MANORS AND OTHER ESTATES.
Land in
Yeading is mentioned as early as 757 and land in
Botwell and Hayes was included in a grant dated
831. (fn. 70) In the following year Werhard, a Canterbury
priest, devised 32 hides in Hayes to Christ Church,
Canterbury. (fn. 71) This formed the bulk of the holding
later known as HAYES manor which remained in
the possession of the see of Canterbury until 1545.
From that date until 1613 its descent followed that
of Harrow manor. (fn. 72) In the early 16th century successive archbishops leased out the manorial demesne
for 15-year terms at an annual farm of £16. (fn. 73) The
estate was leased out to the Milletts of Hayes as
early as 1526, and they continued to farm the property after its transfer to the king in 1545 and its sale
to the North family in 1546. In 1613 Dudley, Lord
North, sold Hayes to John and Richard Page, who
later in the same year resold it to John Millett of
Hayes, presumably the son of a former lessee,
Richard Millett. (fn. 74) John Millett died in 1629, and was
succeeded by his son John, (fn. 75) who in 1641 sold Hayes
to Sir John Franklin. Richard Franklin sold the
manor to Roger Jenyns in 1677 and it remained in
the Jenyns family until 1729, when James Jenyns
conveyed the property to Sir George Cooke of Harefield. (fn. 76) Cooke died about 1770 when the manor was
put up for sale. (fn. 77) It apparently was not sold until
1777 when Cooke's son, George John Cooke, disposed of the estate to Francis Ascough of Southall. (fn. 78)
Francis was succeeded by his son, George Merrick
Ascough, whose trustees sold Hayes manor in 1800
to the executors of Robert Child in trust for the
children of Sarah Fane, Countess of Westmorland,
Child's daughter. (fn. 79) By the marriage of George Villiers (later Child-Villiers), Earl of Jersey (d. 1859),
with Sarah Sophia Fane, the grand-daughter of
Robert Child, Hayes manor passed to the Jersey
family. (fn. 80) In 1829, however, the Earl and Countess of
Jersey sold the property to Robert Willis Blencowe,
an already extensive landholder in Hayes, (fn. 81) who had
held a mortgage on the estate since 1813. He was succeeded by his son, also called Robert Willis Blencowe, who sold the manor in 1858 to Charles Mills,
the banker, who lived at Hillingdon. (fn. 82) Mills was
created a baronet in 1868, and was succeeded in 1872
by his son, Sir Charles Henry Mills who, in 1886,
was created Lord Hillingdon. (fn. 83) He retained Hayes
until his death in 1898 when the estate was broken up.
In 1086 Hayes manor was assessed at 59 hides,
with 12 hides in demesne. (fn. 84) The manor was then
presumably conterminous with the ancient parish,
and probably included the area which later formed
the precinct of Norwood. Very little is known of the
extent of the non-demesne land of the manor after
this date, but during the Middle Ages the area of
Hayes manor was reduced by the formation of small
sub-manors and the larger sub-manors of Norwood
and Southall. (fn. 85) These two eventually covered almost
the whole of the area of Norwood precinct. In 1553
and 1598, however, Hayes manor still had extensive
holdings in both Southall and Northcott, (fn. 86) and as
Norwood and Southall manors were always considered to be held of Hayes manor, it is doubtful
whether the lands of Hayes manor were finally confined to Hayes parish, excluding the precinct of
Norwood, until the 18th or 19th centuries. As late
as 1800 the 'mansion-house' of the Hayes manor
estate was Southall Park in Southall. (fn. 87)
In the 13th century (fn. 88) the Hayes demesne comprised woodland and 595 a. in North Field, Middle
Field, South Field, Bromcroft, and Chalcroft. About
1598 the demesne covered just over 663 a. (fn. 89) An
estate of 658 a. divided into halves is described in
1677; that half which centred on the manor-house
and consisted of 327 a. probably formed the demesne.
