. 

Two vestry minute-books survive." The first covers 
the period 1648-1732. The second contains overseers' 
accounts from 1827 to 1836 and vestry minutes from 
1854 to 1890. 

During the period 1648-1732 meetings of the pubhc 
vestry usually seem to have been held only at Easter in 
each year. In only seven years in the whole of this 
period was more than one meeting recorded and in only 
two of these years were as many as three meetings re- 
corded. If a resolution of 1704 was carried out, how- 
ever, there must have existed from that time a select 
committee which met often in each year: the vestry 
ordered 'that there be always three persons chosen by 
a vestry at Easter to assist the churchwardens in the re- 
pair of the church and that the overseers of the poor and 
constables and churchwardens shall not disburse above 
20s. without an order of vestry or the major part of the 
three persons with the churchwardens'. 

The vestry minutes were usually signed only when 
there was an important resolution. The number of 
those attending the meetings, in addition to the church- 
wardens and overseers, usually varied between one and 
seven but on five occasions there were more than ten. 
The chairman was never named as such in the minutes. 
The rector signed first when he attended the meetings, 
but there were some important meetings which he did 
not attend. In his absence one of the larger landowners 
signed first. Members of the Collins family, of Lam- 
petts, were always prominent at the meetings, and John 
Collins often signed first, or first after the rector. 

The work of the vestry consisted mainly in nominat- 
ing parish officers, granting rates, and approving officers' 
accounts. There were usually two men in each office. 
Until 1672 the overseers sometimes continued in office 
for three or more years. After 1672 they often served 
two years consecutively but rarely more. The church- 
wardens and constables usually remained in office for 
at least two years and often for much longer. The over- 
seers, churchwardens, and constables were each granted 
separate rates for which they accounted separately 
throughout the period 1648-1732. Until 1672 the 
overseers sometimes presented several years' accounts 
at once. After 1672 they always presented annual 
accounts. The churchwardens and constables, on the 
other hand, occasionally presented two or even three 
years' accounts in one until the end of the period covered 
by the first vestry minute-book. 

In 1662-3 the constables' receipts from rates totalling 
6ti. in the pound were ,^28 13J. 2d. This implies a 
rateable value of about j^i, 1 50. In 1669-72, however, 
a 2</. rate yielded ^^i i 12/. 3a'. This implies a rateable 
value of about ^^1,394 and this continued to be the 
rateable value until after 1690. In the period 1827-36 
the rateable value was about j^i,750. 

In 1835 the parish owned three houses known as the 
'Poorhouses' and for which the overseers paid to the 
churchwardens ;^i I a year.^ 'Street House' and a house 
on the east side of the churchyard were occupied rent- 
free by poor women, placed there by the parish officers.' 

w Ibid. 

• E.R.O., D/P 1+4/8/1-2. Unless 
otherwise stated all the following informa- 
tion is derived from these minute-books. 

2 Rep. Com. Char. {Essex), H.C. 216, 
p. 228 (1835), xxi (i); E.R.O., D/P 
144/8/2. The church had owned 3 houses 
since the i6th cent., if not before: see 



above, Church. Another house, called 
Bruetts, was devised by Dr. Anthony 
Walker in 1687 for the church clerk to 
live in free; since 1873 this has been 
occupied by the parish clerk : see below, 
Charities. 

3 Rep. Com. Char. (Essex), p. 228. 

♦ E.R.O., Q/CR i/io. The number of 



It does not appear how the third house, on Cannon's 
Green, was used, but it may have been a workhouse. 
There is no doubt, however, that in most cases poor 
relief was given, in various forms, outside a workhouse. 
In 1813-15 there was no person on 'permanent rehef 
inside a workhouse, but in each of those years there were 
41-43 adults on permanent relief outside.'' Provision 
for the poor was made in various ways, including the 
binding out of paupers' children as apprentices and the 
payment of rents and weekly doles. In 171 1 the rents 
of 1 1 poor persons were paid, the total cost to the parish 
being £12 14^.: in addition weekly doles, amounting to 
^i OS. 8</., were paid to 10 households of whom 4 also 
had their rent paid. In one case at least, early in the 
1 8th century, a pauper was allotted to parishioners on 
a rota system. In 1708 it was agreed at a vestry meeting 
that if 'Thomas Ashfeld, a poor fellow that is to go 
about the parish by a former agreement, should fall sick 
or lame in any place that he goes to he shall not lie alto- 
gether upon those persons where he is present but that 
it shall be at the charge of the whole parish'. In 1721, 
when the same Thomas Ashfeld was put on an eight- 
year rota of some 3 2 parishioners, there was a similar 
resolution to the effect that 'if any sickness or lameness 
should happen during these years it shall be at the cost 
of the parish and likewise his clothing'. 

Under the Commonwealth the total cost of poor 
relief usually varied between ^^i 5 and ;£2 5 a year. 
From 1675 until 1693 it was frequently between ,^30 
and ^^40 a year. No figures survive for 1693—6. From 
Easter 1696 until Easter 1701, however, it averaged 
about ^100 a year. These expensive years were fol- 
lowed by five years in which the cost ranged between 
;^7i and £85 a year. In 1706-7 it rose to a new maxi- 
mum of j^ii7. In April 1707 the vestry ordered the 
badging of the poor according to law (8 and 9 William 
III, c. 30 (1697)) and ordered that an inventory should 
be made of every pauper's goods. There was a slight 
decline, to £10^, in the cost of rehef in the following 
year and at Easter 1708 the vestry agreed 'that if any 
overseer in the parish shall relieve any person by a 
weekly collection that does not wear the badge or come 
themselves for their collection unless they are sick or 
lame, the said overseer shall forfeit the sum of 40/.' 
Nevertheless the cost of rehef, after remaining at ;^I03 
for two more years, began to rise again in 1710— 1 1 and 
in 171 5-16 reached £142. In the next year it fell again 
to j/^103. From 1717 until 1731 it fluctuated between 
;^69 and ;£lo8. No figures survive for 1731-75. In 
1776 expenses were ;^i 56 and the average for the three 
years 1783-5 was ,£^2 6 8. 5 In 1800-1 the cost of relief 
was ;£765. It fell to a minimum of ,^324 in 1807-8, 
and rose to ;^6 8 3 in i8i3-i4andj^6i3 in 18 16-17.* In 
the years 1827-3 2 it was between ;^500 and i^6oo each 
year. It then declined to about ^{^3 50 a year in 1834-6. 
In June 1836 Fyfield became part of the Ongar Poor 
Law Union. 

In 1687 Dr. Anthony Walker, Rector of Fyfield, de- 
vised a house and about J acre of land in 
SCHOOLS Fyfield and a farm of 56 acres in High 
Ongar, mainly for the support of a free 
school for poor children.' For ;^8 a year and the use of 
persons 'relieved occasionally' was 32 in 
181 3, 37 in 1 8 14, and 29 in 1815. 
s E.R.O., Q/CR i/i. 
6 E.R.O., Q/CR 1/9. 
' Rep. Com. Char. (Essex), H.C. 216, 
pp. 225-7 (i^SS)' ™ (')• ^°' other 
minor charges on the charity income see 
above. Church and, below. Charities. 



56 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



FYFIELD 



the larger of the two tenements called Bruetts in Fyfield 
Street, the teacher was to instruct pupils in reading, 
writing, arithmetic, and the catechism and to supervise 
them in prayer.* 

The history of the school is obscure until 1807 when 
15 pupils attended it. They were then being taught 
according to the founder's direction, the girls learning 
plain needle-work in addition. Any child might attend 
whom the rector and churchwardens judged to be 
poor.' Where the school was held is not clear; it may 
have been in the master's house. By 1 8 1 8 the managers 
were planning to expand the school. The charity in- 
come had recently increased and the master, now paid 
j^i6 a year, also took paying pupils. ■" In 1819 a new 
schoolroom was built for ,^170 from the accumulated 
surplus of the charity income. It was behind the master's 
house in Fyfield Street, had a playground attached, and 
could accommodate 70 children." There was no im- 
mediate increase in attendance, however; in 1827—8 
there were still only i 5 free pupils.'^ 

From about 1830 the number of pupils increased. 
In 1832 there were 21 and in 1833 49, some of whom 
paid fees. The charity income was then £47, the 
master's salary ;^32. The only other school in Fyfield 
was one with four pupils.'^ By 1835 there were 30 free 
pupils at Walker's school, almost all of them children of 
Fyfield labourers, and 25 paying pupils, of whom 12 
were boarders. The curriculum was as in 1807 except 
that the boys were taught some history and geography. 
The master, who still received £l'2; paid two assistants 
and hired an additional classroom, presumably for his 
paying pupils. He also supplied pens, ink, and fuel. 
No poor child was refused a place on denominational 
grounds, but all the free pupils attended church and 
were taught the catechism. Trustees were in control, 
with the rector as treasurer.''' The school was united 
to the Diocesan Board of Education's and, at least 
between 1 807 and 1 847, was administered jointly with 
the Sunday school.'* It has subsequently been regarded 
as a Church school, as it probably had been from its 
inception, but it appears not to have been in union with 
the National Society. '^ 

Until the Education Act of 1870 there was little 
change from the conditions of 1837, except that the 
boarding establishment was probably discontinued at 
some point; in 1 863 there was another boarding-school 
in the village.' * In 1867 there were 76 pupils under a 
master and mistress," but in 1871 there were only 
about 56.^" In 1871 it was reported that the school 
could provide 57 of the 94 places necessary to ensure 
universal education in Fyfield.^' In 1875 a new school 
was built near the site of the old.^^ The estimate of cost 
was ;C550- Charity property was mortgaged for ,£400 
and the deficit met by a voluntary rate.^^ Average 
attendance increased slightly until 1891, when the 



building was enlarged to provide 130 places.^ The 
average attendance was 83 in 1893 and 74 in 1905.M 

The school had received a goverpraent grant oi £6\ 
in 1880 and this rose to j^i 10 in 1899.^* After the 
Education Act of 1902 the school passed under the 
administration of the Essex Education Committee as a 
non-provided school. After a further fall to 58 in 1910 
the average attendance rose to 78 in 1920 and 84 in 
1929. In 1926 the annual income was nearly jC6o." 
In 1936 the school was reorganized for mixed juniors 
and infants. In 1948 the managers applied for aided 
status.28 In May 1952 there were three teachers and 
89 children.29 

The school is a single-story brick building on a T- 
shaped plan. The larger of the two tenements called 
Bruetts is still the schoolmaster's house. This was re- 
built in the late i8th or early 19th century. 

West Ham County Borough Council Residential 
Open Air School was erected at a cost of ^£8,000 in 
1885.3° It was certified in May 1885 as an Industrial 
School for boys, not to exceed no in number.-" In 
April 1925 it was converted to a residential open-air 
school for 80 boys.'^ In 193 1 it was enlarged to take 
60 girls in addition. '^ The school consists of a consider- 
able collection of buildings. The main block is two to 
three stories high and of gault brick with red-brick 
dressings. 

For the 'Unknown Donors or Church Estate Charity' 
see above — Church. 
CHARITIES In 1687 Dr. Anthony Walker, Rec- 
tor of Fyfield, devised property in 
Fyfield and High Ongar^'t for the provision of a school" 
and a rent-free house for the church clerk, and for the 
benefit of the poor. In 1834^^2 12/. was distributed to 
the poor in bread. This part of the charity, however, 
seems to have disappeared later, since by 1905 the 
whole of the endowment was held for educational pur- 
poses except the clerk's house and a small yearly sum 
for its maintenance. 

The house left for the clerk was the smaller of the 
two tenements called Bruetts, in Fyfield Street, the 
larger being for the schoolmaster or dame. In 1873 it 
was disputed whether the charity was for the church 
clerk or the parish clerk ; the decision went in the church 
clerk's favour, and the house is still occupied by his 
successor. In 1949 the school charity and the parochial 
church council both advanced money for the repair of 
the house, which had been little altered for some cen- 
turies. It is timber-framed with a steep roof and dates 
from the i6th century or earlier.^* 

John Collins,37 by will dated 1 75 1,'* left a field in 
Moreton to the poor of Fyfield. It was let at ^^5 a year 
in 1834 and in 1907, when it was sold for ;^I20 which 
was invested. In 1834 the income was spent on bread, 
distributed with Walker's Charity, and on l^. doles to 



' Ref). Com. Char. (Essex), pp. 225-6. 
« E.R.O., D/AEM 2/4.. 

'0 Reim. Educ. Poor, H.C. 224, p. 256 
(i8i9),ix(i). 

" Re/>. Com. Char. (Essex), pp. 226-7. 

■2 Nat.Soc. Ref. 1828, p. 53. 

'3 Educ. Enquiry Ahstr. H.C. 62, p. 276 
(1835), xli; Nat. Soc. Rep. 1832, p. 50. 

'« Rep. Com. Char. (Essex), pp. 226-7. 

" Nat. Soc. Enquiry into Church Schs. 
1 846-7, pp. 8-9. 

"> Ibid.; Nat. Soc. Reps. 1828, 1832; 
E.R.O., D/AEM 2/4. 

" Min. of Educ. File 13/127. 

'» ffhite's Dir. Essex (1863). 

'•> y.C.H. Essex, ii, 561. 



20 Retns. Elem. Educ. H.C. 201, pp. 
112-13 (1871), Iv. 

21 Min. of Educ. File 13/127. 

22 O.S. 6 in. Map (ist cdn.), sheet xlii. 
« Min. of Educ. File 13/127. 

24 Rep. of Educ. Cttee. of Council, 1880 
[C. 2948-1], p. 577. H.C. {1881), xxxii; 
Rep. of Educ. Cttee. Council, 1886 [C. 
5123-1], p. 5'9. H.C. (1887), xxviii. 

25 Retn. Schools, 1893 [C. 7529], p. 714, 
H.C. (1894), Ixv; Min. of Educ. File 
13/127. 

2' Rep. of Educ. Cttee. of Council, 1880, 
p. 577; Retn. Schools, 1899 [Cd. 315], 
p. 70, H.C. (1900), Ixv (2). 

" Kelly's Dir. Essex (i^zd). 

57 



28 Min. of Educ. File 13/127. 

2' Inf. from Essex Educ. Cttee. 

3" Kelly's Dir. Essex (1926). For this 
school see D. McDougall, Fifty Tears a 
Borough: the Story of West Ham, 103-4, 
122 f. 3" Ibid. 

^^ Kelly's Dir. Essex (\<)-i,-^. 33 Ibid. 

3* See Frith Hall in High Ongar. 

35 Sec above. Schools. 

36 Ref. Com. Char. (Essex), H.C. 216. 
pp. 225-7 ('^3S)> *" (')> Char. Com. 
files. 

3' Ibid.j Hist. Essex by Gent, iii, 336-7. 

3* This date, given in Rep. Com. Char, 
(Esfex), p. 2*27, is evidently a mistake. 
Collins died in Sept. 1750. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



widows and other poor persons. The bread doles were 
stopped in 1917 under a scheme of 191 5. In 1935 the 
income of ^^3 1 1/. 8a'. was distributed in small sums of 
cash and the same practice appears to have been fol- 
lowed since. 

The Revd. Robert Gibson, by will proved 1 840, left 
;^20o in trust for distribution among the poor of the 



parish, preferably those who were sober and industrious 
and attended church regularly. Charlotte Gibson, by 
will proved 1859, left £200 in trust for the yearly dis- 
tribution of blankets, sheets, coals, or clothing to the 
poor of the parish. These two charities have generally 
been distributed together. In 1950 the income of ^^5 
from each was given away in food and clothing.39 



GREENSTEAD 



Greenstead is a small parish adjoining Chipping 
Ongar to the west.' From 1 548 to 1554 it was united 
with Chipping Ongar.^ Its population has always been 
small until the last 20 years. In 1801 it was 102, and 
in 193 1, 119. The population in 195 1 was 785, the 
large increase being mainly accounted for by the build- 
ing of houses on the estate adjoining Chipping Ongar.' 
The main centres of population are at the east and west 
ends of the parish, not in the centre by the hall and the 
church. 

The land rises from about 200 ft. above sea-level in 
the east to 300 ft. in the west. A stream which rises in 
the west flows east to join Cripsey Brook near the 
north-east corner. Greenstead Wood is in the west, 
between the stream and the north boundary. The 
road from Chipping Ongar enters Greenstead in the 
south-east and runs through the parish to Greenstead 
Green in the north-west. At the Ongar end of this 
road there is a small built-up area, mostly of the 19th 
century and later. To the north of this is a large hous- 
ing site consisting of 100 privately built houses, 30 
post-1945 council houses, and two groups of pre- 
fabricated houses. 

The rectory lies on the road about | mile from 
Ongar. To the west of it, lying close together to the 
north of the road, are the parish church and Green- 
stead Hall. They are joined to Ongar by an avenue of 
trees about a mile long.'' 

There are a number of houses at Greenstead Green. 
Little Thorbens (now called The Cottage) is a small 
two-story timber-framed house with a cross-wing and 
an overhanging gable at its west end. The date 1564 
is cut on one of the roof timbers. 5 Blackstock House 
and Tudor Cottage formerly made up a single house, 
named New House. Tudor Cottage is timber-framed 
and partly weather-boarded, and dates from the late 
1 6th or early 17th century. Blackstock House, on the 
west, is a gault brick addition dating from about 1870. 
Greenstead House is a two-story stucco building, dating 
from the i8th century with a large addition of about 
i860. Ivy Cottage adjoins it (see below, Schools). 
Hardings Farm is opposite Ivy Cottage. Also at Green- 
stead Green, on the south side of the road leading to 
Ongar, are five pairs of council houses. The green 
from which this part of the parish took its name no 
longer exists, but within living memory there was a 
long triangular open green on the west side of the road 
here, reaching nearly to Toot Hill in Stanford Rivers.* 
The present road from Greenstead Green to Toot Hill 
appears to have been constructed between 1838 and 



1873-4.' Pensons Lane runs from Greenstead Green 
north-east to Ackingford Bridge (see Chipping Ongar). 
Another road runs north from Greenstead Green to 
Bobbingworth. A road from the centre of the parish 
runs south to Stanford Hall and the church in Stanford 
Rivers. Half a mile to the east of this road, on the 
southern border of the parish, is Lodge Farm. It is a 
timber-framed house of mid- or late-i7th-century date, 
and it contains a round-headed corner cupboard of the 
same period. 

The railway from Epping to Ongar passes through 
a small part of the parish on the north east. Blake Hall 
station, on this line, is J mile north of Greenstead 
Green but is in the parish of Stanford Rivers. 

Few references have been found to the parish roads. 
In 1598 Greenstead was presented at quarter sessions 
for the bad state of its highways. ^ In 16 18-19 ^^* 
road from Chipping Ongar to Greenstead was in a 
bad condition and the parishioners of Greenstead and 
High Ongar were said to be jointly responsible for its 
upkeep.' 

For transport and postal services Greenstead has 
always depended on Chipping Ongar (q.v.) 

The Greenstead housing estate has all the public 
services.'" Water was supplied to some parts of the 
parish in 1908, from Chipping Ongar as far as Green- 
stead church." There is sewerage as far as the Croft.'^ 
Gas was first supplied in 1934. It at first extended 
along the road to Blake Hall Station.'-J Greenstead 
Green has had electricity since 1932.'^ 

In 1086 there were in all 8 plough-teams in Green- 
stead, woodland for 520 swine, 35 acres of meadow. 
There were then only 14 pigs on the manor: the num- 
ber had declined from 30 in 1066. There were 40 
goats and 20 sheep, a rouncy, and 3 beasts. '5 The 
parish was less densely wooded than Chipping Ongar 
(q.v.) to the east. 

The manor of Greenstead in 1349 was said to 
contain 60 acres of (arable) land, 8 acres of meadow, 
1 5 acres of pasture, and a wood.'* In 1625 it was said 
to contain 100 acres of land, 20 acres of meadow, 60 
acres of pasture, and 60 acres of underwood." In 1690 
there were 100 acres of land, 80 acres of meadow, 100 
acres of pasture, and 80 acres of underwood.'^ These 
figures seem to indicate that from the 14th century 
onwards the demesne farm gradually increased in size 
until, by the end of the 17th century it contained about 
half the total area of the parish. In the i8th century 
there were at least three farms in the parish apart from 
the home farm of Greenstead Hall." During the first 



39 Char. Com. files. 

' O.S. 2i in. Map, sheet 52/50. Area 
683 acres. ^ See Chipping Ongar. 

3 Census } inf. from Essex County Council. 

* The avenue existed in 1770: Hist. 
Essex by Gent, iii, 378. 

* Inf. from the occupier, Mr. Ginger. 

* Inf. from Mrs. Kinsman of Green- 
stead House. The green is well shown on 



the Tithe Map (1838): E.R.O., D/CT 
153B. 

' Cf. Tithe Map and 0.5. 6 in. Map 
(ist edn.), sheet 1 (1873-4). 
8 E.R.O., e/SR 14.1/21. 
•> Ibid. Q/SBa 1/35. 
"> Inf. from Councillor Hadler. 
" Inf. from Herts, and Essex Water- 
works Co. 



■2 Inf. from Councillor Hadler. 
" Inf. from East. Gas Bd. 
'« Inf. from East. Elec. Bd. 
■s r.C.H. Essex, i, 502. 
'^ Cal. Inq. p.m. IX, p. z^z, 
'■> CP43/169 rot. 52. 
'8 CP43/428 rot. Si. 
" See below, Manor. 



58 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



GREENSTEAD 



half of that century almost all the land in the parish 
was acquired by a single owner. It was split up again 
after 1750.^° In 1839 the parish was estimated to con- 
tain 289 acres of arable, 325 acres of meadow and 
pasture, 3 1 acres of woodland, and 23 acres of common, 
waste, and roads.^' The Hall farm contained 263 acres. 
There were three other farms of 50—100 acres. More 
than 400 acres were owned by the lord of the manor, 
and within the next 30 years two other farms were 
added to the main estate, leaving very little land in the 
parish outside the estate.^^ 

Inclosure was probably facilitated in Greenstead by 
the small number of interests involved. A rental of 
about 1525 has numerous references to crofts in 
Greenstead, which suggests that much inclosure had 
already taiien place.^^ It is, however, interesting that 
the green which gave its name to Greenstead Green 
should have survived until modern times.^ 

There was a mill at Greenstead in io86.^5 In 1349 
there were two mills in the manor, one driven by water 
and the other by wind.^* 

The sale of timber from Greenstead during the 
Napoleonic wars is mentioned below.^' It is clear from 
the maps that Greenstead wood was much larger in 
1777 than it was a hundred years later.^* 

In the time of Edward the Confessor GREEN- 
STEAD was held by Gotild 'as a manor and 
MANOR 2 hides'.^' In 1086 it was held in demesne 
by Hamon dapifer.^" It was also stated in 
Domesday that one Serlo held 40 acres of the manor, that 
three freemen had before io66 held J hide and 45 acres, 
and that 'of this land' one Ralph was in 1086 holding 
J hide and 5 acres. As J. H. Round has commented, 
this is a confused passage: 'for it is not clear whether the 
holding of the 3 free men was valued as part of the main 
manor, nor if it were is it clear of which two portions 
Ralph's holding was part.''' It seems most likely, how- 
ever, that Ralph had taken over the greater part of the 
land previously occupied by the three men. 

From Hamon the lordship of the manor descended 
in the same way as Norton Mandeville (q.v.) to Robert, 
1st Earl of Gloucester, bastard son of Henry I.^^ In 
about 1 170 William, 2nd Earl of Gloucester, granted 
the manor to Richard de Lucy, along with the service 
of 4 knights owed by Richard de Marcy, 2 knights 
owed by Ralph de Marcy, 3 knights owed by Maurice 
de Toheham, and I J knight owed by Manasser de 
Dammartin.33 It is not unlikely that Richard and Ralph 
were relatives of the Domesday tenants Ralph and 
Serlo."* Greenstead thus became part of Richard de 
Lucy's honor of Ongar, and the tenancy in chief of the 



manor descended in the same way as Chipping Ongar 
(q.v.).35 

The descent of the tenancy in demesne between 
about 1 1 70 and about 1250 is obscure. It is possible 
that the Marcy family continued as tenants for part of 
this time.36 By about 1250, however, the tenant was 
Walter de Baskerville.3' He was the son of Walter de 
Baskerville (d. 1244) of Orcop (Herefs.).^* He fought 
against the king in the Barons' Wars and in 1265 his 
lands at Orcop, Greenstead, and elsewhere were 
granted to Roger de Clifford." Baskerville subse- 
quently regained possession and in 1279 granted 
Greenstead to Roger de la Hay in exchange for land 
in Great Cowarne (Herefs.).*" 

William de la Hay was lord of the manor in 1328 
and I333.*' In 1346 he granted Greenstead to Sir 
Robert Bourchier.*^ Bourchier was subsequently sum- 
moned to Parliament as a peer.'*^ He died in 1 349 and 
was succeeded by his son, John Lord Bourchier.** 
Greenstead descended with the title to Henry, Lord 
Bourchier, who was created Viscount Bourchier {c. 
1445) and Earl of Essex (i46i).*5 The manor passed 
to Henry Bourchier, 2nd Earl of Essex, and on his 
death in 1540 to his daughter Anne, suo jure Baroness 
Bourchier, wife of Thomas Parr, Baron Parr of Ken- 
dal.** Parr was created Earl of Essex in 1 543 and in 
the following year conveyed Greenstead to Sir Richard 
Rich, later created Baron Rich.*7 

In 1578 Robert, 2nd Baron Rich, conveyed the 
manor to William Bourne.** He was the son of 
William Bourne of Bobbingworth.*' He died in 
1608, leaving an eldest son William (b. 1589), and 
younger sons Richard (b. 1599) and John (b. 1602). 5" 
The manor was probably held until her death by Anne 
(d. 1624) widow of William Bourne.5' She married 
Richard Young in 1613.52 After her death the manor 
appears to have been settled on her son John. 53 In 
1652 complaint was made to quarter sessions that 
Richard Bourne, owner of Greenstead Hall, had been 
dispossessed by Thomas Smith, labourer, and others 
(named). The justices ordered that Richard should be 
given possession of the property.^* He was probably 
identical with Richard (b. 1625) son of John Bourne." 
He died in 1660.56 

The next owner of the manor who has been traced 
was John Hulson, who held it in 1683.57 Robert 
Hulson was the owner in 1690.58 In 1695 he sold 
Greenstead to Alexander Cleeve, citizen and pewterer 
of London. 59 Cleeve's initial purchase comprised 
about half the land in the parish. He subsequently 
added to it most of the other half *» After his death 



" Ibid. 

" E.R.O., D/CT 153. 

^* See below,- Manor. 

" E.R.O., D/DFa M1/5. 

" See above, p. 58. In 1839 the green 
contained c. 16 acres, reclconed as waste: 
E.R.O., D/CT 153. 

" V.C.H. Essex, i, 502. 

^^ Cal. Inq. p.m. ix, p. 242. 

*' See Manor. 

^' Chapman and Andre, Map of Essex 
J777, sheet xvii; O.S. 6 in. Map (ist edn.), 
sheets I, H. 

" F.C.H. Essex, i, 502. 

30 Ibid. 

3> Ibid. 

'* L. C. Loyd, Origins of Some Anglo- 
Norman Families (Harl. Soc), 50 ; Domes- 
day Monachorum of Christ Church, Canter- 
bury (ed. D. C. Douglas), 55-56. 

33 E.A.T. N.s. vii, 148. The grant was 



confirmed by the king in 1 1 67-74. For 
the Dammartins see Norton Mandeville. 

3* Ibid. 149. A Serlo de Marcy held 
Stondon Massey (q.v.) in the 13th cent. 

3! The last record of overlordship is 
1566: Morant, Essex, i, 152. 

36 For the Marcy family see Stondon 
Massey, Kelvedon Hatch, Navestock, and 
Magdalen Laver. 

3' E.A.T. N.s. xviii, 18. 

38 C. Moor, Knights of Ed-w. I {Harl. 
Soc), i, 50 ; W. H. Cooke, Hist. Hereford 
(1892), 187. 

39 C. Moor, ibid. 

■»» Feet of F. Essex, ii, 24. 
■•■ Newcourt, Repert. ii, 288. 

42 Cal. Close, 1346-9. 5'- 

43 Complete Peerage, ii, 246. 

44 Ibid.; Cal. Inq. p.m. ix, p. 242. 

45 Complete Peerage, ii, 248-g. 

46 Ibid.; Newcourt, Repert. ii, 288-9. 

59 



4' CP25(2)/i3/75 Trin. 36 Hen. VIII. 

48 CP25(2)/i3i/i684. 

49 Visits, of Essex (Harl. Soc.), pp. 156, 

354-5- 

"> Par. Regs, of Greenstead, ed. F. A. . 
Crisp, 4, 31. Richard and John were the 
sons of their father's second marriage, to 
Anne Day, widow. 

" See below. Church; Par. Regs, of 
Greenstead, 19, 31 

52 Ibid. 19. 

53 CP43/169 (1625). 

54 E.R.O., 2/SBa 2/7.9. 

55 Par. Regs, of Greenstead, 6. 

5' Ibid. 32. He founded Bourne's 
Charity (see below. Charities). 
5' CP25(2)/655 Hil. 34-35 Chas. II. 

58 CP43/428 rot. 81. 

59 P. J. Budworth, Memorials of Green- 
stead— Budivorth, 6. 

'» Ibid. 8. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



in 1738 his widow Anne held the estate for life.*' She 
died in 1750 and the estate was then divided among 
Alexander Cleeve's children. John Cleeve, Rector of 
High Laver, inherited New House Farm, Jane Velley 
received Hardings, Anne Cleeve had Repentance 
Farm, and Mary Hatt had Lodge Farm.*^ In 1752 
Greenstead Hall and the manorial estate were sold by 
the nine surviving children of Alexander Cleeve to 
David Rebotier of London, merchant.^-J 

David Rebotier died in 1769 and in 177 1 his son 
Charles and his daughter Esther Rebotier sold the 
manor to John Redman of Mile End in the parish of 
St. Dunstan (Mdx.).*^ Redman died in 1798; he left 
the manor to Craven Ord of the Cursitors Office, who 
had married his daughter Mary.^s It was provided 
that Greenstead should be held in trust for the younger 
children of Craven and Mary. During the Napoleonic 
Wars, however, Craven made sufficient profits from 
the sale of timber from Greenstead to satisfy the por- 
tions of his younger children, and on his death in 1832 
the manor passed to his eldest son, the Revd. Craven 
Ord(d. i836).66 

In 1837 the manor was bought by the Revd. Philip 
Budworth, who was a grandson of Jane, daughter of 
Alexander Cleeve and wife of the Revd. Thomas 
Velley.*7 In jg^j Budworth also bought New House 
Farm, which had been sold in 1778 by the executors 
of John Cleeve and had become the property of 
Sympson Jessopp.** Captain Philip J. Budworth was 
the only surviving son and heir of the Revd. Philip 
Budworth. He settled at Greenstead Hall in i8;4.*» 
In 1867 he bought Lodge Farm from the representatives 
of Mrs. Holbrook and thus became owner of all but a 
small part of the land in the parish.'" He continued 
to live at Greenstead Hall until his death in 1885" 
and took an active part in local affairs.'^ He is com- 
memorated by the Budworth Hall in Chipping Ongar. 
His sons, or their representatives, were the main land- 
owners in Greenstead in I926.'3 

Greenstead Hall is a large house of two stories with 
attics. It is of timber-framing partly covered with a 
later facing of red brick. As it exists today most of the 
house dates from about 1700 when it was largely re- 
built, probably by Alexander Cleeve. The date 1695 
is carved on the east front and a sundial on the south 
front bears the date 1698 and the initials a and mc 
(Alexander and Mary Cleeve). There are, however, 
timbers near the west end which appear to be older, 
and in two places there is panelling of the early 17th 
century. The report''' of an open hearth under the 
centre of the present drawing-room on the south side 
suggests that there was originally a medieval hall in this 
position. A view from the east drawn about 1770 



shows the house as altered 70 years before.'' It was 
then plastered and roughly square in shape but with 
two projecting wings on the south side. The main 
entrance front to the east had seven windows and a 
central pediment. Part of the north side of the house 
with a projecting bay no longer exists. This may have 
been the dining-room which John Redman is said to 
have demolished in the late i8th century in order to 
curb the extravagant hospitality of his son.'* Redman 
made many improvements to the house and its grounds, 
including the existing timber-framed brick-fronted 
stables." Large alterations were carried out in 1875 
by P. J. Budworth.'^ The east front was largely re- 
built, including the central pedimented feature in 
moulded brickwork. The east and south fronts were 
faced with red brick, and one of the south wings was 
extended. The dates 1695 and 1698 were probably 
recut at this time. Inside the house there are some good 
pine chimney-pieces and panelling of about 1700 and 
a fine staircase with twisted balusters and carved string 
of the same period. This is very similar to work at 
Hill Hall, Theydon Mount (q.v.). The present 
occupier has made some interior alterations in the same 
style. The detached 17th century-brewhouse was con- 
verted into a cottage in 1950. 

There seems to be no reason to doubt the established 
tradition that Greenstead church was built 
CHURCH in the nth century to mark the place 
where St. Edmund's body rested on its 
way from London to Bury St. Edmund's in 1013. A 
description of the event, written about 1 300, says that 
the body was accommodated at Ongar and that 'a 
wooden chapel built in his name remains until today'." 
This is the only documentary evidence for the identi- 
fication. Greenstead is a mile from Chipping Ongar, 
but it is curious that the wooden church, which is 
described in detail below, is dedicated not to St. 
Edmund but to St. Andrew.*" 

Walter de Baskerville was patron of Greenstead in 
about 1254-.*' William de la Hay held the advowson 
in 1328—33 and it subsequently descended along with 
the manor until the 17th century.*^ Richard Young 
and Anne his wife presented Edward Young to the 
rectory in 1617.'^ Anne had previously been the wife 
of William Bourne (d. 1608), lord of the manor. Her 
son John Bourne made a conveyance of the manor in 
1625.*'' Thomas Spencer presented in 1641 pro hac 
vice.^^ Presentation was made in 1646 by Katherine 
Young, widow, and Robert Young her son, and in 
1 66 1 by Katherine alone.** Nathan Lacy, rector 1661— 
1700, married a second wife Mary.*' After his death 
Mary Lacy, widow, presented.** Soon after this the 
advowson was bought by Benjamin Pratt, curate of 



^' Budford, Memorials cf Greenstead- 
Budivorth^ 9. 

'2 Ibid. 10. For a full list of the children 
see ibid. 7. Repentance, which no longer 
exists, was in the extreme south of the 
parish on the road to Stanford Rivers. 

63 Ibid. 16; CP25(2)/ii24 East. 25 
Geo. II. 

6< Budworth, op. cit. 17 ; CP25(z)/i3o8 
Hil. 12 Geo. III. 

" Budworth, op. cit. 17. Ord was an 
antiquary who collaborated with Gough, 
Nichols, and others : see D.N.B. 

'* Budworth, op. cit. 17. " Ibid. 

'8 Ibid. 

>"> Ibid. 

'0 Ibid. 

" £.^.7". N.s. iii, 115. 

" See Chipping Ongar, Public Services. 



73 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1926), cf. Bud- 
worth, op. cit. 26. From c. 1895 Green- 
stead Hall was the residence of Howel 
J. J. Price (d. 194.3). 

'♦ Inf. from Mrs. Tugendhat, the pre- 
sent occupier. 

75 Hist. Essex by a Gent, iii, 378. 

" Budworth, op. cit. 20. 

" Ibid. 

'8 Cf. ibid. 26. 

" 'Apud Aungre hospitabatur vero ejus 
nomine lignea capella constructa permanet 
usque hodie' : B.M. Add. MS. 14.847 
f. 20. 

80 It is of course possible that the dedica- 
tion has been changed. It is interescing to 
note that the church of Greenstead by 
Colchester has the same dedication to St. 
Andrew. 

60 



81 E.A,T, N.s. xviii, i8. 

82 Newcourt, Repert. ii, 289. 

83 Ibid. 

8* CP43/i69rot. 52. 

85 Newcourt, Repert. ii, 289. One 
institution was missed by Newcourt, for 
the rector who died in 164.1 was William 
Young: cf. Par. Regs, Greenstead, ed. 
F. A. Crisp, 32. 

86 Newcourt, Repert. ii, 289. 

87 Var. Regs. Greenstead, 8, 9. 

88 Newcourt, Repert. ii, 289. In 1689 
and 1 69 1 conveyances of the advowson 
were made by James Lacy, clerk, pre- 
sumably the son of Nathan Lacy: CP43/ 
4.24 rot. 205; ibid. 430 rot. 21 j J. and 
J. A. Venn, Alumn i Cantabrigienses, pt. i, 
>''. 33- 



I 








-* 
f^ 



o 

o 
< 

(- 



o 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



GREENSTEAD 



St. Botolph's, Aldgate about 1708-15. By his will, 
dated 17 14, Pratt bequeathed the advowson in trust to 
the Bishop of London, with the provision that at each 
presentation the curate of St. Botolph's was to have 
first refusal.*' The patronage has subsequently- 
remained with the bishop, subject to this provision. 

The rectory was valued at 40J. in about i2 54,"> at 
£,1 los. in izgi," and at £6 ly. \d. in 1535.'^ The 
tithes were commuted in 1841 for ^£210; there were 
then 30 acres of glebe. '3 The rectory house is an early- 
igth-century building, whitewashed externally. 

In 1548 the parishes of Greenstead and Chipping 
Ongar were united by Act of Parliament. In spite of 
its small size the Greenstead church became the parish 
church of the combined parish. This union, however, 
was dissolved in 1554 and the parish of Greenstead 
returned to its ancient size and constitution. '< 

The parish church of ST. ANDREW consists of 
nave, chancel, west tower with spire, and south porch. 
The nave is a unique survival of early timber con- 
struction, probably of the early nth century. The 
chancel is partly of flint rubble and partly of brick- 
work. The tower is timber framed and the porch is also 
of timber. 

The circumstances in which the church was prob- 
ably built, in or soon after 1013, have been described 
above. The present nave was probably the original 
church. It is 29 ft. long by 17 ft. wide. The timber 
walls remain on the north and south sides. They are 
5 ft. 6 in. high and consist of oak logs, varying in width 
from 7 to 17 in., cut in half and set vertically, the flat 
surfaces facing inwards. At the two western angles 
three-quarter logs are used with a right-angular rebate 
cut internally. The south doorway still exists and nearly 
opposite there was originally a north doorway 2 ft. 5 in. 
wide. The nave was thoroughly restored in 1848. 
Descriptions of it before and during this restoration are 
of particular value. In 1 748 Smart Lethieullier sent 
an account of it to the Society of Antiquaries,'' together 
with elevational drawings which were later published.'* 
A hundred years later the Revd. P. W. Ray, then rector, 
wrote as follows:''' 

the building ... is formed of split trunks of oak trees, the 
top part being cut to a thin edge which is let into a deep 
groove in the plate and pinned. The bottoms of the up- 
right timbers were morticed into the sill. Their sides were 
grooved, with tongues of oak let in between them so as to 
make the whole firm and weathertight'8 . . . upon the face 
of the timbers within the church were a great number of 
triangular cuts, having a rough bur on one side such as 
would be produced by the angle of an adze. These cuts 
were the key for the plaster with which the interior of the 
church was covered. . . . The west end was carried up in 
the middle as high as the ridge of the roof and consisted of 
two layers of planks fastened together with tree nails. The 
planks are not long enough to reach the whole height, they 
are therefore so arranged as to break both the perpendicular 
and horizontal joints. 

The external elevation of this west end, part of which 
disappeared in 1848, is shown in Lethieullier's draw- 
ing. The narrow opening which can be seen just south 



of the centre was probably made to give access to the 
tower after that was added. 

The chancel was probably added to the original 
wooden church in the 12th century. Parts of the flint 
rubble plinth remain. The east wall of the nave was 
presumably removed then. 

The small stoup with a pointed head to the west of 
the former north door probably dates from the 13 th 
or 14th century. 

In the 15th or i6th century the square tower was 
added to the west end of the nave a little to the south 
of the centre line. It is weather-boarded externally and 
has louvred openings. The lower story of the tower is 
now used as a vestry. There is a broach spire. About 
1 500 the chancel was rebuilt in brick. On the south 
side is an early-i6th-century doorway with moulded 
brick jambs and an elliptical head. Next to it on the 
west is a window of similar date also with an elliptical 
head. The four-centred chancel arch is probably of 
the 1 6th century. In that century also the nave was 
probably reroofed. Views of the church before the 
restoration show a sagging roof line, lower than that 
of the chancel, with two dormers on the north side and 
one on the south." 

The church was being repaired in 1683. Beams had 
recently been set on the inside of the chancel but it was 
feared that this would not prevent the cracks on both 
sides of the east window from getting worse." 

Extensive repairs were carried out in 1848. The 
oak sills of the nave walls, which originally rested on 
the ground, were completely decayed, together with 
the lower ends of the logs. These last were shortened 
from the base and tenoned to new sills supported on 
dwarf brick walls. The plaster was stripped internally 
and oak fillets fixed over the joints. The north door- 
way, which had already been plastered up before this 
time, was blocked by the insertion of three new 
timbers. The nave roof was replaced and three addi- 
tional dormer windows constructed so that there are 
now three on each side. A new window was inserted 
in the west gable. In the chancel the east wall was 
rebuilt and a new east window with stone 'perpendi- 
cular' tracery was inserted. A new window was also 
placed in the north wall and another in the south wall 
to the east of the doorway. The east wall and the 
chancel arch were strengthened by the external addition 
of buttresses. A traceried window was placed in the 
tower, and a new timber porch, a copy of I gth-century 
work, replaced a small weather-boarded struc- 
ture.^ 

In 1 891-2 the roof, which was of fir, was again 
found to be decayed. A subscription list for a new roof 
was started by William Hewett, tenant of Greenstead 
Hall and churchwarden, and the work was carried out 
in oak by Frederic Chancellor, the diocesan surveyor. 
He followed the same design on the assumption that it 
was a copy of the roof taken down in 1848.3 At the 
same time a brick buttress on the north side of the nave 
was removed, exposing sound timbers behind it.* No 
important alterations have been carried out since 1892, 



I 



" Morant, Essex, i, 153; J. and J. A. 
Venn, Alumni Cantab, pt. i, iii, 390, 
G. Hennessy, Novum Repert. Eccl. Parock. 
Lond. Ixvli, 107. 

«» Lunt, Val. of Nor-wich, 336. 

»■ Tax. Eccl. (Rec. Com.), 23*. 

«» yalor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), i, 437. 

«3 E.R.O., D/CT 153. 

»♦ For the details of this temporary 
union see Chipping Ongar. 



»5 B.M. Stowe MS. 752, f. 49. 

«' Vetusta Monumenta, ii, pi. 7. See plate 
facing p. 61. 

" P. W. Ray, Hist. of Greenstead Church, 
18-20. Ray was rector when the chjrch 
was restored, 1848. 

98 Lethieullier's description of the joint- 
ing, ' the edge of one tree made to slip a 
little within its neighbour", is probably 
less accurate. 

61 



" A. Suckling, Memorials of Essex, 4 ; 
P. W. Ray, Hist. Greenttead Church. 
' E.A.T. N.s. xii, 268. 

2 For various pictures of the church 
before and after 1848 see E.R.O., 
Prints. 

3 E.A.T. N.s. iv, 223; E.R. i, 139} 
Notes (sf Queries, 1891, 316. 

♦ E.A.T. li.s. iv, 223. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



but the spire was recently covered with shingles of 
Canadian cedar.5 

There is one bell by William Land, 1618, and a 
sanctus bell, uninscribed. In 1552 there were two 
Rogation bells weighing 10 lb. and two great bells 
weighing 300J lb.* Early in the 19th century an old 
bell larger than the present bell, being cracked and un- 
hung, was sold.' 

In the chancel is a stone pillar piscina with an octa- 
gonal bowl, probably late 15 th century. The igth- 
century quatrefoil window in the west gable of the 
nave contains an early 1 6th-century roundel of stained 
glass, showing a man's head and shoulders in the dress 
of the time. A crown suggests that he may represent 
St. Edmund.* Two other pieces of stained glass, prob- 
ably of similar date, were removed from the church 
before 1836. They came into the possession of a 
Bobbingworth farmer who took them with him to 
New Zealand. He was persuaded to return them to 
the church but they were lost in a shipwreck off the 
Scilly Isles on their return journey in 1871.' Hanging 
in the nave is a round-headed wooden panel on which 
is an oil painting of about 1 500 showing the martyrdom 
of St. Edmund.'" The octagonal oak pulpit was pre- 
sented by Alexander Cleeve in 1698." One panel has 
the date and I. H. S. inlaid in darker wood. The stone 
font is of the 19th century. The stained glass in the 
four chancel windows was inserted in memory of 
William Smith, d. 1871: the north window shows the 
martyrdom of St. Edmund and the east window the 
Last Supper and Crucifixion. The oak screen dividing 
the vestry from the nave was given in memory of 
Gerard Noel Hoare and his son, between them church- 
wardens from 1907 to 1949. 

The church plate consists of a cup, 1739, paten, 
1699 (the gift of Alexander and Mary Cleeve), a 
flagon 1858 (the gift of the Revd. P. W. Ray and 
family), and an alms-dish, 1817. The last piece was 
obtained in compliance with the archdeacon's instruc- 
tions in 1 8 1 7 to 'sell pewter plate and provide patens 
for the offerings'." 

On the north wall of the chancel is an alabaster 
tablet in memory of Jone, second wife of Alane Wood 
(1585). There are also tablets to the Revd. W. H. 
Warren (1825) and Mary wife of Craven Ord (1804). 
On the south wall is a tablet to Richard Hewyt, rector 
(1724). In the nave are tablets to P. J. Budworth 
(1885) and his son Major-Gen. Charles E. D. Bud- 
worth (1921). 

In 1792 the rector opened a Sunday school in 

Greenstead. Only one child attended 

SCHOOLS from this parish, however; the others 

came from Chipping Ongar, and when 

the Chipping Ongar Sunday school was started the 



Greenstead school was discontinued. '3 In 1807 there 
was no school in the parish, but by 181 8 the Sunday 
school had been reopened by the rector and the lord of 
the manor. Craven Ord. It then had 22 pupils and it 
continued with varying attendances at least until 
1 846-7. '« In 1828 a small day school existed, '5 but by 
1833 it had been closed.'* 

In 1839 the rector began to collect subscriptions for 
a parish school." By 1846-7 this was being attended 
by some 34 children. The mistress then received £30 
a year.'* About this time a new building was erected, 
evidently by subscription, on a site on the waste on 
Greenstead Green, presented by the Revd. Philip 
Budworth, lord of the manor. The rector exercised a 
close supervision over it." It provided 33 places, 
'abundant accommodation' for the small and declining 
population of the parish. In 1870 there were about 
23 pupils.^" Between 1878 and 1882 the school was 
closed; the children subsequently attended the schools 
at Chipping Ongar and Stanford Rivers.^' 

The former school house stands on Greenstead 
Green, beside Greenstead House; it is now known as 
Ivy Cottage. (See plate facing p. 126.) 

No parish records are known to survive except the 
registers. A few figures of poor 
POOR RELIEF relief are available from Parlia- 
mentary returns but these are prob- 
ably not very reliable.^^ In 1776 expenditure on poor 
relief was ;^il.^3 For the three years 1783-5 the 
average annual expenditure was ;{^29.^'» By 1 800-1 the 
annual expenditure had risen to ^^i 50, but in 1 802-3 '^ 
was only £7^.^^ Figures of expenditure on poor relief 
alone are missing for the years 1 803-1 1 ; the poor rates, 
which also include administrative expenses and county 
rates, rose from £()i in 1803-4 to ,{^255 in 1810-11.^* 
The cost of relief rose from £174 in 1811-12 to /C486 
in 1819-20." The cost for 1 820-1 was, however, 
only Xi4+-'* 

There was a parish poorhouse by 1776.^' In 1841 
there were 'almshouses' belonging to the parish, situated 
at Greenstead Green, opposite Greenstead House.^" 
These had probably been provided by the parish for 
the accommodation of its poor: there is no evidence 
that they were a privately endowed charity. They had 
disappeared by 1873—4.3' 

In 1836 Greenstead became part of Ongar Poor 
Law Union. 

For an account of Petit's Charity see Stanford 
Rivers. 
CHARITIES Richard Bourne of Greenstead Hall 
(d. 1660) left to the poor of the parish 
40;. issuing from Lee Fields.'- In 1834 the money was 
used to buy coal for all the poor householders. The 
rent-charge was not collected from 1908 to 1924 but 



* Inf. from present rector, Revd. W. A. 
Hewett. 

» E.A.T.t).%. 11,236. 
' Ch. Bells Essex, 265. 

* Sec Hist. Mon. Com. Essex, pi. p. xxxv ; 
p. 112. 

« E.R. iii, 135; xxii, 45. 

'» See E.R. xlvii, 78. 

" P. J. Budworth, Mems. of Green- 
stead- Budivorth. 

" Ch. Plate Essex, 135-6. 

'3 E.R.O., D/AEM 2/4. 

'♦ Ibid.; ifrtnJ. Educ. of Poor, H.C. 224, 
p. 256 (1819), ix (i); Nat. Soc. Reps. 
1 820, I 828 j Nat. Soc. Enquiry into Church 
Schs. 1 846-7, 8-9. 

" Nat. Soc. Rep. 1828. 



" Educ. Enquiry Abstr. H.C. 62, p. 276 
(1835), xli. 

1' E.R.O., D/P 30/28/18. 

■8 Nat. Soc. Enquiry, 1846-7, 8-9. 

'» Kelly's Dir. Essex (1855, 1862). 

" E.R.O., D/AEM i/i/i ; Retns. Elem. 
Educ. H.C. 201, pp. 1 12-13 ('^7')' l^- 

" Kelly's Dir. £jKr (1878, 1882, 1922). 
The school was sold in 1 890 for ,^200 : 
Char. Com. files. The income from this 
sum, known as the Greenstead School 
Foundation, is used to give book tokens 
at Christmas to children recommended by 
the headmasters of the Ongar Primary 
and Secondary Schools : inf. from rector. 

22 The parliamentary returns can often 
be checked for parishes with surviving poor 

62 



law records; for other places in Ongar 
hundred they have been found inaccurate. 

» E.R.O., (2/CR i/i. " Ibid. 

" E.R.O., e/CR 1/9. " Ibid. 

" Ibid.; Q/CR 1/12. 

28 Q/CR 1/12. A remarkable drop, if 
the figure is correct; but it may be an 
error. 

2« Rep. Sel. Cttee. on Overseers Retns. 
ijjy, H.C. Ser. i, vol. ix, p. 350. 

3» E.R.O., D/CT 153. The almshouses, 
apparently 4 in number, were in a terrace. 

3' O.S. 6 in. Map (ist edn.), sheet 1 

(1873-4)- 

32 Rep. Com. Char. (Essex), H.C. 216, 
pp. 228-9 {i835)> "''' (')i Char. Com. 
files. 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



GREENSTEAD 



it is now being paid and is used for the general purposes 
of the charities. 

Mary Rayner, by will proved 1873, left j^200 for 
the purchase of blankets and clothing to be distributed 
to the deserving poor in winter.33 

Edward Sammes, by will proved 1882, left to the 
rector ^10 and ;£ioo duty-free to be invested respec- 
tively for the upkeep of his grave and for the purchase 
of tea and sugar to be distributed on 6 January to 
eighteen poor families in the parish-^'* The first bequest 
was void by the rule against perpetuities. 

The three charities of Bourne, Rayner, and Sammes 



were united in 1904 to form the Consolidated Chari- 
ties.35 Their income was to be used for the poor and 
sick, primarily as gifts in kind, and in help to hospitals 
&c., caring for the sick of the parish. In 1945 the 
income was used to give £1 is. each to the Ongar 
nurse and the Ongar Hospital and to give coal to two 
poor people. 

Howel J. J. Price (d. 1943) left ^100 in trust for 
the repair of his grave and the benefit of the poor of the 
parish. 36 The former purpose was void. In 1950 £1 
was given to the Greenstead School Foundation and 
£1 to the Greenstead Consolidated Charities. 



KELVEDON HATCH 



Kelvedon Hatch is 3 miles south of Chipping Ongar 
and 4 miles north-west of Brentwood, on the east bank 
of the Roding.' It contains 1,683 acres. The soil is 
mainly London Clay with some patches of Boulder 
Clay and Bagshot beds. The land slopes up from the 
river to a height of about 350 ft. above sea-level in the 
south-east and 300 ft. in the north-east. Two tribu- 
taries flow into the Roding in the north of the parish 
through shallow valleys. The parish was part of the 
ancient forest of Essex and the sufiix 'Hatch' by which 
it is distinguished from Kelvedon in Witham hundred 
probably refers to a forest gate.^ Considerable areas of 
woodland still survive and there are also parks attached 
to three big houses. The main road from Ongar to 
Brentwood enters the parish in the north-west by 
Langford Bridge and runs south-east. In the south of 
Kelvedon Hatch it crosses a stretch of land which was 
formerly open common but now largely inclosed. The 
boundary of the common on the west side followed a 
line 50 to 100 yds. back from the present road. On the 
north it was bounded by the road now called School 
Lane and on the east it extended to Fox Hatch in 
Doddinghurst parish. This accounts for the apparently 
haphazard arrangement of the older houses, which 
bears little relation to the modern road. There has 
been considerable development in this area during the 
past I 50 years and it now forms the village centre of 
the parish. From the village roads also run west to 
Navestock and east to Blackmore and Stondon Massey. 

There were three ancient manors in Kelvedon Hatch. 
The capital manor was centred on Kelvedon Hall, a 
mile south-east of Langford Bridge. The ancient parish 
church was beside the hall and the 1 8th-century build- 
ing which replaced it still stands there, though disused 
and ruinous. In the 17th and i8th centuries the manor 
house which dominated the little church was owned by 
Roman Catholics, the Wrights, who were buried in 
the parish church and erected sepulchral monuments 
there but worshipped secretly in the chapel which they 
had built in the hall itself The other old manors were 
Myles's, J mile north-east of Kelvedon Hall, and 
Germains, J mile south of the hall. None of the 
medieval manor houses has survived. The present 
Germains dates from the i6th century and Kelvedon 
Hall from the 1 8th, while old Myles's was demolished 
in 1837.3 These three manor houses were all in the 
north or centre of the parish, but medieval houses also 
existed farther south at Hatch Farm, Brizes, Priors, 



and Woodlands.'' Priors is on the main road J mile east 
of Germains. The other three are in or near the modern 
village of Kelvedon Hatch. Only Woodlands now 
retains medieval features. It is a timber-framed house 
about 50 yds. west of the main road and south of the 
Eagle Inn, and probably dates from the late 15 th 
century. It has been partly demolished so that the 
original construction is exposed. It consists of a single- 
story hall with smoke-blackened timbers and a two- 
story cross-wing at the south end. The latter is of three 
bays, divided above the first floor by king-post trusses 
with two-way struts. The hall also has a king-post and 
the remains of what was possibly a second truss. 
Chimneys which may have been inserted in the i6th 
or 17th century have recently been demolished. In 
the 1 8th century the house was weather-boarded and 
the older windows replaced by sashes. Hatch Farm, 
on the north side of the former common, and about 
100 yds. east of the modern parish church, is a timber- 
framed house probably dating from the second half of 
the 1 6th century. The house was originally L-shaped 
with the staircase in the north wing, but there is now 
a later addition in the angle between the wings. At the 
junction of the two wings is part of a large original 
chimney-stack with a moulded capping. The interior 
retains a staircase, plasterwork, and door-frames of the 
original date. In the i8th century the roof of the main 
wing was rebuilt and two sides of the house faced with 
red brick. Sash windows and Georgian doorways were 
inserted. Parts of a moat are in existence to the north 
and east of the house. 

Priors is held by local tradition to have been rebuilt 
early in the 17th century by the brothers Richard and 
Anthony Luther.' It was originally a timber-framed 
structure, but the front was refaced in red brick, prob- 
ably in the second half of the i8th century. Brizes was 
also rebuilt in the i8th century. Morant (1768) refers 
to it as 'a good old house . . . built by Thomas Bryce, 
citizen and mercer of London, about 1498'.* This 
earlier house had, however, been replaced before 
Morant's time by the present mansion. The exact site 
of the previous house is not known. In the grounds of 
the present house, about 75 yds. from the road, is a 
small moated site. It does not appear, however, that 
the island could have accommodated a medieval house 
of any size and the moat itself may be an ornamental 
feature of the i8th century. 

The present house was probably built about 1720: 



" Char. Com. files. 

3* Ibid. Sammes was a prominent builder 
and shoplteepcr in Chipping Ongar (q.v.). 
35 Ibid. 
3' Ibid. Price lived for many years at 



Greenstead Hall. 

1 O.S. 2\ in. Map, sheets 51/S9, 52/50. 

2 P.N. Essex (E.P.N.S.), 59. 
' See below, Manors. 

* For the first three of these see P.N. 



Essex, 59. 

s Inf. from Capt. F. L. Fane. For the 
Luther brothers see Myles's. 

' Morant, Essex, i, 187. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



this date is said to be on one of the rainwater heads7 
At that time the property was owned by the Glascock 
family.' The building is of three stories and has an 
imposing front of nine bays. The centre projects 
slightly and is surmounted by a pediment. The porch, 
which may be a later addition, is of the Roman Doric 
order and is supported on four columns. Above the 
doorway is a round-headed niche. The house was 
evidently altered late in the i8th century when the in- 
terior was remodelled. The hall has a Venetian arch en- 
riched with plaster ornament and behind this is a fine 
double staircase. The staircase window is round-headed 
and fitted with painted glass. These alterations were 
probably carried out for William Dolby, who succeeded 
his brother Charles as owner of Brizes in 1781.' In 
1788 William Dolby employed Richard Woods, who 
in 1 77 1 had carried out ornamental alterations to the 
gardens at Myles's (see below) to replan those of 
Brizes. The plan made by Woods still exists.'" It 
included 'an alcove seat or temple', 'the truss Paladian 
bridge', plantations of oak, chestnut, pine, and elm 
and other features, covering 74 acres. Most of these 
features were adopted." 

By the i6th century there were probably a number 
of other houses around the common in the south of the 
parish. One of these, Dodd's Farm to the south of 
Church Lane, is of much the same date as Hatch Farm. 
It is an L-shaped building, timber-framed and plastered. 
There are two large external chimneys of a similar type 
to those at Hatch Farm, and in this case the short octa- 
gonal shafts are original. Internally there is said to be 
a fireplace of the 1 6th century.'^ 

Poor's Cottages," which date from the 17th century, 
were also built at the common, which suggests that by 
that time the common was the most important centre 
of population in the parish. By 1777 there were many 
houses round the common and also a windmill. ■■» The 
mill was in use until the First World War but was 
demolished about rgi6 as it was thought to be a land- 
mark for Zeppelins. '5 It was a weather-boarded smock 
mill. The mill house still exists, on the east side of the 
main road nearly opposite the 'Eagle'. It is a single- 
story cottage dating from the mid-i 9th century. During 
the 1 8th century Kelvedon Hall, Myles's, and Brizes 
were all rebuilt as imposing Georgian mansions and 
the medieval parish church was also rebuilt. 

The building of houses at the common had been 
facilitated by small inclosures made there, and no 
doubt also by the existence of common rights. The 
inclosures seem to have been carried out by purely 
local arrangement, through the manor courts. Examples 
of such inclosures occur in the case of Poor's Cottages 
(see above) in the 17th century and again in 1786.'* 
By 1838 the common was wholly in private ownership, 
though perhaps not physically inclosed. '^ 

During the 19th century there was further building 
at the common. The village school and post-office were 
both set up there. When the railway from London 
through Brentwood to Colchester and East Anglia was 

7 Inf. from Hon. Simon Rodney. 

8 The descent given by Morant, Essex, 
i, 187, can be supplemented and corrected 
from deeds in E.R.O., D/DRo Ti. 

9 E.R.O., D/DRo Ti. Charles Dolby, 
who had succeeded his father Charles 
Dolby in 1755, was an ensign in the ser- 
vice of the East India Company. 

>o E.R.O., D/DRo Pi. 

" O.S. 6 in. Map (ist edn.), sheet lix. 

" Hist. Men. Com. Essex, ii, 143. 



built in the 1 840's the road between Ongar and Brent- 
wood took on a new importance and this probably 
increased the concentration at the common, through 
which the road ran. In 1893 a new parish church was 
built in the village and the old church beside Kelvedon 
Hall became disused. Other igth-century buildings 
were Mushroom Hall, the Church House, and a non- 
conformist mission hall (now the village hall).' ' Mush- 
room Hall is a single-story house in the 'picturesque' 
style of the early 19th century. It lies about 100 yds. 
east of the main road near the mill house. 

Building at the common has continued in the 20th 
century. On the east side of the main road opposite 
Brizes are two rows of single-story terrace houses 
known as The Thorns and The Briars. These and 
The Avenue, a similar block on the road to Dodding- 
hurst, were built early in the century. There are ten 
pairs of council houses on the north side of Church 
Lane. A red-brick police house was completed in 1953. 
Some new bungalows are now being built to the south 
of School Lane. 

The population of the parish was 297 in 181 1. It 
rose steadily to 502 in 1 851 but subsequently declined 
to 361 in 1901." Since then it has again increased, to 
542 in 1931 and 557 in 1951.^0 

Until recent times communications between Kelve- 
don Hatch and the outside world were poor. In 
particular there seems to have been no good road to 
Brentwood^' until the 19th century. It is now a class 
A road, although still very narrow in places. In the 
Ongar direction the present main road was altered be- 
tween 1777 and 1800." This eliminated a right-angle 
turn to the west of the present road. Part of the exist- 
ing drive to Myles's follows the line of the old road. 
After the opening of Brentwood railway station coaches 
running to the station from Ongar passed through 
Kelvedon Hatch. Today there is a good bus service 
to Brentwood and a choice of two routes to Ongar. 

The most direct road to Ongar crosses the Roding 
by Langford Bridge. In 1351 it was said that John 
Pekkebrigge, lord of Kelvedon Hatch, and his tenants 
in High Ongar were to repair the bridge. ^3 It is not 
clear who Pekkebrigge was and what was his manor. 
The nearest manor to Langford Bridge was Myles's 
and there is no other evidence that Pekkebrigge was 
lord of this. He may, however, have been a lessee. He 
was probably identical with John Peghbrigg (1356) 
whose park is thought to have given its name to Park 
Wood in Kelvedon Hatch, which is not far south of 
the bridge.^'t In 1570 the owners of the lands adjoin- 
ing the bridge, Mr. Wood on one side and George 
Preston and Thomas .\uger on the other, were held re- 
sponsible for its repair. ^5 j^i 1582 the bridge was said to 
be in ruins. Kelvedon Hatch parish was to pay part of 
the cost of repair, but it was not known if Chipping 
Ongar should pay the other part.^* Uncertainty as to 
the responsibility for repair continued until about 1673- 
4 when it was said to be a charge on the county." In 
1773 the bridge was again in need of repair. It was 



^3 See Charities, below. 

'< Chapman and Andre, Map of Essex 
I'jyy, sheet xvii. 

>5 Inf. from Mr. J. P. Fitch. 

'^ See Charities. 

" E.R.O., D/CT 197; cf. 0.5. 6 in. 
Map (ist edn.), sheet Hx. 

'8 For Church House see below, Church, 
and for the mission hall see Protestant 
Nonconformity. 

■» y.C.H. Essex, ii, 350. 



'** Census, 1911-51. 

" Chapman and Andre, Map of Essex 
1777, sheet xvii. 

" Ibid.;E.R.O., D/DFaP6. 

" Public fforis in Med. La-w (Selden 
See), i, 99. 

2< P.N. Essex, 59. 

" E.R.O., Q/SR 32/17. 

»' Ibid. 81/25. 

" E.R.O., Q/CP3 p. 39, ii+i e/SR 
426/33. 



64 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



KELVEDON HATCH 



proposed that it should be rebuilt in brick, but it was 
eventually decided to rebuild in timber at a cost of 
;^i 40.28 In i8jy Langford Bridge was described by 
the county surveyor as a timber structure of consider- 
able span. Its condition was then good.^' It was 
restored in 1878-9 and about 191 3 was replaced by 
the present concrete bridge.^o 

In 1845 an official post-office was established at 
Kelvedon Common.^' In 1848 the office was at 
William Nutt's.^^ A telegraph office was set up in 1885 
and the telephone service in 1923.23 

Piped water has been supplied since 1935 by the 
Herts, and Essex Waterworks Co.''* There is no main 
drainage.35 Kelvedon Hatch was in the area of the 
original Romford Gas Co. but powers to supply the 
parish were not obtained until 1935.2* There is now a 
supply to part of the parish.^^ There is no electricity 
except in a few outlying farms.'* 

Early in the present century the Church House was 
used as a Working Men's Club and coffee house.39 
In 1953 a newly formed village hall committee bought 
from the owner of Reed's Stores the building once used 
as a mission hall. The same committee holds 6 acres, 
formerly part of the charity lands, on the south side of 
School Lane. This has been sown with grass for a play- 
ing field and is the intended site of a new haU.'*" A 
branch of the county library was opened in l^zS.*' 
A police officer is stationed at Kelvedon Common.^^ 
The first reference to a constable there is in the directory 
of 1908." 

The ownership of the land in Kelvedon Hatch was 
from the i6th to the 20th century mainly in the hands 
of two families, the Wrights of Kelvedon Hall and the 
Luthers (and their heirs the Fanes). In 1838 John 
Fane and J. F. Wright between them owned almost 
1,300 acres, leaving less than 400 acres for all other 
owners.'*^ Two other properties contained more than 
50 acres: Brizes (76 acres) and 83 acres forming part 
of the Waldegrave estate (see Navestock). Until the 
death of J. F. Wright in 1 868 he and his family usually 
lived in the parish. For long periods between 1600 and 
1900 the Luthers and Fanes were also resident in 
Kelvedon Hatch, and so were the owners of Brizes, the 
third of the big houses of the parish. Their mansions 
with the ornamental gardens must have provided a 
good deal of employment during the i8th and 19th 
centuries. Apart from such domestic work, agriculture 
has been the main occupation in the parish. In 1838 
it was estimated that there was about the same quantity 
of arable land in the parish as meadow and pasture — 
some 700 acres in each case — while there were 193 
acres woodland. There were some seven farms in the 
parish, mostly small.*' Other occupations have been 
those incidental to agriculture. The existence of a 
village smithy is attested as far back as 1729, when 
the effects of the smith, which had been distrained upon 



for arrears of rent, were bought by the churchwardens 
of Stanford Rivers.'** There was still a blacksmith in 
the parish in i9o6.'" The mill at Kelvedon Common 
has been mentioned above. In 1845 the miller also 
kept the 'Eagle' .ts 

Although Kelvedon Hatch had resident gentry in 
the 19th century it is clear that they did not provide 
the vigorous leadership in parish affairs that might have 
been expected. The most important reason for this 
was that the Wrights were Roman Catholics. Their 
lack of interest in the village school may be inferred 
from the early difficulties of the school and from the 
fact that a compulsory school board had to be estab- 
lished in order to provide a permanent school building. 

Three estates were listed under Kelvedon Hatch in 
Domesday Book. One was held in 1066 
MANORS by Leueva as a manor and as i hide and 
45 acres and in 1086 by Ralph de Marcy 
of Hamon dafifer.'''^ This estate may have become 
part of the manor of Navestock (q.v.) held by the 
Marcy family and later formed part of the manor of 
Myles's (see below). Another estate in Kelvedon 
Hatch was held in 1066 by Algar, a freeman, as \ hide 
and 20 acres and in 1086 by Ivo nephew of Herbert 
as tenant of the Bishop of Bayeux.s" The subsequent 
history of this estate has not been traced. The largest 
of the three estates was held in the time of Edward the 
Confessor by Ailric as a manor and as 2 hides.'' This 
estate was later known as the manor of KELVEDON 
HATCH alias KELVEDON HALL. 

In 1066 Ailric 'went to take part in a naval battle' 
against William of Normandy.'^ Probably he joined 
the fleet asembled by King Harold off the Isle of Wight 
during the early summer of 1066.52 On his return 
home (possibly in September 1066) he fell ill and then 
gave his Kelvedon Hatch estate to Westminster Abbey .5* 
In 1086, however, the Domesday Commissioners 
reported that this gift had not received King William's 
sanction. 55 It is not clear whether the king ever con- 
firmed the gift, but it is certain that the manor was held 
by Westminster Abbey as tenant in chief until the dis- 
solution of the abbey in 1540.5* 

By 1225 the abbey had granted the tenancy in 
demesne of the manor to the Multon family of Egre- 
mont (Lines.). In that year Thomas de Multon was 
given 10 does and a buck for stocking his wood at 
Kelvedon. 57 In 1232 he received licence to inclose 
and impark the wood.58 He died in 1240 and his son 
and heir Lambert in 1246.5' Lambert was succeeded 
by his son Thomas who supported Simon de Montfort 
in the Barons' Wars.*" In 1265 the manor of Kelvedon 
Hatch, then worth £10 os. 6d., was taken into the 
king's hands with the rest of Thomas's lands.*' Soon 
afterwards, however, he recovered the property .*2 In 
1277 he subinfeudated Kelvedon Hatch to Henry, son 
of Thomas de Multon (possibly his own younger son), 



28 E.R.O., Q/SBb 272, D/DFa £5. 

" E.R.O., Q/ABz 3. 

3» Ibid.; inf. from Capt. F. L. Fane. 

31 P.M.G. Mins. 1845, vol. 84, p. 28. 

32 Whitc'i Dir. Essex (1848). 

33 P.M.G. Mins. 1885, vol. 301, min. 
14357; ibid. 1923, min. 3076. 

3-t Inf. from Herts. & Essex Water- 
works Co. 
35 Inf. from the Revd. W. Tirrell. 
3* Inf from North Thames Gas Bd. 
3' Inf. from the Revd. W. Tirrell. 
38 Ibid. 

3^ See below, Church. 
«> Inf. from Mr. J. P. Fitch. 



*' Iiif. from County Librarian. 

«2 Inf. from Chief Constable of Essex. 

« Kelly's Dir. Essex (1908). 

■M E.R.O., D/CT 197. 

45 Ibid. 

■♦<> E.R.O., D/P 140/6/2. 
■•' Kelly's Dir. Essex (1906). 
48 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1845). 
4« F.C.H. Essex, i, 503a. 
50 Ibid, i, 457A. 
5' Ibid, i, 44Sa. 

52 Ibid. 

53 Stenton, Anglo-Saxon England, 579- 
80. 

54 V.C.H. Essex, i, 445a. 



55 Ibid. A charter of 1066 (Kemblc, 
Cod. Dip!, iv, 173) purporting to be a grant 
of this among other properties to West- 
minster Abbey by Edward the Confessor, 
is spurious: E.A.T. N.s. xvii, 16. 
^s' B.M. Cott. MS. Faust. A. iii, f. 60 j 
Westm. Abbey Mun. 2^469; C142/36/ 
71; C142/55/61. 

5' Rot. Liu. Claus. (Rec. Com.), ii, 89*. 

58 Cal. Chart. R.\, i;i. 

5» Complete Peerage, ix, 401-2. 

«o Ibid. 

" Ibid.; Cal. Inq. Misc. \, p. 201. 

'2 Complete Peerage, ix, 402. 



^S 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



to hold by a rent of ;^20 a year. After Thomas's death 
Henry was to hold the manor of his heirs by a nominal 
rent.*-' Thomas died in 1294. His heir was his grand- 
son Thomas, Lord Multon (d. 1322) who was suc- 
ceeded by his son John, Lord Multon (d. 1334)-*'' 
At his death John was mesne lord of an estate in 
Kelvedon Hatch which consisted of a messuage and a 
carucate of land, and which was held of him by the 
service of J knight's fee.*5 John's heirs were his three 
sisters: Joan widow of Robert Fitz Walter, Elizabeth 
wife of Walter de Birmingham, and Margaret wife of 
Thomas, later 2nd Lord Lucy (d. 1365).** It was 
agreed that Joan, Margaret, and Elizabeth should each 
hold J of the J fee.*' No further reference has been 
found to the mesne lordship of the heirs of John de 
Multon. In the i6th century the tenants in demesne 
were said to hold the manor directly of Westminster 
Abbey. 6 8 

Henry de Multon, tenant in demesne from 1277, 
was still living in 13 14 but was dead by January 1322.*' 
His heir was his daughter Juliane wife of Richard de 
Welby.'o In 1333 Richard and Juliane made a settle- 
ment by which the manor was to pass, after their deaths, 
to their male issue with successive remainders to their 
daughters, Elizabeth de Welby and Joan wife of John 
de Haugh.7' Juliane still held the estate in 1338.'^ 
Afterwards the manor passed to the heirs of her 
daughter Joan de Haugh. John de Haugh, son of 
Joan, was living in 1347.73 Thomas de Haugh, son of 
John, came into possession of the manor during the 
life-time of his father.''' In February 1370 Thomas 
conveyed it to his father and other trustees to hold, 
apparently during the minority of his own heir John.'s 
By 1383 the last named John de Haugh had reached 
his majority.'* He was lord of the manor until after 
1395." Before 1406 he was succeeded by Thomas de 
Haugh, probably his son.'* Richard de Haugh was 
lord of the manor before the end of I4i7.'9 In 
November 1427 he conveyed the manor to trustees 
who were to hold it first apparently for John de 
Haugh, probably his son, and then (presumably if 
John had no issue) for Richard's daughters, Joan, 
Katherine, then or later wife of John BoUes, and Agnes, 
then or later wife of William Haltoft.*" John de 
Haugh was described as lord of the manor in November 
1450 and afterwards until May 1456." He presented 
to the church in April 1457. ^^ He was evidently dead 
by 1459.83 In 1461 John Hardbene, the sole surviving 
trustee appointed by Richard de Haugh in 1427, con- 
veyed the manor to Katherine Bolles, Agnes Haltoft, 
and Joan Haugh. 84 In 1466 these sisters agreed that 
Katherine and her husband John Bolles should have 
sole rights in the manor, with remainder in default of 
her issue to Agnes and her issue. 8s John Bolles was 
alive in November 1482 but dead by November 
1495.8* Katherine survived him and was succeeded 



by her son Richard, who died in 1 5 2 1 leaving as his 
heir his son John. 8' In 1526 John mortgaged the 
manor for £200.88 He redeemed the mortgage and 
died holding the manor in 1533.8' His heir was his 
brother Richard, who in 1538 sold the manor to John 
Wright of South Weald, yeoman, for £493.'° 

The descendants of John Wright held Kelvedon 
Hatch for nearly four centuries. There were ten suc- 
cessive John Wrights." The last of these died in 1826 
and was succeeded by his grandson John Francis 
Wright, who died without issue in 1868. The manor 
then passed to J. F. Wright's nephew, Edward 
Carrington Wright, who died in 1920, leaving it to 
his own nephew Sir Henry J. Lawson.'^ From 1891 
Kelvedon Hall had been occupied by John Algernon 
Jones as tenant and in 1922 it was bought by his widow 
from Sir Henry Lawson. After her death it was sold 
in 1932 by her son J. W. B. Jones to the Mother 
Superior of St. Michael's Roman Catholic School. 
Mr. Jones bought and moved to the old rectory (see 
Church). '3 Owing to a succession of misfortunes the 
school did not prosper and the house acquired the 
reputation of being haunted.'* Much of the timber 
in the grounds was felled at this time. '5 In 1937 the 
property was bought by Mr. Henry and Lady Honor 
Channon who restored the house and built the entrance 
gateway and lodges.'* From 1941 to 1945 it was used 
as a Red Cross convalescent home." It is now again 
the residence of Mr. Channon. 

In 1838 J. F. Wright owned 880 acres in Kelvedon 
Hatch; the estate appears to have remained sub- 
stantially intact until after the death of Sir Henry 
Lawson. '8 

The manor house was entirely rebuilt by the seventh 
John Wright (d. 175 1)." Later in the i8th century 
the garden front and parts of the interior were altered, 
but otherwise the building has remained almost un- 
changed. The house as it stands today remains a very 
good example of one of the less grandiose country seats 
of the Georgian period. The restoration of 1937—8 
was carried out to the designs of Lord Gerald Wellesley 
(later Duke of Wellington) and Trenwith Wills' and 
in sympathy with the original. 

The entrance front has a three-story central block 
with seven windows to each of the upper floors. On 
either side curved screen walls connect this with 
identical two-story pavilions. These are set forward, 
giving a three-sided forecourt. The pavilions have 
hipped roofs, surmounted by clock turrets and cupolas. 
On their front face two round-headed panels are painted 
to simulate sash windows. Above oval panels are 
similarly painted. The basement windows have 
wrought-iron grilles and the principal doorway has a 
Roman Doric order with engaged columns and a pedi- 
ment. The rainwater heads on this front are dated 
1743. The garden front of the main block is of similar 



*3 feet of F. Essex, ii, 14. 

*< Complete Peerage, n, 403-4. 

'5 Cal. Inq. p.m. vii, p. 431. 

*' Complete Peerage, ix, 405. 

" Cal. Inq. p.m. vii, pp. 435-7; ibid. 
viii,pp. i^i-z; Cal. Close, 1337-9,366-7, 
476, 486, 494. 

68 Ci42/36/7i;Ci42/55/6i. 

M E.R.O., D/DFa T33/14; Cal. Fine 
R. 1319-27,89. 

'" Cal. Fine R. 1319-27, 89. 

" Feetof F.Essex, ill, z&. 

'2 Cal. Close, 1337-9, 366-7, 476, 486, 

+94- 
'3 Feet of F. Essex, iii, 28 ; Lines. Pedi- 



grees (Harl. Soc. Iii), iii, 1055. 
7* E.R.O., D/DKT229. 
'5 Ibid. 

76 Newcourt, Repert. ii, 351. 
" E.R.O., D/DC 2/1. 
'8 Newcourt, Repert. ii, 351. 
" E.R.O., D/DBm M77. 
8" E.R.O., D/DK. T229. 
8' E.R.O., D/DBm M77. 

82 Newcourt, Repert. ii, 351. 

83 E.R.O., D/DKT229. 

84 Ibid. 85 Ibid. 

8* E.R.O., D/DBm M78. 

87 C142/36/71 ; E.R.O., D/DK T229. 

88 E.R.O., D/DKT229. 

66 



8' C142/55/61. 

»o E.R.O., D/DK T229. 
" For the pedigree see Burke, Land. 
Gent. (1894), 2275-6. 

92 Country Life, Ixxxix, no. 23 1 1 (May 
1941), p. 388. 

93 Inf. from Mr. Jones. 

'4 Country Life (May 1941), p. 386. 
95 Inf. from Mr. Jones. 
9* Country Life (May 1941), p. 386. 
" Inf. from Mr. Jones. 

98 E.R.O., D/CT 197; Kelly's Dir. 
Essex (1922). 

99 Hist. Essex by Gent, iv, 56. 

' Country Life (May 1941), p. 389. 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



KELVEDON HATCH 



proportions but the central bay projects slightly and 
is surmounted by a pediment. The porch, which is 
supported on columns with fluted capitals, has an en- 
riched entablature of about 1780. The single-story 
flanking wings were probably added or modified at the 
same period; the north wing contained the kitchens 
and the south wing a private Roman Catholic chapel 
dedicated to St. Joseph.* 

Internally the best examples of the original mid- 
i8th-century rococo decoration occur in the entrance 
and staircase halls and in one of the bedrooms. The 
staircase has a balustrade of wrought-iron scrollwork 
and the walls have elaborate plasterwork panels in 
which are trophies representing War, Music, and the 
Chase. The drawing-room, dining-room, and music 
room were all redecorated in the 'Adam' style of about 
1780. The drawing-room has an enriched ceiling and 
the dining-room a circular medallion above the 
chimney-piece. Both rooms have good fire-places. The 
former chapel is of about the same period: on the 
curved end wall is an arched recess for the altar, 
flanked by Ionic columns and having a dove in plaster 
relief above it. The side walls are divided into panels 
by Ionic pilasters and the segmental ceiling has plaster 
enrichments. The chapel was restored by Sir John 
Oakley during the occupation of the Hall by St. 
Michael's School. ^ The red-brick stable block and the 
orangery probably date from the late i8th century. 

The manor of GERMAINS derived its name from 
a family which probably held it in the 14th and 15 th 
centuries. It is possibly to be identified with the estate 
which in 1281 was held of Denise de Munchensy by 
Thomas son of Lambert de Multon, lord of the manor 
of Kelvedon Hatch.'' If this identification is correct it 
suggests there was a connexion, in 1086 or later, be- 
tween Germains and the manor of Theydon Garnon 
(q.V.). 

In the 15th century Germains was held of the 
manor of Kelvedon Hatch.' It is not clear when the 
Germain family became the tenants. A Roger Germain 
was a witness to a deed of 1355 relating to land in 
Kelvedon Hatch and other parishes.* In 1 368 a William 
Germain was witness at a proof of age taken at Nave- 
stock. He then had a son and heir Gilljert.' In 1398 
another William Germain of Kelvedon Hatch had 
royal letters of protection when going on service to 
France; the letters were revoked because he failed to 
go.* In 142 1-2 he was one of the commissioners 
appointed to collect a tenth and fifteenth in Essex.' It 
was possibly this WiUiam Germain who before 145^ 
made a bequest to Navestock church (q.v.). 

In 1444 Henry Chaderton died holding the manor 
of Germains and was succeeded by his son Henry.'" 
The manor subsequently passed to Sir Humphrey 
Starkey, lord of Slades in Navestock (q.v.). He died in 
i486 and Germains then descended along with Slades 
until 1604. In 1604 Sir Thomas Joscelin sold Ger- 
mains to John Wright, lord of Kelvedon Hatch, and 
it subsequently descended with that manor." In 1838 
Germain's Farm consisted of 242 acres and the tenant 



was John Thomas.'* It now belongs to the Iveagh 
trustees.'^ 

The farm-house is timber-framed and plastered and 
probably xlates from the early i6th century. It consists 
of a central block with gabled cross-wings to east and 
west. The wings are of two stories and each has three 
bays. On both floors the stop-chamfered tie-beams 
dividing the bays are visible and in several cases the 
small curved braces below them are also in position. A 
four-centred door-head has been exposed in an upper 
room in the west wing. The timbering is not visible in 
the central block so that it is not possible to establish 
whether this part of the house has an earlier origin than 
the i6th century. There are indications that two large 
Tudor fire-places have been bricked up. The doorways 
and sash windows of the house were probably inserted 
in the i8th century. 

The manor oiMTLES'S alias GREAT MTLES'S 
derived its name from Miles de Munteny (see below). 
In the 1 6th century it was said to be held of the Dean 
and Chapter of St. Paul's, and later of the Walde- 
graves, as of their manor of Navestock.'^ No earlier 
statement of this tenure has been found and the 16th- 
century statements cannot be regarded as certain 
evidence of earlier tenure, but it is possible that Myles's 
was identical with an estate in Navestock and Kelvedon 
Hatch held in the 12th and early 13th century by the 
Marcy family. Before 1 1 20 the Marcys agreed to pay 
rent for their Navestock estate (q.v.) to the Dean and 
Chapter of St. Paul's, and they still held that estate of 
St. Paul's in 1222. The estate which Ralph de Marcy 
held in Kelvedon Hatch (see above) in 1086 probably 
came to be considered part of the Navestock estate in 
the 1 2th century, and later of Myles's. 

