MANORS AND OTHER ESTATES.
A five-hide
estate at King's Stanley was held by Tovi in 1066;
in 1086 he retained two hides by grant of William I
while the remainder had passed to Thurstan son of
Rolf. (fn. 19) After the forfeiture of Thurstan's lands in
William II's reign (fn. 20) the Crown granted the manor
of KING'S STANLEY to William le Meschin, the
younger brother of the Earl of Chester, who was
dead by 1135 leaving as his heir one Alice. (fn. 21) By 1160
the manor had escheated to the Crown, which
retained it until 1188 (fn. 22) when Henry II granted it to
Walter son of Thurstan le Despenser, and in 1204
it was confirmed to Walter's brother Aumary. (fn. 23)
Aumary was dead by 1215 when custody of the
manor was given to Rowland Blewett, guardian of
Aumary's heir Thurstan le Despenser, (fn. 24) In 1216 the
Crown granted the manor to Hugh Mortimer (fn. 25) who
was disputing it in 1221 and 1227 with Thurstan; (fn. 26)
in 1229 the manor was confirmed to Thurstan, (fn. 27) but
Ralph Mortimer was claiming it in 1230. (fn. 28) Thurstan
held the manor in 1235, (fn. 29) and by 1253 it had passed
to his son Adam, who obtained a grant of a market
and fair; (fn. 30) it was probably then that Adam created
the borough, first recorded in 1295 after his death,
in part of the manor. (fn. 31) When Adam was captured
by Roger Mortimer at the battle of Northampton
in 1264 he pledged the manor of Stanley to William
Devereux (de Ebroicis) who had given security to
Mortimer for the payment of Adam's ransom, (fn. 32) and
Adam and Devereux were disputing the manor in
1277. (fn. 33) At his death c. 1295 Adam was succeeded by
his son Aumary le Despenser (fn. 34) who held the manor
in 1303 (fn. 33) but had granted it by 1311 to John Giffard
of Brimpsfield. (fn. 36) In 1313, however, the manor was
in the hands of the Crown, (fn. 37) which apparently
retained it until 1315 when John Giffard was
pardoned for acquiring it without licence. (fn. 38)
On John Giffard's rebellion and execution in 1322
the manor passed to the Crown (fn. 39) but in 1323 it was
granted to John's wife Avelina, (fn. 40) who held it at her
death c. 1327. (fn. 41) In 1328 it was held by John
Mautravers as guardian of John Giffard's lands, (fn. 42)
and in 1330 it was included in the quitclaim made
by John of Kellaways, the heir of the Giffards, to
John Mautravers; Mautravers forfeited his lands the
same year, (fn. 43) and in 1337 the Crown granted the
manor to Maurice of Berkeley (d. 1347). (fn. 44) The
manor was restored to John Mautravers in 1351, (fn. 45)
and after his death in 1364 (fn. 46) passed to his wife Agnes
(d. 1375), (fn. 47) and then to his grand-daughter Eleanor
and her husband John FitzAlan (fn. 48) (d. 1379). It then
passed to John FitzAlan's son John (d. 1391), (fn. 49)
whose wife Elizabeth received it in 1393. (fn. 50) She died
in 1408, when it passed to her son John FitzAlan, (fn. 51)
later Earl of Arundel (d. 1421). (fn. 52) A third of the
manor was retained in dower by John's wife Eleanor
until her death in 1455; (fn. 53) the remainder passed to
their son John, Earl of Arundel (d. 1435), and to his
son Humphrey who died a minor in 1438. The manor
passed to Humphrey's uncle William FitzAlan, Earl
of Arundel (fn. 54) (d. 1487), and to the successive earls,
Thomas (d. 1524), William (d. 1544), and Henry
FitzAlan. (fn. 55) Henry's son-in-law John Lumley, Lord
Lumley, held the manor in 1558 or 1559, (fn. 56) but
Henry granted it to the Crown in 1560. (fn. 57)
In 1609 the Crown granted the manor to George
Salter and John Williams, (fn. 58) and by 1610 it had
passed to Sir George Huntley of Frocester (fn. 59) who
sold the borough of King's Stanley in 1617. (fn. 60) In
1631 his son William sold the manor to Sir Robert
Ducie, Bt., (fn. 61) on whose death in 1634 it passed to
Sir Robert's son Richard (fn. 62) (d. 1657). Richard was
