HOUSE OF KNIGHTS HOSPITALLERS
15. THE PRECEPTORY OF HALSTON
This preceptory (fn. 1) was founded between 1165 and
1187, when Roger de Powys, lord of Whittington,
granted the Hospitallers a portion of his demesne. (fn. 2)
By the second decade of the 13th century it was
sufficiently well established to be considered by the
bishop of St. Asaph a suitable guardian for his
hospital at Oswestry (fn. 3) and by 1240 it had acquired
some interest, if only temporary, in the churches of
Oswestry and St. Martin's. (fn. 4) Kinnerley church had
been appropriated to Halston by 1248, when the
knights owned the tithes of Osbaston in Kinnerley. (fn. 5)
The great tithes of Whittington demesne were also
granted to Halston at an early period, apparently in
return for the provision of a chaplain at Whittington
castle. (fn. 6)
By 1294 the preceptory of Dolgynwal (Yspytty
Ifan, Denbighs.) had been united with Halston, (fn. 7)
which was subsequently the administrative centre for
all Hospitaller estates in north Wales. (fn. 8) Dolgynwal,
which had been founded c. 1190, (fn. 9) had acquired
Ellesmere church, its most substantial property,
from Llywelyn the Great in 1225. (fn. 10) Its estates also
included the chapel of Penmachno (Caern.) and
presumably Gwanas grange (Merion.), since this
also lay in Gwynedd. Of the three remaining properties in north Wales later administered from
Halston the church of Tregynon (Mont.) already in
part belonged to Halston by 1254, (fn. 11) while Carno
manor and Llanwddyn grange (Mont.) may always
have been dependencies of this preceptory rather
than that of Dolgynwal. (fn. 12) The unification clearly
followed the Edwardian conquest and may have
taken place in 1288, when the prior of the order was
visiting royal castles in north Wales. (fn. 13) During the
later Middle Ages Halston also possessed a small
estate, later known as the manor of St. John's, in
Ellesmere and its townships of Haughton, Colemere,
and Crosemere. This was said in 1371 to have
belonged to the order for over a century (fn. 14) and may
originally have been the Ellesmere church estate.
Although domestic buildings at Dolgynwal were
apparently still in use in 1338, (fn. 15) when periodic visits
were being made by the preceptor of Halston, it no
longer housed any brethren. Its small demesne, only
capable of growing oats, was, however, still in hand.
Aparts from the preceptor there were then at Halston
a serjeant-at-arms, a corrodiary, and two chaplains.
There were also eight hosuehold or farm servants, a
steward, and two 'frary' clerks. A 200-acre demesne
was kept in hand and the hosuehold consumed 70 qr.
wheat, 30 qr. rye, and 160 qr. malt annually. Of a
total gross income of £152 2s. 6d. nearly half
(£72 13s. 4d.) was derived from tithes and £42 15s.
10d. from rents. Ellesmere, which produced about
£50 in rents and tithes, was and remained the most
profitable part of the estate. The preceptory also
drew a substantial income from two sources not
available in the same form to other religious houses:
in 1338 £26 13s. 4d. was received from confraria or
voluntary contributions and £7 was paid by expedores. (fn. 16)
Surviving estate records of the manor of St.
John in Ellesmere of the late 14th and early 15th
centuries (fn. 17) suggest that the knights were managing
this nearby property with some care. In 1366 the 27
tenants held a little more than 6½ virgates. Although
the total rents of some £4 a year remained unchanged until the Dissolution (fn. 18) entry fines were
sometimes heavy, life leases were the usual form of
tenure, and amobyr dues were scrupulously exacted.
In 1415 a new preceptor required the tenants to erect
crosses on their houses and wear crosses on their
caps, as was common on Hospitaller estates, and in
1429 an unsuccessful attempt was made to claim the
third part of the goods of deceased tenants.
The demesne at Dolgynwal was set on a threeyear lease in 1377 (fn. 19) and, to judge by the absence of
ploughmen among the farm servants at Halston, the
demesne arable there was no longer being farmed
directly by 1428. (fn. 20) In spite of unsettled conditions in
Wales (fn. 21) the gross annual income had, however, risen
to nearly £208 by this date. Rents and tithes produced £151 and the income from confraria, oblations on St. John's Day and other dues was put at
£53. (fn. 22) Although the preceptor was occasionally
resident in the early 15th century (fn. 23) the only permanent staff at Halston in 1428 seem to have been two
chaplains and ten servants, including a miller, a
warrener, a stabler, and a dairymaid. (fn. 24) These
consumed the corn and hay tithes of Halston and of
four townships in Ellesmere and Kinnerley.