The other 331 a. were farmed out in seven parts. (fn. 90)
In 1800 the manorial property, including three
farms of which one was at Dorman's Well in Norwood, covered 632 a. (fn. 91) This had increased by 1858 to
nearly 726 a. and at this date, when Charles Mills
acquired not only Hayes but also Norwood and
Southall manors, the property covered all the
northern part of Hayes parish, between the Yeading
Brook and Hillingdon on the east and west and
Uxbridge Road to the south. No land at all appeared
to lie in Norwood precinct or parish. (fn. 92)
There was almost certainly a manor-house in
Hayes from an early date, as in 1095 Archbishop
Anselm was ordered by the king to move to Hayes so
as to be nearer Windsor. (fn. 93) A hall, two granges, and
a cattle shed are mentioned in 1398, (fn. 94) and numerous
minor repairs to the hall and other manorial buildings are recorded in the later 15th century. (fn. 95) The site
of the manor, presumably the house and garden, was
occupied by the farmer, Richard Millett, in 1594, (fn. 96)
and in 1598 the dwelling and outhouses stood in 6 a.
of land. (fn. 97) During the early 17th century the house,
called Hayes Court, continued to be occupied by the
Milletts, (fn. 98) and in 1677 Hayes Court was the residence of William Wayland and the centre of a
327-acre estate which was probably the manorial
demesne. (fn. 99) In 1770 the manor-house was described
as very large, but since the sale of property included
both Norwood and Southall manors as well as
Hayes, (fn. 1) this house could have been Southall manorhouse, and not that of Hayes. This seems likely since
in 1800 the 'mansion-house' of the manor of Hayes
was the house called Southall Park. (fn. 2) The present
'Manor House' stands opposite the junction of
the modern Church Road and Church Walk. In the
1860s, however, this house was merely called the
Rectory, and another building on the north side of
Freeman's Lane, at the Church Road end, was called
the Manor House. (fn. 3) Whether either of these houses
was correctly styled is open to question, as it seems
most doubtful whether any specific manor-house
existed after the Middle Ages. Many of the owners
of the manor are known to have had their own
houses either in the parish or in the neighbourhood. (fn. 4)
A park at Hayes is mentioned in 1274, (fn. 5) and both
a pleasure park and a deer park are recorded in
1398. (fn. 6) Part of the park probably formed the nucleus
of an estate held in the 15th century by the Green
family, lords of Cowley Peachey manor, (fn. 7) which later
became known as the sub-manor of HAYES PARK
HALL. In 1481 Cecily Green, widow of Sir Robert
Green, was said to be seised of an estate called the
manor of Hayes, which she held in fee of the Archbishop of Canterbury. (fn. 8) This was almost certainly
the holding later known as Hayes Park Hall, since
twelve years later a jury reaffirmed the rights of the
archbishop to the capital manor of Hayes. (fn. 9) The lesser
estate with which the capital manor had apparently
been confused probably descended to Thomas Burbage, son of another Cecily Green who had married
William Burbage. (fn. 10) Hayes Park Hall was first mentioned by name in 1560 when it was included, together with Cowley Peachey manor, in a settlement
made by Robert Burbage, Thomas's son, and his
wife Mary. (fn. 11) The property was the subject of a family
dispute between the Burbages and their son-in-law,
William Goring, in the 1570s, (fn. 12) and was included in
a survey of Hayes manor about 1598. (fn. 13) The estate
then included a moated house, called Hayes Park
Hall in 1577, (fn. 14) and approximately 160 a. The manor
was said to have belonged to Lady Dacre, widow of
Gregory Fiennes, Lord Dacre, the owner of Dorman's Well in Norwood, to whom it had probably
been transferred in 1582. (fn. 15) In 1598 Sir Edward
Fenner claimed to hold Hayes Park Hall by gift
from Lady Dacre. A few months before his death in
1612 Fenner appears to have sold the manor to
Vincent Barry and Michael Shorediche. (fn. 16) In 1640
Roland Reynolds died holding both the manor of
Hayes Park Hall and the house of the same name.
