MANOR
In early references it is sometimes difficult to distinguish CHIPPING ONGAR from High
Ongar (q.v.). By the will of Thurstan, son
of Wine (or Lustwine), 1043-5, 'the wood
at Ongar, except the deer enclosure and the stud which
I have there', were left to the servants of the testator,
and to Thurstan's servant Thurgot was left ½ hide
which ´lfstan occupies at Ongar'. (fn. 47) Thurstan's wife
was mentioned in the will as ´thelgyth; she appears
in Domesday Book as 'Ailid', and was said to have held
Ongar before the conquest as 1 hide and as 1 manor. (fn. 48)
From her the manor seems to have passed to Ingelric
'the priest'; for in 1068 William the Conqueror confirmed the gift of Ongar by Ingelric to the house of St.
Martin-le-Grand, London. (fn. 49) In spite of the gift, however, Ongar was held in 1086 by Ingelric's successor
Eustace, Count of Boulogne. (fn. 50) It was the only one of
´thelgyth's Essex estates that did not pass to Ralf
Bainard. (fn. 51) Ralf Bainard, however, held ½ hide at
Ongar in 1086 which had previously belonged to a
freeman. (fn. 52) Possibly this freeman had been Thurgot.
It was suggested by J. H. Round that Ongar castle,
upon its mound, was thrown up by Count Eustace
and was the caput of the count's Essex fief. (fn. 53) From
Eustace Chipping Ongar passed as part of the honor of
Boulogne to his daughter Maud and her husband King
Stephen. (fn. 54) Between December 1153 and October
1154 the manor was granted by William, son of Maud
and Stephen, to Richard de Lucy, later the justiciar
of Henry II. Ongar castle became the caput of
Richard's honor of Ongar. Henry II visited the castle
in the spring of 1157 and was sought out there by
Richard's brother Walter de Lucy, Abbot of Battle. (fn. 55)
In 1158 Richard de Anesti went to Ongar castle to
deliver a writ to Richard de Lucy. (fn. 56) Between 1155
and 1159 the king granted de Lucy 100 acres of assarts
'in the forest from Stanford, and Greenstead and
Ongar'. (fn. 57)
Richard de Lucy retired to the cloister in 1179, and
died in the same year. His son and heir Geoffrey had
predeceased him and he was succeeded by Geoffrey's
elder son Richard. (fn. 58) Richard the younger was dead
before Michaelmas 1182, and was succeeded by his
brother Herbert. (fn. 59) In 1185 it was stated that Herbert
and his lands were in the custody of his uncle Godfrey
de Lucy (the future Bishop of Winchester). (fn. 60) Godfrey
was then said to have had custody for four years. (fn. 61)
Herbert de Lucy was dead by 1189, when Godfrey
was holding the £5 that had previously been his in the
hundred of Ongar. (fn. 62)
The heirs of Herbert de Lucy were his sisters. The
Bishop of Winchester, however, continued to hold the
honor of Ongar until 1194, when it was given to
Geoffrey de Lascelles, the husband of Maud, daughter
of Herbert de Lucy's sister Maud. (fn. 63) In the same year
Rose of Dover, another sister, promised the king £700
for permission to marry and for half of the inheritance
of her brother and grandfather. (fn. 64) Geoffrey de Lascelles
seems to have retained Ongar until 1204, when it was
granted to Geoffrey Fitz Peter, the justiciar. (fn. 65) Fitz Peter
farmed Ongar at £83 a year until Christmas 1209,
when Robert Peverel became keeper. (fn. 66) In January
1214 he was credited with the amount he had spent
on wine for use at the king's household at Ongar on
the Thursday after Christmas. (fn. 67)
In 1214 Maud de Lucy, widow of Geoffrey de
Lascelles, was married to Richard de Rivers, a veteran
servant of the king. (fn. 68) In 1215 Richard was granted
permission to make two deer leaps in his great park of
Ongar 'as he had right and custom to do'. (fn. 69) In 1217-
18 Richard was holding Ongar with Maud de Lucy
of the honor of Boulogne. (fn. 70) This was a correct statement of the overlordship. The honor of Ongar built
up by Richard de Lucy comprised fees held of the
honors of Boulogne, Gloucester, and Mortain. Some
of the Gloucester fees lay in Essex, and one of them,
Greenstead (q.v.) was near Ongar. (fn. 71) This was probably
the reason for later incorrect statements that the manor
of Chipping Ongar was held of the honor of
Gloucester. (fn. 72)
Richard de Rivers died in 1221-2. In March 1222
Richard his son and heir by Maud de Lucy was