In the 1 3th century the manor was held by Nicholas 
le Convers.'s He conveyed it to Roger le Convers who 
no doubt added to it 85 acres which he acquired in 
1 261 from Henry Belret.'* The manor later passed to 
Roger son of Roger le Convers who in 1 3 1 8 released 
his rights in it to Miles de Munteny and his wife 
Agnes." Miles was still alive in 1336.'* In 1355 the 
estate was granted by John Munteny to Richard de 
Salyng of London." The Muntenys seem, however, 
to have retained some interest, for in 1378 Thomas de 
Munteny released all his rights in the estate to Richard 
de Salyng.*" Richard was still alive in 1398.*' 

In 141 2 Myles's was held by Edmund Prior of Bois 
Hall in Navestock (q.v.) and it descended with that 
manor until 1 566. 

In 1566 Myles's was bought by Thomas Luther 
who was still alive in 1585.** Richard Luther was son 
and heir of Thomas.*^ From about 1 587 to 1627, how- 
ever, the manor was apparently shared between 
Richard and his brother Anthony Luther.*'' Accord- 
ing to an epitaph quoted by Morant, Richard and 
Anthony were 'so truely loveing brothers that they lived • 
neare fortie years joynt housekeepers together at Miles 
without anie accompt between them'.*' Anthony died 
in 1627 leaving his share of the estate to Richard.** 
Richard died in 1638 leaving as his heir his son 



* For the chapel see below, Roman 
Catholicism. 

3 Kelly's Dir. Essex (ig-^-j). 

'♦ Feet of F, Essex, ii, 32. 

5 C139/120. 

' Cal. Close, 1354-60, 623. 

' Cal. Inq. p.m. xii, 165. 

' Cal. Fat. 1396-9, 430. 

« Cal. Fine R. 1413-22, 
1422-30, 8. 



4' 



8; ibid. 



'" C139/120. 

I" E.A.S. Docs. Kelvedon Hatch 13. 

12 E.R.O., D/CT 197. 

'3 Inf. from the tenant, Mr. Cooke. 

■« C142/20/98; C142/134/141. 

I! Cal. Close, 1313-18, 597. 

«■ Ibid. ; Feet of F. Essex, \, 255. 

'^ Cal. Close, 1 313-18, 597. 

■8 E.R.O., D/DFa T33/31. 

'9 Cal. Close, 1354-60, 623. For the 

67 



Muntenys and Salyngs see Littlebury in 
Stanford Rivers. 

2» Cal. Close, 1377-81, 321. 

2' Cal Fine R. 1391-9,258. 

" E.R.O., D/DFa E43/9. 

" Ibid.; risit. of Essex 1664-8, 63. 

" E.A.T. N.s. xii, no; E.R.O., D/DFi 
E43/9. 

25 Morant, Essex^ i, i86. 

26 E.A.T. N.s. xii, no. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



Anthony, a barrister of the Middle Temple and J. P. 
for Essex.^' Anthony was succeeded on his death in 
1665 by his son Richard.^* Richard died before 1691, 
leaving Myles's to his son and heir Edward Luther, 
who was Sheriff of Essex in 1701.29 In 1729 Edward 
settled the manor on his son Richard when the latter 
married Charlotte Chamberlain. The estate then con- 
sisted of 250 acres in Kelvedon Hatch, Stondon 
Massey, and High Ongar.'" Through his mother 
Richard also inherited the considerable property of the 
Dawtreys of Doddinghurst Place. He died in 1767.3' 
His son and heir was John Luther, knight of the shire 
for Essex 1763-84, who died without issue in 1786. 
Myles's then passed to Francis Fane, younger son of 
Charlotte, sister of John Luther and wife of Henry 
Fane of Wormsley (Oxon.).^^ F'rancis died in 18 13, 
leaving as his heir his elder brother John.33 Myles's 
subsequently descended in the Fane family .34 In 1838 
the estate comprised 417 acres in Kelvedon Hatch of 
which some 200 acres belonged to Little Myles's 
Farm in Stondon Massey, 32 acres to Great Myles's, 
93 acres to Clap Gates, and 3 1 acres to Priors Farm. '5 
In 1 849 the Stondon Massey part of the Fane estate 
comprised 128 acres, of which 52 acres belonged to 
Little Myles's and 76 acres to Clap Gates Farm.^* The 
mansion house of Myles's had by this time been 
demolished (see below). Its site was sold in 1943 by 
John Luther Fane to the present owner, Mr. Parrish.s' 

A diagrammatic sketch of an early house at Great 
Myles's appears on an estate map of about 1700.3* It 
shows a long red brick front of two stories with dormers 
in the roof and projecting wings at either end. Shell 
hoods are drawn above the doorways and the windows 
have lattice panes. It was probably built during the 
second half of the 17th century. 

Before he gave up the estate to his son in 1762 
Richard Luther is said to have 'much enlarged and 
beautified the house'. 3' The result was the imposing 
Georgian mansion which occupied the site until its 
demolition in the 19th century. A sale notice of about 
1830 shows two many-windowed fronts facing south- 
west and south-east.'"' The tradition that there was a 
window for each day of the year'" is probably an 
exaggeration, but there were at least 16 rooms on the 
bedroom floor with garrets above for the domestic 
stafF.42 Jn 1 770-1 a tributary of the Roding was 
dammed to form a long expanse of water in front of 
the house. The cost was ^(^600 and the graceful brick 
bridge which still spans the lake was built for an addi- 
tional ^^250.43 These improvements were designed for 
John Luther by Richard Woods, who later replanned 
the gardens at Brizes (see above, p. 64). After John 
Luther's death in 1786 the house was let furnished to 
Francis Ford and later to a Dr. Chandler.''^ Attempts 
to sell it early in the 19th century were apparently un- 



successful and in 1837 it was demolished at the wish 
of John Fane's widow.^s A small red-brick range, 
probably part of a service wing, remains standing and 
has been converted into a residence. The fine stable 
block, advertised about 1830 as capable of accom- 
modating 22 horses,** is also in existence. 

The advowson of Kelvedon Hatch descended with 
the manor until the 19th century. John 
CHURCH Wright presented to the rectory in 160J.*'' 
His successors as lords of the manor were 
Roman Catholics. As such they were disqualified by 
law from presenting, and their rights of patronage 
vested in the Chancellor of Cambridge University.** 
It is not clear how far the law was observed in this case. 
There was at least one presentation (1760) by the 
Chancellor of Cambridge. Other presentations in the 
17th and 1 8th centuries were made by various persons 
who had perhaps bought the right pro hac vice.^'> By 
1848 the advowson was held by W. H. Ashpitel.s" 
Owing to the long incumbency of the then rector, 
John Bannister (1833-70) he did not live to exercise 
it. It passed to his son and was sold in 1864 to E. 
Slocock.51 From him it descended to his son the Revd. 
Samuel Slocock who presented himself in 1870 and 
remained rector until 1889.'^ The advowson was then 
sold to E. W. Puxon of Croydon (Surr.).53 After his 
death in 1 896 it remained in the hands of his trustees 
for some years. ^^ He had presented his son-in-law, 
D. W. Peregrine, in 1889,^^ and the advowson had by 
1912 come to Mrs. C. M. Peregrine. ^^ She gave it in 
1928 to the Revd. William Tirrell who has been rector 
and patron ever since. ^' 

The rectory of Kelvedon Hatch was valued at 6 
marks in about 1254. It was then stated that the rector 
of the church of (Magdalen) Laver received part of 
the tithe from the demesne of Gilbert de Breaute and 
Ralph de Asevile.ss The value of the rectory was 
stated to be 10 marks in 1291 and j^i2 in 1535.5" In 
1838 the tithes were commuted for ;£438; there were 
then 28 acres of glebe.*" 

A terrier of 16 10 mentions a rectory house of two 
stories, part newly built, 'with several rooms in it both 
above and below'.*' The north end of the old rectory 
(now Kelvedon Grange), consisting of a gabled cross- 
wing and part of the central block, may well be the 
'newly built house' referred to in the terrier. There is 
a massive stop-chamfered beam in the present kitchen 
and the principal chimney has grouped diagonal shafts. 
Early in the i8th century the south end of the central 
block was rebuilt and the roof level raised. The ground- 
floor hall retains sash windows of this date with wide 
glazing bars. Further alterations were probably made 
about 1800. During the incumbency of the Revd. 
D. W. Peregrine at the end of the 19th century the 
house was enlarged and altered at a cost of about 



" C142/724/1S. 

" E.R.O., D/DFa E43/9; ibid. Q/RTh 

5- 

" E.R.O., D/DFa E43/9; Newcourt, 
Repert. ii, 545. 

3» E.R.O., D/DFa E4.2/2, D/DFa F6. 

3' Reeve, Stondon Massey, '^Si Gents. 
Mag. xxxviii, 47. 

31 E.R.O., Q/RPl 685-717; D/DFa 
E45/22-23; Burlte, Land. Gct/. (1871), 
i, 417. Henry was a younger brother of 
Thomas, Earl of Westmorland. 

33 E.R.O., D/DFa E45/22, 23, 26; 

C/RPl7'7-'8- 
3« Burke, Land. Gent. (1855), 366. 
3S E.R.O., D/CT 197. 



36 E.R.O., D/CT 337. 

37 Inf. from Capt. F. L. Fane. 
'8 E.R.O., D/DFa Pi. 

39 Morant, Hist. Essex, i, 187. 
4° E.R.O., D/DFa E33. 
♦' E.A.T. N.s. xii, 111-12. 
« E.R.O., D/DFa E43/1. 
« E.R.O., D/DFa E43/32. 

44 Ibid. E43/1, 5. 

45 Inf. from Capt. F. L. Fane of Priors. 
4' E.R.O., D/DFa E33. 

47 Newcourt, Repert, ii, 351—2. 

48 Popish Recusants Act 3 & 4 Jas. I, 
C.5 {1606). 

49 Newcourt, Repert. ii, 352; Morant, 
Essex, i, 187. 

68 



so White's Dir. Essex (1848), 420. 
5' Clergy List (iMe,), 119. 

52 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1870); Crockford's 
Cler.Dir. 1870-89. 

53 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1890). 

54 Ibid. 1899, 1906. 

ii Ibid. 1890; inf. from Mr. J. W. B. 
Jones. 

56 Kelly's Dir. Essex (19 12). 

57 Inf. from the Revd. Wm. Tirrell. 

58 E.A.T. N.s. xviii, 18. 

59 Tax. Eccl. (Rec. Com.), zii; Val. 
Eccl. (Rec. Com.), i, 43 7*. 

<"> E.R.O., D/CT 197. 

" Newcourt, Repert. ii, 351. 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



KELVEDON HATCH 



jr4,ooo.*2 The cost was borne by E. W. Puxon, 
father-in-law of the rector, and by his widow.63 A 
new wing was added at the south end and several 
smaller additions were made on the garden side. 
Mullioned and transomed windows were inserted and 
the older house was encased with ornamental timber- 
ing. Much of the interior detail is of the same date. 
In 193 1 the present rector moved to a new rectory and 
the old house became the property of Mr. J. W. B. 
Jones. 

The present rectory was built in 193 1 immediately 
to the west of the modern parish church. It is of dark 
red brick. The builders were Messrs. Trigg & Moore 
of Chelmsford.*" 

The former parish church of ST. NICHOLAS 
stands in the grounds of Kelvedon Hall. There was a 
medieval church on this site, but a complete rebuilding 
took place between 1750 and 1753.^5 The font and a 
1 5th-century bell were preserved from the old church 
and many of the floor slabs appear to have been left ;'» 
situ. Four bells were sold to help defray the cost of re- 
building.** In 1873 the church was restored at a cost 
of ;^38o,*' but twenty years later it was decided to build 
another church on a more convenient site near the 
centre of the parish. The new building, to which 
many of the fittings had been removed, was con- 
secrated in 1895.*^ The old church, dismantled and 
derelict, became overgrown with creeper and was 
further damaged by a German rocket bomb in 1945.*' 

The building is of red brick, plastered internally, 
and had a tiled roof, much of which has fallen down. 
It consists of nave and chancel with a small weather- 
boarded bell turret at the west end. Both Morant 
(1768) and Wright (1835) mention a south aisle, but 
it is probable that their information is out of date and 
that they are referring to the medieval church.'" The 
chancel arch is slightly pointed and the glazing of the 
windows has a gothic flavour, but in other respects the 
details are purely Georgian. At the east end is a three- 
light Venetian window, the other windows being 
round-headed or circular. The flat ceiling has a 
modillion cornice. Classical pilasters, formerly at one 
of the south entrances," are now missing. 

Some floor slabs remain, many from the medieval 
church. A slab having indents for a figure and for four 
shields of arms has no inscription but probably dates 
from the 15th century.'^ An indented slab which 
formerly held brasses of a kneeling man and woman 
has an inscription to Francis [sic] Wright, formerly 
Waldegrave (d. 1656). The inscription was probably 
cut at this date on an older slab: the woman's figure, 
of which a drawing remains, is shown in the dress of 
about 1 570.73 An epitaph mentioned by Morant''' 
to John Wright (15 51) has now disappeared. An 
inscribed brass to another John Wright (1608) recorded 
in 1920's is also missing. Other slabs to the Wrights 
of Kelvedon Hall include those of Ann (Suliard, 16 17) 
and two John Wrights (1654 and 1656). There are 
many 17th-century slabs to members of the Luther 
family, some with shields of arms. An inscribed brass 
plate to Richard Luther (who died 1638)'* and his 



I 



" Inf. from Mr. J. W.B.Jones. " Ibid. 

«♦ Inf. from Rev. Wm. Tirrell. 

" Essex Par. Recs. 139; a brief for 
^1,681 was applied for in 1750—1: E.R. 
xxvi, 199. See plate facing p. 270. 

'« Inf. from Revd. Wm. Tirrell. 

<•^ Kelly's Dir. Essex (1886). 

" E.R. V, 7. 

" Hist. Mon. Com. Essex, ii, 142; inf. 



from Revd. Wm. Tirrell. 

7° Morant, Hist. Essex, 
Wright, Hist. Essex, ii, 4.23. 

" E.R. xii, 17+. 

'2 Hist. Mon. Com. Essex, ii, 1+2. 

'3 E.A.T. N.s. X, 206. 

'■• Morant, Essex, i, i8y. 

'5 Hist. Mon. Com. Essex, il, 142. 

'' See Germains, above. 



brother Anthony is undated. Other slabs are to Robert 
Thurkettle (1679) and his wife and to Elizabeth Purca 
(1727) and Mrs. Ann Westwood (1742). 

No wall monuments survive from the medieval 
church. In the chancel is a handsome marble tablet 
to John Wright (175 1) who rebuilt Kelvedon Hall. 
There is also a tablet to his son-in-law, Marrock 
Strickland. A white marble cartouche shield in the 
nave commemorates Charles Dolby of Brizes (1755) 
and a gothic tablet, now fallen, is to William Dolby 
(1819). On the south wall of the chancel are marble 
tablets to John Luther, M. P. (1786), and Rebecca and 
Amy Luther (1780 and 1782). A painted board giving 
a list of the parish charities hangs in the nave. Among 
the many headstones in the churchyard is one carved 
with an hour-glass, skull, and crossbones, inscribed to 
Jonathan Wingrue (1704)." 

The- present parish church, also dedicated to St. 
Nicholas, was built in 1895 at a cost of £2,000.'* 
The site had previously been acquired for burials." 
Funds were raised by appeals and subscriptions and 
John Thomas Newman, F.R.I.B.A., of Kelvedon Hatch 
gave his services as architect, ^o The building is of red 
brick, left exposed internally, and consists of chancel, 
nave, organ chamber, vestry, and south porch. Above 
the porch is a small bell tower with a louvred belfry 
and a shingled spire. The church was thoroughly 
restored in 1927 when the roof was partially renewed 
and the pipe organ, which had been damaged by rain, 
was taken away.*' 

The font, removed from the earlier church, is octa- 
gonal and probably of the 15th century. On one face 
is carved a mitre and on the adjoining faces are 
children's heads. The position of the carvings suggests 
that the font has been wrongly orientated. The seat- 
ing, much of which came from the old church, is of the 
19th century. 

The single bell, which also came from the old church, 
was cast about 1460—80 and was probably by John 
Kebyll; it is inscribed 'Sancte Andree Ora Pro Nobis' 
and has a shield of arms. *^ The church plate consists 
of a silver cup and paten of 1674, with the arms of the 
Luther family and probably given by them. There is 
also a silvered copper paten, undated but fairly modern. 
At one time there was an electro-plated flagon, also 
modern, but this has been missing since at least 1926.83 

The former Church Room, previously the non- 
conformist mission hall and now the village hall, was 
bought by the rector, D. W. Peregrine,*'* who sold it in 
1905 to certain parishioners who in 191 2 made it over 
to the then rector, W. S. Mavor. The consideration of 
j^ioo was to be repaid and then the house would be 
handed over to the church. By 1930, however, the 
money was only partly repaid and the building was in 
disrepair. It was therefore sold for £1 1 5 and after the 
repayment of Dr. Mavor the balance was devoted to 
church work.'' The former Church House, now 
Reed's Stores, was built late in the 19th century. 
Early in the present century the house was used as a 
Working Men's Club and coffee house.** From 1906 
to 1909 the curate hved there." 

" Hist. Mon. Com. Essex, ii, 142. 
87; T. ■>» Kelly's Dir. Essex (^i<)Z<)). 

" Inf. from rector. »<> Ibid. 

8' Ibid. *' Ch. Bells Essex, 309. 

" Ck. Plate Essex, 136; inf. from rector. 
«♦ Inf. from the Revd. W. Tirrell. 
»5 Char. Com. Recs. 
'8 Kelly's Dir. Essex {liq^ 1896, 1906). 
»' Inf. from Revd. W. Tirrell. 



69 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



In 1 854 J. F. Wright of Kelvedon Hall wrote to Dr. 

Tavarez, the Roman Catholic 

ROMAN priest at Brentwood, in reply to 

CATHOLICISM a request to furnish informa- 
tion concerning the history of 
Roman Catholic worship in the Kelvedon Hatch area. 
'At Kelvedon Hall, where my family have resided for 
upwards of 300 years I have little doubt (though I have 
no positive proof of the fact) that a priest was maintained 
during the greater part of that time, though possibly 
only at intervals during times of persecution. The 
inscription on the ciborium belonging to Kelvedon 
Hall chapel (Ora pro Eugenia Wright 17 10) is pretty 
good proof of there having been a priest and chapel 
then.'*^ The family tradition here stated was probably 
well founded. In 1 60 5 , when William Byrd of Stondon 
Massey (q.v.) was presented to the archdeacon as a 
Popish recusant, it was also urged against him that he 
had led astray John Wright of Kelvedon, the son of the 
then lord of the manor and later to become lord him- 
self, and his sister Anne, into the same heresy. 8? This 
may be evidence that the Wrights were not Roman 
Catholics between the time when they acquired the 
manor and the end of the i6th century. It has not 
been definitely established that they were Roman 
Catholics throughout the 17th century; Bishop 
Compton's census (1676) lists no Roman Catholics in 
Kelvedon Hatch.'" But for the i8th century there is 
confirmation of J. F. Wright's statements. John Wright 
of Kelvedon Hall was registered at quarter sessions in 
1 7 17 as a papist, and so also was his son John Wright 
the younger." Eugenia, widow of John Wright of 
Kelvedon Hall, was similarly registered in 173 1 and 
another John Wright in 1761.W In the 17th and i8th 
centuries the Wrights, although they held the advowson 
of Kelvedon Hatch, do not appear to have presented 
to the rectory themselves except in 1607. '3 Priests 
from the Jesuit College of the Holy Apostles also appear 
to have visited Kelvedon Hall regularly in the middle 
of the 1 8th century.'* Continuing his letter to Dr. 
Tavarez, J. F. Wright stated that his family left 
Kelvedon Hall in 1788 forafewyears. 'Inconsequence 
a small chapel was fitted up in a room in a farm-house 
on Kelvedon Common and the Revd. Richard Antr«bus, 
then the priest at Wealdside (in South Weald), used to 
attend there at Indulgences, for the accommodation of 
the Catholics about here.'" J. F. Wright went on to 
describe the return of his family to Kelvedon Hall in 
1799 and gave the names of three Roman Catholic 
priests who lived there as chaplains between 1 799 and 
1 8 1 3, when his grandfather again left the hall.'* There 
was no resident priest there after 181 3. The few 
Roman Catholics in Kelvedon Hatch were served by 
the priest at Ingatestone Hall and later by the priest 
in charge of the church at Brentwood, opened in 1837. 
In J. F. Wright's own time the private chapel at 
Kelvedon Hall was again in use for Catholic worship. 
In 1 8 5 7 he was again corresponding with Dr. Tavarez, 
this time about the proposal to install a confessional in 



the chapel. He told Tavarez that he considered that 
the chapel was too small for the secrecy of the con- 
fessional to be maintained — 'and where the confessor 
is at all hard of hearing the danger is still greater'. And 
he was further unwilling to obey an order by Arch- 
bishop Errington to destroy some old altar stones in 
the chapel. '7 'I beg to say that they will never be used 
and that they take up very little room. As for saying 
"cui bono" do they remain, that, I submit concerns me 
alone and I do not hesitate to say that . . . they have 
acquired an interest from the fact of their having been 
here for several generations. ... It is I think no improb- 
able supposition that over some of them mass has been 
celebrated in times of persecution by priests who sub- 
sequently became martyrs.' Wright concluded his 
letter with a dignified reproach: 'Into these feelings, 
however, I cannot expect you to enter, as you cannot 
feel as we English Catholics do on these subjects, who 
know with how much trouble and difficulty our religion 
was kept alive in England in former days.''* 

Roman Catholic worship no doubt continued to be 
held at Kelvedon Hall during J. F. Wright's hfe-time 
and while his nephew and successor, E. C. Wright, 
lived at the hall. The chapel at the hall, which was 
dedicated to St. Joseph, became disused during the 
occupation of Mr. and Mrs. J. A. Jones, but was again 
taken into use and was restored during the years when 
the hall was occupied by St. Michael's School." 

In 1829 nonconformist worship was being conducted 

in a licensed house at Kelve- 

PROTESTANT don Common by the Revd. 

NONCONFORMirr D. Smith an Independent 
minister from Brentwood.' 
It is possible that there was some continuity between 
this congregation and that which later in the 19th 
century met in the building now used as the village hall. 
Services were conducted there by a visiting minister 
until about 1 890.^ The building is timber-framed and 
weather-boarded and was probably built early in the 
19th century.3 

Vestry minute-books for Kelvedon Hatch survive 
for the periods 1736—60 and 
PARISH GOVERN- i835-8i.t 

MENT AND Duringtheperiod 1736-60 

POOR RELIEF vestry meetings usually seem 
to have been held only at 
Easter in each year. In only one year^ during this 
period was more than one meeting recorded. The 
minutes were brief but were always signed. The Revd. 
C. Wragg, rector of the parish from 173 1 until 1758, 
seems never to have attended the meetings. His suc- 
cessor, the Revd. N. GriffinhoefF (1758-60) attended 
the only Easter vestry held during his incumbency and 
was the first to sign the minutes. The number of 
parishioners who attended the meetings varied between 
3 and 6. Members of the Wright family, lords of the 
manor of Kelvedon Hatch,* always attended and 
usually signed first. 

The minutes rarely did more than record the ap- 



88 R.C. Parish of Brentwood, MSS. 
Book. Inf. supplied by Revd. B. C. Foley. 

8» E.R.O., D/AEA 23, quoted in A. C. 
Edwards, English History from Essex 
Sources, JSSo-iy^o, 13. 

«o See Table on p. 311. ' 

»' E.R.O., Q/RRp 1/12,21. 

«= Ibid. 3/4, 4/6. 

»3 Newcourt, Repert. ii, 352. And see 
above, Church. 

'< E.R. xxvii, 73-76. 



»5 R.C. Parish of Brentwood, MSS. 
Book. 

'>*• As to the first chaplain, John Clarkson, 
J. F. Wright's statement is confirmed by 
the Register of Papists' Meeting Places : 
E.R.O., Q/RRw 3. 

" George Errington (1804-86), Arch- 
bishop of Trebizond in partibus (1855), 
was co-adjutor to Cardinal Wiseman, 
1855-62: AMS. 

98 R.C. Parish of Brentwood, MSS. 



Book. 

" Kelly's Dir. Essex (1914 f. and 1933). 
And see Manors. 

■ E.R.O., Q/CR 3/2/14. 

» Inf. from Mr. J. P. Fitch. 

3 See also above, p. 69. 

♦ Unless otherwise stated all the follow- 
ing information is derived from these 
minute-books, which are kept by the 
rector. s 1758. 

6 See above, Manor of Kelvedon Hatch. 



70 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



KELVEDON HATCH 



pointment of officers and the balances remaining in 
officers' hands at the end of each year. In the period 
1736—60 there was only one office of churchwarden 
and one office of overseer. George Wright was church- 
warden throughout the period. Until 1744 the over- 
seers served for two years consecutively, but after that 
date they served for one year only. As late as 1835 
there was an illiterate overseer. In 161 4' there were 
two constables, but in the period 1736-60 there was 
only one office of constable. These officers usually 
served for several years consecutively. The appoint- 
ment of surveyors was not recorded in the minute-book, 
but there appears to have been one office of surveyor. 
The rateable value of the parish was ^^700 in 1738* 
and £i,(>7(> in 1835. 

Until 175 1 the overseers, churchwarden, and con- 
stables were each granted separate rates for which they 
were directly responsible to the parish. Occasionally 
one officer was ordered to pay another officer's deficit 
out of his surplus. In April 175 1 it was decided that 
the constable's charges for the ensuing year should be 
paid by the churchwarden. In March 1752 the same 
constable was reappointed, but on this occasion it was 
resolved that his charges should be paid by the overseer. 
No further resolutions were recorded on this matter 
and it is not clear how the charges of either the con- 
stable or the churchwarden were met in the years after 
1753. By 1833, however, their expenditure was 
evidently met by the overseers who included it in their 
account. It is not clear what the practice was in regard 
to the surveyors' accounts. 

There was a poorhouse' in Kelvedon Hatch, situated 
on Kelvedon Common, and in 1835 there were at least 
two male paupers in it. In most cases, however, poor 
relief was given outside the poorhouse. In each of the 
years 181 3— 15 there were thirteen adults on 'per- 
manent' outdoor relief'" Provision for the poor 
included the payment of weekly doles. 

In 1776 the cost of poor relief was £()0.'^ In 
1783-; it averaged £104 a year.'^ It reached ,^501 
in 1800-1 and ;^538 in 1801-2, but in the next six 
years it was always between £300 and ^^4°° ^ year.'^ 
In the years 1808-17 the cost was usually above ^^400 
and reached a maximum of ,^567 in 1812-13.'^ In 
each of the years 1833 and 1834 it was ^^275 and in 
1835 £250. 

In 1836 Kelvedon Hatch became part of the Ongar 
Poor Law Union. 

In 1807 there was no day school in Kelvedon Hatch, 
though there were two just outside the 
SCHOOLS parish boundaries. The rector was teach- 
ing reading every Sunday to about 30 
'regular and orderly' children. 's This Sunday school 
seems to have led to the establishment of a day school 
which in 1816 was attended by 13 boys and 29 girls."* 
For the next 20 years a parish school under Church 
direction existed in one form or another.'^ In 18 18 



' E.R.O., Q/SBa 3. 

» E.R.O., D/DFa E44/27. 

9 There was a poorhouse by 1776, at 
latest ; Rep. Sel. Cttee. on Overseer! Reins. 
1777, H.C. ser. i, vol. ix, p. 350. The 
parish officers may have rented the cottages 
which had been given to the parish for use 
as almshouses : see below. Charities. 

■0 E.R.O., e/CR i/io. 

" E.R.O., Q/CR i/i. 

" Ibid. 

" E.R.O., e/CR 1/9. 

" Ibid. 

" E.R.O., D/AEM 2/4. 



>« Nat. Soc. Ref>. \ii6,f. ^z. 

17 E.R.O., D/P 30/28/18. 

■8 Retns. Educ. Poor, H.C. 224, p. 259 
(1819), ii (i). 

"> Educ. Enquiry Ahslr. H.C. 62, p. 280 
(1835), xli; inf. from Nat. Soc. 

20 E.R.O., D/P 30/28/18. 

21 Nat. Soc. Enquiry into Ch. Schs. 
1846-7, pp. lO-II. 

" Educ. Cttee. Rep. 1853-4, p. 295. 

23 Mins. of Educ. Cttee. of Council, 1857 
[2380], p. 97, H.C. (1857-8), xl"i 
Kelly's Dir. Essex (1855, 1862, 1870). 

24 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1862, 1874)) 

71 



there were 40 children in two schools, one supported 
by a benevolent lady and the other by the rector's wife." 
One of these schools was later discontinued and the 
attempt to provide week-day schooling for boys was 
abandoned, although they continued to attend the 
Sunday school. In 1833 there was only one school in 
the parish, attended .by about 30 girls and maintained 
by voluntary subscriptions. It was a dame school under 
the rector's control. Its mistress was in failing health 
and the rector was planning to build a permanent school 
with separate rooms for boys and girls. He collected 
some £75 in subscriptions and obtained the promise of 
a site from the lord of the manor. The National Society 
agreed to make a grant but the undertaking was eventu- 
ally abandoned and a schoolroom was rented in which 
the rector set up a successful Church school." In 
1839, when it was still the only school in the parish, 20 
boys and 30 girls attended it, paying no fees except for 
additional tuition in writing. The boys were given 
smocks, stockings, hats, and handkerchiefs and the 
girls complete sets of clothing. Subscriptions, including 
one particularly large one, amounted to £37 a year, but 
they were difficult to obtain. The rector also com- 
plained that many children left school for service at 
too early an age.^" 

By 1846-7 the school had as many as 53 boys and 
33 girls in attendance, some of whom paid fees. There 
were a master and a mistress, earning £4.2 a year be- 
tween them.^' A few years later an inspector found it 
'a very nice small village country school under an able 
and promising young master', but he thought the class- 
rooms inconvenient and the equipment inadequate. 
The monitorial system seems then to have been in use. 
The school was situated on a green which was used as 
the playground." In 1856-7 the school received a 
capitation grant of £12 iSs. Most of its income, how- 
ever, continued to be derived from subscriptions.^^ 

In i860 a new school was established, but it appears 
to have had smaller accommodation than the one it 
replaced. The number of children attending had 
dropped by 1871 to about 20 and a master was no 
longer employed.^ The school was still apparently 
without permanent premises^' and in 1875 a school 
board of five members was compulsorily established. 
In 1878 the board built a school in the village and the 
Church school was then closed.^* Kelvedon Hatch 
was one of the few rural parishes in the hundred where 
a school board had to be formed. In this case it is 
significant that the lord of the manor was a Roman 
Catholic; he clearly gave no support to the Anglican 
school. 

The board school, built at a cost of ^^l, 150, had 
accommodation for 80 children. ^7 It was enlarged in 
1898.28 The annual government grant rose from £'^<) 
in 1893 to £82 in 1899.^' Further income was 
derived from the school rate, which in 189 1-2 was 
IS. \<i. in the £\.^° In 1902 the school passed under 

Retns. Elem. Educ. H.C. 201, pp. I12-13 
(1871), Iv. 

25 No school is shown on O.S. 6 in. Map 
(ist edn.), sheet lix. 

26 County Companion, 1880; Min. of 
Educ. File 13/214; Kelly's Dir. Essex 
(1882). 

" Kelly's Dir. Essex (1882); Min. of 
Educ. File 13/214. 

28 Min. of Educ. File 13/214. 

" Retn. ofScAs. 1893 [C. 7529], p. 714, 
H.C. (1894),. Ixv, ibid. 1899 [Cd. 315], 
p. 71, H.C. (1900), lxv(2). 

3" Essex Standard, 12 Sept. 1891. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



the administration of the Essex Education Committee, 
Ongar District. There was then an average attendance 
of 68.3' In 1904 there were three teachers, one of 
them certificated.'^ The average attendance remained 
about 70 until 1930, when the school was reorganized 
for mixed juniors and infants, after which it fell to 59 
in 1938.33 In May 1952, however, there were in 
children and 4 teachers at the school.34 The building 
stands a short distance from the parish church on the 
Stondon Massey road. It has one story and is of yellow 
brick. 

A 19th-century transcript of a deed records that 
John Wright and his son John gave to 
CHJRITIES^^ Anthony Luther and others, parish- 
ioners, part of the lord's waste next 
to Kelvedon Common, with the cottages thereon, to 
be the site of parish almshouses. This appears to be 
the real origin of the charity which by 1786 was called 
Jane Luther's Charity in the erroneous belief that it 
had been established by her will in 1745 (^^^ below). 
The original endowment may have been supplemented 
by an exchange made in 1786 by which the parish 
received a small plot inclosed from Kelvedon Common 
in place of another plot on which a cottage formerly 
stood. This was probably the cottage on the road to 
Beacon Hill which according to a vestry book extant 
in the 19th century was given to the parish in 1644.3* 
This exchange of 1786 may explain the statement 
made in 1835 that the property of the charity was 
received about 60 years before from John Wright of 
Kelvedon Hall in exchange for some small pieces of 
land formerly belonging to it. 

There is no clear record that the cottages were ever 
used as almshouses, though it seems possible that they 
were rented by the parish officers for use as a poor- 
house. 3' In 1834 the property was all let: it consisted 
of four cottages on Kelvedon Common, and land adjoin- 
ing. The whole income was ^2 1 10/., and after deduc- 
tion of expenses it was distributed on the first Monday 
in the year to all poor married parishioners in equal 
shares. Between then and 1929 there was little change 
in administration. In 195 1 the field was sold to the 
village hall committee for use as a recreation ground. 
The proceeds were invested in stock. In the same year 
the rent due from the cottages was ^34 12/.; but for 



many years there has been no profit from rents and a 
demolition order was pending in 1953.38 

Poor's Cottages were probably built in the 17th 
century and consist of a timber-framed T-shaped block, 
partly plastered and partly weather-boarded. There 
are gabled dormers in the tiled roof. These are un- 
doubtedly the four cottages of 1834 and earlier. 

At some time in the 1 8th century it was believed that 
40J. was due to the parish by the gift of Anthony Luther 
(d. 1627) but there is no record that this was ever paid. 

By her will proved in 1745 J^"^ Luther of Suttons 
(in Stapleford Tawney, q.v.) gave £2 i js. 6d. a year 
issuing from a farm in Little Warley to be distributed 
in bread three times a year to the poor of the parish. 
In 1834 bread was distributed twice a year with pre- 
ference to widows. By 1857 the rent was being paid 
from the Suttons estate. It was redeemed in 1950 for 
j^ii; stock. 

In 1786 it was stated that an unknown donor gave 
a rent charge of ^l 10/. to the church and the poor of 
the parish. In 1834 Charles Dolby of Brizes held a 
lease from 1789 at j^2 I ox. a year of 'the property of 
this charity', consisting of an acre of land in his park. 
In fact the endowment must have been the land itself, 
not the rent, and the land was certainly sold in i860 
for j{,'200 which was invested in stock. 

Louisa Dolby, by will proved 1868, left ;^ioo duty- 
free in trust for the benefit of the poor. The legacy 
was paid in 1876, together with ^^28 arrears of interest, 
and was invested in stock. 

In the 19th and early 20th centuries these charities 
were in practice administered together. From 1855 
the three earliest shared trustees. By a Scheme made 
in 1929 all four were combined to form the United 
Charities. Their income is to be spent for the benefit 
of the sick and poor, chiefly in gifts in kind and gifts to 
hospitals serving the parish. In 195 1, after payments 
for expenses, the income was spent on the cottages 
belonging to Jane Luther's Charity, and in gifts in cash 
to six persons. 

Richard Thomas Lagden, by will proved 1866, left 
£j a year for the purchase of coal for the poor families 
of the parish. Lagden's wish that the money be paid 
was not, however, binding, and the bequest con- 
sequently became invalid. 



LAMBOURNE 



Lambourne adjoins the Urban District of Chigwell 
to the north-east.' With an area of 2,47 1 acres it is one 
of the larger parishes in the hundred. From an early 
date much of the population has been centred in the 
village of Abridge, in the extreme north-west of the 
parish.^ The remoteness of the village from the church 
and the manor houses has helped to determine the his- 
tory of the parish. Abridge was in Lambourne, but not 
of it. The population of the parish in 1801 was 515. 
It rose steadily to 904 in 1841 and subsequently re- 
mained at about that figure until 1921, when it was 
780. In 193 1 it was 893. The population in 195 1 was 
1,371, the increase being due mainly to the building of 
council houses.3 



3' ScAs. under Bd. of Educ. 1902 [Cd. 
1490], p. 71, H.C. {1903), li. 

'^ Essex Educ. Citee. Handhk. 1904, 
p. 185. 

33 Min. of Educ. File 13/214. 

3* Inf. from Essex Educ. Cttee, 

35 Rep. Com. Char. (Essex), H.C. 216, 



p. 229 (1835), XX (i); Char. Com. Files. 

3' This date would be consistent with 
the participation of an Anthony Luther 
(see above, Myles's). 

" See above, Parish Government and 
Poor Relief. 

38 Inf. from the Revd. W. Tirrell. 



The land rises from 100 ft. above sea-level in the 
north to 325 ft. in the centre, falling to about 200 ft. in 
the south. The River Roding forms the northern boun- 
dary of the parish. There are numerous ponds and 
springs in the parish. Lambourne End, in the south, 
contains most of what remains of Hainault Forest, now 
preserved as a recreation ground by the London County 
Council.* There are several other smaller patches of 
woodland. The main road from Chipping Ongar to 
Chigwell and London passes through the north of the 
parish. Abridge lies along this road at a distance of 
about 3 miles from Chigwell. It derives its name from 
the bridge which crosses the river here, carrying the 
road running north to Theydon Bois. A concentration 

' O.S. 2\ in. Map, sheet $^1^9- 

^ Although the earliest known ref. to 

Abridge is in 1203 the name is of pre- 

conquest origin : P.N. Essex (E.P.N.S.), 

60. 

3 Census; inf. from Essex County 

Council. * See below. 



72 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



LAMBOURNE 



of houses on both sides of the main road at Abridge is 
shown on a map of 1695.5 The oldest surviving build- 
ings appear to be the house on the east side of the main 
road, immediately north of the post-office, and Brighty's 
shop on the opposite side just west of the bridge. Both 
probably date from the early i6th century and in each 
case there is an oversailing gable-end facing the road at 
one end of the front. At Brighty's shop the plaster was 
stripped from the gable about 30 years ago,* revealing 
rounded joist ends, heavy closely-spaced studs, and 
curved braces. The other house, formerly the post- 
office, but now a butcher's shop, remains plastered but 
is probably of similar construction. The Sycamores, on 
the south side of the road near the east end of the village, 
was a house possibly of similar date, but rebuilding has 
destroyed all its old features except the brick fireplaces 
forming the base of its central chimney. Other build- 
ings in the village probably incorporate parts of timber 
structures of the 17th century or earlier. 

The deeds of White Hall go back to 1729.^ It has 
a plastered two-story Georgian front, considerably 
altered, with a contemporary doorcase. The gabled 
house east of it may also date from the early i8th cen- 
tury, and the buildings flanking Brighty's shop are 
probably of similar date. The 'Maltster's Arms' and 
the two cottages adjoining it form an attractive 18th- 
century group. They have weather-boarded fronts and 
the inn has a pedimented doorcase with engaged Tuscan 
columns. The slightly later house to the east retains a 
small bowed shop window. The post-office, which has 
a symmetrical weather-boarded front, is of the late 
1 8th century. 

In 1848 it was stated that many good houses had 
been built in Abridge in the past 30 years.* Maryon 
Terrace is a red brick row of eight small cottages with 
round-headed doorways. It is dated 28 January 1 841, 
but the central cottages may be older. Gould's Cottages 
are of gault brick and date from about 1840. They 
form a terrace of five houses, of which the central has 
a pedimented gable. The Parish Room, formerly a 
Congregational chapel, was built in 1833.' Holy 
Trinity Church, built in 1 836, is a chapel of ease to the 
parish church.'" The 'Blue Boar' is also of mid-i9th- 
century date; it has a gault brick symmetrical front. 
The 'White Hart' was rebuilt on its ancient site in the 
late 19th century. The school, at the north end of Hoe 
Lane, dates from 1878." On the north side of the main 
road west of Abridge there is considerable 20th-century 
building, which includes thirteen council houses. North 
of the school are about twenty council houses. There 
are also four pairs on the north side of the road just east 
of the village. The Evangelical Free Church, Maryon's 
Chase, dates from I924.'2 Hillman's Cottages, six pairs 
on the main road i mile east of the village, were built 
about 1935 for employees at the neighbouring airfield. '3 
The Pancroft estate, east Abridge, includes a group of 
prefabricated houses and fifty post-1945 council houses. 

Hoe Lane runs from Abridge south-east to Lam- 
bourne End, passing to the east of St. John's Farm (see 
below, manor of St. John's) and to the west of Bishops 
Hall (see below). In this lane are some larger houses 
with good gardens, built after the break-up in 1929 of 
the Bishops Hall estate. On the road J mile south of 

5 Camden's Britamia (ed. Gibson), p. " See below. Schools. 

340 (Map by Rbt. Morden). 
' Inf. from Mr. Bayles, owner. 
' Ibid. 8 H^hite's Dir. Essex (184.8). 
' See below, Nonconformity. 
'<> See below, Church. 



" See below. " See below. 

'* Inf. from Mr. D. W. Hutchings. 
'S Inf. from the caretaker. 
■6 See below, Manor. 
" See below, Church. 



Bishops Hall are Augusta Cottages and Emmanuel 
Chapel. At Lambourne End Hoe Lane is joined by 
Manor Road, which leads to Chigwell Row, and also 
by the road running east to Knolls Hill in Stapleford 
Abbots. Near Blue House Farm the latter road is 
joined by Hook Lane, which runs north-east to Staple- 
ford Abbots church. Three farm-houses at Lambourne 
End are timber-framed and probably date from the 
17th century. Harmes Farm has a gabled cross-wing at 
the south-west end. Forest Lodge Farm has two massive 
external chimneys with diagonal shafts. Blue House 
Farm also has diagonal shafts to its central chimney. 
Church House, opposite Forest Lodge, dates from 
about 1 67 1, with an extension of about 1 8 1 o (see below. 
Charities). Lambourne Square, consisting of two rows 
of cottages, one of mid-i9th-century date and one 
earlier, was built for workers at the neighbouring Banks 
Farm.'* Young's Farm was demolished about 1935 
and some of the buildings converted into recreation 
rooms for the Fairbairn and Mansfield House Boys' 
Clubs.'s In the grounds are a camping site and an open- 
air swimming-pool. The East End Mission playing- 
fields on the opposite side of the road have a cement- 
rendered pavilion with a flat roof, also dating from the 
1930's. There is some scattered modern development 
on the north side of Manor Road, opposite Hainault 
Forest. Park Square is a three-sided court consisting of 
ten council houses. There are also four pairs of council 
houses on the north side of the road east of Forest Lodge. 
The Parish Room at Lambourne End is a small wooden 
building probably of mid-l9th-century date. 

New Farm is J mile south-east of Abridge. It is a 
red-brick house dated 1744. Although considerably 
altered it has brickwork detail similar to the Old Rectory 
(see below) on a much smaller scale. Lambourne Hall"* 
and the parish church are J mile south-east of New 
Farm. The site of the former Dews Hall (see below) 
adjoins Bishops Hall to the east. Bishops Moat, the 
original site of Bishops Hall, is i mile east of Dews 
Hall. A mile east of Abridge is Lambourne Place, for- 
merly the rectory.'^ Pryors and Patch Park (formerly 
Hunts) are near Lambourne Place to the east.'* 
Arnolds, formerly Arneways (see below) is on the main 
road in the extreme north-west corner of the parish. 
Opposite it is a civil airfield. 

The road system in this parish has never been very 
satisfactory. There has never been a direct road from 
Abridge to the parish church. Until about 1800 ther 
was no road from Lambourne End to Chigwell Row. 
In the north and centre of the parish the roads were 
often flooded in wet weather." The most serious flood- 
ing occurred on the main London road, between Arnolds 
and Abridge. About i mile west of Arnolds the Roding 
flows beside the road and is joined by a stream which 
rises near Lambourne Hall. It was at this junction 
between the river and the stream that flooding was 
worst. In 1575-6 the road from Arnolds to London 
was 'in decay', and the parish was distrained for the 
condition of 'Arnesway' Bridge.^o This was no doubt 
a bridge over the stream at the junction. The same 
road was the subject of discussion in the parish vestry 
in 1727.2' The lord of the manor of Lambourne had 
apparently been obliged to keep a horse- and foot- 
's See below, Pryors, Hunts. 
" In 1738, for example, the parish 
suffered from severe floods: E.R.O., D/P 
181/8/2. 
" E.R.O., Q'/SR 60/57, cf. 62/53, 54. 
" E.R.O., D/P 181/8/1. 



73 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



bridge 'wharfed and planked over a certain brook' 
towards Ongar. This was probably the same bridge 
as that of 1 575-6. John Barfoot, lord of the manor in 
1727, offered to seek the support of the neighbouring 
gentry for a scheme to build a brick bridge. 

At the other end of the London road was the impor- 
tant Abridge Bridge. In the late 1 6th century there was 
uncertainty as to who was responsible for it. One entry 
in the rolls of Quarter Sessions for 1570 attributes re- 
sponsibility to Sir Anthony Coke, who owned land at 
the Lambourne side of the bridge, and Sir Thomas 
Wroth, who owned land on the Theydon Bois side.^* 
Another entry of the same year leaves the matter un- 
decided.23 In and after 1594 the bridge seems to have 
been accepted for repair by the county.^* In 1657 it was 
said to be in a dangerous state.^5 In 1707 a carpenter 
was paid the large sum of ^^178 for rebuilding it.^* 

In 1855 the inhabitants of Abridge complained to 
the justices of the peace of the dangerous state of the 
road to Theydon Bois and of the foot-bridge at Abridge. 
During floods it was impossible to use the bridges and 
a circuit of 6 miles was necessary. A committee was 
formed in 1 8 56 to investigate the matter and the county 
surveyor produced plans for an embankment with cul- 
verts. He reported that a plank and rail foot-bridge to 
serve pedestrians in time of flood had for 30 years been 
repaired by the county.^' Thomas Savill, of Barley 
near Royston, was willing to undertake the work on the 
bridges and the final estimate was ^^380, of which the 
parish was to pay ;^200 and the county the remain- 
der.^' In the following year the surveyor described 
the bridge as a substantial brick structure in excellent 
repair.^' 

Abridge is a mile from the parish church, and until 
1833 there was no other place of worship in the parish. 
It is therefore remarkable that there has never been a 
direct road to the church from Abridge. The inhabi- 
tants of Abridge had an ancient right of way by a foot- 
path to the church. In 1589 Henry Palmer of Dews 
Hall was presented at Quarter Sessions for having 'en- 
closed abowte with a great pale a chace waye which is 
our church waye and hath been time out of mind'. 3° In 
1624 this path was 'by discontinuance overgrown, and 
overworn by the current of the brook which ran by it'. 3' 
In that year Edward Palmer of Dews Hall granted the 
parish vestry a new right of way in exchange for the old. 
The course of the new way, which is described in the 
vestry book, appears to be the same as the present foot- 
path from east Abridge to the church, via New Farm 
and the north-east corner of Soapleys Wood.'^ The 
parish was to erect three gates, one at the entrance to 
'Pencroft' (near the main road at the Abridge end of 
the path),33 one at the upper end of 'Goody Land' 
entering into Maple's land, and the third over the brook 
entering lower 'Soap place'. At the third point they 
were also to provide a bridge. They were to provide 
locks for the gates and give Edward Palmer a key, and 
they were responsible for the upkeep of the gates and 
the bridge. In 1727 the vestry accepted the offer of 



Catlyn Thorogood of Dews Hall to provide a brick 
arch over the brook in place of the old wooden one. 
The parish was to maintain the foot-path as before. '♦ In 
spite of these arrangements the moral condition of 
Abridge seems to have been bad at the beginning of the 
19th century.35 The foot-path was hardly a satisfactory 
substitute for a church in Abridge itself Perhaps more 
important was the fact that the rectory was just as far 
from the village as was the church. In 1734 the vestry 
had resolved to make a new road from the church to the 
rectory through the glebe land.3* This would have 
helped the rector to get to church. For access to Abridge 
he probably had to use foot-paths. 

Communications between Lambourne End and the 
parish church have been little better than those between 
the church and Abridge. Church Lane, which ran 
from the church past Dews Hall to Lambourne End, 
is marked on Chapman and Andre's map of 1 777 (sheet 
xvi), but by 1841 it had become impassable. In the 
latter year the vestry decided that it should be repaired,^' 
but the north end of the road is now overgrown and 
disused. 

Manor Road, between Lambourne End and Chig- 
well Row, was constructed about 1790, mainly at the 
expense of Admiral Sir Edward Hughes, of Bishops 
Hall (see below) and Luxborough in Chigwell (q.v.).^' 

Hook Lane, which joins Lambourne End and Staple- 
ford Abbots, was maintained by the two parishes jointly. 
In 1832 the Lambourne vestry agreed to an alteration 
in its course 'when a sufficient subscription can be 
caused to carry the same into effect, the parish of Staple- 
ford having agreed to repair the same distance in pro- 
portion as prior to the exchange'.^' 

There was a regular service of coaches from Abridge 
to London and Ongar at the beginning of the 19th cen- 
tury. In 1 8 17 a coach went daily to the 'Three Nuns' 
and the 'Bull', Whitechapel, while a wagon went on 
Tuesday and Friday to the 'Blue Boar', Whitechapel.^" 
In 1826—7 and 1832 the Ongar coach called at 
Abridge.*' In 1832 also a wagon run by Joseph Wilson 
ran to the 'Saracen's Head', Aldgate, and the 'Flower 
Pot', Bishopsgate, on Tuesday, Thursday, and Satur- 
day; a wagon run by one Clements went on Wednesday 
and Saturday to the 'Blue Boar', Aldgate, and another, 
under the name of Willey, went on Tuesday, Thursday, 
and Saturday to the 'Three Nuns', Aldgate.t^ In 1848 
a coach left for London every morning except Sunday 
and for Dunmow every evening, starting from the 
'White Hart'. William Hanchett was carrier to London 
every Tuesday and Friday .■♦^ In 1862 the Fyfield 
coach called daily at Abridge and a carrier went to 
London daily.''* By this time the railway from London 
had been extended as far as Loughton, about 4 miles by 
road from Abridge, and the further extension in 1865 
to Epping and Ongar included a station at Theydon 
Bois, li^ mile from Abridge. Since 1949 Theydon 
Bois has been on the Central London (underground) 
line. 

There was a postal receiving house at Abridge in 



" E.R.O., e/SR 32/17. 

" Ibid. 34/6. 

" Ibid. 129/17, 314/59- Cf. Q/AB« 
1, 2. 

" Ibid. Q/CP 3, pp. 185, ,88:cf. pp. 
197 (1659), 213 (i66o). 

" Ibid. p. 704. 

" E.R.O., e/ABp 36, Q/ABb 1 1. 

*8 This foot-bridge had previously been 
the responsibility of the parish of Theydon 
Bois, q.v. " E.R.O., g/ABi 3. 



3» E.R.O., Q/SR 107/53. 

31 E.R.O.,D/P 181/8/1 (11 May 1727). 

32 Soapleys appears in the description as 
'Soap place'. 

35 Pencroft is probably the Ban-croft of 
the Tithe Map: E.R.O., D/CT 202 No. 
393, and the modern Pancroft. 

3t E.R.O., D/P 181/8/1. 

35 See below. Nonconformity. 

3« E.R.O., D/P 181/8/2. 

37 Ibid. 181/8/4. 



38 T. Wright, Hist. Essex, ii, 408. The 
road was presumably built after Hughes 
acquired Bishops Hall in 1785. He died 
in 1798. 39 E.R.O., D/P 181/8/4. 

*" Johnstone's DIr. (1817), pt. iv, 2. 

■»' Pigot's Dir. (1826-7), S'i Robson's 
London Dir. pt. iv, 22. See Chipping 
Ongar, p. 157. 

♦^ Robson's Dir, pt. iv, 22. 

••3 py kite's Dir. Essex {1848), 422. 

« Ibid. (1863), 729. 



74 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



LAMBOURNE 



I793.*5 In 1 839 a Mr. Mead was appointed receiver/* 
By 1856 a sub-post-office had been established.'''' A 
telegraph service was set up in 1 89 1** and the telephone 
by 192 1.'" 

The Herts, and Essex Waterworks Co. extended its 
mains to Abridge and some other parts of the parish in 
19 1 7, and a further extension took place in 1937.50 
There is a sewerage system, chiefly at Abridge. 5' Gas 
was first supplied by the Chigwell, Loughton, and 
Woodford Gas Co.s^ Electricity was supplied to parts 
of Abridge and Lambourne in 1929.53 At Abridge 
there is a parish room (formerly the Congregational 
chapel), and a village hall called the Gymnasium. There 
is another parish room at Lambourne End. A branch 
of the county library was opened in 1929.5* The 
Abridge Coffee Rooms and Club existed in 1886 and 
later.55 There was a cricket club at Abridge in 1 895.56 
There was a police sergeant at Abridge in 1898.5' 
There is now a policeman at Abridge and another at 
Lambourne End.'^ 

A writer of about 1770 noted that 'husbandry alone 
seems to be the employ of the inhabitants' of Lam- 
bourne. 5' This was not entirely true; as is shown below 
there were some inns and shops at Abridge, which must 
have employed a few people in the i8th century. But 
agriculture was certainly the main occupation. During 
the Middle Ages the ownership of the land in the parish 
was shared among some eight chief lords. From the 
middle of the i6th century onwards the estates tended 
to coalesce. In the i8th century three large estates, 
attached to Lambourne Hall, Bishops Hall, and Dews 
Hall, accounted for much of the parish. By 1850 the 
greater part of the parish was owned by a single family, 
that of Lockwood, of Bishops Hall. Their estate was 
broken up in 1 929.60 Until the i6th century it is prob- 
able that few of the chief landowners were resident in 
the parish: this may partly explain the unsatisfactory 
relationship between Abridge and the rest of the parish.*' 
In and after the i6th century there was some improve- 
ment. The Taverners of Arneways and the Palmers of 
Dews Hall lived in the parish. In the 1 8 th century this 
area became remarkably fashionable for the gentry. 
Lord Fortescue, the Walkers, the Lockwoods, the 
Thorogoods, and Sir Edward Hughes all lived in Lam- 
bourne or in neighbouring parishes.*^ All contributed 
in various ways to the improvement of the parish, and 
their paternal interest in it was maintained in the 19th 
and 20th centuries by the Lockwoods. They must have 
been large employers of domestic as well as agricultural 
labour. 

The landowners do not seem to have attempted direct 
large-scale farming. In 184 1 there were three farms 
over 200 acres in extent, of which the largest was 235 
acres. There were five farms of 100-200 acres and six 
of 40-100 acres.*3 All these farms were let to tenant 
farmers. In 1929 most of Lord Lambourne's estate was 



occupied by tenants, although the home farm of Lam- 
bourne Hall was in hand.** 

In this parish, as elsewhere in this area, mixed farm- 
ing is carried on. In 1841 there were some 750 acres 
of arable, 1,300 acres of meadow and pasture, and 350 
acres of woodland and forest.*5 At that date there was 
also a small amount of ozier-growing.** Of greater 
interest is the persistence of hop-growing. In 184 1 
there was ij acre of land under hops. As is noted 
below, brewing was carried on in Abridge at this 
time.*' 

There is little evidence concerning inclosure in the 
parish, which so far as it concerned common field and 
meadow had evidently been completed before the 1 8th 
century. A small exception is shown on a map of 1 740: 
strips in Rye meadow, north of Arneways in the north- 
east corner of the parish.** Inclosure of woodland was 
much slower, for royal rights were involved. About 
200 acres in the south of the parish formed part of 
Hainault Forest. In 1305 William de Sutton, lord of 
Battles Hall in Stapleford Abbots, who also held land 
in Lambourne, was granted licence to fell and sell the 
great trees and underwood of 7 acres in his wood of 
Lambourne, which was within the Forest of Essex, as 
it appeared that there was not a frequent resort of the 
deer there.*' This grant was made to enable him to pay 
his debts at the Exchequer. In 1630 six unauthorized 
inclosures of the forest were said to have recently been 
made in Lambourne; one of these was on the waste, the 
others on old inclosures.'o 

In 1 8 5 1 Hainault Forest was disafforested. The part 
of the forest in Lambourne was, however, not affected." 
In 1858 the Hainault Forest Allotment of Commons 
Act (21 & 22 Vict. c. 37) provided that 314 acres in 
Lambourne, Chigwell, and Dagenham should be 
allotted as common to the parish of Lambourne. The 
map attached to the act shows a small existing inclosure 
at Lambourne End. It is possible that this was the area 
inclosed in 1832—3 by the parish vestry with the con- 
sent of E. L. Percival, the lord of the manor.'^ By an 
award of 1861, under the act of 1858, 186 acres in 
Lambourne became common for the parish; more 
specifically it was waste of the manor of Lambourne." 
In 1903, by the Hainault (Lambourne Burrows and 
Grange Hill) Act'* the then lord of the manor, A. R. M. 
Lockwood, was authorized to sell Lambourne Common 
for £2,830 to the London County Council, so that it 
might become a public park.'s This is now all that 
remains of Hainault Forest. 

Abridge fair, on 2 June, was abolished in 1878.'* It 
had existed in 1780." In 1848 it was stated to be for 
cattle.'* Its origin has not been traced. No lord or 
owner of tolls was known in 1878. 

The existence of the fair suggests that Abridge was 
an important viUage in the i8th century. Alistof 1723 
names three inns, the 'Crown', the 'Blue Boar', and the 



*' Gary's Eng. Alia!, 1793. 

■»' P.M.G. Mins. 1839, vol. 46, p. 462. 

" Brit. Post. Guide, 1856. Cf. P.M.G. 
Mins. 1865, vol. 43, min. 4070. 

♦8 P.M.G. Mins. 1891, vol. 448, min. 
14861. 

*' Brit. Post. Guide, 1 92 1. 

s» Kelly's Dir. Essex (1917, 1937)- 

" Inf. from the rector. 

52 Inf. from the North Thames Gas Bd. 

53 Inf. from Eastn. Elec. Bd. 
'♦ Inf. from County Librarian. 

55 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1886 f.). 

56 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1895). 
5' Ibid. 1898. 



58 Inf. from Chief Constable of Essex. 

5' Hist. Essex by Gent, iv, 20. 

«» For details see below, Manors. 

«' See above; and below, Parish Govern- 
ment. 

'» Fortescue lived at Stapleford Abbots, 
Hughes in Chigwell. 

'3 For these figures see E.R.O., D/CT 
202. " See below. Manor. 

6s E.R.O., D/CT 202. " Ibid. 

6' Ibid. For a reference to a hop-garden 
ini727seeE.R.O., D/P181/8/1. 

68 Map in poss. of Mr. H. E. Clarke nf 
Arnolds. 

M Cal. Pat. 1301-7, 315-16. 

75 



'» W. R. Fisher, Forest of Essex, 327. 

" Ibid. 349. 

'2 See below. Parish Govt, and Poor 
Relief. 

'3 Details of the award are given in the 
act of 1903 (see below). 

^* 3 Edw. VII, c.257 (priv. act.). 

'5 The purchase included the 186 acres 
in Lambourne and 54 acres in Chigwell 
and Dagenham, which were included in 
the price. 

'6 Lond. Gax. 26 July 1878, p. 4318. 

" Essex, Herts. & Camhi. Almanack 
1780. 

'8 fVhite's Dir. Essex (i%\%). 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



'White Hart'." In 1772 two chandlers, a victualler, 
and a baker are named. *° In 1 845 there were, in addi- 
tion to the tradesmen normally found in a growing 
village, an auctioneer and surveyor, a surgeon, a plumber 
and glazier, a brick-maker, and a brewer. 8' The brick- 
maker was still there in 1851.*^ There had been a 
brewery in Abridge in 1729, when its owner is said to 
have been the owner of While Hall.*3 Abraham Oliver, 
brewer of Lambourne, occurs in 1808.** During the 
later 19th century the brewery became the Abridge 
Brewery Co.*' This was later acquired by Whitbread 
& Co. and by 19 14 was being used by them as a store.** 
The private airfield was opened about 1935.*' During 
the Second World War it was taken over by the R.A.F.** 
It has recently been reopened as a private airfield. Part 
of its site is occupied by branches of Thorn Electrical 
Industries, Ekco Electric Ltd., and Ferguson Radio Ltd. 
There is a small printing works at Abridge. 

Thomas Winniffe, Bishop of Lincoln, and his nephew 
Peter Mews, Bishop of Winchester, are mentioned 
below (see Church). Thomas Day (1748-89), 
eccentric author of Sandford and Merton, bought a 
house at Abridge in 1779, shortly after his marriage, 
and lived there for two years. 'He studied architec- 
ture and astonished the builder by having a wall made 
first and the windows knocked out afterwards.'*' 

Only one entry in Domesday Book relates specifically 
to LAMBOURNE. The manor of that 
MANORS name had been held in 1066 by Lefsi as 
2 hides and 80 acres. 90 In 1086 this manor 
formed part of the honor of Eustace, Count of Boulogne, 
and was held of him by David." It is likely, however, 
that the part of the parish of Lambourne later known 
as the manor of Arneways (see below) originally formed 
part of the manor of Battles Hall in Stapleford Abbots. 
The tenancy in chief of the manor of Lambourne 
passed with the honor of Boulogne to the Crown after 
the death in 11 59 of William, Count of Boulogne. 
Lambourne was still considered to be part of the honor 
early in the 13th century,'^ but not, apparently, after 
that. 

In the 1 2th century the tenancy of the manor came 
to Pharamus of Boulogne, the grandson of Geoffrey, 
which last was probably a bastard son of Eustace of 
Boulogne. '3 It descended to Pharamus's daughter 
Sybil, wife of Ingram de Fiennes, and subsequently to 
her son William de Fiennes."'* In about 1220 the 
manor was held of the honor of Boulogne by Sybil."' 
In 1282 it was conveyed to Robert Burnell, Bishop of 
Bath and Wells and Chancellor of England (d. 1292), 
by William de Fiennes, probably grandson of the last- 
named William."* In 1300 the manor was among the 
lands left at his death by William de Lambourne. It 



" E.R.O., D/P 181/8/1. 

8" E.R.O., Q/SBb 269. 

8' Kelly' i Dir. Etsex (184.5). 

82 Ibid. (1851). 

83 Inf. from Mr. Bayles, owner of White 
Hall. 

84 E.R.O., D/DU 45/28-32. 

85 Kelly'! Dir. Essex {1886, 1890). 
8' Ibid. (1902, 19 14). 

8' Inf. from Mr. H. E. Clarke. 

88 Ibid. 

8« D.N.B. 

oo F.C.H. Essex, i, 467*. This does not 
suggest a large manor, which is surprising 
in view of the present size of the parish. 
Some parts of Lambourne may have been 
included in 1086 in entries for other 
places : and see below. 

»' y.C.H. Essex, i, 467*. 



92 RedBk. of Exch. (Rolls Ser.), $76; Bk. 
of Fees, 236. 

»s For Pharamus see J. H. Round's 
article. Genealogist, n.s. xii, 145-51. See 
also Magdalen Laver, Blake Hall in 
Bobbingworth. Pharamus died in 11 83-4. 

M Bk. of Fees, 236, 240, 1 ^2S ; Red Bk. 
ofExck. 576. 

95 Bk. of Fees, 236, 240, 1428; Red Bk. 
of Exch. 576. 

9' Feel of F. Essex, ii, 36. Another 
Ingram de Fiennes was probably father of 
the William of 1282: cf. W. Farrer, 
Feudal Camhs. 248-9, 

9' Cal. Inq. p.m. m, p. 440. 

98 D.N.B. Robt. Burnell. 

99 Cal. Inq. p.m. Hen. VU, \, p. 86; 
C142/84/55. For the wardstaff see the 
Hundred of Ongar, above. 



was then said to be held of the heirs of Philip Burnell 
for 2 knights' fees."' Philip, who had died in 1 294, was 
the nephew and heir of the bishop."* There is no 
further mention of the Burnells in connexion with 
Lambourne. In 1485 the manor was said to be held as 
of the hundred of Ongar, and in the i6th century it 
was held of the hundred by service of the ward-staff."" 

The manor had been subinfeudated to the Lam- 
bourne family long before 1 300. That family held land 
in the parish in 1203, when Robert of Lambourne is 
mentioned," and this Robert, or a namesake, was the 
owner of the advowson before 1218.^ A John de Lam- 
bourne occurs in 1240.3 In 1261 it was stated that 
Christopher of Lambourne, lately hanged for felony, 
had held \ knight's fee in Lambourne of William of 
Lambourne. This tenement had been in the king's 
hand since December 1259; the king had given his 
year, day, and waste to Elizabeth widow of Christopher 
who was said to have wholly spoiled the land.-* A Wil- 
liam of Lambourne was among those who did fealty to 
Bishop Burnell for their lands in Lambourne in 1282.' 
He was probably identical with the man of that name 
who held the manor at his death in 1 300.* 

William de Lambourne was succeeded by his son 
James. The manor was then said to include 140 acres 
of arable, worth £,z 13/. \d., 7 acres of meadow, worth 
14^., 8 acres of pasture worth 8/., and 2 acres of wood, 
wasted and valueless. There were 19 free tenants ren- 
dering j^2 10/. \\d. in rents of assize and 3 capons, 
valued at zd. each, at Christmas. Nine customary 
tenants rendered 2 hens, valued at 2d. each, at Easter. 
Their services were valued at i id. The total value of 
the manor was £(1 \<^s. ()d.'' 

James de Lambourne (knighted 1 306) made a settle- 
ment of the manor in 1307.* He was still alive in 1325.' 
Thomas de Lambourne held the manor in 1351."° He 
died in 1361 and his son and heir William died in the 
same year." William was succeeded by his sister Joan, 
wife of William de Chene. Before 1376 Lambourne 
had been conveyed to Sir John de Sutton, William de 
Chene retaining a life interest.'^ Chene was evidently 
still alive in 1386, when he held the manor of Polstead 
(SufF.).'3 By 141 1 the manor had passed to Thomas 
Lampet, whose widow Elizabeth was then holding it 
for life."'' In that year it was settled upon William 
Lampet, 'kinsman' of Thomas. '5 In 141 2 it was said 
to be held by Isabel Lampet.'* She was probably iden- 
tical with the Elizabeth of 141 1. The manor subse- 
quently passed to John Lampet, who was succeeded 
before 1456—60 by his daughter Cecily wife of William 
Curzon." A William Curzon died holding Lambourne 
in 1485. It was then stated that Robert Curzon had 
enfeoffed certain persons with the manor.'* This 

■ Cur. Reg. R. ii, 206. 

2 See below, Church. 

' Feet of F. Essex, i, 123. 

* Cal. Inq. Misc. i, p. 181. 

5 Feet of F. Essex, ii, 36. 

^ This Wm. of Lambourne was an 
active local official under Edward I : see 
C. Moor, Knights of Ediu. I, iii, 7. 

' C133/93/10. 

8 Feet of F. Essex, ii, 1 1 5. 

9 C. Moor, Knights of Edw. I, iii, 7. 
'" Cal. Inq. Misc. iii, p. 24. 
' ' Cal. Inq. p.m. xi, p. 81. 
" Feet ofF. Essex, iii, 182. 
*3 W. A. Coppinger, Manors of Suffolk, 

i, 180. '■• Feet of F. Essex, iii, 256. 

'5 Ibid. >' Feud. Aids, vi, 439. 

" Ci/26/472. 
'8 Cal. Inq. p.m. hen. VII, i, pp. 85-86. 



76 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



LAMBOURNE 



implies that Robert was the predecessor of the last- 
named William. That the William Curzon who died 
in 1485 was a young man and not identical with the 
William Curzon of 1456-60 is also suggested by the 
fact that he left an infant daughter, Mary, as his heir." 
Mary apparently married a member of the Tey family, 
of Ardleigh, probably Sir Thomas Tey (d. 1 540).^° 
Sir Thomas made a conveyance of the manor in 1 520.^' 
Lambourne was apparently not among his possessions 
at his death. By 1 547 it had passed to Robert Barfoot, 
who died in that year.^^ 

Robert's successor was his son Thomas. The manor 
descended in the Barfoot family until 1733, when John 
Barfoot, probably great-great-grandson of Thomas, sold 
it to Sir John Fortescue-Aland.^3 Sir John was a dis- 
tinguished lawyer and for many years a judge. In 1 746 
he became Baron Fortescue of Credan.^'^ He died in 
the same year and was succeeded by his son Dormer, 
2nd Baron Fortescue.^s The latter died childless in 
1780. He left his Essex property to his cousin Mary, 
widow of Richard Barford, D.D., of Titchmarsh 
(Northants.).26 

In 1782 Mary Barford sold Lambourne to the Revd. 
Edward Lockwood, Rector of St. Peter's, Northamp- 
ton.^' He died in 1802 and the manor of Lambourne 
passed to his second son Edward Lockwood, who 
assumed the additional surname of Percival.^* Edward 
Lockwood Percival died in 1 804, leaving a son and heir 
with the same names.^' 

Edward Lockwood Percival the younger died in 
1 842 and was succeeded by his cousin William J. Lock- 
wood, owner of Dews Hall (see below). 3° In 1841 
Lambourne Hall farm consisted of 208 acres.^' It was 
occupied by Charles Blewett. The manor subsequently 
descended to Lt.-Gen. William M. Wood, son of W. J. 
Lockwood who had assumed the surname of Wood in 
1 8 3 8 on inheriting the property of an uncle.^^ Lt.-Gen. 
Wood died in 1883 and was succeeded by his son 
Amelius R. M. Lockwood, who had reassumed the 
original family name in i876.-'3 The latter was Con- 
servative M.P. for Epping for many years and achieved 
distinction as chairman of the kitchen committee of the 
House of Commons. He became ist Baron Lambourne 
in 1917 and Lord-Lieutenant of Essex in 1919. He 
died in 1928.34 

The Lockwood estate in Lambourne was latterly 
known as that of Bishops Hall, from the family seat. In 
addition to the manors of Lambourne and Bishops Hall 
(see below) it included those of St. John's and Dews 
Hall (see below). The estate was put up for sale in 
1929. It then consisted of 1,61 5 acres. Some 500 acres 
were in hand, including Lambourne Hall farm, whose 
extent was 371 acres. 35 



Lambourne Hall is said to have been built by Thomas 
Barfoot in 1571.36 This date and the initials t.b. are 
carved on oak panelling formerly in the house and now 
in the Lever Art Gallery, Port Sunlight.3' The central 
hall and the Oak Room adjoining it to the east are part 
of the original timber-framed building. Oak paneUing 
now at the west end of the hall was originally incor- 
porated in a partition across it and may represent the 
16th-century screens. The Oak Room has original 
finely moulded ceiling beams, a fire-place with a four- 
centred arch, and three doorways with four-centred 
heads. The house was reroofed and much altered in the 
1 8th century. In 1937 a new east wing was built, the 
dated weathercock above it being brought from else- 
where.38 PaneUing in the dining-room and the over- 
mantel in the Oak Room came from Marks Hall, near 
Coggeshall, which was demolished about 1950.39 

The manor of LAMBOURNE-AND-ABRIDGE, 
later known as ST. JOHNS, originated in an estate in 
the north and west of the parish acquired by the Knights 
Hospitallers from various donors in the 13th century 
and perhaps earlier.'") The estate remained in the hands 
of the Hospitallers until the Dissolution. In 155311 was 
granted, as the 'manors' of Lambourne and Abridge, to 
Richard Morgan and Thomas Carpenter.*' Soon after 
this it was acquired by Robert Taverner, who died 
holding it in 1556.*^ Thomas Taverner his son and 
heir was an infant and became a royal ward. In 1557 
the manor was valued at ^^23 15/., and Elizabeth 
Taverner, widow of Robert, was granted dower in it.*' 

Thomas Taverner sold the manor in 1 597-8 to Sir 
Robert Wroth, Kt.** Sir Robert died in 1606 and was 
succeeded by his eldest son, another Sir Robert.*' In 
1608 the manor was said to include 4 messuages, 2 gar- 
dens, 100 acres of land, 20 acres of meadow, 100 acres 
of pasture, 80 acres of wood, and 8/. rent.** Sir Robert 
Wroth the younger died in 1614.*' James, infant son 
of Sir Robert, died two years later and was succeeded 
by John Wroth his uncle.** John Wroth still held the 
manor in 162 1 .*' He apparently sold it before Septem- 
ber 1630, when Richard Peacock received the royal 
confirmation of all rights and privileges connected with 
the manor. 50 Peacock died in 1634, leaving the manor 
to his son Edward. si In 1641 Edward Peacock con- 
veyed it to John Charles. 52 This was probably a lease, 
for in 1645 Charles was occupying St. John's Wood, 
which was part of the manor.53 In 1647 Charles 
Peacock, John Charles, and others conveyed the manor 
to George Bagstar.s* In 1648 Bagstar sold St. John's 
farm, which formed the southern portion of the manor, 
to William Browne the younger of Abridge. 5' The 
northern portion, together with the manorial rights, did 
not go to Browne but was sold by Bagstar in 1649 to 



'' It is perhaps significant that William 
Curzon died on the day of the battle of 
Bosworth. 

*" W. A. Coppinger, Manors of Suffolk, 
iii, II i Morant, Essex, \, 432; Visits, of 
Essex (Harl. Soc), 207. 

" CP25(2)/i 1/54 East. i2Hen. Vni. 

" C142/84/55. He was a member of 
the Mercers' Co. 

" E.R.O.,D/DLoT56. For the Barfoot 
pedigree see Morant, Essex, i, 172, and 
E.R.O., T/G 30/5. 

^ Complete Peerage, v, 562, 

" Ibid. 563. 

" E.R.O., D/DLo T2. 

" Ibid. T56; T. Wright, Hist. Essex, ii, 

397- 
i* Burke, Commoners (1833-8), iv, 82. 



29 Ibid.;E.R.O., D/DL0T54. 

30 E.R.O., D/DLo E2. 
3> E.R.O., D/CT 202. 

32 E.R. xxxviii, 34; Burke, Land. Gent. 
(1906), ii, 1035. 

33 J. Grant, Essex Historical, Bio- 
graphical and Pictorial, Lockwood. 

3* E.R. xxxviii, 34—36. 

35 E.R.O. Sale Cat. A. 1046. 

36 T. Wright, Hist. Essex, ii, 396. 

37 Inf. from Mrs. S. Padfield, present 
occupier, and from Mr. R. B. Pugh. 

38 Ibid. 

39 Ibid.; For a photo, of Lambourne 
Hall, 1929, see E.R.O., Sale Cat. 1046. 
For the demolition of Marks Hall see 
E.R. lix, 164. 

40 Morant, Essex, i, 173; Feet of F. 

77 



Essex, i, 21$; P.N. Essex (E.P.N.S.), 60. 

■•' Cal. Pat. 1550-3, 309. 

« C142/109/54. 

" Cal. Pat. 1555-7,466. 

■M CP25(2)/i38/i750. FortheWroths 
see also Loughton. 

" C142/294/87. 

••' CP43/103 rot. 34. 

47 See Manor of Loughton, in that 
parish. -** Ibid. 

49 CP25(2)/296 East. 19 Jas. I. 

50 E.R.O., D/DLo Ml (copy from 
Forest Roll). " C142/590/15. 

52 CP25(2)/4i8 Trin. 17 Chas. I. 

53 Hist. MSS. Com. 6M Rep. App. 61*. 
5* CP25(2)/4I9 East. 23 Chas. I5 

E.R.O., D/DLo Ti. 
55 E.R.O., D/DLo T56. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



Edward Palmer, owner of Dews Hall (see below).'* It 
subsequently descended along with that manor. 

St. John's Farm was mortgaged by William Browne 
in 1658 to John Eyver of Tilty.s' Browne died in 
1665 and was succeeded by William Browne, probably 
his son. 5 8 In 1678 the latter sold the farm to William 
Scott of Chigwell.5' In 1699 it was settled upon Scott's 
daughter Anne on her marriage to William Derham, 
Rector of Upminster.*" Derham (1657-1735) became 
a Fellow of the Royal Society and published many 
books and articles on science and theology. In 1 7 14 he 
became chaplain to the Prince of Wales and in 1716a 
canon of Windsor.*' In 1733 he sold St. John's farm 
to Sir John Fortescue-Aland. The farm was thus 
merged in the main manor of Lambourne and subse- 
quently descended along with it (see above).*^ 

In 1723 the court of the manor was being held at a 
house called Tobys 'near Clay Grove'.*^ 

In 1 84 1 St. John's farm consisted of 88 acres in the 
occupation of James Clark.*'' In 1929 the area of the 
farm was 1 60 acres.*5 

The manor o{ ARNEWAYS, whose name has been 
corrupted to the modern ARNOLDS, probably took 
its name from Adam Arneway, who is said to have held 
land in Lambourne 'about the reign of Henry VI' 
under the Earl of Oxford, who held the neighbouring 
manor of Battles in Stapleford Abbots (q.v.).** This 
tenure suggests that Arneways was originally part of 
Battles. 

In 1525 Arneways was among the possessions of Sir 
William Fitzwilliam of Milton (Northants.) and was 
settled in that year to the uses of his will.*' He also 
owned the manor of Hunts (see below), and his pro- 
perty descended on his death in 1534 to his son and 
heir Sir William.** In a list of owners drawn up about 
1 543-6 Anthony Browne is given under Arneways.*' 
By 1556, however, Arneways and Hunts had come to 
Robert Taverner, lord of the manors of Pryors (see 
below) and Lambourne-and-Abridge (see above) who 
died in that year.''" Arneways remained in the posses- 
sion of Thomas, son of Robert Taverner, after Lam- 
bourne-and-Abridge had been sold, and descended on 
Thomas's death in 1610 to his son Robert." In 1625 
Robert Taverner sold Arneways and Pryors to Robert 
Draper, merchant tailor of London.'^ Taverner evi- 
dently remained tenant of the estate. Draper died in 
1635 and was succeeded by his younger son William.'-' 
At its fullest extent the Taverner estate probably com- 
prised about 500 acres. 

In 1 64 1 William Draper of Oxford sold Arneways 
to Robert Broomfield of Stratford.''* The estate de- 
scended to John Broomfield, son of John, son of Robert, 
who in 168 1 assigned the lease of Arneways 'heretofore 
in the occupation of Robert Taverner', to John Todd 
of Walthamstow." In 1687 this estate 'once in the 
occupation of Robert Taverner and afterwards of Lance 
Nash' was sold to John Todd.'* Todd is said to have 

5* CP25(2)/550B Trin. 1649. 

57 E.R.O., D/DLo T56. 

58 Ibid. 59 Ibid. 
"> Ibid. " D.N.B. 
'2 E.R.O., D/DLo T56. 
'3 E.R.O., D/P 181/8/1. 
«« E.R.O., D/CT 202. 
«! E.R.O., Sale Cat. A. 1046. 
" Morant, Essex, i, 173. 
" Earl Fitzwilliam (Milton) Deeds, 

1725, 1726. This reference has been pro- 
vided by Mr. A. A. Dibben. For Fitz- 
william see also Gaynes Park in Theydon 
Garnon and Marshalls in North Weald. 



'8 CH2/57/20. 

69 E.A.T.,ti.s. ix, 217; E.R.O., D/DRg 
1/197. 

■"> C142/109/54.. 

'■ C60/456, No. 44. For the Taverner 
pedigree see Visits, of Essex (Harl. Soc), 
498. 

'2 E.R.O.,T/A44,p. 319. 

" C142/52S/130. 

"t E.R.O.,T/A44, p. 319. 

75 Ibid. ■"• Ibid. 

" Morant, Essex, i, 173, 169. It is not 
clear whether the estate remained per- 
manently divided. A Mr. Church owned 



given half the estate to William Church, who married 
his daughter; their daughter and heir married Peter 
Searle who sold Arneways to Thomas Scott (d. 1733) 
of Woolston in Chigwell (q.v.)." The estate passed, to 
Thomas's son George Scott who was holding it in 1746. 
A map of the farm was drawn for George Scott in that 
year by Josiah Taylor.'* Arnolds then consisted of 2 1 5 
acres in Lambourne, most of which lay opposite the 
farm-house to the south of the main road. There were 
also a few acres in Stapleford Abbots. George Scott 
still held the farm in 1771," but by 1782 it was owned 
by Edward Sewell.*" He was returned as the owner 
until 1788 when the farm belonged to Mrs. Sarah 
Sewell, probably his widow.*' After Mrs. Sewell's 
death about 1801 Arneways came to Samuel Sewell 
who still held it in 1841.*^ In the latter year the farm 
consisted of 203 acres in Lambourne. It was occupied 
by Mrs. Kitty Collyer and Philip B. Collyer.sj The 
Collyer family had been tenants since 1788.*^ 

Arnolds Farm was advertised for sale in 1843. It 
was then stated to contain 203 acres freehold in Lam- 
bourne and a further 10 acres copyhold of the manor 
of Stapleford Abbots. *s It was bought by Samuel 
Crane, whose family continued to farm it until about 
19 16 when it was sold to Mr. Jacob Saward. In 1925 
the farm was bought by Mr. A. Clarke, whose son, 
Mr. H. E. Clarke, is the present owner.** 

The manor house, now a farm, is a timber-framed 
and weather-boarded structure with three gables to the 
front. Its present plan, which is approximately square, 
is the result of additions and alterations at various dates. 
The centre part of the front was once a 15th-century 
open hall, divided into two bays by a massive arch- 
braced roof truss with a rebated king-post. Smoke- 
blackened roof timbers indicate that there was an open 
hearth, probably in the eastern bay. Flanking the hall 
to east and west are two-story cross-wings, each with a 
front gable. These are probably of the same date or 
a little later. A ceiling has now been inserted in the hall 
and the central gable constructed to give light and head- 
room on the upper floor. The original truss has been 
incorporated in a bedroom partition. These alterations 
were probably made early in the i6th century. At 
about the same time a central chimney was inserted and 
a new two-story wing built out behind the hall. This 
would give a somewhat unusual T-shaped plan, the 
chimney providing fire-place openings both in the hall 
and the new wing. The ground-floor room of the added 
wing has fine moulded ceiling beams and joists of typical 
early-i6th-century character and there is said to be a 
carved external bressummer, now covered over, at the 
north end.*' The next addition was probably the north 
extension of the east cross-wing, which incorporates a 
17th-century staircase. On the first floor of the west 
cross-wing there is panelling of the late i6th or early 
17th century, and later still this wing was also extended 
northwards, giving the house its present square plan. 

Arnolds In 1723: E.R.O., D/P 181/8/1. 

78 Map in possession of Mr. H. E. 
Clarke of Arnold's Farm and kindly lent 
to the editor. A photo, of this : E.R.O., 
T/M 227. 

'9 Hist. Essex by Gent, iv, 24. 

80 E.R.O., Q/RPl 687. 

81 Ibid. 688-93. 

82 Ibid. 694-737; D/CT 202. 

83 Ibid. D/CT 202. 

84 Ibid. Q/RPl 693 f. 

85 E.R.O., Sale Cat. B. 168. 
ss Inf. from Mr. H. E. Clarke. 
87 Ibid. 



78 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



LAMBOURNE 



There are said to be two earlier windows to the hall, 
now blocked.** The whole house has been reroofed. 