Both were then held of Edward Millett who was presumably a relative of John Millett, the lord of Hayes
manor at this time. (fn. 17) Reynolds left two daughters as
coheirs, but the property seems to have been divided
into at least three parts. By 1658 one part, together
with property in Hillingdon and Uxbridge, had
been acquired by the Purefoy family and a second by
William Roberts. (fn. 18) In 1662 Roberts sold Hayes Park
Hall to Robert Child, (fn. 19) who died in possession in
1675. The estate was then sold by trustees, (fn. 20) to be
held in trust for William Vannam. In 1678 Nathaniel
Bennet held the manor in trust for a widow, Elizabeth Vannam. By 1703 it was again divided into two
moieties, one of which passed to John Vannam, son
of William, and the other to Robert and his wife
Elizabeth, who was the daughter of the late George
Vannam, another of William's sons. (fn. 21) By 1741 the
estate was apparently again consolidated in the
hands of the Dodd family of Swallowfield (Berks.),
lords of Colham manor. (fn. 22) Hayes Park Hall passed in
the Dodd family until the late 18th century when
John Dodd sold it to the father of Joseph Fraine
who held the property in 1795. (fn. 23) At that date Hayes
Park Hall adjoined a moated site south of Uxbridge
Road; the house was occupied by John Heath, the
judge, who lived there until his death in 1816. (fn. 24)
A quit-rent to Hayes manor for what was styled the
'Park' was paid in 1806 by a Mr. Fortescue, presumably the John Faithful Fortescue who at inclosure in 1814 held 174 a. in the parish. (fn. 25) In 1816
it was paid by 'Admiral' Fortescue. After this date
the descent of the manor of Hayes Park Hall is obscure. The manor-house had been demolished by
1865, when its site was occupied by Park Farm,
which itself disappeared between 1914 and 1935. (fn. 26)
By 1937 the moat had been almost entirely filled in, (fn. 27)
and after the Second World War the site was covered
by houses.
North of Uxbridge Road a mansion belonging to
Robert Willis Blencowe was substantially rebuilt
about 1820 as a two-story dwelling with a central,
porticoed doorway. (fn. 28) After Blencowe had purchased
the manor of Hayes in 1829 this house, Hayes Park,
seems to have descended with the capital manor. (fn. 29)
From about 1850, however, the house was used as
a private mental home. (fn. 30) It served this purpose until
the break-up of the manorial estate after the death
of Charles, Lord Hillingdon, in 1898 when the
house and 60 a. were sold for use as a nursing home. (fn. 31)
The remaining 100 a. of the estate were sold
separately to Dalton's Dairies Ltd. (fn. 32) In 1959 H. J.
Heinz Ltd. purchased Hayes Park and the two parcels of land, amounting in all to 160 a., for use as
a research centre and offices. Three years later the
house was demolished and new offices built on the
site.
An estate at YEADING owned by William de
Pilardington was styled a manor in 1337. (fn. 33) Hugh,
son of Stephen de Pilardington, had acquired a carucate in Yeading as early as 1243, (fn. 34) and in 1279 John
de Pilardington did homage for half a knight's fee
in Hayes. (fn. 35) By 1383 this estate was clearly a submanor of Hayes, as the lord of Yeading was paying
for suit of court at Hayes. (fn. 36) During the earlier 14th
century members of a Yeading (Yedding) family are
mentioned, (fn. 37) but they do not appear to have been
the owners of the manor until 1387 when John
Yeading, who held a grant of the manor for life, was
granted the reversion to it. (fn. 38) The property then
included a house and 60 a. in Yeading. A William
Yeading was a Middlesex coroner in the early 15th
century and an Adam Yeading was committed for
debt in 1413, (fn. 39) but it is not known whether they were
also owners of the manor. Nothing further is known
of the estate until 1539 when Thomas Bullock sold
the reversion on Yeading manor to John Roys,
a London mercer, the manor then belonging to
Thomas's father Richard Bullock. (fn. 40) In 1540 Richard
and Thomas Bullock and John Roys disposed of their
interests in the manor to John Hughes. At this date
it was said to comprise 10 houses, 490 a., and 100s.