granted permission to hold a fair at Ongar until he
came of age. (fn. 73) Maud de Lucy herself survived until
about 1243. Her heir was her grandson John, son of
Richard, who was aged 4 in September 1243 (or
1244). (fn. 74) Custody of Maud's lands was granted to
Philip Basset. (fn. 75)
John de Rivers died in 1294 and was succeeded by
his younger son John. (fn. 76) The younger John was summoned to Parliament as a peer and is thus held to have
become Lord Rivers (of Ongar). (fn. 77) As John de Rivers,
lord of Ongar, he was one of the barons who sent a
letter to the pope in February 1301, but his seal is not
appended to the letter. (fn. 78) In 1302 he had licence to
let the manor of Chipping Ongar to farm for five years
to John de Sandale, a royal clerk, the castle and knights'
fees being excluded. (fn. 79) In 1321 or 1322 John de
Rivers claimed the reversion of the manor and castle of
Ongar which he had leased for their lives to Gilbert de
Clare, Earl of Gloucester, and Maud his wife. (fn. 80) The
date of this conveyance is not known. Presumably it
was between 1302 and the death of the Earl of
Gloucester in 1314. Ongar was one of the places in
which the earl had fees in that year, and which were
being held in dower by his widow, who died in 1320. (fn. 81)
John de Rivers appears to have been in the rebellion
of 1322. He probably died in that year, but whether
he held Ongar at his death is not clear. (fn. 82) Nor is it
clear whether he was the host when Edward II visited
Ongar castle in November 1321. (fn. 83) Hugh de Audley,
Earl of Gloucester (d. 1347) died in possession of the
manor of Chipping Ongar, of the inheritance of
Margaret of Clare his wife. (fn. 84) Margaret had died in
1342. (fn. 85) Their daughter and heir Margaret was the
wife of Ralph Stafford, Baron Stafford, and later Earl
of Stafford. (fn. 86) In 1348 the king granted a licence for
the manor of Ongar to be entailed upon Ralph and
Margaret and their heirs. (fn. 87) This settlement was
carried out in 1351. (fn. 88) Ralph died in 1372 and was
succeeded by his son Hugh. (fn. 89) Hugh died in 1386,
leaving Chipping Ongar to his son Thomas. (fn. 90)
From this time Chipping Ongar descended with the
other possessions of the earls of Stafford, who later be-
came dukes of Buckingham. (fn. 91) Henry Stafford, Duke
of Buckingham, suffered execution and forfeiture in
1483. Ongar was named among his possessions and
was granted by the king in 1484 to Sir Thomas
Montgomery for life. (fn. 92) Edward Stafford, son of Henry,
was restored to the dukedom in 1485. He was
executed for treason in 1521 and his possessions, including Ongar, passed into the hands of the king. (fn. 93)
In 1524 Chipping Ongar was leased for 21 years to
Thomas Maple, yeoman. (fn. 94) In 1537 William Morris,
a gentleman usher of the king's chamber, was granted
an 80 years' lease of the manor, to run from the
expiration of Maple's lease in 1545. (fn. 95) In 1542, however, the king granted the manor absolutely to George
Harper, who a month later transferred his interest to
Morris. (fn. 96) Morris mortgaged the manor in the same
year to Eustace Sulyard for £400. (fn. 97) William Morris
died in 1554, leaving James Morris as his son and
heir. (fn. 98) By his will he devised to his wife Anne a life
interest in two-thirds of the manor of Chipping
Ongar. (fn. 99) James Morris is said to have erected a
pleasure house on the top of the castle mount. (fn. 1) A visit
to the 'house of pleasure' may well have been a feature
of the visit of Elizabeth I to Anne Morris at Chipping
Ongar. (fn. 2) In 1561 James Morris received the queen's
licence to alienate the manor to Andrew Hemerford
and Christopher Crowe. (fn. 3) This was evidently for the
purpose of a marriage settlement, for in 1563 Hemerford and Crowe were licensed to convey Ongar to
James Morris and Elizabeth his wife and the heirs of
James's body, with remainder to his right heirs. (fn. 4)
James Morris died in 1597. Four years before
Chipping Ongar had been settled on his son and heir
John on his marriage with Katherine, daughter of Sir
Gabriel Poyntz of North Ockendon. (fn. 5) Sir Gabriel had
settled the manor of North Ockendon (q.v.) and other
property on his daughter and son-in-law and their joint