succeeded by his brother, Sir William Ducie, later
Viscount Downe (d. 1679), whose estates passed to
his niece Elizabeth (d. 1703) and her husband
Edward Moreton (d. 1687). (fn. 63) The manor passed to
their son Matthew Ducie Moreton, created in 1720
Baron Ducie of Moreton (d. 1735), (fn. 64) and then to his
son Matthew, created in 1763 Baron Ducie of
Tortworth (d. 1770). (fn. 65) The estate then passed to the
nephew of the second Matthew, Thomas Reynolds,
Lord Ducie (d. 1785), who assumed the name of
Moreton, (fn. 66) to Thomas's brother Francis, Lord
Ducie (d. 1808), who also assumed the name of
Moreton, (fn. 67) and to Francis's son Thomas Reynolds
Moreton (d. 1840), created Earl Ducie in 1837. In
1839 the estate, which included Court farm, Woodside farm, and Stanley Wood, amounted to c. 310
a. (fn. 68) Before 1846 it was sold by Thomas, Earl Ducie,
or his son Henry, to William Leigh (fn. 69) of Woodchester
Park (d. 1873); Leigh's son William was succeeded
before 1919 by Henry Vincent Leigh. (fn. 70) The Leighs
sold the estate c. 1922; Court farm was bought by
G. W. Fletcher, whose son Mr. J. G. Fletcher owned
and farmed it in 1967, (fn. 71) and Woodside farm by the
Malpass family who farmed it in 1967. (fn. 72)
The original manor-house was presumably on the
moated site west of the church. Excavation there has
indicated that the site was occupied in Henry I's
reign and the moat enlarged in the mid 12th century, (fn. 73)
and the name King's Hill later applied to the site
suggests occupation during the later 12th century
when the manor was held by the Crown; (fn. 74) a house
belonging to the manor was recorded in extents of
1295 and 1322, but not in one of 1331. (fn. 75) Court Farm
on the south-east of the village served as the manorhouse in the 19th century, but had only comparatively recently become part of the manor estate; it
had presumably been a part of the borough, to
which it owed a quit-rent in the 18th century, and,
as the name dates from before its acquisition by the
lords of the manor, it, or its adjoining building
known as the Court House, may at one time have
been the meeting-place for borough courts. The
Court House may have been the building that c. 1775
was thought to have once served as a gaol. (fn. 76) Court
Farm was evidently included in the 'Court estate'
owned by a Mr. Chapman in 1734 (fn. 77) and acquired
from him before 1751 by Richard Clutterbuck of
Peckstreet House (fn. 78) who was presumably the Mr.
Clutterbuck who owned Court Farm in 1777. (fn. 79) In
1783 Court Farm was owned by Thomas Purnell
Purnell (fn. 80) who sold the house and 107 a. in 1792 or
1793 to Francis, Lord Ducie, the lord of the manor. (fn. 81)
It is a 17th-century stone house comprising a rectangular block with gabled extensions to the west; it
has some stone-mullioned windows with dripmoulds
but others were replaced in the early 18th century
with sash windows. The Court House to the west is a
single stone-built range, apparently of the 16th
century, similar to a large barn, which purpose it
served in 1967. It has two stories and attics, with
arched doorways, stone-mullioned windows with
dripmoulds, a stone newel stair at each end, and a
roof with curved wind-braces; a grotesque face is
carved on the finial of the southern gable. A massive
central fireplace and chimney were apparently added
later, and the west wall is supported by a large
buttress. (fn. 82) Another stone barn near-by has a similar
roof and is apparently of the same date as the Court
House. In 1773 Edmund Clutterbuck of the Stanley
House branch of the family described the Court
House as 'now uninhabited' and 'formerly a very good
mansion, and the ancient seat of our ancestors'; (fn. 83) he
was presumably either recording a family tradition
or drawing conclusions from the ownership of the
estate by his distant cousins of Peckstreet House.