rents in Yeading and Hayes. (fn. 41) The manor was subject to settlements in 1582 and 1585, (fn. 42) and in 1586
Robert, son of Thomas Hughes, sold it to William
Hewitt. The property was then said to be held of the
lord of Hayes manor at an annual rent of 6d. (fn. 43)
Robert King held the estate in 1596, (fn. 44) but whether
as a tenant or owner is not known. Henry Arundell
was apparently the owner in 1653. (fn. 45) Throughout the
18th century quit-rents for Yeading were paid to
Hayes manor; by Lady Wiseman in 1702, by the
heirs of Mr. Lambert in 1735, and by Benjamin
Lethieullier in 1770. (fn. 46) The Revd. Lascelles Iremonger owned the manor by 1807; (fn. 47) at inclosure in
1814 Iremonger owned 180 a. in the parish. (fn. 48) He was
still in possession in 1816, (fn. 49) but the later history of
the holding is unknown.
There is no record that courts were held by the
owners of Yeading, and business was probably
always transacted through the Hayes manor court.
A manor-house with a hall, chambers, kitchen, parlour, and gatehouse was contracted to be built in
1653. (fn. 50) In the 18th century the manor certainly
owned both copyhold land and quit-rents, (fn. 51) but the
extent of its property is unknown.
Hugh, son of Hugh de Northburgh and a relative
of Roger Northburgh, Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield, acquired a house and 92 a. in Hayes and Yeading in 1337. (fn. 52) This estate seems to have originated
in a conveyance of 1325 from William de Pilardeston,
who is probably identifiable with the Pilardington
who owned Yeading manor at this date. (fn. 53) In 1347
Henry Frowyk owned 2 houses and 180 a. in Yeading
which he had acquired from John Dalling, a London
mercer. (fn. 54) In 1430 an estate, possibly identifiable
with the earlier Frowyk property, consisting of part
of a house and 186 a. in Yeading, was sold by Henry
and Joan Southwell to John Holme. (fn. 55) By 1479 this
property had passed to William Chadborne, a London baker, and his son Thomas, who disposed of it
in 1479 to John Shodewell, a clerk. (fn. 56) Other land in
Yeading was bought in 1419 by Richard King from
Thomas Bullock. (fn. 57) Two smaller estates, of 61 and
40 a. respectively, lay in both Hayes and Norwood. (fn. 58)
Ankerwyke Priory (Bucks.) held some woodland in
Hayes in the 16th century, if not earlier, (fn. 59) and this
was granted in 1537 by the king to Bisham Abbey
(Berks.). (fn. 60)
Little else is known of freehold property in Hayes
before the 19th century. Elisha Biscoe held approximately 170 a. in Hayes, which passed on his death to
Sir Joseph Banks. (fn. 61) At inclosure in 1814 502 a. in
Hayes were in the possession of Hughes Minet, (fn. 62)
whose relative, William Minet, is said to have
acquired the estate in 1767. (fn. 63) By 1827 John Lewis
Minet had increased his estate to 585 a. Another
large landowner was John Hambrough, with 479 a.,
and there were at least two others, Louis Hayes
Pettit and A. A. Powell, who owned about 180 a.
each. (fn. 64) In 1866 Oscar Holden Hambrough sold
a house and 379 a. to Charles Mills, the owner of the
manor. (fn. 65) William Minet still owned property in the
parish in 1932, and the Minet housing estate built
round Central Avenue and Longmead Road is the
only example in Hayes of a housing development
carried out by a landed proprietor. (fn. 66)