MANORS.
Before the Conquest CRANFORD was
held by Thurstan, a thegn of King Edward, and in
1086 had passed with his Staffordshire estates to
William Fitz Ansculf. (fn. 53) Fitz Ansculf's descendants
acquired the barony of Dudley, which devolved to
the Somery family, and by 1194 Ralph de Somery
had inherited the barony. (fn. 54) Cranford continued as
a member of the barony of Dudley at least until
1292, (fn. 55) but in 1210-12 it was also declared to be a
member of the honor of Mandeville. (fn. 56) It was again
said to be a member of that honor in 1358 and 1428. (fn. 57)
In 1086 Cranford was held under Fitz Ansculf by
one Hugh. (fn. 58) The mesne lordship later passed to the
lords of Englefield (Berks.), (fn. 59) who had also held of
Fitz Ansculf in 1086. (fn. 60) By the early 13th century the
manor was held, presumably under the lords of
Englefield, by a family who took their name from the
village. In 1217 John de Mascy and Aveline his wife,
daughter of William of Cranford and granddaughter of Roger of Cranford, successfully claimed
the advowson on the grounds that Roger had made
the last presentation. (fn. 61) It may be assumed that the
advowson belonged to John and Aveline as owners
of the manor. (fn. 62) In 1231 they conveyed half the manor,
excepting the advowson, to Richard Hakepetit. (fn. 63)
In 1238 Richard apparently granted a house and 100
acres back to Aveline, who was by then a widow, and
by 1239 Thame Abbey (Oxon.) was holding property under Richard Hakepetit, including rents,
3 virgates, and a weir, which had formerly
belonged to Aveline. (fn. 64) Thame already owned lands
in Cranford by this time. Before 1226 Philip of
Cranford had granted the abbey two parcels of land,
one being a ½-hide which had been his grandmother's
dowry, and the other a virgate which he had bought
from his lord, William of Cranford, Aveline's father,
and which he held of Aveline. (fn. 65) In 1237 Henry de
Scaccario conveyed to the abbey property in Cranford including 1¼ virgate and in 1249 Walter de
Purle and his wife conveyed to it two houses and 10
acres. (fn. 66) It is clear that by the middle of the century
Thame Abbey was holding a considerble part of
Cranford. The result of the various transactions of the
1230's described above, and of others described
below, was, however, to divide the manor into two
holdings. In 1293 Thame held half the manor and
claimed to have been doing so for over 60 years, and
to have acquired it from various persons. (fn. 67) The
Abbey's property later became known as the manor
of CRANFORD LE MOTE.
In 1365 Edward III granted Thame free warren in
its demesne lands here and elsewhere. (fn. 68) There is no
record of any leases made by the abbey. In 1542 the
Crown granted it, with the other half of the original
manor of Cranford, which was by then called the manor
of Cranford St. John, to Andrew, Lord Windsor (d.
1543), (fn. 69) in part exchange for the nearby manor of
Stanwell. (fn. 70) Both manors remained in the hands of the
Windsors until 1594, being held from 1544 to 1552 by
Thomas, second son of William, Lord Windsor
(d. 1558), and from 1558 to 1562 by Thomas's
younger brother, Philip. (fn. 71) In 1594 Henry, Lord
Windsor (d. 1605), sold 'Cranford manor', probably
including both estates, to Thomas Crompton of
Hounslow manor. (fn. 72) By 1602 the two manors had
come to Robert Knight, who sold them to Gideon
Awnsham of Isleworth and George Needler, (fn. 73) who
in turn, along with Sir William Fleetwood, receivergeneral of the Court of Wards, who seems to have
been the tenant in possession, (fn. 74) conveyed them in
1604 to Sir Roger Aston. (fn. 75) In 1609 both manors were
seized into the king's hands for the debts of Sir
William Fleetwood, but in 1615 were quitclaimed to
Sir Roger Aston's widow, Cordelia, and her husband
John Mohun. (fn. 76) In 1618 Aston's heirs sold the
manors to Elizabeth, widow of Sir Thomas Berkeley
(d. 1611), the eldest son of Henry, Lord Berkeley
(d. 1613). (fn. 77) This sale was confirmed by the Crown
since Sir Roger Aston's title was said to have been
defective. (fn. 78) Lady Berkeley seems to have held some
land in Cranford before 1618, as in 1614 she appears