Sir George Huntley sold the borough of KING'S
STANLEY in 1617 to William Clutterbuck (fn. 84) of
King's Stanley (d. 1655). It presumably passed to
William's son Thomas (d. 1666), (fn. 85) and in 1675 it
was held by Thomas's sister Elizabeth (d. 1682) and
her husband Robert Oldisworth of Wotton-underEdge. (fn. 86) In 1695 William Clutterbuck of Rodborough,
clothier, perhaps Thomas's son, sold the borough
to his mortgagee Elizabeth Browning; (fn. 87) it then
consisted of the lordship and £27 11s. 7d. in reserved
rents. (fn. 88) Elizabeth settled it on her grandson John
Baker Bridges Dpwell (fn. 89) (d. 1743), who devised it to
the Revd. Staunton Degge (fn. 90) of Over, in Almondsbury. Staunton Degge sold the borough in 1753 to
Samuel Paul of Rodborough, clothier, (fn. 91) who held it
in 1767. (fn. 92) By c. 1775 it had passed to Nathaniel
Peach, (fn. 93) and in 1801 it was held by Mary Paul, a
widow, and Samuel Wathen of Woodchester,
presumably the Sir Samuel Wathen who held it in
1822 (fn. 94) and died in 1835. (fn. 95) Sir Samuel settled the
borough on Sir Paul Baghott (formerly Wathen), (fn. 96)
who apparently sold his interest in 1834 to Thomas
Lediard, who was lord of the borough in 1837. By
1845 the borough had passed to Joseph King, (fn. 97) and
his trustees held it in 1856. (fn. 98) By 1863 the lordship
had been acquired by Samuel Stephens Marling of
Stanley Park, with which it thereafter descended. (fn. 99)
In 1309 Aumary le Despenser granted a messuage
and 24 a. to Stephen Marshal of Oldberrow, (fn. 1) who
granted the estate in 1314 to William Marshal of
Oldberrow. (fn. 2) Amice of Oldberrow who was assessed
for tax at King's Stanley in 1327 was perhaps
William's widow, (fn. 3) and in 1334 his son William
received seisin on coming of age. (fn. 4) William Marshal
granted the estate in 1369 to Hugh Twissell (fn. 5) (d.
1381). (fn. 6) John Twissell died seised of the estate in
1454, (fn. 7) and it then passed to successive sons John
(d. 1471), (fn. 8) Robert (d. 1501), (fn. 9) and George (d. 1534). (fn. 10)
George's son Edward (fn. 11) in 1548 made a grant of the
estate, said to comprise a capital messuage and 60 a.
to the lessee, Thomas Winston of Randwick, but
was later disputing it with Winston. (fn. 12) In 1552
Edward granted the estate to Joan Wilkinson, (fn. 13) to
whom Thomas Winston granted his claim in 1555. (fn. 14)
Joan was dead by 1558 when the estate was divided
among coheirs, (fn. 15) two of whom, Ralph Coley and
Ralph Hetherington, granted their shares in 1562
and 1564 respectively to a third, Jane wife of
Michael Locke. (fn. 16) In 1564 Jane and her husband
granted the estate to Richard Clutterbuck (d. 1591), (fn. 17)
and it was presumably represented by the 5 messuages and 34 a. owned by Richard's son, Thomas,
at his death in 1614. The estate then passed to
Thomas's son, William Clutterbuck, (fn. 18) who bought
the borough of King's Stanley (fn. 19) in 1617, but it is
not known whether it passed to William's heirs. A
customary tenement called Blakeford, comprising a
messuage and ½ yardland, which was also held by
George Twissell at his death in 1534, (fn. 20) later passed
to Richard Selwyn from whom it was bought in
1612 by Jasper Clutterbuck of Stanley House. (fn. 21)
About 1306 Aumary le Despenser granted an
estate, later known as NOTELYNS PLACE, to
John Notelyn and Joan his wife, (fn. 22) and John Notelyn
had the highest tax assessment in King's Stanley in
1327. (fn. 23) Joan, the widow of John Notelyn, died c.
1340 when a messuage, then ruinous, and 64 a.