Little evidence survives to illustrate the relations
of Halston with neighbouring magnates. Gifts
totalling £10 a year to royal officials and other lords
to secure their good will were recorded in 1338. (fn. 25)
The earl of March paid a visit in 1355 (fn. 26) and fodder
was bought in 1428 for the horses of Richard, Lord
Strange, the lord of Ellesmere and Knockin, (fn. 27)
with whom the Hospitallers seem to have been on
somewhat uneasy terms. In 1430 they had to counter
his claim to the assize of bread from their Ellesmere
tenants (fn. 28) and in 1432 his servants were alleged to
have burnt down the Halston tithe barns at Maesbrook. (fn. 29)
It is unlikely that any preceptor resided at Halston
in and after the later 15th century. (fn. 30) In 1535, when
the whole estate was valued at £160 14s., a little
more than in 1338, the domestic buildings were
probably leased with the demesne, and manor courts
were no longer being held here or at Ellesmere.
Dolgynwal was leased, with the confraria of Caernarvonshire and Anglesey, to Robert ap Rees and all
other confraria were leased to Rhys ap Owen who
was styled 'frary clerk'. (fn. 31)
Richard Mytton, who in April 1539 was granted a
five-year lease of the whole estate except Kinnerley
rectory and Dolgynwal, was required to live at
Halston, to provide hospitality, and to find a priest
for the chapel. (fn. 32) In 1543 the Halston demesne was
granted by the Crown to John Sewster (fn. 33) and it was
excluded from a new lease made to Mytton in 1545. (fn. 34)
Sewster, however, sold Halston in 1544 to Alan
Horde, who exchanged it with Mytton for lands in
Warwickshire in 1551. (fn. 35) The manor of St. John in
Ellesmere was granted to Thomas Onslow in 1545 (fn. 36)
and at the same time Carno and Tregynon were
acquired by Rhys ap Morris. (fn. 37) Ellesmere rectory,
Dolgynwal, Penmachno, Gwanas, and Llanwddyn
were granted in 1560 to George Lee, who also
obtained portions of the tithes of Kinnerley and
Whittington. (fn. 38) Kinnerley rectory, the last portion of
the estate to be disposed of, was granted later in the
same year to Robert Davy and Henry Dunne. (fn. 39)
Although a preceptor of Halston was appointed
when the order was revived in England in 1558 (fn. 40)
there is no indication that this had any practical effect.
Apart from the fine timber-framed chapel, which
probably dates from the earlier 15th century, there
are no structural remains of the preceptory above
ground, It is said to have stood to the west of the
chapel (fn. 41) and was presumably demolished c. 1690,
when the present house was built on a more elevated
site to the north. There are, however, a number of
clearly artificial irregularities in the surface of the
field in which the chapel stands, notably two rectangular ditched enclosures to the south.
Preceptors of Halston (fn. 42)
Thomas, occurs 1239 and 1248. (fn. 43)
Odo de Neneth, occurs 1294 and 1300. (fn. 44)
Richard de Bachesworth, occurs 1330. (fn. 45)
Philip de Luda, occurs 1338. (fn. 46)
Walter of Kinnerley, occurs 1350 and 1362. (fn. 47)
Robert of Normanton, occurs as custos 1367 and
1377. (fn. 48)
Walter Grendon, appointed 1382, resigned 1415. (fn. 49)
John Kilquyt, appointed 1415, (fn. 50) occurs 1417. (fn. 51)
John Etton, resigned 1420. (fn. 52)
Walter Burley, appointed 1420, (fn. 53) died 1442. (fn. 54)
William Bathcote, appointed 1442, (fn. 55) occurs until
1454. (fn. 56)
Thomas West, appointed July 1454 but died soon
afterwards. (fn. 57)
John Langstrother, appointed Sept. 1454, (fn. 58)
resigned 1470. (fn. 59)
Augustus Middlemore, appointed 1470, (fn. 60) died
1471. (fn. 61)
John Kendall, appointed 1471, (fn. 62) resigned 1482. (fn. 63)
Stephen Lynde, appointed 1483. (fn. 64)
Robert Dalison, occurs 1492–1501. (fn. 65)
Roger Boydel, appointed 1506, (fn. 66) resigned 1523. (fn. 67)
Giles Russell, appointed by July 1523. (fn. 68)
Nicholas Roberts, appointed Aug. 1523. (fn. 69)
George Aylmer, appointed Nov. 1523, (fn. 70) found
to be insane and presumably removed from
office, 1535. (fn. 71)
Richard Shelley, appointed 1558. (fn. 72)