The manor of BISHOPS HALL originated in an 
estate in Lambourne held by the Bishop of Norwich. 
It is probable that this estate extended into Stapleford 
Abbots. In 1250 Walter le Blunt and Maud his wife 
granted to Walter de Suffield, Bishop of Norwich, a 
messuage, 60 acres of land, 6 acres of meadow, and 
I acre of wood in Lambourne, which tenement had 
formerly been held by Andrew le Draper.*' In 1252 
the bishop received a royal grant of free warren in his 
demesnes at Lambourne.'" In 1260 Roger le Hunt 
and Estrilda his wife gave Simon de Wauton, Bishop of 
Norwich, 14 acres of land in the parish to hold in free 
alms." Early in 1384 the temporalities of Henry 
Despenser, Bishop of Norwich, were taken into the 
king's hands as a result of the disastrous expedition to 
Flanders which the bishop had led.'^ At a subsequent 
inquisition it was found that the manor called 'La 
Bisshoppeshall of Norwich' was held of the Knights 
Hospitallers and of Sir John Sutton by the service of 
6s. a year, of the king in chief as of the manor of Haver- 
ing, by service of making 60 perches of the park pale 
with his own timber, and of the Earl of Oxford by suit 
at his three weeken court.'^ The manor contained 80 
acres of arable worth ly. 44'. a year, 12 acres of wood 
which could be cut every 20 years and was worth 2S. an 
acre, 13/. %d. rents of assize, and 1 7( .') acres (of meadow 
or pasture .') each of which was worth is. 6d. 

The manor was restored to the bishop with his other 
property in 1385 and remained appurtenant to the see 
of Norwich until 1 534, when the then bishop, Richard 
Nix, was deprived of his property on the charge of 
infringing the Statute of Praemunire.'* Nix was later 
pardoned, but in 1536, immediately after his death, the 
temporalities of the see were vested in the king by Act 
of Parliament in exchange for the former estates of the 
abbey of St. Benet's Hulme and of the priory of Hick- 
hng.'s In October 1536 the bishop's manor in Lam- 
bourne was conveyed to the chancellor. Sir Thomas 
Audley.'* Audley transferred it in 1538 to William 
Hale. '7 In 1556 Hale settled the manor on himself for 
life with remainder tu Thomas Hale.'* This may have 
been the Thomas Hale of Codicote (Herts.) from whom 
descended the Hales of King's Walden (Herts.)." 
How long Bishops Hall was held by the Hales is not 
certain. It appears to have passed about 1606 to the 
family of Stoner of Loughton (q.v.) and together with 
land in Stapleford Abbots (q.v.) formed the estate of 
Knoll's Hill.' In 1606 the 'manor or messuage of 
Bishops Motte' was in the possession of Clement Stoner. 
The site was then 'wasted and overgrown'. The fields 
belonging to the manor were Nether Barnfield, Upper 
Barnfield, Wheelers Ridden, Great Perryfield, Little 
Perryfield, Sedwins, Blackcroft, Stanes, and Sagars. 



The total extent was about 100 acres.^ Stoner died in 
1612, leaving Francis his son and heir.J 

Bishops Hall seems subsequently to have been sepa- 
rated from the Knoll's Hill estate. Later in the I7tli 
century the manor came into the possession of Edmund 
Colvill, Salter of Maidstone (Kent). He was evidently 
a Parliamentarian, for in 1662 he was removed from the 
common council of Maidstone for refusing the oaths of 
Supremacy and Allegiance.* He died in 1675.' In 
1 686 his widow Katherine sold Bishops Hall to William 
Walker, citizen and ironmonger of London.* 

William Walker died in 1708 and was succeeded by 
his eldest son Thomas (d. 1748).^ Thomas Walker was 
surveyor-general to George II and M.P. for West Looe 
(1733), Plympton (1734), and Helston (1741).* He 
left all his Essex estates to his nephew Stephen Skinner.' 
Skinner died in 1762 and his widow Mary in 1769. 
The will of Thomas Walker had provided that his 
estates should pass after Skinner's death to Skinner's 
three daughters and their heirs.'" 

In 1772 a private Act of Parliament was passed for 
dividing the estates." Bishops Hall was included in 
Lot C of the subsequent partition and became the pro- 
perty of Mary wife of Sir Thomas Aubrey, 6th Bt. of 
Boarstall (Bucks.), and daughter of Sir James Cole- 
brooke, ist Bt., by Mary, eldest daughter of Stephen 
Skinner.'* In 1774 Sir Thomas and Lady Aubrey sold 
the manor to William Waylett of Lambourne.'^ Way- 
lett sold it in 1785 to Admiral Sir Edward Hughes, 
who had recently returned to England from service 
against the French as Commander-in-Chief, East 
Indies.'* 

On Sir Edward Hughes's death in 1 798 the manor 
passed to his stepson Edward Hughes Ball (d. 1863), 
who later assumed the additional surname of Hughes 
and became a social celebrity and dandy, familiarly 
known as 'Golden Ball'." In i8i8 Ball Hughes leased 
Bishops Hall to W. J. Lockwood of Dews Hall (see 
below) for fourteen years.'* The unexpired portion of 
the lease was surrendered in 1827." The manor is said 
to have been sold about this time to Edward Dowdes- 
well. Rector of Stanford Rivers, who gave it to Miss 
Lockwood Percival (presumably Louisa Elizabeth, 
sister of Edward Lockwood Percival the younger, for 
whom see above. Manor).'* After Miss Percival's 
death (before c. 1838) Bishops Hall apparently de- 
scended along with the main manor of Lambourne. 

The original manor house of Bishops Hall was no 
doubt that which in 1606 was described as Bishops 
Motte, and was then wasted and overgrown (see above) . 
This moated site can still be identified. Buried tiles and 
debris at the south-west corner may be the remains of 
former buildings. 

The second Bishops Hall was built f mile west of the 
first, probably by William Walker (d. 1708) or his son 



88 Ibid. 

89 FeetofF. Essex, \, 183. 

»o Cal. Chart. R. 1226-57, 404. 

" Feel ofF. Essex, i, 237. 

M Cal. Close, 1385-9, 3-4. For the 
career of Despenser see D.N.B. 

" C145/229. The document is badly 
stained but the name of the manor seems 
to be as given above. This makes it 
reasonably certain that the manor was 
named after the Bishop of Norwich, and 
not, as suggested by Dr. Reaney {P.N. 
Essex, 60—61) after a family named 
Bishop. 

«■• For Nix see D.N.B. 

95 27 Hen. VIII, C.45 (priv. act.). 



96 L. & P. Hen. ml, xi, p. 377. 

97 Ibid, xiii (i), p. 325. 

98 Cal. Pat. 1555-7, 90. 

99 Burke, Land. Gent. {1906), 746- 

7- 

' Morant, Essex, i, 178. 

2 E.R.O., D/DFa Ei : this includes a 
sketch map of the estate. Francis Stoner 
(d. 1604), father of Clement, does not 
appear to have owned Bishops Hall: 
C142/285/116. 

3 Morant, Essex, i, 178. 
* Recs. of Maidstone (i^ib), 146. 

5 P.C.C. Wills, 1671-S (Brit. 
Soc), 49. 

6 E.R.O., D/DLo T14. 

79 



Rrc. 



1 Ibid. 

8 T. Wright, Hist. Essex, ii, 398-9. 

9 E.R.O., D/DLo T14. 
'0 Ibid. 

" Skinner's Estate Act, 12 Geo. Ill, 
C.96 (priv. act.). Cf. E.R.O., D/DLo T14. 

" E.R.O., D/DLo T14. 

■3 Ibid. 

i« Ibid.; for Hughes see D.A^.B. He had 
fought 5 battles in about a year. 

'5 D.N.B. %, 174. 

" E.R.O., D/DLo T14. 

" Ibid. 

>8 T. Wright, Hist. Essex, ii, 399; 
Burke, Commoners (1833-8), iv, 82. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



Thomas (d. 1748)." This became the seat of the Lock- 
wood family and gave its name to their estate in the 19th 
century. It was much enlarged by Lord Lambourne 
about 1900. After the break-up of the estate (1929) 
the house was demolished (1936)^" and the present 
Bishops Hall, the third of the name, was built in the 
grounds about 1 50 yds. south-east. This is a two-story 
gabled building, partly half-timbered. Various features 
from the earlier house are incorporated, including the 
carved stone Lockwood arms on the south front and the 
17th-century Dutch panelling in the library. 

The manor oi DEIVS HALL took its name from the 
family of Deu or Dew. Thomas Deu held land in Lam- 
bourne in 1248.^' He and John Deu made a convey- 
ance of 9 acres of land and i acre of meadow in 1 262.^^ 
A Richard Deu of Lambourne occurs in 1280-1.^2 A 
John Deu was verderer for the regards of Chelmsford 
and Ongar in 1285. He was probably identical with 
the man of the same name who was a juror at the peram- 
bulation of the forest of Essex in i30i.2'» In 1304-5 
Hamon de Deu conveyed to Richard of Chigwell and 
Joan his wife a messuage, 120 acres of land, 24 acres of 
pasture, and 9 acres of meadow in Lambourne and 
Theydon Bois.^s 

In 1305 Juliane, widow of John de Deu, conveyed 
to Henry de Multon and Agnes his wife a messuage, 
200 acres of land, 6 acres of meadow, 1 5 acres of wood, 
and 20 acres of pasture in Lambourne.^* It was pro- 
vided in this conveyance that the property should de- 
scend to the heirs of Agnes; probably therefore she was 
the daughter of John Deu. In or about 1322 the estate 
passed to Juliane, daughter of Agnes and Henry and 
wife of Richard de Welby of Multon (Moulton, 
Lines .?)." In 1333 it was said to consist of a messuage, 
220 acres of land, 7 acres of meadow, 20 acres of pas- 
ture, 20 acres of wood, 24/. rent and \ messuage all in 
Lambourne. A settlement in that year provided that 
the estate should descend to the male heirs of Juliane 
and Richard, with successive remainders to their daugh- 
ters Margaret, Elizabeth, Joan, and Ada.^* No sons are 
mentioned by name and it is probable that Dews Hall 
descended through one of the daughters. 

In 14 1 9 John de Leventhorpe held an estate in 
Lambourne, described as I messuage, 220 acres of land, 
100 acres of meadow, 20 acres of pasture, 20 acres of 
wood, 24-f. rent and J messuage.^' A Thomas de Leven- 
thorpe had connexions with the parish in 1469.3° The 
Leventhorpe estate was probably Dews Hall. Reynold 
Bismere (d. 1 506) held Dews Hall of the Duke of 
Buckingham as of Ongar castle by doing what are called 
'white services' at the wardstaff of the hundred of 



Ongar.3' Two other Essex manors held by Bismere in 
1 506 had formerly belonged to the Leventhorpes.'^ 

By 1 540 Dews Hall had passed to Sir William Sul- 
yard who died in that year.^J He was succeeded by his 
half-brother Eustace Sulyard (d. 1547). Eustace's heir 
was his eldest son Edward, but Dews Hall, then in the 
occupation of James Haydon, was left to a younger son 
John. 34 There is no further mention of John. In 1580 
Edward Sulyard and Anne his wife conveyed Dews 
Hall to Henry Palmer.^' 

The manor descended in the direct male line of 
Palmer to Henry Billingsley Palmer, son of Edward 
Palmer.36 Between 1668 and 1697 a number of mort- 
gages were taken out on Dews Hall.37 Among the 
mortgagees was Richard Lockwood. In 1709 Henry 
Billingsley Palmer sold the manor to Catlyn Thorogood, 
an official of the South Sea Company.'* Thorogood 
died in 1732.3' His son Pate Thorogood sold Dews 
Hall in 1735 to Richard Lockwood, 'an eminent 
Turkey merchant', the son of the above-mentioned 
Richard Lockwood.'"' 

Lockwood settled at Dews Hall and the manor de- 
scended to his eldest son Richard (d. 1794).'" The 
latter left no children and was succeeded by his brother 
the Revd. Edward Lockwood, owner of the main manor 
of Lambourne (see above). In 1802, after the death of 
the Revd. Edward Lockwood, Dews Hall passed to 
William Joseph Lockwood, son of his elder son. It was 
thus separated from the manor of Lambourne, but the 
two manors were reunited in 1842 and Dews Hall 
subsequently descended along with Lambourne. 

In 1 841 Dews Hall farm consisted of 40 acres occu- 
pied by William Wootton.^^ In 1929 it consisted of 
87 acres, in hand.*' 

When Richard Lockwood acquired Dews Hall in 
1735 the manor house was 'an old brick building'.*^ 
He enlarged and refronted it in the classical style.*' A 
print of 1824 shows a fine three-story Georgian man- 
sion with seven windows across the front.** The central 
bay had a pediment and a first-floor balcony. The 
arcaded side wings were of one story. The house was 
demolished shortly before i84i.'»' The site is now 
occupied by a red-brick stable court belonging to 
Bishops Hall and dating from about 1900. 

The estate or farm known as HUNTS and later as 
PATCH PARK never seems to have been styled a 
manor. It derived its original name from the family of 
Richard le Hunte who with Cecily his wife held land in 
Lambourne in 1306.''* In 1360 John Hunte and his 
'parceners' held \ knight's fee in Lambourne of the 
Earl of Oxford.*' The name Patch Park probably came 



'9 William Walker was resident in the 
parish (cf. E.R.O., D/P 181/8/1). Before 
him the owners of Bishops Hall manor in 
the 17th cent, were probably non- 
resident. The house existed by the time 
of Morant (cf. Morant, Essex^ i, 173). 

20 Inf. from Col. J. C. Lockwood, present 
owner of Bishops Hall. For the building 
demolished in 1936 see E.R.O., Sale Cat. 
1046 (includes photo.). For the contents 
of that great house in 1929 see E.R.O., 
Sale Cat. A. 623. They included a 'magni- 
ficent French state bedstead' upon which 
Edward VII had slept during his visit to 
Bishops Halt. 

" Feet of F. Essex, i, 161. 

" Ibid. 2+5. 

" E.A.T., N.s. xviii, 139. 

^ Ibid, xvi, 93-94. 

^5 Feet of F. Essex, ii, 98. 

*' Ibid. 100. 



2' Cal. Fine R. 1 3 19-27, 89. 

28 Feet of F. Essex, iii, 28. 

^' Feet ofF. Essex, iii, 270. 

3i> Cal. Pat. 1467-77, 173. 

" C142/20/56. This is the first 
reference to the estate as a manor. For the 
wardstaff see above, Hundred of Ongar. 

32 Leventhorpes in Wennington and 
Launders in Rainham : see Morant, Essex, 
i, 86, 89. 

" C 142/64/89. For the Sulyards see 
Morant, Essex, ii, 42 and also Manor of 
Otes in High Laver. 34 C 142/86/63. 

35 E.R.O., D/DLo T5. An Edward 
Palmer probably occupied Dews Hall 
before 1547; E.A.T. N.s. ix, 217. 

3' For the descent see Visits, of Essex 
(Harl. Soc), 463. 

37 E.R.O., D/DLoTs, 6. 

3' Ibid. T7; Morant, Essex, i, 174. 

3' Morant, Essex, i, 174. For his part 

80 



in renovating the church and the sub- 
sequent dispute between the parish and 
his executors see below, Church. 

40 Ibid. J E.R.O., D/DL0T9. 

41 For the Lockwood pedigree see 
Burke, Commoners (1833-8), iv, 81. 

42 E.R.O., D/CT 202. 

43 E.R.O., Sale Cat. A. 1046. 

44 Morant, Essex^ i, 174. 45 Ibid. 

46 See plate facing p. 30. A view 
in Gents. Mag. Oct. 1821 is less good: 
here the apparent position of the house to 
the south-east of the church is probably 
due to faulty perspective. 

47 E.R.O., D/CT 202. The Tithe Map 
and Award show the 'scite of old mansion' 
at the position of Dews Hall. T. Wright, 
Hist. Essex (1835), ii, 401-2 speaks of the 
house as still standing. 

48 Feet of F. Essex, ii, 107. 

49 Cal. Inq. p.m. x, p. 522. 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



LAMBOURNE 



from the family of John Patche of Lambourne, a wood- 
ward of the bailiwick of Ongar in Waltham forest in 
1498.50 The estate or at least the farm-house was still 
known as Hunts as late as 1714.S' 

In 1525 Hunts was held along with Arneways (see 
above) by Sir William Fitzwilliam.s^ It passed with 
Arneways to Robert Taverner, who was holding it in 
1556.53 In 1716 'a parcel of pasture or marsh known 
as Patch Park', comprising about 60 acres, belonged to 
Thomas Luther, lord of Suttons in Stapleford Tawney 
(q.v.) and the farm subsequently descended along with 
Suttons.S't After Pryors (see below) had been added to 
the Suttons estate Patch Park and Pryors were worked 
as a single farm. 

The present farm-house of Patch Park was originally 
timber-framed and may be of 17th-century date or 
earlier. It probably consisted of a central block with 
cross-wings projecting to the south and oversailing at 
first floor level. The house has been much altered, par- 
ticularly in the mid-igth century when most of the 
lower story was faced with gault brick. 

The manor of PRT'ORS took its name from the 
priory of Dunmow, to which it belonged in the Middle 
Ages. In 1273 Roger Bishop and Alice his wife and 
Geoffrey Sleybrond and Rose his wife conveyed to 
Hugh, Prior of Dunmow, 43 acres of land and 2 acres 
of meadow in Lambourne. 55 In 1291 the property of 
the prior in Lambourne was valued at 18/. 21^.5* In 
1 3 1 1 the priory was granted licence to acquire a further 
small property in the parish.s' 

In 1536, after the dissolution of the priory, the lands 
in Lambourne formerly belonging to it were granted to 
Robert, Earl of Sussex (d. i542).58 In 1554 Henry, 
Earl of Sussex (d. 1557), sold Pryors to Robert Taver- 
ner.5' The manor subsequently descended with Arne- 
ways (see above) until 1681. In that year Arneways 
was sold by John Broomfield to John Todd, but Pryors 
remained in the possession of Broomfield, who left it by 
his will (1687) to his sister Elizabeth, wife of Nicholas 
Staphurst, M.D.*" Nicholas Staphurst, son of Eliza- 
beth, sold the estate in 17 13 to Dr. Thomas Tooke, 
Rector of Lambourne.*" A sketch map of Pryors and 
the glebe land made in 1714 is a little difficult to follow 
but appears to show that Pryors proper consisted of 3 5 
acres and that an additional 1 1 acres belonging to the 
glebe were farmed as part of Pryors. '^ Tooke died in 
1 72 1, leaving Pryors to his wife for life with remainder 
to his brother John Tooke (d. 1764) who also suc- 
ceeded him as rector.*^ John Tooke was succeeded as 
rector and owner of Pryors by his son Robert Tooke 
(d. 1776).*'* Robert left Pryors to his sister Mrs. Cal- 
vert, who held it until her death about I794.*5 She 
was succeeded by her daughter Mary, wife of John 
Martin, who sold the farm about 1798 to Charles Smith 
of Suttons in Stapleford Tawney (q.v.). Pryors was 



thus merged in the Suttons estate.** In 1841 Pryors 
and Patch Park (see above) together contained 136 
acres.*' 

A small timber-framed and weather-boarded house, 
now known as Patch Park Cottage, is thought to repre- 
sent the former manor house of Priors. Until recently 
it was divided into two tenements. Externally it appears 
to be of the i8th or early 19th century, but two ground- 
floor rooms have stop-chamfered beams, probably of 
the 17th century and it is possible that at one time the 
building was of greater extent. 

The priory of Stratford Bow (Mdx.) owned 6 acres 
of land in Lambourne called MrNCHTNL^NDS, 
which were granted after the Dissolution to Sir Ralph 
Sadler, who in 1 546 received licence to grant the pro- 
perty to John Lowe.** It may have been in connexion 
with these lands that the Abbot of Waltham was paying 
I mark a year to Stratford priory in about i254.*9 

The advowson of the church of Lambourne was 
originally appurtenant to the manor of 
CHURCH Lambourne. It was given by Robert of 
Lambourne to Waltham Abbey. This 
grant was confirmed by the Bishop of London in 1 2 1 8." 
The confirmation appears to have included the per- 
mission required for the ordination of a vicarage, but 
there is no evidence that this ever took place.'" 

The first presentation to the rectory after the Dissolu- 
tion was made in 1546 by Sir Anthony Cook.'^ In 
1553 the king granted the advowson to Lord Francis 
Russell and James Bridges.'^ Robert Taverner of 
Arneways (see above) who died in 1556 was said to 
own the advowson.''' In 1557, however. Sir Nicholas 
Bacon and George Medley presented.'s Katherine 
Barfoot, widow of Robert Barfoot (see above. Manor), 
presented in 1569.'* She is stated to have done so by 
reason of a grant of the advowson for one turn, made by 
Waltham Abbey. It is not unlikely that the presenta- 
tions of 1 546 and 1557 also derived from grants made 
before the dissolution of the abbey. 

The advowson appears to have been held for some 
time by the Taverners, although the presentation was 
made by a member of the family on one occasion only 
(1608)." The advowson was sold with Arneways to 
Robert Draper in 1625.'* In 1641 William Draper 
conveyed it to William and Thomas Overman." The 
presentation of 1642 was made by the king; it had pre- 
viously been granted for this turn by Robert Taverner 
to Thomas Winnifl^e, Rector of Lambourne. 80 Winniffe 
was Dean of Gloucester (1624) and later of St. Paul's 
(163 1 ). He was chaplain to Charles I and became 
Bishop of Lincoln in 1642.*' No doubt the king pre- 
sented on his behalf In 1646, after the revenues of his 
see had been confiscated by Parliament, Winniife re- 
tired to Lambourne where he died in 1654. He bought 
the next presentation and evidently intended to give the 



5° E.R. XIV, 200. 

5' E.R.O., D/DSd Pi; Chapman and 
Andre, Map of Essex, 7777, sheet xvi, give 
Hunts as name of present Great Downs 
farm. This was probably an error. 

52 Earl Fitzwilliam (Milton) Deeds, 
1725, 1726. 

53 C142/109/54. 

54 E.R.O., D/DSd T2. 

55 Feet of F. Essex, \\, I. 

5<> Tax Eccl. (Rec. Com.), 25*. 
5' Cal. Pat. R. 1307-13, 395. 

58 L. &■ P. Hen. f^HI, xi, p. 87. 

59 CP25(2)/7o/579 Mich, i & 2 Ph. & 
Mary. 

'o Morant, Essex, i, 174; E.R.O., 

ES. IV 



D/DSd T42. 
6' Ibid. 

62 E.R.O., D/DSd Pi. 

63 Morant, Essex, i, 174-5. 
<>* Ibid. 

65 T. Wright, Hist. Essex, ii, 402; 
E.R.O., Q/RPl 686-99; ibid. D/DSd 
T42. '' I'''''- 

" E.R.O., D/CT 202. The name of this 
Pryors is not now used locally. Priors 
near Bishops Hall is a modern house with 
no known connexion with the Dunmow 
priory estate. 

68 L. & P. Hen. nil, xiv (i), p. 161; 
ibid, xxi (2), p. 348. 

'9 E.A.T. N.s. xviii, 18. 

81 



'" Newcourt, Repert. ii, 691. 

" There was a rector in 1297 : Cal. Pal. 
1292-1301, 296. 

" Newcourt, Repert. ii, 360. 

'3 Cal. Pat. 1553, 76. Russell was the 
eldest son of the 3rd Earl of Bedford, 
whom he succeeded in 1555. 

'4 C142/109/S4. 

'S Newcourt, Repert. ii, 360. 

'6 Ibid. 

" Ibid.; CP25(2)/i35/i72i; C60/457. 
The king presented in 1606. 

'8 CP25(2)/4i5 Mich. I Chas. I. . 

" CP2S(2)/4i8 Mich. 17 Chas. I. 

80 C142/S2S/130. 

8' D.N.B. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



living to his nephew Peter Mews (1619-1706).*^ 
Mews, who served in the royalist forces during the Civil 
War, presented to the rectory in 1660.83 He later be- 
came Bishop of Winchester. 

The advowson appears to have descended subse- 
quently along with Pryors (see above) but to have been 
granted for single turns to persons not connected with 
that manor. In 17 1 2 it was sold by Nicholas Staphurst 
to Dr. Thomas Tooke, then rector. Tooke provided in 
his will that his heirs should have the advowson for 50 
years after his death and that it should then pass to 
Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. *< The college pre- 
sented for the first time in 1778 and has continued to 
do so ever since.*' 

The rectory was valued at £fi 1 3^. \ti. in about 1254, 
1291, and 14288* and at ^14 in 1535. *' The tithes 
were commuted in 1841 for ;£6ro; there were then 
35 acres of glebe. 8* 

The Old Rectory, now called Lambourne Place, was 
originally a timber-framed house, probably of the 17th 
century.89 It was largely faced with red brick about 
1 740. The fine symmetrical front has rusticated brick- 
work to the lower story, while above there are rusticated 
quoins, a moulded brick cornice, and a central pedi- 
ment. A high parapet conceals the dormer windows. 
The pedimented doorcase of wood is said to have come 
from Dews Hall (see above)."* It formerly had a shield 
of arms in the tympanum. Inside there are panelled 
rooms and a staircase with turned balusters of about 
1740. Some of the chimney pieces are of this date and 
some later. There are later additions at the back of the 
house. It is now the home of the Rt. Hon. John 
Strachey, P.C, M.P., Minister of Food 1946-50 and 
Secretary of State for War 19 50-1. 

The present rectory was built in 1925 on a site pre- 
sented by Lord Lambourne." It is a two-story house 
of dark-red brick. 

The church of ST. MART AND ALL SAINTS 
consists of nave, chancel, and west bell turret. It for- 
merly had north and south porches. The walls are of 
flint rubble with stone and brick dressings and are 
covered externally with cement. The bell turret is 
timber-framed and weather-boarded and has a lead 
spire. 

The nave dates from the middle of the 12th century. 
It has north and south doorways which were blocked 
and reset in the 1 8th century. The south door has some 
of the original voussoirs to the semicircular arch. The 
north doorway has original scalloped capitals externally 
but the shafts are missing. The outer order of the open- 
ing is semicircular, enriched with chevron ornament. 
Below is a tympanum now resting on a wood lintel. 
Some of the reset stones of the tympanum are decorated 
with axe-cut formy crosses and similar designs. At a 
high level and partly behind the timber-work of the bell 
turret on both north and south sides are round-headed 
single-light 12th-century windows. Part of the internal 
jamb and arch of a similar window was uncovered 
farther east on the north side in 195 i. 

An original chancel, built at the same time as the 
nave, was largely rebuilt in the 13th century. The 



thicker walls adjoining the nave may be the remains of 
the 12th-century chancel. A 13th-century blocked 
lancet window is visible externally on the south side. 

In the 14th century new windows may have been 
inserted in the nave and chancel. 

The nave roof, with its tie-beam and king-post with 
four-way struts, probably dates from the 1 5th century. 
Timber porches, later removed, may have been added 
in this or the following century. 

The bell-turret was probably added early in the i6th 
century. The timber-framing, reaching to the floor of 
the nave, has angle-posts, tie-beams, and curved braces. 

In 1704-5 the west gallery was built at the expense 
of William Walker of Bishops Hall. It is supported on 
moulded columns and is ornamented with foliage carv- 
ing incorporating Walker's monogram. The panels are 
inscribed with a list of benefactions to the parish. A 
new chancel screen may have been inserted soon after- 
wards. The panels, which now form a dado at the back 
of the choir stalls, have similar foliage carving and the 
monogram T.T. (possibly Thomas Tooke, rector 
1707-21). 

The church was restored and altered between 1723 
and 1727. In 1726—7 about ^220 was spent on this 
work. 9^ The renovations were inspired by Catlyn 
Thorogood of Dews Hall, a churchwarden. After his 
death in 1732 there was a dispute between the parish 
and his executors concerning his accounts for the period 
of renovation. '3 The work included the removal of the 
timber porches to north and south and probably the 
blocking and resetting of the 12th-century doorways. 
A new west door was inserted, having a moulded hood 
on foliated brackets (dated 1726) and an oval window 
above it. New or altered windows were provided in the 
chancel and nave. At the same time the interior was 
decorated. The chancel arch is now three-centred, rest- 
ing on voluted brackets and enriched with 1 8th-century 
plasterwork. The tie-beams across the nave and chancel 
are covered with moulded and enriched plaster, the 
mouldings being carried round the walls to form a 
cornice. The king-post of the nave roof has been 
clothed in ornamental plaster and acanthus leaves. It 
was probably at this time, also, that the oak reredos with 
its fluted Corinthian pilasters was installed, and also a 
three-decker pulpit and box pews. The renovation was 
so thorough that the interior gives the impression of a 
Georgian church, an effect heightened by the large 
number of painted hatchments and of i8th- and early 
19th-century monuments. A print dated 1824 gives a 
good general view of the interior at this time, including 
the three-decker pulpit with an enriched sounding- 
board and the box pews. It also shows a late-i 8th-cen- 
tury monument above the altar, blocking the east win- 
dow."* An upper tier was added to the gallery in 
1820.95 

In 1889 a new organ was installed and a new brick 
organ chamber was built for it on the north of the 
chancel. At the same time the church was reseated, the 
pulpit probably lowered, and a new heating system 
installed. These alterations were the gift of Col. Lock- 
wood of Bishops Hall. 9* In 1933 a new vestry and 



82 D.N.B. 

83 Ibid.; Newcourt, Repert, ii, 360. 
8* Morant, Essex^ i, 175. 

*' Michael Tyson (174.0—80) was insti- 
tuted in 1778 after a long legal struggle 
concerning the advowson. He was a 
former scholar of Corpus Christi, anti- 
quary, and artist : D.N.B. 



^ E.A.T. N.s. xviii, 18; Tax. Fed. 
(Rec. Com.), zih; Feud. Aids, ii, 204. 
8' Fahr Fed. (Rec. Com.), i, 437. 

88 E.R.O., D/CT 202. 

89 Possibly the house mentioned in the 
glebe terrier of 16 10: Newcourt, Repert. 
ii, 360. 

9" Hist. Mort. Com. Essex, ii, 144. 

82 



9' Inf. from the present rector. 

92 E.R.O., D/P 181/8/1. This vestry 
book contains details of the renovation. 

93 Ibid. 181/8/1,2. 

9'' E.R.O., Prints, Lambourne. See plate 
facing p. 53. 
95 T. Wright, Hist. Essex, ii, 403. 
»' Kelly's Dir. Essex (1890). 




Kelvedon Hall 
Built c. 1743 



Copyright Country Life 




Lambourne Place, formerly the Rectory 
Built c. 1740 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



LAMBOURNE 



entry were constructed under the gallery, the partitions 
being of oak from Bishops Hall." There is a two-light 
window in the vestry, on the north wall of the church. 

There are three bells, of 1640 by John Clifton, of 
1684 by James Bartlet, and of 1784 by William Mears. 
In 1552 there were three bells, breadth 24 in., 20 in., 
and 21 in., and also two little handbells and a sacring 
bell.'* The Bartlet bell was installed in obedience to 
the direction of the archdeacon at his visitation of 
1683.''' 

The glass in the south windows of the chancel was 
installed in 18 17, having been brought from Basle.' 
The subjects are as follows: the Choice between Good 
and Evil, dated 1 630; the Adoration of the Magi, dated 
1637; the Incredulity of St. Thomas (with the Annun- 
ciation in the spandrels) dated 1623; Christ and St. 
Peter on the sea (with the Apocalyptic Vision in the 
spandrels) dated 163 1 ; the Adoration of the Shepherds, 
the Virgin and Child and St. Anne and the Virgin and 
Child (with St. Christopher and a female saint in the 
spandrels) dated 163 1. The inscriptions are in Ger- 
man.^ The glass in the east window, representing the 
Adoration of the Shepherds, was presented in memory 
of Lord Lambourne (d. 1928). 

During repairs in 195 1 part of a wall-painting of St. 
Christopher was uncovered between the windows on 
the south side of the nave. It is thought by Mr. Clive 
Rouse to be of the 15th or early i6th century and to 
show traces below of an earlier painting of the same 
subject. At the same time painted red and yellow strap- 
work was uncovered farther west. This formed a frame 
for texts and is of post-Reformation date.^ 

The pulpit in oak is four sides of an octagon. The 
panels are enriched with carved arcading dating from 
the 1 6th or early 17th century. This was probably in- 
corporated in the 18th-century three-decker pulpit and 
retained when the pulpit was lowered in the 19th cen- 
tury. The base is probably part of one of the lower tiers 
of the three-decker. The font has an 18th-century 
marble bowl on a tall moulded stone base. 

The plate consists of a communion cup of I559> ^ 
plain silver paten of 1703 presented by John Wroth, 
a silver flagon of 1736 presented by Richard Lockwood, 
and a silver alms dish of 1 8 17. In 1552 the com- 
missioners found at Lambourne a chalice weighing 1 7 oz. 
They delivered for divine service an 8 oz. chalice, of 
silver parcel gilt.* 

At his visitation of 1683 the archdeacon directed that 
a bible of the new translation should be provided. 5 This 
suggests that the Great Bible was still in use at Lam- 
bourne more than 70 years after the publication of the 
Authorized Version. 

In the chancel is a brass to Robert Barfott (1546) 
and Katheryn his wife.* It has figures of a man and 
woman together with a group of five sons and another 
of four sons and ten daughters, also the arms of the 
Mercers' Company and a merchant's mark. Also in the 
chancel is a black and white marble tablet with a broken 
pediment and three shields of arms to Thomas Wynnyff 
(1654) (see above). On the south wall of the chancel 



is a tablet with shield of arms and Latin inscription to 
Thomas Tooke, rector (172 1). There are also other 
tablets to later members of the Tooke family who were 
rectors. Both in the chancel and nave are many memo- 
rials to members of the Lockwood family. Richard 
Lockwood, the Turkey merchant who bought Dews 
Hall, is commemorated by a white marble tablet with 
an urn, broken pediment, garlands, and shield of arms. 
On the wall of the nave is a tablet in memory of Capt. 
George Lockwood, killed at Balaclava in 1854. There 
are floor slabs in the chancel to John Wynnyff (1630), 
father of Thomas, to Robert Bromfield (1647), and 
members of his family. In the churchyard are the 
tombs of Admiral Sir Edward Hughes (1794), his wife, 
and his two stepsons.^ 

The church of THE HOLT TRINITY, Abridge, 
was built in 1836 as a chapel of ease to the parish 
church. 8 It was then a plain rectangular building with 
lancet windows along the sides and was of gault brick 
with red brick dressings. The gabled street front dates 
from 1877. A new chancel and vestries were added in 
1938.' 

For the Church House see below. Charities. 

On 2 July 1833 a Wesleyan chapel was opened 
at Abridge. Sermons were 
NONCONFORMITY preached at the first services 
by the Revd. J. T. Yeates of 
Romford and the Revd. T. R. Fisher of Hammersmith. 
The chapel was estimated to accommodate 1 50. The 
original cost was ^^270 with ground freehold; (jo was 
raised by private subscriptions and collections at the 
opening. The chapel was in the North East London 
Circuit.'" An account of the opening made bold claims 
as to the beneficial results already achieved by Metho- 
dist preaching in Abridge. 'This village, from its ex- 
ceeding wretchedness and open profanity, was usually 
called the Little Sodom; but by the introduction of 
Methodist preaching its moral character is entirely 
changed.'" The chapel did not remain Wesleyan for 
long. There were no other Wesleyan churches near 
and pulpit supply must have been difficult. About 
1 844 the chapel was taken over for Congregational use.'^ 

In 1 844 the Essex Congregational Union helped the 
Revd. T. Hill of Chigwell Row to establish a church at 
Abridge, using the building previously erected for the 
Wesleyans.'-s By 1847 the church was self-supporting.'* 
In 1850 it was superintended by a Mr. Hanley of Lon- 
don; there were 28 members and many adherents: 'the 
little church is well filled.''5 Soon after this a Mr. 
Knight worked at Abridge as the agent of the Country 
Towns Mission. In 1858 he reported that the village 
was still known as Little Sodom.'* In that year the 
Essex Congregational Union made a grant to Knight, 
who was also preaching at Lambourne End and Bourne 
Bridge in Stapleford Abbots. '^ The deeds of the 
Abridge church had been acquired by one of the trea- 
surers of the E.C.U."* Knight remained until i860, 
when he left, apparently in unhappy circumstances." 
The church was placed under the superintendence of 
that at Epping, and there was confidence that it would 



97 Inf. from the rector. 
«* E.A.T. N.s. ii, 235-6. 
M Ibid, xix, 266. 

' T. Wright, Hisl. Essex, ii, 403. 

' Hist. Mon. Com. Essex, ii, 1+3-4- 

3 Lambourne Parish Mag. Aug. igS'' 

♦ E.A.T. N.s. ii, 235-6. 

5 E.A.T. N.s. xix, 266. 

' For Barfoot see above. Manor. He 



died in Jan. 154.6/7. 

7 T. Wright, Hisl. Essex, ii, 407-8. 

8 White's Dir. Essex (1848). It cost 
^520. 

9 Inf. from the rector. 

'0 Wesleyan Methodist Mag. 1833, p. 
729. 
II Ibid. 
" fVhite's Dir. Essex (1848); E.R.O., 

83 



D/CT 202 ; see below. - 

" Essex Cong. Union Rep. 1 847. 

■♦ Ibid. 

IS Ibid. 1850. 

I' Ibid. 1858. 

" Ibid. 

" Ibid. The treasurers were Isaac Perry 
and W. C. Wells. 

I' Essex Congr. Union Rep. 1 860. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



revive.*" The E.C.U. was making an annual grant 
amounting to ^^40 in 1859-60 and ^■^j los. in 
1 860-1." 

The church remained attached to Epping until 
1881." In 1861 new pews were installed; the Sunday 
school numbered about 30.^3 A room had been rented 
at Lambourne End and a Sunday evening congregation 
of 30-40 met there.^ In 1 869 it was reported that 
'a Spanish Protestant' was holding a bible class in con- 
nexion with the church.^s In 1870 the cottage service 
at Lambourne End was transferred to the care of the 
church at Chigwell Row; about 80 now attended the 
service.** A. M. Kemsley, a missioner who worked at 
Moreton, took the Sunday school at Abridge in 1876." 
The church was flourishing at this time: in 1877 new 
classrooms were built at a cost of ;(^25, all of which had 
been paid oiFduring the year.** In 1 879, however, the 
E.C.U. considered withdrawing its annual grant of 
;^2 5 because there was an evangelical ministry at the 
anglican chapel in Abridge.*' This was not done, but 
the grant was reduced to ;{^20.3o Jn 1880 the church 
had 1 1 members, an average congregation of 90, and 
a Sunday school of 100 with 6 teachers." The expenses 
in connexion with it amounted to about ;^40.3* 

In 1 88 1 the church was removed from association 
with Epping and placed under the charge of Chigwell 
Row.33 By this time the cottage service at Lambourne 
End appears to have ceased ;3* it had been thriving in 
1873, when it had become financially self-supporting.^s 
From 1886 the Abridge church was included in the 
London Congregational Union. 3* It was apparently 
given up by the Congregationalists about 1905.37 It is 
now used as a parish room. It is a plain building of 
gault brick. 

The Evangelical Free Church was started about 
1923 when a Mr. White from Woodford held services 
first in the Parish Room (former Congregational 
Chapel) and later with a tent and caravan. In 1924 
the church was built.38 It is a wooden building with a 
cement-rendered front and it stands set back on the 
south side of the London road. 

At Augusta Cottages, near Lambourne End, there 
is a small wooden hut called Emmanuel Chapel, prob- 
ably not more than 50 years old. 

Vestry minute-books for Lambourne survive for the 

periods 1 67 1— 1 764 and 

PARISH GOVERNMENT 1 8 1 0-4 5 .3 « Before 1733 

AND POOR RELIEF the vestry usually met 

only at the two appointed 
times for the election of oificers, but these meetings 
were well attended, there being often ten and some- 
times as many as fourteen present. In November 1733 
it was resolved to hold a vestry on the first Sunday in 
every month. This resolution was not fully carried out, 
but for the next fifteen years meetings were frequent 
and well attended and a strict control was maintained 
by the vestry over all sides of parish government. Be- 



tween 1810 and 1826 four or five meetings were held 
each year. John Tooke, rector 172 1-64, often attended 
after 1733. Richard Lockwood of Dews Hall often 
attended between 1736 and 1747 and he or the rector 
presided over the vestry when present. A dinner was 
usually held in conjunction with the Easter vestry at 
one of the pubhc houses in Abridge; the expenses were 
charged to the churchwarden's accounts. A vestry 
clerk was appointed in 1745 ^' ^^ annual salary of ij 
guinea; the person then appointed signed the minutes 
as clerk. 

In 1826 a public vestry resolved unanimously to 
adopt the second Sturges Bourne Act (59 Geo. Ill, 
c. 1 2) and set up a select vestry. Fifteen members were 
elected with the addition of the rector, Robert Sutcliffe, 
as chairman, and the parish officers. The select vestry 
functioned until May 1836, fortnightly meetings being 
held in the workhouse during the whole period. Poor 
relief and the management of the workhouse were its 
main concern. Public vestries were still held occasion- 
ally to deal with general matters and to appoint fresh 
select vestries at intervals of one or two years. The lord 
of the manor, Edward Lockwood Percival, and the 
curate, Morgan Lewis, were usually among those ap- 
pointed to the select vestry, and either one of them or 
of the churchwardens presided. 

In 1723 a rate of is. in the ^^i produced almost £6g. 
This was a general rate levied by the overseers, out of 
which they paid the accounts of the other parish officers. 
In 17 16 deficiencies in the surveyors' and constable's 
accounts were met out of the churchwardens' and over- 
seers' accounts and the final balance of 8/. yj. was spent 
at the vestry. In 1807 a rate of is. in the £1 produced 
over £<)0.*'' The parish was surveyed in 1 8 27 by James 
Thompson and a new valuation made. The rateable 
value was then over ^£3,200.^' A public vestry fixed the 
scale of rates per acre and according to different quali- 
ties of arable, pasture, and woodland.** In 1837, under 
direction from the Poor Law Commissioners, the rate- 
able values were raised by 2 5 per cent. 

Relations between the vestry and its officers were not 
always harmonious. The dispute with the executors of 
a former churchwarden is mentioned above.''3 In 1737 
the constable's absence from the vestry was the subject 
of complaint, and there were other occasions when 
officers were censured. It is possible that this dishar- 
mony was caused by a conflict of interests between the 
shopkeepers of Abridge and the farmers of the parish.** 

The normal parish officers were appointed until 
1 83 1, when a salaried assistant overseer was appointed 
at j^5 a year. Women were chosen as overseers in 1730 
and 1737 and both served. The son of the earlier over- 
seer, however, attended the vestry and signed on her 
behalf. The constables elected in 1676 were described 
as being for the 'townside or kite and for the end' (i.e. 
Abridge and Lambourne End). In 1678 the former 
was succeeded by the constable for the manor of St. 



*" Essex Cmgr. Union Report, i860. 

" Ibid. 1861,1862. The grant was kept 
up for many years after 1861. It was 
£z$ p. a. in 1866-79. 

2^ Essex Congr. Union Rep. 1881. 

" Ibid. 1861. 2* Ibid. 

25 Ibid. 1869. There is no later mention 
of this man. 

2' Essex Congr. Union Rep. 1870. 

" Ibid. 1876. 28 Ibid. 

« Ibid. 1879. 

3» Ibid. 1879-81. 

" Ibid. 1881. 



32 Ibid. 33 Ibid. 

3< Ibid. 1%%1-z; Congr. Tear Bk. 1879, 
1880. It is possible that the service con- 
tinued outside the Congregational Union. 

35 Essex Congr. Union Rep. 1873. 

3« Ibid. 1885. 

3' Congr. Tear Bk. 1 905, 1906. A 
Congregational chapel is listed in KeIIy*s 
Dir. as late as 19 14, but this is perhaps an 
error. 

38 Inf. from Mrs. Brewster of Abridge. 

39 E.R.O., D/P 181/8/ 1, 2, 4. Unless 
otherwise stated all information is derived 



from these sources. 

♦» E.R.O., D/P 181/11/1 (Overseers 
Rate Bk.). 

4' E.R.O., D/P 181/11/2. 

♦2 1 2 J.- 1 8 J. per acre for arable, 15^.— 
iSs. for pasture, izs. for woodland, and 
10s. for forest underwood, with a deduc- 
tion of one third for waste in the measure- 
ment. 

43 See above, Church. 

+* For the position of Abridge in rela- 
tion to the rest of the parish see above, 
PP- 73-74- 



84 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



LAMBOURNE 



John's with a colleague for the 'Countess of Warwick's 
leet'-^s An ale-conner was appointed in 1685, an 
assessor of land-tax in 1752, and a reeve in 1826 and 
1828, all by the parish vestry. 

There were stocks at Abridge in 1585, when a 
vagrant was reported to have escaped from them/* In 
1728 it was decided to build a parish cage at Abridge 
with the timber recently removed from the church 
porches.'" In 1841 the parish pound stood about I mile 
south of Abridge to the west of Hoe Lane.^* In 1832 
some labourers were paid 3/. for working the fire-engine. 

In 1589 the parishioners subscribed towards the 
building of a cottage for the poor and petitioned Quarter 
Sessions for permission to erect it without the statutory 
4 acres of land.'" During the early i8th century the 
parish cottages at Abridge were sometimes used to 
accommodate the poor,'" but they were not very satis- 
factory for this purpose. Plans to convert them into a 
workhouse were rejected in 1738 and again in 1828.5' 

In 1742 three houses in 'the Alley' at Abridge were 
leased by the parish at ;^4 10/. a year, and in 1748 a 
house called 'The Old Crown' was leased for use as a 
poorhouse at ^^lo a year. The repair and extension of 
Church House at Lambourne End, about 18 10, were 
for the purpose of housing the parish poor, and this 
house remained in use as a workhouse until the forma- 
tion of the Ongar Union. 

An Epping surgeon and an apothecary were paid for 
attending the poor and supplying medicine in 1748, 
and a midwife received 5 J. in 1723 for delivering a 
bastard child, but it was only from 1 8 10 that regular 
medical contracts were made for the treatment of the 
poor. In that year a parish doctor was employed at a 
salary of 14 guineas. This included all inoculations and 
attendance at two childbirths, but other childbirths and 
surgical treatment were excluded, as well as travelling 
expenses outside the parish. Between 1824 and 1834 
further agreements on similar lines were recorded, the 
appointments usually being reviewed each year. 

The annual amounts raised by the poor rates in the 
1 8th century were only irregularly recorded, but by the 
middle of that century the overseers' expenditure was 
usually over ^100 a year. The vestry was fairly strict 
with its poor. On several occasions individuals and 
families were moved around, presumably to make the 
best use of existing accommodation. Orders for badging 
the poor were issued, chiefly between 1729 and I745» 
but once as late as 1 8 2 5 . In 1 8 3 1 a woman was ordered 
to wean her child. The policy of the vestry was not, 
however, merely repressive. In 1743 a silk thrower was 
brought down from London to instruct the poor in 
winding silk, and others who were not receiving relief 
were encouraged by financial assistance to be similarly 
employed. In 1832 and 1833 several pieces of land, 
some given by E. Lockwood Percival, the lord of the 
manor, were acquired for giving employment to the 
poor. 

As elsewhere the cost of poor relief mounted steeply 
after 1780. Over £840 was raised by rates in 1 800-1, 
and this rose tOj^923 in 1806-7.5^ Between 1810 and 
1826 a number of agreements with workhouse masters 



were recorded. The first of these was for a lump sum, 
but all the others were on a capitation basis, the tenders 
varying from 2/. ^J. to 5/. 6J. a head a week. The 
terms always included an allowance for fuel and an 
additional allowance for material and the master was 
allowed to retain all profits. After 1 826 the select vestry 
brought the management of the workhouse more closely 
under parish control by ensuring that all profits went to 
the parish. The master's subsequent ofl^er to revert to 
the old system was rejected. Contracts for the supply 
of food and other goods for the workhouse were re- 
viewed every six months and a high standard of quality 
was always required. In 1 83 3 the cheese and soap were 
sent back to a new contractor as unfit for use and a 
sample was sent to show the quality required. 

In 1836 Lambourne became part of the Ongar Poor 
Law Union. 

The foundation statutes of Harsnett's schools at 
Chigwell (1629) provided that two boys 
SCHOOLS from Lambourne should be taught at the 
English school at Chigwell and two at the 
Latin school.53 In 1734 Sir John Fortescue-Aland, lord 
of the manor of Lambourne and owner of Knolls Hill 
in Stapleford Abbots, founded a free school in Staple- 
ford Abbots, at which twenty boys from Lambourne 
were to be given places.S'* 

There was no school in Lambourne in 1 807 except 
a Sunday school with twenty pupils.'' Twenty places 
were still available at the Stapleford Abbots school, but 
not all of these were filled.'* In 1 8 1 8 there was still no 
day school at Lambourne, but by 1833 much progress 
had been made. AH the available places in the free 
school were taken and a day school had been founded 
at Abridge. In 1833 there were 64 pupils at this school, 
of whom 50 paid fees and 14 were paid for by bene- 
factors.'' The school was probably then under church 
guidance, and in about 1835 it seems to have passed 
under more direct church control. The chapel of ease 
at Abridge was used as a schoolroom for girls and the 
Wesleyan chapel hired for the teaching of boys. In 
1838 the annual expenses were about ;^70, towards 
which subscribers gave ^^40. About £7 was collected 
at the annual sermon and further income was derived 
from the weekly fee of 2^/. for each child. About 80 
children were on the roll, but the average attendance 
was low.' 8 

The population of Lambourne was increasing steadily 
at this time and in 1839 there were still some 50 children 
not attending a school of any kind. In 1838 local 
churchmen set up a committee, with the rector as secre- 
tary, to build a new school at Abridge. Subscriptions 
were collected, chiefly from local landowners, and the 
rector approached the government and the National 
Society for grants. After a delay due to difficulties over 
a site and to the National Society's dispute with the 
government in 1839, building started in 1 841-2 on a 
site given by W. J. Lockwood of Dews Hall and his son 
W. M. Wood. The National Society gave ^40, the 
government ^^54, and the Diocesan Board ;^20. A 
further £199 was given by 35 subscribers, including 
Lady Mildmay, owner of Battles Hall in Stapleford 



■»5 The Countess was the widow of 
Charles Rich, Earl of Warwick. Her leet 
was presumably that of the hundred of 
Ongar, which had been granted to Sir 
Richard Rich in 1 547. 

*<> E.R.O., Q/SR 95/66. 

♦' See above, Church. 

48 E.R.O., D/CT 20Z. 



« E.R.O., Q/SR 1 10/41. The site 
chosen was 'near unto barackes abouttinge 
uppon Chigewell upon the wast soule'. 

50 See below. Charities. 

51 Ibid. 

» E.R.O., e/CR 1/9. 
S3 r.C.H. Essex, ii, 544- 
>* See Stapleford Abbots. 

85 



" E.R.O., D/AEM 2/4: Lambourne 
Retns. 

5' Ibid. Stapleford Abbots Retns. 

5' Reins. Educ. Poor, H.C. 224, p. 260 
(1819), ix (i); Educ. Enquiry Ahstr. H.C. 
62, pp. 280-1 (1835), ili. 

5« E.R.O., D/P 30/28/18; ex inf. Nat. 
Soc. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



Abbots, Archer Houblon, owner of Bobbingworth 
Hall, the rector and Corpus Christi College, Cambridge, 
the patron of the living.'' The school was situated on 
the west side of Hoe Lane at Abridge.*" It seems to 
have been a National School and for some years to have 
remained closely connected with the Sunday school. In 
1846-7 there were 68 pupils under a master and two 
mistresses who between them received j^6o a year and 
had the use of a house rent-free.*' Attendance declined 
slightly in subsequent years. In 185 1-2 there were 62 
children present when the inspector visited the 'neat 
schoolrooms'. He found the equipment poor, the 
master untrained, the educational standard low, but the 
children 'nice and well-behaved'.*^ In 1859 an in- 
spector found a slight improvement in standard but 
only 52 children in attendance.*-! In 1871, when there 
was said to be accommodation for 62 children, the 
attendance was still about 52.*'' At this time the school 
was in financial difficulty and soon after (probably in 
1878) it was discontinued as the result of the building 
of a Board School. 

In 1874 a school board of five members was set up 
for Lambourne and Stapleford Abbots (q.v.) which had 
been united into a single school district according to the 
recommendation of the Education Department. *5 The 
first plans submitted by the board were rejected by the 
Education Department as too expensive, but after this 
delay the board school was opened in September 1878, 
on or near the site of the former National School.** It 
had accommodation for about 1 50 pupils and a teacher's 
house was attached.*' Within a few years it was re- 
ceiving an annual grant, amounting to ^^72 in 1886, 
£10^ in 1893, and ;^I30 in 1902. The average atten- 
dance rose from 104 in 1886 to 120 in 1893 and 125 
in 1902.** By 1904, when the accommodation was 
said to be for 178, there were 141 children under 4 
teachers and a monitress.*' 

By the Education Act of 1902 the school passed 
under the administration of the Essex Education Com- 
mittee, Ongar District. Its average attendance was 1 27 
in 191 5 and 130 in 1938. In 19 14 it was enlarged to 
accommodate 196 and in 1936 2 acres were added to 
the site. In 1947 it was reorganized for mixed juniors 
and infants.'" In May 1952 there were ^ teachers and 
106 children." The school is a single-storied building 
of brown and red brick, with teacher's house attached. 

There was a private school at Abridge in 1845, kept 
by Mrs. Sarah Giles.'^ 



Thomas Barfoot of Lambourne Hall, by will proved 
1592, left 6s. SJ. a year charged on 
CHARITIES Sym's Croft for the relief of the poor 
of the parish.'^ The charge was paid 
regularly until 1661, and after 1664 payment was re- 
sumed.7'' In 173 1 the money was being distributed to 
those of the poor who were not receiving any weekly 
allowance.'' In 1834 it was believed that the charge 
should be spent on bell-ropes, although in fact it was 
paid into the churchwardens' general account.'* In 
1947-9 it was distributed in money to buy 
coal." 

John Broomfield, by will dated 1687, left los. issuing 
from his farm of Pryors for the poor of the parish.'* 
The rent charge was redeemed in 1950 for ;^20 which 
was invested. The rent was being paid from 1689 on- 
wards" and was distributed to the poor on i January.*" 
In 1834 it was carried to the churchwardens' general 
account, although it was said to be spent on bread for 
the poor.*' It was spent on general church purposes in 
the mid-l9th century and for some years before 1950, 
but from 1950 it has been distributed in money to buy 
coal.*^ 

The parish owned two pieces of land in the common 
meadow of Theydon Bois (q.v.). The income from 
them rose from 35/. in 1673 to £^ in 1 834.83 It was 
spent on the church and the poor in the 1 8th century** 
and was carried to the churchwardens' account in 
1834.*' In 1950 it was distributed in money to buy 
coal.** 

The parish also owmed property at Lambourne End, 
on which a house was built by the parish in about 
167 1.*' The house was enlarged in about 18 10.** 
Until then it had been rented, sometimes to the parish 
clerk,*' but from then until 1 836 it was used as a poor- 
house.'" From 1838 it was once again rented and the 
income was applied to general church purposes," as the 
rent of the land had been in 1834.'^ In 1950 the total 
rents were ,^34 2S. 61^. which were spent on church re- 
pairs and improvement.'^ Church House has a tall 
front with a mansard roof and dormer windows. The 
lower cottage attached to it at the rear is probably the 
Old Church House of about 1671. 

The parish formerly owned cottages near the river 
next to Hull Mead at Abridge. In 173 1 they were said 
to be for the use of the poor.''* They, were sold in 1830 
to clear the debt incurred in rebuilding the Church 
House in 18 10. 



59 Ex. Inf. Nat. Soc; E.R.O., D/DLo z 
i; ibid. D/P 181/8/4.; Lady Mildmay 
owned about zoo acres of land in the east 
of the parish: E.R.O., D/CT 202. 

'" O.S. 6 in. Map (ist edn.), sheet Iviii 
(1870-2). 

^' Nat. Soc. Enquiry inio Church Schs. 
1846-7, pp. lO-II. 

'2 Mins. Educ. Cttee. of Council, 1851, 
vol. ii [1480], p. 286, H.C. (1852), xli. 

*3 Educ. Cttee. of Council, Reps, on Schs. 
in Norfolk, Suffolk and Essex, 1858-9, 
p. 44. (in Min. of Educ. Libr,). 

'* Retns. Elem. Educ, H.C. 201, pp. 
I12-13 [1871], Iv; E.R.O., D/AEM 2/8. 

^5 Chelmsford Chronicle, 9 Aug. 1872. 

" Min. of Educ. File 13/219. 

" Kelly's Dir. Essex (1899). 



" Rep. of Educ. Cttee. of Council, 1SS6 
[C. 5123-1], p. 519, H.C. (1887), xxviii; 
Retn. of Schs. 1893 [C. 7529], p. 714, 
H.C. (1894), Ixv; Schs. under Bd. of Educ. 
igo2 [Cd. 1490], p. 71, H.C. (1903), li. 

<"> Essex Educ. Cttee. Handbk. 1904, 
p. .85. 

'" Min. of Educ. File 13/219. 

71 Ex. Inf. Essex Educ. Cttee. 

'2 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1845). 

'3 E.R.O., D/P 181/8/1; Rep. Com. 
Char. (Essex), H.C. 216, p. 230 (1835), 
xxi (i). 

74 E.R.O., D/P 181/8/1. 

'5 Ibid. 18 1/8/2. 

'* Rep. Com. Char. (Essex), p. 230. 

" Char. Com. files. 

78 E.R.O., D/P 181/8/1, 2. See above. 



'9 Ibid. 
(Essex), p. 



Pryors. 

80 Rep. Com. Char. 
E.R.O., D/P 181/8/1. 

8' Rep. Com. Char. (Essex), p. 230. 

82 Char. Com. files. 

83 E.R.O., D/P 181/8/1. 
8« Ibid. 181/8/2. 
8s Rep. Com. Char. (Essex), p. 

86 Char. Com. files. 

87 E.R.O., D/P 181/8/1-2. 

88 Ibid. 181/8/4(1810). 

89 Ibid. 181/8/1. 
9» Ibid. 181/8/4. 
9' Ibid. 181/8/3. 

92 Rep. Com. Char. 
E.R.O., D/P 181/8/3. 

93 Char. Com. files. 
9< E.R.O., D/P 1 8 1/8/2. 



230; 



230. 



(Essex), p. 230; 



86 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



HIGH LAVER 



HIGH LAVER 



High Laver is a parish about 4 miles north-west of 
Chipping Ongar and 5 miles south-east of Harlow.' It 
has an area of 1,895 acres.^ From the i8th century or 
earlier much of the population has been concentrated 
in the village of Matching Green and in the two 
hamlets of Thrushesbush, alias Threshers Bush, and 
Tilegate Green, all of which are situated on the 
borders of the parish.^ There were 74 inhabited houses 
in 1 801, 77 in 181 1, and 80 in 1821.'* In 1801 the 
population was 346.5 B7 1 851 it had grown to 534.* 
It was a little below this level until the last decade of 
the century when there was a sharp decline to 386.^ 
In the first half of the 20th century it rose gradually to 
463 in 1951.* 

The land is nearly 300 ft. above sea-level in the 
south-west, about 250 ft. in the north and 230 ft. in 
the east. The Cripsey Brook runs eastward across the 
northern part of the parish and then southward near 
the eastern boundary of the parish towards Moreton. 
The road from Ongar to Harlow enters the parish at 
High Laver Bridge. The former rectory' is on the 
north side of the road about \ mile from the bridge. 
The road then turns northward for about \ mile to its 
junction with the roads leading eastward to Little 
Laver and northward to Matching Green. Along the 
road to Little Laver is the church'" and to the north of 
the church on the east side of the road to Matching 
Green is High Laver Hall." Behind church and hall 
is a windpump. About \ mile north of High Laver 
Hall on the west side of the road to Matching Green 
is High Laver Grange. This has a fine barn, in one 
bay of which are two grotesque carved brackets of the 
1 6th or early 17th century. About i mile north of 
High Laver Grange is Newhouse Farm, formerly 
Chalkpits, a timber-framed house which has been 
much restored but of which part may date from the 
17th century. On the east side of the road north of 
Newhouse Farm there are thirteen council houses in 
two groups known as Culvers Cottages and Chalkpit 
Cottages. Beyond these is the village of Matching 
Green, the south side of which is just inside the parish 
boundary. Here there are several 19th-century brick 
houses, including the Chequers Inn. 

From the east side of Matching Green a road runs 
south-east to Waterman's End, Little Laver, and the 
Rodings. On the west side of this road, immediately 
to the south of the parish boundary, is the chapel of 
ease'2 and, next to it. High Laver school. '^ Immediately 
to the south of the school the road is joined by another 
road leading south to Ongar. Near this junction on 
the north side of the road to Little Laver there are four 
pairs of council houses known as Hull Green Cottages. 

From High Laver church the Harlow road runs 
west past Church Farm, formerly Whites, and Travel- 
lers Joy, formerly Herberts. Both these houses are 
timber- framed and may date from the 1 6th century; 
they have been much restored. A little beyond Travel- 



lers Joy the Harlow road is joined by Faggoters Lane 
which runs northward to Loyters Green. About \ mile 
along Faggoters Lane is Faggoters Farm, a timber- 
framed and roughcast house probably built in the i8th 
century. By the east side of Faggoters Farm is a foot- 
path leading to the site of Otes.'* On the Harlow road 
to the west of Faggoters Lane is Mashams, a timber- 
framed house which may date from the i6th century. 
Beyond Mashams the road runs past Great Wilmores 
and Spinneys, formerly Little Wilmores, to Tilegate 
Green. At Spinneys, which stands on the north side of 
the road about \ mile beyond Mashams, there are in- 
dications of a former moat. Tilegate Farm, on the north 
side of the road at Tilegate Green, may be of the i6th 
century but has a later farm-house built in front of it, 
the whole being much modernized; the restored barn 
has 16th-century timbers. Opposite Tilegate Farm a 
road leads southward to Magdalen Laver. There are 
two pairs of council houses on the west side of this 
road, which forms part of the southern boundary of the 
parish. Also on the west side of the road and just within 
the boundary are Magdalen Laver school," built in 
1 862, and, next to it, a row of timber-framed cottages 
called Melanese Cottages, of which part may date from 
the 17th century or earlier. 

West of Tilegate Farm the Harlow road turns north- 
west to Thrushesbush, alias Threshers Bush, on the 
western boundary of the parish. At Herds Farm, on the 
north side of the road \ mile north-west of Tilegate 
Green, there are indications of a former moat. The 
farm-house is probably of the 17th century and has an 
original brick chimney. West of Herds Farm is the 
John Barleycorn Inn, formerly the 'King's Arms', a 
timber-framed house of which part dates from the 17th 
century or earlier. The former Methodist chapel'* is 
on the north side of the Harlow road at Thrushesbush, 
just outside the parish boundary. 

High Laver Bridge was accepted as a county charge 
by 1800." In 1858 it was described in detail by the 
county surveyor.'* 

The inhabitants of High Laver were several times 
indicted for the bad condition of their roads. In 1644 
it was said that High Laver and Little Laver were to 
share the responsibility for the highway from Matching 
Green to Sheepcroft Bridge." In 1776 the parishes of 
High Laver and Magdalen Laver agreed that 'the 
roads which these two parishes are obliged in con- 
junction to mend shall be equally divided and that 
the part which lies nearest to each parish shall be ap- 
propriated to it, by a post set up at the expense of both 
parishes, and marked on one side "M.L. mends thus 
far" and on the opposite side "H.L. mends thus far" '.^^ 

High Laver was one of the villages served from 
Moreton when a postal receiving house was set up 
there in 1846.^' A sub-post-office was opened at High 
Laver in November 1936, following a petition from 
the inhabitants.^^ 



' O.S. 2\ in. Map, sheets 52/40, 52/50, 

S^/5'- 

* Inf. from Essex County Council. 

3 Chapman and Andr^, Map of Essex 
lyyy, plates xi and xii. 

•• Census, I 80 1, 181 1, 1821. 

5 y.C.H.Essex,u,T,$o. 

*■ Ibid. 

' Ibid. 



> Census, 191 if.; inf. from Essex 
County Council. 

» See below, Church. 
'0 Ibid. 

■' See below, Manor of High Laver. 
■a See below, Church. 
" See below, School. 
'* See below. 
'5 See below, School. 

87 



16 See below, Nonconformity. 
" E.R.O., 2/ABz I & 2. 
'8 E.R.O., e/ABz, 3. 
>9 E.R.O., e/SR 322/45. 
" E.R.O., D/P 1 1 1/22. 
2' P.M.G. Mins. 1846, vol. 87, p. 5. 
" Inf. from Head Postmaster of Brent- 
wood. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



Water was supplied by the Herts, and Essex Water- 
works Co. in 1912.^3 There is no sewerage system.^ 
Electricity was laid on in part of the village in 1950.^5 
A sports ground is used by the football club.^* 

High Laver has always been a rural parish devoted 
almost exclusively to agriculture. The owners of the 
capital manor never lived in the parish after the first 
decade of the i6th century.^' The owners of Otes 
lived in the parish during most of the period 1614- 
1767.^* They were not resident from 1767 until 
shortly before 1841.^' For a few years after 1841 they 
did live in the parish but ceased to do so before 1863 
and were never resident again.^" 

In 1848 the parish consisted of 1,894 acres.3' 
William St. Quintin owned 475 acres but farmed 
none of it himself. George Starkins Wallis owned, but 
did not occupy. High Laver Farm (340 acres). ^^ John 
and Thomas Inkersole owned 223 acres of which 
Thomas farmed 74 acres.33 There were two other 
substantial farms in the parish: Holts Farm (118 acres) 
and Tilegate Farm (100 acres). The respective 
owners, Joseph Davies and J. M. Gilbertson, did not 
occupy them.34 There were five other farms of over 
40 acres. 35 

High Laver has always been a parish of mixed farm- 
ing with a heavy predominance of arable. In 1086 
there were loj ploughs in the manor of High Laver; 
there was woodland for 200 swine and 37J acres of 
meadow. 3* In 1847 there were estimated to be 1,428 
acres of arable, 368 acres of pasture, and 12 acres of 
woodland.37 

In the 17th and 1 8th centuries Otes manor house, 
the residence of the Mashams, was a large and well- 
known dwelling which must have employed a con- 
siderable amount of domestic labour. In 1691 John 
Locke the philosopher (1632-1704) went to live there 
as a paying guest of Sir Francis Masham and his wife 
Damaris, who had been Locke's friend for some years.3 8 
He paid ^i a week for himself and his manservant and 
IS. a week for his horse.^' He was given two of the 
best rooms in the house and he remained until his 
death.''" While he lived there Otes was 'one of the 
really important addresses in the world of European 
letters' .■♦■ Locke assembled there a library of nearly 
4,000 volumes."*^ He also had 'his desk and his specially 
constructed chair, his meteorological instruments set 
up "in the Drawing Room", his telescope, his botanical 
specimens, and a great porous stone through which all 
the water he drank — and he drank nothing else — had 
to be carefully filtered' .*' 

From 1723 Otes was occupied by Samuel, ist Baron 
Masham, and his wife Abigail who from 1707 until 

Herts. & Essex Water- 



1714 had been Queen Anne's friend and one of the 
most powerful persons in the country .♦^ Abigail died 

in '734-'" 

It is not possible to distinguish with certainty be- 
tween High Laver and Little Laver in 
MJNORS Domesday but it is probable that before 
the Conquest Lewin held a manor in High 
Laver worth jT'^.''* Alwin held 'another part of that 
manor as a manor but Ingelric added it to his own 
manor' in another parish."*' In 1086 High Laver was 
probably held in demesne by Eustace, Count of 
Boulogne, and valued at j^20.''* Eustace's heir was his 
daughter Maud, wife of King Stephen. William, Count 
of Boulogne, son of Stephen and Maud, apparently 
granted the manor in free alms to the Benedictine 
abbey of St. Sulpice in Brittany ."t* This grant must 
have been made by 1 1 59, when William died, but it 
was ignored until shortly after 1234.50 After the death 
of William the honor of Boulogne passed to the king, 
who held the manor of HIGH LAFER in demesne 
until 1 1 84 or 1185 and from that time until 1237 as 
immediate overlord of the Alchers.si Between 1234 
and 1237 Mabel, abbess of St. Sulpice, claimed the 
manor from Richard fitz Alcher.52 A lawsuit ensued 
after which the parties came to an agreement. 53 In 
1237 Richard fitz Alcher acknowledged the manor to 
be the right of St. Sulpice which was to hold it in chief 
as \ fee.5-t The abbess. Amice, then granted the estate 
to Richard fitz Alcher and his heirs to hold of the abbey 
as J fee and at an annual rent of j^io.55 In 1259 St. 
Sulpice transferred its rights in the manor to Waltham 
Abbey.56 After 1267 Henry fitz Alcher, then lord of 
the manor, refused to admit that Waltham had any 
rights in the estate. 5' In 1275 a jury declared that he 
held the manor as tenant of the abbey. 5 8 Afterwards, 
at the command of the king's justices, Henry did 
homage to the abbot and paid his arrears of rent. 5' 
Henry fitz Alcher died in 1303 holding the manor of 
Waltham abbey.*" It is not clear how much longer the 
abbey retained the tenancy in chief In 1475 the 
manor was held of Anne, widow of Humphrey Stafford, 
Duke of Buckingham (d. 1460).*' In 1485 it was held 
of Jasper, Duke of Bedford (d. 1495), and his wife 
Katherine, whose first husband had been Henry 
Stafford, Duke of Buckingham (d. 1483).*^ The 
manor was still held of Jasper and his wife in I493.*3 
By 1 5 10 the Crown received j^io ^ y^^"" fro™ t^^ 
manor,*"* and this rent was paid until after I559.*5 
In 1584 the manor was held of Robert, 3rd Baron 
Rich, at a rent of iJ. a year.** 

In 1 167 it was reported that the estate could not be 
farmed because it was not stocked but during the 



*3 Inf. from 
works Co. 

2* Inf. from sub-postmistress of High 
Laver. 

" Inf. from East. Elec. Bd. 

'' Inf. from sub-postmistress of High 
Laver. 

" D.N.B. XX, 685-7; E.R.O., D/DW 
T41; ibid. Q/RTh I, 5; ibid. Q/RPl 
685-737; ibid. D/P 111/27/2; Kelly's 
Dir. Essex (lS$^{.). 

^' See belovif, Manor of Otes ; P. Laslett, 
Hist. To-day, iii, 536—4.3. 

29 See below, Manor of Otes ; P. Laslett, 
Hist. To-day, iii, 5+2-3; E.R.O., D/DEw 
Tz; ibid. Q/RPl 685-737; "'i''- D/P 
111/27/1. 

3» E.R.O., D/P 1 1 1/27/2; fFhitc'sDir. 
Essex (1863) ; Kelly's Dir. Essex (i 870 f.). 

3" E.R.O., D/P 1 1 1/27/2. 



3» Ibid. " Ibid. 

34 Ibid. 35 Ibid, 

s' y.C.H. Essex, i, 467a. 
3' E.R.O., D/P 1 1 1/27/2. 

38 P. Laslett, Hist. To-day, iii, 536-9. 

39 Ibid. ♦» Ibid. 

4" Ibid. « Ibid. « Ibid. 

+• Complete Peerage, viii, 540-1 ; D.N.B. 
xii, 1295-7; Hist. To-day, iii, 539-40. 

45 D.N.B. 

46 y.C.H. Essex, i, 467a and n. 2. 

4' Ibid. For Ingelric see Manors of 
Chipping Ongar and Stanford Rivers. 

48 F.C.H. Essex, i, 467a. 

49 B.M. Harl. MS. 3739, f. 93. 
5° Ibid. 

51 See below. 

52 B.M. Harl. MS. 3739, f. 93. 

53 Ibid. 

54 Ibid. ff. 94-96, 108. 

88 



55 Ibid. 

5' Ibid. ff. 96-98, 1 10-12. 
5' Ibid. ff. 98-104. For details of this 
dispute see below. 

58 B.M. Harl. MS. 3739, ff. 102-3. 

59 Ibid. ff. 103-4. 

'" Cal. Inq. p.m. iv, p. 112. 

'■ C140/52. 

'2 Cal. Inq. p.m. Hen. VIl, \, pp. 61-63 i 
Complete Peerage, ii, 73. In the inquisi- 
tions post mortem on John Wrytell (d. 
1485) and Katherine (d. 1493) widow of 
Walter Wrytell, the wife of Jasper, Duke 
of Bedford (d. 1495), was wrongly 
described as Anne. 

63 Cal. Inq. p.m. Hen. VU, i, p. 383. 

64 E.R.O., D/DDw M78. 

65 Ibid, 
^s Ibid. 



\ 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



HIGH LAYER 



following year it was restocked at a cost of ^5 2/. 'id!''' 
In 1 184-5 ^he king granted to William son of Alcher 
ithe huntsman land in Laver to the annual value of 
jTS.** In 1 199 Richard fitz Alcher gave King John 
100 marks to have ;^8 of land in Laver which his 
brother William had by the gift of King Richard and 
of which William died seised.*' In June 11 99 the 
king granted to Richard fitz Alcher all the land which 
his brother William had in Laver of the gift of King 
Henry, to hold in chief as \ fee.'" In 1 204 Richard 
fitz Alcher gave 10 marks and a goshawk for licence to 
assart 1 5 acres of his land in Laver and to have them 
put outside the forest boundary." It was presented 
from the honor of Boulogne in 1 2 1 2 that Richard son 
of Alcher held Great Laver in chief for \ fee.'^ In 
February 1227 Henry son of Richard fitz Alcher was 
granted his father's lands in Laver according to King 
John's charter.'^ Henry died in 1234 and his son 
Richard then had livery of J fee in Laver held in chief'* 
In 1237 this estate consisted of 2 carucates of land.'' 
In 1253 Peter de St. Hilary paid a gold mark to escape 
proceedings for the death of Richard fitz Alcher.'* 
Richard was succeeded by his son Stephen." 

Shortly after 1259 Stephen entered into an agree- 
ment with Simon, Abbot of Waltham, whereby the 
abbey was to farm the estate for eight years instead of 
receiving an annual rent from it.'^ Stephen was dead 
by 1267." Afterwards his brother and heir Henry 
would not let the abbey farm the estate and refused to 
pay rent.*" In 1269-70 servants of Geoffrey, Prior 
of Waltham, went to High Laver to distrain Henry 
for arrears of rent.*' They took some cattle but Henry's 
men then assaulted them and the cattle were restored.*^ 
In 1272—3 Henry brought an action against Richard 
de Harewes, then Abbot of Waltham. Henry alleged 
that 24 of the abbot's men had, at his command, 
trespassed upon High Laver manor and carried off 
livestock to the value of ^40 after ill treating Henry's 
men and killing two of them. Henry claimed that he 
had suffered ^50 damages in consequence of the assault. 
The abbot pleaded in defence that in taking the live- 
stock he was exercising his lawful power of distraint, 
since Henry, unlike his predecessor Stephen, had 
refused to do homage to him for the manor and was 
five years in arrears with his rent. Henry denied that 
previous abbots had ever received either homage or 
rent for High Laver manor. In 1275, after the verdict 
against him, Henry made an agreement with the abbot 
whereby he paid four years' arrears in addition to the 
current year's rent.*3 When Henry fitz Alcher died 
in 1303 the estate consisted of a dwelling house worth 



3/. 4<j'. a year, 362 acres of arable worth /J6 o/. %d. a 
year, 1 3 acres of meadow worth 1 9/. i>d. a year, and 
5 acres of pasture worth 3/. \d. a year.** The rents of 
assize of freeholders amounted to ^5 6/. a year.'' 
Annual outgoings, including the ^^lo rent due to 
Waltham Abbey, amounted to ^10 8/.'* The net 
annual value was thus ^2 10/. ()d.*'' 

Henry fitz Alcher left as his heir his son Alcher.'* 
In 1 3 1 5 Alcher granted the manor to his son Henry 
and Henry's wife Beatrice and their heirs to hold of 
Alcher and his heirs and do all services to the chief 
lords." In 1324 Henry fitz Alcher and his wife 
Beatrice granted a life interest in the manor to Robert 
Norman for ^^lo a year.»" In 1343 Henry fitz Alcher 
and Beatrice granted the manor to John de Depeden 
and his heirs to hold of the chief lords except for £10 
of rent and the homage and services of seventeen 
tenants which were to be paid to Henry fitz Alcher 
and his heirs." In 1 346 John de Depeden was reported 
as holding \ fee in High Laver which Henry Alcher 
once held. '^ At theend of 1358 Maud, widow of John 
de Depeden, empowered the Rector of High Laver to 
sue for her dower of every freehold which belonged to 
her husband in the counties of Essex, Hertford, and 
York. '3 A rental drawn up in 143 1 suggests that Maud 
held the manor of High Laver in dower.''* After her 
death it passed into the possession of another John 
Depeden, probably her son or grandson. In July 1406 
John de Neuton, treasurer of St. Peter's, York, and 
other trustees of Sir John Depeden's estate quitclaimed 
to Robert Ramsey and his heirs the manor of High 
Laver and all other lands in Essex and Herts, which 
belonged to Sir John Depeden in demesne and in 
reversion.'' In 141 2 John Ramsey was reported as 
holding one manor in High Laver worth £10.'* In 
1428 Robert Ramsey was holding the J fee which 
Henry Alcher once held in High Laver." According 
to the rental of 143 1 Robert Ramsey was still holding 
the manor of High Laver in that year, but shortly after- 
wards it came into the possession of his daughter 
Eleanor and her husband Richard Priour who in 1436 
received confirmation from the Crown.'' In 1452 
when he presented to the church, Richard Priour was 
still lord of the manor, but within a few years the estate 
came into the possession of Walter Wrytell, son of 
Eleanor Priour by her first husband Ralph Wrytell." 

Walter Wrytell died in 1475; his widow Katherine 
held the manor in dower until her death in 1493.' The 
estate then descended to John Wrytell, son of John 
(d. 148;), son of V/alter Wrytell.^ In 1493 the estate 
consisted of 230 acres and was valued at ^^4.' John, son 



" VipeR. ii67{P.R.S.xi), \c,j;TipeR. 
1 168 (P.R.S. xii), 45-46. 

'8 Bk. of Fees, 1432; Pipe R. I185 
(P.R.S. xxxiv), 44-45. 

M Rol. de Ob. et Fin. (Rec. Com.), 5. 

"> Cal. Pat. 1436-41, 26. The land was 
granted to Richard as the next heir of his 
brother William. See also Bk. of Fees, 121. 

" Rot. de Ob. et Fin. (Rec. Com.), 224. 

'^ Bk. of Fees, 121. In early documents 
High Laver was also called Great Laver 
and King's Laver. 

73 Cal. Chart. R. 1226-57, II. 

'« Ex. e Rot. Fin. (Rec. Com.), i, 255. 

'5 B.M. Harl. MS. 3739 ff. 94-96, 108. 

" Ex. e Rot. Fin. (Rec. Com.), ii, 149. 

" B.M. Harl. MS. 3739, ff. 97-i°3. 
110-12. 

'« Ibid. f. 103. 

" Ibid. ff. 97-103, 1 10-12. 

8» Ibid. f. 103. 



81 B.M. Cott. MS. Tib. C. ix, f. 180. 

82 Ibid. 

83 B.M. Harl. MS. 3739 f. 98-104; 
B.M. Cott. MS. Tib. C. ix f. 180-1. The 
effect of this agreement was that Henry 
paid all rent owing from the time that 
Richard de Harewes was elected abbot in 
October 1270. Richard died in 1273 and 
was succeeded by Reynold de Maidenhcth 
(see F.C.H. Essex, ii, 171) who made the 
agreement with Henry fitz Alcher in 
1275. 

84 B.M. Harl. MS. 3739, ff. 321-6. 

85 Ibid. 

86 Ibid. 87 Ibid. 

88 Ibid.; Cal Inq. p.m. iv, p. 112. 

89 Feet ofF. Essex, ii, 156. 

90 Ibid. 214. 

9' Feet of F. Essex, iii, 65. John de 
Depeden acquired several other estates 
from Henry fitz Alcher about this time. 



92 Feud. Aids, ii, 160. 

93 Cal. Close, 1354-60, 532. 

94 E.A.T. N.s. xxii, 256. The rental 
refers to the manor as 'formerly of Maud 
Depeden'. 

95 Cal. Close, 1405-9, 265; Cf. Cal. 
Close, 1354-60, 611, 614. Sir John 
Depeden died c. 1403 {Cal. Close, 1402-5, 
12, 305). 

96 Feud. Aids, vi, 441. 
9' Feud. Aids, ii, 222. 

98 E.A.T. N.s. xxii, 256; Cal. Pat. 
1436-41, 26; E.R.O., -D/DEl Mi95i 
ibid. D/DB T96/69. 

99 Newcourt, Repert. ii, 368; E.R.O., 
D/DB T96/69. For the Wrytells see also 
Manors of Bobbingworth, Ashlyns in 
High Ongar, and Lampetts in Fyfield. 

' Cal. Inq. p.m. Hen. FII, i, p. 383. 
' Cal. Inq. p.m. Hen. FII, i, pp. 61-63, 
383. > Ibid. 



89 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



of John Wrytell, died in 1507.* His heir, an infant 
daughter Juliane, was dead by November 1 509.5 The 
heirs to High Laver and other manors were the 
daughters of Waher Wrytell: Eleanor wife of James 
Walsingham and Gresilda wife of Edward Walde- 
grave.* A partition of their inheritance was made in 
May 1 5 10 and the manor of High Laver was ap- 
portioned to Eleanor and her husband.' In 15 10 the 
manor was said to be worth ^14 14/. iJ. a year.* The 
demesne was apparently farmed out, the chief farmer 
being Reynold Foster.' Rents from the farmed land 
amounted to j^iy 9/. 44/.'" In addition there were 
twelve freeholders paying rents totalling £-^ \os. i^J. 
a year and 4 copyholders paying rents amounting to 
;^4 6s. ^i/." A rental of 1 540 showed no change in the 
value of the manor.'^ 

James Walsingham died in 1 540. '3 Sir Edmund 
Walsingham, elder son of James, apparently succeeded 
to the estate, for in 1550, the year in which he died, 
his only surviving son Thomas held his first court for 
the manor.'* In June 1552 the demesne land consisted 
of 266 acres.'s By 1559 the annual value of the manor 
had risen to £17 9/., the rents from farmed land 
amounting to ^{^20 ys. 81/.'* There were apparently 
only three copyholders at this time." Sir Thomas 
Walsingham died in 1 5 84, leaving as his heir his son 
Edmund; the manor was then said to be worth ^{^5.'' 
Edmund died in 1589 and was succeeded by his 
younger brother Thomas who retained the manor until 
his death in 1630. ■« His son and heir, Sir Thomas 
Walsingham, disposed of the estate about 1655 to 
Anthony Stanlake.^" During the ownership of the last 
two Walsinghams, at least part of the estate was leased, 
the lessees being in turn G. Day and Josias and Thomas 
Tunbridge.^' 

Stanlake was described as lord of the manor in 1659 
and it may have been on his death, sometime after 1662, 
that the estate descended to coheiresses: Sarah, wife of 
Jacob Foster, and Martha, wife of Richard Matthews.^^ 
In i682and 1686 Foster and Matthews were described 
as lords of the manor in right of their wives.^3 In 169$, 
1699, and 1706 Richard Matthews and Abraham 
Foster, a London grocer and probably son of Jacob 
Foster, were lords.^* Mary, daughter of Richard 
Matthews, brought one half of the estate in marriage 
to her husband Samuel Beachcroft who was lord of 
the manor with Abraham Foster in 1713.^5 

On Abraham's death his widow Anna held her 
husband's half manor for life.^* On her death this half 
was divided between Abraham's two daughters: Sarah, 
wife of Richard Merry, a London merchant, and Mary, 
wife of Lewis Scawen.^' The quarter inherited by 
Mary and Lewis Scawen descended to their only son 



Thomas who in 1753 devised all his real estate to his 
uncle Robert Scawen. ^^ In addition to 'an undivided 
fourth part' of High Laver manor, Robert also held an 
'undivided half of Hayleys manor in Epping.^' In 
June 1766 he and the owners of the other 'undivided' 
half (of Hayleys) and quarter (of High Laver manor), 
Richard Merry and his heir Anthony, agreed that it 
would be to their mutual convenience to make a 
physical division of their properties.'" Lots were cast, 
as a result of which the two quarters of High Laver 
manor fell to the share of Robert Scawen. 3' 

There must have been an agreement about the same 
time with the owner of the other half of the manor, 
which had remained in the Beachcroft family until 
after 1762, for the sale of the whole manor, for by 
August 1767, when he held his first court, Thomas 
Darby had become sole lord.'^ At the time of the sale 
to Darby the whole estate, which consisted of about 
370 acres, was leased to Abraham Thorrowgood." 
Thomas Darby, who continued to live at Sunbury 
(Mdx.), died in 1769, having devised the manor of 
High Laver to his wife Dulcibella for her life and then 
to his brother George.^'* Dulcibella died in 1784 and 
George in 1790. 