passed to her son John. (fn. 24) John Notelyn died in
1361, (fn. 25) and his son John in 1377 (fn. 26) when the estate
passed to Hugh Notelyn (d. 1432). Hugh's son
John (fn. 27) held the estate until his death in 1442 (fn. 28) when
it was granted to John's widow Joan during the
minority of his son John. (fn. 29) John Notelyn died in
1450 still a minor and was succeeded by his cousin
Joan, the wife of John Lynnet. (fn. 30) John Lynnet died
in 1501 when his heir was his son Richard. (fn. 31) In 1548
Thomas Lynnet had licence to grant lands in King's
Stanley to Nicholas Rogers, (fn. 32) and Thomas Rogers
held Notelyns Place and another house and estate
called Jemettes Place, which he had purchased, at
his death in 1638; Thomas's heir was his son
Thomas. (fn. 33)
Jemettes Place, and perhaps also Notelyns Place,
later formed part of the estate known as STANLEY
PARK in the east part of the parish. (fn. 34) In 1686 the
estate, with Pen Wood and other lands, was owned
by John Jeffreys, who was dead by 1688 when it
passed to his nephew, also John Jeffreys. The
nephew or an heir of the same name leased it in 1739
to Thomas Pettat, who bought it in 1746. In 1759
Thomas Pettat settled 165 a. on the marriage of his
son Thomas. (fn. 35) Thomas the son mortgaged the
estate in 1782 to his brother-in-law Sir George
Onesiphorus Paul, Bt., (fn. 36) the prison reformer, who
was one of the assignees of the estate on Pettat's
bankruptcy as a clothier in 1786 and became the
owner in 1797. (fn. 37) Sir George sold c. 100 a. of the
estate in 1799 to Henry Burgh. (fn. 38) Henry Burgh was
succeeded at his death in 1848 by his son Edward (fn. 39)
who sold the estate in 1849 to Joseph Watts, his
father's mortgagee since 1823, and Watts sold it in
1850 to Samuel Stephens Marling, (fn. 40) the millowner. (fn. 41)
Another part of the estate, 84 a. including Pen
Wood, was retained by Sir George Onesiphorus
Paul and passed on his death in 1820 to his nephew
Robert Snow Paul. Robert Paul conveyed it in 1847
to Sir John Dean Paul, Bt. (d. 1852), whose son Sir
John sold it in 1853 to Samuel Marling. (fn. 42) Samuel
Marling, who purchased a number of other estates
in King's Stanley before 1872, (fn. 43) was created a
baronet in 1882 and died in 1883. His estates passed
to his son Sir William Henry Marling (d. 1919), and
to Sir William's son, Col. Sir Percival Scrope
Marling, V.C. (d. 1936). (fn. 44) Sir Percival's widow,
Beatrice, held the estates until her death in 1941,
when they passed to her nephew, Sir John Stanley
Vincent Marling. (fn. 45) The land was sold to the various
farmers in 1952. (fn. 46)
The house at Stanley Park incorporates part of a
rough-cast wall with the date 1584 and stonemullioned windows with dripmoulds, which may
represent the Jemettes Place mentioned in 1638; (fn. 47)
a close called Gemmetts on the south-east of the
house belonged to the estate in the 18th century. (fn. 48)
The house on the site in 1749 was called 'Thomas
Pettat's great house'. (fn. 49) It was largely rebuilt in 1850
in the Tudor style by Samuel Marling, who added
an extension on the north in 1870. (fn. 50) The interior
included both Tudor and Gothic details liberally
ornamented with the Marling arms and the initials
of members of the family. The family lived at the
house until c. 1947 when Sir John Marling began its
conversion into flats, and in 1952 it was sold to
Cretra Investments Ltd. who were completing the
conversion in 1967. (fn. 51) A stable-block in Cotswold
style was built south-west of the house by John
Jeffreys in 1692; (fn. 52) it incorporates a cross-gabled
dovecot and a cottage. An extension was made on
the north by Samuel Marling in 1872, (fn. 53) and in 1967
the stable-block also was leased as flats.
An estate centred on STANLEY HOUSE and
Stanley Mill was owned for two hundred years by
the Clutterbucks, a family of clothiers. In 1579
Richard Clutterbuck (d. 1591) bought the mill and
lands from Richard Harmer. (fn. 54) Richard Clutterbuck's
heirs by his first wife Joan inherited his estate
formerly belonging to the Twissells and later became
lords of the borough; (fn. 55) the mill and Stanley House,
then known as Giles Mill and Giles Meese, passed
to Jasper Clutterbuck, Richard's son by his second
wife Elizabeth. By small purchases of land made
from 1605 onwards Jasper (d. 1627) built up a
considerable estate at King's Stanley. (fn. 56) Part of it
including c. 80 a. passed to Jasper's second son
Richard (d. 1670), who sold it to Daniel Lysons, but
it reverted to the Clutterbucks of Stanley House in
1707 when Daniel's son, Daniel, sold it to Thomas
Clutterbuck. (fn. 57) The mill and another part of the
estate passed on Jasper Clutterbuck's death in 1627
to his widow Margaret, but in 1629 she made them
over to his eldest son John (fn. 58) (d. 1680), who was
succeeded by his son Thomas Clutterbuck (d. 1696).
Thomas's son Jasper died a few months after his
father, and the mill and part of the estate passed to
Jasper's widow Catherine, who married William
Payne. (fn. 59) The remainder of the estate passed to
Jasper's son, Thomas Clutterbuck (fn. 60) (d. by 1717),
and then, with the land bought from Daniel Lysons,
to Thomas's brother Jasper, (fn. 61) who had apparently
succeeded to his mother's portion of the estate by
1735, (fn. 62) and died in 1752. Jasper's son Jasper
succeeded and died in 1782.