as the lessor of the Moat House and orchards. (fn. 79)
In 1616 one-fourth part of the manors seems to have
been in the hands of Sir Gilbert Houghton, Thomas
Spencer, and John Smith, but in 1619 this too was
in Lady Berkeley's hands. (fn. 80) Thereafter both manors
remained in the possession of the Berkeley family
until 1932. (fn. 81)
In 1810, on the death of the 5th Earl of Berkeley,
the Berkeley estates devolved successively upon his
two eldest but illegitimate sons, created Earl and
Baron Fitzhardinge (d. 1841 and 1867 respectively). (fn. 82)
The Fitzhardinge branch of the Berkeley family
retained the estates until the death of the 3rd Baron
Fitzhardinge in 1916, when they reverted to Eva
Mary Berkeley, great-niece of Thomas Moreton
Fitzhardinge Berkeley, the eldest legitimate son of
the 5th Earl of Berkeley (d. 1810), as the heir-general
of the 5th earl. (fn. 83) From 1866 to his death in 1882
Thomas Moreton Fitzhardinge Berkeley, the eldest
legitimate son of the 5th earl, and de jure 6th Earl of
Berkeley although he never assumed the title, is
described as the chief landowner in Cranford. (fn. 84)
Presumably the Cranford estate was settled upon
him as it reverted to Lord Fitzhardinge in 1882. (fn. 85)
During the ownership of the Berkeleys, the Cranford estate seems often to have been used for dower,
or as a settlement for a younger son. From Elizabeth,
Lady Berkeley (d. 1635), the purchaser, it passed to
George, her youngest grandson. (fn. 86) In 1699 it was in
the possession of Elizabeth, the countess dowager. (fn. 87)
In 1734 it was held by Elizabeth, daughter of James,
Earl of Berkeley (d. 1736), (fn. 88) and most probably was
the dower of Mary, Countess of Berkeley, from 1810
to 1844, as she lived at Cranford from 1826 to 1844. (fn. 89)
Between 1916 and 1935 over 350 acres of the
estate were sold, the bulk being dispersed in 1932. (fn. 90)
This included the sale of Cranford House and park
to the Hayes and Harlington urban district council
in 1932; they resold it in 1935 to the Middlesex
County Council, who leased it back to them for 999
years as an open space. The manorial rights are
vested in the county council. (fn. 91)
Cranford House is to be connected rather with
Cranford St. John manor than with Cranford le
Mote. There is no direct record of any medieval
manorial buildings in either manor, though the
name of Cranford le Mote suggests that it may have
included the original manor site. The 'manor-house
commonly called the Moat House' is mentioned in a
deed of 1684 which also refers to the mansion-house
of Cranford St. John. (fn. 92) There was certainly a house
on the moat site in 1603, when Sir William Fleetwood lived there. (fn. 93) Between 1614 and 1740 there are
various leases of the Moat House, (fn. 94) and in 1740 it
is described as having half an acre of courtyards and
garden within the moat, and 4¾ acres adjoining and
surrounding the moat. (fn. 95) The house was used as the
Rectory when Thomas Fuller was rector (1658-61), (fn. 96)
and was pulled down in 1780. (fn. 97) About half the land
within the moat was sold in 1938 by the Middlesex
County Council to the Air Ministry. (fn. 98)
Little is known of the demesne lands of the manor,
since after 1628 it is never separately described from
Cranford St. John. In 1542 it had appurtenances in
Harlington, (fn. 99) and in the 17th century its lands seem
to have lain in the north of Cranford parish and to
have extended considerably into Harlington North
and East fields. (fn. 1) In 1628 there were 40 customary
tenants holding 8 houses, 3 cottages, and 151 acres,
at a total rental of £5 9s. 7d. (fn. 2)
The estate which became known as the manor of
CRANFORD ST. JOHN originated at about the
same time as the Thame estate, as the result of the
transactions which divided the original manor of
Cranford. In 1293 the Templars claimed to have been
holding half the manor of Cranford for 50 years, (fn. 3) and
in 1242-3 they were returned as holding a knight's fee
in Cranford: (fn. 4) this was the amount at which the whole
manor was reckoned, which suggests that the Templars' holding was then at least as important as
that of Thame Abbey.