George Darby was succeeded by his son William 
who changed his surname to St. Quintin. In 1802 
William mortgaged the manor to Mrs. Elizabeth 
Dashwood for ^^2, 557. The estate was still encumbered 
with this debt in 1805 when William died, leaving as 
his heir his son William, a minor. The trustees of the 
estate eventually repaid Mrs. Dashwood in 18 12. In 
183 1 William St. Quintin mortgaged the manor for 
;^5,ooo. In each of the years 1840 and 1850 he bor- 
rowed a further ^1,000, making a total mortgage on 
the estate of j^7,ooo. This was still outstanding when 
William St. Quintin died in 1859. 

The St. Quintins never lived in High Laver. After 
the death of Abraham Thorrowgood and his wife the 
manor house and farm were leased to the Speed family 
and, from 1826, to William Barnard and his son who 
paid a rent of ^^425 a year for the first 12 years, ;^36o 
a year for the next twelve, and ^^373 a year from 
1850. 

William St. Quintin stipulated in his will, made 30 
years before his death, that all his lands, except those 
in Yorkshire, should be sold by his trustees. The 
manor of High Laver was sold for ^{^1 2,050 to John 
Watlington Perry Watlington, M.P., and the mortgage 
on the estate was paid out of the purchase money. At 
the time of the sale the estate consisted of 374 acres.'' 
J. W. Perry Watlington was still owner in 1874.3* By 
1886 he was dead and Robert Wicksted Ethelston had 
succeeded to the estate. 3? Ethelston died in 19 14.3* 



■• C142/21/2. 

i L. & P. Hen. yill, i, p. 103. 
' Ibid. 

' E.R.O., D/DB T96/69 ; ibid. D/DDw 
M78. 
8 E.R.O., D/DDw M78. 
« Ibid. 
'0 Ibid. 

" Ibid. " Ibid. 

" Ibid.; Conyers Read, Sir Francis 
Wahingham, i, 7; D.N.B. xx, 685. 

'4 E.R.O., D/DDw M75; D.N.B. xx, 
685—7. Thomas was knighted in 1573. 
■5 E.R.O., D/DEl M195. 
■« E.R.O., D/DDw M78. 
" Ibid. IS Ibid. 

" C 142/467/71; D.N.B. XX, 686. He 
had been knighted in 1597. 



2» CP25(2)/55ifi Mich. 1655. 

" E.R.O., D/DW T4I. 

2i E.R.O., D/DW T41. A note in the 
register of burials describes Anthony 
Stanlake as lord of the manor in 1659: 
D/P iii/i/i. He presented to the church 
of High Laver in 1662: Newcourt, 
Repert. ii, 368. 

23 E.R.O., D/DDw M76. 
« Ibid. 

25 Ibid. 

24 Ibid.; E.R.O., D/DW T41. 
" E.R.O., D/DWT41. 

28 Ibid. " Ibid. 

3" Ibid. 31 Ibid. 

32 E.R.O., D/DDw M77. 

33 E.R.O., D/DW T41; ibid. D/DDw 
T32; ibid. D/DEs T88. Previous oc- 



cupiers were Samuel Brooks, Thomas 
Roddington, and John Pavell. 

3* E.R.O., D/DEs T88. Information 
for all that follows has been obtained from 
this group of documents. 

35 E.R.O., D/DEs T88. Cf. D/P 
1 1 1 /27/2 (Tithe Award 1 848) which gave 
the acreage as 356 of which 278 were 
arable. 

36 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1874). From 
1870 the manor of High Laver was 
described in Kelly's Directories as the manor 
of High Laver Hall to distinguish it from 
Otes manor which was apparently 
described at this period as the manor of 
High Laver. 

3' Kelly's Dir. Essex (1886). 

38 Burke's L.G. (15th edn.), 712. 



90 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



HIGH LAYER 



By 1 9 1 7 the estate was apparently no longer regarded 
as a manor.39 

The present farm-house stands on a moated site 
immediately north of the church. South of it an arm 
of the moat may have enclosed the church itself. To 
the north there was formerly a third rectangular moated 
enclosure.'"' The present house is of brick, partly 
plastered, and probably dates from the late i8th or 
early 19th century. At least two of the timbered farm 
buildings are older than the house. 

The manor of OTES alias OATES may originally 
have formed part of the manor of Little Laver (q.v.). 

In 1288 Emma, daughter of Eustace fitz Walter, 
granted all her lands in High Laver and Housham 
(Matching) to Sir Henry de Enfield.^' In 1325 Sir 
John de Enfield, son of Henry, John Otes, and others 
were tenants of the manor of Little Laver .^^ In 1329 
Sir John divided his estates between his sons Richard 
and William. He conveyed to William his holding in 
Little Laver which became the separate manor of 
Envilles.^s To Richard he conveyed i messuage, 2 
carucates of land, 1 2 acres meadow, and 40^. rent in 
High Laver and Housham (Matching).^* It is possible 
that at this time or shortly afterwards the lands held of 
Little Laver manor by John Otes were merged with 
the lands held by Richard de Enfield in High Laver to 
form a separate manor which descended in the Enfield 
family but which became known by the name of Otes. 

The heir of Sir Richard de Enfield was his daughter 
Elizabeth, wife of Thomas Battail.'^s In 1397 the 
manor of Otes was held by John Battail, son and heir 
of Thomas and Elizabeth.** John Battail made his 
will in 1397, on the eve ofhis departure for Jerusalem.*' 
He gave detailed instructions for the partition of his 
property between his sisters, Margaret, soon after- 
wards wife of John de Boys, and Alice, wife of John 
Barrington. Battail died shortly afterwards and Boys 
and Barrington quarrelled over the partition.*' The 
dispute was eventually referred to the arbitration of the 
Countess of Hereford who decided that Otes should be 
equally divided between Alice Barrington and Margaret 
de Boys, as John Battail had instructed.*' In 141 2 
John de Boys and John Barrington were each reported 
as holding lands in High Laver and elsewhere worth 
£20.50 Margaret de Boys apparently died without 
issue. 51 Afterwards two daughters of John Barrington, 
Elizabeth, wife of John Sulyard, and Katherine, wife 
of John Pykenham, each inherited half of Otes. s^ 

Sir John Sulyard, son of Elizabeth and John Sulyard, 
died in 1488 in possession of half of Otes which he held 



of Edward, Duke of Buckingham, and which was 
worth 20 marks.'! His son and heir Edward died in 
1 5 16 and was succeeded by his son Sir William Sulyard 
who held his first court in 1 523.5* William died with- 
out issue in 1540 and his half-brother Eustace Sulyard 
inherited his half of Otes.55 Eustace died in 1547 
leaving as his heir his son Edward. 5* In 1 574 Edward 
conveyed his half of the manor to John Collins who 
had already acquired the other half (see below). 57 

John Pykenham survived his wife Katherine and 
died in 1436 in possession of half of Otes. '* In 1445 
William Hasilden and others (named) conveyed this 
half of the manor to John Pykenham, evidently the son 
of John Pykenham (d. 1436), and his wife Margery. 59 
Margery Pykenham was still seised of this half in 1 500 
when her son and heir George died childless, leaving 
as his heirs his two nieces, Margery and Elizabeth 
Pykenham, daughters of his brother Thomas.'" At 
that time this half of the manor was held of John, Earl 
of Oxford, and was worth 20 marks.*' Apparently the 
sisters Margery and Elizabeth Pykenham each 
inherited half of the moiety. 

In 1539 John Heron and his wife Elizabeth, who 
was probably the daughter of Thomas Pykenham, 
conveyed a quarter of Otes to John Lymsey.*^ The 
latter died in 1545; in 1558 Edward Lymsey, his son 
and heir, conveyed this quarter to John Collins.'^ 

Meanwhile in 1550 John Collins had received the 
other half of the moiety from John Jennyns and his 
wife Joan, one of whom may have been the child or 
grandchild of Margery sister of Elizabeth Pykenham.** 

Between 1 5 50 and 1 574 John Collins thus acquired 
the whole manor of Otes. It remained in the Collins 
family until shortly after 16 14 when it was purchased 
by William Masham whose son William succeeded 
him and was created a baronet in i62i.*5 In 1638 Sir 
William Masham was visited at Otes by Oliver 
Cromwell, who was his relative by njarriage.** Sir 
William died about 1656.*' His heir was his grandson 
William Masham, 2nd Bt., who died unmarried about 
1662 and was succeeded by his brother Francis 
Masham, 3rd Bt.** In 1668 there were 59 freeholders 
and copyholders on the estate.*' The area in their 
hands was more than 3 54 acres'" and they paid rents 
amounting to ^£9 12/. xdJ^ In 1678 22 tenants who 
failed to attend their lord's court were each fined 2(/.'* 

From 1 69 1 until 1704 John Locke the philo- 
sopher lived at Otes as the paying guest of Sir Francis 
Masham.'! In 1723 Sir Francis died, leaving as his 
heir his son Samuel, ist Baron Masham of Otes (cr. 



3' Kelly' % Dir. Essex (1917 f.). 

*o E.R.O., D/P 1 1 1/27/2. 

*> Cal. Close, 1279-88, 525; Visits, of 
Essex (Had. Soc. xiii), 227; C. Moor, 
Knights of Ediu. I (Harl. Soc. Ixix), i, 
305-6. 

** Cal. Inq. p.m. vi, p. 372; Morant, 
Essex, i, 143. 

*3 Feet of F. Essex, iii, 5. See Little 
Laver, Manor of Envilles. 

<* Feet ofF. Essex, iii, 5 ; Visits, of Essex 
(Harl. Soc.), 227. 

*5 Visits, of Essex (Harl. Soc), 227. 

*« E.A.T. N.s. i, 268-72; Visits, of 
Essex (Harl. Soc), 227; Cal. Close, 1396- 
9, 282. 

*' E.A.T. N.s. i, 268-72. 

♦« Ibid.; Cal. Close, 1396-9, 282. 

♦9 E.A.T. N.s. i, 268-72. 

5" Feud. Aids, vi, 440. 

5' E.A.T. N.s. i, 272. 

5' B.M. Add. Chart. 40792; Visits, of 



Essex (Harl. Soc), 147; E.A.T. n.s. i, 
272. The historian of the Harringtons 
{E.A.T. n.s. i, 272) believed that John 
Barrington, husband of Alice, had only one 
daughter, Elizabeth. The evidence of the 
B.M. charter, however, suggests strongly 
that he had several daughters. 

53 Cal. Inq. p.m. Hen. Vll, i, p. 177. 

54 Ibid.; E.R.O., D/DEw M9; E.A.T. 
iii, 180; ibid. n.s. vi, 325. 

55 E.A.T. iii, 180; ibid. n.s. vii, 16. 

56 C142/86/63. 

57 CP25(2)/l29/l6S5. 

58 B.M. Add. Chart. 40792. 

50 Cal Inq. p.m. Hen. VII, ii, p. 246. 
When the half manor was settled on John 
and Katherine Pykenham it was stipulated 
that if they had no issue, the estate should 
descend to Margery, sister of Katherine or, 
if Margery died, to Alice also sister of 
Katherine. 

'0 Cal. Inq. p.m. Hen. VII, ii, p. 246. 

91 



6" Ibid. 

" CP25(2)/52/374Trin.3i Hen. Villi 
C 142/74/72. Elizabeth Heron certainly 
held the half manor in her own right. 

«5 C142/74/72; CP25(2)/7o/586 Trin. 
4 & 5 Phil. & Mary. 

«* CP25(2)/57/42i East. 4 Edw. VI. 

65 CP25(2)/295 Mich. 12 Jas. I & 
Trin. 17 Jas. I; Hisi. Essex by Gent, iii, 
348; Morant, Essex, \, 141; G.E.C. 
Complete Baronetage, \, 182. 

" E.R. xviii, 201. 

»7 G.E.C. Complete Baronetage, i, 182. 

68 Ibid. 

M E.R.O., D/DXs I. 

"> Ibid. Some of the acreages in indivi- 
dual tenants' hands are not given in the 
rent roll. 

7" Ibid. 

72 Ibid. 

73 See above, p. 88. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



1712)7'* In 1736 Lord Masham impoverished himself 
when he settled the greater part of his estates, including 
the manor of Otes, on his son Samuel at the time of the 
latter's marriage to Henrietta Winnington.'s The 
young Samuel had already inherited the property of 
his uncle General Hill and Henrietta brought him a 
dowry of some ^10,000.'* He was a lord of the Bed- 
chamber to George II and auditor-general of the house- 
hold of George, Prince of Wales.^' He was, however, 
a wastrel'* and before he succeeded his father as Baron 
Masham in 175 S''' he was already in need of money. 
In 1 7 5 7 he mortgaged Otes and his two other manors 
of Matchinghall in Matching and Little Laver to Dr. 
Robert Taylor of Albemarle St., Hanover Square 
(Mdx.) for ^{^3,000.80 Part of the manor farm, which 
was valued at ;^l4o a year, was then let to John 
Hinson.*' There were 100 acres of woodland, valued 
at j^35 a year, in hand.*^ The free and copyhold rents 
belonging to Otes and Matchinghall manors amounted 
to £1 1 i6s. 1 i^J. a year and the fines and reliefs for 
the two manors were estimated at ^5 a year.^3 

In 1 76 1 Lord Masham was granted a pension of 
;^i,ooo a year by George III.*'' In February 1762 he 
still owed ;^2,ooo of the ^^3,000 he had borrowed from 
Taylor in 1757.85 He then married as his second wife 
Charlotte Dive whose father John Dive of Queen 
Square, Westminster, gave her a dowry of ^£8,000, 
paying off the debt to Taylor as part of this sum.** 
At about the time of the marriage Lord Masham sold 
to a bookseller part of his family library, including 
books bequeathed by John Locke, 'to make room', it 
was commonly believed, 'for books of polite amuse- 
ment'. *' Charlotte Masham was as irresponsible and 
as extravagant as her husband,** and, less than three 
years after the marriage, Lord Masham began to bor- 
row money on a scale which led rapidly to the loss of 
his estate. Between January 1765 and June 1766 he 
borrowed a total of ;/^8,6oo on the security of jhe 
estate.*' Most of this was lent by Robert Palmer of 
St. Andrew's parish, Holborn (Lond.) who had been 
manager of the estate from 1757, if not before. '° In 

1766 the estate was valued at ^^25,369.9' Early in 

1767 Palmer acquired the freehold on terms which 
allowed Lord Masham to live at Otes for the rest of 
his life.9^ Masham died there in 1776. '3 Even at the 

'< Complete Peerage, viii, 540 j see above, 
p. 88. 

75 E.R.O., D/DEw Ti ; P. Laslett, 'The 
Mashams of Otes*, Hist, To-day^ iii, 541. 

■"> Hist. To-day, iii, 541; D.N.B. xii, 
1295. 

" D.N.B. xii, 1297. 

'8 Hist. To-day, iii, 541-2. Swift, who 
hated him from a boy, commented that he 
was 'ill-natured and proud and very little 
in him*. 

" Complete Peerage, viii, 541. 

80 E.R.O., D/DEw Ti. Mr. Laslett 
believes (Hist. To-day, iii, p. 541) that this 
mortgage was probably owned, in fact, by 
Robert Palmer whose name appears as a 
witness only to the deed and who certainly 
lent Lord Masham a great deal of money 
between Jan. 1765 and June 1766. There 
is no evidence, however, to support this 
view. The fact that Palmer was manager 
■ of Masham's estate in 1757 is sufficient to 
explain his attestation of the deed. 

8" E.R.O., D/DEw Ti. 

82 Ibid. 

83 Ibid. There are no separate figures 
for Otes at this date. 

84 D.N.B. xii, 1297. 
'5 E.R.O., D/DEw Ti. 86 ibid. 



8' Hist. To-day, iii, 542. 

88 Ibid. 541-2. 

89 E.R.O., D/DEw Ti ; ibid. D/DEw 
E3. 

«» E.R.O., D/DEw E3. 

»' Berks. Rec. Off. D/EE F38. 

« Ibid.; ibid. D/EE E18; E.R.O., 
D/DXs i; ibid. D/DEw Mil. Mr. 
Laslett's statement (Hist. To-day, iii, 542) 
that the transfer of ownership took place 
in 1766 is, on the basis of Palmer's notes, 
incorrect. The document to which Mr. 
Laslett refers as the deed of sale contained 
in fact only the valuation of the estate and 
the terms submitted for Lord Masham's 
consideration. 

93 Hist. To-day, iii, 542. 

9* Ibid. 

95 See below. Church. 

96 P. J. Budworth, Memorials of Green- 
sted—Budivorth, Chipping Ongar and High 
Laver, 35. 

9' Nor did his son and successor, 
Richard (see below). Some of the con- 
tents of the house, including Locke's 
possessions, were, however, removed to 
the Palmers' residence ; Hist. To-day, iii, 
542-3; E.R.O., D/DEw T2. 

98 E.R.O., D/DEw T2. 



end he was 'so burdened with debt that he could not 
attend the House of Lords'.''* An interesting comment 
on the characters of Lord Masham and Robert Palmer 
was written a century later by P. J. Budworth whose 
family had been connected with High Laver almost 
from the time when Masham lost his estate.'' In 1 876 
Budworth wrote that 'Lord Masham seemed to have 
been improvident and his improvidence had been taken 
advantage of by one to whom he confided the manage- 
ment of his estates and who built up his own fortune 
upon the ruins of that of his master'.'* 

Robert Palmer never lived at Otes." He died in 
1786 leaving all his real estate to his only son Richard 
but charging it with the payment of ^10,000 to each 
of his two unmarried daughters.'* In 1801 Richard 
Palmer put up his Essex estate for auction." This 
consisted of 1,258 acres valued at £i,oj^ a year." 
Otes manor farm contained 279 acres which were 
valued, with the manor house, at ^£385 a year.^ Of 
these 279 acres, 160 were in the occupation of three 
leaseholders, called Browne, the elder and younger, 
and Crush, and 92 were occupied by the elder Browne 
as tenant at will.3 The manor house was empty.'* The 
quit rents on the manor amounted to about ^10 a year 
and the royalties were valued at j(^20.5 An offer for the 
leasehold land appears to have been accepted in 1801.* 
The manor house and 1 1 6 acres in hand or in the 
occupation of the tenant-at-will were sold in 1 802—3 
to John Hughes who held his first court in 1808.'' In 
181 1— 1 2 the manor came into the possession of George 
Starkins* who had already acquired much of the land 
in High Laver which was auctioned in 1 80 1—2. In 
1824 there were 44 manorial tenants whose rents 
totalled £<) igs. 6 J. a year' and in 1837 34 whose 
rents totalled £7 5/. St/.'" In 1841 George Starkins 
owned 613 acres in the parish; of this he then occupied 
426 acres." 

Between 1841 and 1843 John and Thomas Inkersole 
came into possession of the manor.'^ In 1848 the manor 
farm consisted of 68 acres and was occupied by Thomas 
Inkersole. '3 The Inkersoles also owned an estate of 
155 acres which had previously been in the possession 
of George Starkins.''* They were still lords of the 
manor in 1 860 when the last recorded court was held.'' 
By 1870 the manor had apparently come to Mrs. 

99 Ibid. ■ Ibid. 

2 Ibid. The figures which Mr. Laslett 
gives both as to the extent and as to the 
value of Otes Manor in 1801 are in- 



correct. 

3 E.R.O., D/DEw T2. 

* Ibid. 

5 Ibid. « Ibid. 

' Ibid.; E.R.O., Q/RPl 707-8; ibid. 
D/DXs I. 

8 E.R.O.,Q/RPl7i6-i7;ibid. D/DXs 
I . He held his first court in Jan. 1 8 1 5. 

9 E.R.O., D/DXs 2. 
'0 E.R.O., D/DXs 3. 

>' E.R.O., D/P 111/27/1. According 
to the Land 'Tax Assessments Starkins 
owned much of this land before he ac- 
quired the manor but he did not occupy it 
for many years. 

" E.R.O., D/P 111/27/1; ibid. 
D/DXs I. 

■3 E.R.O., D/P 1 1 1/27/2. 

■4 Ibid.; ibid. D/P 111/27/1. Most of 
the rest of George Starkins's land had 
passed to George Starkins Wallis by 1848. 

'5 E.R.O., D/DXs I. The sudden 
cessation of entries in the Court Book 
after i860 suggests that the i860 court 
was in fact the last one held for the manor. 



92 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



HIGH LAYER 



Wright and others who still held it in 19 14.'* By 
19 1 7 the estate was apparently not regarded as a 
manor. '7 

There is no longer a house at Otes. The site, which 
is partly moated, is clear except for a well shaft and two 
large lime trees. South-west of the moated enclosure 
are the remains of an orchard wall and of two out- 
buildings. One of these buildings was constructed of 
re-used timbers. South of the site a small stream has 
been dammed, probably in the i8th century, to form 
an ornamental lake with a weir at its outlet. 

In about 1770 Otes was said to be one of the only 
two good houses in the parish: 'a large building, in a 
delightful situation, with a park, gardens, canals etc.''* 
A woodcu t of the house, pu blished in 1 8 2 1 , " shows on 
the left hand a low three-gabled block, apparently 
timber-framed and plastered. It was probably of 
medieval origin, altered in the i6th or early 17th 
century. There were slightly projecting oriel windows 
and a two-storied porch with a pointed entrance arch. 
Adjoining the old house to the right there were two 
later additions. In front was a square three-story 
block, probably of the Queen Anne period.^" Behind 
this was a two-story wing in the picturesque style of 
the late i8th century. In 1801 it was said that the 
newer part of the house had been recently erected.^' 
The building is said to have been demolished in 1822." 
In 1835 it was described as 'completely destroyed'.^^ 
Some outbuildings remained, however, for some time.^ 
The last of them fell in 1952.^5 

The advowson of High Laver was held by the lords 
of the capital manor until 1315.^' In that 
CHURCH year Alcher son of Henry retained the 
advowson when he granted the manor to 
his son Henry and Henry's wife Beatrice." In 1331 
and 1334 Alcher presented to the church.^* In 1337 
he converted his interest in the advowson into a life 
interest with remainder to Sir John de Shardelowe for 
life and then to John, son of Sir John, in tail.^' In 1 366 
William de Ferrers, probably Lord Ferrers of Groby 
(d. 1 37 1), presented. 3" Later presentations were made 
by John de Beston and others in 1398, by William, 
Lord Ferrers of Groby (d. 1445), in 1400, and by 
John Gwyne and others in 1426.2' By 1438 the 
advowson again belonged to the lord of the capital 
manor.32 It then descended with the manor until soon 
after 1 662 when the manor passed to coheiresses, Sarah, 
wife of Jacob Foster, and Martha, wife of Richard 
Matthews." In 1683 Sarah and Jacob Foster, Martha 



and Richard Matthews, Samuel and Mary Lewin, and 
Joseph Reeve conveyed the advowson to George Cole 
and John Knapp.J'* In 17 10 George Cole presented 
and in 1727 William Cheval.^s In 1729 the advowson 
was held by the rector, Martin Hall, who in that year 
sold it to Alexander Cleeve.3* After Hall's death in 
1734 Alexander Cleeve presented his son John." Hall 
had encumbered the hving with many debts.^' John 
Cleeve devised the advowson to his nephew Thomas 
Velley.39 In 1778, after Cleeve'sdeath, Thomas Velley 
presented his brother-in-law Richard Budworth who 
held the living until his death in i8o5.*<' Afterwards 
Richard Budworth's trustees held the patronage until 
his son Philip was old enough to become rector and 
to hold the advowson.*' After Philip Budworth's death 
in 1 86 1 the advowson was held by Captain Budworth, 
grandson of Richard Budworth, until his death in 
i885.'t2 It was then held by Captain Budworth's 
trustees until after l9o6.*3 In 191 2 and 1 9 14 the 
living was in the gift of Mrs. Heales.** By 1922 the 
advowson was held by Canon R. D. Budworth who 
retained it until his death in about I938.''s In 1940 
and 194 1 it was held by the Revd.D. P. D. Budworth.** 
Since 1942 it has been in the gift of the Bishop of 
Chelmsford,*' and since 1945 has been united with 
that of Magdalen Laver.*' 

In about 1254 and in 1295 the rectory was valued 
at 16 marks.*' In 1428 the church was still taxed on 
this valuation. In 1535 the rectory was valued at 
£14 IJ-. 6d.^° In 1637 there were about 47 acres of 
glebe. 5' In 1848 the tithes were commuted for ^^520; 
there were then 63 acres of glebe. '^ 

In 1637 a terrier described the rectory as consisting 
of 'a parsonage-house, a kitchen by itself, a barn, a 
stable, and a hay-house, also an orchard, a garden-plat, 
a little court-yard and a great outer yard'.sJ A separate 
kitchen was a feature of the parsonages at all three 
Lavers in the 17th century and was certainly a survival 
from medieval times. No mention was made of a 
separate kitchen in a terrier of 18 10 although the lath- 
and-plaster house still existed then.'* Shortly before 
he died in 1805 Richard Budworth had plans drawn 
up for rebuilding the rectory. ss On his death, how- 
ever, the plan was abandoned and it was not until 
shortly after 1864 that the old parsonage was pulled 
down and a new one built on nearly the same site.'* 
The present building is a large red brick gabled house, 
part of it of three stories. It ceased to be used as a 
parsonage when the living was united with that of 



^''Kelly's Dir. Essex (1870 f.). For 
Kelly's description of Otes Manor at this 
period see above, n. 36. 

" Kelly's Dir. Essex (1917 f.). 

** Hisi. Essex ify Gent, iii, 346. 

"> Monthly Magazine, Iii; E.R.O., 
Prints, High Laver. 

»o E.R. xvii, 212. 

" E.R.O., U/UEwT2. 

" E.R. xvii, 213. 

^3 T. Wright, Hist. Essex, ii, 346. 

2* E.R.O., D/P 111/27/1 & 2; O.S. 
6 in. Map ( i st edn.), sheet xlii. 

2' Hist. To-day, iii, 543. 

^' Cal. hq. p.m. iv, p. 112; Feet of F. 
Essex, ii, 1 56. 

" Feet ofF. Essex, ii, 156. 

^' Newcourt, i?ir^fr/. ii, 368. 

2' Feel of F. Essex, iii, 41. 

30 Newcourt, Repert. ii, 368. 

3" Ibid. " Ibid. " Ibid. 

M CP25(2)/655 Mich. 35 Chas. II. 

3' J. Bacon, Thesaurus, 615. 



36 P. J. Budworth, Memorials of Green- 
sted-Budtvorth, Chipping Ongar, and High 
Laver, 35-36. Budworth said that before 
1729 there had been 'several changes of 
patrons rapidly succeeding each other'. 

" Ibid. In J. Bacon, Thesaurus, 615, 
however, there is a record that a year 
before Alexander Cleeve presented in 
1734, John Turvin presented. 

3' P. J. Budworth, Mems. of Greensted- 
Bud-worth etc. -iS-l^- "Ibid. 

w Ibid. Budworth says that in 1777 
Thomas Velley sold the advowson to 
Richard Budworth who bought it in order 
to present his son Richard, husband of 
Thomas Velley's sister. According, how- 
ever, to the Bishop of London's certificate 
of institution (E331/41) Thomas Velley 
presented to the living in 1778. What 
probably happened was that Thomas 
Velley presented his brother in law. 

41 P. J. Budworth, Mems. of Greensted- 
Budiuorth etc. 36; Cler. Guide, liij t; 

93 



Clergy List, 1845 f- 

*^ P. J. Budworth, Mems. of Greensted- 
Budivorth etc. j6 ; Clergy List, 1864. For 
the Budworths see also Greenstcad. 

*3 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1890, 1902, 1906), 

♦* Ibid. (1912, 1914). 

*5 Ibid. (1922, 1926, 1929, 1933) 
Chel. Dioc. Tear Bk. 1938. 

*<• Chel. Dioc. Tear Bk. 1940, 1941. 

*' Ibid. 1942 f. 

*8 Crockford's Cler. Dir. (195 1-2); inf. 
from the Revd. W. D. Topping. 

*» Lunt, Val. of Nortvich, 337; Tax. 
Eccl. (Rec. Com.), 21. 

50 ralor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), i, 437. 

S' Newcourt, Repert. ii, 368. 

" E.R.O., D/P 1 1 1/27/2. Tithes of the 
glebe were not included in the j^520. 

53 Newcourt, Repert. ii, 368. 

5* E.R.O., D/P 111/3/2. 

55 P. J. Budvvorth, Mems. ofGreensted- 
Bud-uiorth etc. 36. 

56 Ibid. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



Magdalen Laver and it is now a private house called 
High Laver House. 

The parish church of ALL SJINTS consists of 
nave, chancel, west tower, south porch, and north 
vestry. The walls are of flint rubble roughly coursed, 
particularly in the chancel. Roman brick is found 
among the rubble and forms some of the quoins. Most 
of the dressings, originally of clunch, have been replaced. 

The nave was built late in the 12th century. It 
retains one small round-headed window in the north 
wall. West of this is an original doorway, partly 
restored, which now leads to the vestry. It has a semi- 
circular arch and chamfered imposts. 

The chancel, probably built about 1 200, has seven 
lancets with pointed heads. There are two in each of 
the north and south walls and three graduated lancets 
at the east end; all are much restored. 

Two doorways, one in the north wall of the chancel 
and one in the south wall of the nave, are probably of 
the 13th century. The former is now blocked but the 
arch in clunch is visible externally. The piscina, which 
has a trefoiled head and a double drain, may be of the 
13th century. There are fragments of 13th- or 14th- 
century glass in the small nave window. 

The tower, of three stages, appears to have been 
added about 1340.57 It was originally of flint rubble, 
but this is now mostly plastered and much of the tower 
has been rebuilt in brick. The moulded tower arch is 
sharply pointed. In the west wall, but not axial with 
the arch, is a good 14th-century window with a pointed 
arch and two ogee-headed lights. There is a blocked 
window in the second stage of the tower on the north 
side. The chancel arch was probably rebuilt in the 
14th century. The. responds and head are finely 
moulded. It has spread considerably at springing level 
and this may have caused the arch itself to drop, giving 
the unusual three-centred shape. 

Late in the 14th or early in the 15th century four 
new windows were inserted in the nave and one in the 
chancel. These are all square-headed externally with 
label moulds and head stops. Internally the arches are 
three- or four-centred. The tracery, which has all been 
replaced, was probably originally of this date and has 
been copied with fair accuracy.58 

In the 1 5th or i6th century the roofs of the chancel 
and nave, which are ceiled in except for the plates and 
tie-beams, were renewed. 

In 1737 the vestry agreed that the tower should be 
repaired and that 'one Tarling should undertake it by 
the day and put up a brick buttress and restore the 
plaistering where it is necessary, the parish finding all 
materials'. 59 The south-west buttresses may have been 
rebuilt in brick at this time as a result of this decision. 
In about 1789 the spire and part of the tower were 
found to be ruinous and were taken down.*° The 
upper stage of the tower, and probably the south-west 
buttresses, were rebuilt in red brick for some ^^200.*' 
The parapet is castellated and there are round-headed 
windows to the belfry. The octagonal spire is shingled. 



A general restoration of the church possibly took 
place in 1865, when the font and tomb of John Locke 
were repaired.*^ The south porch and the vestry 
appear to date from this period. The porch, which is 
of flint with a timber superstructure, replaced a 
plastered porch*' of unknown date. The vestry, on the 
north side of the nave, is of flint with limestone dressings. 

In 1873 an organ was built in the chancel.*'' In 
1927 the chancel was altered, the choir stalls and a 
19th-century stone pulpit being cleared away and the 
organ moved to the west end. The alterations cost 
;^I27 of which ^43 was contributed by the Rhode 
Island Society of America.*' 

The font, which stands in the tower, dates from the 
middle of the 14th century. It has an octagonal bowl 
on each face of which is a quatrefoil panel enclosing a 
shield. The prayer desk in the chancel is a memorial to 
those killed in the First World War** and the oak 
pulpit is of the same style and date. 

There is one bell in use and a small disused sanctus 
bell. In 1552 there were two bells in the steeple 
weighing about 18 cwt., two 'rogacione bells' weighing 
9 lb., and a sanctus bell of 3 lb.*'' In about 1768 there 
were three bells.*' In about 1790 the parishioners 
agreed that 'one large bell and a small bell or Saints 
Bell only shall be hung in the steeple of the church 
instead of three bells and that two of the said three bells 
shall be sold' and the money used to help defray the 
cost of rebuilding the steeple.*' In 1866 the cost of a 
new bell, evidently a replacement, was raised by a rate 
of 4/70 "pijg sanctus bell is inscribed 'xpe audi nos'." 
It is probably of the 14th century and is one of the few 
remaining medieval sanctus bells in Essex." 

From 1657-8, or earlier, the church owned Bell 
Acre (i a. 3 r.), in the north-east of the parish. '^ The 
rent from this land, which was £1 a year until at least 
1805, was usually spent on church repairs in the i8th 
and 19th centuries.7^ In 192 1 the rector informed the 
Charity Commissioners that the rent had been applied 
to church expenses since before 191 5.'' In 1945 
dividends of ^^2 were spent in maintaining the church 
grounds.'* In 1952 the land was sold for ^120. '7 

Nearly all the church plate was given by Sir Francis 
Masham, Bt., and his son Samuel, Lord Masham (d. 
1758). It includes two silver cups, one of 1674 given 
by Sir Francis and one of 1 73 5 given by Lord Masham ; 
two silver patens, one undated but given by Sir 
Francis, and one of 1735 given by Lord Masham; and 
a silver almsdish dated 1724 and given by Lord 
Masham in 1735.'' 

In the chancel is a brass to MyrabyU (Mirabel), wife 
of Edward Sulyard (c I495).79 There are figures of 
a man in i jth-century armour and a woman in a full- 
skirted gown and a pedimented head-dress. Below are 
figures of four sons and one daughter and a rhymed 
inscription. There are floor slabs in the chancel to Sir 
Francis Masham (1723) and his granddaughter 
Elizabeth Masham (1724). On the north wall is a 
marble tablet to Damaris, widow of Ralph Cudworth, 



5' Hist. Mon. Com. Essex, ii, 130. 

" Early-igth-cent. engravings (E.R.O., 
Prints, High Laver) show much the same 
tracery. 

59 E.R.O., D/P 1 1 1/8/2. "> Ibid. 

" Ibid. Of this, ^£^150 was borrowed 
from Thomas Speed of Harlow, maltster, 
because the parishioners were unwilling 
that so large a sum as ;^200 should be 
raised by one rate. 

»» Kell/i Dir. Essex (1886). 



'J Sketch dated 1 82 1: E.R.O. Prints, 
High Laver. 

'•* Vestry Minute Book 1863-1943, in 
possession of the rector. 

65 Ibid. The society's contribution was 
in memory of Roger Williams, founder of 
the colony, who was married at High 
Laver in 1629. ^^ Inscription in situ. 

<" E.A.T. N.s. ii, 228-9. 

" Morant, Essex, i, 141. 

«9 E.R.O., D/P 1 1 1/8/2. 



'"Vestry Minute Book 1863-1943; 
Ci. Bells Essex, 316. 

" C/i. Bells Essex, 316. 

" E.A.T.s.s.xx'uzij. 

" E.R.O., D/P 111/8/1; ibid. D/P 
I11/27/2. 

'* E.R.O., D/P 1 1 1/8/2. 

" Char. Com. Files. 

■"> Ibid. " Ibid. 

'8 CA. Plate Essex, 136. 

'« £.yj. r. N.s. vii, 13-17. 



94 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



HIGH LAYER 



Master of Christ's College, Cambridge.*" The epitaph 
is thought to have been composed by John Locke.'' 
Also in the chancel are tablets to Samuel Lowe (1709), 
Richard Budworth (1805), and Phihp Budworth 
(1861), rectors. In about 1835 there was in the 
chancel a broken brass plate bearing an imperfect 
inscription in ancient characters in memory of Robert 
Ramsey (probably died about 1436) and his wife Joan ;'^ 
this plate has now disappeared. 

Outside the south wall of the nave is the brick altar 
tomb of John Locke (1704). A mural tablet, originally 
above the tomb, was moved inside the church for pre- 
servation in 1932,83 the tercentenary of Locke's 
birth. Outside the church near the east end there are 
many other altar tombs, of the Budworth, Cleeve, 
Velley, and Masham families. 

There is a chapel of ease at Matching Green dedi- 
cated to ST. EDMUND. It was built in 18748* at 
the expense of Francis R. Miller, Vicar of Kineton 
(Warws.).8s It is of yellow brick with a small western 
bell-cote. It consists of a nave and chancel. In 1945 
it was transferred to the ecclesiastical parish of 
Matching. 8* 

The house of Robert Morris in High Laver was 
licensed for Presbyterian wor- 
NONCONFORMITT ship in 1673,87 but no per- 
manent congregation appears 
to have been established. About 1869 Mr. Vale, the 
Congregational evangelist from Moreton (q-v.), started 
preaching at Thrushesbush in High Laver.88 In 1870 
Vale reported that the work at Thrushesbush was not 
going well, 'great influence is used to prevent the poor 
from attending'. 89 For several years Thrushesbush 
continued to be associated with Moreton. In 1876 the 
Revd. W. Passmore of Moreton and the Revd. G. E. 
Singleton of Hatfield Heath both helped there, and 
in 1877 a chapel was opened, the gift of Mr. Matthews 
of Campions, near Hatfield Heath.'" In 1882 it was 
attended by about 60, but by 1883 it had ceased to be 
used by the Congregationalists." 

In 1883 it was proposed that the Wanstead and 
Woodford Methodist circuit should take it over. The 
circuit refused, but Messrs. E. Pope, Godwin, and 
Bowes purchased the chapel, and it was subsequently 
accepted on the circuit plan.'^ It was later taken over 
by the North West Essex Mission and had apparently 
been closed by 1906.'^ 

It is now a dwelling house called 'Drinkwaters'. It 
lies outside the parish boundary on the north side of 
the Harlow road. The upper part of the structure is 
timber framed, the panels being filled with brick 
Hogging and plaster. The front is altered. 

Vestry minute-books for High Laver survive for 
1657-1804M and 1863- 

1943-'" 

Until 1682 vestry meetmgs 

seem to have been held only at 

Easter in each year. From 

1682 meetings were held at Easter and Christmas. In 

1739 f"""" meetings were recorded and if a resolution 



PARISH GOVERN- 
MENT AND 
POOR RELIEF 



of 23 April 1739 w*' carried out there must afterwards 
have been at least three meetings a year, at Easter, 
Michaelmas, and Christmas. In later years meetings 
were sometimes held at other times also. 

Until John Cleeve became rector in 1734 the 
minutes were brief and rarely signed. Only three 
resolutions were entered before 1735 and two of these 
were not signed. Only the appointment of officers and 
the approval of their accounts were usually recorded. 
Until the end of the 17th century the totals of officers' 
receipts and disbursements were usually entered, but 
from 1696 until 1735 the minutes only recorded the 
annual balances and sometimes omitted even this. 
Cleeve exercised an immediate influence on the parish 
records. He attended vestry meetings regularly and 
he wrote the minutes. Vestry resolutions were recorded 
regularly and were always signed by him and the 
parishioners present. Moreover, from 1 75 5 it was again 
the practice to record the details of accounts although 
it did not become customary to sign them. From 
Cleeve's death in 1777 until 1804 the accounts con- 
tinued to be minuted in the same fashion, but only 
once, in 1790, was a vestry resolution recorded. 

The number of parishioners attending vestry meet- 
ings before 1776 varied between 2 and 7 but was 
usually between 4 and 7 until 1745 and 2 or 3 after 
that date. At a vestry in 1 771 it was agreed that in 
future anyone absenting himself from a meeting with- 
out a good excuse should be fined 6J. The next 
recorded vestry, in 1776, was attended by six parish- 
ioners. Only once after this, in 1790, were the 
minutes signed and then there were nine signatures. 
In the 17th and early i8th centuries the Mashams of 
Otes evidently took an active interest in parish affairs 
and attended vestry meetings. Of the five occasions 
on which minutes were signed before 1735, Sir Francis 
Masham, 3rd Bt., signed twice, in 1665 and 1667, 
and F. C. Masham, half brother of Samuel, ist Lord 
Masham, and heir of John Locke, signed once, in 1728. 
Sir Francis signed before, and F. C. Masham after, 
-the rector. When it became the practice to sign the 
minutes the Mashams were usually not resident in the 
parish and their signatures never appeared in the 
minutes. The owners of the capital manor seem never 
to have attended vestry meetings, but Abraham 
Thorrowgood, tenant of the estate by 1767, took an 
active part in parish affairs from 1764 and usually 
signed the minutes immediately after the rector. 

The main work of the vestry consisted in appoint- 
ing officers and approving their accounts. It evidently 
became the practice, however, for the poor to take 
complaints to vestry meetings and for individuals to use 
these occasions to settle their accounts with parish 
officers. In 1767 it was resolved that 'for the future no 
business whatsoever shall be done on the day the ac- 
counts are settled but what relates to the parish business 
of that day only, so that the poor shall bring their com- 
plaints on the vestry immediately preceding, and all 
private accounts between officers and others shall be 
settled either before or after that day'. 



'» Dr. Cudworth and his wife were 
parents of Damaris, second wife of Sir 
Francis Masham, 3rd Bt. 

8' Undated cutting c. 1830: E.R.O. 
Prints, High Laver. 

82 T. Wright, Hist. Essex, ii, 348 note. 

83 Inscription in situ. 

8-t Kelly's Dir. Essex (1874). 

85 Ibid. (1886). 

•« Inf. from the Revd. W. D. Topping, 



Rector of High Laver. 

87 G. L. Turner, Orig. Recs. of Early 
Nonconformity, ii, 929. 

88 Essex Congr. Union Reps. 1869. 

89 Ibid. 1870. 
9" Ibid. 1876-8. 
91 Ibid. 1882-3. 

n Address by A. W. Leach, J.P., at 
Wanstead, Dec. 19 19, reported in Mins. 
of Local Preachers' Mtg. Wanstead and 

95 



Woodford Circuit. For Pope sec Loughton 
Nonconformity. 

93 Ibid.; Kellfs Dir. Essex (1906). 

94 E.R.O., D/P 111/8/1 & 2. Unless 
otherwise stated all the following informa- 
tion is derived from these minute-books. 
A separate 'Poor Book' was evidently 
kept but this is now missing. 

95 In possession of the rector. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



In 1712 it was agreed that 'Henry Marling shall 
have 20S. a year allowed for church clerk's wages'. In 
1735 i^ ^35 agreed that 'the clerk shall receive \J. 
yearly of every householder that does not pay to the 
poor'. In 1743 it was resolved that los. a year should 
be added to the clerk's wages. 

There were two churchwardens in each of the years 
161 3 and 1614. There were also two each year from 
1657 until 1698. During this period they usually 
served for 2—4 years consecutively. From 1698 there 
was only one churchwarden, who usually served for 
many consecutive years. 

Until 1672 there were two overseers each, year and 
they usually served for two or three years consecutively. 
From 1672 there was only one overseer. Until 1724 
it was usual to serve two years consecutively, but after- 
wards the overseers served for one year only. They 
were evidently chosen on a rota system and once, in 
1802, a woman, Mrs. Elizabeth Speed, tenant of the 
capital manor, was appointed to serve. 

Constables were nominated in vestry at least from 
1657. Until 1704 there were always two, each of 
whom usually served two years consecutively. There- 
after there was usually only one. Until 1743 this officer 
usually served no more than two years at a time, but 
after that date he usually served for at least three con- 
secutively and sometimes much longer. 

Two surveyors of highways were nominated annu- 
ally. From 1682, if not before, they were appointed at 
Christmas. The number of years served consecutively 
varied from one to five. Sir Francis Masham was 
surveyor from 1672 until 1676. 

Until at least 1739, ^"<^ perhaps until 1743, the 
overseers, churchwardens, and constables were each 
granted separate rates for which they were directly 
responsible to the parish. Occasionally one officer was 
ordered to pay another officer's deficit out of his sur- 
plus. In the churchwarden's account of expenditure 
for 1692-3 there were four items, totalling is. \\d., 
'for relief. These items were passed only after some 
hesitation and it was resolved 'never to allow any reliefs 
hereafter paid by churchwardens'. From 1743, if not 
from 1739, '^^ constables were no longer granted 
separate rates. Their expenditure was met by the 
churchwardens who included it in their account. There 
is no clear evidence that the surveyors accounted 
directly to the parish until 1743-4 when they received 
a separate rate for which they accounted to the vestry. 
From 1744 until 1747 the churchwarden, who was 
also one of the surveyors, included their expenditure 
in his accounts, but after 1747 there was always a 
separate surveyors' account. 

There was a workhouse in High Laver in 1767. 
In that year the vestry agreed 'that the old persons in 
the workhouse shall have one-quarter of what they 
shall earn and the other three parts shall go to the 
governor of the workhouse'. By 1776, however, the 
house had become a mere poorhouse where paupers 
were lodged rent free.'* It lay on the north side of the 
Harlow Road about \ mile west of the church." In 
1 84 1, when it was no longer a poorhouse and belonged 



to George Starkins, it was a cottage, occupied by three 
tenants.'* 

In most cases poor relief was given, in various forms, 
outside the poorhouse. In each of the years 181 3-1 5 
there were 20-22 adults on 'permanent' outdoor 
relief." Provision for the poor was made in various 
ways, including the binding out of paupers' children as 
apprentices, the payment of rent, and the provision of 
clothes. Parish apprentices were allotted on a rota 
system. In 1738 it was agreed that 'no poor person's 
rent should be paid by the parish for any time before 
he becomes chargeable without a special order of 
vestry'. In 1753 John Parsons agreed to attend the 
poor as apothecary and surgeon 'except midwifery and 
smallpox' for 3 years at 4J guineas a year. 

In 161 3-14 the cost of poor relief was ^^4 9^.' In 
1 734— 5 it was ^24. It then rose sharply to a maximum 
of j^i04 in 1741-2. In 1776 it was ^£133^ and in 
1783-5 it averaged ;^i65.3 In 1 800-1 it reached 
^^724, but in the next seven years never exceeded ^^520 
and was sometimes much lower.* In the remaining 
years of the Napoleonic war the cost averaged ^582. 
a year and in 1816-17 it was ^^634. 5 

In 1836 High Laver became part of the Ongar Poor 
Law Union. 

There were no schools in the parish in 1807 and 
1 8 1 8 although at the latter date the rector, 
SCHOOL P. Budworth, was helping to maintain a 
private school in Moreton, to which pre- 
sumably he sent High Laver children.* By 1 828 a day 
school in union with the National Society had been 
established. In that year it had 30 pupils,' but atten- 
dance declined until in 1832 it seems to have been 
closed.^ In 1833 there was only a private school in 
the parish, founded in 1832. It had 40 pupils and 
further accommodation was available at a dame school 
in Matching, which some 30 High Laver children 
attended in 1839.' In 1833, however, the Sunday 
school was refounded in High Laver and by 1846-7 
this had apparently led to the setting up of a day school, 
under the Diocesan Board, with 27 pupils and a 
further 7 on Sundays. The schoolmistress was paid 
;^i6 a year.'" This school had ceased by 1865 when 
there was only an inefficient dame school in the parish." 

In about 1865 the rector, with the support of the 
largest landowner (J. W. Perry Watlington) and other 
churchmen, established a Building Committee to col- 
lect subscriptions for a new school for High and Little 
Laver, with a teacher's residence of six rooms attached. 
The school, with accommodation for about 7 5 children, 
was built in 1 866 at Matching Green at a cost of j^668, 
of which the Treasury contributed ;^I43 i?-?., the 
Diocesan Board £35, the National Society ^^37, and 
subscribers the rest.'^ It was placed in union with the 
National Society and was managed by the rector and 
churchwardens. '3 In 1870 there were 75 pupils at the 
school and 25 infants in an unsuitable room nearby. 
In 1 87 1 an infants' classroom was built with the help 
of ^24 from the Treasury, £,\o from the Diocesan 
Board, £,(, from the National Society, and some local 
subscriptions.'* In 1872 the Education Department 



'>'• Rep. Set Cttee. on Overseers Retns. 
iTJT, H.C. scr. i, vol. ix, p. 350. 
»' E.R.O., D/P 1 1 1/27/1 & 2. 
»8 E.R.O., D/P111/27/1. 
9» E.R.O., Q/CR i/io. 
■ E.R.O., g/SBa 3. 

2 E.R.O., Q/CR i/i. 

3 Ibid. 



-t E.R.O.,Q/CR 1/9. 

5 Ibid. 

* E.R.O., D/AEM 2/4 (Archdeaconry) ; 
Retns. Educ. Poor, H.C. 224, pp. 260, 262 
(i8i9),ix{i). 

' Nat. Soc.Rep. 1828, p. 62. 

* Nat. Soc. Rep. 1832, p. 61; Educ. 
Enquiry Ahstr. H.C. 62, p. 281 (1835), xli. 



« Educ. Enquiry Ahstr. H.C. 62, p. 281 
(1835), xli; E.R.O., D/P 30/28/19. 

'" Nat. Soc. Enquiry into Church Schs. 
1846-7, pp. 12-13. 

" Inf. from Nat. Soc. 

'2 Ibid. 

'3 Min. of Educ. File i 3/196. 

» Inf. from Nat. Soc. 



96 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



HIGH LAYER 



said that the accommodation was sufficient for the 
parish." Attendance increased considerably in the 
next eight years and the annual grant rose from ^^26 
in 1872 to ^^58 in i88o.'6 In 1899, when there was 
accommodation for 132 pupils, there was an average 
attendance of 95 and a grant of ^^85 was received.'^ 
In 1900 about 58 people were subscribing money for 
the school." 8 Attendance, however, was falling as the 
population of the parish declined. In 1904 there were 
84 pupils and 3 teachers." » 

By the Education Act of 1902 the school passed 
under the administration of the Essex Education Com- 



mittee as a non-provided school. The average atten- 
dance fell to 76 in 1914 and 57 in 1938. In 1939 the 
school was reorganized for mixed juniors and infants." 
In May 1952 there were 2 teachers and 44 pupils.*' 

The school is a single-story red-brick building. On 
the front is a combined chimney and bell-cote. 

Magdalen Laver school, which is situated a little to 
the south-west of Tilegate Green just within the 
southern boundary of High Laver, is attended by 
children from this part of the parish as well as by those 
from Magdalen Laver (q.v.). 
CHARITY. For Bell Acre charity see above. Church. 



LITTLE LAVER 



Little Laver is a small parish about 5 miles to the 
north of Chipping Ongar," with an area of 964 acres.* 
In 1428 it contained fewer than 10 households.^ There 
were 15 inhabited houses in 1801, 20 in 181 1, and 
16 in 1821.* In 1 80 1 the population was 90.5 By 
1841 it had grown to 128.* It declined in the next 30 
years to 104, then rose to 124 in 1891.' At the end of 
the century it fell j ust below 1 00 and has since remained 
about this level.' In 195 1 it was 96.' 

The land is about 280 ft. above sea-level in the east 
and 230 ft. in the west. Three streams run across the 
northern half of the parish. There is a small area of 
woodland on the north-east boundary. The road from 
High Laver to Abbess Roding crosses the western 
boundary of the parish and runs eastward. On the 
south side of the road, about \ mile from the boundary, 
is Church Farm, where there is part of a large moat. 
Farther east are Little Laver Mill and the Mill House.'o 
Beyond the mill the road is joined by a road which 
runs southward to Moreton. On the east side of the 
road junction is the Red House, a timber-framed farm- 
house of the 1 8th century or earlier. To the south of 
the Red House, on the west side of the Moreton road, 
is the former rectory." East of the Red House on the 
road to Abbess Roding is the village hall.'* To the 
south of the road on the eastern boundary of the parish 
is Envilles.'s 

Nearly opposite the village hall a road runs north- 
west to Matching Green. On the west side of this road 
is Gosling Hall, a two-story timber-framed building 
probably of the 1 5th century. It originally consisted 
of an open hall of two bays with a two-story cross-wing 
at its north end. The south end of the hall block may 
be a later addition. In the i6th or early 17th century 
a chimney was built in the south bay of the hall, a ceil- 
ing was inserted and the roof was renewed and possibly 
raised. The lower part of the arched braces to the tie- 
beam of the original hall roof-truss can still be seen in 

" Chelmsford Chronicle, 2 Aug. 1872. 

" Rep. of Educ. Citee. of Council, i8y2 
[C. 812], p. 408, H.C. (1873), ixiv; ibid., 
1880 [C. 2948-1], p. 577, H.C. (1881), 
xxxii. 

" Retn. of Schs. 1899 [Cd. 315], p. 71, 
H.C. (1900), Ixv (2). 

" Min. of Educ. File 13/196. 

'• Esiex Educ. Cttee. Handhk. 1904, 
p. 185. 

" Min. of Educ. File 13/196. 

" Inf. from Essex Educ. Cttee. 
> O.S. 2\ in. Map, sheets 52/50, 

S*/5'- 

' Inf. from Essex County Council. 
' Feud. Aids, ii, 205. 
* Census, 1 80 1, 181 1, 1 82 1. 
» y.C.H. Essex, \\, 350. 



« Ibid. ■ 

8 Ibid.; Census, 191 1 f. 
« Census, 1 95 1. 

10 See below. 

■I See below, Church. 

'2 See below, School. • 

■3 See below, Manor of Envilles. 

'* See below, Church. 

'5 See below. Manor of Little Laver 
Hall. "' Ibid- 

J' See below. Parish Government and 
Poor Relief. 

18 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1886, 1890). 

" The location of this inn in Chapman 
and Andre, Map of Essex lyy;, plate xii, 
appears to be wrong. According to this 
map there was at that time a building on 
the lite later occupied by the Leather 

97 



the ground floor room of this block. A cambered tie- 
beam, originally having arched braces, is also partly 
visible above the first floor room of the cross-wing. The 
gabled east end of this wing oversails and has curved 
supporting brackets. An external chimney on the north 
side, partly rebuilt recently, has diagonal shafts and is 
probably of the i6th or early 17th century. Beyond 
Gosling Hall to the north are the church'* and the old 
manor house, now called the Grange. 's Farther north 
there is a windpump on the west side of the road. 
Opposite this is a long drive north-east to Little Laver 
Hall.'* To the north of the drive on the road to Match- 
ing Green are Stone Cottages, formerly the parish poor- 
house." About J mile farther north is Hull Green 
farm-house, which is probably of 18th-century date. 
From Hull Green the road turns westward and forms 
the parish boundary for a short distance before joining 
the road from Matching Green to Ongar. South of 
the junction the Ongar road, called at this point Water 
Lane, forms the western boundary of the parish for 
about a mile. On the east side of this road is Water- 
man's End House, a timber-framed building of the 
1 8th century or earlier. North of the house is a pair of 
18th-century cottages. South of Waterman's End 
House, on the same side of the road, is a brick house 
which until 1886— 90'8 was the Leather Bottle Inn." 

Postal facilities were extended to Little Laver when 
a receiving office was set up at Moreton in 1846.*" 
Water was supplied by the Herts, and Essex Water- 
works Co. in 1912.*' Electricity was supplied to one 
end of the parish in 1950.** There is a village hall, 
erected in i89i.*3 

Little Laver has always been a rural parish devoted 
mainly to agriculture. The Collins family, owners of 
the manors of Little Laver Hall and Envilles for a 
century or more after 1559, lived in the parish at least 
during the period 1599-167 1. *•♦ It is not clear whether 
the owners were resident in the period immediately 

' Ibid. 



Bottle Inn but the name of the inn was 
attached to a building about i mile farther 
south on a site now occupied by America 
farm in High Laver. As there was un- 
doubtedly a Leather Bottle Inn in Little 
Laver by 1769 It is almost certain that on 
the map of 1777 the name was attached 
to the wrong building: E.R.O., D/CT 
210; 6 in. O.S. Map (ist edn.), plate xlii; 
2j in. O.S. Map, sheet? 52/50, 52/51; 
E.R.O., 2/RLv 24-82. 

" P.M.G. Mins. 1846, vol. 87, p. 5. 

^' Inf. from Herts. & Essex Waterworks 
Co. 

" Inf. from East. Elcc. Bd. 

*3 See below. School. 

M E.R.O., D/P 147/i/ii ibid. Q/RTh 
1&5. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



after the Collinses disposed of the estates. The owners 
of Little Laver Hall certainly did not live in the parish 
from 1 7 14 until after the Meyers acquired the estate 
in 1804—5.^5 Christian P. Meyer, who succeeded to 
the estate in 1828-9, was resident by 1848 and since 
his time the owners of this estate have always lived in 
the parish.^* Whether the owners of Envilles did so in 
the first three quarters of the i8th century is not clear; 
certainly they were not resident between 1780 and 
1897." 

In 1848 the parish consisted of 968 acres.^^ C. P. 
Meyer owned 270 acres of which he occupied only 1 5 
acres.2' John Maryon Wilson owned 249 acres but 
farmed none of it himself 3o "phe only other sub- 
stantial owner in the parish was Thomas Poynder who 
owned, but did not occupy, Hull Green Farm (119 
acres)." There were two other farms of over 40 acres.^^ 

Then, as now, there was mixed farming in the parish, 
with a marked predominance of arable. In 1847 it was 
estimated that there were 716 acres of arable, 150 acres 
of pasture, and 23 acres of woodland.'s 

There has been a windmill on the site of the present 
mill since the first half of the 17th century.34 From the 
late 1 8th century until the First World War the mill 
descended from father to son, four consecutive millers 
being named Stephen Roast.'s The first of these, who 
died in 1797, is said to have left money for his son to 
build the present mill.^* This was originally a weather- 
boarded post mill of the usual local pattern. The tall 
brick base, about 20 ft. high, is an improvement said 
to date from about 1 86o.37 The wooden superstructure 
was raised on jacks and props and a second story was 
added to the round housed* giving ertra height and 
storage space. It thus became a combination of smock 
and post mill and appears to be the only example known 
of this type. The fantail was also added about i860. 
A miller named Hart^' succeeded the last of the Roasts 
but the mill ceased working soon after ig30.'»o It is 
now the property of J. Brace & Sons of High Ongar 
and is used for storage purposes by their tenant.'" The 
Mill House, which stands west of the mill, is a timber- 
framed building probably dating from the 17th century. 

In 1066 LITTLE LAVER was held as a manor by 
Brictmar.'i^ In 1086 it was held of Eustace 
MANORS Count of Boulogne by Richard and was 
worth 10;.*" In 1190 an assize was held 
to determine whether Eustace de Lagefare had more 
right to hold the 'land of Lagefare' of the king than the 
king had to hold it in demesne.''^ In 1200 Ralph de 
Rochester brought a suit against Eustace de Lagefare, 
the tenant, for possession of the land.'ts Afterwards they 
came to an agreement whereby Eustace de Lagefare 
acknowledged 'all the town of Lagefare' to be the right 



of Ralph de Rochester who granted to Eustace the 
services of 8 tenants and 27 acres of land to hold of him 
by the service of J knight's fee."** In I2i2and 1217-18 
Ralph de Rochester held Little Laver in chief of the 
king by the service of \ fee and Richard de Rochester 
and his brother Eustace held the manor of Ralph."" It 
was probably from this division of the manor between 
Eustace and Richard that there came to be two manors 
in Little Laver: Little Laver aliai Bourchiers Hall and 
Enfields alias Envilles (see below). It seems, however, 
that until 1325, if not later, the estates held by the 
successors of Eustace and Richard were considered not 
as separate manors but as parts of one manor.'** In 
1307 this manor was held of Robert, 2nd Lord Scales, 
whose great-grandfather Robert de Scales (d. before 
1250), had probably inherited it through his wife 
Alice de Rochester.'" Robert, 2nd Lord Scales, died 
in 1325 and was succeeded by his son Robert, 3rd Lord 
Scales.so After this Envilles and Bourchiers estates 
came to be regarded as separate manors but they prob- 
ably continued under a common overlord. Certainly in 
1428 the tenant in chief of both manors was Humphrey 
Stafford, later Duke of Buckingham (d. 1460). 5' 

In 1303 Bennet le Brun held \ fee in Little Laver.^^ 
Shortly afterwards the Bourchier family came into 
possession of this estate. In 1325 John le Bousser and 
others were tenants of the manor of Little Laver which 
was held by the service of i fee. 53 Soon afterwards 
Bousser's estate became a separate manor known as 
LITTLE LAVER HALL alias BOURCHIERS 
HALL. In 1 3 30 Robert, afterwards ist Lord Bourchier, 
was granted free warren in his demesne lands in 
Laver. 54 In 1346 John Bourchier, son of Robert, held 
the J fee which Bennet Broun once held.^s In 1384 
John, now 2nd Lord Bourchier, was granted free 
warren in the demesne lands of his manor of Little 
Laver. 56 This manor now followed the same descent 
as that of Bourchiers Hall in Moreton (q.v.) until 1 5 59 
when Richard, ist Baron Rich, conveyed it to John 
Collins.57 Thomas Collins was lord of the manor in 
1584.58 The estate remained in the Collins family*' 
until it was sold to Matthew Blucke of Hunsdon 
(Herts.) who died about 1713.*" From 1563 to 1660 
or later the Collinses also held Envilles (see below). 
For some years Blucke had held the office of usher of 
the rolls of the Court of Chancery and after his death 
it had been decreed by the court that his private estate 
should be sold to meet debts arising from his term of 
office.*' Accordingly in 1714 Little Laver manor was 
sold for j{^2,ioo to Samuel, ist Baron Masham.*^ At 
that time the estate contained 300 acres and was in the 
occupation of Thomas Halden.*' In 1736 Lord 
Masham settled the manor on his son Samuel at the 



25 See below. Manor of Little Laver 
Hall; E.R.O., Q/RPl 685 f. 

26 See below, Manor of Little Laver 
Hall; E.R.O., D/CT 210; Kelly's Dir. 
Essex, 1859 f. 

" See below. Manor of Envilles ; E.R.O., 
Q/RPl 685-737; ibid. D/CT 210. 

28 E.R.O., D/CT 210. 

" Ibid. 30 Ibid. 

3' Ibid. " Ibid. " Ibid. 

3« E.R.O., Q/SR 281/9; D- Smith, 
English PVindmills, ii, 4.9. 

35 D. Smith, English Windmills, ii, 49. 

3' Ibid. 

3' E.R. xl, 163. 

3* D. Smith, English ffindmiUs, ii, 49. 

3» Kelly's Dir. Essex (1926). 

« E.R. xl, 163. 



4^ Inf. from present tenant. 

12 r.C.H. Essex, i, 467A. 

'*3 Ibid. See note under High Laver 
about the difficulty, emphasized by J. H. 
Round, of distinguishing between High 
Laver and Little Laver in Domesday. 

'" Pipe R. 1 1 90 (P.R.S. N.s. i), III. 

45 Rot. Cur. R. (Rec. Com.), ii, 219. 

46 Feet of F. Essex, i, 22. 
" Bk. of Fees, i, 121, 240. 
48 Cal. Inq.p.m. vi, p. 372. 

4'' Feud. Aids, ii, 439; W. Farrer, Uons. 
and Knights' Fees, iii, 269-70; Complete 
Peerage, xi, 499—501. The exact relation- 
ship of Alice to Ralph de Rochester is un- 
certain but she may have been his grand- 
daughter. Cf. Morant, Essex, i, 143. 

5» Cal. Inq.p.m. vi, p. 372. 

98 



S' Feud. Aids, ii, 222. 

52 Feud. Aids, ii, 136. 

53 Cal. Inq. p.m. vi, p. 372. 

54 Cal. Chart. R. 1327-41, 191. 

55 Feud. Aids, ii, 160. 

5' Cal. Chart. R. 1341-1417, 296. 

5' CP25(2)/l26/l6o6. 

58 E.R.O., D/DK. M29. 

s« In the records the family name is 
sometimes spelt Collins, sometimes Collin, 
and occasionally CoUen. 

60 E.R.O., D/DEw Ti ; Morant, Essex, 
i, 143. 

61 E.R.O., D/DEwTi. <'^ Ibid. 
*3 Ibid. The estate was reported to have 

been previously in the tenure or occupa- 
tion of Richard Collins and William 
Collins 'or either of them or their assigns'. 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



LITTLE LAYER 



time of the latter's marriage to Henrietta Winnington.''* 
In 1757 the Hon. Samuel Masham mortgaged this 
manor and his two other manors of Otes in High Laver 
and Matchinghall in Matching to Dr. Robert Taylor 
for ;^3, 000.^5 At that time the manor house and farm 
were rented by Thomas Halden for ;^l35^a year.** 
There were no freeholders or copyholders.*^ In 1765 
and 1766 the manor was included in the mortgage of 
the Masham estates to Robert Palmer and came into 
his possession with the other estates in 1767.** In 
1 80 1 it was sold by Richard Palmer to William Clark 
for £5,855 of which ^^755 was paid for the timber on 
the estate.*' At that time the manor farm consisted of 
about 285 acres of which 235 acres were arable. 'o The 
whole farm except for 20 acres of woodland, which 
Richard Palmer had kept in hand, had been leased to 
John Hall in 1 799 for 2 1 years at £1 60 a year.^' There 
were no quit rents and no royalties.'^ 

William Clark was owner of the estate until 1 804 
or 1805 when it was acquired by James Meyer.'^ In 
1 828 or 1 829 it passed to Christian P. Meyer who built 
a new house, afterwards known as Little Laver Hall, 
for his own occupation, leaving the old manor house for 
his tenant John Hall.''* C. P. Meyer still owned the 
estate in 1848; it then consisted of 270 acres of which 
he occupied 1 5 acres and John Hall 255 acres.'' C. P. 
Meyer was succeeded before 1859 by his son Herman 
who died in 1893 leaving as his heir his son James.'* 
In 1930 James Meyer sold Little Laver Hall to Mr. 
E. W. Bovill." In 1943 he sold the rest of the estate, 
including the manor farm and the old manor house, to 
Mr. T. Glasse, who still owns and farms the property.'' 

The old manor house is now known as The Grange. 
It stands on a moated site ; parts of the moat were fiUed 
in during living memory and only fragments now exist. 
The older part of the house is on its east side and con- 
sists of an L-shaped timber-framed structure with wings 
running east and north. In the centre is a massive 
brick chimney, cruciform above roof level, on which the 
date 1587 has been recut. The east wing may be a 
late-i6th-century adaptation of an earlier structure and 
there are indications that it was formerly of greater 
extent. The north range was probably built in 1587 
as a two-story 'solar' wing. The ground floor fireplace 
has a fine three-centred chamfered brick arch, 9 ft. 
wide, and there is a heavily moulded cross-beam in the 
same room. In the upper room an arch-braced roof 
truss is partly visible. A single-story extension to this 
wing at its north end is now a dairy. Various timber- 
framed additions and a staircase were inserted later in 
the angle of the two wings. About the middle of the 
19th century a gabled brick wing was added on the 
west side of the house. 

Little Laver Hall was probably built about 1845. 



The original gabled house was of brick and stucco with 
hood-moulds to the windows and a two-story bay on 
the garden side. The south and east wings were added 
in 1930." 

In 1299 Sir Henry de Enfield was granted free 
warren in his demesne lands in Little Laver and 
Fyfield.*" In 1303 Ralph of Essex was reported as 
holding i fee in Little Laver." Ralph probably held 
a life interest only, for it seems that Sir John, son and 
heir of Sir Henry de Enfield, afterwards held the 
estate. 82 In 1325 John de Enfield and others were 
tenants of the manor of Little Laver which was held 
by the service of i fee.83 In 1329 Sir John de Enfield 
divided his estates in Little Laver, High Laver, and 
elsewhere between his sons. He granted to his sons 
William and Thomas, and to the heirs of William, a 
messuage, a mill, 2 carucates of land, 2 acres of meadow, 
20 acres of wood, and 4.0s. rent in Little Laver, More- 
ton, Fyfield, and Beauchamp Roding.** In 1 346 
William de Enfield was reported as holding the J fee 
which Ralph of Essex once held.*' In 1361 William 
died in possession of the estate which had been granted 
to him in 1329 and which became known as the manor 
ofENFIELDS alias £NFILLES.»'> His heir was his 
son John, a minor.*' During the minority of John his 
lands were in the custody of Thomas Rokewood.'' 
John came of age in November 1368.*' In June 1369 
he had seisin of his lands. 'o Immediately afterwards he 
granted to John Hampton and John Lepyngeden in fee 
a yearly rent of ^^20 'to be taken of all his lands in 
Little Laver, Moreton and Beauchamp Roding'." 
John de Enfield died in 1375.'^ 

In or soon after 1 375 the manor descended to Alice, 
daughter of John de Enfield, and her husband Ralph 
de Tyle.93 In 1397, after the death of Ralph de Tyle, 
all his lands in Little Laver were committed to the 
custody of William de Stuck during the minority of 
John de Tyle, son and heir of Ralph.'* John de Tyle 
died in 1399 leaving as his heir Thomas de Enfield, 
uncle of his mother Alice." 

The subsequent history of the manor has not been 
traced until May 1 541 when Robert Tirrell of Lynton 
(Devon) and his wife Joyce were licensed to alienate it 
to Richard, afterwards ist Baron Rich.'* In 1563 
Lord Rich conveyed it to John CoUins of Bourchiers 
Hall and his son Thomas." In 1603 Nicholas Collins 
held the manor. '^ In 1625 Thomas Collins, probably 
the son of Nicholas, and his wife Dorothy conveyed it 
to George Scott and John Rowley." In 1632 and 
1634 Thomas Collins was lord of the manor.' In 1640 
Thomas Collins and his wife Dorothy and Richard 
Collins held the estate.^ By 1660 Thomas Collins the 
husband of Dorothy was dead.^ In that year the widow 
Dorothy Collins and Thomas Collins, probably her 



<■* E.R.O., D/DEwTi. 

«5 Ibid. " Ibid. " Ibid. 

'8 Ibid. See Manor of Otes in High 
Laver. 

M E.R.O., D/DEw Tz. 

'0 Ibid. 

" Ibid. 

'2 Ibid. The deed of sale drawn up in 
May 1 802 described the estate as a 'manor 
or reputed manor'. Cf. E.R.O., D/DEw 
Ti (.765). 

'3 E.R.O.,Q/RPI 708-11. 

'4 E.R.O., G/RPl 732-5- 

'5 E.R.O., D/CT 210. 

'« Ke!!/! Dir. Essex (1859 f.); inscrip- 
tion on gravestone of Herman P. D. Meyer 
in Little Laver churchyard. 



" Inf. from Mr. E. W. Bovill. 

'8 Inf. from Mr. T. Glasse, the owner. 

'« Inf. from Mr. E. W. Bovill. 

80 Cal. Chart. R. 1 257-1 300, 476. • 

81 Feud. Aids,\\, 136.. 

82 Fisits. of Essex (Harl. Soc), 23, 227. 

83 Cal. Inq. p.m. vi, p. 372; Morant, 
Essex, i, 143. 

8* Feet of F. Essex, iii, 5. Sir John 
granted his estate in High Laver to his 
son Richard. (See Manor of Otes in High 
Laver.) 

85 Feud. Aids, ii, 160. 

86 Cal. Inq. p.m. xi, p. 50. 
8' Ibid. 

88 Cal Inq. p.m. xii, p. 363. 

89 Ibid. 

99 



«" Cal. Close, 1369-74, 43. 
9" Ibid. 99. 

92 Cal. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Com.), iii, 7. The 
inquisition post mortem on John de Enfield 
is missing from the P.R.O. files. 

93 C139/13. 

9-» Cal. Fine R. 139 1-9, 246. 

95 Ci 37/14; Morant, Essex, i, 144. 

9' L. &■ P. Hen. yill,^v\, p. 426. 

97 CP2S(2)/l26/l62I. 

98 E. Anglian, n.s. vi, 222. 

99 CP25(2)/4is East. I Chas. Ij f^isiu. 
of Essex (Harl. Soc), 379. 

■ E.R.O., D/DB M79. 
» CP25(2)/4i8 Trin. 16 Chas. I. 
» CP25(2)/652 Mich. 12 Chas. II; 
,CP43/3ii. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



son, conveyed the manor to Henry Wheeler and Edwin 
Baldwin.'* 

By 1702 John Austry was in possession of the estate.s 
He was still lord of the manor in 1 7 1 3 .* Within the 
next 20 years the estate passed to John Evans, ap- 
parently Austry's grandson, who was described as lord 
of the manor in court rolls from 1734 until 1757.'' In 
1745 there were thirteen manorial tenants who paid 
rents amounting to ^l os. %d. a year.* Between 1757 
and 1766 the estate descended to Margaret Mary, 
who may have been the daughter of John Evans and 
who was the wife of John Jones in 1766.' By 1780 the 
manor had passed to Sir Thomas Spencer Wilson, Bt., 
who in 1767 had married Jane daughter of Margaret 
Mary.'o Sir Thomas died in 1798." His son and heir. 
Sir Thomas Maryon Wilson, Bt., died in 1821 having 
devised the manor to his second son John Maryon 
Wilson, a minor at the time of his father's death.'^ In 
1 848 the manor farm, which consisted of 249 acres, 
was in the occupation of William NichoUs Clay. '3 John 
Maryon Wilson became 9th baronet in 1 869 and died 
in 1 876.''* He was succeeded by his eldest surviving 
son. Sir Spencer Maryon Wilson, Bt., who died in 
l897.'s In 1899 Sir Spencer's trustees were lords of 
the manor but after the beginning of the 20th century 
the estate was apparently no longer regarded as a 
manor.'* 

The manor house site had an elaborate system of 
moats of which considerable parts remain. There 
appear to have been at least three moated enclosures, 
one of which was triangular. There is no trace of an 
early manor house although the present farm-house 
probably occupies the same site. It probably dates 
from the early years of the present century. A seven- 
bay timber barn, which formerly had a thatched roof, 
may be of the i8th century or earlier. 

The early history of the advowson of Little Laver is 
not clear. It was certainly granted to the 
CHURCH priory of Rumilly, a Cluniac house in the 
Pas-de-Calais, by a count of Boulogne after 
the beginning of the 12th century.'^ It is probable that 
the grant was made by Count Eustace during the reign 
of Henry I.'* 

For some time in- the 13 th century, if not before, the 
prior and monks of Rumilly found it impossible to 
exercise their rights of presentation." This led them 
in 1279 to make an agreement with Queen Eleanor, 
wife of Edward 1.^° The queen was to help the priory 
to recover the advowson from usurpers. The prior and 



monks were then to grant the advowson to the queen 
for 50 marks but they reserved to themselves the pen- 
sion of i6s. which they were 'wont to receive in times 
past from the church'. Apparently the priory's claim 
was successfully established, for in 1280 the prior 
granted the advowson to the king and queen.^' There- 
after the advowson remained in the Crown until late in 
thereignofHenry VIII when it was granted to Richard, 
1st Baron Rich.^^ 

In 1559 Lord Rich conveyed the advowson with 
the manor of Bourchiers Hall to John Collins who pre- 
sented to the church in 1569.^3 Nicholas Collins 
presented in 1599.^ In 1607 James I presented 
through lapse.^5 In 1609 Nicholas Collins conveyed 
the advowson to John Adams.^* In 1637 Benjamin 
Oliver presented to the living.^' In about 1654 Anne 
Gilbert presented William Hiccocks who in 1655 
presented Edward Whiston.^* Presentations were 
made by Richard Collins in 1662, Ann Bayn in 1670, 
Samuel Burnet in 1690, and Maurice Hunt in 1697. 2' 
Matthew Blucke held the advowson with the manor of 
Bourchiers Hall before his death in about 1713.3° 
After this the advowson descended with the manor 
until 1767.3' In 1767 Robert Palmer came into pos- 
session of the advowson as well as the manor.'^ He 
immediately sold the next presentation to Timothy 
Earle for ;^52 5.33 The right of presentation after- 
wards reverted to Palmer according to the agreement 
of 1767.3*' The living then remained in the gift of the 
lords of the manor of Bourchiers Hall until the manor 
was sold to William Clark in i8oi.3s The advowson 
was also offered for sale by Richard Palmer in 1 80 1 but 
did not find a purchaser.^* It remained with the 
Palmers or their trustees until 1910 when it was 
transferred to the Bishop of St. Albans from Mary 
Isabella, widow of the Revd. Henry Golding-Palmer, 
grandson of Richard Palmer. 3' In 19 14 the right of 
presentation was transferred from the Bishop of St. 
Albans to the Bishop of Chelmsford. 3 8 Since 1933 the 
living has been united with that of Moreton in the 
gift of St. John's College, Cambridge, who have first 
and third turns, and the Bishop of Chelmsford, who 
has second turn. 3' 

In about 1254 the church was assessed at 6 marks.*" 
This sum did not include the pension of i6i'. which 
was at that time paid to the monks of Rumilly.*' In 
1291 the church was assessed at ^8.*^ In 1428 it was 
still taxed on this valuation .*3 In 1535 the rectory was 
valued at ^^i 5 10/. 4i/.+* Its 'improved' value was £,io 



♦ CP43/311; Vhits. of Essex (Harl. 
Soc), 379. 5 CP43/476. 

' E.R.O., D/DB M79. 

' E.R.O., D/DB M79-80i Morant, 
EsseXf i, 144. No court rolls exist for the 
period between 1713 and 1734. Morant 
stated that Evans was grandson of Austry. 

» E.R.O., D/DB M79. 

9 E.R.O., D/DB M80. 

■» E.R.O., C/RPl 685; ibid. D/DB 
M80; Burke, Peerage (1931), 2496. 
Margaret Mary apparently married twice 
since Jane was her daughter by John 
Badger Weller. 

" Burke, Peerage (1931), 2496. 

■2 Ibid.; E.R.O., D/DB MSo; ibid. 

e/RSg 5- 

■3 E.R.O., D/CT 210. 

'♦ Burke, Peerage (193 1), 2497. 

■5 Ibid.; Kell/s Dir. Essex (1886, 1890, 
1895). 

'* Kelly's Dir. Essex (1899, 1902). No 
court rolls exist for the period after 1823. 

" E.A.T. N.s. viii, 228. 



^8 Ibid. In 1 125 CountEustacecertainly 
gave to this priory a charge of ^10 on his 
manor of Fobbing and another of ^Tio 
charged on Shenfield. J. H. Round 
thought it almost certain that this same 
Count Eustace gave to the priory the 
advowson of Little Laver. 

'» Cal. Close, 1272-9, 577-8. In 1250 
the Bishop of Carlisle had claimed the 
right of presentation and the Bishop of 
London had upheld his claim ; Newcourt, 
Repert. ii, 368-9. 

2" Cal. Close, 1272-9, 577-8. 

" Feet ofF. Essex, ii, 25. 

" Newcourt, Repert. ii, 369-70. The 
king held the advowson until at least 1 540 
when he granted It to John Gyes : L. ^ P. 
Hen. VIII, XV, p. 411. Lord Rich pre- 
sented to the church in 1554: Newcourt, 
op. cit. 

" CP25(2)/i26/i6o6; Newcourt, 

Repert. ii, 370. 

^< Newcourt, Repert. ii, 370. ^s Ibid. 

2« CP25(2)/293 East. 7 Jas. I. 



2' Newcourt, Repert. ii, 370. 

28 E.A.T. N.s. vi, 326. 

29 Newcourt, Repert. ii, 370. 

30 E.R.O., D/DEwTi. 

3' Ibid.; J. Bacon, Thesaurus, 615. 

32 E.R.O., D/DEw Ti ; ibid. D/DEw 
T2. 

33 E.R.O., D/DEw T2. 

3* Ibid.; J. Bacon, Thesaurus, 615. 

35 E.R.O., D/DEw T2. 36 Ibid. 

37 Ibid.; Eccl. Reg. 1808; Cler. Guide, 
1822 f. ; Clergy List, 1845 ^-i Lor^t^- Gaz. 
13 Oct. 1880, p. 5431 ; ibid. II Jan. 19 10, 
230; Kelly's Dir. Essex (1874 f.). 

38 Clergy List, 1 9 1 3 f. ; Kelly's Dir. Essex 
{1912, 1914). 

39 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1933); Chel. Dioc. 
Tear Bk. 1952; Lond. Gaz. 26 May 1933, 
pp. 3536-7. 

t" Lunt, Val. of Norwich, 337. 

4' Ibid. 

■12 Tax. Eccl. (Rec. Com.), 2i. 

« Feud. Aids, ii, 205. 

« Falor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), i, 437. 



100 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



LITTLE LAYER 



r 



in 1604, £90 in 1650, and ^^140 in i66i.t5 In 1610 
there were about 87 acres of glebe.-t* The tithes were 
commuted in 1 848 for ;^26o; there were then 89 acres 
of glebe/' 

A terrier of 16 10 described the rectory as 'a fair 
dwelling-house, the greater part whereof was built by 
John Oliver, rector of this parish in 1600' with 'an old 
kitchen a little distant from the house, a great barn for 
corn, and a barn for hay, with a stable at the east end 
of it, two gardens, a little square green court, a great 
old orchard, and other yards and easements for the most 
part compassed about with a great ditch or small moat'.** 
The separate kitchen was a medieval feature which 
evidently survived when the house was rebuilt by 
Oliver. The north side of the moat was still in exis- 
tence in 1848*' but only short stretches now remain. 
The house was rebuilt in 183 1 at a cost of j^2,ooo.5<' 
It consists of a square two-story block with a pedimented 
porch on the north side and a splayed bay to the south. 
A large wing adjoins it on the west. It ceased to be 
used as a parsonage after the living was united with that 
of Moreton in 1933 and it is now a private house called 
White Lodge. 

The parish church of ST. MART consists of nave, 
apse, south porch, and combined north vestry and organ 
chamber. The walls are of flint rubble. The porch is 
of timber. In 1872 the church was largely rebuilt and 
very little medieval work now remains. 