Stanley House, Stanley Mill, and a part of the
lands passed to Jasper's daughter Sarah and her
husband, John Hawker of Dudbridge, who together
sold them in 1783 to John Holbrow of Uley. (fn. 63) After
Holbrow's death in 1790 the estate was apparently
held by his wife Elizabeth (d. 1793), and then
reverted to John Hawker, who sold it in 1802 to
Nathaniel Peach Wathen. Wathen sold the estate
in 1808 to Joseph Wathen, (fn. 64) who sold Stanley Mill
in 1813 to George Harris and Donald Maclean,
whose partnet, Charles Stephens, sold the mill in
1842 to Nathaniel Samuel Marling. (fn. 65) Joseph Wathen
sold Stanley House and c. 25 a. in 1820 to Donald
Maclean, from whom William Marmont bought
them in 1839. Marmont sold the house and land
in 1841 to Nathaniel Marling, (fn. 66) who in 1854 sold
Stanley House, Stanley Mill, and the land to his
brother, Samuel Marling of Stanley Park. (fn. 67)
The building of Stanley House was apparently
begun by Richard Clutterbuck and completed in
1593 after his death. (fn. 68) It comprises a single rectangular stone block of two stories and attics with
three gables at the front. Sash windows were added
in the 18th century, and the gables have small roundheaded lights; one of the original stone-mullioned
windows with dripmoulds survives in a gable at the
rear. Stanley House was the home of William Henry
Marling from 1861 or earlier to c. 1885 when he
moved to Stanley Park. (fn. 69) In 1927 the house was
bought by Mr. A. G. C. Gibson, the owner and
occupier in 1967. (fn. 70) An ornate late-18th- or early19th-century Gothic stone stable-block on the north
of the house was being restored by the Midlands
Electricity Board in 1968 for use as offices. (fn. 71)
Another part of the estates of Jasper Clutterbuck
(d. 1782), known as REDHILL FARM and including most of the land which had been owned for a
time by the Lysons family, later became divided
between Sarah and John Hawker, and Jasper's other
daughter Martha and her husband William Read.
The Reads' share was bought in 1807 by Thomas
Gray who acquired the other moiety from Richard
Hawker, son of Sarah and John, in 1809. Thomas
Gray died in 1835, and his wife Maria (fn. 72) was
presumably the Mary Gray who held Redhill Farm
and 66 a. in 1838. (fn. 73) Maria died in 1852, and was
succeeded by her grandson, John Charles Conolly,
who by will proved 1855 devised Redhill Farm to
his brother Thomas Richard Conolly. Thomas
Conolly sold the estate in 1867 to Samuel Marling
of Stanley Park. (fn. 74) The house, recorded from 1707, (fn. 75)
is a Cotswold-style stone farm-house.
An estate centred on PECKSTREET HOUSE
(sometimes called Peckstreet Farm) east of King's
Stanley village was held from the early 17th century
by another branch of the Clutterbuck family. (fn. 76) The
house was apparently built in 1636 by Richard
Clutterbuck (d. 1677), (fn. 77) and his son Richard was
said to have a good house and estate there c. 1710. (fn. 78)
The second Richard died in 1714, and the estate
passed to successive sons, Richard (d. 1718), Richard
(d. 1778), (fn. 79) and James (d. 1786). On James's death
it passed to his brother Thomas (fn. 80) (d. 1814), and then
reverted to James's son John (fn. 81) (d. 1839). The estate,
which amounted to 68 a., was held by John's widow
Mary until her death in 1855, (fn. 82) and her grandson
Richard Clutterbuck sold it in 1871 to Samuel
Marling of Stanley Park. (fn. 83) The house, which stood
east of Peckstreet not far from the surviving farmhouse, (fn. 84) had 4 hearths in 1672. (fn. 85) It was a fair-sized
Cotswold-style house with gables, stone-mullioned
windows with dripmoulds, and chimneys with
moulded stone caps. (fn. 86) In 1896 it was said to have
been long uninhabited, (fn. 87) and it had been pulled
downby 1924. (fn. 88)
Another house, also called PECKSTREET
HOUSE, standing to the north-west of the Clutterbuck's house, was held as copyhold by Richard
Selwyn, clothier, in 1610. In that year Sir George
Huntley, lord of the manor, sold the freehold to