Joan, widow of the Richard Hakepetit who had
been concerned in the conveyances of property to
Thame, granted the Templars her dower of arable
and woodland in Cranford in 1240. (fn. 5) In 1242 John le
Chapeler and his wife granted them a house and a
virgate, and John of Cranford granted them a
carucate in return for a pension in cash and kind. (fn. 6)
John's relationship, if any, to Aveline of Cranford
and her family is not known, but particular signifi
cance is attached to this gift by a tradition, current
among the Hospitallers in 1434, that 'the lordship
and vill of Cranford' had been granted-presumably
to the Templars-by John of Cranford. (fn. 7) In 1247
the Templars were at issue with Ralph de Scaccario
(perhaps a relation of Henry de Scaccario, who gave
land to Thame Abbey) concerning the advowson, (fn. 8)
but they do not appear to have finally secured their
rights in it until 1287, when Simon Weyf of Acton
and his wife Euphemia acknowledged the Templars'
right in a house, 2 carucates, and the advowson. (fn. 9)
The Templars evidently let the manor out on farm,
since in 1309 it was taken out of the farmer's hand for
three months by the sheriff, possibly for valuation. (fn. 10)
This was because the Crown had confiscated all the
Templars' property the year before. (fn. 11) The manor is
known to have been in the hands of the king in 1311. (fn. 12)
In 1313 Edward II ordered all the property of the
Templars to be handed over to the Knights of
St. John of Jerusalem in England, but alienation of
the lands had already occurred in many places: (fn. 13)
in many cases the Knights of St. John did not obtain
the lands until the later 1330's, and in a few cases
never obtained them at all. (fn. 14) Cranford did not come
into their hands much before 1338, as in 1316 Ralph
of Monthermer was returned as lord; (fn. 15) in 1328 the
lord was probably Robert de Swalclyve, who held
the advowson, (fn. 16) and in 1333 Roger Northburgh,
Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, held the manor. (fn. 17)
By 1338 lands in Cranford to the value of 20 marks,
late of the Templars, had been annexed to Clerkenwell Priory, the grand priory of the Knights of St.
John in England; (fn. 18) this is borne out by a muster
roll of c. 1335-40, where the Prior of the Hospital is
given as holding lands valued at £10. (fn. 19) Thereafter
the manor remained in the hands of the Hospitallers
until the Dissolution. Leases are known to have been
made by them in 1383 and 1393-8, and from 1499 to
1533. (fn. 20)
In 1540 the lands of the Hospitallers were confiscated by statute and taken into the hands of the
king. (fn. 21) The farm of the manor at that date was £17,
and it was held by Margery Wayland, the widow of
the lessee of 1533. (fn. 22) John Wayland held the lease
later, but was eventually evicted and became involved in protracted and unsuccessful litigation with
the later owners. (fn. 23) After the manor was granted to
Andrew, Lord Windsor, in 1542 it descended with
Cranford le Mote, as described above. In 1542 it was
said to have appurtenances in East Bedfont, Hatton,
Heston, and Harlington, (fn. 24) and in 1734 chief and
quit rents were owed from land and at least two
houses in Hatton, and from land in Hanwell, Norwood, Hayes, and Harlington. (fn. 25) Most of the manor's
lands, however, in the 17th century lay in Cranford
itself, though it had 2 acres of pasture in Southall in
1650. (fn. 26) In 1628 there were 36 customary tenants,
holding 7 houses, a cottage, and 146 acres of land. (fn. 27)
The first reference to a manor-house occurs in
1664, when the mansion-house west of the church
was said to have been lately in the occupation of
Lady Spencer. The Temple House, on the north of
the church, is mentioned in the same year, but there
is no reference to it after 1746. (fn. 28) Cranford House,
which stands on the site of the mansion-house of
1664, was extensively rebuilt by James, Earl of
Berkeley (d. 1736). It was an unpretentious threestory house of brick, and by 1800 consisted only
of his additions, the older part having been pulled
down. Two bow windows and a veranda were added
on the south front, probably after 1810. (fn. 29) The house
was used by the Berkeley family until the First
World War. (fn. 30) It thereafter stood empty until it was
demolished in 1944. (fn. 31) The stables, which date from
the 18th century, still survive.
In 1699 Lady Berkeley occupied the park and
four adjacent pieces of ground herself. (fn. 32) In 1722 the
Earl of Berkeley made an agreement with the tenants
by which he was to add a small area to the park. (fn. 33)
In 1838 the park was occupied by a tenant farmer. (fn. 34)
Partridges, hares, and pheasants are known to have
been preserved there slightly earlier. (fn. 35) The park was
reckoned at 70 acres, excluding the lake, in 1899, and
at 150 acres in 1910. (fn. 36) The 149 acres bought by
Hayes and Harlington Urban District Council in
1932 are preserved as an open space under the joint
park management committee of the urban district
council and of Heston and Isleworth Borough
Council. (fn. 37)