Nothing is left of the pre- 13th-century church 
except the font (see below). The nave was probably 
rebuilt in the 14th century. It retains two windows, 
much restored, of this date. The south window has a 
chamfered hood-mould externally and two much- 
decayed head stops. The braced collar-beam roof 
appears to be partly ancient. The only other original 
feature is the trefoil-headed piscina, which is probably 
of the 14th century and which has been reset in the 
apse. 

Drawings of the church before 1872 showed that it 
had a square-ended chancel^' with a doorway and a 
15th-century window on its south side. 52 In about 
1768 the church was described as 'small, of one pace, 
and the same width, with the chancel, and the whole 
tyled. The belfry stands in the middle of the church, 
with a spire shingled, in which there is only I bell.'sJ 

In 1872 the church was restored and enlarged at the 
expense of the Revd. Richard Palmer in memory of 
his brother, the Revd. H. Palmer.54 The architects 
were Messrs. Turner & Son of Wilton Street, Gros- 
venor Place (Lond.).55 The west wall, the apsidal 
chancel, the porch, and the vestry are all of this date. 
In general the new work is a free interpretation of an 
early-i4th-century style. The apse has three-light 
windows with an inner arcade resting on polished 
shafts of pink-veined marble. The west window is 
three-light and there are single-light lancets elsewhere. 
The south doorway of the nave is 13th-century in style 
with a Norman zigzag moulding superimposed on the 
arch. The opening from the vestry to the nave has a 



large trefoil-headed arch. In 1884 the floor of the 
church was raised and relaid.'* 

There is one bell by Anthony Bartlet inscribed 'All 
Glory Be To God' and dated 1674." It has been 
rehung in the stone cupola above the west end of the 
nave. 

The square font bowl is of the late 12th century 
and is similar in character to those in some neighbour- 
ing parishes.58 The base is an addition of 187259 and 
the carving of the bowl was probably recut at the same 
time. The decoration includes the fleur-de-lis, crescent, 
disk, and whorl found on other fonts of the type. (See 
plate facing p. 184.) 

There is a chair which has early- 17th-century 
carving and may have been made from a pulpit and 
sounding board of this period.*" The stone pulpit, 
carved with niches and figures, dates from 1872.*' 
The carved stone teredos was given by the Revd. S. C. 
Beauchamp in 1886 in memory of Miss S. Caroline 
Palmer.*^ 

The plate includes a silver cup with a bowl of 1 562 
which has a gilded band of foliage ornament, a silver 
cup with a bowl of 1563 to which a stem with a 
scalloped collar, probably of the 17th century, has been 
added, and an undated silver paten of which the foot 
possibly fits the bowl of 1 562. 

Little Laver was one of the two parishes in this 

hundred from which Roman 

ROMAN Catholics were reported in 

CATHOLICISM 1676.63 No evidence has been 

found of organized Roman 

Catholicism in this parish at a later date. 

The surviving court rolls (1528-84) of the manor 
of Little Laver consist only of 
PARISH GOFERN- odd membranes, many illegible 
MENT AND as a result of decay .^-t Only one 

POOR RELIEF legible membrane records pro- 

ceedings at a court leet. This 
court, which was held in 1 564, was attended by a jury 
of eleven. 

■ The parish records of Little Laver are brief and un- 
informative. Only three isolated memoranda survive 
before 1705. These are included in the parish register 
for 1 538-1773 ;*5 they are the minutes of the vestry 
held at Easter 1663 and two other memoranda, of 
1668 and 1684, also in the form of vestry minutes. A 
vestry minute-book survives for 170 5-1 944,** but until 
the end of the 19th century the minutes were rarely 
signed, except in the period 1709-14, and did no more 
than record the appointment of officers and their 
annual balances. Overseers' account books and rate 
books survive only after 1836.*' 

Vestry meetings were held at Easter in each year and 
from 1725, if not before, there were also regular meet- 
ings at Christmas. Occasionally, until 1735, there 
were meetings at other times also. 

The minutes of the vestry held at Easter 1663 were 
signed by the rector and seven parishioners. The 
resolution of 1668 was signed by the rector and one 



« E.A.T. N.s. xxi, 78, 83. 
46 Newcourt, Repert. ii, 369. 
" E.R.O., D/CT 210. Tithes of the 
glebe were not included in the ^^260. 
48 Newcourt, Refert. ii, 369. 
« E.R.O., D/CT 210. 
5» IVhite'! Dir. Essex (1848). 
5' E.R.O., D/CT 210. 
5^ Hist. Mon. Com. Recs. 
" Morant, Essex, i, 144. 



54 Kelly's Dir. Essex {1874, 1886). 

55 E.R.O., D/P 147/8. 

56 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1886). 

57 Ck. Bells Essex, 317. 

58 There are similar bowls at Moreton, 
Fyfield, and Norton Mandeville. 

59 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1874). 

<"> Hist. Mon. Com. Essex, ii, 157. 
" Kelly's Dir. Essex (1874). 
«» Kelly's Dir. Essex {1886). 

lOI 



«' Wm. Salt. Libr. Stafford, Bp. 
Compton's Census, 1676. 

<'4 E.R.O., D/DK M27-29. 

«! E.R.O., D/P 147/1/1. 

" E.R.O., D/P 147/8. Unless other- 
wise stated all the following information 
is derived from this minute-book and from 
the parish register quoted above. 

«' E.R.O., D/P 147/11 and 12. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



parishioner and that of 1684 by the rector and three 
parishioners. The minutes for the period 1705-9 are 
imperfect but in 1706 and 1708 they appear to have 
been signed only by the rector. From 1709 until 17 14 
the minutes were usually signed by the rector and by 
the parishioners present; it seems from these signatures 
and from those which appeared occasionally after 17 1 5 
that the number of persons attending the meetings 
varied between two and four. 

The main work of the vestry consisted in appoint- 
ing officers and approving their accounts. In the first 
part of the i8th century at least, however, vestry meet- 
ings were held as required to regulate the allotment of 
parish apprentices and the distribution of weekly doles 
and allowances. 

In 1614 there were two churchwardens.** At Easter 
1663, however, only one was elected for the following 
year and it is clear that during the period 1705-1844 
there was never more than one. It was usual to spend 
many consecutive years in this office. From 1 844 until 
1852 there were two churchwardens each year, one 
being elected by the rector and the other by the 
parishioners. From 1852 only one seems to have been 
elected. 

There were two overseers in each of the years 1 6 1 3 
and 1614.*" In 1663 and each year from 1709 until 
1742 one overseer was appointed. These officers 
usually served for one year only, but occasionally for 
two consecutive years. They were evidently chosen 
on a rota system. On four occasions during the period 
1709-42 a woman, Mrs. Collins, was nominated over- 
seer but on at least two of these occasions, in 1 721 and 
1729, a man was appointed to serve the office for her. 
The minutes of the vestry held at Easter 1730 recorded, 
however, that 'Mrs. Collins overseer gave up her 
account at this vestry for the year 1729'. 

There was never more than one constable for the 
parish.'" It was customary for this officer to serve at 
least two years consecutively and sometimes much 
longer. 

One surveyor of highways was appointed in each of 
the years 1614" and 1663. Only ten appointments to 
this office were recorded in the vestry minute-book 
after 1705; these were for the years 1725 and 1729 
and for most years between 1758 and 1767. These 
appointments show that in the i8th century one sur- 
veyor was appointed annually in December. 

In the period 1705—42 the overseers, churchwardens, 
and constables each submitted a separate annual ac- 
count to the vestry at Easter. No record of overseers' 
accounts was kept in the surviving vestry minute-book 
after 1742. A separate overseers' account book was, 
however, probably kept from this time when, in other 
parishes in the hundred,''^ the cost of poor relief was 
increasing. The churchwardens and constables con- 
tinued to account separately to the vestry until 1836, 
after which no more constables' accounts appear in the 
minute-book. In the period 1758-67 the surveyors 
submitted an annual account to the vestry in December. 
In 1836 the rateable value of the parish was about 



There was a parish poorhouse in Little Laver, 
situated on the east side of the road to Matching Green, 
about J mile to the north-west of the church.'* In 
May 1836 the overseer paid £^ \\s. 'at the work- 
house'.'s In 1837 and 1838 he received rent for the 
property.'* By 1 848 it belonged to C. P. Meyer and 
was said to comprise two cottages." It was refaced 
with flint rubble and largely rebuilt during the second 
half of the 19th century by Herman P. D. Meyer. It 
now forms two small dwellings, called Stone Cottages. 
They are timber-framed internally and may have an 
1 8th-century or earlier origin. 

In most cases poor relief was given, in various forms, 
outside the poorhouse. In each of the years 18 13-15 
there were 8 to 9 adults on 'permanent' outdoor relief.'* 
Provision for the poor was made in various ways 
including the binding out of paupers' children as 
apprentices, the payment of allowances for lodging, 
the provision of clothes and the payment of weekly 
doles. The memorandum of 1668 recorded that the 
inhabitants whose names were subscribed consented 
that Thomas Ansell be transported 'into his Majesty's 
plantations of the Barbadoes', he having acknowledged 
himself willing to go. 

It was agreed at a vestry held in 1709 that four 
parishioners should each take .. parish apprentice for 
three years, and at another vestry held in 17 14 that 
William Clemmory should receive 20s. a quarter for 
providing his mother with 'meals, drink, washing and 
lodging only sickness excepted' and that the overseer 
should buy her a gown and a petticoat. Before this 
Clemmory had already received i os. from the overseer 
to buy bedding for her. At the same vestry it was 
agreed that the widow Oram should receive a weekly 
dole of 3/. Other doles recorded soon after this date 
ranged from \s. to 2S. bd. a week. 

In 1613-14 the cost of poor relief was ;{^i." In 
1776 it was [fiz, and in 1783-5 it averaged ^^77 a 
year.*" In the hard years which opened the 19th 
century it rose to about ^{^200.*' The sums recorded 
for the years 1800-17 show a minimum ol [j.00 in 
1803—4 but the cost was above ^{^160 in almost every 
other year, 1812-13 and 18 16-17 being particularly 
expensive years at ^^241 and ^^231 respectively.*^ 

In 1836 Little Laver became part of the Ongar Poor 
Law Union. 

In 1807 there was no school in the parish but the 
rector paid for a few children to 
SCHOOL AND attend a neighbouring school.*^ In 
CHARITY 1 8 1 8 there was still no school of any 

kind in Little Laver, though the poor 
were said to desire education for their children.** In 
1833 some children were apparently paying \d. a week 
to attend a school in Matching; in their own parish 
there was only a Sunday school, founded two years 
before and attended by 17 girls and 8 boys.*5 In 
1 846-7 attendance at the Sunday school had fallen to 
7, a mistress being paid (jl 12s. a year to teach them.** 
Some children probably attended the day school in 
High Laver (q.v.) after its erection in 1866. In 1872 
this school was said to have accommodation for all the 



«« E.R.O., Q/SBa 3. 

M Ibid. 

'0 Ibid. " Ibid. 

'^ See for examples the parishes of 
Bobbingworth and High Laver. 

" E.R.O., D/P 147/12/1. 

'* There was a poorhouse by 1776 at 
latest : Rep. Sel. Cttee. on Overteers' Retns. 



1777, H.C. ser. i, vol. \\, p. 350. 

'5 D/P 147/12/1. '6 Ibid. 

" E.R.O., D/CT 210. See above, p. 97, 
and also Manor of Little Laver Hall. 

'8 E.R.O., Q/CR i/io. 

'« E.R.O., Q/SBa 3. 

8" E.R.O., Q/CR i/l. 

8- E.R.O., e/CR 1/9. 



" Ibid. 

83 E.R.O., D/AEM 2/4. 

8-» Reim. Educ. Poor, H.C. 224, p. 260 
(i8i9),ix(i). 

85 Educ. Enquiry Ahstr. H.C. 62, p. 281 
(183s), xli. 

8' Nat. Soc. Enquiry into Church Schs, 
1846-7, pp. 12-13. 



102 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



LITTLE LAYER 



19 children from Little Laver in need of places. 87 
Thereafter it continued to serve both parishes. *' 

By a deed of 1891 Arbury Hill Hoppit (2 r. 17 p.) 
was vested in the rector, the rector's warden, and the 
ovraer or occupier of Little Laver Hall in trust for use 



as a Sunday school and parish room for the education 
of the poor.*" The building erected for this purpose is 
now known as the village hall and is administered by a 
village committee, its principal use being as a social 
club.'" It is a single-story building of brown brick. 



MAGDALEN LAVER 



Magdalen Laver is a small parish about 5 miles to 
the north-west of Chipping Ongar and 4 miles to the 
south-east of Harlow.' A very small detached part 
(5-6 acres) hes on the boundary between Moreton 
and High Laver, to the east of the main part of the 
parish. The area of the ancient parish was 1,229 acres.^ 
It was increased by the incorporation of two detached 
portions of North Weald Bassett. One portion of 
North Weald (10 acres), lying to the north-west of 
Weald Lodge, was transferred to Magdalen Laver in 
i883;3 the larger portion, lying to the north of the 
middle of Cripsey Brook, near Weald Bridge and 
including Weald Bridge Farm, Weald Lodge, and 
Bowlers Green, was transferred to Magdalen Laver in 
ig46.'' Magdalen Laver now has an area of 1,443 
acres. 5 The parish has an unusual number of ancient 
timber-framed farm-houses, the oldest of which prob- 
ably dates from the 14th century.* Several of these, as 
well as the manor house and the old rectory, stand on or 
near moated sites. There were 28 inhabited houses in 
l8oi,33ini8ii, and 3 8 in 1 8 2 1 .' In 1 80 1 the popu- 
lation was 228;* it reached 236 in 1821 and again in 
185 1.' Then it declined irregularly to 134 in 1931.'" 
By 195 1 it had risen to 242," this being partly due to 
the incorporation of part of North Weald Bassett in 
1946. 

The land rises in the west of the parish to just over 
300 ft. above sea-level. It slopes eastward and south- 
ward to less than 200 ft. along the streams that separate 
the parish from Moreton on the east and Bobbingworth 
on the south. Another stream rises in the north-west 
and flows south-eastward across the middle of the 
parish, joining one of the other streams on the southern 
boundary. A small area of woodland lies on the 
northern boundary. 

The road from Epping crosses the southern boundary 
at Weald Bridge and runs northward for about J mile 
until it is joined by a road from Bobbingworth. To 
the north of this junction the road meets another road 
which runs from east to west across the parish. About 
i mile to the west, on the south side of this last road, is 
the 'Green Man', which was probably built early in 
the 1 8th century. Almost opposite the 'Green Man' 
is a single pair of council houses built during the Second 
World War. Immediately to the west, on the south 
side of the rOad, is the new rectory.'^ On the north 
side of the road, by a drive leading north-eastward 
to Spencers, is Humphreys which probably derives its 
name from the family of John Humphrey, living in the 
13th century." This has a pedimented door-hood and 
appears to be an early- 18th-century timber-framed 

»' Chelmsford Chronicle, 2 Aug. 1872. 

88 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1899 f.). 

89 Char. Com. Files. 
9** Local information. 

' O.S. 2i in. Map, sheets 52/40, 52/50. 

» O.S. 6 in. Map (ist edn.), sheet xli. 

J Under the Divided Parishes and Poor 
Law Amendment Act, 1882, 39&40 Vict. 
C.61. 

* County of Essex {Rural Parishes) Con- 
firmation Order, 1946; see North Weald 



house, although the back wing may be older. Immedi- 
ately west of Humphreys is Mollmans, where another 
road leads north-eastward to Tilegate Green in High 
Laver. At Mollmans a fragment of a moat remains. 
The south end of the house and the back wing were 
probably built in the late i6th or early 17th century. 
On the north side of the road leading westward from 
Mollmans is Rolls,"'* a timber-framed farm-house stand- 
ing on a moated site. The moat, more than half of 
which remains, is curved in shape and of considerable 
size. The main axis of the house runs north and south 
and there is a cross-wing at the north end. This north 
wing has two stories and an attic and dates from the late 
1 6th or early 17th century. It has a chimney with 
octagonal clustered shafts, now covered with cement. 
The upper flight of the staircase is original and has 
turned balusters and moulded newel caps. The main 
block also has two stories and an attic, but there are 
indications that it is an adaptation of an earlier struc- 
ture. The chimney, now cement-covered, has diagonal 
shafts. The doors and windows of the house mostly 
date from the i8th and early 19th centuries. From 
Rolls the road turns northward and then sharply west- 
ward past Wynters Armourie to the western boundary 
of the parish. 

Wynters Armourie, formerly Winters, which prob- 
ably derives its name from the family of Alice Winter, 
living in about 1248, '5 stands on a moated site. The 
moat encloses a long narrow rectangle from north to 
south. There is part of a transverse arm in the centre 
but the south end has been obliterated by the farm- 
yard. The house is timber-framed and consists of a 
central block with cross-wings to the east and west (see 
plate facing p. 1 37). On the north side there is a single- 
story addition and a small staircase wing. The central 
block originally consisted of a partially aisled hall of two 
bays, probably dating from the r4th century. Ceilings, 
fireplaces, and partitions have been inserted later and 
the west bay has been raised in height and rebuilt. Most 
of the main roof truss dividing the bays is stiU in posi- 
tion and at the east end of the hall are the remains of a 
'spere truss', suggesting that the hall is of the transitional 
type where the aisles are retained in the screens bay only. 
The central truss has a steeply cambered collar below 
which are deep curved braces, moulded at their lower 
edge. The collar purlin and some of the original rafters 
are in position and there are indications of a former king- 
post. All the timbers are blackened with smoke from 
an open hearth. Rising obhquely from near the base 
of one of the principal rafters and reaching to the under- 
side of the plate is a wind-brace or strut.'* The others 



Bassett. 

5 Inf. from Essex County Council. 

6 See below. 

7 Census Reports, 1801, 1811, 1821. 

8 y.C.H. Essex, ii, 350. 
« Ibid. 

'» Ibid.; Census Reports, 191 1 f. 

'" Census Report, 1 95 1. 

'2 See below, Church. 

" P.N. Essex (E.P.N.S.), 64. 

■♦ In 1539 Rolls Farm, consisting of 

103 



82 acres, belonged to Sir William Sulyard, 
who owned half of the manor of Otes in 
High Laver (q.v.): Morant, i, 14.3; by 
1848, however, Rolls no longer formed 
part of the Otes estate: E.R.O., D/CT 2n. 

'5 P.N, Essex (E.P.N.S.), 64. 

^6 An almost identical truss at the Old 
Parsonage, Marlow (Bucks) retains its 
moulded king-post and has been dated 
c. 1340 {^nL Brit. Arch, Assoc. 3rd scr. 
^"> 54-55)- 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



are missing. In the east bay the north doorway of the 
screens passage is in position and there is one jamb of 
an opposite doorway on the south side. A post dividing 
the 'nave' from the north aisle still exists and the cor- 
responding post of the south aisle has only recently been 
removed. On this side a large curved brace, springing 
from the east wall and rising to the underside of the 
plate, forms part of the 'nave arcade'. Below the main 
truss a later tie-beam spans the whole width of the hall. 
The detail here is similar to that of the open trusses on 
the upper floors of the two cross-wings and it is suggested 
that all these features represent additions, possibly 
dating from the late i 5th or early i6th century. The 
rebuilding of the west bay probably took place later 
in the 1 6th century when the roof was raised to give 
higher rooms and an attic. The gable ends have un- 
glazed windows with diagonal mullions and the roof 
has small curved wind-braces. The central chimney 
was probably inserted at this time and the single-story 
addition at the back of the house, which has an open 
queen-post truss and a large end chimney, may be a 
kitchen of the same period. The present owner 
restored the house, which was in poor condition, in 
about 1935." 

On the north-west side of the road from Mollmans 
to Tilegate Green is the village hall. On the other side 
of the road is the former rectory," * on a moated site. 
North of this, on the west side of the road, there are 
three pairs of white plastered council houses. Almost 
opposite these houses one drive leads south-eastward 
to Spencers and another, newly made, leads north- 
eastward to Magdalen Laver Hall." Spencers, which 
probably derives its name from the family of John le 
Spenser, living in 1339,™ is a large timber-framed 
farm-house with considerable remains of a moat. It 
has an irregular three-gabled front and additions on 
the other three sides. The stop-moulded ceiling beams 
on the ground floor indicate an early-iyth-century date 
but it is possible that parts of the structure are older. 
The new drive to Magdalen Laver Hall is extended in 
a north-easterly direction to form an approach to the 
church.^' Previously the approaches to the church had 
been by the footpaths which run from the road to 
Spencers on the south and through the farm-yard of 
Magdalen Laver Hall on the north. Immediately 
north-west of the churchyard are traces of a large moated 
site, where the first manor house probably stood.^^ To 
the south-east of the church, in a field known as Redmill 
Shot, a stone coffin containing a skeleton was discovered 
in about 1757 and human bones were found in other 
parts of the same field at different times.^3 There was 
a tradition in the 1 8th century that the church origin- 
ally stood in this field but no trace of a church or of any 
other building has ever been found.^"* It may be, how- 
ever, that the field was once a burial ground belonging 
to the parish. 

Immediately north of Magdalen Laver Hall the 
road to Tilegate Green becomes part of the northern 
boundary of the parish. On the north side of the road, 
within the parish of High Laver, is Magdalen Laver 
school.^5 At Tilegate Green the road is joined by Pole 
Lane, now only a footpath, which leads eastward to the 



Ongar-Harlow road. On the south side of Pole Lane, 
north-east of the church, is a moated mound, about 
80 ft. in diameter. At the junction of Pole Lane and 
the Ongar-Harlow road is Start Farm, a small timber- 
framed farmhouse, part of which may date from the 
1 6th century. 

To the south of Start Farm the Ongar-Harlow road 
is joined by the road which runs right across the parish 
to Mollmans and Wynters Armourie on the west. On 
the south side of this road, close to the eastern boundary 
of the parish, is Bushes, an L-shaped timber-framed 
farm-house with wings extending to the north and east. 
The north wing, now of four bays but formerly longer, 
was built as a two-story structure and probably dates 
from the late 1 5 th century. On the west side the upper 
floor overhangs on curved brackets. In 1933 the plaster 
was stripped away revealing a fine timbered front with 
close studding and curved braces. The roof is original 
except at its south end and there are two king-posts with 
two-way struts in position. The chimney is a later 
insertion. The east wing, lying at right angles to the 
two-story wing, may represent the medieval hall, much 
altered. A large chimney and ceilings have been 
inserted. The roof is not ancient but two of the rafters 
are formed from old moulded timbers. Also incor- 
porated is a cambered and moulded tie-beam of medieval 
origin. The south porch and the brick chimney appear 
to be of the i6th century. There is a considerable 
amount of 1 6th- or early-i 7th-century panelling intern- 
ally. In the angle between the wings there is a later 
timber structure. The house was restored and the 
staircase altered in 1933.^* The north and part of the 
east sides of a large moat are still in existence. To the 
west of Bushes is Ashlings, where traces of a moat 
remain. About J mile south-west of Ashlings is Lunds, 
a timber-framed farm-house probably of the late 17th 
or early i8th century; it has been faced with yellow 
brick. To the west of Lunds, on the north side of the 
road, is Whites, a timber-framed farm-house probably 
dating from the late 1 7th or early 1 8th century. Almost 
opposite Whites is the junction with the road leading 
south to Epping. 

In 1776 the parishes of High Laver and Magdalen 
Laver came to an agreement about repairs to roads for 
which they were jointly responsible.^^ These roads 
were to be equally divided by a white post and each 
parish was to repair the part lying nearest to it.^' 

Water was supplied by the Herts, and Essex Water- 
works Co. in 1912.^' Electricity was laid on in part of 
the parish in 1950.30 A branch of the county library 
was opened in June 1939.31 

Magdalen Laver has always been a rural parish 
engaged almost entirely in agriculture. The lords of 
the manor lived in the parish during most of the period 
from 1622 until 1832.32 After John Cozens sold the 
estate in 1832 the owners were not resident until 
Matthew Torrance purchased the estate shortly after 
1922.33 

In 1 848 James Ewing owned, but did not occupy, 
Magdalen Laver Hall Farm (191 acres) .34 There were 
only two other substantial owners in the parish; John 
Archer Houblon owned but did not occupy Spencer's 



*' Inf. from Mrs. Fitzgerald. 
" Sec below, Church. 
'9 Sec below, Manor. 
" P.N. Essex (E.P.N.S.), 64; Feet of F. 
Essex, iii, 5 1 . 
2* Sec below, Church. 
** See below, Manor. 



23 Hist. Essex by Gent, iii, 354. 
21 Ibid. 

25 See below, School. 

26 Inf. from Mr. Radbourne, present 
owner. 

" E.R.O., D/P 1 1 1/22. See also High 
Laver. 28 Jbid. 



29 Inf. from Herts. & Essex Water- 
works Co. 

30 Inf. from East. Elec. Bd. 

3^ Inf. from County Librarian. 
32 E.R.O., D/DA Ti99i Q/RPl 685- 
737. 33 Sec below, Manor, 

3* E.R.O., D/CT211. 



104 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



MAGDALEN LAYER 



Farm (126 acres) and Christian P. Meyer owned 
MoUmans Farm (in acres) but did not farm it him- 
self.35 There were seven other farms of over 60 acres; 
of these three were more than 90 acres.3* 

Magdalen Laver, like neighbouring parishes, has 
always been a parish of mixed farming with a marked 
predominance of arable. In 1331 the manor contained 
331 acres arable, 30 acres pasture, 6 acres meadow, and 
80 acres wood. 37 In 1 847 it was estimated that there 
were 835 acres arable, 150 acres meadow and pasture, 
and 15 acres woodland. 3 8 

From 1680, if not before, until 1731 a regular item 
of income in the churchwarden's annual account was 
6s. id. 'faire money'.39 This suggests that until the 
second quarter of the i8th century a fair was held 
annually in the parish, although it is not clear why it 
should have been a source of income for the church- 
wardens. No reference to 'faire money' has been found 
after 173 1."*" 

In 1066 MAGDALEN LAFER was probably held 
as a manor by Sexi.*' In 1086 it was prob- 
MANOR ably held of Ralf de Toesni by Roger.t2 At 
both dates it was worth 70^.'t3 In the 12th 
century the manor was held of the honor of Boulogne 
and of Pharamus of Boulogne, great-grandson of Count 
Eustace of Boulogne.''^ Pharamus died in 1183 or 
1 1 84 and was succeeded by his only daughter and heir 
Sibyl de Fiennes.*5 The manor was held of the honor 
of Boulogne and of Sibyl in 1 22 1-2.'«* Sibyl's heir was 
her son William de Fiennes, whose grandson Sir 
William de Fiennes died in 1 302.''7 In 1 33 1 the manor 
was held as \ knight's fee of Hugh, Lord Audley (d. 
1347), and his wife Margaret 'as of her right and 
inheritance' .'•8 By 1352 the tenancy in chief had 
passed to Elizabeth de Burgh, Lady of Clare, sister of 
Margaret.^' At that time the manor was held by the 
service of J knight's fee. 5" Elizabeth died in 1360.5' 
Her heir was her granddaughter Elizabeth, suo jure 
Countess of Ulster, wife of Lionel, later Duke of 
Clarence. 52 In 1361 the manor of Magdalen Laver 
was held of Lionel as of the honor of Clare. 53 Lionel 
survived his wife Elizabeth and was succeeded on his 
death in 1 368 by their only daughter and heir Philippe, 
wife ofEdmund Mortimer, Earl of March (d. i38i).54 



The heir of Philippe and Edmund was their son Roger, 
Earl of March, who was tenant in chief of Magdalen 
Laver at his death in 1 398.55 Roger was succeeded by 
his son Edmund, who died in 1425.5* The manor was 
then held of Edmund's widow Anne until her death in 
1432.5' She was succeeded by Richard, Duke of York, 
son of Anne, sister of the last earl.'* Richard died in 
1460 and the manor was then held of his widow.5» 

It is not clear who held the tenancy in demesne of 
the manor in the first half of the 12th century. It was 
probably during this period or shortly before, however, 
that it came into the possession of the Marcys. In the 
reign of Henry II the tenant was Ralph de Marcy who 
also held an estate in Navestock.*" In Navestock at 
least Ralph had by 1 152 succeeded William de Marcy, 
son of the Ralph de Marcy who in 1086 held a manor 
in Kelvedon Hatch (q.v.).*' Ralph the younger was 
dead by 1 1 89 when his son William paid a mark for a 
recognizance of mort d'ancestor.*^ William died be- 
tween 1 198 and 1205 leaving his son Ralph as heir to 
his estates in Navestock and Magdalen Laver.*' Ralph 
was probably dead by 1217-18.*'' He was succeeded 
by his daughter Joan wife of Gilbert de Breaute.*5 
In 1237 Magdalen Laver was known as Laufar 
Breute.** In 1270 Joan de Breaute acknowledged 
the manor of Magdalen Laver to be the right of 
Robert de Burnevill, her son or son-in-law, who 
granted a life interest in the estate to Joan with reversion 
to himself.*' In 1285 Cecil de Terling, son of Joan de 
Breaute, brought an action against Robert de Burnevill, 
grandson of Joan.** Cecil claimed the manor from 
Robert on the ground that Joan, Cecil's mother, was 
seised in her demesne as of fee of the manor at the time 
of her death.*' A jury declared that Joan had granted 
the manor in fee to Robert de Burnevill, father of the 
defendant, and that Robert the father had then granted 
her a life interest in the estate.'" Robert de Burnevill 
the son was therefore confirmed in his seisin." 

In 1 32 1 John son of Robert de Burnevill conveyed 
the manor to Humphrey de Walden'^ and it after- 
wards followed the same descent as the manor of Ongar 
Park in High Ongar (q.v.) until 1468.73 In 1331 the 
manor of Magdalen Laver, then worth £12 16/. id. 
a year, was granted to John de Cantebrigg to hold 



" Ibid. 

s« Ibid. 

" C135/26. 

3» E.R.O., D/CT211. 

3« E.R.O., D/P 62/5. 

40 Ibid. 

*' y.C.H. Essexi'i, $;^. It is impossible 
to distinguish with certainty between the 
three Lavers in Domesday. 

42 Ibid. 

« Ibid. 

« Bk. of Fee!, 1428; Genealogist, n.s. 
xii, 14.5— 51. Pharamus was grandson of 
Geoffrey, who was apparently a natural 
son of Count Eustace. For Pharamus and 
his heirs see also Lambourne and Bobbing- 
worth. 

45 Bk. of Fees, 234-5; Genealogist, N.s. 
xii, 145-51. 

4' Bk. of Fees, 240, 1435. 

47 Ibid. 235-6; GcfiM/o^f/K, N.s. xii, 149; 
De La Chenaye-Desbois et Badier, 
Dictionnaire de la Noblesse, viii, 39-41; 
C. Moor, Knights of Ediu. I, ii, 23 ; Cal. 
Inq. p.m. iv, p. 60. 

48 Cal. Inq.p.m.vn,f.2^0. Lord Audley 
was grandson of Margaret, daughter of 
Sir William de Fiennes (Complete Peerage, 
\, 346, 347). As, however, the manor had 



apparently descended not to Lord Audley 
but to his wife Margaret it is likely that 
Sir William de Fiennes granted the over- 
lordship of Magdalen Laver as well as that 
of Blake Hall in Bobbingworth (q.v.) to 
Margaret's grandmother, Eleanor of 
Castile, to whom he pledged part of his 
estate in 1275. 

4' Cal. Inq. p.m. X, p. 5 ; Complete Peer- 
age, i, 346, iii, 245. Elizabeth de Burgh 
inherited the honor of Clare on the death 
of her brother Gilbert, Earl of Gloucester, 
in 1 3 14 (ibid, iii, 245). Her sister Margaret 
died in 1342, 5 years before her husband. 
Lord Audley (ibid, i, 346). 

5» Cal. Inq. p.m. x, p. 5. 

!■ Complete Peerage, iii, 245. 

52 Ibid. 

53 Cal. Inq. p.m. xi, p. 1 84. 

54 Complete Peerage, iii, 245. 

55 Ci36/io6; Complete Peerage, viii, 

448-50- 

56 C 1 39/19; Complete Peerage, vni, 

45°-3- 

57 C139/S9; Complete Peerage, viii, 453. 

58 C 1 39/98; Complete Peerage, viii, 453. 

59 C140/68. 

'0 Cal. Chart. R. 1341-1417, 186-7, 
where a charter of Ric. I is quoted; Dom. 



of St. Paul's (Camd. Soc. Ixix), 133. 

" Domesday Studies (ed. P. E. Dove), ii, 
553-5; Hist. MSS. Com. 9M Rep. pt. i, 
App. 3ii, 66a; Dom. of St. Paul's (Camd. 
Soc. Ixix), 133. 

62 Cur. Reg. R. viii, 387; Pipe R. 11 89 
(Rec. Com.), 29. 

OJ Rot. Cur. Reg. R. (Rec. Com.), 197; 
Pipe R. 1205 (Pipe R. Soc. N.s. xix), 1 19, 
189. 

''4 Bk. of Fees, 240. He was certainly 
dead by 1222 (see n. 65 below). 

<'5 Dom. of St. Paul's (Camd. Soc. Ixix), 
75; Feet of F. Essex, i, 100, 214, 271. 

'' E.A.T. N.s. xix, 35. It was so 
described by the assessors and collectors of 
the 3^ of 1237. Cf. like description in the 
Norwich Taxation of 1254 (Lunt, yal. 
of Norioich, 337). 

'7 Feet of F. Essex, i, 271, 

" Just. Itin. 1/243 ■"• 5^- 

69 Ibid. 

7» Ibid. 

" Ibid. 

72 Feet of F. Essex, W, 197. 

73 Cal. Inq. p.m. vii, p. 250, x, p. 5, xi, 
p. 1 84, xii, p. 1 64 ; Feet of F. Essex, iii, 
241; Cal. Close, 1419-22, 78; C139/98; 
E.R.O., D/DAT199. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



during the minority of Andrew de Walden.''' In 
1 367, after he came of age, Thomas de Walden granted 
the estate for ten years to Sir John Wade who had had 
custody of it during the minority of Thomas. '5 In 
141 2 the manor was said to be worth ^{^12 a year.'* 
After the death of Thomas Bataille in 1439 his widow 
Isabel held in dower a bakehouse and some lands and 
rents in the manor.'' In 1439 ^^^ '^^^ annual value of 
the manor was j^io.'* In about 1450 there were some 
fifteen manorial tenants whose rents amounted to 
£^ IS. a. yeiT.''9 

In 1468 John BataiUe mortgaged the manor to Sir 
Thomas Cooke for ,^200.*° Shortly afterwards Cooke 
became absolute owner of the estate.*" He died in 
1478 leaving as his heir his son John.*^ In i486 John 
Cooke died and was succeeded by his brother Philip 
who was knighted in 1497.*' In about 1500 there 
were some fourteen manorial tenants paying rents 
amounting in all to ^^4 19/. iJM In 1502 Sir Philip 
Cooke leased the manor for five years to John King at 
an annual rent of ^12 ji.*' The lease included all the 
manorial lands and the rents of manorial tenants but 
not the perquisites of the court.** Cooke died in 1 503 
leaving as his heir his son John.*' In 1544 Margaret 
Cooke, widow — probably of John Cooke — received a 
life interest in the manor with remainder to Anthony 
Cooke (K.B. 1547) son of John Cooke, and the heirs 
of Anthony.** In 1570 Sir Anthony Cooke settled the 
manor on his second son William when William 
married Frances daughter of Lord John Grey of Pirgo 
and cousin of Lady Jane Grey.*' William Cooke died 
in 1 589.'° In 1608 his son and heir Sir William Cooke 
conveyed the manor to Sir John Poyntz." 

In 1614 Sir John Poyntz mortgaged the manor to 
Sir Edward Buncombe for ^2,000.'^ It was then in 
the occupation of William Aylett.'^ By June 1622 
John son of William Aylett had become lord of the 
manor. 9'« In June 1650 John Aylett sold the estate, 
which then contained 160 acres, to John Throckmorton 
of Twickenham (Mdx.) for about ^^2,400. 95 In 1659 
there were 22 manorial tenants whose rents amounted 
to £4. 15/. 9^/. a year.'* 

John Throckmorton died in 1663-4 having devised 
all his real estate to his son George." In 1676 George 
Throckmorton made a settlement by which after his 
death the manor was to be held by his wife Elizabeth 
for her life and afterwards by his heirs.'* In 1692-5 
there were 22 manorial tenants whose rents amounted 
to £4 17s. lod. a year." In 1703 George, William, 
and Thomas, sons of George and Elizabeth Throck- 



morton, sold to William Cole the reversion of the 
manor after the death of their mother." WiUiam Cole 
had become lord of the manor by 1707.^ He died on 
I February 1730 having devised all his real estate, sub- 
ject to a life annuity of ^£200 for his brother Henry, 
to his nephew William Cole in tail male with remainder 
to his nephew Henry Cole, brother of William.3 The 
nephew William Cole died without issue on 24 
February 1730 and his brother Henry then succeeded 
to the property.* By his will of 1760 Henry Cole 
devised all his real and nearly all his personal estate to 
his servant John Cozens.s Between 1748 and 1764 
there were 1 5 tenants of the manor of Magdalen 
Laver; the total of their rents varied irregularly between 
^4 ^s. I \d. and ^^4 1 8;. (i\d. a year.* John Cozens died 
in 1766 having devised this manor to his eldest son 
John.' Some time before April 1782 John Cozens 
mortgaged the estate to Mrs. George Sealy for ;^75o.* 
He died in 1784 having stipulated that the estate 
should be redeemed out of the proceeds of sale of his 
freehold lands in Hornsey (Mdx.).' He devised the 
manor to his wife Elizabeth for her life with remainder 
to his son John."" Elizabeth died in 1791-2."" In 
1832 John Cozens sold the estate to James Ewing."^ 

In 1848 the manor farm, which was occupied by 
James Edwards, consisted of 191 acres of which 34 
acres were meadow and nearly all the remainder 
arable."^ In December 1852 James Ewing died leaving 
as his heirs his four daughters: Mary Ann, wife of 
Robert Ewing Curwen, Anna Caroline, wife of Caledon 
Du Pre Alexander, Frances Elizabeth, later the wife of 
William James Tyrwhitt Walker, and Louisa, latei; the 
wife of Winthrop Mackworth Praed."'' In 1865 they 
sold the estate, which then consisted of 223 acres, 
nearly all arable, to John Francis Clark of Exning 
(Suff.) for ^8,380."' At that time the manor house 
and farm were still in the occupation of James Edwards 
who paid a rent of ^^320 a year.'* J. F. Clark died in 
1898, having placed the property in the hands of 
trustees who were to apply the rents for the benefit of 
his daughters."' At the time of Clark's death Matthew 
Torrance occupied the estate.'* In 1922 the estate was 
still in the hands of Clark's trustees but by 1926 
Matthew Torrance had purchased the property." 
Torrance still lived at Magdalen Laver Hall and 
farmed the estate in 1937.^0 In 1942^' the property 
was purchased by Mr. Charles French who is stiU the 
owner. 

The first manor house probably occupied the large 
moated site immediately north-west of the churchyard. 



'■• Cal. Fine R. 1327-37, 256. 
'* Cat. Inq. p.m. xii, p. 164J Cal. Close, 
1364-8,405. 
" Feud. Aids, vi, 443. 
" E.R.O., D/DA Ti99i C139/98. 
78 E.R.O., D/DA T 199. 
" E.R.O., D/DU 199/9. 
»» E.R.O., D/DKT51. 
8' C140/68. «2 Ibid. 

M Cal. lnq.f.m. Hen. Vll, i, p. 38. 
«« E.R.O., D/DU 199/10. 
«5 E.R.O., D/DAT199. 
«« Ibid. 
*' Cat Inq. p.m. Hen. VII, ii, p. 472. 

88 CP25(2)/i3/74 Hil. 35 Hen. VIII. 

89 C142/221/109. John Grey was the 
youngest son of Thomas, Marquess of 
Dorset (d. 1530): Complete "Peerage, iv, 
420-1, vi, 135. 

O" C142/221/109. 

9" Ibid.; CP25(2)/293 East. 6 Jas. I; 
E.R.O., D/DAT199. 



9^ E.R.O., D/DA T199. For a later 
marriage alliance between the Duncombe 
and Poyntz families see Chipping Ongar. 

93 Ibid. 

94 E.R.O., D/DU 199/1. He held his 
first court on 4 June 1622. 

95 CP25(2)/55oB Trin. 1650; E.R.O., 
D/DAT199. 

96 E.R.O., D/DU 199/12. 

97 E.R.O., D/DAT199. 

98 Ibid. 

99 E.R.O., D/DU 199/15. 
> E.R.O., D/DAT199. 

2 E.R.O., D/DU 199/3. He was high 
sheriff in 17 16 and was for several years 
treasurer of St. Thomas's Hospital, South- 
wark: Wright, Hist. Essex, ii, 350. In 
1724 he purchased the manor of Nether 
Hall in Moreton (q.v.). 

3 E.R.O., D/DA T199; ibid. D/DU 
201/35. 

♦ E.R.O., D/DU 201/35. 

106 



s Ibid. 6 E.R.O., D/DU 199/17. 

7 E.R.O., D/DU 201/35. 

8 E.R.O., D/DAT199. 

9 Ibid. 
'» Ibid. 

■■ E.R.O., Q/RPl 695-g ; ibid. Q/RSg 4. 
She died between Aug. 1791 and June 
1792. 

■2 E.R.O., Q/RPl 734-7 i Essex Arch. 
Soc. Docs. Magdalen Laver 10; Reg. 
Electors S. Essex, 1832. 

"3 E.R.O., D/CT 211. James Edwards 
occupied the estate at least as early as 
1 840 : Reg. Electors S. Essex, 1 840. 

M E.R.O., D/DU 199/22. "5 Ibid. 

"^ Ibid. His lease, which was for 6 years, 
was due to expire in September 1866. 

" E.R.O., D/DTcTi2. 

'8 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1899). 

"9 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1922, 1926). 

" Kelly's Dir. Essex (1937). 

2' Inf. from Mr. C. French. 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



MAGDALEN LAYER 



A short stretch of dry moat still remains and there are 
traces of embankments to the south and east of this. 
Further south is a large pond or lake. The present 
house is immediately to the west of the old site. It was 
probably built during the second half of the i8th 
century and is of two stories, timber-framed and 
plastered. Alterations were made in the middle of the 
19th century and by the present owner. 

The advowson of Magdalen Laver was held by the 
lords of the manor until shortly after 
CHURCH 1468 when John Bataille sold the manor 
to Sir Thomas Cooke.^^ ^t the sale 
Bataille apparently retained the advowson, for his son 
John presented to the church in 1497.^3 In 1502 Sir 
Philip Cooke, then lord of the manor, held the advow- 
son and he retained it when he leased the manor to John 
King in that year.^* John Bataille, probably the patron 
of 1497, presented in 1 5 1 3." After this the advowson 
was held by the lords of the manor until 1781 when it 
was conveyed by John Cozens and his wife Elizabeth 
to Thomas Altham.^* In 1783 Thomas Burford pre- 
sented. ^^ In 1790 Peter Thomas Burford and Ann, 
probably his wife, conveyed the advowson to James 
Watts.2* James William Burford presented in 1 794.^' 
After this the living remained in the gift of the Burford 
family until about 1857.30 The Revd. S. C. Mason 
held it from 1857 until about 18703' after which C. G. 
Jones, rector 1872-93, held it until 1895.32 The 
advowson appears to have been acquired in 1895 by 
Mrs. E. Bellamy who held it until her death in 191 2- 
13.33 After this it remained with her trustees until 
about 1928 when it passed to the Reformation Church 
Trust,34 who stiU owned it in 1941.35 Since 1942 the 
living has been in the gift of the Bishop of Chelmsford3* 
and since 1945 it has been united with that of High 
Laver.37 

In about 1254 and in 1 291 the rectory was valued 
at 10 marks.38 In 1^28 the church was still taxed on 
this valuation.39 In 1535 the rectory was valued at 
;^i6 125.*° In 1661 its 'improved' value was ^9o.'" 
In 1621 there were 22 acres of glebe.''^ In 1848 the 
tithes were commuted for ^310; there were then 30 
acres of glebe.*3 

Until 1950 the rectory house was situated on the 
east side of the road leading from Mollmans to Tile- 
gate Green.'M A terrier of 162 1 described it as 'a 
dwelling-house all tiled, saving one end, which is 
thatched' with 'an old kitchen standing by itself'.t' 
The detached kitchen, a feature which the rectories 
at all three Lavers retained until the 17th century,''* 
must have been of medieval origin. A new house was 
built in about 1850.^7 This is of red brick with stone 
dressings. It was occupied by the rector until a new 



rectory was built in i95o.4» This new building stands 
on the south-west side of the road between Humphreys 
and the 'Green Man'.*" It is a white-plastered two- 
story house with red brick dressings. 

The parish church'" oi ST. MART MAGDALEN 
consists of nave, chancel, west tower, and south porch. 
The walls are of flint rubble, those in the nave includ- 
ing also some Roman brick. The tower is of timber. 

The nave was built early in the 12th century. The 
flints are set in herring-bone courses in the lower part 
of the walls, while above there are indications that the 
Roman brick was arranged in decorative bands. The 
north wall retains a blocked single-light window of the 
original date. A window has been filled in on the south 
side and it is possible that this was also of the 1 2th 
century. Two blocked bull's-eye windows in the west 
wall were noted in 1919s' but are not now visible. It 
is possible that the west doorway, which has brick 
jambs, chamfered imposts and a segmental-headed 
tympanum is also original. The door itself, of heavy 
oak battens with zigzag ornament to the strap hinges, 
is evidently of great antiquity. 

The chancel, which is slightly narrower than the 
nave but has no chancel arch, was built or rebuilt in 
the 13th century. The north wall and the upper 
part of the other walls may have been reconstructed 
later. 

Most of the windows in the church as well as the 
two south doorways appear to have been inserted at 
difl^erent times during the 14th century. On the south 
side of the chancel the single-light window and the 
pointed door-way are of late-i 3 th- or early-i4th-century 
date. Two two-light windows in the chancel and three 
in the nave were probably added later in the 14th 
century. These have square heads and segmental rear 
arches. The tracery has been restored or replaced but 
the design is probably near to the original. In the two 
easternmost windows of the nave there is some 14th- 
or 15th-century glass which appears to be in situ. 
Similar glass in one of the chancel windows has been 
reset. The east window of the chancel, which has a 
pointed head and tracery in the 14th-century style, is 
largely modern but retains original carved head-stops. 
The south doorway to the nave has a pointed head and 
moulded jambs. The door itself may be of late-i4th- 
century date. 

There is a 14th-century oak rood-screen consisting 
of a central doorway with six bays flanking it on each 
side. Each bay has an ogee-headed arch supported on 
slender banded shafts with moulded capitals and bases. 
Above each arch the tracery consists of two quatre- 
foiled circles. The screen was evidently reconstructed 
in the 1 7th century and part of the base panelling is of 



I 



" E.A.T. N.s. xviii, 19; Feet of F. 
Essex, i, 271; ibid, ii, 197; ibid, iii, 33, 
241 ; Cal. Close, 1 364.-8, 405 j Newcourt, 
Repert. ii, 370-1. 

»5 Newcourt, Repert. ii, 371. 

" E.R.O., D/DA T199. 

» Newcourt, Repert. ii, 371. 

" CP25(2)/i309 Trir. 21 Geo. Ill; 

Newcourt, Repert. ii, 371. In the period 

between 1513 and 1781 the only known 

occasions on which a presentation was 

1 made by someone other than the lord of 

I the manor were in 1700 when Josias 
Harvey presented (Newcourt, Repert. ii, 
371) and in 1702 when Thomas Harvey 
presented (J. Bacon, Thesaurus, 616). 
" P.R.O. Inst. Bks. Ser. C. i (i). 
" CP25(2)/i3io Mich. 30 Geo. III. 
1 



" P.R.O. Inst. Bks. Ser. C. i (i). 

» Ecd. Reg. 1 808 ; Cler. Guide, : 8 1 7 f. ; 
Clergy List, 1845 f. 

" Clergy List, 1857 f.j Crockford's Cler. 
£>«>.(i857f.). 

32 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1870, 1874); 
Crockford's Cler. Dir. (1880 f.). 

33 Crockford's Cler. Dir. (1895 f.). 

i* Crockford's Cler. Dir. (191 3 f.); 
Kelly's Dir. Essex (1914 f-)- 

35 Ckel. Dioc. Tear Bk. 1941. 

36 Ckel. Dioc. rear Bk. 1942 f. 

3' Crockford's Cler. Dir. (1951-2); inf. 
from the Revd. W. D. Topping. 

38 Lunt, Fal. of Nor-wich, 337; Tax. 
Eccl. (Rec. Com.), 21. 

39 Feud. Aids, ii, 205. 

40 Falor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), i, 437. 

107 



4' E.A.T. N.s. xii, 78. 

M Newcourt, Repert. ii, 371. 

43 E.R.O., D/CT2II. 

44 See above, p. 104. 

45 Newcourt, Repert, ii, 371. 

4' See parishes of High Laver and Little 
Laver. 

4' In 1848 it was stated that a new 
parsonage house was about to be built : 
fr kite's Dir. Essex (1848). 

48 Inf. from the Revd. W. D. Topping. 

49 See above, p. 103. 

3° See plate facing p. 202. There was a 
tradition in the i8th cent, that the church 
once stood in the field known as Redmill 
Shot, to the south-east of the present site. 
Sec above, p. 104. 

" Hist. Mon. Com. Essex, ii, 168. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



this date. The doors and several of the shafts are 
replacements. Above the screen the tie-beam of the 
roof has mortice-holes for studs, suggesting that at one 
time the opening was filled with timber-work. 

The westernmost window on the north side of the 
nave evidently replaces a north doorway and may have 
been inserted in the 15 th century. The stonework has 
been replaced. The roof of the nave is also of the 1 5 th 
century. It is of the trussed rafter type with moulded 
wall plates and two tie-beams. The framing of the 
westernmost bay suggests that at one time there was a 
beO turret in this position. 

The chancel roof, which has been restored, has two 
original tie-beams. On one of the ties is a nearly 
illegible inscription 'it anno dom. 161 5 h. l.'s^ 

The addition of the timber bell tower beyond the 
west wall of the nave may have been made in 1 567, a 
date which occurs on one of the bells. 53 The lower 
stage is surrounded on three sides by an aisle, while the 
upper stage forms the belfry. The heavy timber frame 
consists of four angle posts resting on a massive plate. 
The westernmost posts have supporting struts. On the 
east and west sides the posts carry queen-post trusses 
with arched braces below the tie-beams and cross- 
bracing between the queen posts. Externally the tower 
is crowned with a boarded pyramidal roof which was 
formerly leaded. ^i Halfway down there is a penthouse 
roof to the aisle. In the lower stage there is a window 
with two pointed lights and there are louvred openings 
to the belfry. The exterior is weather-boarded. At a 
vestry held in April 1 709 it was agreed that 'the north 
side of the belfry shall be new boarded with oak 
boards'. 55 The old boards were to be used for patching 
the other sides,5* suggesting that some form of weather- 
boarding was already of long standing by 1709. The 
presence of holes and grooves for fitting laths between 
the studs proves, however, that a plastered finish was 
originally intended. 

In 1856 the church was repewed; the cost of this 
and other repairs was £136.^'' In 1875 there was a 
further restoration. 5 8 In 1883 the timberwork of the 
tower was strengtheneds' and the boarded vestry inside 
the tower may have been inserted at the same date. In 
1887 the south porch was rebuilt;*" it is of timber 
framing above a stone base and replaced a plastered 
porch of uncertain date.*' In 1912 a second-hand pipe 
organ was bought from Christ Church, Albany Street 
(Lond.).62 

There are two bells.*3 One is inscribed to the honour 
of St. John, and is probably of the early 14th century.*^ 
The other is dated 1567.^5 In 1868 another bell was 
added** but this must have been subsequently removed. 
In 19 1 9 there were cages for three bells.*' 

A damaged 15th-century font, which stood for a 
time in the rectory garden, was restored to the church 
early in the 20th century .*8 It has an octagonal bowl 
with quatrefoil panels and carved bosses. The stem 
also has carved panels. 

Painted boards on the north wall of the nave have 
round-headed panels inscribed with the Ten Com- 



mandments, the Creed, and the Lord's Prayer. These 
are surrounded by decoration of 18th-century design. 

The plate includes a cup of 1665 with crest and 
shield of arms, given by George Throckmorton, lord 
of the manor, in 1666; a large flagon and a small paten, 
similarly dated and engraved, a salver of 1683, similarly 
inscribed; an almsdish presented in 1925 to com- 
memorate the safe return from a tour abroad of (Sir) 
Godfrey J. V. Thomas, then private secretary to 
Edward, Prince of Wales. A large silver communion 
cup which is mentioned in an inventory of church 
property in 1678 as 'in hands of John King of Ashhns' 
is not now among the church plate.*' 

On the south wall of the nave is a marble tablet in 
the form of a cartouche shield to the William Cole, lord 
of the manor, who died on 24 February 1730.'"' A 
funeral helm with vizor hangs on the west wall of the 
nave. Three brackets for other trophies are now empty. 
The helm is probably of the i6th century: its crest, 
possibly not in situ, appears to be that of Cole." On 
the south wall of the nave is a tablet to John Cozens'^ 
(1766) and members of his family. On the east wall 
of the chancel is a marble tablet surmounted by a 
segmental pediment. An oval panel enclosed by a 
wreath carries a Latin inscription to George Kindleton 
(1667), rector of the parish, who was dispossessed 
during the Commonwealth. 

Outside the church immediately west of the south 
porch is the marble altar tomb of the William Cole, 
lord of the manor, who died on i February 17 30.'' 
Cole had the tomb built before his death.74 The 
inscription is on a central panel, flanked by the figures 
of cherubs. The tomb is enclosed by a heavy iron rail- 
ing, also ordered by Cole,75 and there is an achieve- 
ment of arms on the wall above. 

In May 1709 Thomas Redington applied to have 

his house, called Hum- 

NONCONFORMITT phreys, licensed for a presby- 

terian minister to preach'* 

but there is no further evidence of dissent in the parish. 

The only parish book which survives for Magdalen 

Laver contains vestry 
PARISH GOVERNMENT minutes and summar- 
AND POOR RELIEF ized officers' accounts 

for the period 1667- 
1764 and detailed churchwardens' accounts down to 
1869." 

Until 1 69 1 vestry meetings seem to have been held 
only at Easter in each year. From 1691 meetings were 
held regularly at Easter to examine officers' accounts 
and appoint or nominate fresh churchwardens, over- 
seers, and constables, and at Christmas to nominate 
fresh surveyors. Occasionally meetings were held in 
September or October. Nearly every meeting was 
attended, and its minutes recorded, by the rector or 
his curate, who always signed first. Meetings were 
seldom attended by more than six parishioners. 

The vestry minutes seldom recorded corporate 
resolutions as distinct from mere approval of the actions 
of officers. Two of the most notable resolutions were 



5^ Hist. Mon. Com. Essex, ii, i68. 

53 See below. 

5* T. Wright, Hist. Essex, ii, 349. 

55 E.R.O., D/P 62/5. 

5' Ibid. 

5' Ibid. 

5« Kelly's Dir. Essex (\i%6). 

50 Ibid. 

'» Kelly's Dir. Essex (1890). 

'• Shown in sketch of 1820: E.R.O., 



Prints, Magdalen Laver. 
'2 Inf. from the Revd. W. D. Topping. 
" Ch. Bells Essex, 317. 
'* Ibid. 
*5 Ibid. 

" E.R.O., D/P 62/5.- 
" Hist. Mon. Com. Records. 
68 Ibid. 

'9 E.R.O., D/P 62/5. 
"> See above. Manor. 

108 



" See below. 

'^ See above. Manor. 

73 Ibid. 

'•• E.R.O., D/DA T199. 

'5 Ibid. 

" E.R.O., e/SBb 43. 

" E.R.O., D/P 62/5. Unless otherwise 
stated all the following information is 
derived from this book. 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



MAGDALEN LAYER 



in 1708, when it was agreed that a cottage should be 
leased for the use of the parish," and in 171 3, when it 
was resolved that no officer should relieve a passenger 
on a pass with parish money." Occasionally there were 
resolutions on matters relating to poor relief. Generally, 
however, the officers seem to have been allowed to 
act without guidance or interference from the vestry. 

From 1667 until 1686 one churchwarden, one over- 
seer, two constables, and two surveyors of highways 
were nominated annually at Easter. From 1686 until 
i6go only one surveyor was nominated each year but 
from 1 69 1 two were nominated annually at Christmas. 
From 1706 only one constable was nominated. From 
1732 two names appear 'in nomination for overseer' 
but it seems that only one acted. There continued to 
be only one churchwarden. A paid church clerk ap- 
pears first in 1 73 1 when the churchwarden accounted 
for ;^l paid to him as his annual salary. In 1797 the 
clerk was receiving ^2 a year. His status may be 
deduced from the payment in September 1778 of is. 
to 'the Clark for Cleaning the Churchyard'. 

The surveyors do not appear to have levied a separate 
rate but each of the other officers did so until at least 
1766. The proceeds of an officer's rates were, however, 
indiscriminately applied in settlement of other officers' 
accounts.*" The surveyors' small disbursements of 
5/.- 10/. a year were always paid by another officer. 
Sometimes officers' own personal money was used to 
provide the working funds of the parish. This occurred 
for example in the case of the churchwarden during the 
period 17 13-15. No churchwarden's rate was levied 
in 1713 or in 1714. At the end of 171 3 the parish 
owed the churchwarden £4 <)s. 3a'.; during the follow- 
ing year the debt rose to £j 14J. 6d. Not until 171 5 
was a rate levied to raise £% 5/. dJ. in partial settlement 
of his account. 

In 1682 a iJ. rate produced ;^5 I2.r. \ii. Later, only 
the total product of rates was recorded. From at least 
1680 a regular, and unexplained, source of income for 
the churchwardens was 'money for the fair', always 
6s. iJ. a year; it was last received in 173 1. 

There was a parish house in Magdalen Laver from 
at least 1708. In October of that year the vestry 
resolved to take a lease of a cottage, yard, and orchard 
called Maggots for the use of the parishioners for 2 1 
years at a rent of £,z c,s. a year. The lessor, William 
Cole, lord of the manor, covenanted to do certain 
repairs. The vestry which met in October 17 14 
acknowledged the receipt of £5 from him in discharge 
of this obligation which, it was stated, he had been 
unable to perform since the cottage was occupied by 
'several pensioners of the parish'. At the date of the 
meeting the cottage was empty. The preceding Easter 
vestry had resolved to have a chimney built and to have 
an oven inserted and a new floor made 'in the same 
room'. In September 17 16 Francis Bowtell was 
instructed to come to the 'little end' of the parish house 
and Goodman Harrod to remain in the other end. In 
March 1 7 1 7 it was agreed that Goodman Storey and 
his family should be removed into the house. 

In most cases poor relief was given, in various forms. 



outside the parish house. In each of the years 1813-15 
there were 16-19 adults on 'permanent' outdoor 
relief*' Provision for the poor was made in various 
ways including the payment of rents and the provision 
of wood, food, clothing, and medicine. All these forms 
of relief were used in the first years of the period 
(1670-1764) for which accounts have survived. At 
a vestry held in October 1692 it was agreed that the 
overseer should have full power 'to dispose and order 
all things necessary and convenient for the poore as 
hee in his prudence shall think fitt'. In March 1693, 
however, a vestry meeting agreed that the same over- 
seer should 'dispose of the goods of the widow King 
for the use of the parish and remove Shipton into her 
house and pay 40/. to Mrs. Wankford for Shipton's 
rent and do all other things for the good of the poor 
and the parish as shall seem expedient'. In the follow- 
ing September it was agreed that the overseer should 
have 'full power to provide a house in this parish or 
elsewhere for Richard Benton or so to agree with his 
landlord that he may continue where he now is'. One 
common form of parish relief, the weekly dole, was 
mentioned in the parish book only once, in December 
1693, when the vestry resolved that a man should have 
a 'collection' of \s. 6d., but the use of the common 
word on this occasion suggests that it was well known 
to the parish. 

In 1 6 14 the cost of poor relief was 48/. ^^ Late in 
the 17th century and early in the i8th century the cost 
was in most years between ^^13 and ^22. It rose con- 
siderably during the second quarter of the 1 8th century 
and in the third quarter was usually above ^60. In 
1776 it reached ^ioi.'3 At the beginning of the 19th 
century there was a maximum of ^595 in 1801— 2 and 
the cost did not again fall below £p.zi> in the period 
before i8i7.*'t 

In 1836 Magdalen Laver became part of Epping 
Poor Law Union. 

In 1807 there was no school in the parish; it was 
reported that the population was too poor 
SCHOOL to support one.ss By 1818 a school had 
been established, in which 13 children 
were being taught by a dame.** This school, or one 
that replaced it, became united with the National 
Society in about 1820 and apparently continued under 
church guidance at least until 1846-7. The number of 
pupils was 27 in 1828, 25 in 1832, and 30 in 1846-7, 
the girls outnumbering the boys. In 1 846-7 the mistress 
was paid £j los. a year.*^ 

In 1862 a permanent school was built on land given 
by Anna Maria Meyer. The trust deed appointed the 
rector and churchwarden as managers. The building 
could accommodate 60 pupils and had a teacher's 
residence attached.** The school was endowed with 
j^999 raised in subscriptions from the congregation of 
St. George's Chapel, Albemarle St. (Lond.) by W. W- 
Ellis, then minister of the chapel, and presented to 
Magdalen Laver, of which he was then rector, in 
1872.*' The money was invested.'" Average atten; 
dance rose from 39 in 1886 to 45 in 1899, despite the 
falling population." In 1904 there were 47 children 



'^ Sec below. 

'» Despite this resolution the constables 
frequently relieved 'passengers' as was 
their statutory duty. 

"> As in 17 1 5 when the constable and 
overseer paid the churchwarden and in 
1725 when the constable paid the church- 
warden. 



81 E.R.O., g/CR i/io. 

82 E.R.O., Q/SBa 3. 

83 E.R.O., Q/CR i/i. 

84 E.R.O., e/CR 1/9. 

85 E.R.O., D/AEM 2/4. 

86 Retm. Educ. Poor, H.C. 224, p. 260 
(1819), ix(i). 

87 Nat. Soc. Rep. 1820, 1828, 1832; 

109 



Nat. Soc. Enquiry' into Church Schs. 
1846-7, pp. 12-13. 

88 Min. of Educ. File 13/196. 

89 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1899). <"> Ibid. 
9' Rep. of Educ. Cttee. of Council, 1886 

[C. 5 1 23-1], p. 520, H.C. (1887), xxviii; 
Retn.ofSchs. 1899 [Cd. 315], p. 71, H.C. 
(1900), Ixv (2). 




A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



on the roll and they were taught by a teacher and a 
monitress.'^ 

By the Education Act of 1902 the school passed 
under the administration of the Essex Education Com- 
mittee as a non-provided endowed school. Average 
attendance rose from 44 in 1900 to 53 in 191 5 but 
fell again to 33 in 1938.93 In 1944 the school was 
reorganized for mixed juniors and infants, the seniors 
being transferred to Chipping Ongar. In 1950 the 
managers applied for aided status; a decision about this 
was still awaited in September 1952. There were 36 
pupils and two teachers at the school in May 1952.''* 



The school is situated a little to the south-west of Tile- 
gate Green, just within the southern boundary of High 
Laver and it is attended by children from High Laver 
as well as by those from Magdalen Laver. '5 It is a 
single-storied red-brick building. 

The Revd. Thomas James Robinson, by will dated 
1876, left an annuity of ^^2 for the aged 
CHARITY and industrious poor of the parish. The 
will was disputed but the legacy was 
paid in 1883 in the form of ^^59 5/. stock. In 1952 
the income was used to give \os. in cash to three 
people.'* 



LOUGHTON 



The town of Loughton lies to the east of Epping 
Forest and west of the Roding, adjoining Chigwell; 
it is 12 miles from London.' The ancient parish of 
Loughton became an urban district in 1900 and in 
1933 was united with the Urban District of Buckhurst 
Hill and Chigwell civil parish to form the ChigweU 
Urban District.^ The area of the ancient parish was 
approximately that of the present Loughton (North) 
and Loughton (South) Wards of the urban district, 
taken together, and in 1931 comprised 3,961 acres.^ 
For ecclesiastical purposes the ancient parish was 
divided in 1887 by the creation of the new parish of 
St. Mary, in the south of the town.'* 

The best approach to Loughton is from the north, 
by the road through Epping Forest from the 'Wake 
Arms'. The forest has always formed an important 
part of the landscape of Loughton. Over 1,300 acres 
of the forest were within the ancient parish and were 
preserved by the Epping Forest Acts of 187 1-80.5 
The road leaves the forest about a mile south of the 
'Wake Arms', at Goldings Hill and runs south down 
hill, becoming Church Hill and then High Road and 
continuing to Buckhurst Hill and London. For many 
centuries this road, 2 miles long, was the main focus of 
settlement in the parish. South-east of Goldings Hill 
is the new Loughton: the large housing estate of 
Debden, built since 1945 by the London County 
Council. The estate takes its name from the ancient 
manor of Debden, which lay at its northern end, 
around Debden Hall and Debden Green. Debden 
Green itself does not form part of the estate. It is a 
pleasant little hamlet of about eight houses, mostly of 
the 19th century and later, grouped about the ancient 
green. Loughton Hall, on the site of another ancient 
manor, is now in the centre of the Debden estate, a 
mile south of Debden Green. Beside the hall is the 
Lttle church of St. Nicholas (a chapel of ease to St. 
John, Loughton) which stands on the site of the 
original parish church. The Roding forms the boundary 
of the parish in this direction. There is an ancient 
crossing at Loughton Bridge a mile south-east of 
Loughton Hall. The railway from London via Strat- 
ford and Woodford, now part of the Central London 
Line, enters Loughton from the south. After passing 
through Loughton station it makes a wide arc east and 

92 Essex Educ. Cttee. Handhk. 1904, 
p. 148. 

93 Min. of Educ. File 13/196. 
9* Inf. from Essex Educ. Cttee. 
95 Sec above, p. 104 and also parish of 

High Laver. 96 char. Com. Files. 

' O.S. 2\ in. Map, sheet 51/49. 

^ Kelly's Dir. Essex (1902); Ciigwell 
U.D. Official Guide (2nd edn.), 22. 

3 Official Guide, p. 22; Kelly's Dir. 



Essex (1933). The ward boundary be- 
tween Loughton (South) and Buckhurst 
Hill is \ mile north of the ancient parish 
boundary. 

♦ See below, Church. ' See below. 

<> y.C.H. Essex, \, 277; Hist. Mon. 
Com. Essex, ii, 165—6. 

' See below, Manor. 

' F.C.H. Essex, i, 447a, 446A, 515*, 
537a, i>. 



north to Theydon Bois and Epping. Debden (formerly 
Chigwell Lane) station is J mile south-east of Loughton 
Hall. Rectory Lane, an old path which has become the 
main road through the new estate, runs from Church 
Hill south-east to Debden station and Loughton 
Bridge. Alderton Hall, which hke Debden Hall and 
Loughton Hall was the centre of an ancient manor, is 
at the south-west edge of the new estate. 

An early settlement in the parish was within the 
forest at what is known as Loughton Camp, about ij 
mile north of the railway station. The camp was a 
rough oval some 6J acres in area, enclosed by a single 
rampart and ditch. It is thought to be pre-Roman.* 

In the nth century there were eight estates in 
Loughton. The largest were Alderton and Debden, 
which were probably the main centres of population 
at that time.' In 1086 there were 18 manorial tenants 
at Alderton and 1 1 at Debden and the total number in 
the parish was 49.8 In 1377 the parish contained 44 
poll-tax-payers.' 

Although the total area of the parish was fairly 
large, the population was for long concentrated in a 
small part of it. Many medieval place-names survive 
and relate almost entirely to High Road and its im- 
mediate neighbourhood and to the areas around the 
three manor houses. Traps Hill, Algers Road, Goldings 
Hill, Borders Lane, Lyngs Lane (now Pump Hill), 
Pyrles Lane, OUards Grove, and Ree Lane (now 
Englands Lane) have medieval names or the names of 
medieval tenants who held land in those areas.'" There 
appears to be a specific reference to High Road in 
1404 when a tenant was presented at the manor court 
for throwing the scourings of his ditch upon the high- 
way at Richard Algor's Gate." The offence was 
evidently committed in the neighbourhood of the 
present Alger's Road.'^ 

While the concentration of population along the 
High Road was probably of medieval origin it was no 
doubt increased by the construction, early in the 17th 
century, of the new road through the forest to Epping 
(see below). In 1671 there were 89 houses in the 
parish'^ and there were only 119 in 1801, when the 
population was 68 1.''' Chapman and Andre's map 
(1777) suggests that the appearance of Loughton was 
not very different from what it had been 100 years 

9 W. C. Waller, Loughton in Essex, i, 
20. 

'» P.N. Essex (E.P.N.S.), 67-68. For 
details of the descent of properties see 
Waller, Loughton, \, App. vii. 

" Waller, Loughton, \, 112. 

" For the location see Waller, Loughton, 



'3 E.R.O., Q/RTh 5 (Hearth Tax). 
M Census, 1801. 



I 10 






a-" F-^ ■L -.T -.^ - i^," ..- 




Map of Loughton 



LOUGHTON Vo 



R.LE.T PLAN 5HOWINC 
POSITION OF BUILDINGS X.X" 



Scale 




ONGAR HUNDRED 



LOUGHTON 



before. '5 It shows houses dotted along High Road as 
far north as Rectory Lane. There were some houses 
around Mutton Row (now York Hill) and small groups 
round Debden Hall and in the centre of Englands Lane. 
Other roads shown were Smarts Lane, Pump Hill, 
Clays Lane, Traps Hill, and Borders Lane, Pyrles 
Lane, and Debden Lane.'* Larger houses specifically 
named were the Parsonage, Loughton Hall, Alderton 
Hall, Debden Hall, Golden Hill House, Hempstalls 
(later Borders Farm), 'The Reindeer' (later The' 
Warren) and High Standing, which lay in the south- 
west of the parish on the edge of the forest. The 
ancient parish church beside Loughton Hall is, of 
course, shown on the map. 

Very few of the houses then existing have survived 
to the present day. Loughton Hall," which had been 
rebuilt about 1616, was burnt down in 1836, and 
Debden Hall has been twice rebuilt since 1777.'* 
Golden Hill House, shown on the map as the residence 
of Richard Lomax Clay, stood on the north side of 
Clay's Lane at its junction with the main road. It was 
the centre of a small estate built up by R. L. Clay and 
his father Richard Clay, a London draper. The estate 
included the White Lion Inn, which was demolished 
by R. L. Clay in 1777." Golden Hill House was 
rebuilt on a large scale early in the 19th century. It 
had three stories and the view from it was said to be 
'exceedingly rich and extensive, including most of 
London and much of the intervening district of sub- 
urban villas in Chigwell, Woodford, Walthamstow 
etc.'^" After the fire at Loughton Hall in 1836 W. W. 
Maitland, the lord of the manor, moved to Golden 
Hill (Goldings) and lived there until his death.^' In 
1 940 the house was destroyed by a German land mine.^* 
The former stable block escaped destruction and has 
now been converted into a house called Stanmores. 
A small modern house of red brick called Goldings 
Manor Cottage has been built on the site of Goldings. ^3 

Alderton Hall, which dates from about 1600 is the 
only one of the three ancient manor houses which has 
survived.^^ North Farm, at the south of High Road, 
is of the 1 6th century. It has two stories and attics and 
is timber-framed and plastered. The north part has 
three gables, the central part of the house projecting 
and supported over the ground floor on posts. 

Willow Cottage, High Road, about J mile north of 
the farm also dates from the i6th century. It consists 
of two stories, timber-framed with painted weather- 
boarding. There are gabled cross-wings at each end of 
the front. 

Beech House, High Road, bears the date 1648 and 
the initials rwm (probably William and Margaret 
Rutland) and ir Age 4. It is a two-story brick building, 
altered externally but with some oak panelling of c. 
1648 inside. 

No. 363 High Road was built late in the i8th 
century. It is of two stories, in stock brick with three 
sash windows. A group of cottages in Pump Hill, 
Nos. 20, 22, and 24, date from the 17th century. They 
are of two stories with painted weather-boarding. Rose 
Farm, Traps Hill, is of the same period or somewhat 

" Chapman and Andre, Map of Essex, 
J777, sheet xvi. 

'* Of these only Traps Hill is named on 
the map. 

" See below, Manor. 

'8 Ibid. 

'» Waller, Loughton, i, 127-8. 

" While's Dir. Essex (1848). 

" Waller, Loughton, i, 128; Kelly's Dir. 



later. It is of two stories with painted weather-boarding 
and small casements. In York Hill there is a group of 
cottages (Nos. 107-19 inclusive) most of which date 
from the 1 8th century and are probably those shown on 
the map of 1777. Some are of red brick, others 
weather-boarded. Algars at Debden Green dates from 
the 17th or 1 8th century. It is a two-story weather- 
boarded building having grouped chimney-stacks and 
a pedimented doorway with architrave and shaped 
brackets. 

The population increased steadily after 1801. By 
1 82 1 it was 979 and there were 166 inhabited houses.^* 
In 1 83 1 there were 1,269 inhabitants, but the popula- 
tion subsequently remained stationary until the 1850's 
when the railway was built.^* The construction of the 
new by-pass road from Woodford to Epping (see 
below) may have been partly responsible for halting 
the growth. The tithe map (1850) shows the parish 
just before the coming of the railway.^' The general 
picture had changed httle since 1777. There were a 
few more houses at the east end of Smarts Lane, in the 
York Hill area and along High Road. Albion Hill was 
now clearly marked as a road and some cottages had 
been erected at Baldwins Hill. Hatfields, in Rectory 
Lane, had been built in 1799. It consists of two stories 
and attics and is of stock brick. There is a central 
cemented Roman Doric porch. The date is on a rain- 
water head. 

The Warren (formerly 'The Reindeer') had been 
rebuilt early in the 19th century. 'The Reindeer' was 
a resort of wealthy visitors and famous for its rabbit 
pie. About 1800 it was converted into a private house 
and became the home of General (later Field-Marshal) 
Thomas Grosvenor (1764-18 51), a friend of the Duke 
of Wellington. The house is of two stories, in Roman 
cement. To the rear is a weather-boarded wing of 
earlier date. The front looks north over a field con- 
taining a 'monument' said to have been erected by 
Grosvenor to the memory of his favourite horse, 
which had carried him at Waterloo.^^ The monument 
consists of a plain square pedestal above which is an 
obelisk resting on ball feet.^' 

Other buildings erected between 1777 and 1850 
were the original National School at the corner of 
Staples Road (on the site of the present Ashley Grove 
flats), the British School in Smarts Lane, and the 
Whitaker Almshouses.^o A directory of 1 848 spoke of 
the 'many genteel houses' of Loughton. 3i Meanwhile, 
in 1846 a new parish church had been built in Bhnd ' 
Lane (now Church Lane) nearer to the main road, and 
there was also a police station. 

Between 185 1 and 1871 the population doubled, 
and there were considerable changes in the landscape 
of the parish. 3^ The railway was the most important 
new feature. The line from Woodford and London 
was followed within ten years by an extension to 
Epping and Ongar, which looped north-east in order to 
avoid hills and the forest. The station was placed at the 
south-east end of the town. On the south side of Albion 
Hill a number of large houses were built, and the land 
between them and Warren Hill was inclosed to form 



Essex (1859, 1862); E.R.O., Sale Cat. 
A. 1075 (1893). 

22 Inf. from Mr. Wm. Addison. 

^5 Mr. Wm. Addison has a photo, of 
Goldings House. 

^* See Manor. 

25 Census, 182 1. 

^* For these and later census figures see 
y.C.H. Essex, ii, 350. 



" E.R.O., D/CT235. 

28 Waller, Loughton, i, 22-23. 

29 The monument is said to have come 
from Wanstead House, which was 
demolished in 1824. 

30 See below, Schools, Charities. 
3' fVhite's Dir. Essex (1848). 

32 O.S:25 in. Map (ist edn.). 



II I 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



their gardens. This was the wealthiest part of the 
town. Farther north Upper Park Road and Lower 
Park Road were laid out although not yet built up by 
1 87 1. Forest Road had also been made, and it was 
there and in Smarts Lane that much of the new build- 
ing had taken place. The houses in these two roads 
were of cottage type, in short terraces. Another new 
road was Staples Road, which had a few small houses. 
Old Station Road had been made, but was not built 
up, and the present Station Road was marked out. 
Many smaller houses had been built at Baldwins Hill. 
Some of the new building on the west of the town took 
place on land inclosed from the forest, but expansion 
in this direction was stopped by the Epping Forest 
Acts of 1 87 1—80.33 There was also some new building 
in High Road, including St. Mary's Church and the 
present Union church. 

Loughton grew very slowly between 1 87 1 and 1 8 8 1 , 
but between 1881 and 191 1 the population rose from 
2,85 1 to 5,433. The progress of building was watched 
with a critical eye by William Chapman Waller (1850- 
19 1 7) who lived at Ash Green at the top of York 
Hill. His articles in the parish magazine of St. Mary's 
and the entries in his manuscript notebooks provide 
valuable information about this period.^'' 

The new building after 1 881 took place mainly on 
several small estates along or near the main road. The 
'Queen's Park' estate, consisting of 14 acres bounded 
by York Hill, Pump Hill, and Church Hill, was 
broken up for building in 1886 after the death of the 
last owner, George Burney.^s Building was much 
slower than had been expected.3* By 1895 there were 
some 25 houses along the Church Hill front of the 
estate, but in Queen's Road, which had been built 
parallel with Church Hill to the west, only about six 
had so far been built.3' There was further building in 
Queen's Road up to 1914 but parts of the road 
remained empty until the 1930's. 

The Uplands estate, which lay opposite the Queen's 
Park estate to the east of Church Hill, consisted of 1 8 
acres,3 8 centred on a large house which had been a 
private residence and later a children's convalescent 
home. 39 The estate was sold in 1902 for ^^5,250 and 
the house was demolished.'"' By 1914 a number of 
small houses had been built along the Church Hill side 
of the estate. Uplands Park Avenue (now The Uplands) 
had been made and there were several houses there.*' 
But there, also, building was not completed until after 
the First World War. 

Farther south the development of the area between 
Smarts Lane and Upper Park Road had begun. By 
1895 High Beech Road, Forest View Road, Con- 
naught Avenue, Junction Road (now Connaught Hill), 
OUards Grove, and Park Hill had been laid out, 
though as yet there were very few houses there.''^ As 
elsewhere in Loughton this area was built up gradually. 
In 1914 there were a number of houses in Ollards 



Grove, Connaught Avenue, High Beech Road, and 
Park Hill but none had been built in Forest View 
Road or Connaught Hill.+s 

On the east side of High Road near the railway 
station Meadow Road and Algers Road had been laid 
out by 1895. Meadow Road was half built up but 
development had been slower in Algers Road and in 
Lower Park Road, which lay between the two new 
roads.'M South of Algers Road was then the Beech 
House estate, consisting of Beech House, Newnham 
House, and 117 acres land. In 1899 this estate was 
put up for sale with the suggestion that it might be 
built upon.45 By 19 14 The Avenue, The Crescent, and 
Spring Grove had been laid out on the north side of 
the estate and there were houses at the north end of The 
Avenue.''* 

The areas mentioned above were those in which 
most of the town's development took place between 
1880 and 1 9 14. A few houses were also built between 
1895 and 1914 on the north side of Alderton Hill, and 
there was some new building in the older streets of the 
town, where there were still many vacant sites. There 
were also some new public buildings. Religious needs 
had been met by the formation of a new Anglican 
parish in south Loughton and by the building of a 
Wesleyan church and three mission halls. The Lopping 
Hall and the Loughton Club, both in Station Road, 
provided centres for secular activities. A new elemen- 
tary school had been built in Staples Road and the High 
School for Girls in Alderton Hill. Many of the new 
buildings erected before 1899 were designed by 
Edmund Egan, a local architect who died in that 
year.'*7 

By 19 14 Loughton had changed from a village to a 
residential town, though still a very small one. The 
preservation of Epping Forest had prevented any 
expansion westward.'*^ To the east of the town much 
of the parish was owned by J. Whitaker Maitland 
(d. 1909), rector and lord of the manor, who rebuilt 
and Uved at Loughton Hall. It may be supposed that 
he would hardly have welcomed any great expansion 
of the town on this side, and since he was also rich he 
had no need to sell any of his land for building. Social 
and economic factors also checked the development of 
the town. Loughton was mainly an upper-middle class 
residential area, and its inhabitants (of whom W. C. 
Waller was probably typical) were jealous of its 
amenities. There was no large-scale industry to attract 
workers and Loughton was not one of the suburbs to 
which population was drawn from London by cheap 
workmen's fares."*' A sale catalogue of 19 12 quotes 
the rates for season tickets to Liverpool Street: ^^4 p. <^d. 
a quarter first class and ^3 \i. 3fl'. second class.so These 
were not rates to attract lower-paid workers. 

Before 1 9 14, therefore, building was confined to a 
comparatively small part of the parish and even there 
it proceeded slowly." The population of Loughton in 



35 For some details of new roads c. 1865 
see Waller, Loughton^ i, 107. 

3* Offprints of the articles were later 
collected to form a volume, Loughton in 
Essex^ of which 1 2 copies only were bound. 
The MS. notes are in the Essex Record 
Office :T/P 13. 

35 For the earlier history of this estate 
see Waller, Loughton, i, 137—8. 

3' E.R.O., 5a/eCa<. B. 490, 491. These 
catalogues give details of a proposed 
housing layout of some 100 houses. 

3' O.S. 25 in. Map (2nd edn.), sheet 



Ivii, 12. 

38 For its earlier history see Waller, 
Loughton, i, 115— 16. 

3» Ibid.; Kelly's Dir. Essex (1895). 

•to E.R.O., T/P 13 ii. The house stood 
almost opposite the 'King's Head'. Mr. 
Wm. Addison has a photo, from which it 
appears that it was built early in the 19th 
cent. 

■♦' O.S. 6 in. Map (3rd edn.), sheet kix. 

■f^ O.S. 25 in. Map (2nd edn.), sheets 
Ivii, 12, 16. 

♦3 O.S. 6 in. Map {3rd edn.), sheet Ixix. 



** O.S. 25 in. Map (2nd edn.), sheet 
Ivii, 16. ■•s E.R.O., Sale Cat. A. 500. 

«* 0.5. 6 in. Map (3rd edn.). 

" E.R.O., T/P 13 ii. 

■♦8 For the Forest see below. 

*•> Cf. Retns. of fVorkmen's Trains, H.C. 
[C. 7541], pp. lo-ii (1894), Ixxv. 

5» E.R.O., Sale Cat. B. 1 37. 

5' For an interesting account of Lough- 
ton c. 1900—14 see articles by Will 
Francies, fVest Essex Gazette, 24 Dec. 
1952, 16 Jan., 20 Mch., 24 Apr., 21 & 28 
Aug., 30 Oct., 6 Nov. 1953. 