Thomas and Giles Parry who sold it a few months
later to William Selwyn, apparently Richard's son. (fn. 89)
William's son William held the house in 1679, (fn. 90) and
in 1684 William and Jasper Selwyn of Broadwell
sold the house and 41 a. to Nathaniel Paul. By 1700
the estate had apparently passed to Nathaniel's son
John, and in 1733 John's widow Holman released it
to John's brother Nathaniel Paul, (fn. 91) who may have
occupied it earlier. (fn. 92) On Nathaniel's death in 1737
it passed to his son Onesiphorus Paul (d. 1770), (fn. 93)
and then to Onesiphorus's brother, Obadiah Paul of
Rodborough who died in 1792. (fn. 94) The estate was
then held briefly by Obadiah's niece Anne Pierce
and by her son Obadiah Paul Pierce, who was dead
by 1793 when it had passed to his sisters Sarah and
Anne. Sarah sold her share to Anne and the estate
was settled on Anne's marriage to James Denison
in 1797. In 1829 James and Anne mortgaged it to
William Marmont. (fn. 95) Although Marmont was regarded as the owner in 1839, (fn. 96) James and William
Denison, the sons of James and Anne, made a
conveyance of the estate to him in 1842. (fn. 97) Marmont
died in 1862, (fn. 98) and in 1872 the Peckstreet estate was
purchased from his trustees by Samuel Marling of
Stanley Park. (fn. 99) The house is a 17th-century stone
farm-house faced in rough-cast with gables and
stone-mullioned windows with dripmoulds. An
adjoining house called the Puckhouse was sold with
Peckstreet House in 1610, but had apparently been
pulled down by 1684. (fn. 1)
An estate at Selsley, later called PICKED ELM
FARM, was owned by John Wathen in 1737 when
he settled it on the marriage of his son John. (fn. 2) The
younger John was apparently the one that died in
1744, and the elder the John Wathen that died in
1752. (fn. 3) In 1765 the estate was settled on the marriage
of Thomas Wathen, the son of the younger John. (fn. 4)
Thomas Wathen or another of the same name died
in 1819, when his heirs were his daughter Anne,
who married Sir Paul Baghott, and his grandson
Samuel Edwards. (fn. 5) By 1839 Picked Elm Farm with
52 a. had passed to David Powell Sands, (fn. 6) and in
1890 Mrs. Mary Sands sold the estate to Charles Pool
(d. 1903). Charles Pool was succeeded by his two
sisters, Beata Prout and Elizabeth Pool, who devised
their shares of the estate before 1907 to Beata's son,
J. C. P. Prout, who sold it in 1918 to Sir William
Henry Marling of Stanley Park. (fn. 7) The house, dated
1632, (fn. 8) is of stone with gables, stone-mullioned
windows with dripmoulds, and a stone chimney with
a decorated cap.
An estate of 54 a., including BOROUGH HOUSE
FARM south-west of King's Stanley village, was
put up for sale in 1791. (fn. 9) The estate was owned in
1839 by John Pegler. (fn. 10) By 1885 it had been acquired
by the Marlings of Stanley Park, (fn. 11) and Sir Percival
Marling sold it c. 1920 to the farmer, Mr. J. H. P.
Camm. Mr. Camm, who owned and occupied the
house in 1967, sold the land in 1952 to Mr. E. P.
Malpass of Old Castle House. (fn. 12) Borough House
Farm is a late-17th-century stone house of two
stories and attics; it has stone-mullioned windows
with dripmoulds and the front has three gables with
blind oval windows. (fn. 13)
A house called the PIGEON HOUSE and an
estate were acquired by Daniel Fowler, a clothier,
in the mid 17th century. Daniel's son Daniel owned
the estate in 1681, and his grandson, also Daniel
Fowler, sold the house and c. 35 a. to Thomas
Shurmer in 1726. (fn. 14) By 1751 the house had passed
to the Rimmingtons, owners of the Oil Mill at
Ebley, who evidently still owned it in 1785. (fn. 15) By
1790 the Pigeon House was owned by Thomas
Clutterbuck of Peckstreet House, (fn. 16) and it had
presumably been destroyed by 1839 when Mary
Clutterbuck owned an empty close called the Pigeon
House Orchard west of the Baptist chapel at Middle
Yard. (fn. 17) It was perhaps the house with 7 hearths
occupied by Daniel Fowler in 1672, (fn. 18) and it was
described as a large house in 1790. (fn. 19)