issue and this explains why John Morris later changed
his name to Poyntz. John Morris alias Poyntz was
knighted and died in 1618. (fn. 6) His son and heir Sir
James Poyntz died in 1623. (fn. 7) Sir James was succeeded
by his son Richard, who died in France in August
1643. (fn. 8) Sir James's brother Poyntz Poyntz evidently
succeeded Richard, but died in December of the same
year. According to the inquisition on Poyntz Poyntz
the next heir to Chipping Ongar was John Morris, son
of Edward Morris brother of Sir John Morris alias
Poyntz. (fn. 9)
The next step in the manorial descent is not entirely
clear. In 1647 John Morris son of Edward was
arraigned before the House of Lords on charges of
forging various evidences, including Acts of Parliament, to secure his title to Chipping Ongar, North
Ockendon, and other manors. The petitioners against
him were Sir Adam Littleton, Bt., and Audrey Littleton
his wife, Maurice Barrow, and Sir Fulke Greville. (fn. 10)
Audrey was daughter of Thomas Poyntz, son of Sir
Gabriel. (fn. 11) There seems little doubt that she was the
heir to North Ockendon under the settlements made
by Gabriel. She had no claim to Chipping Ongar but
here John Morris's title was apparently disputed by
Barrow and Greville. Barrow is said to have married
Sir James Poyntz's widow and Sir Fulke Greville to
have married Anne, sister and coheir of Richard
Poyntz. (fn. 12) Elizabeth, the other sister and coheir was
apparently the wife of William Duncombe. (fn. 13) Apparently Elizabeth and Anne made good their claim to
Ongar, for in 1650 and 1651 a series of conveyances
was made by which they secured the manor upon Sir
Thomas Whitmore, Bt. (fn. 14) Thomas (d. 1653) was succeeded by his son William, the 2nd baronet (d. 1699). (fn. 15)
In 1663 William's estate at Chipping Ongar was
bringing in £426 10s. a year. (fn. 16) The largest tenant was
'Mr. Goldsborough', who paid a rent of £101. (fn. 17)
It must have been in 1663 or 1664 that Thomas
Goldsborough, no doubt the tenant mentioned above,
bought the manor from Sir William Whitmore. (fn. 18)
Goldsborough was dead by 9 September 1664. (fn. 19)
Another Thomas Goldsborough was holding the
manor of Chipping Ongar in 1718 (fn. 20) and it appears to
have been about this time that he sold it to Edward
Alexander, second son of Nicholas Alexander of
Marden Ash in High Ongar. (fn. 21) Edward Alexander in
1744 demolished the house built by James Morris and
built in its place 'a large and handsome summer house'. (fn. 22)
He died in 1751 and was succeeded by his grandson
Richard Henry Alexander Bennet. (fn. 23)
Richard H. A. Bennet made a settlement of Chipping
Ongar in 1766 before his marriage to Elizabeth
Amelia, daughter of Peter Burrell of Beckenham
(Kent). (fn. 24) He died in 1814 and was succeeded by his
son, also named Richard Henry Alexander Bennet. (fn. 25)
The son died in 1818, and Elizabeth Amelia his mother
in 1837. (fn. 26) Under the will of R. H. A. Bennet the
father (1811), remainder was to his daughters Emilia
Elizabeth, wife of Sir John Swinburne, Bt., and
Isabella Julia, wife of Sir James Willoughby Gordon,
Bt. (fn. 27) By means of a private Act of Parliament (1838)
and subsequent conveyances between the interested
parties Chipping Ongar was settled upon Charles
Henry Swinburne, Captain R.N., later Admiral. (fn. 28) By
this time most of the manorial rights had lapsed. The
manor court is said to have been held for the last time
in 1732. (fn. 29) In 1835 one who had been resident at
Ongar for 23 years stated that he had never heard of
any quit or chief rents having been paid to the lord of
the manor and that the only manorial rights exercised
had been the lease of the fair and market tolls and the
appointment of the gamekeeper of the manor. (fn. 30) The
fair and market tolls were sold in 1841 and from that
date if not before the manor may be said to have become extinct. (fn. 31)
Admiral Swinburne died in 1877. (fn. 32) His widow
Lady Jane Swinburne continued to hold the estate at
Ongar until her death in 1896. (fn. 33) After her death it
was held for some years by her trustees. None of
Admiral Swinburne's children left issue. The last of
them to survive was A. C. Swinburne the poet (d.