112 




Roman Catholic Church of St. Thomas More, opened 1953 




Bank of England Printing Works: Interior of Main Hall under construction, 1954 
Mid-Twentieth-Centtjry Buildings at Debden 




u 



s 

o 





o 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



LOUGHTON 



192 1 was 5,749, little more than it had been in 191 1. 
By that time, however, building had been resumed, 
and between 191 8 and 1939 it went on steadily. 
Among the new streets laid out and built up were 
Priory Road, Brooklyn Avenue, Brook Road,Tycehurst 
Hill and Spareleaze Hill, all to the east of St. Mary's 
Church, Woodland Road and Habgood Road on the 
other side of the main road, and Hillcrest Road (near 
Newnham House). New houses were also built in The 
Drive, Englands Lane, High Beech Road, Forest View 
Road and in Connaught Hill, Connaught Avenue, 
and Upper Park Road. Several blocks of flats — a 
novelty in Loughton — were built at the south end of 
High Road and in York Hill. Development also took 
place to the east of the railway between Loughton and 
Buckhurst Hill, in Roding Road, Valley Hill and 
district. Debden Hall, at Debden Green, was de- 
molished in 1929 and replaced by a modern house of red 
brick.^^ Council houses were built in England's Lane, 
Goldings Road, and Woodlands Road. 53 The most 
important new public buildings were the Council 
Offices in Old Station Road and the post-office in 
High Road, a Roman Catholic Church in Traps Hill 
and a Secondary Modern School in Roding Road. 
The north end of High Road was transformed by the 
building of new shops, including an impressive block 
called Brooklyn Parade. In 1939-40 the railway 
station was rebuilt. 5* The population in 193 1 was 
7,390 and by 1939 had increased well beyond that 
figure. 

Since 1945 the landscape of Loughton has been 
transformed by the building of the Debden London 
County Council estate, which occupies most of the 
parish to the east of the old town. There are now 
(1953) 4,321 dwellings on this estate. 55 The urban 
district council has also provided over 1,000 houses 
(including prefabricated bungalows and shops), many 
of which are in the Loughton wards. Apart from the 
Debden estate most of the new building has been in 
the Roding Road area. Along Oakwood Hill to the 
east of Roding Road are many prefabricated houses, 
some of which have been built by the L.C.C. and some 
by the local council. About 200 houses and flats are also 
being built by the Chigwell council on the Hilly Fields 
estate, in the England's Lane area.5* The population 
of Loughton is now (1953) estimated at 29,974.57 
Factories are being built on the Debden estate so that 
it will be more than a dormitory suburb. A number 
of schools and churches have been built and others are 
projected. Loughton Hall, now in the middle of the 
estate, is used as a community centre. The main 
shopping centre, now almost completed, is in the 
Broadway. 

Planning has preserved some of the rural landscape 
at Debden. Both here and in the old town open spaces 
and many fine trees survive from Loughton's village 
days. Most of the houses built in the town during the 
past 1 50 years are of red or yellow brick, some of which 



was probably made locally (see below. Industries, also 
Chigwell). There are a few 19th-century weather- 
boarded houses in High Road, Smarts Lane, and else- 
where. In general the houses are well built. Even in 
the poorer streets they look solid and in good repair. 

Until piped supplies were available water was often 
scarce in Loughton, and pumps were valuable pro- 
perty, separately assessed to the rates.5 8 Piped water 
was first supplied by the East London (later the 
Metropolitan) Water Board in 1866.59 p^rt of south 
Loughton was sewered about i87i.'o These improve- 
ments were overdue. Since 1848 there had been 
several Nuisance Removal Committees which tried to 
improve sanitation by the threat of legal proceedings 
against householders. In 1865 it was decided that a 
main sewer should be built for the Smarts Lane district 
but the matter had later been shelved.*' A sewerage 
scheme for north Loughton was carried out in 1890 
by Epping Rural District Council, from plans by 
Edmund Egan, at a cost of ^{^6,500.*^ The town was 
supplied with gas from about 1873, by the Chigwell, 
Loughton and Woodford Gas Co.*3 Electricity was 
first supplied in 1926 under the Woodford and District 
Electricity Special Order (1925).*'* 

Loughton became part of the Metropolitan Police 
District in 1840.^5 There was a pohce station by 
1845.** In 1882 there was an inspector in charge.*^ 
In 1902 there were a station sergeant, three sergeants, 
and eleven constables.*' 

During the Middle Ages Loughton was an isolated 
parish dominated by the forest to the west. There were 
no roads through the forest from Loughton, though no 
doubt tracks existed. Until the 17th century the roads 
to both Epping and Waltham Abbey led through 
Theydon Bois. There was a road south to Buckhurst 
Hill and one to Chigwell over Loughton Bridge. The 
earliest reference to the bridge is in the 13th century.*' 
In 1422 it was reported that the road near the bridge 
had been flooded for a period of two years. 7° In the 
early 17th century there were the usual disputes con- 
cerning responsibility for repairing the bridge." By 
the end of the century it had been accepted as a county 
bridge and there are records of various sums spent on 
its repair.'^ In 1780 it was decided to rebuild it at a 
cost of £\j I .'3 In 1 809 it was destroyed by floods.^* 
The bridge which replaced it was badly sited and lasted 
only until 1824.75 The present bridge was built soon 
after and tunnels were inserted under the causeway on 
the Chigwell side to facilitate the passage of flood ■ 
water.'* 

Early in the 17th century (probably between 161 1 
and 1622) a road was constructed through the forest 
from Loughton to Epping." This was of more than 
local importance, for it provided a new and shorter 
route through west Essex to Cambridge, Newmarket, 
and East Anglia. It was the subject of Acts of Parlia- 
ment from the reign of William and Mary onwards 
and in 1768 came under the control of the Epping 



** See Manor. 

" Inf. from Planning Officer, Chigwell 
U.D.C. 

" Inf. from Mr. William Addison. 

" Inf. from Chigwell U.D.C. 

56 Ibid. 

" Ibid. 

** Waller, Loughton^ t, 106, notes the 
location of some springs and pumpe in 
Loughton. 

" Inf. from Metrop. Water Bd. ; Kelly's 
Dir. Essex (1898). 



00 Inf. from Chigwell U.D.C. 

" Waller, Loughton, i, 108. 

<"■ Kelly's Dir. Essex (1894.). 

S3 Inf. from North Thames Gas Bd.; 
of. Chigwell, Loughton and Woodford 
Gas Act, 1873, 36 Vict, c.21 (priv. act). 

6* Inf. from London Elcc. Bd. 

" Land. Gaz. 13 Oct. 1840, p. 2250. 

«» Kelly's Dir. Essex (18+5). 

<•■' Ibid. (1882). 

S' Ibid. (1902). 

»' P.N. Essex (E.P.N.S.), 67. 



'» C47/58/7/300. 

" E.R.O., e/CP 3, p. 37; Waller, 
Loughton^ i, 70. 

" E.R.O., Q/CP 3, pp. 404, 597, 563, 
697, 643. 

" E.R.O.,2/SO 13, pp. 144, 159. 

'♦ Ibid. 20, p. 374. 

'5 Ibid. 28, p. 547. 

" Ibid. p. 594. 

" Winstone, Epping and Ongar High- 
way Trust, 9 1 . 



E8. IV 



113 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



Highway Trusts' Between 1770 and 1774 the trust 
remade the road at Goldings Hill in order to reduce 
the gradient.'' Soon after this the road between 
Loughton and Buckhurst Hill was also remade. '<• 
Finally in 1830-4 the trust built a new road through 
the forest from Woodford to the 'Wake Arms', running 
along the western boundary of Loughton parish and 
by-passing the village.*' 

In 1 79 1 a daily coach ran from Loughton to 
London, and a wagon on Tuesday, Thursday, and 
Saturday.*^ In 18 17 a daily coach from Loughton 
called at the 'Three Nuns' and the 'Bull', Whitechapel, 
and the 'Pewter Plate', Gracechurch Street, London.*' 
In 1839 there were coaches to London and Epping 
twice a day and carriers' wagons to London every 
weekday except Friday. *■• The services remained un- 
changed until 1856, when the railway from Stratford 
and London was opened. *' By 1 863 there were twelve 
trains a day to London; coaches still ran twice a day to 
Epping.*^ The extension of the railway from Loughton 
to Epping and Ongar was opened in 1865.*' By 1892 
there were 42 trains a day to London.** The line 
from Woodford and London was electrified in 1948 
and that from Loughton to Epping in 1949.*' This 
had been planned before 1939. It is now possible to 
travel direct from Loughton to central London. A 
bus service from London started in 191 5, and in 1920 
was extended to Epping."" 

Loughton had a postal receiving house in the early 
19th century. The delivery was extended in 181 5" 
and a new receiver was appointed in 1828. '^ A sub- 
post-office was set up by 1867.9' Loughton now has 
a central post-office and sub-post-offices at Goldings 
Hill, Roding Road, and The Broadway. Telegraphy 
was introduced in 1 871''* and the telephone in 1906.'' 

The history of Epping Forest, including the events 

which led up to its pre- 

LOUGHTON JND servation in the 19th 

THE PRESERVATION century, has been told by 

Of EPPING FOREST W. R.Fisher in his /■ow/ 

of Essex.'*'' Minor in- 
cisures from the forest had been going on in Loughton 
and other forest parishes from early times." In 1666 
Sir Henry Wroth, lord of the manor of Chigwell, applied 
to the Crown for licence to inclose 1,500 acres of the 
wastes of the manors of Chigwell and Loughton, but 
this was refused.'* Wholesale inclosure does not appear 
to have been suggested again until the 19th century, 
and then the Crown took the initiative. 

In 1 8 17 the Commissioners of Woods and Forests 
presented to Parliament a Bill to disafforest the whole 
forest, to extinguish the rights of common and to vest 
part of the forest in the Crown." Anthony Hamilton, 
Rector of Loughton 1805-51, was one of the few sup- 
porters of this proposal, which was withdrawn after 

78 Winstone, Epping and Ongar High* 
nvay Trusty ch. ii. 

" Ibid. ch. V. 

*» Ibid. ch. vi ; and see Chigwell. 

" Ibid. ch. ix. For a map of this road, 
1835 see E.R.O., Q/RUm 1/54. 

»2 Univ. Brit. Dir. (1791), i, Essex, 12. 

85 Johnstone' i Comm. Dir. ( 1 8 1 7), iv, 24. 
»■» Pigot's Dir. Essex (1839), 128. 
«5 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1855); inf. from 

Brit. Rlwys. 

86 fVhite's Dir. Essex (1863). 
8' Inf. from Brit. Rlwys.; cf. E.R. Iviii, 

207-8. 

88 Da-vis' Epping, Loughton and Ongar 
/ilmanack, 1892. 

/ 



Strong opposition. The commissioners, however, were 
still determined to inclose the forest. They connived 
at illegal inclosures and pressed private land-owners to 
purchase the forest rights of the Crown. Hainault 
Forest was disafforested in 1 8 5 1 and was inclosed soon 
after." In 1857 the commissioners invited W. W. 
Maitland, lord of the manor of Loughton, to purchase 
the Crown's rights over 1,377 acres of uninclosed waste 
within his manor. He agreed to pay j^5,468 and the 
conveyance was made in 1 8 5 8-60.2 These facts were 
never disputed during the evidence before the Epping 
Forest Commission in 1873, and they are important 
because they show that the first move towards the 
inclosure of this substantial part of the forest was made 
not by the lord of the manor but by the Crown. 
Inclosure appears to have been considered locally 
during the lifetime of W. W. Maitland, and in 1859 
a proposal to the Inclosure Commissioners was dis- 
cussed.' Soon after this Maitland died and no further 
action appears to have been taken until 1864, when his 
son the Revd. J. W. Maitland decided to inclose the 
forest.* According to the steward of the manor, W. C. 
Metcalfe, Maitland was moved to this action 'at the 
instance of some of the principal freeholders and copy- 
holders'.' 

Maitland and his larger tenants stood to gain 
financially by the inclosure of more than 1,000 acres of 
forest. On the other hand those who desired inclosure 
argued that the close proximity of the forest had had 
some bad social effects on Loughton in the past. In 
the 1 8th century the forest was the haunt of highway- 
men, among them the notorious Dick Turpin (1706— 
39) who is said to have roasted an old woman over a 
fire at Traps Hill Farm in order to make her reveal 
where her money was hidden.* As a defence against 
such attacks many of the houses in Loughton con- 
tained 'Turpin traps', consisting of wooden flaps which 
were let down over the head of the staircase and kept 
there by a pole placed against the ceiling so that they 
could not be raised from below. As late as 1891 there 
were those still living who had seen Turpin traps in 
some of the houses.' It was not suggested in the i86o's 
that highwaymen were still a serious menace, but the 
forest still harboured some unwelcome characters, 
including gipsies.* The supporters of inclosure also 
believed that the poorer people of Loughton were 
tempted to idleness and crime by the custom of 
'lopping' for firewood in the forest during the winter 
months. The views of the inclosures were summed 
up by a writer in 1861: 'inclosures, however, seem to 
be commencing in the neighbourhood, which will 
probably check these irregular and to a certain extent 
demoralizing tendencies.'' As a final argument it was 
asserted that part of the forest was stunted and of poor 
quality.'" 



89 Inf. from Brit. Rlwys. 

90 Will Francies, 'Memories of the High 
Road', fVest Essex Gazette, 20 Mar. 1953. 

«■ P.M.G. Mins. 1815, vol. 29, p. 64. 

92 Ibid. 1828, vol. 33, p. 267. 

93 Brit. Post. Guide, 1867. 
9't P.M.G. Mins. 1871, vol. 92, Min. 

730- 

95 E.R.O., T/P 13 iii. 

96 Cf. F.C.H. Essex, ii, 615 f. For 
additional details about the forest and 
Loughton see Waller, Loughton, \, 21 f., 
32 f., 50 f., 66 f. See also Manor, below. 

9' W. R. Fisher, Forest of Essex, 321 f. 
And see Agriculture. 
98 Ibid. 329. 

114 



99 Ibid. 339. 
^ See Chigwell, Lamborne. 

2 Proc. of Epping Forest Com. {1873), 
i. S3'-3- 

3 Ibid. 574-5. 

* Ibid. 543-4. 

5 Ibid. 544. 

6 E.R. xi, 21, 80. 

7 Ibid, xxiv, 204. 

8 About 1830 there appear to have been 
many criminals in hiding in the forest at 
Buckhurst Hill and in Hainault Forest: 
see Chigwell, Parish Govt. 

9 D. W. CoUer, People's Hist. Essex, 
487. 

"> Proc. of Epping Forest Com. i, 582. 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



LOUGHTON 



It was with these views that Maitland proceeded to 
inclose the forest within the manor of Loughton. He 
owned the forest rights formerly held by the Crown 
and there were ancient precedents in the court rolls of 
the manor for the inclosure of forest waste." His 
principal tenants welcomed inclosure. In 1864 they 
agreed that the lord should have two-thirds of the 
inclosed land and the commoners one-third.'^ Grants 
of land or money were subsequently made to a number 
of tenants of the manor in order to extinguish their 
common rights. Maitland then inclosed some 1,000 
acres of forest, started to drive roads through it and 
sold some plots for building and other purposes. '^ 

The opposition to these inclosures will always be 
associated with the Willingale family. The story has, 
however, gathered some accretions of legend and the 
whole truth is difficult to determine. The inhabitants 
of Loughton had an ancient right of lopping wood from 
the forest from 12 November each year until 23 April 
following.'* They seem to have thought it necessary 
for the preservation of their rights that lopping should 
begin as the clock struck midnight on 1 1-12 November. 
They met in the woods for the purposes, usually at 
Staples Hill, and celebrated with a bonfire and beer- 
drinking.' 5 The other forest parishes had also pos- 
sessed lopping rights.'* At Theydon Bois there was a 
lopping custom similar to that at Loughton. At 
Waltham Abbey and Sewardstone the lopping rights 
had been converted into fuel assignments attached to 
certain tenements in those manors." A polemical tract 
published in i860, at the beginning of the inclosure 
controversy, claimed that the people of Waltham Abbey 
had been deprived of their ancient lopping rights by 
means of a 'general drunk and supper', on 1 1 November 
1641 '. . . which was a snare' and caused them to forget 
and so to lose those rights.' * The writer of the tract 
stated that the same scheme was tried without success 
at Loughton: 'although many accepted the supper 
there given, an old man gave the signal, when he with 
others at once proceeded to the forest and duly secured 
their charter.'" These stories may have some value as 
traditions explaining the different arrangements as to 
lopping at Loughton and Waltham Abbey. Their 
publication in i860 must have increased the suspicion 
of the cottagers of Loughton that their rights were in 
danger. It is significant that it is from the i86o's that 
there comes the story that Thomas Willingale saved 
the lopping rights in Loughton in a manner similar to 
that described in the tract.^" Willingale is supposed to 
have been one of the loppers who were entertained by 
the lord of the manor to a supper on 1 1 November 1 860. 
As midnight approached he 'rose up hastily from the 
table, shouldered his axe, called to his fellows and went 
out to lop as usual', thus 'defeating the lawyers'. There 
is good evidence that he did something of this kind, in 
the belief that the continued existence of the lopping 
rights depended upon his action. But he has a more 

" Ibid. 54.7-8. 

" Ibid. 558. 

'3 Ibid. 561; Waller, Loughton, i, 107; 
W. R. Fisher, Forest of Essex, 357. 

'♦ Fisher, Forest of Essex, 249 f. Rep, 
of Eppiug Forest Com. H.C. 187, p. 4 
(1877), xxvi. By the original custom 
lopping began on All Saints Day (r 
November) and ended on St. George's 
Day (23 Apr.). In 1753 the opening date 
was moved to 12 Nov. following the 
national adjustment of the calendar. For 
this custom see also below. Parish Govern- 
ment and Poor Relief. 



249-50. 



." Fisher, Forest of Essex^ 

I' Ibid. 

" Ibid. 248, 251. 

'8 T. Maynard, Concise Hist, of Epping 
Forest, 45. 

'» Ibid. 46. 

" E.R. xHii, 120, 182; xlii, 192. 

2' Essex Naturalist, xxi, 163. 

22 Ibid. " Ibid. 166. 

2"* Fisher, Forest of Essex, 358. 

" 34&35 Vict. c. 93 (1871). 

2^ The legal pretext for the intervention 
of the City was its ownership of a small 
area of land within the bounds of the 



serious claim to fame as one of the preservers of Epping 
Forest. 

In December 1865 Thomas Willingale {c. 1793- 
1870), a woodman by trade, was summoned by J. W. 
Maitland before the Epping bench for injuring forest 
trees in Loughton.^' The case was dismissed. In 
March 1 866 Thomas's son Samuel Willingale ( 1 840— 
191 1) with Samuel's cousins Alfred Willingale (1843- 
1934) and William Higgins (1842-70) were sum- 
moned at Waltham Abbey for a similar offence, and 
fined. All three refused to pay the fines and took the 
option of seven days' imprisonment.^^ In October 
1866 old Thomas Willingale filed a suit in Chancery 
against J. W. Maitland and others in support of the 
lopping rights.^3 He was advised and financed by the 
newly formed Commons Preservation Society, of which 
the leading spirit was E. N. Buxton (1840-1924).^* 
The case was never brought to a final hearing and lapsed 
on WilHngale's death in 1870. Soon after this the first 
Epping Forest Act^s set up a Royal Commission to 
investigate the whole problem of the forest, and about 
the same time the City of London started legal pro- 
ceedings in defence of common rights throughout the 
forest.^* In 1875 the Epping Forest Commissioners 
made their preliminary report. They found that 
inclosures made within the 20 years before 1871 were 
illegal, since they contravened the rights of the com- 
moners living in the forest parishes, and in some cases 
also the rights of the Crown.^'^ In their final report 
(1877) the commissioners specifically recognized the 
lopping rights of the inhabitants of Loughton. ^^ Mean- 
while, in 1876 the City of London had purchased from 
J. W. Maitland the soil and the forest rights formerly 
held by the Crown in 992 acres of the open waste of 
the manor of Loughton.^' This was the whole area 
inclosed in the i86o's within Loughton parish except 
for land actually built upon. In their final report the 
Forest Commissioners recommended that all the illegal 
inclosures should be retained by their occupants on 
payment of rent charges, but there was strong opposi- 
tion to this proposal, led by George Burney, owner of 
a small estate in Loughton. so The objectors removed 
the fences of some of the inclosures and were largely 
responsible for causing the government to disregard 
the recommendation that the inclosures should remain. 

The forest question was finally settled by the Epping 
Forest Act of 1 878. 3' This Act appointed the Corpora- 
tion of the City of London to be Conservators of the 
Forest, with the duty of keeping the forest as an open . 
space for public recreation. All illegally inclosed lands, 
except those actually built on, were to be thrown open. 
The owners of waste lands not thrown open were to 
pay for the quieting of their titles. The Conservators 
were to buy up the lopping rights of Loughton. 

The forest was thus saved. The City of London paid 
j^7,ooo for the extinction of the lopping rights and 
with this money the Lopping Hall was built.^^ The 

forest near Ilford. 

2' Fisher, Forest of Essex, 366. 

2' Rep. of Epping Forest Com. (1877), 
p. 4. 

^« Fisher, Forest of Essex, 367. Mait- 
land received ^30,000: Speech of City 
Solicitor before Epping Forest Com. Nov. 
1876, p. 60. 

3° The 'Queen's Park' estate, which 
was broken up for building in 1886: see 
above, p. 112. 

" 41 & 42 Vict. c. 213 (priv. act); 
Fisher, op. cit. 368—70. 

32 See'Social Life. 



115 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



lord of the manor and his principal tenants contended 
to the last that the inclosures of 185 1-7 1 were bene- 
ficial to the parish by providing a larger rateable area 
and more work for the poor, and they continued to 
deny the existence of the lopping rights.^s In the end, 
however, it was J. W. Maitland himself who per- 
formed the official opening of the Lopping Hall in 
I884.3'* Though he has sometimes been severely 
criticized for his advocacy of inclosure he is in general 
a figure who commands respect.^s He was a faithful 
priest and zealous public servant, prominent on the 
Epping Board of Guardians and the Rural District 
Council and first Chairman of the Loughton Urban 
District Council.3* As for old Thomas Willingale it 
has been pointed out that he himself made illegal 
inclosures within the manor; but his general character 
appears to have been good. 3' 

Until the 19th century most of the inhabitants of 
Loughton were engaged in agri- 
jfGRICULTURE, culture or forestry. Waller has 
TRADE, AND suggested that the amount of 
IND USTRT forest land in the parish may not 

have altered greatly between 
1086 and 1850.38 If the hide is taken as 120 acres the 
eight estates in Loughton included 2,165 acres exclusive 
of pannage for 970 pigs. 3' In 1 8 5 1 the parish contained 
2,563 acres apart from forest, roads, and water.''*' If 
the calculations from the Domesday figures are correct 
only about 400 acres were taken from the forest be- 
tween 1086 and 1850. Waller, however, doubted 
whether so much as 2,000 acres could have been 
cultivated by the small Domesday population. 

Since most of the land in the parish descended from 
the nth century as a single manor, information con- 
cerning the manor, its tenants, and land use has been 
included in the section on the manor. Apart from the 
forest most of the land in the parish, until built upon, 
seems to have been used for pasture. This was certainly 
the case in l6l2.'*' In 1850 it was estimated that there 
were 831 acres of arable, 1,551 acres of pasture, 131 
acres of woodland, and 1,309 acres of common forest 
in the parish, exclusive of 45 acres of glebe most of 
which was grass land.'*^ A directory of 1863 listed 14 
farmers in the parish.''^ In 1933 the chief crops were 
wheat, oats, peas, and roots, but the land was chiefly 
in pasture.** Since the building of the Debden estate 
very little agricultural land has remained but there are 
still two farms. Hill Farm and North Farm, in the 
extreme south of Loughton. 

Strip cultivation seems to have existed in the Buck- 
hurst Hill area in the 13th century, but to have been 
discontinued after the land in question was acquired 
by Waltham Abbey .+5 

In 1066 and 1086 there was a mill at Loughton on 
one of the manors held by Peter de Valognes.*' 
Waltham Abbey had a mill in the parish in the 13 th 



century.-*' In 1336 the abbot was presented before the 
forest court for erecting a windmill within the covert 
of the forest in the vill of Loughton. This mill prob- 
ably gave its name to Mill Hill, where the Warren 
now stands. It had disappeared by I739.** The 
medieval court rolls contain several references to the 
mill and the mill-dam at Loughton Bridge.*' In 1270 
some of the manorial tenants were fined for going to 
a mill other than that of their lord. 5" In 1404 a fuller 
was charged before the manor court with spoiling some 
cloth given him to full in his mill.s' 

Before the 19th century those not engaged in agri- 
culture followed the usual village trades or were 
domestic servants, notably at Loughton Hall and 
Goldings. The last class became more numerous after 
about 1830, when some middle-class houses were 
built. This was one of the main arguments urged in 
defence of the inclosures from the forest. 'They have 
built', said a witness before the Epping Forest Com- 
missioners, 'large houses and greenhouses and so on. 
It employs a great deal of labour . . . the labour was 
I2s. a week in 1864 and now I do not think you can 
engage a man under i8.f. or ^i.'^^ Domestic service 
of all kinds continued to be an important occupation 
in Loughton until the Second World War. 

Wealthy residents required a wide range of goods 
and services. Many of these must have been obtained 
from London, especially after the completion of the 
railway. But in 1882 there was a much wider range 
of occupations than in 1848.53 The shopping centre 
of Loughton grew very slowly until after 191 8. North 
Loughton was badly served until this time. Before 
191 8 there were only three shops in High Road north 
of Bincombe House (now Messrs. Parrott's).'* Between 
1918 and 1939 the shopping centre was extended as 
far as Traps Hill. The shops now stretch for J mile 
along High Road and provide a good range of com- 
modities. 

Industry in Loughton has been on a very small 
scale in the past. Brick- and tile-making was carried 
on at least from i486, when a tile-house was men- 
tioned. 55 There was a tile-kiln in 1556; it may have 
been the one at the foot of Albion Hill, whose history 
has been traced from 1673 to 1851, and whose last- 
recorded owner was Noah Heath.s^ Another kiln- 
house was also mentioned in 1851.57 In the court roll 
for 1 72 1 there is an order which suggests that there 
were potters in Loughton. 58 

There has been much nursery gardening in the 
parish since about 1862, when Messrs. William Paul 
& Son of Waltham Cross established their Loughton 
nursery, which grew to be one of the biggest in Essex. 59 

During the 20th century several small engineering 
works have been set up. One of the most interesting of 
these was the automobile assembly works of Leonard 
Wilson in Forest Road.*" Wilson, the son of a Canadian 



" Essex Naturalist, xxi, 159. 

" W. Addison, Epping Forest, 222. 

35 Essex Naturalist, xxi, 166. For 
tributes paid to him at his jubilee as rector 
in 1906 see E.R.O., T/P 1 3 iii. 

3' E.R.O., T/P 13 iii. 

37 Essex Naturalist, xxi, 167. The papers 
of Cmdr. J. W. Maitland, M.P., of 
Harrington Hall, Spilsby, Lines., include 
some material relating to the forest 
question; this was not examined for the 
present survey. There are also many 
documents about the forest question in 
the Public Record Office and the Guildhall, 
London. 



38 Waller, Loughton, i, 7. 39 Ibid. 

«> E.R.O., D/CT 225. 

♦^ See Manor. 

"^ E.R.O., D/CT 225. 

*3 fV kite's Dir. Essex (1863). 

** Kelly's Dir. Essex (1933). 

45 E.R. Ivii, 96. 

4' F.C.H. Essex, i, 537. 

4' Waller, Loughton, i, 159. 

48 Ibid. 22; cf Chapman and Andr^, 
Map of Essex, J777, sheet xvi. 

4« Waller, Loughton, i, 24, 26, 75. 

50 Ibid. 75. SI Ibid. 25. 

5^ Proc. of Epping Forest Com. {1873), i, 
567. 

116 



53 Kelly's Dir. Essex {i%%z). Ci. White's 
Dir. Essex (^%^%). 

54 Will Francies, 'Memories of High 
Road', fVest Essex Gax, 20 Mar. 1953 ; inf, 
from Mr. Francies. 

55 Waller, Loughton, ii, 72. 

56 Ibid, ii, 76, i, 146. Heath was a 
bricklayer and builder : White's Dir. Essex 
(:848). 

5' E.R.O., D/CT 225. 

58 E.R.O.,T/P 18. 

59 F.C.H. Essex, ii, 480, 482. For later 
nurseries see e.g. Kelly's Dir. Essex (1933). 

60 Will Francies, 'My Loughton* (3), 
West Essex Gax. 27 Feb. 1953. 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



LOUGHTON 



mining engineer, bought a butcher's business in 
Smart's Lane about 1898. In 1906 he opened the 
motor works and accepted the sole Essex agency for 
Panhard and Levasseur cars. Only the chassis of these 
cars came over from France. The processes necessary 
for completing them, including the making of the 
bodies, were carried out at the Forest Road works. 
During the First World War the Wilson works pro- 
duced munitions. Afterwards, in the 1920's, Wilson 
had an agency for another French car, the Citroen. 

When completed the Debden estate will have 
several large factories, including one for making bank- 
notes for the Bank of England.*' 

Balthasar de Guercis, an Italian surgeon to Queen 
Katherine of Aragon, became a 
WORTHIES AND tenant of the manor in 1538.^2 
SOCIJL LIFE Early in the 17th century, 

when Sir Robert Wroth and 
Mary his wife lived at Loughton Hall, they were 
visited by Ben Jonson and other poets. James I was 
entertained at the hall in 1605 and the Prince of Wales 
in 1606 (see below, Manor). Sarah Adams (1805-48) 
author of 'Nearer my God to Thee' lived at Woodbury 
Hill.63 Walter Kerr Hamilton (1808-69), Bishop of 
Salisbury, was the son of a Rector of Loughton and 
spent his early childhood there.*'* Sarah Catherine 
Martin (1768-1826) reputed author of 'Old Mother 
Hubbard', in its metrical form,*' is buried in the old 
parish churchyard. She was the sister of Admiral Sir 
Thomas B. Martin (1773-1854). When she was 17 
Prince William (later King William IV) fell in love 
with her. She and her parents handled the affair very 
discreetly.** The Martins were connected with 
Loughton through relatives, the Powells, who lived 
there.*' Sir George Carroll (d. i860) Lord Mayor of 
London 1846—7 and Contractor for State Lotteries, 
was owner of Uplands, and lived there. *8 W. W. 
Jacobs ( 1 863-1 943), the author, lived for many years 
at the Outlook, Upper Park Road. Soon after 1910 he 
moved to Feltham House, Goldings Hill.*' Rudyard 
Kipling (i 865-1936) stayed when a boy at Goldings 
Hill Farm, opposite Goldings Hill Pond.'" Sir Jacob 
Epstein lived at Baldwin Hill for some years after 
1920. While there he carved his 'Rima' and 'Visita- 
tion'." 

During the late 19th and early 20th cer»tury 
Loughton was strongly represented in the Essex Field 
Club and the Essex Archxological Society, and it pro- 
duced three local antiquaries of ability: H. W. Lewer 
(1859-1949), I. Chalkley Gould (1845-1908), and 
W. C. Waller, the historian of Loughton.'^ Millican 
Dalton (d. 1947), pioneer camper and mountaineer, 
lived for a time at Baldwins Hill.'' 

In the late 19th century there was a fairly sharp 
division in Loughton between Anglicans and the non- 
conformists, which coincided roughly with the political 
division between Conservatives and Liberals. It gave 
rise to controversy over the establishment of a school 
board''' and was shown in the duplication of some local 
societies. In 1892 the president of the Loughton 

" Inf. from Mr. Wm. Addison; fVesl 
Eaex Gaz. i8 Feb. 1955. 

*"■ Waller, Loughton, i, 39, 40. 

«3 Ibid, i, 136. 

«« D.N.B. 

*5 For her claims to the authorship see 
I. and P. Opie, Oxford Dictionary of 
Nunery Rhymes, 320—1. 

" Letters of Sir H. Byam Martin (Navy 
Rcc. Soc), i, 21. 



Liberal and Radical Association was Julius Rohrweger, 
owner of Uplands, and one of the vice-presidents was 
Edward Pope, a prominent local Methodist.'s The 
rector, J. W. Maitland, was a councillor of the 
Primrose League. Edward Pope was secretary of the 
Temperance League; the rector was president of 
the Church of England Temperance League. Julius 
Rohrweger was president of the Loughton Cricket 
Club; the Loughton Park Cricket Club had as its 
president Sir Henry Selwin-Ibbetson, Bt., Conservative 
M.P. for West Essex. There were also the Epping 
Forest Military Band (president the rector) and the 
Excelsior Brass Band (president H. H. Francis).'* 
There were other clubs, for football, lawn tennis, and 
a number of charitable or provident purposes. 

By 1900 Loughton was quite well provided with 
facilities for social intercourse and recreation. There 
were two parish churches and three nonconformist 
churches. The local Volunteers had a drill hall, and 
the Lopping Hall provided a valuable centre for all 
kinds of social activities. As already described," the 
Lopping Hall had been erected out of ^^7,000 paid by 
the City of London for the extinction of lopping rights 
in Epping Forest. Out of that sum ^^1,030 was set 
aside as compensation to householders. The remainder 
formed the capital of the Lopping Hall Endowment 
Trust.'* Land was bought at the corner of High 
Road and Station Road and the hall was built and 
furnished at a cost of ^3,236. The official opening 
took place in 1884. The hall contained reading and 
lecture rooms and accommodation for parish meetings. 
In 1902 it was enlarged at a cost of ^^i, 3 30 by a new 
wing of which the upper floor was let to the newly 
formed urban district council for a council chamber and 
offices and the lower floor to the Midland Bank Ltd. 
In 1933 proposals to improve the hall and stage ac- 
commodation at the expense of the reading-room pro- 
voked a public inquiry. It was decided that although 
the provision of books and a reading-room was one of 
the original objects of the endowment more people 
made use of the lecture and concert halls. A reading- 
room was retained, but it was smaller and contained 
only newspapers. In 1936 the library was sold. In 
1937 further alterations to the hall were made at the 
cost of the Midland Bank. In 1951 the endowment 
consisted of over ^^2,400 stock in addition to the pre- 
mises. The income was mainly used on general 
maintenance and improvement, wages and newspapers. 
There are six trustees, elected by ratepayers. 

Two bequests have supplemented the original 
endowment of the Lopping Hall. In 1905 William 
F. Turner left j^ioo to be invested for the purchase 
of books." When the library was closed this was 
diverted to the purchase of newspapers. In 19 1 2 
Henry Lincoln left ^200 to be spent for the general 
purposes of the hall.*" The hall remains a valuable 
social centre. It is a red-brick building with a tower, 
designed by Edmund Egan. 

Opposite the Lopping Hall in Station Road is the 
Men's Club, built in 1901 by the Revd. W. Dawson 



" E.R. XXV, 117, 171. 

68 ^.^.r. N.S. Xiv, 285. 

M E.R. lii, 205. 

'"> Addison, Epping Forest, 226. 
" Ibid. 227. 

'2 For Lewer see E.R. Iviii, 163; for 
Gould see i'.i?. xvii, 3 1 . 
■" E.R. Ivii, 55-56. 
'< See Schools, below. 
'5 Davis* Epping, Loughton and Ongar 



Almanack, 1892, 20-23; ''"'^ almanack 
gives details of all local societies and clubs. 

" Francis's religious and political affilia- 
tions have not been traced. 

77 See Preservation of Epping Forest, 
above. 

'8 For the Lopping Hall Endowment 
Bce Char. Com. Files. 

" Char. Com. Files. 

80 Ibid. 



117 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



and conveyed by him in 1903 to trustees for use as a 
club. In 1920 two houses in Meadow Road were con- 
veyed to the trustees. Their rents provide much of the 
club's income, which in 1941 was ^194 and was used 
for current maintenance and expenses.^' 

Loughton now (1953) has many clubs and societies, 
including at least four for amateur dramatics.*^ The 
Loughton Community Association acts as a co- 
ordinating body. There are several private sports 
grounds, including that of the Loughton Cricket Club 
opposite the 'King's Head'. The local council has 
provided about 100 acres along the Roding for play- 
ing fields and recreation grounds. ^3 A branch of the 
County Library was first opened in 1936. The pre- 
sent library, a fuU-time branch, was opened in 1948.^'* 

During the First World War Loughton provided 
accommodation and financial support for Belgian 
refugees. The subscriptions totalled ;^420 in 191 5 
and ^£310 in 1916.85 

Domesday Book mentions no fewer than six separate 
estates in Loughton and also two others, 
MANORS Alderton and Debden, which later be- 
came part of the parish of Loughton. A 
small holding of 20 acres in Loughton belonged to 
the manor of Havering: it had been held in 1066 by the 
reeve of King Harold and in 1086 was held by the 
reeve of King William.** Peter de Valognes had two 
manors in Loughton in 1086: each was worth 20/.*^ 
One of them, containing a hide and 30 acres was held 
of Peter by Ralph. Before the Conquest it had been 
held by Ulvric, a free man. The other, of I hide, was 
held in demesne. It had been held in 1066 by Leofcild. 
The descent of a part of these lands of de Valognes is 
traced below under Monk Wood. Some other parts 
became merged in the main manor of Loughton (see 
below). 

An estate of 44 acres which had belonged to a free 
man before the Conquest was held in 1086 by W. 
Corbun of Robert Gernon; it was then worth lor.** 
This also seems to have been later merged in the manor 
of Loughton. 

By far the greatest part of the parish belonged in 
1066 and 1086 to Waltham Abbey. The abbey's 
property was listed in Domesday book as four manors. 
Two manors were named Loughton: one contained 4 
hides and 20 acres and was worth 40/.; the other con- 
tained 2j hides and was worth 20/.*" These manors 
were said to be in Becontree hundred. The other two 
abbey manors, Alderton and Debden, were in Ongar 
hundred.'" Alderton consisted of 4I hides and 10 
acres and was worth ^^4 in 1086. Debden consisted of 
3 hides and 40 acres and was worth 40^. All these lands 
in Loughton, Alderton, and Debden had been given 
to the abbey on its foundation in 1060 by Earl Harold. 
The gift was confirmed by Edward the Confessor in 
1062.91 



Waltham Abbey remained owner of most of the 
land in the parish until the Dissolution, and its pro- 
perty was known from the 13th century onwards as 
the manor of LOUGHTON. A detailed rental of 
about 1 1 80 deals separately with the three estates 
although they had all belonged to the abbey for over 
a century. It lists 32 tenants in Alderton who paid 
£2 5^. 3^(2'. in money rents in addition to rents in kind 
and labour services. The tenants of Loughton num- 
bered only 8, who paid 12s. 2\J. rent. There were 24 
tenants at Debden paying 16/. ii^J.'^^ 

It was probably soon after this time that the abbey 
acquired the manor in Loughton which in 1086 had 
been held of Robert Gernon. This had descended with 
Gernon's other lands to Richard de Montfichet (d. 
1202). He or his son Richard de Montfichet (II) 
(d. 1267) granted the Loughton estate to Waltham 
Abbey. '3 At the time of the grant there were two 
tenants of the manor, Edward Reyntot, who paid an 
annual rent of 2s. \d., and John son of Roger de Pyrle, 
who paid ix. Both these tenants held lands in the 
neighbourhood of the modern Pyrles Lane.''' About 
the same time Waltham Abbey acquired further land 
from Reyntot and Pyrle themselves. '5 Another 
acquisition, early in the 13th century, was of one- 
quarter of Monk Wood ; the remaining three-quarters 
became the property of Stratford Abbey (see below. 
Monk Wood). 

In about 1254 the manor of Loughton (now ap- 
parently including Alderton and Debden) was valued 
at £\ I 12/., of which ^8 issued from the demesne and 
£1, J2S. from rents.'* 

The property of Waltham Abbey was taken into the 
king's hands in 1 540 on the dissolution of the abbey. 
The manor of Loughton was at that time occupied by 
John Stoner on an 80-year lease running from 1522.'^ 
Stoner died in the year of the dissolution and was suc- 
ceeded as lessee by his son George.'* 

In 1 5 5 1 the manor was given to Thomas Darcy, 
Baron Darcy of Chiche, as part of the endowment of 
his barony, created in that year." A year later, how- 
ever, he gave the manor back to the king in exchange 
for property in Surrey.' In 1553 Loughton was 
granted to Mary Tudor two months before she be- 
came queen.^ The manor was thus again merged in 
the Crown. In 1558 it was annexed to the Duchy of 
Lancaster. 3 It remained part of the duchy until i6i3.'* 
George Stoner, who had inherited the lease of the 
manor, died in 1559.' His son and heir John Stoner 
built a house at Luxborough in Chigwell (q.v.) in 
which he usually lived. It was, however, at Loughton 
Hall that he entertained the queen in 1578.* He died 
in 1579 and the lease of Loughton passed to his 
daughter Susan and her husband Robert Wroth. 
Susan and Robert were probably established at 
Loughton Hall before Stoner's death.^ Robert Wroth, 



8' Char. Com. Files; Kelly's Dir. Essex 
(1914). 

82 Chigwell U.D. Official Guide (2nd 
edn.), 41-47. *' Ibid. 28. 

*♦ Inf. from County Librarian. 

85 E.R.O.,T/P 13 iv. 

«« y.C.H. Essex, i, 430a. 

8' Ibid. 537 a, b. For Peter de Valognes 
sec also North Weald. 88 Ibid. 515^. 

89 Ibid. 446A. '» Ibid. 447a. 

9' Kemble, Cod. Dipl. iv, pp. 156-7. 
For a discussion of the bounds of Alderton 
and Debden in 1062 see P.N. Essex 
(E.P.N.S.), 65-66. 

«2 W. C. Waller, Loughton, \, 17. The 



rental is in a Waltham Abbey cartulary, 
B.M. Cott. MS. Tib. c. ix. For Waller's 
comments on it see ibid. 11—17. 

95 Waller, Loughton, i, 159. For the 
Gernon— Montfichet descent see Staple- 
ford Abbots. 

'♦ Ibid. 1 58, 29-30. The modern name 
of the lane is a return to the ancient form. 
For centuries it was known as Pooles and 
Poles lane. '5 Ibid. 158. 

96 W. E. Lunt, Val. of Norivich, 521. 
9' Waller, Loughton, \, 36-37. The 

original lease was for 40 years. In 1535 
this had been extended for a further 40 
years. 

1x8 



98 E.A.T. N.s. viii, 146-7. 

99 Cal. Pat. 1550-3, 136; Complete 
Peerage, iv, 78. 

' Cal. Pat. 1550-3, 458. 

2 Ibid. 1553, 176. Mary had also 
acquired the manor of Stanford Rivers 
(q.v.). 3 Ibid. 1557-8, 50. 

* Cal. S.P. Dom. 161 1-18, 187; Waller, 
Loughton, i, 62. 

5 E.A.T. N.s. viii, 147. 

6 Ibid. For the Stoners and Wroths see 
also Chigwell Hall in Chigwell. 

^ W. C. Waller, 'An Extinct County 
Family, Wroth of Loughton Hall', E.A. T. 
N.s. viii, 148. 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



LOUGHTON 



\ 



knighted in 1597, was a large landowner, a forest 
official, and a Member of Parliament.* He entertained 
James I at Loughton Hall in 1605.9 He died in 1606 
and was succeeded by his son Sir Robert Wroth, who 
had married Mary, daughter of Robert, Baron Sidney 
of Penshurst, later Earl of Leicester, and niece of Sir 
Philip Sidney. Mary and her husband had literary 
interests and were intimate with a number of poets, 
including Ben Jonson, who dedicated 'The Alchemist' 
to Mary and 'The Forest' to Sir Robert. Mary was 
also a friend of the queen, Anne of Denmark. The 
Prince of Wales probably visited Loughton Hall in 
1606 and it may have been through the influence of 
the queen that Sir Robert was permitted, in 161 3, to 
purchase the manor of Loughton from the Duchy of 
Lancaster.'" 

In 1608 a survey had been made of all the timber 
on the demesne lands of the manor," and in 16 12 the 
whole manor was surveyed.'^ The latter survey gave 
the clear annual value of the manor as £'^17. Al- 
lowance was made in this estimate for a fee-farm rent 
of ;^58 and a further deduction of ^192 for the feeding 
of the king's deer on the grounds of the manor. The 
manor house, recently repaired, with its orchard and 
grounds, was valued at £6 a year. There were 640 
acres of pasture, 304 acres of arable, and 156 acres of 
meadow. The perquisites of the courts leet and baron 
were valued at £7, the bailiwick of the manor at 
£j 6s. 8(2'., and the rents of the 29 copyholders at ^^23. 
In addition to the demesne lands there was the moiety 
of a tenement called Hatfields, containing 24 acres. 
The timber trees in the manor were valued at ^^1,028; 
the lessee had the right of topping and lopping. '^ The 
waste of the manor consisted of 200 acres in Fair 
Mead, 1,000 acres in High Wood, and 100 acres in 
Monk Wood. In Fair Mead the ancient tenants of 
the manor and several inhabitants in adjoining manors 
claimed and usually had common of pasture for cattle 
without number at all times of the year, and the 
Loughton tenants also had common of estovers. In 
High Wood the ancient tenants had common of 
estovers, for which each paid annually a 'smoke hen' 
or IS. in lieu. In Monk Wood the lessees of the manor 
had always taken the lops and the ancient tenants had 
common of pasture only. Sixty pollard oaks in Fair 
Mead and High Wood were valued at ;^24. 

Sir Robert Wroth paid ^^1,224 for the manor, which 
remained subject to a fee-farm rent of ^^58, and for the 
advowson of the rectory (see below. Churches).'* The 
fee-farm rent was not extinguished until 18 14. '5 
Shortly after purchasing the manor Sir Robert died 
(1614). His infant son died in 1616.'* His estates 
were left heavily in debt and some of them had to be 
sold. Mary Wroth continued to live at Loughton Hall 
for some years, harried by creditors. '7 In 162 1 she 
published Urania, a pastoral romance which caused 



8 Ibid. 148-9. 

' Ibid. 154. 

'" Ibid. 157-8, 162-3. I" i6'3 Sir 
Rbt. was holding a lease due to expire in 
1685 : Waller, Loughton, i, 59; C142/524/ 
II. 

" Waller, Loughton, i, 59. 

'2 Ibid. 60—61, where the survey is 
printed in full. 

'3 This was on the demesne lands and 
the lands held by tenants. 

'* E.A.T. N.s. viii, 163. The purchase 
price seems low but clearly takes into 
account Sir Robert's previous purchase of 
a long lease. 



her to be accused of hbel.'* The next heir to Loughton 
was Sir Robert's brother John Wroth, who died in 
1642. '9 Before his death John settled the manor on 
John Wroth, son of his brother Henry .^0 

Loughton descended in the Wroth family until the 
death in 1738 of Ehzabeth, wife of John Wroth (d. 
17 1 8), the fourth of his name to hold the manor.^' 
The manor then passed to William, 4th Earl of Roch- 
ford, grandson of Elizabeth Wroth's sister Jane." 

John Wroth (III), who was lord of the manor from 
1662 to 1708 was described as 'a blustering county 
justice and gentleman grazier'.^^ In 1688 he is said to 
have entertained Princess (later Queen) Anne at 
Loughton Hall when she fled from London during the 
revolution which deposed James 11.^'' Between 1662 
and 1667 the income from rents of the manor averaged 
about ;^7oo a year. In addition to this over j{^700 was 
received during the whole period for fines and wood.^' 
About 1700 the manor was said to be worth about 
;£i,ooo a year.^* John Wroth (III) left 124 neat 
cattle, 12 horses, and over 200 sheep, Welsh and 
Weyhill, wool and wheat to the value of ;{^II7 and 
;£i 70 respectively and i ,000 oz. plate, valued at £2 54.^' 
A survey of 1739 8^^^ ^^^ extent of the lands of the 
manor, including Monk Wood, but not the waste, as 
1,319 acres. It had thus increased by 35 acres since 
1612.^* The largest farm, described as Jonathan 
Parker's tenure, was 455 acres. This ran from WeUfield 
across Rectory Lane to the Theydon Bois boundary. 
Alderton Hall farm was 267 acres. Elizabeth 
Gilderson's tenure was 224 acres stretching east of 
Chigwell Lane from the pound to the river. Loughton 
Hall farm was 202 acres from the hall south to the 
river. Debden Park covered 30 acres, Margery Field 
held 21 acres. Monk Wood was loi acres, and the 
remaining area was made up of Loughton Warren 
(8 acres), Loughton Piece (5 acres), and the tenements 
of three cottagers.^" 

In 1745 the Earl of Rochford sold the manor to 
William Whitaker of Lime Street, London, an alder- 
man of the City.3o Whitaker died in 1752 and 
Loughton passed to his widow Anne, and on her death 
in 1770 to their daughter Anne Whitaker.^' 

Whitaker had not been living at Loughton Hall at 
the time of his death, the tenant then being a Mr. 
Roberts.32 Miss Whitaker, however, did Hve there, 'a 
very formall lady of the old school or court, and 
reconned very rich, hving in good style'. 33 She died in 
1825, leaving the manor to John Maitland of Wood-' 
ford Hall.34 

The manor passed from John Maitland (d. 1831) 
successively to his son William Whitaker Maitland 
(d. 1 861) and his grandson John Whitaker Maitland, 
who also became Rector of Loughton and died in 
1909.35 He was succeeded by his son WiUiam W. 
Maitland (d. 1926). In 1944 Cmdr. J. W. Maitland, 

"■ Ibid. 164-5. 



'5 Ibid. 

■' Ibid. 174-80. 

>8 Ibid. 168-72; D.N.B. Wroth, Lady 
Mary. 

'» E.A.T. N.s. viii, 345-7. 

2° Ibid. 347. 

" Ibid. 181, where the pedigree is given ; 
in Waller, Loughton, ii, are printed the 
wills of many members of the family. 

22 E.A.T. N.s. viii, 181. 

" Ibid. 351. 2* Ibid. 

25 Waller, Loughton, i, 63-64. 

2' Ibid, ii, 39. 

" E.A.T. N.s. viii, 352. 

28 Waller, Loughton, i, 64-65. 



29 Loughton Warren was where the 
Warren (house) now is. Loughton Piece 
was near it on the Buckhurst Hill boundary. 

3» E.A. T. N.s. ix, 14; E.R.O., D/DC J7 
729-30. " E.A.T. N.s. ix, 14. 

32 Waller, Loughton, ii, 47. Previous 
tenants had been a Jewish family named 
Suasso, emigrants- from Holland: ibid, 
ii, 62. 33 E.A.T. N.s. ix, 14. 

3* Ibid, J cf. G. H. R. Harrison, Genealog. 
Acct. oj Maitland Family; Burke z Landed 
Gentry, 1952, 1681. 

35 Waller, Loughton, i, 65 ; E.R. xix, 50. 
The Reyd. J. W. Maitland left a fortune 
of ^ 1 26,000 : E.R.O., T/P 1 3 iii. 



119 • 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



M.P., son and heir of W. W. Maitland, sold Loughton 
Hall and 644 acres of land to the London County 
Council for the building of the Debden housing estate, 
which started soon after 1945. With a few short 
intervals Loughton Hall had been the home of the lords 
of the manor (including lessees under the Crown) since 
the 1 6th century. 

In 185 1 W. W. Maitland owned some 1,120 acres 
in Loughton. 3* The tithe on most of his demesne land 
appears to have been commuted long before this.3^ 
The estate was let out in 10 farms of which the largest 
were Alderton farm (about 360 acres), Loughton 
Bridge farm (about 300 acres), and Loughton Hall 
farm (about 200 acres). Debden Hall farm, of 164 
acres, no longer formed part of the estate. In the i8th 
century it had passed into the possession of the Hamilton 
family, one of whom, Archdeacon Hamilton, was 
Rector of Loughton 1805-51.38 In 1851 the farm 
was owned by John Williams.'' 

Between 1850 and 1930 the Maitland estate was 
gradually reduced by sales for building purposes, 
mainly in the neighbourhood of High Road.*" The 
Revd. J. W. Maitland was prominent in the Epping 
Forest inclosure controversy. If his plans had been 
successful some 650 acres of the forest waste would 
have become his freehold property as the result of 
inclosure. In the event he received j^30,ooo for his 
rights in the 992 acres of forest waste.^' 

The court rolls of the manor of Loughton are 
described below (see Parish Government and Poor 
Relief). 

The present Loughton Hall, which stands in the 
middle of the Debden housing estate and is used as a 
community centre, is a large red-brick mansion erected 
by the Revd. J. W. Maitland in i878.'t2 It was built 
on the site of an earlier house which was burnt down in 
1836. The old house probably incorporated parts of 
a timber manor house of the i6th century or earlier. 
In 1602, during the tenancy of the first Sir Robert 
Wroth, the Commissioners of the Duchy of Lancaster 
made a report on the condition of the house.'*' This 
indicates a typical medieval or 16th-century establish- 
ment with many ancillary buildings including a 
detached gatehouse. It was then in poor repair, which 
suggests that it was already of considerable age. A 
large proportion of the estimated cost of repair was for 
carpentry and the quoted sum of ;^ioo specifically 
excluded the value of 70 trees to be had from the 
manor. This makes it clear that the house was of 
timber and was to be restored in the same material. 

In 1612a new survey was made.'*^ The accommoda- 
tion, apart from outbuildings, now included a hall, 
buttery, kitchen, larder, bakehouse, pastryhouse, milk- 
house, and wash-house, together with 'eight other 
lodgings with faire lodginge and greate roomes over the 
said roomes new built and redified at the chardgs of Sir 
Robert Wroth, the now farmer thereof. The obliga- 



tion of entertaining royalty and the higher standard of 
comfort demanded by the times had evidently induced 
the second Sir Robert to increase the number and size 
of the reception rooms. There is some evidence that 
further improvements were put in hand when the 
manor had at last been acquired by the Wroths in 
161 3: in 1630 it was stated that Sir Robert Wroth 
'about sixteene yeres past' had built some part of 
Loughton Hall upon an old foundation.^' The date 
on the front of the building at the time of the fire is 
said to have been 1616.''* It seems possible that work 
was in progress at Sir Robert's death in 16 14 and was 
completed two years later. 

The description of a lodge in the forest, 'a faire 
house built on a Hill', which occurs in Lady Wroth's 
Urania, is thought to apply to Loughton Hall at 
the time of her marriage.*' It includes a reference to 
the Lady's Walk, an avenue of trees leading up to the 
house from a bridge over the river. This was cut down 
during the Napoleonic Wars when a high price could 
be obtained for timber."** 

No record has been found of alterations to the house 
between 161 6 and 1825, but it cannot be assumed that 
none took place. The claim that parts of the interior, 
including a stone staircase, were designed by Inigo 
Jones should be taken with the usual reserve.*' 

After 1825, when the house became the property 
of the Maitlands, over j^6,ooo is said to have been 
spent on it. On 11 December 1836 the house was 
burnt down. Contemporary newspaper reports stated 
that 50 rooms were destroyed or damaged. s" There 
had been two frontages, both 162 ft. long, and one at 
least of these had the date 16 16 on the rainwater heads. 
The style is said to have been Elizabethan, modernized 
later, and the interior was adorned with Ionic and 
Corinthian orders.'' 

A picture of the building shows a very curious two- 
story front.'^ It appears to be of brick and is divided 
into five bays by a pilaster treatment in stone or plaster. 
Each pilaster consists of two tiers of coupled Doric 
columns supporting detached entablature blocks. The 
only horizontal members which are continuous across 
the front are a string course at the upper cornice level 
and the coping of the parapet. This parapet rises in 
the centre to form a small curvihnear gable. Each 
story has ten tall sash windows and the roof has gabled 
dormers. A central doorway with a scrolled pediment 
is surmounted by a niche. If this front dated from 1616 
it is clear that the doors and windows were altered 
later. In general the features are more consistent with 
a date near the middle of the 17th century. 

Alderton Hall is a timber-framed and weather- 
boarded building having two stories and attics. There 
is a main block with east and west wings. The oldest 
parts are the centre and the east wing, which date from 
the late 1 6th or early 17th century. The west wing 
was probably rebuilt early in the i8th century. 



34 E.R.O., D/CT 225 (Tithe Award). 

3' See Churches. 

3' Waller, Loughton, i, 98-99; ii, 53. 

3» E.R.O., D/CT 225. 

« Nat. Reg. Archives, Rep. on MSS. of 
Cmdr. J. W. Maitland. 

*' See above. Preservation of Epping 
Forest. 

*' Architect Eden Nesfield : N. Pevsner, 
Buildings of Eng. Essex, 261. 

« Essex Naturalist, vii, 1 6. 

« Ibid. 18. 

«> Ibid. 21. 



46 Newspaper reports on' the fire, see 
below. 

♦' E.A.T. N.s. viii, 173, quoting Urania 
ii, 297-8. 

*' Ibid. 

*' Lewis's Topog. Diet. 1844. It has 
been common practice to attribute any 
mature classical work of the first half of 
the 17th cent, to Inigo Jones. In this case 
there might be some justification for the 
claim because of the Wroth's connexion 
with the Earl of Pembroke and with the 
court of James I. Mary Wroth is known 



to have taken part in at least one court 
masque (the Masque of Blacknesse) for 
which Inigo Jones designed the costumes 
at the outset of his career. 

5" Essex Naturalist, vii, 20, quotes accts. 
from the Essex Standard and the Essex 
Herald. 5i Ibid. 

" E.A.T. N.s. viii, 345: from a water- 
colour then in the possession of Miss I. R. 
Maitland. See plate facing p. 226. The 
will of Miss Whitaker (pr. 1826) refers to 
the 'Saloon*, gallery and 'King's Rooms' in 
the hall: E.R.O., T/P 13 i. 



120 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



LOUGHTON 



The present Debden Hall was built about 1930 to 
replace a previous building on the site which was de- 
molished in the previous year.*^ A photograph of the 
earlier building {c. 1898 ?) shows a large house of two 
stories and attics having a pedimented doorcase and a 
long range of outbuildings. The house appears to have 
dated from the early 19th century.54 

The two manors held in 1086 by Peter de Valognes 
probably included what later became known as MONK 
WOOD. In 1 166 Phihp de Snaring held \ knight's 
fee and Geoffrey de Snaring J knight's fee, both of the 
honor of Valognes. ss These tenements were probably 
in Loughton, for early in the 13th century the Snaring 
family held an important position in the parish, part of 
which was for a time named after them.s* Before 1 240 
a wood in 'Loughton Snarryngs' had come to be divided 
between the abbeys of Stratford Langthorne and 
Waltham. Three-quarters of the wood had been 
granted to Stratford by Ralph de Assartis; the remain- 
ing quarter had been granted to Waltham by Geoffrey 
Reyntot and Roger Fitz Ailmar.57 Ralph de Assartis is 
known to have been a tenant of Geoffrey de Snaring.s^ 
In 1236 he was holding \ knight's fee in Loughton of 
the barony of Valognes. 59 

In 1 240 an agreement was made between the abbeys 
of Stratford and Waltham concerning their timber 
rights in their jointly owned wood. When one abbot 
wished to fell timber in the wood he was to notify the 
bailiff of the other abbot. Four trees of equal value 
were then to be selected, of which Stratford was to 
take the first, second, and fourth choices, and Waltham 
the third. Trees not required for immediate felling 
might be marked by either abbey for future use.*° 

The portion of the wood owned by Waltham Abbey 
became merged from the 13th century in the main 
manor of Loughton (see above). The three-quarters 
owned by Stratford became known as Monk Wood 
and remained the property of that abbey until the 
Dissolution. 

Like the manor of Loughton Monk Wood became 
part of the Duchy of Lancaster in the i6th century, 
and appears to have been leased along with the manor. 
In 1582 the wood was said to contain 53 acres but in 
16 1 2 its area was loi acres of which 74 acres com- 
prised Great Monk Wood and 27 acres Little Monk 
Wood.*' There was sometimes doubt whether the 
wood was demesne or waste land. Historically there 
is little doubt that it was demesne.*^ 

After the i6th century Monk Wood descended 
along with the manor of Loughton. In 1767, when 
Alderton Hall was leased, it was provided that the 
lessee should receive 1,000 faggots and 100 logs every 
year from the wood. In 1787 this was altered to 500 
faggots and 250 logs.*' 

In 1 8 5 1 Monk Wood contained 97 acres of which 
73 acres were in Great Monk Wood and 24 acres in 
Little Monk Wood.** 



There is a legend of Monk Wood which concerns a 
monk who murdered a maiden.*' 

The advowson of the rectory of Loughton has always 
descended along with the manor. The 
CHURCHES present patron is Cmdr. J. W. Mait- 
land, M.P.** 

The rectory was never appropriated. It was valued 
at ^5 in about 1254, at ^^2 in 1291, and ^5 6s. %d. in 
1428.*^ In 1535 the value was returned as ;^i8 4^.*^ 
Tithe was commuted in 185 1 for ;^5i8.*' It would 
have produced much more than this if a partial com- 
mutation had not taken place long before, by which 
1,052 acres belonging to the lord of the manor had 
been freed from tithes in kind in return for an annual 
'modus' of ;^3 IS. On another 326 acres the tithe rent 
was assessed at a much lower rate than in the main body 
of the parish. There were 45 acres of glebe in 1851.'° 
It had increased from 36 acres in 1610 and 41 acres in 
1714.^' The old rectory house in Rectory Lane has 
been demohshed. 

The original parish church of ST. NICHOLAS 
stood beside Loughton Hall.'^ After the building of 
the new parish church of St. John in 1 846 most of the 
old church was demolished, but the chancel was pre- 
served as a mortuary chapel until 1877 when it also 
was removed. The old church consisted of nave, 
chancel, north aisle, south porch, and weather-boarded 
tower with shingled spire. Nave and chancel were of 
the same width (about 18 ft.) and together measured 
about 60 ft. in length. A sketch of 182 1 shows a large 
15th-century window at the east end of the chancel. 
This is said to have been replaced before the final 
demolition of the church by an iron window. '3 In the 
south wall of the chancel there was a two-light window, 
and also a low-side window. The aisle of the church 
measured about 18 ft. by 54 ft. At its east end there 
was a chapel divided from the rest of the aisle by a 
wooden screen with a central doorway. The tower was 
of two stages, the lower of which projected to allow 
space for a vestry. 

Julia Stokesby, by her will proved 1384, left 20/. 
to the work of the church.'* The form of the bequest 
suggests that building operations were then in progress. 
The will of John Stoner (proved 1540) directed that 
he should be buried in the chapel of Our Lady in the 
parish church of Loughton.'s George Stoner, son of 
John, similarly directed (1558) that he should be 
buried in the 'new chapel' in the church.'* This 
chapel was probably that at the east end of the aisle 
which was later regarded as the private chapel of the 
lord of the manor. William Harryson of Loughton by 
his will proved 1540 left \os. towards the building of 
the steeple." The tower and spire were repaired in 
1737. General repairs to the church were carried out 
in 1825-7 and 1829. 

In about 1768 the church had three bells. '^ One 
of them is said to have been sold at the end of the i8th 



53 Inf. from the present occupier of 
Debden Hall. 

5* E.R.O., Sah Cat. B. 9. 

55 RcdBk. ofExch. (Rolls Ser.), 360. 

5' Waller, Loughton, i, 156. 

5' Ibid. 58 Ibid. 

59 £k. of Fees, 579. 

'" Waller, Loughton, i, 156; Eaex 
Naturalist, v, 1 74. 

^' Essex Naturalist, v, 1775 and see 
above, Manor of Loughton. 

'2 Waller, Loughton, i, 52, 10-11; cf. 
E.R.O., D/CT 255. 



63 Waller, Loughton, i, 11, 

't E.R.O., D/CT 255. 

'5 E. Hardingham, Lays and Legends of 
the Forest of Essex, 113. 

66 Newcourt, Repert. ii, 395-6 ; Morant, 
Essex, i, 164; Kelly's Dir. Essex (1862 f.); 
Chel. Dioc. Tear Bk. 1952. 

0' E.A.T. N.s. xviii, 17; Tax Eccl. 
(Rec. Com.), 24; Feud. Aids, ii, 204. 

'8 yalor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), i, 435. 

'9 E.R.O., D/CT 225. 

■"> Ibid. 

'" E.R.O., T/P i(). For the history of 



the glebe see Waller, Loughton, i, 55, 
119-22. 

'2 The following account is based on 
W. C. Waller, 'Some account of the 
vanished church of St. Nicholas, Lough- 
ton', E.A.T. N.s. xir, 275 f. (illustrated). 

73 This alteration was said to have been 
made by Archdeacon Hamilton, rector 
1805-51. 

'* Waller, Loughton, ii, i. 

'5 Ibid. 5. 

'<■ Ibid. 8, " Ibid. 74. 

" Morant, Essex, i, 1 64. 



ES. IV 



121 



K 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



century. The other two, dated 162 1 and 1655, were 
later recast to form the fifth bell of St. John's church 
(see below). There was a 16th-century painted cup- 
board, some 16th-century glass and four sepulchral 
brasses; all of these are in the present church of St. 
Nicholas. Several floor slabs, left in situ when the old 
church was demolished, were examined by Waller in 
about 19 1 7. They included slabs to Jeffery Lee, 1670, 
and Thomas Tuson, 1702. A brass to Robert Ramp- 
ston, 1585, founder of a parish charity, existed in 1835 
but has now disappeared." In 1790 there were several 
hatchments of arms of the Wroths, former lords of the 
manor, in the north aisle chapel. 8° 

Wright commented in 1835 that the parish church 
was inconveniently distant from the village.^' The 
destruction of Loughton Hall in 1836 left the church 
even more isolated than before. The new church of 
St. John was therefore built in 1846 to provide more 
effectively for the religious needs of the growing parish. 
It was decided that the old church should be demo- 
lished to defray part of the cost of building St. John's 
and a faculty was issued for this purpose in 1847. It 
had been hoped that St. Nicholas' would fetch ^^250 
but it was sold by auction for only ^^89. The chancel 
was for some reason left standing and with the addition 
of new north and west walls (costing £'^6) became a 
mortuary chapel. This chapel was demolished in 1877 
and the present church of St. Nicholas was built 
slightly to the west of it. This rebuilding was clearly 
connected with that of Loughton Hall, and St. 
Nicholas' was used for many years after 1877 as the 
private chapel of the hall. In 1947 it was repaired and 
refitted for use as a chapel of ease to St. John's for the 
Debden estate. ^^ It is a small flint building consisting 
of nave, chancel, north porch, and bellcote with one 
bell. On the gable of the porch are carved barge- 
boards which are said to have come from the original 
church of St. Nicholas. In the chancel are brasses from 
the old church to John Stonnard (Stoner, 1540) and 
Joan and Katherine his wives, William Nodes (1594) 
and Elizabeth (WoUsey) his wife. Others are probably 
to George Stoner (15 5 8) and Abel Guilliams (i637).*3 
On the north wall of the chancel is a cupboard with 
elaborately carved double doors flanked by columns 
and strapwork and surmounted by an entablature. On 
the panel below the doors is a late-i6th-century paint- 
ing of the Annunciation. The north and south windows 
have early- 16th-century glass showing two kneeling 
figures with coloured nimbi. '■♦ 

The parish church oiST. JOHN THE BAPTIST 
was consecrated in November 1846.85 It was built in 
Blind (now Church) Lane near the junction with the 
main road, on land most of which had previously been 
held by Samuel Brawm, the Baptist minister, copyhold 
of the manor of Loughton. ** The new church was 
much nearer the village than St. Nicholas', but the 
people of south Loughton had still to travel ^ mile or 
more to the church, mostly up hill. The total cost of 
St. John's, including furnishings, was slightly less than 



£6,500. The rector gave ;£i,i34, Mrs. Pearse £700 
Mrs. Powell ;^65o, and there were many other sub- 
stantial voluntary contributions. By 1848 a total of 
,{^5,850 had been raised, of which £1,000 came from 
a church rate. The balance required was met by an 
Exchequer Loan, which was finally paid off in 1866. 

The church is a yellow brick building in 'Norman' 
style, consisting of nave, chancel, transepts, north 
porch, and central tower. The architect was Sydney 
Smirke (1798-1877), brother of Sir Robert Smirke 
(1781-1867).*' He originally submitted three alterna- 
tive designs, one 'Norman' and two 'Early English'. 
Between 1875 and 1878 the chancel was enlarged at 
a total cost of about £1 ,600. The church was slightly 
damaged by bombing during the Second World War. 

There are eight bells, all of which were installed 
between 1866 and 1874. The fifth bell was recast 
from two of the bells of St. Nicholas' church, which 
had been dated 1621 and 1655. The old church plate 
was destroyed when Loughton Hall was burnt down. 
It consisted of a silver cup, silver paten, plated flagon, 
and plated dish. A silver almsdish of 1848 formerly in 
the church was stolen in 1930. The present plate 
includes many vessels, of which the oldest areof 1 836.*' 
The parish chest, now kept in the south transept, prob- 
ably dates from about 1607.*' It is remarkable for 
the geometrical patterns incised on the three front 
panels. 

St. John's parish hall was built in 1914-1 5 at a cost 
of £808. It adjoins the church to the west. In 1947 
the mission church of ST. FRANCIS was built at 
Oakwood Hill on the Debden estate. It is a small 
timber building."* In 1950 a church hall was opened 
opposite St. Nicholas' church, and in 1953 the mission 
church of ST. GABRIEL was opened in Grosvenor 
Drive, Debden;" this is a permanent brick church. 
St. Francis' and St. Gabriel's are chapels of ease to 
St. John's. 

The church of ST. MART THE VIRGIN, High 
Road, Loughton, was built in 1871 and consecrated in 
the following year as a chapel of ease to St. John's.'^ 
The site was given by the rector, J. W. Maitland.'s 
In 1887 the parish of St. Mary was formed out of that 
of St. John.'* Its endowment included £50 from the 
mother parish. The patron of the vicarage is the 
Rector of Loughton. The church is a stone building 
in Gothic style, consisting of nave, chancel, aisles, south 
porch, and bellcote containing one bell. The north aisle 
wasaddedin 1883. The architect was T. H.Watson.'' 

The church of ST. MICHAEL AND ALL 
ANGELS, Roding Road, was built and dedicated in or 
about September 1937, as a chapel of ease to St. Mary's. 
It received its present name about 1942."* 

Among parochial charities which include provision 
for the churches are Parish Clerk's Piece and W. C. 
Waller's Charity." The following charities are also 
for the use of the churches.'* 

Emily Jane Hanson, by will proved 1933, left three 
cottages (now nos. 20, 22, and 24 Pump Hill) for the 



'9 T. Wright, Hist. Essex, ii, 385. 

80 E.J.T.-N.s.h, II. 

81 T. Wright, Hist. Essex, ii, 384.. 

'^ Inf. from Canon M. N. Lake, 
Rector of Loughton. 

«3 Cf. E.A.T. N.s. xiv, 278, 287-8; 
T. Wright, Hist. Essex, ii, 384-5. 

*< Cf. Hist. Men. Com. Essex, ii, 166. 

85 For the following acct. see Percy 
Thompson, Story of the Parish Church of 
Loughton (illustrated), also E.R.O., T/P 1 3 



(cuttings from parish magazines). 

86 E.R.O., T/P 18. For other sites con- 
sidered see E.R.O., T/P 13. 

87 See D.N.B. Sydney Smirke later 
designed (1850) St. Mary's, Theydon 
Bois (q.v.). 

88 Cf. Ch. Plate Essex, 103. 

89 Ch. Chests Essex, 154. (illus.). 

90 Inf. from Canon M. N. Lake, Rector 
of Loughton. 

9> Ibid. 



92 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1926). 

93 Waller, Loughton, i, 142. The site 
was formerly known as Thistley Field. 

9* Kelly's Dir. Essex (1926). 

95 Ibid.; N. Pevsner, Buildings of Eng., 
Essex, 260. 

9' Inf. from the Revd. D. V. Wright of 
Loughton. 

9' See below. Charities. 

98 Char. Com. Files. 



122 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



LOUGHTON 



additional endowment of St. Mary's Loughton, and for 
charitable purposes not connected with the parish. 

Frederick Joseph Brand, by will proved 1940, left 
j^ioo duty-free in trust for distribution each Christmas 
among the choirboys of St. John's. There is no further 
record of this charity at the Charity Commission. 

The Roman Catholic church, Traps Hill, dedicated 

to St. Edmund of Canterbury, 

ROMAN was built in 1926-7.99 The 

CATHOLICISM church of St. Thomas More, 

Debden, was opened in 1953.' 

In 1672 Joseph Brown, who had been ejected from 
the vicarage of Nazeing in 
PROTESTANT 1662, was licensed to 

NONCONFORMITY minister to a congrega- 
tion of Presbyterians at 
Loughton.^ 

On 3 October 1813 a small nonconformist chapel 
was opened at the south end of High Road. The 
preachers at the opening were the Revds. J. Hughes of 
Battersea, J. Clayton of Camomile Street, London 
(E.C. 3), and G. Collinson of Walthamstow.3 In 
1 8 17 Samuel Brawn, formerly of Stepney Academy, 
was ordained minister.* The church supported the 
Baptist Union, though it was not at first affiliated to it.5 
Brawn remained until 1868.* In 1829 he reported a 
congregation of 175.' A new church was built in 
1 860-1. It cost £1,800, of which j^i,4oo had already 
been raised by the opening day.* This was attended in 
the i86o's by W. T. Whitley, later a distinguished 
Baptist minister and historian. He gave some of his 
reminiscences of the church in 'A Scenario of Baptist 
Essex'.' "He mentioned the arrival of a new minister 
(W. Bentley, 1868) to help Samuel Brawn. The old 
minister watched his assistant from an armchair on the 
platform, 'snorting at any questionable doctrine'. 
Whitley helped to collect for the church soup kitchen. 
His mother did missionary work among the gipsies of 
Epping Forest. 

In 1880 the church had 193 members and 210 
Sunday school children, with a minister and two 
evangelists.'" It was and remains one of the strongest 
nonconformist churches in the district. Membership 
was 181 in 1900 and the Sunday school had risen to 
356." In 1920 there were 21 1 members.'^ A decline 
to 164 in 1930 has subsequently been reversed and in 
195 1 there were 181 members and 143 pupils.'^ 
Except for brief vacancies there has always been a 
resident minister. Although still closely connected 
with the Baptist Union the church is now a united 
free church, known as Loughton Union Church. 

Associated with the church are the Lincoln Alms- 
houses.'* Henry Lincoln, by his will proved in 191 2, 
left £1,300 in trust to build five small almshouses to 
be let at low rents to people over 50 years old who had 
attended the church for the past ten years. The alms- 
houses were built opposite the church. The sum of 
£99 17/. was received during the Second World War 
in local savings weeks, and the income from this. 



together with £20 16/. in rents from four cottages, and 
with donations, brought in £1 16 i is. \d. in 1950. It 
was all spent on repairs and maintenance. 

The founder of Methodism in Loughton was 
Edward Pope, who came to the district in 1873, when 
the nearest Methodist church was at Wanstead.'s In 
that year he took over a small disused chapel in Englands 
Lane.'* Among the first converts were Mr. and Mrs. 
Fred Smith, whose nephews later became the famous 
gipsy evangelists. The chapel was placed on the plan 
of the Hackney (Wesleyan) Methodist circuit in 1874 
and five years later became part of the newly formed 
Wanstead and Woodford circuit. In 1880 land was 
purchased on a more central site in Forest Road, and 
an iron church erected there, at a total cost of £697. 
In 1885 the land was sold for £250 and a new site in 
the High Road was bought for £300. The iron church 
soon proved inadequate and in 1903 a new brick 
church with a schoolroom was built for £3,300, of 
which £1,000 was borrowed from an insurance 
company. This church was opened in 1903 (see plate 
facing p. 1 13). 

In 1934 the minister at Buckhurst Hill (see Chig- 
well) was transferred to Loughton at the request of the 
latter church. In 1934 also it was decided to build a 
new hall behind the church on land given nine years 
before by Sir Joseph Lowrey.'^ The hall was opened 
in 1936. It cost £3,880, of which £2,024 were 
raised by donations. In 1944 it was totally destroyed 
by a bomb, and other church premises were badly 
damaged. 

In 1946 further land was bought and a scheme was 
drawn up for the rebuilding of the hall. The work 
was to be done in three stages. The second of these 
was completed in June 1952, when the new Wesley 
Hall was opened. The present (1953) membership 
of the church is 159. The church is of red brick in 
gothic style. The chapel in England's Lane still exists, 
having been converted into dwellings called Kirk 
Cottages. It is a small building of stock brick probably 
dating from the middle of the 19th century and some- 
what similar in appearance to the former Congrega- 
tional Chapel at Abridge (in Lambourne, q.v.).'* 

In June 1946, on the recommendation of the 
Methodist General Purposes Committee, it was 
decided to negotiate for a site on the new London 
County Council estate at Debden. In 1949 a trust was 
formed and in 1950 land was offered by the L.C.C. 
for £785. The first part of the building, costing- 
£7,000, was opened in July 1952. The money came 
from compensation for a bombed church in Waltham- 
stow. In March 1953 it was decided to apply for a 
deaconess. The church is at present under the super- 
vision of the Loughton minister and has a member- 
ship of 19. 

Soon after the Methodists moved to Forest Road 
their former chapel in England's Lane was taken over 
by the Baptists, who held services there under the 
leadership of James Herbert Tee, a local solicitor, from 



w Kelly't Dir. Essex (1933). 

■ Cath.Dir. (1954.), 128. 

> G. L. Turner, Orig. Rea. of Early 
Nonconformity^ ii, 929. 

3 Evang. Mag. xxii, 66. For the site 
see Waller, Loughton^ i, 145. 

* Baptist Mag. 1818, 39. 

s W. T. Whitley, Baptists of London, 
147; Bapt. Handhlt. 1869. 

' Ibid. 

' E.R.O., Q/CR 3/2. 



' Bapt. Mag. i860, 453; ibid. 1861, 
165. 

9 Bapt. Hist. Soc. Trans, n.s. x, 56. 

'0 Bapt. Handbk. 1880. 

" Ibid. 1900. '2 Ibid. 1920. 

'3 Ibid. 1930, 1951. 

'« Char. Com. Files. 

'5 The following account is based on an 
address by A. W. Leach at Wanstead, 
Dec. 1919 (reported in Mins. of Local 
Preachers Mtg., Wanstead and Wood- 

123 



ford Circuit), Trust Deeds and other 
church records. Cf. also Methodism in 
Loughton igo3—53 (Jubilee pamphlet). 

"6 It is said to have been a Congrega- 
tional chapel. Nothing is known of its 
earlier history. 

" He was Director of the Salvage 
Association, London, and lived at the 
Hermitage, Loughton. 

»8 It was built after 1850: cf. E.R.O., 
D/CT 225. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



1884 to 1889." About the same time Anglican mission 
services were being held by Mrs. John Pelly in a room 
over the coach house at Goldings Hill House. These 
services vi'ere primarily for poor people who might 
have hesitated to attend a regular place of worship 
owing to lack of suitable clothes. About 1887 Mrs. 
Pelly left Loughton and her congregation transferred 
to the Englands Lane chapel. In 1889 J. H. Tee and 
his associates erected the present iron church at the 
corner of Englands Lane and Goldings Hill. The 
trust deeds of the new church made strict provision 
that the Goldings Hill Mission should be undenomina- 
tional in character. Tee remained superintendent of 
the mission until his death in 1909. He has had 
several successors, of whom Mr. E. S. Currey (c. 
1925-40) was superintendent for the longest period. 

Other nonconformist places of worship are the 
Forest Mission Hall, High Beech Road, belonging to 
the Plymouth Brethren and the Lincoln Hall, built in 
19 1 2 and presented to the Loughton Brotherhood by 
Henry Lincoln.^" A Congregational church is now 
(1953) being built in Borders Lane, Debden, with sup- 
port from the Loughton Union Church.^' 

The earliest surviving court roll of the manor of 

Loughton is for 1 270." 

PARISH GOFERNMENT The next is for 1400, 

AND POOR RELIEF and there are later rolls 

recording the proceed- 
ings of courts held on eleven occasions in the period 
1404-69.^3 There are rolls for 1 5 1 1, 1538, 1585, and 
1593.^ A roll for the period 1 570-1602 was used as 
evidence in connexion with the Epping Forest Com- 
mission in the 1870's but could not be found in 
1894-5.25 Rolls and court books for 1609-1865 
existed in the 1890's when full abstracts from them 
were made by W. C. Waller.^s So far as it relates to 
the period after 1609 the present survey is based upon 
these abstracts, not the original roUs.^^ 

The medieval rolls contain nothing unusual in con- 
nexion with local government. They note the appoint- 
ment of manorial officials, the regulation of minor 
nuisances such as foul ditches and of the descent of 
copyhold tenements. There are also a few entries 
relating to petty civil suits.^* 

Although few rolls have survived for the i6th 
century there is evidence that courts were held regularly 
(perhaps once a year) after the manor had passed to the 
Crown.29 The series that began in 1609 was ap- 
parently complete apart from some gaps in the period 
1609-59. Courts leet were usually held once a year 
until about 1780, when they became less frequent. 
The last was held in 1828. The court retained its 
vitality for much longer than in many places. The 
reason was probably the survival of Epping Forest. 
The main business of the court during its last 300 
years was to administer the customs relating to the 
lopping rights of the tenants. The conditions under 
which these rights of estover were exercised were 



frequently restated in the court. The rights were 
traditionally limited to those holding ancient tene- 
ments. Lopping was permitted only between i 
November and 23 April and might be done only on 
Mondays.30 The wood had to be removed on sledges, 
wheeled carts being forbidden, and no lopper might 
employ more than two horses to draw his sledge. As 
late as 1828 there were presentments for cutting wood 
on days other than Mondays, and for using wheeled 
carts. Encroachments on the waste of the manor (often 
the forest) were presented at the leet. Usually they 
were allowed to remain on payment of a small fine, but 
sometimes (as in 1794) the court ordered inclosures to 
be thrown open. There were frequent presentments 
of foul ditches and of clay pits that had been allowed 
to become full of water. On one occasion a tenant was 
ordered to make two foot-bridges. In 1721 it was 
ordered that each alehouse keeper, baker, and potter 
within the manor should pay 40/. a year to the poor 
for the forest wood which he used in his trade. The 
court habitually appointed two constables and two 
woodwards. It was sometimes stated that one of the 
woodwards was elected by the tenants and the other 
by the lord of the manor (e.g. 18 17). 

Courts baron were held at the same time as the courts 
leet and on many other occasions. At some periods 
there were several courts baron in a year and they 
continued to be held regularly until 1865. Their 
main business was the regulation of copyhold tenure, 
but after the leet had ceased to meet the courts baron 
became increasingly concerned with grants of waste. 
In 1864-5, when J. W. Maitland decided to inclose 
the forest, the manor court was used for the purpose 
of making grants of waste in extinguishment of com- 
mon rights. 3' After a long interval the court was held 
once more in October 1 891, when some copyhold 
business was transacted. ^^ One tenant complained of 
encroachments on his land and the bailiff of the manor 
was ordered to cause them to be abated. No evidence 
has been found of any later court. 

The manorial pound was near the manor house 
(Loughton Hall). It still existed in 1895.33 

A vestry minute-book survives for the period 
1720—41.34 In each year of that period there were 
two regular meetings, at Easter for the approval of the 
accounts of the parish overseer of the poor, the church- 
wardens and constables, and for the appointment of 
churchwardens and the nomination of the overseer, 
and on 26 December for the nomination of the sur- 
veyors of highways. As noted above the appointment 
of constables continued to be made in the manor court 
until the 19th century. In 1724, 1725, and 1738 these 
were the only meetings. In other years additional 
meetings were held when required. In 1726 there 
were nine meetings. The number of those signing the 
minutes varied from 4 to 19. At the Easter vestry, 
which was best attended, lo-i 2 usually signed. There 
were two rectors during this period, Christopher 



" The following account, supplied by 
Mr. William Addison, is from a type- 
script history of the Goldings Hill Mis- 
sion, 1889-1939, compiled by R. E. 
Currey. 

20 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1933); inf. from 
Mr. W. Addison. 

" Inf. from Revd. M. N. Lake. 

" SC2/173/30. 

» SC2/173/31-38, 174/42A. 

» SC2/174/42B, 173/19, DL/30/61/ 

749- 



25 E.R.O., T/P 18. 

2' They were then in the possession of 
the Revd. J. W. Maitland. Their present 
location is now (1953) being investigated 
by the National Register of Archives. 

" E.R.O., T/P 18. 

2* For fuller details see Waller, Loughton, 
1,46. 

29 Waller, Loughton, i, 4.6. 

30 The opening date was altered to 12 
Nov. in 1753: see above, Preservation of 
Epping Forest. 

124 



3^ For the Epping Forest question see 
above. 

32 E.R.O., T/P 131. It is evident from 
the proceedings of the court of 1891 that 
there had been no court since 1868 or 
earlier. 

33 E.R.O., T/P 13 i. 

34 E.R.O.,D/P 233/8/1. The book was 
used by Waller, Loughton, \, 149—53. ^' 
contains a single entry, out of order, of 1 
meeting in July 1743. 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



LOUGHTON 



Sclater (1706-35) and his son William Sclater (1735- 
78). Each regularly attended the vestry and usually 
kept the minutes. Mrs. EKzabeth Wroth of Loughton 
Hall was also a regular attendant until her death in 
1738, and she frequently signed the minutes first. 
The parish clerk does not figure prominently in these 
minutes. There is no evidence that he was paid a cash 
salary, but there was a piece of land attached to his 
office.35 All parish expenses except the repair of roads 
seem to have been normally met out of a single, over- 
seer's rate, but special church rates were sometimes 
levied. The overseer's rate was usually dd. or ga'. in 
the ^i ; a penny rate produced about [^\o. 

One churchwarden was elected by the rector, the 
other by the parishioners. One usually retired each 
year but the same man often held office more than once 
during the period. Most of those who served as 
churchwardens also served in other years as overseers. 
There was only one overseer at a time. In several cases 
a woman acted as overseer. Mrs. Wroth not only held 
the office but also carried out her duties in person. In 
1720 the magistrates at Epping objected to the inclu- 
sion in her account of constables' and surveyors' bills, 
but the vestry reiterated its support of her action. The 
surveyors' bill, which comprised most of the money 
involved, was re-entered in the overseer's account in 
1722 and was then apparently passed by the magistrates. 
There is very little other information about the sur- 
veyors. It is not even clear how many were appointed. 
Nominations of persons suitable for the office varied 
between 3 and 6. No surveyors' accounts were entered 
in the vestry book. 

Between 1720 and 1741 poverty was not a serious 
problem, and was met mainly by out-relief in cash or 
in kind. The poor were provided with clothing, 
medical aid, home-help, and firewood from the forest. 
In 1723 special allowances were made to victims of 
smallpox. A few poor children were bound ap- 
prentices; usually they went to masters within the 
parish, but on one occasion (1720) the parish granted 
{/>, to a widow to apprentice her daughter to a cook 
in Shoreditch. 

It is doubtful whether the parish owned a poor- 
house at this time. In 1722 it was agreed 'that the 
overseer of the poor should pay a year's rent ending 
next Lady Day for the house which Heath lives in, 
being 50^., and to get it as cheap as the officers can'. 
In the following year the vestry decided to repair 'the 
parish house'. Accounts for this work were allowed 
in 1724 and 1725. In 1726 it was agreed that the 
parish officers should forthwith provide a workhouse 
to keep the poor employed, and later in the same year 
the vestry negotiated with widow Dimion and her son 
William Rich for the house which she held for hfe, 
in order to secure it as a workhouse. In 1743 it was 
agreed that 'Riches house' should be hired as a work- 
house, which suggests that the negotiations of 1726 had 
not then been successful. In 1726, however, the parish 
had acquired a copyhold cottage, formerly the tene- 
ment of George Baldwin, for the use of the poor. It 
is fairly certain that this became the poorhouse later 
known as Baldwins Buildings. 3* 



35 See Charities, below. 

3* Waller, Loughton, i, 1 30. 

3' E.R.O., e/CR i/i, 1/9, 1/12. 

38 In 1844—69 the poor rates for 
Loughton were usually 2J. in the j^i, 
producing about ^^00 a year: Waller, 
Loughton, i, 106. 



3« See Charities. 

♦» E.R.O., D/P 233/8/2. Cf. Waller, 
Loughton, \, 104-9. S^^ ^'^^ Church, 
Charities. ♦' See above. 

« E.R.O., T/P 13 i. 

<3 Waller, Loughton, i, 102-4, ii, 47. 

44 E.R.O., D/AEM 2/4. 



Later details of poor relief come from returns to 
government inquiries.37 In 1776 the poor rate pro- 
duced ;^28o, in 1783 ;^39i, in 1784 ;^464, and in 
1785 /^332. Between 1801 and 1821 the sums varied 
between ^885 and ^^491, being highest in 1804 and 
lowest in 1802. Not all the money was spent on poor 
relief. Administrative and legal expenses, church 
repairs, the county rate for the maintenance of jails 
and bridges, and allowances to the dependants of 
militia-men on active service were all met out of these 
rates. Mihtia allowances were heaviest in 1804 (^^63) 
and 1 813 (^87). In 18 13-16 inclusive an annual 
salary of j^20 was paid to the overseer. Between 1801 
and 1 8 17 the amount actually spent on the poor varied 
from ^785 (1805) 10^442 (1802). 

In 1836 Loughton became part of the Epping Poor 
Law Union. 3* Baldwins Buildings became the pro- 
perty of that union but were purchased by public sub- 
scription for use as almshouses for the people of 
Loughton. 3 9 

After 1836 the vestry was mainly concerned with 
the church, the parish charities, rating assessments, and 
roads. The vestry book for 1844-69 gives details of 
these and a few other activities.'*" In 1865, when the 
forest inclosures were being made, the vestry adopted 
some of the new roads. In the same year it was stated 
that a manor court had directed that the building 
formerly used as the parish cage, situated on the waste, 
should be removed, and the vestry accepted an offer 
of ;^7 for the materials of the building. The cage stood 
opposite the 'King's Head'. In and after 1848 the 
vestry concerned itself with problems of drainage and 
sanitation through the formation of a nuisance removal 
committee.4' 

A parish council was elected for the first time in 
1 894-5. ■♦^ It became an urban district council in 
1900. 

There is said to have been a school in Loughton in 
about 175 1, which had existed for many 
SCHOOLS years. In 1761 the curate. Pierce Dod, 
obtained subscriptions from local persons 
and opened a school. Subscriptions soon decreased, 
however, so that pupils remained few, only 13 in 1766, 
and teachers were poorly paid. Gradually, with the 
aid of an annual sermon, the school's position was 
improved,'*^ and in 1807 it had 20 pupils. These were 
all taught reading and writing and the girls were also 
learning housecraft, in accordance with the original 
rules of 1761.** By this time local interest in the school ■ 
was increasing. In 18 10 James Powell gave ;{^io to 
introduce the monitorial system, and a few years later 
two new schoolrooms and two teachers' houses were 
built at a total cost of ^^500.45 In 18 17 the school was 
united with the National Society, and the number of 
pupils increased rapidly to about 100.46 

The population of Loughton was growing rapidly 
at this time and new private schools were being estab- 
lished for children of all classes. The National School 
also expanded. The number of boys attending it 
increased from 48 in 1833 to 75 in 1846-7, and o'f 
girls from 58 to 85.'" This was made possible by the 
enlargement of the building soon after 1834,** and 

-4; Retm. Educ. 

819). «(0- 
1828. 



45 Waller, op. cit. 102 

Poor, H.C. 224, p. 261 (i 

4' Nat. Soc. Rep. 1820, 

47 Educ. Enquiry Ahstr. 
(1835), xli;E.R.O., D/P 
Soc. Enquiry into Ch. Schs. 

48 E.R.'O., D/P 30/28/19. 



lOZO. 

H.C. 62, p. 282 
30/28/19; A^a/. 
1846-7, 12-13. 



125 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



again in i842.'*» At this time the children paid no fees 
and were sometimes given clothes. In 1838-9 the 
school received ^^85 from subscriptions and possibly 
also part of the £^ 2 paid annually from Anne Whitaker's 
legacy to the Sunday school, which was administered 
jointly with the National School. In 1846-7 the 
master was receiving ^^50 a year and the mistress £30.5° 
Between 1851 and 1856 the school received grants 
from the government for training pupil teachers.s' 
but an inspection in 1850 or 185 1 revealed a depress- 
ing situation. The master, though a decent man, was 
untrained and in very poor health. The mistress could 
not work in three figures, so that arithmetic was 'a 
nullity'.sJ 

In 1863 the school was enlarged at a cost o{£i,4.S^. 
The diocesan board contributed £30, the National 
Society £75, and local supporters the remainder. The 
government refused help on the ground that the addi- 
tional accommodation was unnecessary. National 
Society officials suspected that its real motive in refusing 
aid was to protect the position of the local noncon- 
formist school. The school committee was not able to 
provide as much new accommodation as they had 
hoped,53 but the rapid increase in the number of 
children attending the school, from 100 in 1862 to 
150 in 1864, encouraged the committee to appeal for 
funds for another classroom. The diocesan board gave 
£10, the National Society £15, and subscribers some 
j^zoo. The building was finished in 1866. At this 
time the committee, with the rector as chairman, was 
very active. In 1868 it introduced gas-lighting, defray- 
ing the cost by entertainments, and in the same year 
set up an infants' department. In 1871 the school 
garden was enlarged by a grant of land from the rector. 
A cricket club was started in 1866, a night school in 
1868, and a scholars' bank in 1872.54 By 1875 the 
average attendance was 193. By 1865 the school was 
receiving an annual government grant. ss Additional 
income came from school fees, local contributions, and, 
in 1876, the levy of a voluntary rate. Teachers' salaries 
had been improved. The headmaster, after long ser- 
vice at the school, was in 1879 receiving ^^155 a year, 
with a house allowance of ;{^20. In 1883 the mistress 
and the assistant master each received ^^40 a year. The 
educational standard also improved. 5* 

As a result of the Education Act of 1870 a survey 
was made of the accommodation in Loughton schools. 
The National School was found to have places for 134 
boys, 104 girls, and 42 infants, which, with the 104 
places at the British School were declared by the 
government to be sufficient for local needs. 5' The 
continued increase of population, however, soon made 
further accommodation necessary, and in 1878-9 the 
government required the National School to provide 
this, failing which a school board would be set up. This 
led to a fierce controversy between Anglicans and non- 
conformists. In March 1879 the Anghcans convened a 

« Waller, Loughton, i, 102-4. '* Woodford Times, 

50 E.R.O., D/P 30/28/19; Nat. Soc. (E.R.O., T/P 13). 
Enquiry, 1846-7, 12-13. '« E.R.O., T/P 13. 

5' Mint, of Educ. Cttes. of Council, 1856 
[2237], p. 95, H.C. (1857, Sess. 2), iiiiii. 

5' Ibid. 1850 [1357], p. 448, H.C. 
(1851), xliv. 

" Inf. from Nat. Soc. 

54 E.R.O., D/P 233/25/1. 

55 Ibid.; Rep. of Educ. Cttee. of Council, 
1875 [C. 1513-1]. P- 533. H.C. (1876), 
xxiii. 

56 E.R.O., D/P 233/25/1. 
5' Chelmsford Chron. 2 Aug. 1872. 



61 Rep. of Educ. Cttee. of Council, 1886 
[C. 5123-1], p. 520, H.C. (1887), xxviii. 

" Gazette, 2 June 191 1 (E.R.O., 
E/ML 51/1); Kelly's Dir. Essex (1899); 
Schs. under Bd. of Educ. 1902 [Cd. 1490], 
p. 72, H.C. (1903), li. 

6* Essex Educ. Cttee. Handbk. 1904, 
p. 148. 

'3 Gasutte, 2 June 1911; inf. from Mr. 
William Addison. 

64 Educ. Enquiry Ahstr. (1835), p. 282; 



parish meeting to authorize a voluntary rate for the 
National School. The meeting does not appear to have 
been widely publicized except among the Anglicans. 
The nonconformists, suspecting that this had been 
deliberately contrived in order to prevent their atten- 
dance and probable opposition to the rate, arrived at 
the meeting in full force, led by C. H. Vivian, the 
Baptist minister. After a heated debate the voluntary 
rate was abandoned. 5* During 1879 ;^300 was raised 
by subscription and by 1882 the school enlargement 
fund stood at ^^400 out of an estimated £500 required." 
By 1886 the school had been extended to provide 342 
places.*" Even this, however, was insufficient for the 
growing town, and in 1887 the government insisted 
on the formation of a school board. In the same year 
the managers of the National School transferred their 
building to the board. When the Board School was 
opened in 1888 the former National School was used 
for girls and infants, the boys being accommodated in 
the new school. In 1891 the infants were moved to a 
new building in Staples Road, the girls remaining at 
the old school.*' In 1904 there were 240 girls, though 
the accommodation was then estimated at only 210 
places.*^ In 1907 the board resolved to build a new 
girls' school in Staples Road. When this was com- 
pleted in igii the former National School was ap- 
parently no longer used for educational purposes. 
About 1938—9 it was demolished to provide a site for 
Ashley Grove flats, which stand on the corner of York 
Hill and Staples Road.^J 

The British School was established between 1839 
and 1845. It may have originated in a Sunday school 
which was being held by the Baptists in 1833 and 
1839.^4 A mistress was in charge, apparently until 
1865 when a master was appointed. He seems to have 
done much to improve discipline, attendance, and 
standards of work, winning the approval of the 
inspector, Matthew Arnold. The latter reported in 
1867 that 87 children had been presented for examina- 
tion, that the average attendance for the year had been 
69 and that the building and stafl^ would need enlarge- 
ment if the number of pupils continued to grow.*' 
There was some increase in attendance during the 
next 20 years.** The government grant rose from ^^40 
in 1872 to ^62 in 1886.*' In 1887 the managers 
transferred the school to the new school board, which 
closed the British School in 1888.*^ The building has 
subsequently been used for a variety of industrial pur- 
poses. It is of red brick, single-storied, and has a slate 
roof 

In 1887 the new school board built a school at the 
east end of Staples Road, giving accommodation for 
320 boys. The cost was about ^6,000. In 1891 a 
new infants' department was built beside the boys' 
school, giving a total accommodation of about 540.*' 
In 1899 there was an average attendance of 169 
infants and 197 boys.'" The infants' department was 

Mar. 1879 E.R.O., D/P 30/28/19; Kelly's Dir. 
£iKr (1845). 

65 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1845, 1862); 
While's Dir. Essex {1848, 1863), E.R.O., 
E/ML 51/1. 

6' Chelmsford Chron. 2 Aug. 1872; Rep. 
of Educ. Cttee. of Council, 1886, p. 520. 

6' Ibid. ; Rep. of Educ. Cttee. of Council, 
1872 [C. 812], p. 408, H.C. (1873), xxiv. 



June 1911; E.R.O., 



68 Gazette, 
E/ML 51/2. 
6» Min. of Educ. File 13/252, 
'» Kelly's Dir. Essex (1899). 



126 




Former Village School at Greenstead 
Built c. 1846 




County Primary School: High Oncar 
Built 1867 




LoucHTON County High School for Cjirls 
Built 1908 




LucTON Secondary Modern School, Debden 
Built 1950 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



LOUGHTON 



enlarged in 1906 to provide 360 places." In 191 1 a 
girls' department was added to the Staples Road build- 
ings, with accommodation for 316.'^ In that year 
there was an average attendance of 231 boys, 231 
infants, and 181 girls^^ A former pupil, Mr. W. R. 
Francies, has recently recorded that the headmaster at 
this period, George Pearson, was a man of vivid 
personality who left the school in 191 3 to become one 
of the earliest film producers. The then second master, 
Herbert Lebbon, ran a string orchestra at the school, 
and to encourage this Mr. (later Sir) Joseph Lowrey 
present three violins to the School every year.''* 

In 1929 there was an average attendance of 213 
boys, 152 infants, and 185 girls. In 1938 the school 
was reorganized for mixed juniors and infants. '5 In 
May 1952 there were 345 children and 8 teachers in 
the infant school and 594 children and 16 teachers in 
the junior school.'* The buildings are chiefly of red 
and yellow brick, with tiled roofs. Prefabricated huts 
have been added recently. 

Secondary education for boys was provided after 
1902 by means of scholarships to Loughton school, a 
private school then run by William Vincent (see 
below).'7 Since 1938 Loughton boys have gone to 
Buckhurst Hill County High School (see Chigwell). 

Loughton County High School for girls was opened 
in January 1906 in a house in York Hill.'* There 
were then 29 girls, under a headmistress and one 
assistant mistress, and there was also a visiting science 
master. In May 1908 the first part of the present build- 
ing in Alderton Hill was opened, and in 191 2 the 
average attendance was 118." Temporary buildings 
were added in 1917. In 1922 a swimming-bath was 
added and in 1923 the first part of a new permanent 
wing was built. By 1929 there was accommodation 
for 450 girls. 8° In 1930 a new assembly hall was built 
and the final part of the new wing added. Playing- 
field space has been increased from time to time. There 
are now (1954) approximately 550 pupils and the 
staff, including the headmistress, numbers 30. 

The Loughton County Secondary Modern School, 
Roding Road, was opened as a senior school in 1938, 
when it had places for 520. In 1949 huts were added 
to provide a further 150 places. In May 1952 there 
were 26 teachers and 485 pupils.*' 

As a result of the building of the Debden estate since 
1945 there have been a number of new schools. The 
educational programme is still (1953) incomplete.*^ 
Fairmead County Secondary Modern School (Mixed), 
Pyrles Lane, was opened in September 1949. In May 
1952 there were 27 teachers and 977 pupils. Lucton 
County Secondary Modern School (Mixed), Borders 
Lane, was opened in June 1950. In May 1952 there 
were 24 teachers and 501 pupils. St. Nicholas County 
Primary School (Mixed Juniors and Infants), Borders 
Lane, was opened in February 1948. In May 1952 
there were 12 teachers and 428 pupils in the junior 
school and 13 teachers and 445 pupils in the infant 
school. Alderton County Primary School (Mixed 



Juniors and Infants), Alderton Hall Lane, was opened 
in September 1952. In November 1952 there were 1 1 
teachers and 396 pupils in the junior school and 
1 1 teachers and 355 pupils at the infant school. White 
Bridge County Primary School (Mixed Juniors and 
Infants), Greensted Road, was opened in September 

1952. In November 1952 there were 7 teachers and 
235 children in the junior school and 7 teachers and 
278 children in the infant school. Pyrles Lane County 
Primary School (Mixed Juniors and Infants) is regarded 
by the Ministry of Education as part of Chingford 
Forest View Camp School, which was opened in 
January 1950. In January 1953 the school was 
temporarily situated in Fairmead Secondary School. 
Loughton Hall County Primary School (Infants), 
Rectory Lane, is a temporary school, opened in May 
1950. In May 1952 there were 7 teachers and 232 
pupils. 

There have been many private schools in Loughton. 
In 1833-9 there seem to have been two private 
boarding-schools, one or two middle-class day schools, 
and three or more dame schools. *3 One of these may 
have been the school at Algers House which was con- 
ducted by the curate, one Rogers.** Between about 
1850 and about 1870 a school was run by the Misses 
Brawn, daughters of Samuel Brawn, the Baptist 
Minister. *5 Miss Fanny Hogard kept a girls' school in 
1870-4.** In 1878 there was a school for boys kept 
by J. C. Holloway.*' This was known in 1886 as 
Madras Hall and was 'a middle class school for the sons 
of gentlemen'.** By 1890, as Madras House School, 
it had been taken over by William Vincent, who 
shortly afterwards acquired Loughton School, High 
Road.89 

Loughton School was opened in 1890 under the 
name of St. John's College, Loughton. Unlike many 
private schools it was specially built for its purpose. 
The proprietor and headmaster was the Revd. W. L. 
Wilson, of St. John's College, Cambridge. The school 
was planned on ambitious lines.'" The Bishop of St. 
Albans was patron and there was a council which 
included Col. Lockwood, M.P., of Bishops Hall in 
Lambourne (q.v.). Among the subjects taught were 
Latin, Greek, German, French, Science, and Book- 
keeping. 'Many pupils take up commercial pursuits 
and a large number join the ranks of the medical pro- 
fession, some proceed to the universities, to the naval 
service and the Indian Civil Service.' There were some 
pupils from the continent. Soon after its foundation 
the school was acquired by WiUiam Vincent, who 
remained owner and headmaster until his retirement 
in 1924." The school has been recognized as efficient 
by the Ministry of Education since 1907. There were 
140 boys in 1924, 168 in 1952, and 190 in September 

1953. There are seven forms, of which the first is for 
boys of ages 7 to 10. Beside the headmaster there are 
seven trained and qualified masters and one part-time 
master.'^ Other private schools have existed for short 
periods in Loughton. '3 



" Ibid. (1910). 

" Ibid. (1922). 

" Min. of Educ. File 13/252. 

'* 'Staples Road. School', IVest Essex 
GaK. 16 Jan. 1953; inf. from Mr. Francies. 

" Min. of Educ. File 13/252. 

" Inf. from Essex Educ. Cttee. 

" If'est Essex Gaz. 16 Jan. 1953. 

'' This account has been supplied by 
Miss M. E. Heald, headmistress of the 
school; and see plate facing p. 127. 



'» Kelly's Dir. Essex (1912). 

8» Ibid. (1929). 

" Inf. from Essex Educ. Cttee. 

82 The following account is based on 
information from the Min. of Educ, 
Essex Educ. Cttee. and Miss E. A. 
Phillips, Headmistress of Loughton 
Staples Road Infant School. 

83 Educ. Enquiry Abstr. (1835), p. 282; 
E.R.O., D/P 30/28/19. 

8* E.R.O., T/P 13 i. 



85 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1855, 1862); 
Bapt. Hist, Soc. Trans, n.s. x, 56. 
8' Kelly's Dir. Essex ( 1 870, 1 874). 

87 Ibid. (1878). . 

88 Ibid. (1886). 

89 Ibid. (1890). 

»» E.R.O., Avery Coll. Loughton. 
9' Inf. from Mr. D. E. Winkworth, the 
present Headmaster. 
9^ Ibid. ; School Prospectus. 
" Kelly Dir. Essex, passim. 



127 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



Robert Rampston, by will dated 1585, left to the 
poor of Loughton ^^i a year issuing 
CHARITIES'"* from Stone Hall Farm in Little 
Canfield. In 1834 the money was 
spent on bread which was distributed after church one 
Sunday in the spring to those poor parishioners who 
had attended the service. In 1872 it was decided that 
flannel was a more useful gift than bread. In 1951-2 the 
rent charge was spent, together with the income from 
the following six charities, on coal and clothing tickets. 

In 1 8 1 3 the Rector of Loughton was admitted as 
tenant of 3 acres formerly waste of the manor, to hold 
to the use of the poor to grow potatoes or other 
vegetables. '5 The land was to be divided into allot- 
ments. In 1 817 he was admitted to another 3 acres 
for the same purpose. In 1834 the land was divided 
into 48 gardens, each let at 2S. (yd. a year, and the 
income was spent on fencing and on twelve prizes for 
good cultivation. The Potato Ground lies north-west 
of Whitaker's Almshouses at Goldings Hill and in 
1952 was divided into 80 plots, let at 312'. a rood. The 
total rent of ^^i 2 1 2J. was spent on maintenance and 
management. 

Anne Whitaker, by will proved 1825, left £;i,200 
stock in trust for ^^40 to be spent each year on the 
charity school and the rest of the income given to the 
deserving poor, with preference to women lying in. 
In 1905 the two parts of the charity were separated 
and the Eleemosynary Charity was given an endow- 
ment of ^^380 stock. In 195 1-2 the income was 
spent on coal and clothing tickets. 

Miss Whitaker also left j{^i,ooo to repair the poor- 
house.'* In 1847 most of this money was spent on 
building six two-roomed almshouses under one roof, 
to the north-west of Arewater Green at Goldings 
Hill. The remaining ^115 formed the permanent 
endowment of the almshouses. To this additions have 
been made by the charities of Jane M. Waller and 
Olivia Houghton (see below) and in the Second World 
War the charity also received Savings Certificates 
worth ;^iio, raised in local savings weeks. Part of 
this last sum has been spent on electric lighting. Part 
of the almshouse garden is now let as allotments with 
the neighbouring Potato Ground (see above). The 
almswomen, who hve rent free, usually receive part of 
the other parish charities. 

Nicholas Pearse, by will proved 1825, left £50 in 
trust for the poor of the parish. In 1834 it was reported 
that the income was distributed every two or three 
years to poor parishioners selected by the vestry. In 
195 1-2 the dividend of ^^i \s. %d. was spent on coal 
and clothing. 

In 1834 an inscription in the church recorded the 
existence of Poor's Piece,'^ comprising part of the 
glebe land in Round Mead. In that year the rector 
paid ;£3 rent for it, which was distributed with the 
income from Rampston's Charity. In 191 7 the land 
was sold for £,\io stock. In 195 1-2 this produced a 
dividend of £■}, which was spent on coal and clothing. 

Sarah Pearse, by will proved before 1846, left ^50 
to be invested for the poor of the parish. In 195 1-2 
the income of ,{^1 6s. was spent on coal and clothing. 

The above seven charities, together with Olivia 
Houghton's (see below), are in practice administered 
together under the name of the Parochial Charities. 



In 195 1-2 they yielded together ^^9 is. zd. This was 
spent on coal and clothing tickets for seventeen people, 
five of whom were the inmates of Whitaker's Alms- 
houses and two of Lincoln's Almshouses (see above, 
Protestant Nonconformity). 

Baldwins Buildings or the Parish Houses were 
founded as a charity by a public subscription to buy 
the old parish workhouse after the Poor Law Unions 
were formed.'* The workhouse was divided into six 
tenements with gardens, which according to the founda- 
tion deed of 1837 were to be occupied free or at low 
rent. In 1873 five were occupied but all were in a very 
poor condition, so they we're pulled down and the land 
was used as allotments. In 1927 the land, then said to 
front on Wroth's Path, was sold for ^^430. The charity 
now holds over ^{^500 stock, the income from which is 
to be spent on the payment of weekly allowances to 
deserving parishioners. In 195 1 £"] <)s. 6d. was spent 
on coal for the almshouses and £6 I ox. on gifts to poor 
people. 

Eliza Watson, by will proved 1871, left ^1,000 in 
trust for the purchase of bread, coal, or clothing for 
poor parishioners. In 195 1 the income oC £27 2S. Sd. 
was spent on los. vouchers and coal for the almshouses. 

The Parish Clerk's Piece is of unknown but ancient 
origin. It may be identical with Sexton Acre, mentioned 
in I 585.99 In 1877 the parish clerk held a small piece 
of pasture on Traps Hill, supposedly by virtue of his 
office. Its origin could not then be traced. In 1922 the 
land was sold for ^^650 which was invested for the 
benefit of the parish clerk. The income in 1950 was 
;^24 1 8s. 6d. and was used for the general expenses of 
St. John's, Loughton. 

Jane Miller Waller, by will proved 1882, left 
^1,000 in trust for distribution early each year to the 
six inmates of Whitaker's Almshouses. The endow- 
ment was augmented in 1 897 by £<)0 from one of the 
trustees: this was to be spent with the main fund, and 
called the Longest Reign Augmentation Dole. In 
1945 the income of £■}! los. \d. was given in cash 
half-yearly to the six almswomen. 

William Frederick Turner, by will proved 1905, 
left two bequests of ^^250 in trust for the purchase of 
boots for deserving poor men and of underlinen for 
deserving poor women, respectively. In 195 1 the 
whole income was ^^14 is. 4^. Nineteen los. vouchers 
were given away. 

William Chapman Waller, by will proved 19 17, 
left ;^300 in trust to spend ^i \s. a year each on ser- 
mons at St. Mary's and St. John's, Loughton, and ^^i is. 
a year in gifts to two or three deserving old parishioners 
of St. Mary's, preferably Anglicans, and an unspecified 
sum in the same way in St. John's parish. The lych- 
gate at St. John's was to be maintained and £2 2S. 
spent on the maintenance of the graveyard there. In 
1950 the Vicar of St. Mary's was paid ;^i is. for the 
sermon and three poor parishioners of St. Mary's 
received js. each. The churchwardens of St. John's 
received ^^9 1 5^. Sd. in 195 1 ; ^^i is. was spent on the 
sermon and £4. los. on mowing the churchyard. 

Mrs. Olivia Houghton, by will proved 1922, left 
^300 duty free for the general purposes of the Whitaker 
Almshouses. The money was invested in stock and in 
1 95 1-2 the income of £13 13/. 6d. was handed over 
to the trustees of the almshouses. 



'♦ This section is based on Refi. Com. 
Char. (Essex), H.C. 216, pp. 230-2 
(1835), xxi (i) and Char. Com. Files. 
Charities not treated here will be found 



in the sections relating to Churches, 
Protestant Nonconformity, and Worthies 
and Social Life. 
95 See Waller, Loughton, i, 129. The 

128 



Potato Ground has also been known as the 
Potney Allotment Ground. 

9' Ibid, i, 130. " Ibid, i, 47, 120. 

98 Ibid, i, 1 30. 99 Ibid, i, 47, 1 1 1, &c. 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



MORETON 



MORETON 



Moreton is a parish about 3 miles north of Chipping 
Ongar.' Its area is 1,474 acres.^ In 1946 a small 
detached part of Moreton (i acre) lying immediately 
to the north of Bobbingworth Lodge was incorporated 
into the parish of Bobbingworth. 3 A detached part of 
Magdalen Laver (5-6 acres) still lies in Moreton, to 
the north-west of High Laver Bridge. An unusual 
number of moated sites and of pre-i8th-century houses 
confirms other evidence which indicates that Moreton 
was formerly an important place in the area. There 
were 63 inhabited houses in 1801,73 in i8ii,and69 
in 1821.* In 1801 the population was 360. s By 1851 
it had grown to 544; then it declined to 378 in 1901.* 
By 1931 it had risen again to 471 but in 1951 it was 
only 411.^ The soil is mainly Boulder Clay but there 
are patches of London Clay and glacial gravel. 

The land rises from about 1 70 ft. above sea-level in 
the south-west to 280 ft. in the north-east. Cripsey 
Brook, a tributary of the Roding, flows through the 
south-western part of the parish and forms a small part 
of the southern boundary at Moreton Bridge. At 
Padlers End, J mile south-west of the bridge, are 
several small i8th- and early- 19th-century cottages 
and four pairs of council houses. Moreton Bridge 
Road enters the parish at Moreton Bridge and runs 
northward to join the Fyfield Road at Moreton End, 
the main centre of population. Moreton End includes 
some attractive groups of 18th-century houses. The 
White Hart Inn at the road junction may be of 16th- 
century origin. At its east end the first floor oversails 
and is supported on curved brackets. It has been altered 
at var'ous times. Opposite the 'White Hart' is the 
'Nag's Head', a roughcast early-i8th-century build- 
ing with a moulded eaves cornice. Rose Cottage and 
the Castle House Stores form another group of the 
same date. Part of Ivylands, at the Moreton Bridge 
end of the village, has a pedimented door hood and 
may be of the i8th century or earlier. Black Hall, also 
known as Guildhall Cottage,^ stands immediately 
north of Ivylands. From Moreton End the Harlow 
road runs northward. There are five pairs of council 
houses on the west side of this road. On the east side 
about J mile farther north is the site of Church Farm,' 
from which a footpath, formerly North Lane, leads 
eastward to join Fyfield Road at Makings Farm. 
Farther along on the west side of Harlow Road is a 
late-l8th-century weather-boarded house, now called 
Crispins. This is said to have been built on the site of 
the Castle Inn'" and the Castle House Stores, now 
moved to Moreton End, occupied part of it for many 
years." Nearly opposite Crispins is a row of thatched 
cottages, apparently of early-i8th-century date. From 
here Harlow Road runs north-west past the Congrega- 
tional chapel'^ to High Laver Bridge while Mill Road 
runs north past Moreton Mill.'s There are two pairs 
of council houses on the road north of the mill. 



' O.S. 2\ in. Map, sheet 52/50. 

^ Inf. from Essex County Council. 

3 County of Essex (Rural Parishes) 
Confirm. Order 1946. 

* Census, 1801, 181 1, 1821. 

5 y.C.H. Essex, ii, 350. 

« Ibid. 

' Census, 1 9 1 1 f . ; inf. from Essex 
County Council. 

« See below, Church. » Ibid. 
»o W. Talbot, MS. Hist. Moreton (in 
possession of rector). For the 'Castle* see 

ES. IT 



Chapman and Andr^, Map of Essex ijjy, 
plate xii. 

" Inf. from Miss Ball. 

" See below, Nonconformity. 

'5 See below. 

'^ See below. School. 

" See below, Church. 

■« Ibid. 

*' For these manors see below. 

'8 W. Talbot, MS. Hist. Moreton. 

'» Hist. Mon. Com. Recs. 

^o Chapman and Andre, Map of Essex 

129 



From Moreton End Fyfield Road runs east past the 
village school,''* a red-brick police house built in 195 1, 
and a small cottage which has an oversailing gable-end 
and may be of the 1 6th or early 17th century. Opposite 
the cottage stands the rectory.'^ The church'* is im- 
mediately north-east of the rectory. Opposite the 
church is a lane to Nether Hall and Upper Hall.'^ 
About \ mile farther along the Fyfield road is Makings 
Farm, a low two-story cottage, probably converted 
from an 18th-century malt kiln.'* Beyond Makings 
Farm stands Hill Farm, a small timber-framed house 
of the 15 th century. It originally had an open central 
hall of two bays, flanked by cross-wings to east and west. 
These have overhanging gables at the front of the house 
and still exist more or less in their original form. A 
ceiling has been inserted in the central block and the 
roof raised, so that the ridge level is now higher than 
that of the side wings. The moulded wall posts and 
arched braces of a central truss are visible on the 
ground floor, but the upper part of the truss is missing. 
The hall originally had a screens passage at its east end 
and the roughly four-centred head of its front entrance 
is still in position. The east wing retains an arch-braced 
roof truss above the first floor. It has a king-post and 
steeply cambered tie-beam. The rebuilding of the 
upper part of the hall probably took place in the late 
1 6th or early 17th century, and the four-centred arch 
of a fireplace of this date was observed in 1919." 
Both this chimney and that at the west end of the house 
have diagonal shafts. 

At Hill Farm Fyfield Road is joined by a road 
running northward to Little Laver. About J mile 
along this road stands Newhouse, a timber-framed 
house on a moated site, probably built in the i6th 
century. It retains original panelhng and a brick fire- 
place with a moulded three-centred arch. The farm 
has a timber barn of the same date. 

In this area of the parish are several disused roads^" 
and the sites of several former houses. Spencer's 
Hoppet, north-west of Newhouse, contained a house 
from at least the middle of the 14th century but by 
1 840 it was only pasture land. The last of its farm 
buildings was taken down about then by the tenant, 
Henry Clarence.^' South of Newhouse a lane leads 
eastward to Greens, a timber-framed house on a 
moated site, rebuilt probably in the 17th century. 
From Greens a footpath, formerly a lane, leads south- 
east past a moated site where Tanner's Cottage^^ 
formerly stood, and thence to join Fyfield Road near 
Embley's Farm, a timber-framed house of the 17th 
or early i8th century which may once have been two 
cottages. 

Just before Fyfield Road leaves the parish it is 
joined by a lane running southward past Harriets and 
Cross Leys to Bundish Hall.^3 Stacey's, which was 
situated nearly opposite to Harriets, is said to have losj 

J777, plate xii. 

21 Cat. hq. p.m. n, p. 298; E.R.O., 
D/CT 244. William Talbot, who lived 
at Moreton and wrote a history of the 
parish c. 1885, said that Henry Clarence 
took down the last farm building in 1833 
but a building was still marked on the 
Tithe Map in 1839. 

" O.S. 6 in. Map (ist edn.), sheet li. 

2' From Cross Leys to Bundish Hall it 
is a green lane. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



the last of its farm buildings through a gale in 1834.^* 
Gross Leys is a timber-framed house on a moated site, 
rebuilt probably in the 17th century, and encased in 
brickwork in the late 1 8th or early 19th century. There 
is an old timber barn. 

Bundish Hall is on the parish boundary, near its 
southern extremity. ^5 To the west, on the other side 
of the Cripsey Brook, stands Wood Farm on the road 
from Moreton to Shelley. This farm, formerly South- 
end Farm^* or Henhouse Farm,^' has an 1 8th-century 
farm-house. 

The inhabitants of Moreton were at first responsible 
for the upkeep of Moreton Bridge which spans the 
Cripsey Brook where it forms the boundary between 
the parishes of Moreton and Bobbingworth.^* At a 
vestry meeting held in 1 76 1 the parishioners of Moreton 
agreed that a new cart bridge should be built in place 
of the old horse bridge and that, having obtained an 
estimate of the cost of a timber and of a brick bridge, 
they should meet the parishioners of Bobbingworth to 
determine of what materials it should be built.^' A 
combined meeting took place in May 1762 when it 
was agreed that the money raised should be spent on the 
bridge only and that each parish should 'make their 
way to the bridge at their own expense'.^o It was also 
agreed that work on the bridge should begin im- 
mediately.3' A grant of ^^30 was made from county 
funds towards the building.^^ By 1783 the bridge had 
become a county charge and in the same year it was 
ordered that it should be rebuilt with brick according 
to the plan prepared by John Johnson, the county 
surveyor.33 In 1857 the county surveyor described it 
in detail.34 

A postal receiving house was set up at Moreton in 
1846 to serve the surrounding villages; the receiver 
was to have £\ a year and a messenger i zs. a week.^s 
There is now a post-office in the village. The tele- 
phone service was established in 1927.36 A police 
officer is stationed in the village." 

Water is supplied by the Herts, and Essex Water- 
works C0.3* There is no sewerage but a site for a 
pumping-station has been agreed on. 3' Electricity was 
provided in 195 1.'"' The village hut was built in 
1920.4' A branch of the county library was opened in 
April 1929.42 

Moreton has always been a rural parish devoted 
mainly to agriculture. Few of the large landowners 
have lived there. The owners of Upper Hall were 
never resident except possibly for a few years after 
1349.45 During the whole of the period 1342-1832 
the owners of Nether Hall were not resident except in 
the time of William Cozens, lord of the manor from 
1775 until 1790, and even he did not live at the manor 
house or farm the main part of the estate.44 W. H. 

»4 W. Talbot, MS. Hist. Moreton. 30 Inf. from Rector of Moreton. 

" See below. Manor of Bundish Hall. 4o j^f. from East. Elec. Bd. 

*' Chapman and Andri, Map of Essex 
J777, plate xii. 

2' T. Wright, Hist. Essex, ii, 353; W. 
Talbot, MS. Hist. Moreton. 

« E.R.O., <2/SR 175/53; ibid. Q/CP3, 
p. 127. 

" E.R.O., D/P 72/8/r. 

30 Ibid. 3> Ibid. 

31 E.R.O., Q/SO 10, pp. 338-9. 

33 Ibid. Q/SO 13, pp. 369, 384. ' 

34 E.R.O., Q/ABz 3. 

35 P.M.G. Mins. 1 846, vol. 87, p. 5. 

36 British Postal Guide, 1927. 
3' Inf. from Chief Constable of Essex. 
3' Inf. from Herts. & Essex Water- 
works Co. 



4' Inf. from Rector of Moreton. 

42 Inf. from County Librarian. 

43 See below, Manor of Upper Hall. 

44 See below. Manor of Nether Hall. 

45 Ibid. 
4' See below, Manor of Bundish Hall; 

E.R.O., Q/RPl 685. 

47 E.R.O., Q/RPl 693-737. 

48 E.R.O., D/CT 244. 
4» Ibid. 50 Ibid. 
5> Ibid. 52 Ibid. 

53 y.C.H. Essex, \, 551a. 

54 Cal, Doc, France, ed. Round, 162. 

55 W. Talbot, MS. Hist. Moreton. 

56 E.R.O., D/CT 244. The woodland, 
which was south-east of Moreton Bridge, 



Alger, lord of the manor from 1829, was resident at 
the Hall by 1840 and both he and his son, who died 
in 1900, farmed most of the estate.45 The owners of 
Bundish Hall did not live in Moreton in the middle 
of the 1 6th century; there is no further evidence about 
their place of residence until 1780, when the owner 
was not resident.46 After Richard Eve purchased the 
estate in 1787 it was occupied by members of the Eve 
family.47 

In 1840 W. H. Alger owned 256 acres in Moreton 
of which he farmed 197 acres himself.48 J. H. Frere 
of Upper Hall owned 246 acres but farmed none of it 
himself.49 Bundish Hall Farm, then owned by the 
trustees of the late J. Chaplin, and occupied by W. 
Eve, consisted of 166 acres of which 107 acres lay in 
Moreton. 50 There were two other substantial owners 
in the parish; J. White owned Wood Farm (153 acres) 
which he farmed himself, and E. F. Maitland owned, 
but did not occupy, Newhouse Farm (129 acres).'' 
There were three other farms of over 40 acres. 5^ 

Moreton has always been a parish of mixed farming. 
In 1086 there were 5 plough teams in the manor, 
woodland for 400 swine and 20 acres of meadow. 53 In 
the late 12th century the manor contained a flax 
ground. 54 In the i8th century there was a malt kiln 
in the parish, situated probably at the east end of North 
Lane. 55 In 1838 it was estimated that there were 
1,151 acres of arable, 273 acres of pasture, and II 
acres of woodland. 5^ 

There was once a water-mill on the Cripsey Brook 
near Padlers End. The mill house was demolished 
about 1860.5' Moreton windmill is still standing but 
ceased working about 1932.58 It is of a type formerly 
common in the area: a weather-boarded post mill, 
turned by hand, with the base enclosed by a brick 
'round house'. At the base of the central post are three 
cross-trees instead of the more usual two. It is said 
that the mill was formerly at Bishop's Stortford and 
was erected in Moreton early in the 1 8th century.'' 
The central post is dated 17 15 and 1821.*" The mill 
was reroofed in 191 8.*' After it ceased working it was 
given by Messrs. C. and A. Gould to the Society for 
the Protection of Ancient Buildings.*^ In 195 1 one 
sail came off and another had to be removed for safety.*^ 
The thatched mill house is partly occupied as an office 
for Messrs. C. and A. Gould. 

In about 1885 it was said that until 1832a fair was 
held in the village annually on I May*4 but that 'having 
degenerated from its former social gathering into an 
annual disorderly assembly, an edict was issued by the 
magistrates for its abolition .*5 . . . Mr. George Rogers 
of Upper Hall** attended personally in the village with 
the constable to force obedience to the edict, but the 
ancient fair still tries to lie on private premises.'*' 

was uprooted in 1 883 ' to the general regret 
of the parish'. 

5' W. Talbot, MS. Hist. Moreton. 

5* It was still working in 193 1 : E.R. xl, 
130. 

59 W. Talbot, MS. Hist. Moreton. 

60 D. Smith, English (Vindmills, ii, 51. 
«■ Ibid. '^ S.P.h.^.Ann.Rep. 1933. 
M Inf. from Messrs. C. and A. Gould. 
64 W. Talbot, MS. Hist. Moreton. It 

did not appear, however, in the lists of 
Essex fairs compiled in 1780 and 1792: 
Essex, Herts, and Camhs. Almanack, 1 780; 
Rep. Com. Mkt. Rights [C. 5550], p. 161 
(1888), liii. 

*5 This order cannot be traced. 

66 See below, Manor of Upper Hall. 

" W. Talbot, MS. Hist. Moreton. 



130 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



MORETON 



In 1066 MORETON was held by Sexi as a manor 
and as l hide and 20 acres and was worth 
MANORS £8.** In 1086 this was held in demesne 
by William de Scohies of the king in chief 
and was valued at ^^lO.*' Another 43 J acres which in 
1066 did not belong to the manor of Moreton was 
annexed by William and in 1086 was held of him by 
Ralf.'o This tenement was worth 20J. in 1086 as in 
1066 but William received 30/. for it." In 1283 the 
manor was held of the king in chief by the service of 
finding for him when he went into Wales for 40 days 
'a horse price 10/., with a leather sack and an iron 
skewer for fastening the sack, for carrying a weight of 
2 bushels of corn, with one man'.'^ The manor con- 
tinued to be held of the king in chief by this petty 
sergeanty until at least the middle of the 14th century .'3 
At some date between 1 1 74 and 1 1 82 the tenant of 
the manor was William d'Avranches.74 In 1 2 1 2 it was 
held by another William d'Avranches.'s He died in 
1230 leaving as his heir his son William who died 
before the end of 1 23 5 .'* The heir of William the son 
was his sister Maud, wife of Hamon de Crevequer. 
She had one son, who predeceased his father, and four 
daughters, Agnes wife of John de Sandwich, Iseult wife 
of Nicholas de Lenham, Eleanor wife of Bartholomew 
de Kyriell, and Isabel wife of Henry de Gaunt." On 
Hamon's death in 1263 the manor fell to the share of 
the youngest daughter Isabel and her husband.'* 
When Isabel died in 1283, several years after her 
husband, she left as her heirs her sister Eleanor, John 
de Lenham son of her sister Iseult, and Juliane de 
Sandwich granddaughter of her sister Agnes.79 With- 
in a few months the manor, which was valued at 
£2^ l2s. 4/, was by order of the king divided between 
these three heirs.*" Eleanor was assigned land to the 
value of 34/.*' The residue of the manor and the chief 
messuage were divided between Juliane and John, 
two-thirds of the messuage being given to John and 
one-third to Juliane.*^ Eleanor seems to have disposed 
of her share in the manor shortly afterwards and its 
rights and services became divided equally between 
John and Juliane. An inquisition taken in September 
1285 found that half of the manor was held by Robert 
Burnell as guardian of Juliane and half by John de 
Lenham and his wife Margery. *3 From this date the 
two halves had separate histories. Though at first each 
was regarded as half a manor, they had before 1400 be- 
come separate manors, eventually known as Bourchiers 
or Nether Hall and Ladyhall or Upper Hall. After the 
division of Moreton manor, the services by which it 



had been held of the king were shared between the 
tenants of each half.*^ 

In 1305 John de Lenham granted a hfe interest in 
his half of Moreton manor to John de Burndish, on 
whose death in 1336 it reverted to Eleanor, wife of 
John GifFard and niece of John de Lenham.** During 
the next few years John Gifiard alienated a number of 
tenements, some of which were later held of the king 
in chief.** In 1342 Gifl^ard conveyed the residue to 
Robert, afterwards Lord Bourchier, and to Robert's 
son John.*' When Robert, Lord Bourchier, died of 
the plague in 1349, leaving as his heir his son John, 
this 'half of Moreton manor', which had been worth 
;^lo, was valued at only ^^6, the decline in value prob- 
ably representing the general fall in the value of land, 
occasioned by the plague.** John, Lord Bourchier, 
died in May 1400, and was succeeded by his son 
Bartholomew, Lord Bourchier, who died in i409.*9 
The sole heir of Bartholomew was his daughter 
Elizabeth who died without issue in 1433.'° In 1430 
the manor had been settled, failing issue of Elizabeth, 
on her cousin Henry Bourchier, Count of Eu and 
afterwards Earl of Essex." He died in 1483 leaving 
as his heir his grandson Henry, 2nd Earl of Essex (d. 
1 540).'^ The sole heir of the 2nd earl was his daughter 
Anne who married William, afterwards Baron Parr, 
by whom the manor was conveyed in 1 542 to Sir 
Richard Rich, afterwards Baron Rich.'3 At this date 
the manor was described, for the first time as far as is 
known, as NETHER HALL or BOURCHIERS 
HALL. Lord Rich endowed the chantry which he 
founded in 1554 for the parishioners of Felsted, Little 
Leighs, and Great Waltham with 55 acres of land at 
Moreton.'* On the death of the first baron in 1567, 
the manor passed to his son Robert, the 2nd baron, and 
afterwards in 1 581 to Robert, the 3rd baron, by whom 
it was conveyed in 1608 to Robert Bourne, lord of the 
manor of Blake Hall in Bobbingworth (q.v.).'5 In 
1636 Bourne (d. 1639) settled Nether Hall on his 
second son Robert when the son married Rose 
Walcott.'* Alice, only child of Robert and Rose 
Bourne, and wife of John, 3rd Baron Digby, died in 
1658." Robert Bourne died in 1666 having settled 
the manor on Digby for life with remainder to Martha 
King, niece of Bourne.'* In 1669 Martha King con- 
veyed the reversion to Richard Bourne who in 1682 
granted it to Francis Drake." Digby died in 1698.' 
In 1699 Thomas Drake, heir of Francis Drake, was 
lord of the manor.^ In 1703 William Drake conveyed ■ 
the manor to Josiah Woodward, D.D., Rector of 



*» r.C.H. Essex, i,Siia. 

" Ibid. William's name was given in 
other documents as William de Escoiis and 
William de Scociis. 

'<> Ibid. 

" Ibid. 

'* Cal. Inq. p.m. ii, p. 293. 

" Cal. Inq. p.m. vii, p. 493; ibid, viii, 
p. 309 j ibid, ix, pp. 241, 268, 314. 

'■» Cal. Doc. France, ed. Round, 162. 

" Bk. of Fees, 1215 Dugdale, Baronage, 
i, 468. The heir to the estates of the 
William d'Avranches who held Moreton 
in 1 174-82 was Simon d'Avranches whose 
heir was the William d'Avranches holding 
Moreton in 1212 but the relationship of 
Simon to the two Williams cannot be 
ascertained. 

" Ex. e Rot. Fin. (Rec. Com.), i, 296; 
Dugdale, Baronage, \, 469. 

" Cal. Inq. p.m. \, pp. 171-2. 

'« Ibid.; Cal. Pat. 1258-66, 267. 



" Cal. Inq. p.m. ii, p. 293. 

8» Cal. Close, 1279-88, 226, 244. 

8> Ibid. 

»2 Ibid. 

'3 Morant, Essex, i, 144. There is no 
evidence that either Eleanor or her 
husband or their issue died in possession 
of any rights in Moreton : Cal. Inq. p.m. 
iii, p. 168; ibid, iv, pp. 40, 242. 

*■» Cal. Inq. p.m. vii, p. 493; ibid, viii, 
p. 309; ibid, ix, pp. 241, 268, 314. 

*5 Cal. Inq. p.m. vii, p. 493 ; Cal. Pat. 
1334-8, 228. 

»<■ Cal. Pat. 1338-40, 50, 247; ibid. 
1340-3, 74i ibid. 1343-5, 306; ibid. 
1350-4, 486; Feet of F. Essex, iii, 47; 
Cal. Inq. p.m. ix, p. 298. 

*' Feet ofF. Essex, iii, 64. 

88 Cal. Inq, p.m. ix, p. 24 1 j Complete 
Peerage, ii, 246. 

89 Ci 37/1 ; Complete Peerage, ii, 247. 

90 Cl 39/59; Complete Peerage, ii, 248. 



" C139/59; Cal. Close, 1429-35, 81, 
216-17. 

'* C141/3; Complete Peerage, ii, 248-9. 

" CP25(2)/i3/72 Mich. 34 Hen. VIII; 
L. & P..Hen. Fill, xvii, p. 563. 

9t F.C.H. Essex, ii, 531-2. In 1564 
Lord Rich converted the endowment. to 
educational purposes. 

" C142/147/14I, 192/29; CP25(2)/ 

293 Trin. 6 Jas. I. 

9' C 1 42/494/ 1 20. 

9' E.R.O., D/DMg T31; Complete 
Peerage, ii, 322. 

98 E.R.O., D/DU 201/26-9; 'bid- 
D/DMg T31; ibid..D/DDwTi22. 

99 E.R.O., D/DDw T122. Richard 
Bourne was probably a cousin of the 
Robert Bourne who died in 1666. See 
Sepulchral Memorials of Bobbing'worth, 
ed. F. A. Crisp, 30-33. 

^ Complete Peerage, ii, 322. 
2 E.R.O., D/DU 201/5. 



131 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



Poplar (Mdx.).J By his will, made in 17 lo, Josiah 
Woodward devised to his son John the Nether Hall 
estate which was then in the occupation of Thomas 
Prentice and was estimated to contain '180 acres land 
and 30 acres more called Moreton Wood'.* In 1720 
John Woodward sold the manor for ^^1,750 to 
Ambrose Page, a Director of the South Sea Company.' 
At that time the estate was still in the occupation of 
Prentice who rented it at £100 a year.* Soon after- 
wards it came into the hands of the trustees liquidating 
the South Sea Company and in 1724 they sold it for 
£2,505 to William Cole, lord of the manor of Magdalen 
Laver (q.v.).7 From 1724 until 1766 the Nether Hall 
estate descended with the manor of Magdalen Laver.' 
Both the Coles and John Cozens lived at Magdalen 
Laver.' When John Cozens died in 1766 the Nether 
Hall estate was in the occupation of William Schooling 
and James Edick.'" Cozens devised this estate to his 
second son Henry, a miller." In 1773 Henry Cozens 
mortgaged the estate for £600." He died in 1775 
leaving the manor, still mortgaged, to his youngest 
brother, William Cozens. '^ Between 1782 and 1789 
William Cozens borrowed further sums, making the 
total mortgage on the estate ;^i,2 50, all of which was 
owing to Robert Ray.''* By March 1790 Cozens had 
repaid only ;{^ioo of this debt and he then sold the 
manor to Robert Tindal for ^^3,800, it being agreed 
that Tindal should pay off the debt to Ray as part of 
the purchase money.'s Neither Henry nor William 
Cozens occupied the manor house or farmed the main 
part of the lands appurtenant to it.'* Henry Cozens 
was apparently a miller living in High Laver until at 
least 1773 and afterwards at Latton." William Cozens 
did live on the Nether Hall estate but occupied only a 
small piece of ground, formerly waste ground but 
enclosed by Henry Cozens, about 2 acres in area and 
having 'a messuage, stable and other buildings erected 
thereon' and had besides 3 acres of meadow for per- 
sonal use.'* The manor house and most of the estate 
were occupied by William Schooling until 178 1-2 and 
afterwards by John Schooling until 1790-1." A 
small part of the estate was occupied in 1 790, as in 
1766, by James Edick.^" A survey taken in July 1788 
showed that on the average of the previous 57 years the 
lord of the manor received £^ p. 8 J//, a year in fines, 
£t Ss. 2|<2'. a year in heriots, and £3 12/. 6</. a year in 
rents.^' In 1771 there were nineteen freeholders and 
copyholders, several less than there had been in 1745.^2 
Robert Tindal sold the manor, in 1790, less than 
three months after purchasing it, to Stephen Alger, 
who held his first court baron in June 1793.^3 Alger 
never lived on the Nether Hall estate which was 
occupied by Nathaniel Green from 1 790-1 until 
181 5-16 and then by James Green who was tenant 



until after Alger's death in 1829.^ Alger's heir was 
his son V/illiam Hill Alger who was lord of the manor 
until his death in iSSc^^s James Green still occupied 
the estate in 1832 but by 1840 W. H. Alger lived at 
Nether Hall and farmed most of the estate which then 
consisted of 256 acres.^* He continued to farm until 
his death." In 1872 there were nine freeholders who 
paid rents totalling £1 gs. %d. and eight copyholders 
who paid a total of 16/. '},\d^^ During the time that 
W. H. Alger was lord of the manor the estate was 
mortgaged at least once.^' He left as his heir his son 
William White Alger who also lived at Nether Hall 
and farmed the estate.^o He died in May 1900 having 
provided that the manor should be sold by his trustees.^' 
Nether Hall was accordingly put up for sale by auction 
in August 1900. The sale catalogue described the 
manor farm as consisting of 2 1 6 acres of which 1 76 
were arable.32 Quit and free rents amounted to 
£1 1 3^. 31/. a year and fines, reliefs and heriots amounted 
to iCS ^ y^r on the average of the previous 30 years.33 
The farm on the one hand and the manor 'with courts, 
fines, heriots, reliefs, quit and free rents, profits and 
emoluments' on the other hand were offered as separate 
lots. The manor was sold for ;^26o to the Revd. 
Frederick William Bussell of Brasenose College, 
Oxford.3* The farm passed into the hands of Ernest 
Schwier.ss The Revd. F. W. Bussell was stiU lord of 
the manor in 1914 but by 1926 the Revd. Joseph 
Gordon Walker owned the manorial rights.^* In 
1937 Walker was still lord of the manor and Nether 
Hall farm was still owned by the Schwier family.^'' 

The present farm-house probably dates from the late 
17th century. It is rectangular in plan with a small 
projecting wing at the back. The central chimney has 
diagonal shafts. Late in the 19th century there were 
additions to the back and front. In the farm-yard is an 
altered timber barn, probably of 17th- or 18th-century 
date. 

Juliane de Sandwich married John de Segrave, 
younger son of John, Lord Segrave (d. 1325), and on 
the death of her husband in 1343, her half of Moreton 
manor passed to their only son John de Segrave whose 
death in 1 349 was followed in little more than a month 
by that of his only child, an infant Mary.'* Both John 
and Mary were probably victims of the plague. As 
there remained no direct descendant of Juliane, the 
half manor passed to her cousin Nicholas de Sandwich, 
son of her father's brother Nicholas. 39 He conveyed it 
to William de Clynton, Earl of Huntingdon (d. 1354), 
who regranted it to Nicholas for life with remainder to 
John de Sandwich, brother of Nicholas, and his heirs 
and reversion to the earl and his heirs.'"' Within a few 
years, however, the half manor passed to John, Lord 
Mowbray (d. 1368), the heir through his wife 



3 E.R.O., D/DDw T122. 

4 E.R.O., D/DMg T31. 

s CP25(2)/ioi3 Hil. 6 Geo. I ; E.R.O., 
D/DDw Ti22i W. Talbot, MS. Hist. 
Moreton. 
6 W. Talbot, MS. Hist. Moreton. 
' E.R.O.,D/DU 201/35; ibid. D/DDw 
Ti22i Hist. Essex hy Gent, iii, 362. 
* See Manor of Magdalen Laver. 
» E.R.O., D/DA T199; ibid. D/DU 
201/35. 
«> E.R.O., D/DU 201/35. 
■■ Ibid. " Ibid. 

" Ibid. ■♦ Ibid. 

'5 Ibid.; CP25(2)/i3io East. 30 Geo. 
III. 
«' E.R.O., D/DU 201/35; 'bU- fi/RPl 



685-94. 

" E.R.O.»D/DU 201/35. 

>8 Ibid. 

" E.R.O., Q/RPl 685-96. 

" E.R.O., D/DU 201/35; ibid. g/RPl 
694-5. 

" E.R.O., D/DU 201/21. 

22 E.R.O., D/DU 201/14-16 and 19. 

" E.R.O., <2/RPl 695; ibid. D/DU 
201/2 and 35. 

« E.R.O., 6/RPl 696-737; ibid. 
D/DU 201/36. 

" E.R.O., D/DU 201/36. 

2' E.R.O., Q/RPl 737; ibid. D/CT 244. 

" E.R.O., D/DU 201/36; Kelly's Dir. 
Essex (1855, 1874). 

28 E.R.O., D/DU 201/23. I" '871 



there had been 9 copyholders. One was 
enfranchised in 1872. 

" E.R.O., D/DU 201/36. 

30 IhiA.; Kelly's Dir. Essex (189O, 189S, 
1899). 

3" E.R.O., D/DU 201/36. 

32 E.R.O., D/DU 201/38. 

33 Ibid. 

34 E.R.O., D/DU 201/37. 

35 Kelly's Dir. Essex (1906). 

3* Kelly's Dir. Essex (1914, 1926). 

3' Kelly's Dir. Essex (1937). 

38 Cal. Inq. p.m. viii, p. 309, ix, p. 268 ; 
Complete Peerage^ xi, 609. 

3' Cal. Inq. p.m. ix, p. 268. 

« Cal. Pat. 1348-50, 430; Feet of F. 
Essex J iii, 96. 



132 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



MORETON 



Elizabeth of John, Lord Segrave(d. iSSS)."" Mowbray 
died in 1368, leaving as his heir his son John, later ist 
Earl of Nottingham.'*^ By 1383, when John, Earl of 
Nottingham, died without issue, his estate at Moreton 
had become known as LADYHALL, apparently 
through its association with Juliane de Sandwich, and 
by the end of the century was described as a manor .^3 
From the i6th century it was more commonly known 
as UPPER HALL. 

John was succeeded in 1383 by his brother Thomas, 
later Duke of Norfolk, who granted a life interest in 
Ladyhall to William Hall, with reversion to himself.** 
Hall died in i4oo.*s The Duke of Norfolk had died 
shortly before and left as his heir his son Thomas, a 
boy of 14."'* At the end of 1401, although Thomas's 
lands had been assigned for his household expenses, 
the king granted the custody of Ladyhall to John de 
Burgh during Thomas's minority provided that he 
accounted at the Exchequer for all issues above the 
value of 24 marks a year.*^ 

Thomas was beheaded in 1405 and his lands 
escheated to the Crown.*' In 1406 the king granted 
the 'messuage called Ladyhall' to his esquire Nicholas 
Alderwich and his wife Alice to hold for life 'to the 
value ai £20 a year so that they answer for any surplus 
at the Exchequer'.*' Within the next ten years the . 
manor was restored to Thomas de Mowbray's brother 
and heir John, who was granted the title of Duke of 
Norfolk in 1425:50 the manor probably descended 
with the title until the death of the 4th Duke of Norfolk 
in 1476.5' Afterwards the manor was probably held 
by John, Lord Howard, who succeeded to a moiety 
of the Mowbray estates on the death in 148 1 of his 
cousin Anne, only daughter and heir of John, 4th Duke of 
Norfolk.52 Lord Howard was created Duke of Norfolk 
in 1483 and Ladyhall probably descended again with 
this tide until 1538.53 In 1538 Lord Edmund 
Howard, a younger son of Thomas, 7th Duke of 
Norfolk, was licensed to alienate the manor to his 
brother Thomas, 8th Duke of Norfolk, who im- 
mediately granted it to Sir Richard Rich, later ist 
Baron Rich.5* Subsequently for nearly two centuries 
the manor of Upper Hall followed the same descent 
as Nether Hall. 55 In 1708 it had 11 freeholders and 
17 copyholders whose rents amounted to £(> \\s. \od., 
much more than those of Nether Hall.5* In 1722, two 
years after selling Nether Hall, John Woodward con- 
veyed Upper Hall to Lewen Cholmley of Sutton 
(Surr.).57 Cholmley was succeeded by his son Lewen 
who died in 1753.5' The manor was then held by 
Mary Cholmley, widow of Lewen, until at least 



1760.59 In 1763 John son of Lewen Cholmley con- 
veyed the manor to John Hookham (d. 1786), a rich 
London merchant.*" Hookham's heir was his only 
child Jane, wife of John Frere of Roydon Hall (Norf.).*' 
John Hookham Frere, author and diplomatist, the 
eldest son of Jane and John Frere, succeeded to the 
family estates on his father's death in 1807.*^ He died 
in 1 846 having been for many years resident in Malta.*' 
Soon after his death the manor of Upper Hall seems 
to have dissolved. A manor court was held as late as 
1 82 1 and writers during the next 40 years continued 
to describe the estate as a manor, but by 1874 Nether 
Hall had come to be described as the only manor in 
Moreton.** The lords of the manor of Upper Hall 
were never resident in the parish. Henry Starkey was 
tenant of the estate before 1750 and members of his 
family continued to farm the land and live at the hall 
until 1 8o9.*5 In 1 8 1 1 the Rector of Moreton wrote 
that before 1 809 Upper Hall Farm had been 'occupied 
by a family of Dissenters for so long a period that no 
one living was able exactly to ascertain what seat in the 
church belonged to it'.** In view of the uncertainty 
the rector gave the new tenant, John Ingham, permis- 
sion to sit in his own pew.*' John Ingham was tenant 
of the estate until 1819-20 when he was succeeded by 
George Rogers.*' In 1840 Rogers still farmed the 
whole estate which then consisted of 246 acres.*' 
After J. H. Frere's death in 1846, D. Taylor Gingell 
took over the lease and farmed the estate for the 
remainder of the century.'" 

The present house may date from the i6th century 
but has been much altered. The older part has a T- 
shaped plan with a wing projecting on the north side. 
In the south wing a brick fireplace, probably of the 
1 6th century, has been uncovered. It has a stop- 
chamfered four-centred arch and the chimney above it 
has two diagonal shafts, now cement rendered. Several 
additions have been made to the house, the most recent 
in gault brick probably dating from the 19th century. 
There is an eight-bay timber barn with one porch wing. 
A post inside the barn is dated 1782 and initialed 
R. P. 

The early history of 5 UNDISH alias BRENDISH 
alias BR UNDISH manor is obscure. It probably took 
its name from the family of John de Burndish which 
came from Brundish (Suff.). From 1305 until his 
death in 1336 John de Burndish held a life interest in 
the half of Moreton manor which belonged to John 
de Lenham. On the death of John de Burndish this 
half manor reverted to Eleanor GifFard, the heir of 
John de Lenham." In 1338 John and Eleanor GifFard 



*' Complete Peerage, ix, 384. John, 
Lord Scgrave (d. 1353), was a cousin of 
John de Segrave (d. 1 349) and the heir of 
part of his lands in 1 349. 

*^ Complete Peerage, ix, 384. Cf. Cal. 
Inq. p.m. xii, p. 380. 

« 0136/27/6; Morant, Essex, i, 145. 
In 1383 the estate was still described as a 
half manor. In and after 1399 it was 
always described as a manor, though not 
always in the 15th cent, by the name 
of Ladyhall. 

** €136/27/6; C137/16; Complete Peer- 
age,\x,-i%^. « Ci 37/82. 

♦* Ci 37/16; Complete Peerage, ix, 384. 

*' Cal. Pat. 1401-5, 24. 

*• Ci 37/63; Complete Peerage, ix, 384. 

*•> Cal. Pat. 1405-8, no. 

5° Cal. Pat. 1413-16, 320; Complete 
Peerage, ix, 384, 605—6. 

5' Complete Peerage, IX, 6oS~i). 



52 Complete Peerage, ix, 610— 11. The 
manor of Bundish Hall (see below) was 
held of John, Lord Howard, in 148 1. 

53 Complete Peerage, ix, 61 1-20. 

54 CP25(2)/i2/66 Trin. 30 Henry 
VIII. 

55 C142/147/14I, 192/29, 494/120; 

CP25(2)/293 Trin. 6 Jas. I; CP25(2)/829 
Hil. 10 Will. Ill; E.R.O., D/DB T656; 
ibid. D/DGe T75. 

56 E.R.O., D/DU 201/12. 

57 CP25(2)/ioi4 Mich. 9 Geo. I. 

58 E.R.O., D/DB T6s6; W. Talbot, 
MS. Hist. Moreton. 

5» E.R.O., D/DB T656. 

"> CP25(2)/i3o6 Hil. 3 Geo. Ill; 
D.N.B. vii, 707. 

'■ E.R.O., Q/RSg 4, p. 54 i D.N.B. vii, 
707. 

62 D.N.B. vii, 708. He was a fnend of 
Canning and Coleridge. *' Ibid. 



'♦ E.R.O., D/P 72/25/ 1 8 ; D. W. CoUer, 
People's Hist. Essex, 480; ff kite's Dir. 
Essex (1848), 426; Kelly's Dir. Essex 
(1874). 

'5 E.R.O., D/P 72/3/2; ibid. D/P 
72/25/12; ibid. Q/RPl 705-15. 

66 E.R.O., D/P 72/25/20. 67 Ibid. 

68 E.R.O.,e/RPl 715-25. 

69 E.R.O., D/CT 244; ibid. D/P 72/21. 
The owner of the estate in 1840 was* 
described in the Moreton Tithe Award as 
Robert Henry Frere. No mention of 
Robert Henry can be traced in the Frere 
family lineage, however, and the name was 
probably a misinterpretation of 'Rt. Hon.', 
John Hookham Frere being a privy council- 
lor. 

7» E.R.O., D/P 72/21; ibid. Q/RPr 
1/27 & 34; Kelly's Dir. Essex (1874 f.). 

7' Cal. Iriq. p.m. vii, p. 493. See above. 
Manor of Nether Hall. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



conveyed to Nicholas de BurndisK 24 acres of land in 
Moreton to hold of the king in chief.'^ Nicholas de 
Burndish died, probably of the plague, in 1 349, still 
holding this 24 acres of the king.'^ In addition he held 
another 60 acres in Moreton and i messuage of the 
manor of Moreton by service of 2 u. 313'. a year and suit 
of court, and 20 acres land in Shelley and the other 
half of his messuage which he held of John de Legh, 
lord of Shelley manor, by service of 8^. \od. a year and 
suit of court. '■♦ It seems clear that these lands of 
Nicholas de Burndish formed the main core of the 
estate which later became known as Bundish or 
Brendish manor. Nicholas evidently occupied a house 
which was situated partly in Moreton and partly in 
Shelley and he farmed lands in both parishes. During 
the period when Bundish manor is known to have 
existed, its lands were situated in Shelley and Moreton 
and the manor house lay on the boundary between the 
two parishes which 'divided at the entrance end of the 
great hall'.'s 

Nicholas de Burndish left as his heir his brother 
John, Rector of South Ockendon, who in 1 3 5 3 enfeoffed 
Richard de Fifhide with 24 acres which he held in 
Moreton of the king in chief.'* When Fifhide died in 
1374 his lands were described as tenements only.'' 
Thomas Wynslowe died in 1481 holding the 'manor 
of Brundisshe' of Henry, Earl of Essex (d. 1483), who 
was then lord of the manor of Nether Hall.'* At the 
time of his death Thomas also held 2 messuages, 79 
acres of arable, and 5 acres of meadow, in Moreton, 
of John, Lord Howard, who was then probably lord 
of the manor of Upper Hall." Thomas apparently 
did not hold any tenement of the manor of Shelley. 

He devised Bundish manor to his daughter Margaret, 
wife of William Nynge.*" Margaret died in 1522, 
leaving as her heir her grandson Thomas Nynge.*' 
On Thomas's death, before March 1524, he was suc- 
ceeded by his sisters Amphyllis and Isabel.^^ Sub- 
sequently the manor seems to have come into the sole 
possession of the elder sister Amphyllis, for in 1533 it 
was held by her and her husband John Shereff.*' In 
the same year Amphyllis conveyed the manor to Sir 
Richard Rich, later ist Baron Rich, from whom it 
passed in 1567 to his son Robert, the 2nd baron and 
afterwards in 1581 to Robert, the 3rd baron. ** In 
1585 Lord Rich conveyed the manor to William 
Ramsey. *5 

The history of Bundish in the 1 7th century is not 
clear, but at the end of the century it was apparently in 
dual ownership. In 168 1 Henry Herbert and his wife 
Anne conveyed half of the manor to Joseph and Thomas 
Offley.** In 1690 Sir William Boughton and his wife 
Mary, daughter of John Ramsey, alderman of the city 
of London, conveyed half the manor to Matthew and 
Robert Skinner.*' It may be that Lady Boughton and 
Anne Herbert were granddaughters of William Ramsey 
and had inherited Bundish as coheiresses of their father 
John Ramsey. Subsequently the manor came into the 



undivided ownership of John Lingard, common 
Serjeant of the City of London, who died in 1729 
leaving several daughters as coheiresses.** In 1740 
Elizabeth, Sarah, Anne, and Frances Lingard conveyed 
the manor to Samuel Brackley, merchant.*' In 1753 
Sarah and Anne Lingard and Robert Chase and his 
wife Frances, daughter of John Lingard, conveyed it 
to Francis Capper.'" In 1775 the estate was still 
described as a manor." In all later documents and 
histories it was described merely as a farm. In 1840 
the farm consisted of 166 acres of which 107 acres lay 
in Moreton and 59 acres in Shelley; at that time the 
estate was held by Thomas Chaplin, trustee of John 
Chaplin, deceased.'^ 

Bundish Hall occupies a large moated site. At some 
time prior to 183 5, but probably after 1768, the parishes 
of Shelley and Moreton agreed that the whole of the 
farm-house should be considered within the parish of 
Moreton." Consistently with this the parish boundary 
runs along the west wall of the farm-house, leaving some 
of the outbuildings in Shelley.'* Wright's statement 
that formerly the parish boundary was 'at the entrance 
end of the great hall' '5 confirms the existence of a 
medieval manor house here, and the present farm- 
house incorporates at its west end what was probably 
the late- 1 jth-century solar wing. This is of two stories, 
the solar itself being on the first floor and having an 
open arch-braced roof truss above it. The roof is now 
ceiled in but the rebated king-post with four-way struts 
is still visible in the attic. The ceiling probably dates 
from the i6th or early 17th century and in the solar is 
panelling of the same period and later. The timbers of 
the lower part of the great hall are probably still in 
position to the east, but this part of the house has been 
much altered. A northward extension of the solar wing 
has the date 1697 scratched on the brickwork. At 
some time previous to 1835 the house was reduced in 
size, '6 and at this period or later" was partly cased in 
brick and reroofed. It now gives the impression 
externally of a small farm-house of the early 19th 
century. The west wall was damaged by flying bombs 
in 1944 and has been rebuilt.'* In the farm-yard are 
two large timber barns of the 17th or 1 8th century. 

There was a church in Moreton before the end of the 
nth century. William de Scohies, lord of 
CHURCH the manor of Moreton by 1086," gave 
the church with its land and tithe to the 
abbey of St. Stephen, Caen.' Between 1 174 and 1 182 
a charter of confirmation described the gift as the 
church of Moreton and the tithe of the demesne of 
William d'Avranches from his mill, pannage, poults, 
apples, nuts, and other tithes belonging to that church, 
according to William's charter; also the messuage of 
John the chaplain, near the churchyard, with the 
adjacent flax-ground of William's gift.^ A vicarage 
was ordained to which the prior of Panfield, a cell of 
the abbey of St. Stephen, usually presented until 
1335.3 After this Edward III, having seized the priory 



'» Feet of F. Essex, iii, 47; Cal. Pat. 

1338-40, 50. 
" Ca/. /ny./>.w. ix, p. 314. '< Ibid. 

'5 T. Wright, Hist. Essex, ii, 355. 
" Ca!. Intj. p.m. ix, p. 314; Cal. Pat. 
" C135/235/16. 
See above. Manor of 



'35°-+. 486. 

'8 C140/79. 
Nether Hall. 

" C140/79. 
Upper HaU. 

«» C142/40/: 



See above. Manor of 
8. 8' Ibid. 82 Ibid. 



»» CP25{2)/i2/62 East. 25 Hen. VIII. 



8* Ci42/i47/:4i; €142/192/29; Ci/ 
708/14. 85 CP2i;(2)/i 32/1696. 

8' CP25(2)/763 East. 33' Chas. II. 

8' CP25(2)/827 Mil. I Wm. & Mary; 
G.E.C. Complete Baronetage, 1625-4.9, 
122. 88 Wright, Hist. Essex, ii, 356. 

8« CP25(2)/ii22 Mich. 14 Geo. II. 

«» CP25(2)/ii24 Mich. 27 Geo. II. 

«" CP43/767 rot. 426. 

" E.R.O., D/CT 244. 

13 Wright, Hist. Essex, ii, 355. 

«♦ O.S. 2$ in. Map (2nd edn.), sheet Ii 



(5). «s Wright, Hist. Essex, ii, 355. 

«6 Ibid. 

" The date 1839 is on the brickwork. 
'8 Inf. from Mr. Lavender, present 
occupier. ^9 See above. Manor. 

' Cal. Doc. France, ed. Round, 156, 
157; Newcourt, Repert. ii, 422; Dugd. 
Mon. ii, 957; V.C.H. Essex, ii, 198. 

^ Cal. Doc. France, ed. Round, 162. 

3 Newcourt, Repert. ii, 423; Reg. 
Baldock, Seagrave, etc. (Cant. & York 
Soc), 306. 



134 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



MORETON 



on account of the war with France, presented to the 
living several times during the remainder of his reign.* 
The advowson continued in the Crown during the 
reigns of Richard II and Henry IV. 5 In 1414 Panfield 
priory and its possessions came to the king under the 
act suppressing non-conventual alien priories.* In 
1441 Henry VI granted to Eton College from Moreton 
church an annual pension equal to the value of the 
church on the assessment of 1291 (see below).' The 
living remained, however, in the gift of the Crown, 
which presented to the church as a vicarage until at 
least 1484.8 In 1532 Henry VIII presented to it as a 
rectory and it afterwards continued as a rectory.' In 
1538 the king granted the advowson first to Thomas, 
Archbishop of Canterbury, and then, in December, to 
Charles, Duke of Suffolk (d. 1545), who immediately 
alienated it to Sir Richard Rich, later ist Baron Rich.'" 
On the death of Lord Rich in 1567 the advowson 
passed to his son Robert, the 2nd baron, and afterwards 
in 1 5 8 1 to Robert, the 3rd baron, later Earl of Warwick 
(d. 1619)." Jacob Morris and John Morrice pre- 
sented pro iac vice in 1591.'^ Between 1595 and 1632 
the advowson was the subject of various conveyances 
but it remained in the hands of the Earl of Warwick 
and his heirs.'^ In 1626 Robert, Earl of Warwick (d. 
1658), presented his chaplain Samuel Hoard (see 
below) to the rectory.'* In 1658 Edward, Earl of 
Manchester (d. 1 671), and others, trustees of the earl, 
presented Edmund Calamy the younger (see below) 
to the living.'s Charles, Earl of Warwick (d. 1673), 
presented in 1662.'* After his death his nieces Anne, 
Mary, and Essex, daughters of his brother Robert, 
Earl of Warwick (d. 1659), all secured rights in the 
advowson as also did Frances, sister of Robert and 
Charles and wife of Nicholas, Earl of Scarsdale (d. 
1681)." By 1687 Daniel, Earl of Nottingham (d. 
1730), and husband of Essex, had apparently secured 
sole rights of patronage.'* Soon afterwards the advow- 
son was acquired from Nottingham by Ralph Smith 
of Ishp (Oxf.)." In 1693 it was purchased from 
Smith for ;{^420 by St. John's College, Cambridge, who 
retained it until 1933.20 Since 1933 the living has 
been united with that of Little Laver in the gift of St. 
John's College, who have first and third turns, and the 
Bishop of Chelmsford, who has second turn. 2' 

In 1254 the church was assessed at 18 marks and 
the vicarage at 5 marks.^^ In 1291 the church was 
assessed at /^I2 and the vicarage at £6 13/. 4(/.^3 In 
1324 it was recorded that Panfield priory received ;^I2 
a year from Moreton church.^ In 1428 the church 
was still taxed on the valuation of 1291.^5 

In 1 44 1 Henry VI granted to the Provost of Eton 
College and to his successors an annual pension of 1 8 
marks from Moreton church.^* In 1535 the rectory 
was valued at ^18 p. 4</." In 1661 the living was 
valued at £160.^8 Previous estimates in the 17th 
century had been £50 in 1604 and ;^I20 in 1650.^9 



The tithes were commuted in 1840 for ;^390 5/.'* 
There were then 68 acres of glebe. 3' 

A terrier of 1 6 1 o refers to 'a dwelling house newly 
built by the incumbent'. s^ The present rectory is an 
L-shaped building, originally timber-framed and 
plastered but now partly faced with brick. The base of 
the massive chimney at the south end and some of the 
timbers may be part of the early-i7th-century rectory. 
The house was evidently remodelled early in the i8th 
century and the staircase and panelling are of this date. 
The north wing probably dates from the incumbency 
of W. Wilson (1796— 1822) when the house was 
extended.33 The Georgian front, facing east, has six 
sash windows on the first floor. The doorcase has a 
Doric entablature, fluted pilasters, and a pediment. 

Samuel Hoard, rector 1626-58, was a theological 
writer.3'' The puritan Edmund Calamy the younger 
was rector from 1658 until ejected in 1662.35 Richard 
Vaughan, rector from 1591— 2 until 1596, was bishop 
successively of Bangor, Chester, and London. 3* 

The parish church of ST. MJRK THE FIRGIN 
consists of nave, chancel, west tower, south porch, and 
north vestry. The nave and chancel, which are struc- 
turally undivided, are of flint rubble. The dressings 
of clunch have now mostly been replaced with more 
durable stone. The tower and vestry are of red brick. 
The south porch is of wood. 

Nothing remains of the pre-i3th-century church 
except the font (see below). The present nave and 
chancel date from the first half of the 13th century, the 
nave having been built first. The nave has two restored 
lancet windows in the north wall and one in the south. 
The position of the north and south doorways is prob- 
ably original. The east wall of the chancel has three 
lancets, a central one in the gable and two below. The 
north wall of the chancel has two lancets, one of them 
being behind the organ. 

In the 15th century the chancel, and nave were 
probably reroofed. The chancel retains one moulded 
tie-beam of this date. The nave has two 15th-century 
roof trusses near the west end. These have long struts 
from the tie-beams to the heads of the octagonal king- 
posts as well as one short strut each to the central purlin. 
In both chancel and nave the rafters are ceiled in. The 
roof of the south porch retains some r5th-century 
timbers. The two-light window near the east end of 
the north wall of the nave was inserted in the late 1 5 th 
century. The single-light window on the south side 
of the chancel is also of this date. The perishable nature 
of the clunch of which the windows were constructed 
accounts for their replacement at difl^erent dates and 
for the extremely varied character of the windows on 
the south side of the church. The westernmost window 
in the nave, recently replaced, was probably originally 
of the 15 th century. Two other windows, one of 
the 1 8th and one of the 19th century, may also 
have replaced windows of the 1 5th century or earlier. 



* Newcourt, Repert. ii, 423; y.C.H. 
Essex, ii, 198. 

5 Newcourt, Repert, ii, 423. 

' Rot. Pari, iv, 22. 

' Newcourt, Repert, ii, 423. 

8 Ibid. 

Ibid, ii, 424. 

'» Ibid, ii, 423; L. ©■ P. Hen, VUI, 
xiii (2), pp. 494, 496. 

'■ 0142/147/141; C142/192/29. 

■^ Newcourt, Repert. ii, 424. 

" CP25(2)/, 37/1738; CP2S(2)/292 

Hil. 3 Jas. I; CP25(2)/385 East. & Trin. 
6 Jas. I; CP2 5(2)/296 Trin. 19 Jas. I; 



CP25(2)/4i6 Mich. 8 Chas. I. 

" D.N.B. ix, 918. 

"5 D.N.B, iii, 682. 

16 Newcourt, Repert, ii, 424. 

" CP25(2)/654 Trin. 26 & East. 28 
Chas. II. 

'8 CP25(2)/777 Trin. 3 Jas. II. 

'» Inf. from Revd. J. S. Boys Smith, 
Senior Bursar, St. John's College, Cam- 
bridge. 

" Ibid. 

2' Kelly's Dir. Essex (1933); Chel, Dioc. 
Tear Bk. 1952. 

" hunt, Val, of Nor-wich, 337. 