1909). Ongar castle and some of the adjoining land
was sold by the Swinburne trustees in 1918 to Joseph
Bennett. (fn. 34) In 1934 Mr. D. A. J. Buxton bought the
castle from the executors of Mr. Bennett. (fn. 35)
No part of the castle now survives except the earthworks. The plan consists of a flat-topped mount with
encircling moat, an inner bailey, a weaker enclosure
to the north and east, and the town enclosure to the
west. (fn. 36)
The mount is 50 ft. high and is about 230 ft. in
diameter at the base and 70 ft. at the top. It is now
occupied by fragments of flint rubble and brick. The
mount is surrounded by a symmetrical moat 50 ft.
wide across the water. There is no trace of a bridge or
causeway across the moat. (fn. 37) The bean-shaped inner
bailey is defended by a strong inner rampart and moat
and covers about 2 acres. The moat was formerly
linked at both ends with that of the mound, and is
about 80 ft. wide from crest to crest and 26 ft. deep
from the top of the rampart. Parts of it have been
destroyed during the past 20 years. (fn. 38) The entrance
from the town enclosure was in the centre of the west
side through a gap in the rampart, on each side of which
is a fragment of flint rubble containing what may be
Roman bricks. The masonry does not appear to have
extended along the rampart, which was probably surmounted by a wooden palisade. The outer enclosure
on the north and east was less strongly fortified and is
indicated by two ponds and a ditch of slight profile. (fn. 39)
Two existing houses appear to have been, at different times, the capital mansion of the estate. The
White House was certainly the residence of Alexander
Bennet in 1738, (fn. 40) and may have remained so after he
succeeded to the manor. In the late 19th century
Henry Gibson, Clerk of the Peace for Essex, lived
there. (fn. 41) The house is a timber-framed structure built
originally on a half-H plan. A small staircase projection
in the angle between the central block and the northeast wing has been enclosed by later brick additions
and the plan is now roughly rectangular. In one of the
attics is a plastered Tudor fireplace and near it there
was formerly a beam dated 1599. (fn. 42) This probably
represents the date at which the house was built. A
first-floor room at the north-west end has panelling of
about 1700. During the first half of the 18th century
a new staircase was inserted, most of the principal
rooms were panelled and the roof was probably rebuilt.
The present front wall of gault brick was added about
1835 and at the same time a partition wall and chimney
were built across the former central hall. (fn. 43) There are
also extensive alterations at the back of the house.
The Castle House was described in about 1835 as
the mansion house of the estate. (fn. 44) About 20 years
earlier it had been the residence of Isaac Taylor,
minister of the Congregational church. (fn. 45) The present
house appears to be the central part of a considerably
larger structure dating in the main from the 16th
century. It is partly timber-framed and partly of brick
and has three stories. Prints of about 1830 (fn. 46) show the
existing three-gabled block flanked on either side by
two-story wings. Behind and to the south-west is a
larger wing. The principal windows are shown with
mullions and transoms. At this period the lane passed
directly in front of the building. The reconstruction
of the house took place about 1840 and most of the
plaster detail in the Tudor style was applied at the
same time. The attics retain 16th-century cambered
tie-beams and several of the rooms have panelling of
this date or a little later.