^25 



" Tax. Eccl, (Rec. Com.), 21. 

" y,C,H, Essex, u, 198. 

^5 Feud. Aids, ii, 205. 

2' Newcourt, Repert. ii, 423. 

" Valor Eccl. (Rec^Com.), i, 437. 

28 E.A.T.ti,s, xxi, 83. 

" Ibid. 

3° E.R.O., D/CT 244. 

3" Ibid. 

3* Newcourt, Repert, ii, 423. 

33 T. Wright, Hist, Essex, ii, 353. 

3« D.A'.S. ix, 917-18. 

35 D,N,B, iii, 682-3. 

36 D,N,B. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



The tower may originally have been of the i6th 
or early 17th century. Morant (1768) described 
the tower as 'of brick, plaistered over, with a spire 
shingled'.^' Parts of the nave and chancel roofs date 
from the 17th century. 

The south doorway with its six-panelled door is of 
18th-century date. The weather-boarded south porch, 
incorporating earlier timbers, may have been recon- 
structed at the same time. In 1727 twisted com- 
munion rails, chancel wainscoting, box pews, and a 
west gallery were given by Mrs. Judith Elford.38 

In 1786 part of the tower fell in a gale. 39 It was 
rebuilt by James Marrable in 1787 'upon the model of 
the old'.^" It is of red brick, in three stages, and has a 
castellated parapet and a short shingled spire. The 
doorway into the nave was built at the same time. The 
two-light window near the east end of the nave on the 
south side is like the wooden west window of the tower 
and is probably of about the same period. 

In i868-g there was a thorough restoration of the 
interior of the church.'" Many of the fittings, including 
the box pews, the chancel wainscoting, the lists of 
benefactions to the poor, texts and hatchments, were 
removed. New pine seating was installed.*^ The pulpit 
was reconstructed and the sounding-board removed. 
The vestry may have been built at the same time. 

Between 1877 and 1 891 the north wall of the chancel 
was rebuilt, the lancet windows being restored and 
reset at the expense of the rector, the Revd. A. Calvert.''^ 
The easternmost window on the south side of the 
chancel appears also to be of late-igth-century date, 
probably replacing a 15th-century two-light window. 

In 1897 the west gallery was removed.''* In 1904 
a new organ was built.^s 

In 1953 the two lower lancets at the east end and 
the quoins at the west end of the church were restored 
in Clipsham stone. The westernmost window on the 
south side of the nave was replaced by a copy of a 
square-headed two-light late-i5th-century window in 
the same material.'** The tower was restored and the 
spire reshingled. 

There are six bells. Two were recast in 1928 when 
the wooden framework supporting the bells was 
replaced by steel.'*' The inscription on one of these, 
'Miles Graye and William Harbert me fecit 1627', has 
been cut out and mounted on a pedestal in the church. 
Of the remainder one is inscribed 'Miles Graye 1632', 
one 'Thomas Gardiner Sudbury 17 12', and one 
'Thomas Lester 175 1'. The sixth bell (No. l) was 
presented by the ringers themselves in 1933.** 

The Purbeck marble font is of the late 1 2th century. 
It consists of a square bowl standing on a circular base, 
which has four detached shafts. Two sides of the bowl 
are ornamented with fleur-de-lis, one has round- 
headed arcading, and the fourth a crescent, disk, and 
spiral. The surface is much decayed and the carving 
incomplete. 



The oak pulpit is hexagonal and probably dates 
from the restoration of 1868. It incorporates four 
carved panels and a cornice of about 1600. The paint- 
ing above the altar is a copy of the Holy Family by 
Andrea del Sarto and was acquired in 1951.^9 

On the south wall of the nave is an inscribed tablet 
to George Goodwin, rector (1625). 

The plate consists of an almsdish of 1648 with a 
shield of arms, a cup of 1663, a paten of 1663 (dated 
1664), and a flagon of 17 19 presented by A. Heron, 
rector (1698-1733). 

A Chancery decree of 1638 recognized the Church 
Lands Charity, the origin of which was then unknown. 50 
Its property was then and afterwards stated to be 'a 
tenement and 6 acres of land called the Church Land', 
held in trust for the repair of the church. 5' The pro- 
perty was at the west end of North Lane.s^ In deeds 
from 1787 until 1832 it comprised a freehold cottage 
or tenement called 'the Church House', a close of 
pasture adjoining, 2 acres by estimation, and two other 
closes or crofts of arable, 4 acres by estimation, on the 
other side of the road leading towards Moreton wind- 
mill. 53 The estate seems always to have been let 
together and in the 19th century was called Church 
Farm.5'» In 1646 it was rented at ^^5 12s. a year.ss 
The annual rent remained at this figure until 1 8 1 1 
when it rose to ^i2.5* By 1879 it had risen to j^20 
but it fell to £18 before 1895 when it was further 
reduced to ^^i 2, after the farm-house had been destroyed 
by fire.57 In 1947 the rent was £1 5.'* After 1895 the 
income from rent was supplemented by the interest on 
j^ii2 2s. fire-insurance, which was invested. '' In 
1869 ;^i 13 3/. 9</. stock, representing accumulations of 
surplus income, was sold and, supplemented by 
voluntary contributions, was used to erect new pews.*" 
The sum of ;^50, invested in 1874, was also used in 
1878 for large repairs.*' In 1950 the income of 
£2 1 2S. id. from stock was spent in part payment of 
repairs, but apparently no rent was received from the 
lands of the charity .^^ 

The payment to the verger from Wilson's charity 
(1822) is mentioned below (Charities). 

William Talbot, by will proved 1894, left ^^loo 
stock to the rector and churchwardens in trust for 
the maintenance of the churchyard.*' In 1950 the 
income of ^■^ lis. zd. was spent in part payment for 
its upkeep.*'' 

The Guild of All Saints, Moreton, probably 
founded in 1473, was a religious guild of a type com- 
mon in rural parishes in the 14th and 15 th centuries. 
Its statutes,*! drawn up in 1473, prescribed that it was 
to hold an annual general meeting on the Sunday after 
All Saints Day, for worship and the election of officers. 
Any member who failed to attend mass on this Sunday, 
'in his best clothynge', or failed to attend evensong the 
previous evening, was to pay I lb. of wax 'to the 
amendment of the lyghtes'. The guild officers, who 



3' Morant, Essex, i, 146. 

38 Wright, Hisl. Essex, ii, 353; W. 
Talbot, MS. Hist. Moreton. 

3« W. Talbot, MS. Hist. Moreton. 

*» E.R.O., D/P 72/25/12; W. Talbot, 
MS. Hist. Moreton; inf. from tablet in 
tower. 

<■ Kelly's Dir. Essex (iiS6). 

« W. Talbot, MS. Hist. Moreton. 

<3 Kell/s Dir. Essex (1899). 

♦♦MS. notes in possession of present 
rector, the Revd. A. W. I. Weir. Cf. 
Kelly's Dir. Essex (19 14), which gives 



1904 as date for removal. 

■•' Kelly's Dir. Essex (1914). 

♦^ Inf. from present rector. 

<' Inscription in Ringing Chamber. 

ts Ibid. 

♦9 Inf. from present rector. 

50 E.R.O., D/P 72/25/3, 4, 19. 

5" E.R.O., D/P 72/25/3-4, 10-16, 19, 
20. 

5^ E.R.O., D/P 72/25/12-16; Hist. 
Essex by Gent, iii, 363. 

S3 E.R.O., D/P 72/25/12-16. Cf. ibid. 
D/CT 244 where locations of the pasture 



and one of the arable fields are reversed. 

54 Rep. Com. Char. (Essex), H.C. 216, 
pp. 230-2 (1835), xxi (i); Char. Com. 
Files. 

55 E.R.O., D/P 72/25/20. 



56 Ibid. 


57 Ibid. 


58 Char. Com. 


Files. 


59 Ibid. 


'» Ibid. 


'■ Ibid. 


'2 Ibid. 


" Ibid. 




<'4 Ibid. 




'5 R. Cough, 


History 0/ Fleshy, App, 


pp. 113-31. 





136 




Navestock Hall 
Built in the early i8th century, demolished i8i i 




The Former Rectory, Stondon Massey 
Built in the early 17th century, demolished c. 1800 




Wynter's Armourie, Magdalen Layer, containing part of a i4th-centurv aisled hall 




Black Hall, or Guildhall Cottage, Moreton 
Probably a guildhall of c. 1473 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



MORETON 



were to be elected at the meeting, were to be an alder- 
man, two masters, a clerk, and a dean. At the feast 
after mass the allowance of ale was graduated to the 
status of the officers; the alderman had a gallon for 
himself and his guests, each master a pottle, the clerk 
a pottle, and the dean a quart. The clerk was to receive 
idd. and the dean id. a year. Every new member of 
the guild was to pay 2/. dd. 'to the sustynance and to 
the fortherance of the gylde' and \d. each to the clerk 
and to the dean. When a member died the guild 
masters were to sing masses 'of the costys of the gylde' 
and all members 'wythin the towne and having 
knowynge thereof were, under penalty of \d., to 
attend the funeral and 'to ofFyre for the sawle at the 
mess done therfor a \d^ The Vicar of Moreton was 
to be paid 4^. \d. every year to pray and say masses 
every Sunday for guildsmen. It was further laid down 
that if any member 'fall into old age or into great 
poverty nor have noth wharwyth to be founden nor to 
helpe hymselfe' he was to have \d. a week of the goods 
of the guild as long as its chattels were worth \os. or 
more. If there were several such needy members, the 
\d. was to be divided between them. It was also laid 
down that if a member accused any of his brethren of 
a trespass he should not in the first instance have re- 
course to the common law but should submit to the 
arbitration of 2 to 4 guildsmen. If the arbitration 
failed the alderman could license the disputants to go 
to law but if any member refused to submit to arbitra- 
tion in the first instance, he was to pay \od. to the 
guild. Under a statute of 1504** every brother was 
to have at his death five priests, and every sister two 
priests, each of whom was to have \d. at the cost of the 
guild; on every such occasion dd. was to be given in 
bread to the poor people of the parish. There is no 
later reference to this guild.*' 

The house known as Black Hall or Guildhall Cottage, 
at Moreton End, is traditionally supposed to have been 
the meeting place of the Guild of All Saints. The 
evidence of the building itself, which dates from the 
later 15th century, confirms this. The comparatively 
elaborate moulding of the timbers internally and the " 
reports of carving externally also suggest a building of 
more status than a small domestic house of the period. 
The present house (see plate facing p. 137) is L-shaped 
and consists of what was originally an open hall of two 
bays with a two-story gabled wing at its north end. The 
external wall at the south end of the hall is of later con- 
struction and incorporates an arch-braced roof truss. 
It has been suggested*^ that the hall may originally have 
had an additional bay, used for service purposes, at this 
end. Original door-heads at the front and back of the 
hall, adjacent to this south truss, would be consistent 
with a screens passage between the service bay and the 
hall proper. The two remaining bays of the hall are 
divided by another arch-braced roof truss of a more 
elaborate character. This has been partially enclosed in 
a later partition, but the moulded wall posts and a king- 
post with a moulded base can still be seen. The north 
cross-wing, corresponding to the 'solar wing' of a 
domestic building, has two rooms to the ground floor 
and two above. In each case these were connected 



by doorways of which the four-centred heads remain. 
On both floors the front rooms are the more elaborately 
finished: the room below has moulded ceiling timbers, 
and that above has stop-moulded wall plates and an 
arch-braced roof truss of which only the lower part is 
now visible. There are indications that the back room 
on the first floor was once subdivided. In many cases 
the original position of the windows, some now blocked, 
can be traced. Externally the building is covered with 
rough-cast which is said to conceal carved or moulded 
timbers, in particular a carved sill to the first floor win- 
dow at the front of the cross-wing.*' At the north-west 
corner, where the first floor oversails on both sides, is a 
moulded angle post and curved bracket. This post 
supports a diagonal or 'dragon' beam. Many of the 
alterations, including the insertion of the hall ceiling, 
the chimneys, and the present front door, probably date 
from the late i6th or early 17th century. At this date or 
later a small staircase wing was inserted in the angle 
between the hall block and the cross-wing. 

In 1 8 1 3 a house in Moreton was licensed for wor- 
ship by nonconformists.'" In 
NONCONFORMITY 1 829 the Revd. J. Corbishley 
of Abbess Roding (q.v.) 
reported that he sometimes preached at Moreton." 
Some of his hearers may have formed the nucleus of the 
later Congregational society. This appears to have been 
started about 1850, when Mr. Vale, the evangelist 
from North Weald (q.v.), began preaching at More- 
ton.'2 Vale's work at Moreton, which was assisted by 
a small annual grant from the Essex Congregational 
Union, was so successful that by 1 856 his Sunday even- 
ing congregation numbered 80—100, and there were 
also a Sunday school attended by 30 children and an 
adult evening school.'^ About this time Vale moved 
to Moreton, where he continued to minister until 
about 1873.'* In 1857 it was reported that the Sunday 
school had been given up owing to opposition from 
neighbouring clergy 'who used promises and threats 
to deter attendance', but in spite of this the work 
flourished. In 1862 a church was built at a cost of 
£150. In 1875 A. M. Kemsley, an evangehst, had 
charge of the church under the superintendence of the 
Revd. J. R. Clarkson of Chipping Ongar. In the follow- 
ing year the Revd. W. Passmore, formerly of Welling 
(Kent), started to work at Moreton. Since that time 
the church has continued with fluctuating fortunes. 
It has frequently been under the pastoral charge of the 
minister from Chipping Ongar. In 1904 there were 
7 church members, 34 pupils in the Sunday school, 
and 3 teachers.'s From 1939 to 1948 there was a lay 
evangehst, Mr. W. J. Frost.'* In 1950 there were 18 
members, 15 pupils, and 3 teachers." Since 191 1 the 
church has been vested in the Essex Congregational 
Union.'* The building is of gault brick with red 
brick dressings and is dated 1862. 

The earliest parish book ( 1 666-1 81 5) for Moreton 
was kept and written by 
PARISH GOFERNMENT the rector.'' In it the . 
AND POOR RELIEF rectors from Jacob " 

Houblon to William 
Salisbury recorded every Easter from 1666 until 1761 



*^ Ibid. 131— 2. The date 1404. given in 
the printed text is almost certainly a 
misprint for 1 504.. 

*' It is not mentioned in the Chantry 
Certificates of 1546 and 1548 (E301/19, 
20 and 30). 

" Hist. Men. Com. Records, revised 
1953- 



<"> Inf. from Mr. Talbot, present oc- 
cupier. '» E.R.O., 52/RRw I. 

'■ E.R.O., Q/CR 3/2. The Revd. Isaac 
Taylor of Chipping Ongar also preached 
at Moreton at this time. 

'2 Essex Congr. Union Reps. 1850. 

'3 Ibid. 1856. 

'* Ibid. 1857 f. Unless otherwise stated 



subsequent information in this section is 
from these reports. 

75 Cong. Tear Bk. 1904. 

" Ibid. 1939-48. " Ibid. 1950. 

78 Essex Congr. Union Trust Deeds. 

'» E.R.O., D/P 72/8/1. Unless other- 
wise stated-all information in the follow- 
ing account is based on this source. 



137 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



the annual elections of officers and summaries of the 
previous year's accounts. The few vestry resolutions 
which they entered related to the repair and cleaning 
of the church, the renting of the glebe and the responsi- 
bility for the maintenance of the churchyard fencing. 
After 1761 the rectors, William Salisbury (to 1796) 
and William Wilson (1796-1822) used the few remain- 
ing pages to record occasional vestry minutes, notes of 
their own and amounts collected on charitable briefs. 
The only other surviving parish books are a volume of 
overseers' accounts for the period 1715—49 and a later 
parish book which was begun in 1828 but which con- 
tained vestry minutes only from 1845.*" Thus from 
the middle of the 1 8th century there is no record of 
the general government of the parish. The annual 
audit of accounts in the rector's book was not signed 
by the parishioners present but the few vestry resolu- 
tions were signed. It seems from these signatures that 
normally no more than 6 persons attended the meet- 
ings. In 1 76 1 and 1762*' 8 or 9 persons attended the 
important meetings held to consider the repair of the 
bridge. There were probably other vestry meetings 
held during the year but not recorded in the rector's 
book, for in 1724-5 the overseer mentioned in his 
account book expenses incurred at 9 vestries. William 
Wilson gave a patriotic lead to the parish during the 
Napoleonic Wars, heading subscription lists for the 
dependants of those who fell at Trafalgar and Waterloo 
and for the relief of prisoners, and sponsoring voluntary 
bread rationing in 1 800. In his will also he left funds 
to provide annuities for the clerk and the beadle. 

A distinction between the various officers' accounts 
and rates was not always maintained. In 1743 a sur- 
veyor's deficit was met out of the churchwarden's rate, 
and, conversely, in 1744 the surveyor was granted a 
^. rate and was ordered to pay any surplus to the 
churchwarden. When Jonas Crouchman was both 
churchwarden and constable between 1743 and 175 1, 
the surplus of one of his accounts was allowed to 
balance a deficiency in the other. In 1739 ^ ^^^^ °^ 
id. in the pound produced just over {j:)\ the rateable 
value of the parish had only advanced to ;£86o by 
1 803 .82 In 1 840 a new valuation was made by order of 
the Ongar Union, when the rateable value was fixed at 
almost j^2, 1 80.83 This had risen tOj^2,452 by 1874.** 
The usual officers were appointed at Easter and 
Christmas and often remained in office for more than 
a year at a time. A woman occasionally served as sur- 
veyor or overseer. In 1673 a scale of expenses was 
fixed for journeys made by parish officers. Regular 
payments were made to the parish doctor from 1 74 1. 
The average annual expenditure on poor relief in 
the second half of the 17th century was ^25. This had 
risen to about /lOo by 1749 when the detailed over- 
seers' accounts ceased. In the overseers' account book 
(1715-49), each overseer kept his accounts in two 
sections called the 'standing' and the 'bye' collections; 
the former contained the regular weekly pensions, the 
latter all other payments. Information about parish 
expenditure on the poor after 1749 depends on sum- 
maries given in official returns. In 1776 the cost of 



poor relief was ^^105.85 In the three years 1783-5 the 
average annual cost was (j.\o.'^*' In the year 1 801-2 
the cost was ;^38o.8' This was not exceeded until 
18 12-13 when nearly ;^56o or the equivalent of a rate 
of I3J'. in the pound was spent.^* In December 1800, 
following a royal proclamation, the vestry agreed to a 
form of bread rationing reducing consumption by 25 
per cent. The same meeting also agreed to offer 
encouragement 'to render their poor industrious' by 
providing them with wool for spinning and allowing 
them to retain their earnings in full. In 1828 and 1829 
meetings were held nearly every month, with the over- 
seer presiding, to hear requests for clothing, footwear, 
and medical attention. Few of these requests were 
refused.*' After 1829 the meetings became less 
frequent and finally ceased in 1835. 

The overseer's accounts for 1726 included a bill for 
;^I9 for building a parish house. In 1809 'the able 
young persons who had been occupying three of the 
parish houses rent-free to the exclusion of widows and 
old poor people who had to be furnished with rooms 
at the parish expense' were ordered to give up pos- 
session or pay a weekly rent of \s. In 1840 there were 
two parish cottages at Padlers End.'" They were sold 
in 1856. 

In 1836 Moreton became part of the Ongar Poor 
Law Union. 

In 1807 there were two private day schools in 
Moreton, both of them elementary. In 
SCHOOL one a master taught some 28 children, 
mostly boys, of whom 9 had their fees paid 
by benefactors. In the other a dame taught some 37 
children, mostly girls, the fees of 17 of whom were 
similarly paid. The rector, William Wilson, was 
troubled because both teachers appeared to be non- 
conformists; he himself had tried unsuccessfully to 
establish a Sunday school. «' By 181 8 there were a 
Sunday school and a day school with more than 20 
pupils, under the control of Wilson and the Rector of 
High Laver; only one of the two earlier day schools 
seems to have survived.'^ Meanwhile Wilson was 
planning to build a permanent schoolroom. He col- 
lected subscriptions'^ and, in his will of 1 821, provided 
for its endowment. Having redeemed the Land Tax 
of ;^2 3 ^. a year on his living, he directed that this 
sum should be paid annually by future rectors for the 
support of the school. He made further arrangements 
which resulted in ^^400 3 per cent. Reduced Annuities 
being added to the endowment. He required that the 
teachers should be Anglicans and should teach Church 
doctrine to their pupils. 'I do not', he wrote, 'feel dis- 
posed to allow more than £22 a. year for the master's 
salary.' The education was to be elementary and fees 
were to be paid, if the parents could afford them.''' 

In 1 82 1 the school was built on a site, purchased for 
j^l5, on the north of the Fyfield road, about 300 yds. 
west of the church. Subscribers nominated pupils in 
numbers proportionate to the amount of their sub- 
scription, but any Moreton child could attend by right.'' 
There were 62 pupils in 1828, 76 in 1833, 70 in 1835, 
and 56 in 1846-7.'* Most pupils paid !</. a week; a 



»o E.R.O., D/P 72/1 2 i ibid. D/P 72/8/2. 
■ 8' Sec below. 

*' Retm.Exp.anJMaint. of Poor, H. C. 
175, p. 160 (1803-4), xiii. 
«3 E.R.O., D/P 72/1 1/2. 
** E.R.O., D/P 72/1 i/i. 
S5 E.R.O., e/CR i/i. w Ibid. 

8' E.R.O., C/CR 1/9. 



88 Ibid. 

89 E.R.O., D/P 72/8/2. 
«» E.R.O., D/CT 244. 
'■ E.R.O., D/AEM 2/4. 

92 Retns. Educ. Poor, H.C. 224, p. 262 
(i8i9),ix{.). 

93 Inscription on present school build- 
ing, 1952. 



»4 E.R.O., D/P 72/25/1. 

95 Rep. Com. Char. (Essex), H.C. 216, 
pp. 230-2(1835), xxi(i). 

96 Nal. Soc. Rep. 1828, p. 70; Educ. 
Enquiry Ahitr. H.C. 62, p. 283 (1835), 
xli ; Nat. Soc. Enquiry into Church Schools, 
1846-7, pp. 12-13. 



138 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



MORETON 



few paid more." Some Bobbingworth children seem 
to have attended, their fees being paid by Capel Cure; 
in 1823 he paid 4J. a week for the schooling of 12 
boys.'* The master received at least some of the fees 
in addition to his ^22 salary, and his wife was paid for 
teaching the girls." Further income came to the 
school from charity sermons and private subscriptions.' 

After 1850 the school proved sufficient for the fall- 
ing population of the parish. In 1867 there were 67 
pupils,^ but in 1871 only about 50.3 An inspector 
reported in 1 871 that accommodation was necessary 
for 82 children to ensure universal elementary educa- 
tion in the parish and that 87 places were available at 
the school.* By 1880 average attendance had fallen to 
47,5 but it subsequently increased to 76 in 1899,* 
possibly owing to the closing of a private school in the 
parish. 7 The annual grant also increased from ^^28 i p. 
in 1880 to ^^65 10/. in 1899.8 In 1888 the Charity 
Commissioners allowed the sale of stock worth ;^i 50 
towards the ^^170 needed for a new teacher's residence 
and in 1909 a further sale was permitted to provide 
funds for a playground.' In a scheme of 1896 the 
Charity Commissioners directed that the trustees were 
to be the minister, 3 members elected by the sub- 
scribers, and 3 others to be co-opted; the teacher was 
to be an Anglican and the religious teaching was to be 
in accordance with Church doctrine, but admission 
was not to be refused on denominational grounds.'" 

By the Education Act of 1902 the school passed 
under the administration of the Essex Education Com- 
mittee, Ongar District. In 1904 there were 3 teachers 
and 98 children." Average attendance fell from 72 in 
19 14 to 54 in 1929. In I936the school was reorganized 
for mixed juniors and infants, the seniors attending the 
new Ongar Senior School. In 1950 it was granted 
'aided status'.'^ In May 1952 there were 3 teachers 
and 59 pupils.'^ 

Soon after the foundation of the school in 1821, it 
was described as 'a neat building with a centre contain- 
ing convenient apartments for the master and mistress'.''* 
There was a wing for boys and one for girls. Additions 



in 1888 evidently spoilt the symmetry of the early 
building.' 5 New classrooms have been added on the 
east side and a new master's house on the west. The 
buildings are of gault brick. 

For Church Lands Charity see above. Church. 

Jonathan Carver, citizen and cloth- 
CHARITIES^'' worker of London," by will dated 
1699, left £e„ issuing from lands at 
Moreton End'^ in trust for the poor of Moreton. In 
1834 blankets and clothing were given to all the poor 
families in proportion to their size. In 1949 the 
income, which was paid out of five separate properties, 
was spent together with Brecknock's, Wilson's, and 
Talbot's charities for the poor, in j^32 worth of 
vouchers for seventeen persons in varying amounts. 

Anne Brecknock, by will dated 1804, left ^^200 
stock for the upkeep of her grave and for quarterly dis- 
tribution to the poor of the parish. The first purpose 
was void by the rule against perpetuities. The income 
was spent with that of Carver's Charity in 1834 and 

'949: . 
William Wilson, Rector of Moreton, by will proved 

1822, made various legacies to the parish. That for 

the support of the school (see above) was much the 

largest; the others were ;^ioo and £200 stock in trust 

for the beadle and parish clerk respectively, and ;^300 

stock in trust for the poor. At least as late as 1933 the 

first two were duly paid to the clerk and beadle, but 

by 1947 the income of £j los. from both was spent 

in part payment of the verger's fee. The charity for the 

poor was distributed in 1834 and 1949 along with 

Carver's Charity. 

William Talbot, by will proved 1894, left ^£200 

stock, subject to a life-interest, in trust for one or two 

poor persons yearly, who had been resident in the parish 

for ten years. The legacy came into effect in 1923 and 

in 1925 the bench of magistrates at Chipping Ongar, 

who were the original administrators, were replaced 

by five trustees as enumerated for Carver's Charity 

(above). In 1949 the income was distributed with that 

from Carver's Charity." 



NAVESTOCK 



Navestock is about 3 miles south of Ongar and 4 
miles north-east of Romford.' With an area of 4,518 
acres it is one of the largest parishes in the hundred. 
The varied scenery includes a patch of ancient wood- 
land, an open green, and an open heath. Though so 
close to Romford, Navestock is not traversed by main 
roads and remains completely rural. It was one of the 
few parishes in this area to retain a large uninclosed 
common until the i8th century, and where Roman 
Catholic worship^ continued after the Reformation. 

The relief of the parish consists principally of two 
spurs, the larger in the west including Navestock 
Heath, the smaller in the north-east with Beacon Hill 



as its highest point.3 Both spurs rise to a height of over 
300 ft. They descend quite steeply to the north-west 
where the winding River Roding forms the parish 
boundary. On the south and south-east the boundary 
is not allied to any marked physical feature and the land 
slopes gently away to Havering Plain and South Weald 
Common. Between the spurs is the valley of the 
WetstafF Brook, formerly a tributary of the Roding, 
now dammed to form the Lady's Pond, a rush-grown 
lake in Navestock Park. This pond is the largest stretch 
of inclosed water in the parish but the poor drainage 
afforded by the stiff London Clay has encouraged the 
formation of many other smaller ponds in various parts 



»' Ref). Com. Char. (Essex), pp. 230-32. 
»8 E.R.O., D/P 72/25/1; D/DCc E6. 
" Ibid.; Nat. Soc. Enquiry into Church 
Schools, 1846-7. 

1 E.R.O., D/P 72/25/1. 

2 KC.H. Essex, i\, 558. 

' Retns. Elem. Educ. H.C. 201, pp. 
112-13 (1871), Iv. 

* Min. of Educ. File 13/269. 

5 Ref. of Educ. Cttee. of Council, 1880 
[C. 2948-1], p. 578, H.C. (1881), xixii. 

<• Rein. Schools, 1899 [Cd. 315], p. 72, 
H.C. (1900), Ixv (2). 



' Retns. Elem. Educ. (1871), pp. 112- 

'3- 

8 Rep. of Educ. Cttee. of Council, 1880, 
p. 578; Retn. Schools, 1899, p. 72. 
» Min. of Educ. File 13/269. 

10 Ibid. 

" Essex Educ. Cttee. Handbk. 1904, 
185. 

■2 Min. of Educ. File 13/269. 

" Inf. from Essex Educ. Cttee. 

>4 T. Wright, Hist. Essex, ii, 353. 

■s W. Talbot, MS. Hist. Moreton. 

" Ref. Com. Char. {Essex), H.C. 216, 



pp. 230-2 (1835), xxi (i); Char. Com. 
Files. 

" E.R.O., D/P 72/25/17. Carver was 
apparently a native of Moreton : W. 
Talbot, MS. Hist. Moreton. 

■8 E.R.O., D/P 72/15/20. 

" For another legacy left by Talbot see 
above, Church. 

• 0.5. 2i in. Maf, sheet 51/59. 

* See below Manors, Roman Catholi- 
cism. 

3 There was a beacon on this hill in 
1619: E.R. xvii, 221. 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



of the parish. There are several areas of parkland and 
plantation, mainly at the lower altitudes. Of these the 
principal are at Navestock Park and in the upper part 
of the WetstafF Valley near Bois Hall. Curtismill 
Green in the extreme west of the parish is the patch 
of open woodland, about loo acres in extent, which 
was formerly part of the forest of Essex. Its north- 
eastern and south-eastern corners are still marked by 
:he old forest boundary stones, known respectively as 
Richard Stone and Navestock Stone. Navestock Com- 
mon, the name of which survives in the south-west, was 
formerly much larger in extent, stretching across the 
south of the parish for most of its length and containing 
some 600 acres. 

The main centre of population is Navestock Side in 
the extreme east of the parish, where the houses cluster 
round a green. There are also some houses around 
Navestock Heath which was formerly a more important 
hamlet than it is today. The former workhouse and 
the old almshouse, both now demolished, were at the 
south end.'* The village school has been closed and the 
vicarage, which adjoins it, is unoccupied. The Heath, 
which is still used for grazing cattle, has a desolate ap- 
pearance. 

The parish church is a mile north of Navestock 
Heath, adjoining the old manor house of Navestock 
Hall. A little to the north of them, in Navestock Park, 
is the site of the former mansion of Navestock Hall, 
built in the i8th century by Lord Waldegrave but 
demolished about 100 years later. Other ancient 
manor houses were at Slades near Beacon Hill and 
Bois Hall ^ mile south on the same spur.s A home- 
stead moat still survives at the former site of Slades 
and there are other moats at Dycotts in the south- 
west of the parish and at Yew Tree Farm to the north 
of Navestock Heath. 

Fortification Wood, on the south side of the road 
about J mile west of Bois Hall, covers an entrenchment 
some 350 ft. long by 240 ft. wide.' It occupies a good 
defensive position and. has been thought to be a 
fortification at some unknown date. It is probably 
identical with a wood called 'the defence' which 
existed in 1222.' Another ancient earthwork, of which 
hardly any traces remain, was situated on Navestock 
Common, by the road from Ditchleys (in South 
Weald) to Princesgate, near the parish and hundred 
boundary. It was visited on several occasions in the 
l8th century by William Stukeley (1687-1765) who 
described it as an 'alate temple'.* 

Navestock probably means 'the stump on the head- 
land',' a derivation which suits the topography and 
suggests early Saxon settlement on one of the spurs. 
Although some of the parish place names, including 
those of the manor houses, are medieval,'" none of the 
present buildings, apart from the church, appear to be 
earlier than the 1 6th century. Navestock Hall (see 
Manors) is perhaps the most interesting of these. Like 
Stondon Hall in Stondon Massey it is an old manor 
house that has survived the grander house built in the 
1 8th century to supersede it as the residence of the lord 
of the manor. Dabbs Farm, formerly Hole Farm, 
about J mile south-west of Shonks Mill Bridge, is 
probably on the site of a medieval house. It is now 



approached by a track past Howletts Hall Farm, the 
lane leading from the east being impassable. The 
house, which was probably built in the late i6th 
century, is timber-framed. It retains a chimney with 
six shafts set diagonally. Sabine Cottage, about J mile 
east of Navestock Heath, facing the end of Tan House 
Lane, is a small timber-framed building of the i6th 
century or earlier. This house and the neighbouring 
Sabine's Green take their name from the family of a 
13th century resident, William fitz Sabine." 

At Dycotts a medieval building undoubtedly oc- 
cupied the moated site but the oldest building there 
now is part of an outbuilding which has 16th-century 
timbers. Wattons Green, which lies between Dycotts 
and the road, extends north-west as a narrow strip of 
common until it strikes the Navestock-Havering road 
south of Jenkins Farm. Its name is derived from the 
family of John de Walton (fl. 1319).'^ 

By the 17th century the pattern of settlement in the 
parish was probably very much as it is today. Larger 
houses dating from that period are Bois Hall (see 
Manors), Beacon Hill Farm, in the north-east corner 
of the parish, and Yew Tree Farm. Beacon Hill Farm 
is a red-brick house probably built in the late 17th 
century. It was much altered in the i8th or earher 
19th century but retains some original woodwork 
inside. The cottage which adjoins the house on the 
north is probably of the same period with fewer 
alterations. Yew Tree Farm, probably built in the 
17th century, has a cruciform chimney set diagonally 
on a square base. Two wings at the back and other 
features date from the i8th century. North of the 
house is part of a large rectangular moat. The surface 
of the ground inside it is uneven, suggesting the posi- 
tion of an earlier building. Several smaller buildings, 
all timber-framed, also date from the 17th century. 
Brook House, to the east of Curtismill Green, is a 
weather-boarded cottage probably built in the second 
half of that century. On the north side of the road 
almost opposite Bois Hall is a cottage of the 17th 
century or earlier with an original chimney. At Nave- 
stock Side and near it there are other cottages of about 
the same period. Houghtons, on the north side of the 
road at Horseman Side, may well be an ancient house 
altered in the i8th or early 19th century. It is a 
weather-boarded range of four cottages. 

Shonks Mill was probably rebuilt in the 17th 
century. It took its name from a medieval family, but 
this may have come indirectly from some other topo- 
graphical feature in the area. A map of 1835, based 
upon one of 1785, shows the old course of the Roding 
'before Shonks Mill was erected'. '' This suggests that 
the existing mill had been built not very long before 
1785, and the humped brick bridge that still survives 
on the site and has a small arch for the mill race is prob- 
ably of the 17th century. The parapets have been 
rebuilt. The mill itself was still standing in the present 
century but does not appear to have been used after 
about 1 860, and it has since been demolished.'* 

Great changes took place in Navestock in the i8th 
century. Early in the century the new mansion of 
Navestock Hall was built and a large park constructed 
around it. '5 Later came the inclosure of Navestock 



< See below Parish Government, also 
Charities. 

' For the manor houses, including Loft 
Hall, sec below, Manors. 

' For details see Hist, Mon. Com, Eisex, 
ii, 193; V,C,H, Essex, i, 279. Described 



on O.S, 2j in. Map as a camp. 

' Dom, of St, Paul's (Camd. Soc. 1858), 

79- 

* Essex Naturalist, viii, 214, 220-2. 
Stukeley's drawing of the site is repro- 
duced ibid. 214. His last visit was in 176 1. 



9 P.N, Essex (E.P.N.S.), 70. 

■<• Ibid. 70-71. 

" Ibid. 71. " Ibid. 70. 

■3 E.R.O., D/DXa 24. 

'< Local inf. ; Kelly's Dir. Essex (i 845 f.). 

■5 See below, Manors. 



140 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



NAVESTOCK 



Common. These changes, while they altered the land- 
scape of the parish, did not, however, alter the main 
pattern of settlement.'* Before the inclosure there were 
several houses along the north edge of the common, 
mostly at Horseman Side. Their occupants had no 
doubt found the situation convenient for the exercise 
of common rights. Inclosure of the common evidently 
led to the building of one new farm, Princesgate Farm, 
which existed by 1840," and a few of the houses to 
the south of the road between Navestock Side and 
Horseman Side are of late 1 8th- or 19th-century date. 
The extinguishment of the rights of common in this 
part of the parish may have led . to the building of 
cottages around the edges of the wood at Curtismill 
Green, which was not affected by the inclosure. This 
was not, however, the first development round Curtis- 
mill Green.'* 

Chapman and Andre's Map of Essex, lyyj shows 
houses along most of the western edge of Navestock 
Side but none on the eastern edge. The 'Green Man', 
which may have existed long before, was probably re- 
built in the i8th century when Navestock Side became 
a cricket centre. It is a tall rectangular building, 
recently modernized. During the late 1 8th century 
Navestock Park was embellished by the construction 
of the Lady's Pond and at about the same time there 
were alterations to Bois Hall. Abbotswick, at Navestock 
Side, is a small country house standing in a well- 
timbered garden with a small lake. It seems to date 
from about 1800 and has since been rebuilt probably 
early in the present century. In 18 17 it was described 
as the seat of Adam Chadwick." The 1777 map shows 
a small piece of common at Slades, but this had been 
inclosed by 1840.^0 

In 1801 the population of Navestock was 623, and 
by 1 82 1 it had risen to 840.^' It continued to rise until 
1 85 1 when a peak of 982 was reached. The number 
of inhabited houses in the parish increased from 1 3 1 
in 1801 to 188 in 1851.^^ After 1851 there was a 
gradual decline in population which became most rapid 
between 1871 and 1881, the period of agricultural 
depression. By 1901 there were only 692 inhabi- 
tants. 

The most remarkable event in the life of the parish 
in the 19th century was the demolition (181 1) of 
Navestock Hall. During the course of the century 
some of the other larger houses in the parish were 
extended or improved and continued to offer op- 
portunities of employment for the cottagers, but the 
disappearance of the great house of Navestock, at a 
time when the population was increasing rapidly, may 
have been partly responsible for the ultimate decrease. 
Even if it had no other effect the demohtion increased 
the isolation of the parish church and must have re- 
inforced the existing tendency for the population to 
concentrate in the east and south of the parish. This 
tendency may have been partly counteracted by the 
rebuilding of the vicarage at Navestock Heath and the 
erection beside it of a village school. On the other hand 
again there was the closure of Shonks Mill, which 
probably failed in competition with the new steam mill 
at Princesgate. The new mill was built adjoining 
Princesgate Farm. It is an impressive structure of 



black weather-boarding, with a tall chimney (see plate 
facing p. I 56). It is no longer used as a mill. 

Between 1901 and 193 1 the population of Nave- 
stock fluctuated at around 700.^3 In 1953 it was 
estimated at 680, which is the lowest figure since 
i8oi.^'» Among the houses built during the past fifty 
years are five pairs of council houses at the north end of 
Navestock Heath and twelve pairs near Navestock Side 
on the road to Bentley church. Three of the last 
twelve have been erected since 1945, two of them 
being of Swedish timber. The Navestock Club, built 
at Navestock Side in 1920, increased the amenities in 
that part of the parish. Some provision for communal 
activities at Horseman Side had been made by the 
building there of the Navestock Mission Room in 
1897. This was originally a nonconformist chapel but 
is now used for services in connexion with the parish 
church. During the Second World War Slades Farm 
was totally demolished by enemy action and the parish 
church damaged. 

The Brentwood-Ongar road touches Navestock's 
easternmost edge, forming the boundary with South 
Weald for a short distance. Its principal connecting 
link runs south-west through Navestock Side and 
Horseman Side to Havering and Romford, and 
another road goes west and south-west past Bois Hall, 
Navestock Hall, and Navestock Heath to Havering 
and Romford. Linking these two principal roads are 
several by-roads aligned from north-west to south-east. 
The most important of these follows the WetstafF 
valley for most of its course and passes out of the parish 
by Shonks Mill Bridge over the Roding to join the 
Ongar-Abridge road. 

Most of the parish roads are probably earlier in 
origin than the 1 8th century. They may always have 
been poor in the west of Navestock, where the wood 
of Curtismill Green formed a barrier, but there was 
evidently a thoroughfare of some sort in that area as 
early as the i6th century. In 1583 it was reported at 
Quarter Sessions that the road from Brentwood through 
Navestock to Epping was blocked by a gate called 
'Curtinsmiir Gate which was 'the only defence for 
the cattle commoning on that part of the forest there'.^s 
There are detailed reports from the surveyors of the 
highways on their statute labour for 1607-9, 1618, 
and 1645.^* 

The inclosure award of 1770 contained the usual 
provisions concerning the construction of roads to 
serve the inclosed area.^^ Ten new roads were specified 1 
but many of these were very short lengths and it is 
clear from the inclosure map that some of them already 
existed in whole or in part. The most important changes 
that resulted from the award were the continuation of 
the road from Horseman Side to Navestock Side and 
roads running south and south-east from that road. 
Not all the provisions of the award were actually 
carried out. This may have resulted from disputes 
concerning responsibility for the new roads. At a 
parish vestry meeting in 1844 it was resolved tha't the 
roads set out by the inclosure commissioners should 
not be repaired by the parish.^* This decision was 
repeated at vestry meetings later in the same year and 
in 1845, when the parish surveyor was ordered to 



" Compare the Inclosure Map (E.R.O., 
J2/RDc i) with Chapman and Andr^, 
Map of Essex, lyjT, sheets xvi, xvii and 
later maps. 

" E.R.O., D/CT 248. 

»8 a. E.R. xiv, I go. 



'9 E.R.O., Prints, Navestock. 
^0 E.R.O., D/CT 248. 
^' For census figures 1801— 1901 see 
F.C.H. Essex, ii, 350. 
22 Census, 1801, 1851. 
" Census, i 901-3 1. 



^* Inf. from Essex County Council. At 
the 1951 census it was 6go. 

25 E.R.O., Q/SR 86/60, cf. ibid. 90/31. 

2' -Ibid. 188/80, 329/27; E.R.O.,Q/SB« 
4/5. " E.R.O., Q/RDc I. 

28 E.R.O., D/P 148/8/2. 



141 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



request the inhabitants whose lands abutted on Goats 
Wood Lane to repair it.^' 

Much of the parish on the north-west is bounded by 
the Roding and there are many references to bridges 
in records relating to Navestock. The most important 
was Shonks Mill Bridge between Navestock and Stan- 
ford Rivers. In 1566 this lay between the land of 
Robert Shanke and WiUiam Melbourne: its timbers 
were then badly decayed.^o A little later there was 
some doubt whether it should be repaired by Nave- 
stock or by Stanford Rivers. In 161 7, when it had 
been damaged by floods, Navestock was ordered by 
Quarter Sessions to repair it,3' but in 161 8 both 
parishes were presented as responsible for the bridge, 
then 'very much in decay'. 32 Both parishes were held 
responsible in 1641.23 By about 1800 the bridge had 
become a charge on the county and it appears in the 
later lists of county bridges.^* In 1857 it was described 
in detail by the county surveyor.^s It was damaged by 
floods in 1943. One abutment was rebuilt in concrete 
and the decking was replaced with a temporary struc- 
ture.3* 

A foot-bridge called Hawkes or Hackes Bridge was 
in need of repair in 1579 and 1580 and John Greene 
of Navestock Hall was said to be responsible. 3' In 
1586 floods destroyed this bridge (then said to be in 
Broad Mead) and the same John Greene and the 
parishioners of Stanford Rivers were ordered to repair 
it.38 In the same year Bartholomew Partrych of Nave- 
stock was ordered to replace a foot-bridge.39 

For its communications with the outside world 
Navestock has depended on Ongar, Brentwood, and 
Romford. Even today, no bus route passes through 
the parish, and this has the effect of making the centre 
of the parish, especially Navestock Heath, seem 
isolated and rural. This is the more remarkable as 
there is suburban development reaching out in this 
direction from both Romford and Brentwood, and the 
great new housing estate of Harold Hill is only 3 miles 
from Navestock Heath. 

An application in 1840 for a post-office in Nave- 
stock was refused.**" A receiver was mentioned in 
1855 and in 1856 Navestock had a post-office under 
Romford.*' There were several changes in the later 
postal arrangements for the parish. In 1870 and up to 
1884 the only post-office was at Shonks Mill, where 
letters were received via Stanford Rivers from Rom- 
ford.''^ In 1884 a second post-office was opened at 
Navestock Side, and in the same year the telegraph was 
extended to both offices.'ts In about 1890 the main 
office was that at Navestock Side and the sub-post- 
office at Shonks Mill had no telegraph.''* Four years 
later the Shonks Mill office had been replaced by one 
in the centre of the parish at Sabine's Green.^s During 
the past 60 years the Navestock Side office has con- 
tinued to be the more important of the two. The 



Sabine's Green (or Navestock Heath) office has existed 
for most of this period but does not appear to have been 
operating immediately after the First World War.** 

Piped water is supplied to the parish by the Herts, 
and Essex Waterworks Co. but there is no main 
drainage.*' The Romford Gas Co. acquired powers 
to supply gas in Navestock in 1935 and this has been 
laid on for Navestock Side.** Electricity was supplied 
to Navestock Heath in 1931.*" The Navestock Club 
established at Navestock Side in 1920 has as its meeting- 
place a single-story wooden building given by Mr. 
Walter Tyser, the lord of the manor.'" A branch of the 
county hbrary was opened in 1938.'' 

Cricket has been played at Navestock since 1784 
and probably earlier.s^ In 1790 the 'Essex Cricket 
Club' was holding fortnightly matches at the 'Green 
Man', Navestock Side. The members of the club 
included Lord Petre and Lord Winchilsea.ss A map 
of 1835, based on one of 1785, shows the cricket 
ground,5* and for most of the 19th century this was 
the home ground of the West Essex Cricket Club, one 
of the best known in the county. 55 

The map of 1835 marks the fields immediately to 
the east of the cricket ground at Navestock Side as a 
'horse-race ground'. 5* Occasional race meetings were 
being held at Navestock in the i86o's but had long 
been discontinued by 1906.57 

During the Middle Ages the most important estate 
in the parish was that owned by the Dean and Chapter 
of St. Paul's Cathedral. Their property passed in the 
1 6th century to the Waldegrave family. From the 
1 6th century to the 19th the Waldegraves (later 
barons and eventually earls) increased their estate until 
by 1 840 it comprised almost three-quarters of the total 
area of the parish.'* From the early 1 8th until the early 
1 9th century Navestock Hall was their main seat. Later 
in the 19th century, in spite of the demolition of the 
hall, Lady Waldegrave returned to the parish to live at 
Dudbrook.5' 

It was John, Earl Waldegrave who secured the 
inclosure of the common in ijjofi" The total area 
inclosed was 502 acres exclusive of 90 acres set aside 
for roads and waste. The earl's allotment was about 
350 acres. 

In 1840 there were some 25 farms in the parish, 
of which about 12 were over 100 acres and 9 between 
50 acres and 100 acres. The largest was Bois Hall with 
Slades, 480 acres. It was one of the largest in the whole 
of Ongar hundred at that time.*' Two years earlier it 
had been estimated that some 2,1 50 acres of the parish 
were cultivated as arable and 1,850 acres as meadow 
or pasture.*^ These proportions of arable to pasture 
were typical of this area of mixed farming. As else- 
where in the hundred the arable open fields, if they 
ever existed, must have been inclosed at an early date. 
Open meadow lasted longer. The map of 1835 shows 



" E.R.O., D/P 148/8/2. 

30 E.R.O., e/SR 20/6. 

" Ibid. 218/30. But cf. Q/CP 3, p. 34. 

" E.R.O., Q/SBa 4/5. Cf. ibid. 1/35. 

33 E.R.O., e/SR 314/62. 

3« E.R.O., Q/ABz I, 2. 

35 E.R.O., Q/ABz 3. 

^^ Inf. from County Surveyor. 

37 E.R.O., Q/SR 73/62, 77/46, 78/43, 
cf. 93/19. 

38 Ibid. 98/19. 
» Ibid. 98/15. 

« P.M.G. Mins. 1840, vol. 52, p. 25. 
«' Kelly' t Dir. Essex (i^SS); Brit. Post. 
Guide, 1856. 



*2 Kelly s Dir. Essex (1870 f.). 

♦3 P.M.G. Mins. 1884, vol. 272, min. 
7096; vol. 274, min. 8334; vol. 271, min. 
6546; vol. 277, min. 10446; vol. 280, 
min. 13222. 

« Kelly's Dir. Essex (1890). 

45 Ibid. (1894). 

46 Ibid. (1898 f.). 

47 Inf. from Herts. & Essex Water- 
works Co. and Miss O. Porter. 

48 Inf. from North Thames Gas Bd. and 
Miss O. Porter. 

4« Inf. from Eastn. Elec. Bd. 
50 Inf. from Mrs. L. F. Pryor. 
5' Inf. from County Librarian. 

142 



52 E.R. Iviii, 49. 

53 E.R.O., T/B 69. 

54 E.R.O., D/DXa 24. 

55 F.C.H. Essex, ii, 599. 

56 E.R.O., D/DXa 24. 

57 F.C.H. Essex, ii, 587. 

58 See Manors. 
s« Ibid. 

6" E.R.O., Q/RDc I. For the inclosure 
Act (1768) see E.R.O., Q/SBb 261. 

61 E.R.O., D/CT 248. 

62 Ibid. These figures may both have 
been underestimates, but they probably 
express the proportions of arable to pasture 
correctly. 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



NAVESTOCK 



strip holdings (in private ownership) in 'Navestock 
Common Mead' adjoining the Roding south of 
Shonks Mill.'s There is no suggestion that they were 
still farmed in common, but it is likely that they repre- 
sented the areas of earlier strips in the open water 
meadow. 

Navestock has always been an agricultural parish 
and there do not appear to have been any important 
occupations that were not connected with agriculture. 
The fragment of the parish that was within the 
ancient forest of Essex escaped the destruction that 
overtook most of the neighbouring forest at Hainault.*^ 
Curtismill Green was disafforested in 185 1 and in 
1858 was allotted as common to the parish of Nave- 
stock.*5 

Apart from the Waldegraves, several of whom 
achieved distinction,** Navestock numbers among its 
worthies William Stubbs (i 825-1901), the historian 
and Bishop successively of Chester (1884-8) and 
Oxford (i 888-1901) who was Vicar of Navestock 
from 1850 to 1866.*' Much of his early work for the 
Rolls Series was done in the parish. He married a 
local girl, Catherine Dellar, who had been mistress of 
the village school. His predecessor as vicar, James Ford 
(1779-18 50, vicar from 1830 to his death), founded 
the Ford Lectureship at Oxford University.* * He is 
said to have made manuscript notes towards a history 
of the hundred of Ongar and to have left them to 
Trinity College, Oxford.*' He and Stubbs were not 
the only historians to be connected with Navestock, 
for Adam de Murimuth (1275 ?-i347), Canon of St. 
Paul's, to whom the manor was leased in 1335 by the 
Dean and Chapter,'" was the author of the Continuatio 
Chronicorum, a chronicle which is a primary authority 
for the history of England in the first half of the 14th 
century." 

The manor of NAVESTOCK was acquired in or 
before the nth century by the Dean and 
MANORS Chapter of St. Paul's. There is a charter 
purporting to have been issued by King 
Edgar (958-75) but dated 867." In this the king is 
made to say that at the request of Bishop Deorwulf and 
Alderman Ealdred he has granted to the church of St. 
Paul 1 5 mansiones of land at Navestock. The first 
witness to the charter, Oda the Archbishop, held the 
See of Canterbury from 942 to 95 8. The other witnesses' 
names, 2 5 in number, are consistent with the date 867, 
and so also are the names of Deorwulf (who was 
Bishop of London) and Ealdred. The formula by 
which the king makes the grant at the request of certain 
named persons is found occasionally in the 9th century, 
but never in the ioth.'3 It therefore seems probable 
that the Navestock charter is based upon a genuine 
original of 867 or thereabouts. Perhaps the property 
was granted to St. Paul's in 867 and confirmed by 
Edgar in 958, and some of the names from the con- 
firmation have crept into the original through careless 
transcription.'* But in view of its inconsistencies the 
charter of 867 cannot be accepted as genuine in its 
present form, and must be treated with reserve. 



If the canons of St. Paul's had ever held land in 
Navestock before the Norman Conquest they had 
evidently lost it by 1066. In that year the landowners 
included Houard and Ulsi, who held two manors 
amounting together to 5 hides less 20 acres, Turstin 
the Red, who held a manor of i hide and 40 acres, 
seven unnamed freemen who held 2 hides between 
them, and Gotil, who held a manor of 80 acres. In 
1086 Gotil's manor was held by Ralph de Marcy of 
Hamon dafifer. All the other estates were held by St. 
Paul's. It was stated that the canons claimed the manors 
of Houard and Ulsi as of the king's gift, and that they 
had seized Turstin's manor. The Domesday Survey 
also recorded that a priest held \ hide and 20 acres in 
Navestock but that the hundred court considered this 
to be the rightful property of St. Paul's. It is not clear 
whether the priests' tenement was included in any of 
the other estates mentioned above. In 1086 it was in 
the king's hand.'s To support their title to the Nave- 
stock manor the canons of St. Paul's produced a 
charter stating that William I on his coronation day 
(25 December 1066) regranted to St. Paul's lands at 
Navestock and elsewhere which had belonged to the 
cathedral church before but which had been lost.'* 
This charter must be looked upon as a forgery. 

The manor of Navestock, however acquired, 
remained in the possession of St. Paul's until the i6th 
century, and was annexed to a prebendal stall in the 
cathedral." The manor in Navestock which Ralph 
de Marcy held in 1086 was probably merged by him 
or one of his immediate heirs with the estate which he 
held in Kelvedon Hatch (q.v.). Shortly after 1086 the 
canons of St. Paul's accused Ralph of seizing several 
lands belonging to their manor of Navestock. The 
dispute was not settled until after his death. Before 
1 1 20 William son of Ralph made a compromise with 
the canons whereby he was to hold all the lands in 
Navestock which his father had held at his death on 
payment to St. Paul's of lbs. a year.'* Ralph de 
Marcy's heirs continued to hold this Navestock estate 
of St. Paul's until after 12 22." They also held the 
manor of Magdalen Laver (q.v.). No certain reference 
to their Navestock estate has been found later than 
1222, but it is possible that, together with their estate 
in Kelvedon Hatch, it became the manor of Myles's 
(q.v.) in Kelvedon Hatch. 

In I 544 the manor of Navestock and other manors 
belonging to St. Paul's were surrendered to the king 
in exchange for properties elsewhere. 8" Navestock ' 
remained in the possession of the Crown for ten years 
until in 1554 Queen Mary sold it with the advowson 
of the vicarage to Sir Edward Waldegrave, who had 
been appointed steward in 1553, for ^^1,228, to hold 
for 55 knight's fee. The manor was then occupied by 
Richard Greene on a lease granted by St. Paul's in 
I 526 for 40 years at a rent of ,^50 a year.*' 

On the death of Mary Sir Edward Waldegrave, who 
had been Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, was 
imprisoned in the Tower of London, and he remained 
there until his death in i 561.82 pjg jgft Navestock in 



«3 E.R.O., D/DXa 24. 

'♦ For Hainault Forest see Chigwell, 
Lambourne. 

05 E.R.O., e/RDc 42, 55. 

" See Burke'i Peerage, Waldegrave. 

" D.N.B. 2nd Suppl. 68 D.N.B. 

<"> Ibid.; E.R. 1, p. 77. The MSS. can- 
not now be found at Trinity College. For 
a MS. biography of Ford see E.R.O., 
T/G 35. 



■"> See below. Manors. " D.N.B. 

'2 Birch, Carl. Sax. iii, p. 488; Early 
Charts, of St. Paulas (Camd. Soc. 3rd ser. 
Iviii), p. 2, n. 2. 

" Cf. Birch, op. cit. ii, p. 169. 

7* For such occurrences see e.g. J. A. 
Robinson, Times of St. Dunstan, 48. 

" V.C.H. Essex, \, 443a, 502A. 

'<■ Dugdale, Hist. St. Paul's {181 8 edn.), 
297. 



" For tenants of the manor in the 14th 
and 15th cent?, see Hist. MSS. Com. gth 
Rep. pt. i Afp. 32 f. 

'* Domesday Studies (ed. P. E. Dove), ii, 

553-5- 
'« Dom. of St. Paul's (Camd. Soc. 1858), 

75. '33- 
8°. L. & P. Hen. nil, xix (i), p. 495. 
8" Cal.Pat. 1553-4,248,393. 
8» D.N.B. 



143 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



his will to his wife Frances for life, with remainder to 
his eldest son Charles.*^ Frances died holding the 
manor in l^()()M Charles Waldegrave succeeded her 
and in the same year settled the manor on his son 
Edward on the latter's marriage with Eleanor, daughter 
of Sir Thomas Lovell.^s Edward was knighted in 
1607 and created a baronet in 1643 for his services to 
the king in the Civil War, when he commanded a 
regiment of horse with distinction. ** Navestock 
descended with the family honours until the 19th 
century. In 1686 the 4th baronet was raised to the 
peerage as Baron Waldegrave and in 1729 his son was 
created Earl Waldegrave. *' The original Waldegrave 
estate in Navestock was increased during the 17th and 
1 8th centuries by the acquisition of the manors of 
Slades, Bois Hall, Loft Hall, and probably other pro- 
perties in the parish. The 6th Earl Waldegrave (d. 
1835) gave the whole estate to his eldest, but illegitimate, 
son John J. H. Waldegrave, who in 1840 was holding 
some 3,000 acres in Navestock, almost three-quarters 
of all the land in the parish.** J. J. H. Waldegrave 
married Frances Braham. He died in 1840 and his 
widow married his younger, legitimate, brother George 
Edward, Earl Waldegrave (d. 1846). Through her 
marriages the countess acquired all the Waldegrave 
estates in Essex and elsewhere, for in 1876 they were 
alienated from the earldom and became her absolute 
property. She died in 1879 leaving Navestock to her 
fourth husband. Lord Carlingford. On his death in 
1898 the manor was sold to James Tabor of Roch- 
ford.*' In 1919 it passed into the possession of Walter 
P. Tyser, who had leased the manor house since 191 1. 
The estate is now (1955) owned by the Church Com- 
missioners.'" 

An inventory of 1335 gives interesting details of the 
manor house of Navestock." Adam de Murimuth, 
Canon of St. Paul's, to whom the manor was then com- 
mitted, also received 'under one roof a bakehouse and 
dairy, a kitchen with an oven and two cisterns, a hen 
house, a hall with buttery and pantry at the west end 
of the hall and a chamber at the east with galleries. 
And a chamber with store room {celarium) and room 
above, roofed with tiles, and belonging to the same 
chamber a chapel of plaster of Paris roofed with timber 
(tendulis), an old granary with four bays {interfinis) 
and an old kiln and a little house for calves outside the 
door and a smithy, a sheepfold outside the door, a 
windmill.' 

The building described in the inventory was pos- 
sibly on the site of the present Navestock Hall, which 
is about 1 50 yds. south-east of the church. This house, 
now a farm, dates from the early i6th century. The 
north wing was probably added in the 1 8th century or 
later. The explosion of a German landmine in Sep- 
tember 1940 dislodged the external plaster, revealing 
the fact that much more of the house was of the 
original date than had been supposed.'^ This is a two- 
story timber-framed structure with a four-centred door- 



head on its north side. The timbering has been left 
exposed and a Georgian bay on the east side has been 
rebuilt with oak timbers from a demolished barn. One 
of the lead rainwater heads is inscribed 'e. w. 1757'. 

The site of a later manor house, now demolished, is 
about 400 yds. north-east of the farm. This was a 
mansion built in the first quarter of the 1 8th century by 
Lord Waldegrave (d. 1741). A map of 1726 by 
Thomas Browne shows the layout of the garden and 
park. '3 The house faced south-east with a stable-yard 
and kitchen gardens on the north-east and formal 
gardens with ornamental water on the opposite side. 
Behind the house a deer park reached nearly to the 
Roding. In the park were two wooded duck decoys. 
A double avenue, over a mile long, is shown stretching 
across the river to join the Abridge-Ongar road. The 
house itself was described later in the century as 'a 
good regular brick building'. '"i A print of the same 
date shows the main two-story block to be of nine bays, 
the three central windows being surmounted by a pedi- 
ment. Flanking this are single-story wings with 
balustraded parapets, each having three windows. The 
principal entrance has a segmental pediment. Prob- 
ably the revulsion against formality which took place 
in the late i8th century led to alterations in the park. 
The WetstafF Brook was dammed to form the sheet of 
water known as the Lady's Pond and the straight 
avenue was abglished.'s In 181 1 the house was taken 
down and the materials sold.'* Later in the 19th 
century Frances, Countess Waldegrave often visited 
the site and built herself a summer-house there. '^ 
After her death in 1879 her fourth husband. Lord 
Carhngford, erected a memorial on the same spot. 
This stone is still standing and bears a long inscription, 
now partly illegible, and a portrait medallion of the 
Countess. South-west of the mansion site a system of 
trenches with two small square islands'* indicates the 
remains of the ornamental pond in the formal garden. 

In the later 19th century the owners of the estate 
lived at Dudbrook which lies in the north-east corner 
of the parish. A house was already in existence here 
before the demolition of Navestock Hall," but it 
appears to have been rebuilt or much enlarged at 
various subsequent dates. The style is mostly of the 
early and mid- 1 9th century, and there is a tower-like 
feature in the centre with four finials at the angles. 
For nearly 30 years it was the home of Mr. Walter 
Tyser, who also made additions to the building. In 
1951 it was bought by the East Ham County Borough 
Council for use as a home for old people.' 

The manor of BOIS HALL took its name from the 
family of Boys alias de Bosco. In 1 298 John de Bosco 
and his wife Christine held a small estate in Nave- 
stock.2 This John was dead by 1 3 17.' In 1393 Sir 
Richard Sutton conveyed to John Boys and others, 
with remainder to Boys's heirs, extensive properties in 
Essex including the manor of Navestock [sic].* This 
manor was probably that which later became known 



" Cal. Pat. 1560—3, 370-1. 

'♦ Morant, £jscj:, i, 182. Inc. 1579-86 
John Greene, owner of Bois Hali (see 
below) was evidently tenant of Navestock 
Hall: see above, p. 142. 

S5 C142/437/173. 

•' G.E.C. Complete Baronetage, ii, 213. 

8' Complete Peerage (orig. edn,), viii, 
37-4.0. 

M Complete Peerage, iii, 279; E.R.O., 
D/CT 248. 

*" Complete Peerage, iii, 279 ; Kelly's Dir. 



Essex {iSg^); Burke's L.G. 1937, p. 2202; 
Complete Peerage (orig. edn.), viii, 41. 

»» Inf. from Mrs. L. F. Pryor. The 
estate still comprises about three-quarters 
of the land in the parish. 

»' Hist. MSS. Com. gti Rep. ft. i App. 
38a. 

'^ Inf. from Miss Parrish. 

" E.R.O,, D/DZn 3. 

'♦ Hist. Essex by Gent, iv, 48. And see 
plate facing p. 136. 

95 The alterations are shown in a map 



of the parish, 1785, revised 1835 : E.R.O., 
D/DXa 24. 
'^ T. Wright, Hist. Essex, ii, 419. 

97 Inscription on memorial stone. 

98 Hist. Mon. Com. Essex, ii, 193. It was 
not a duck decoy as suggested. 

99 Shown on Chapman and Andre, Map 
of Essex, lyyy, sheet xvii. 

* Inf. from the matron. 

^ Feet of F. Essex, ii, 88. 
3 Ibid. 171. 

* Ibid, iii, 219. 



144 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



NAVESTOCK 



as Bois HaO. John Boys was no doubt identical with 
the man of that name who succeeded the Suttons in 
the manor of Langenhoe.s He also had property in 
Tolleshunt d'Arcy where he was buried in 1419.* 
Before his death, however, Bois Hall had passed out of 
his possession. In 1412 it was held by Edmund Prior,7 
and it remained in his family for over a century. In 
1507 Andrew Prior died holding the manor of the 
Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's, and was succeeded by 
his son John, then a minor. ^ John Prior still held the 
manor in 1527' but soon after that date it passed to 
Constance, wife of Lawrence Claydon, with reversion 
to Alice, wife of John Prest. John Prest died in 

1546 leaving a son William by a former marriage and 
a daughter Frances, heiress to her mother Alice. In 

1547 Alice married, as her third husband, Richard 
Blackwall."' She died in 1 561 and was succeeded by 
her daughter Frances, now the wife of William Brad- 
borne." In 1564 Frances and William conveyed the 
manor to William Tusser and Charles Belfield, who 
sold it in the following year to John Greene. "^ Bois 
Hall remained in the hands of the Greenes for almost 
two centuries. John Greene was succeeded by his son 
Thomas and he by his son John Greene II (d. 1653), 
a judge of the sheriff's court in London and serjeant- 
at-law. The latter was succeeded by John Greene III, 
who became Recorder of London in 1659 and died 
in the same year. His son John Greene IV (d. 1725), 
serjeant-at-law, was succeeded by his son John Greene 
V, who died in 1752 leaving Bois Hall to his cousin 
Dr. Maurice Greene, organist of St. Paul's Cathedral 
and a composer of some eminence.'^ After Dr. Greene's 
death in 1755 the manor was bought by Earl Walde- 
grave (d. 1763) and was merged with the main manor 
of Navestock.'* From 1654 the Bois Hall estate 
included Loft Hall (see below). In 1840 Bois Hall 
farm, then including Slades (see below), comprised 
480 acres and was occupied by a tenant farmer, Litch- 
field Tabrum.'s This was not the first time that 
the two places had been united, for the Greenes 
of Bois Hall had also held Slades between 1 604 and 
1637. 

There were formerly two rainwater heads on the 
front of Bois Hall house bearing the date 1687 with 
the arms and crest of Greene.'* If the present house 
is of this date considerable alterations must have taken 
place late in the i8th or early in the 19th century. It 
has a formal brick front of two stories with a moulded 
string and cornice. There are five sash windows to the 
first floor, three of them being grouped in a slightly 
projecting central bay. The porch has Doric columns 
and a dentil cornice. The front is flanked by screen 
walls and approached by a straight drive. A kitchen 
at the back of the house was demolished in 1948 and 
repairs to the roof in 1953 resulted in the removal of 
the dormer windows and the two inscribed rainwater 
heads. '7 



Bois Hall is now (1954) owned by the Church Com- 
missioners and occupied by Mr. T. E. Bere, who farms 
the land here and at Beacon Hill.'' 

The manor of LOFT HALL probably derived its 
name from the family of Isabel atte Lofte who held 
land in Navestock about 1350." The first reference 
that has been found to the manor itself was the grant 
of a rent issuing from it in 1483.^" In 1507 Thomas 
Intilsham conveyed the manor to John Sedley, member 
of a well-known Kent family, who was auditor to the 
Exchequer under Henry VII and Henry VIII.^' The 
manor was held by the Sedleys for a century and a 
half." John Sedley was succeeded after 15 14 by his 
son William, Sheriff of Kent in 1547, and he by his 
son John, Sheriff of Kent 1566, who died in 158 1 
leaving William Sedley his son and heir.^' In 161 1 
William Sedley was created a baronet, and the manor 
descended with the baronetcy until 1654, when Sir 
William Sedley, 4th Bt.,sold it to John Greene III of 
Bois Hall.^* From that time Loft Hall descended along 
with Bois Hall and passed after the death of Dr. 
Maurice Greene in 1755 with Bois Hall into the 
Waldegrave estate of Navestock. In 1 840 Loft Hall 
farm comprised 223 acres and was let to a tenant 
farmer, C. Pratt.^' The Pratt family remained tenants 
until 1 92 1. 

The present farm-house of Loft Hall was evidently 
rebuilt in red brick in the 19th century. The remains 
of a moat lie to the north of it. 

The manor of SLADES appears to have belonged 
to Sir Humphrey Starkey who was Chief Baron of the 
Exchequer in 1483 and died in i486. His widow 
Ehzabeth died in 1496 holding it as life tenant with 
remainder to Sir Humphrey's heirs.^* The heirs were 
his four daughters. One of these, Emma, had married 
Henry Torrell (d. 148 1), another landowner in Nave- 
stock, and her son Humphrey Torrell, aged 17 in 
1496, inherited Slades as heir to his mother's pur- 
party.27 In 1503 Humphrey made a settlement of the 
manor in connexion with the marriage of his son 
Henry with Anne, daughter of William Mordaunt. 
The marriage took place in 1 5 1 3 and Henry died in 
1526.^* He was succeeded by his son Humphrey, 
who died in 1 544 leaving an infant daughter Anne, 
later wife of Henry son of Sir Thomas Joscehn.^' 
Anne died in 1589 and Slades passed to her son Sir 
Thomas Joscehn.^o In 1604 Sir Thomas sold the 
manor to Thomas Greene of Bois Hall and his brother 
Robert. 3' In 1637 Robert Greene sold Slades to 
Henry Alexander and John Howe.^^ It afterwards 
belonged to the Howlands of Stone Hall in Little 
Canfield and was later purchased by the Waldegraves. 
In 1768 Slades belonged to Lord Waldegrave but 
was no longer styled a manor.33 It remained part 
of the Waldegrave estate (see above, Manor of Nave- 
stock) and in 1840 was part of Bois Hall farm (see 
above). 



' Morant, Essex, i, 4.17. 

' Ibid. 395-7. 

' Feud. Aids, vi, 4.4.3. 

« C142/467/173. 

' CP40/1051 mem. 348. 
■» C142/84/64. 
" C142/134/141. 
■^ 'Monnt, Essex, \, 183. 
'3 Ibid. ; Gents. Mag. xxii, 44. For Dr. 
Greene see Wallcer, Hist. Music in Eng. 
(3rd ed. by J. A. Westrup), 243 f., 253 f. 
'* Morant, Essex, i, 183. 
" E.R.O., D/CT 248. 



^* Hist. Mon. Com. Essex, ii, 193. 

" Inf. from Mrs. T. E. Bere. 

'8 Ibid. 

>» Hist. MSS. Com. gth Rep. pt. i App. 
pp. 33*, 38a. 

" CP25(i)/72/29i I Ric. 111,9. 

" CP40/979. 

*2 Cf. Burke's Extinct and Dormant 
Baronetcies, pp. 482—3. 

" Ibid.; CP25(2)/ii/53 Mich. 7 Hen. 
Villi P.R.O. List of Sheriffs, p. 69; 
C142/199/94. 

^* G.E.C. Complete Baronetage, \, 73-74. 



" E.R.O., D/CT 248. 

2' Cal. Inq. p.m. Hen. VII, i, pp. 514- 
15. For the origin of the name Slades see 
P.N. fssejcfE.P.N.S.), 71. 

" For Henry Torrell see Cal. Inq. p.m. 
(Rec. Com.), iv, p. 4.02. 

28 C142/44/95. 

" C142/70/22; Visits, of Essex (Karl. 
Soc), 230 ; y.C.H. Sussex, iv, 42. 

3» C142/224/44. 

3> CP25(2)/292 East. 2 Jas. I. 

" CP25(2)/4i7 Hil. 12 Chas. I. 

35 Morant, Essex, i, 1 84. 



H5 



A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



The medieval manor house of Slades is thought to 
have stood at the head of a small valley about 600 yds. 
west of Beacon Hill Farm. The site is marked by a 
group of earthworks, now much overgrown. On the 
west is a circular moat enclosing a mound about 65 ft. 
in diameter at the base. This may be of greater age 
than the site of the house itself, which is indicated by 
two arms of a large rectangular moat. Tudor bricks 
have been found in this enclosure. Outside the north- 
west arm and separated from it by a steep bank in 
which there was formerly a sluice are two rectangular 
fishponds.34 In the 19th century part of the site was 
occupied by cottages but these have now disappeared. 
Slades Farm, formerly known as 'Little Slades', stood 
about J mile to the west. The buildings were damaged 
by bombs during the Second World War and have now 
been demolished.^s 

The church, which dates from the nth or 12th 
century, had been appropriated by 1181 
CHURCH to St. Paul's Cathedral, which owned the 
manor of Navestock.^* A vicar is men- 
tioned in a document of about 1222-9.3' The rectory 
and the advowson of the vicarage descended together 
along with the manor until 1555, when Sir Edward 
Waldegrave sold the rectory and advowson to Sir 
Thomas Pope to form part of the endowment of 
Trinity College, Oxford.^s They have remained in 
the college ever since. In addition to their ownership 
of the rectory and advowson during the Middle Ages 
St. Paul's exercised peculiar jurisdiction over the parish 
of Navestock. The cathedral retained this after part- 
ing with the manor, rectory, and advowson in 1 544 
and continued to exercise the powers of ordinary until 
the reforming legislation of the 19th century.^' 

It was stated in 1 181 that the church of Navestock 
paid 60/. to St. Paul's per manum firmar'ti and that 
there were 46 acres of arable glebe and 40 acres wood. 
The church had the tithes tocius ville and the third 
sheaf from the demesne.^" In 1535 the vicarage was 
valued at ^13 y. Si/.^' The grant of the rectory to 
Trinity College ostensibly included lands but in spite 
of its wording the college does not appear to have 
acquired any glebe. Probably, as Stubbs suggested, 
the 86 acres mentioned in 1 1 8 1 had become lost 
among the lands of the manor as a result of the practice 
of farming out the manor and rectory together.'*^ In 
the 1 8th century the vicarage 'was amply endowed by 
the college on these conditions: the vicar for the time 
being is lessee for the great tithes, paying to the college 
a small quit rent, and a fine certain oi £60 per annum\*'^ 
At the tithe commutation in 1840 the college (as 
rector) and the vicar were each allotted a tithe rent 
charge of ^^574. There were then 21 acres of vicarial 
glebe.+« Part of this glebe was probably derived from 
a gift about 1365 by John Barnet, Bishop of Bath and 
Wells (formerly a canon of St. Paul's) of 9 acres of 
arable, 2 acres i rood of meadow, and 1 2J. in Nave- 
stock.*' 

The former vicarage stands at the north-east corner of 
Navestock Heath. A 19th-century pen-and-ink sketch 



shows the house which previously occupied the site.** 
It was evidently a timber-framed structure dating from 
before the middle of the 17th century. A central block 
was flanked by two gabled wings and there were two 
old brick chimneys. The sash windows and pedimented 
doorcase were 18th-century insertions. The present 
house, which stands back from the road in a large 
garden, was built about 1 867." It is a red-brick build- 
ing with decorative stripes of yellow and black. At 
the front is a tall gable and a porch of carved stone. It 
has been empty for some years and has recently been 
sold. 

The church of ST. THOMAS THE APOSTLE 
consists of nave, chancel, south aisle, and western 
belfry with spire. The belfry is one of the notable 
timber towers of Essex. The rest of the church is of flint 
rubble and pebbles plastered externally, with dressings 
of limestone and clunch. The roofs are tiled and the 
spire shingled. The church dates from the i ith or 1 2th 
century but was largely rebuilt in the 13th and 14th 
centuries. In 1 940 it was badly damaged by a German 
land mine and by 1954 repairs had not been com- 
pleted. 

The north wall of the nave is part of the 1 1 th-century 
church. The north doorway has a plain tympanum 
under a semicircular arch. Below this a segmental 
arch is ornamented with rounded billets. The door 
itself may also be of i ith- or 12th-century date. 

The church was considerably enlarged in the 13th 
century. A pointed arch in the north wall of the nave, 
now blocked, may have led to a chapel of this period. 
One of the jambs has an attached shaft with 'stiff-leaf 
foliage to the capital. The south aisle and the chapel at 
its east end are also of the mid-l3th century. The 
arcade has four bays but the easternmost arch is of wood 
and is probably of much later date. The original arches 
are of two chamfered orders and are supported on cir- 
cular columns with moulded capitals. There is one 
lancet window in the south aisle and there are traces of 
two more. The mid- 1 3 th-century doorway has been 
much restored and the door itself, which may have been 
equally ancient, has been replaced. The east window in 
the south chapel was probably of the 1 3th century but it 
has suffered later alterations and damage. Beside it is a 
13th-century piscina with a trefoiled head. It is 
possible that this was already in existence by 125 1 
and served one of the two altars mentioned in a visita- 
tion of that year.** A new chapel, to which there is a 
reference in 1297, may have been this chapel or one 
which has now disappeared on the north side of the 
nave.*' 

In the same visitation of 1297 it was ordered that 
the chancel 'should be better united' to the nave. so It 
was no doubt as a result of this order that the chancel 
was rebuilt during the first half of the 14th century. 
The three-light east window has net tracery and there 
are other early-i4th-century windows in the chancel. 
There is also one of this date in the north wall of the 
nave. 

In the 15th century the south porch and the belfry 



'* Details from Hist. Men. Com. Etsex, 
ii, 192-3. 

" Inf. from Mr. T. E. Bere. 

»* Dom. of St. PauVi (Camd. Soc. 1858), 
150. 

" Early Charts, of St. Paul's (Camd. 
Soc. 1939), p. 190. 

'» Cal. Pat. 1555-7, 210; Morant, 
Essex, i, 184. 



39 Morant, Essex, i, 184; Fal Eccl. 
(Rec. Com.), i, 460. 

«» Dom. of St. Paul's (Camd. Soc. 1858), 
150. 

*• fal. Eccl. (Rec. Com.), i, 437. 

<» W. Stubbs, Hist. Introd. to Rolls Ser. 

7'- 
*' Morant, Essex, i, 1 84. 
•M E.R.O., D/CT 248. 



45 ^oTa^ni, Essex, \, 184. 

*' E.R.O. Prints, Navestock. 

4' E.R. xxvi, 221. 

*8 CamJen Misc. ix (Camd. Soc. 1895), 
22. 

*9 f^isits. of Si. Paul's Cks. 1297, Ice. 
(Camd. Soc. 1895), 1-2. 

50 Ibid. 



146 



ONGAR HUNDRED 



NAVESTOCK 



were added. The belfry is timber- framed. The walls 
were formerly weather-boarded but have now been 
plastered. Round the base is a semi-octagonal aisle 
which once contained vestries. The central framework 
consists of four heavy oak posts with attached octagonal 
columns at their internal angles. The bell chamber 
has a louvred opening in each face and is surmounted 
by a shingled spire. 

The timber south porch was destroyed in 1940. 
The four-centred outer archway had sunk spandrels, 
each with a shield, the eastern a fesse between two 
chevrons, the western said to have been Waldegrave. 
In the gable was an 1 8th-century clock-face. The sides 
were modern except for the posts and moulded wall 
plates.5' 

During the 15 th century also new windows were 
added in the south wall of the aisle and the north wall 
of the nave, and a 'low side' window in the north wall 
of the chancel is of the same period. A window of 
15th-century date in the south wall of the chapel, 
which was reported as badly decayed in 191952 has 
now been renewed. 

In post-medieval times, probably in the early 19th 
century, alterations were made inside the church and 
the oak pier and arches put in the south arcade. This 
pier is roughly cut to a polygonal shape and has a 
moulded cap and a brick base. The wooden arches 
springing from it are rough and plain and the whole 
has been covered with plaster to resemble the rest of 
the arcade. There are similar wooden arches across the 
nave and aisle at this point springing from semi- 
circular responds, also of plastered wood with moulded 
plaster caps. 

Late in the 19th century the church was restored, 
the tower and spire being repaired in 1897 at the cost 
of David Sellar.s^ The west wall of the nave, which 
is of brick, was probably put in at this time. The roofs 
of nave and chancel also appear to have been renewed 
in the 19th century.s* 

The 18th-century three-manual organ now in the 
south chapel was brought from Southwood Court, 
Highgate (Mdx.), and installed in 1930.55 In 193 1 
the south porch and the windows were restored. 5* On 
21 September 1940 a landmine fell in the churchyard 
near the south-west corner of the church. The south 
porch was destroyed, the belfry badly damaged, and 
much of the roof stripped of tiles. There was also con- 
siderable damage to the interior. A complete restora- 
tion of the church started in 1954. The site of the 
bomb crater is now occupied by a garden of remem- 
brance.57 

There are five bells, the first being of 1 862 but the 
others older. The third is by John Walgrave and prob- 
ably dates from about 1420-50. It has the inscription 
'Sancta Katerina Ora Pro Nobis'. The fourth is by 
John Hardyng and of about 1560 and the second and 
fifth by Miles Graye, 1637.58 

The plate consists of a cup and paten of 1625, a pair 
of silver flagons of 1626 and 1630 given by Christian 
Greene in 1638 and 1639, a brass almsdish, and a 
small silver cup and paten given in 1 847 by the Revd. 



James Ford, then vicar. There is also a pair of electro- 
plated patens, undated. 5' 

In the south aisle there are two 14th-century cofBn 
lids which were at one time used as door steps. The 
font, also in the aisle, is modern, but beside it is the 
base of the 13th century one. The octagonal oak pulpit 
is of the 1 8th century but the pews are modern. 

There are several brasses on the walls of the chancel, 
the oldest being to Richard Makyn (1603) and his 
wife Agnes (Colford) (1589), and to James Makyn 
(1616). On one of the window-jambs is a brass to 
John, son of Edward Moore (1624), a cursitor of the 
Chancery. Also in the chancel is a monument to John 
Greene, serjeant-at-law and Judge of the Sheriffs' 
Court (1653) and his wife (1641). Other monu- 
ments are to the wife and child of Charles Snelling 
(1625) with effigies and shield of arms, and to Rebecca 
(Greene) wife of Thomas Thorold (1625). 

There are a number of other monuments, including 
some floor slabs of the 17th century. The most impres- 
sive are those to members of the Waldegrave family. 
They include the ist Earl, 1741: a marble tablet on 
the north wall of the chancel; Hon. Edward Walde- 
grave, drowned off Falmouth on his return from 
Corunna, 1809: a symbolic relief carved by John 
Bacon the younger; the 7th Earl Waldegrave, 1846, 
with portrait bust by Behnes;*" Viscount Chewton, 
son of the 8th Earl, died of wounds at Scutari, 1854; 
and Frances, Countess Waldegrave, 1879. There is 
also a monument to the Revd. James Ford, vicar, 
1850. 

Sir Gilbert de Breaute, in right of his wife Joan, had 
licence from the Dean of St. Paul's, about 1223-7, 
with the consent of the vicar, to found a private chapel 
at his court in Navestock. The founders and their kin 
were to maintain a chaplain at their own cost, pay all 
profits tothe vicar, exclude the parishioners, swear to 
preserve the rights of the mother church, and give 
yearly to it two wax candles. The chaplain was to 
administer mass only with bread and holy water, 
saving that at Easter the founders and their kin, 
their free household and their guests but not their 
servants were to be admitted to the sacraments at the 
altar.*' 

A chapel is mentioned in 1335 as belonging to the 
manor house of the Dean and Chapter of St. Paurs.*^ 

The Navestock Mission Room at Horseman Side, 
originally a nonconformist chapel, is now (1954) used 
for services in connexion with the parish church. 

Sir Edward Waldegrave (d. 1 561), the first of his 
line to own the manor of 
ROMAN CATHOLICISM Navestock, suffered im- 
prisonment under Eliza- 
beth I for his recusancy.*^ The Waldegraves appear 
to have remained Roman Catholics until early in the 
1 8th century. In 17 17 Henrietta, dowager Lady 
Waldegrave and her son James Lord Waldegrave, both 
appeared in the county register of papists' estates.*"* 
Soon after this James turned Protestant: in 1722 he 
took his seat in the House of Lords.*5 There are 
records of a few other Roman Catholics in the parish 



" Hist. Mon. Com. Essex, il, 192. 
" Ibid. 191. 

" Kelly's Dir. Essex {1^06). 
s* E.R. iv, 221. 

" N. Pevsner, Buildings of Essex, 276; 
Vestry Mins. 
5« Kelly's Dir. Essex (1933). 
" For a drawing of the church made in 



1895