MANOR AND OTHER ESTATES
MANOR.
An episcopal estate covering much of
south-east Staffordshire was entered in Domesday Book under the heading LICHFIELD. It
may have been given to St. Wilfrid by King
Wulfhere in the late 660s as an endowment for
the new diocese. (fn. 1) The town of Lichfield, created
in the mid 12th century, became known as the
manor of Lichfield, and the remaining part of
the Domesday estate was by the mid 13th century called the manor of Longdon. (fn. 2) Lichfield
manor was held by the bishop until 1548 when
Bishop Sampson was forced to grant his lordship in the town, but not in the Close, to the
corporation established by Edward VI earlier
that year. (fn. 3) In 1582 Bishop Overton tried to
reclaim the lordship. (fn. 4) He was evidently unsuccessful, and in 1598 he quitclaimed his rights
to Elizabeth I, who later the same year confirmed the corporation as lord of the manor.
Elizabeth's grant was made at the request of
Robert Devereux, earl of Essex, as part of an
arrangement whereby the corporation was to
grant Essex a lease of the manor for life. Essex
died in 1601 before the lease could be made,
but his son, also Robert (d. 1646), became
lessee in 1604. (fn. 5) A fee farm of £50 payable to
the bishop under the 1548 grant was vested in
the Ecclesiastical Commissioners in 1867. It
was redeemed by Lichfield city council for
£400 in 1971. (fn. 6)
ESTATES OF THE CATHEDRAL CLERGY.
Land in the Gaia Lane area of
Lichfield was included in the endowment of the
cathedral prebend of Gaia, in existence probably
by the mid 12th century; the prebend was
divided into two prebends, Gaia Major and Gaia
Minor, before 1279. (fn. 7) In 1498 the prebend of
Freeford's property in Lichfield included the
Angel in Beacon Street on the south side of the
later Angel Croft hotel. (fn. 8) It was rebuilt in the
early 16th century, but was destroyed in the
Civil War. (fn. 9) In the later 1270s a house outside
the Close was annexed to Wolvey prebend. (fn. 10)
Known as Pool Hall by 1438, it stood in Beacon
Street on the site of Westgate House. (fn. 11) Evidently destroyed during the Civil War, it was
rebuilt by 1670 and again in the later 18th
century, possibly by the lessee, Peter Garrick. (fn. 12)
The prebend of Hansacre had a tenement in
Beacon Street by 1393, as did Weeford prebend
in 1548. (fn. 13)
An estate called Bispells south of the Tamworth road on the boundary with Freeford
originated as land belonging to the prebend of
Bishopshull in Lichfield cathedral. It was acquired, evidently on lease, by Anthony Dyott of
Freeford in 1610. (fn. 14) It covered 43 a. in 1847
when it was sold by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners to William Dyott of Freeford. (fn. 15) It remained part of the Dyott estate in the late 1980s.
By 1176, and apparently before 1135, the dean
had an estate at Deanslade on the city's southwestern boundary with Wall. (fn. 16) There was a
house there by 1560, and in 1649 the estate
comprised 60 a. (fn. 17) When sold by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners in 1920 it comprised 85 a. (fn. 18)
In the late 1980s most of the land was part of the
estate of Aldershawe Hall in Wall. The farm
buildings date from the later 19th century.
A house on the corner of Beacon Street and
Shaw Lane was annexed to the archdeaconry of
Chester, evidently in 1272. (fn. 19) It may have been
the stone house recorded in that area in the late
13th century; (fn. 20) in the later 16th century the
archdeacon's stone-built house was described as
'magnificent'. (fn. 21)
The vicars choral received grants of houses,
land, and rent charges from the early 13th
century and became the largest clerical landowners in the town. (fn. 22) A rental of 1497–8 (fn. 23) shows
the extent of their property, which included the
Swan in Bird Street (acquired in 1362), (fn. 24) two
inns in Beacon Street, the Talbot on the site of
the later Angel Croft hotel (fn. 25) and the Cock, and a
house in Beacon Street called White Hall on the
north side of Dr. Milley's hospital. By 1592 the
vicars also had in Beacon Street an inn called the
Lamb, on the site of the later Westgate Cottage
opposite the entrance to the Close. (fn. 26) The house
to the north was built c. 1790 for George Addams, a wine merchant; (fn. 27) it became the Angel
Croft hotel c. 1930. (fn. 28) White Hall was rebuilt in
the earlier 18th century as the Coach and Horses
inn but was again a private house in 1806 when
it was occupied by a wine merchant, John Fern;
in 1848 another wine merchant, Henry Hewitt,
was living there. (fn. 29) Either Fern or Hewitt built
the present house. The house at Stowe with an
orchard which Bishop Meuland in 1261 assigned for the use of aged or infirm vicars may
have been the house at Stowe given to the vicars
by the dean and chapter in the 1240s. It was
apparently destroyed during the Civil War. (fn. 30) In
the early 19th century the vicars held nearly
320 a. of land in Lichfield; it was transferred to
the Ecclesiastical Commissioners in 1872. (fn. 31)
Grants were made to the cathedral's common
fund of a house in Lichfield by Bishop Peche in
1176 and of land at Femley Pits on the city's
southern boundary by Ernulf, a canon, in the
early 13th century. (fn. 32) In the late 1840s, besides
their property in the Close, the dean and chapter
owned 11 a. in Lichfield, with a further 79 a.
assigned to the cathedral's fabric fund. (fn. 33)
Several chantries and obits in the cathedral
were endowed with houses and land in Lichfield. (fn. 34) It is not known what happened to the
property at the Dissolution.
Tithe in Lichfield was included in Bishop
Peche's re-endowment of the deanery in 1176.
When the endowments were reorganized in
1192, the tithe, evidently from the cathedral
parochia, was assigned to the prebends of
Freeford, Hansacre, Gaia Major, Stotfold, and
Weeford. (fn. 35) The prebendaries shared among
themselves the great tithe from certain fields in
Lichfield and in the out-townships. In the late
1640s the grain was divided by the drawing of
lots, the resulting portions being called pound
parts and mark parts. (fn. 36) The precise manner of
the distribution is obscure. The prebendaries of
Freeford and Gaia Major also took great tithe
from other land in Lichfield, and the prebendary
of Weeford took tithe from the produce of
gardens in Beacon Street and Wade Street. (fn. 37)
Other prebendaries who took tithe from land or
gardens in Lichfield in the late 1640s were those
of Bishopshull, Bishops Itchington, Gaia
Minor, and Prees or Pipa Minor. (fn. 38) No tithe of
wool or lambs was taken, (fn. 39) apparently because it
was a custom by the 1620s that such tithe could
be demanded only if the sheep had been kept for
28 days or more on the land which owned the
tithe: prebendal land was so intermingled that
graziers could easily avoid payment by moving
their flocks about. (fn. 40) In 1694 small tithes were
assigned to the vicar of St. Mary's, Lichfield. (fn. 41)
The great tithes were commuted in the late
1840s. In respect of the 739 a. from which the
pound and mark parts were drawn, a rent charge
of £143 13s. 9d. was awarded to the Ecclesiastical Commissioners (Freeford £26 10s. 2d., Hansacre £29 16s. 9d., and Weeford £86 6s. 10d.)
and one of £40 4s. 1d. to the dean and chapter as
appropriators of Stotfold prebend. A further
£449 7s. 10d. was awarded to the Ecclesiastical
Commissioners in respect of the following prebends: Bishopshull £90 from 34 a., Bishops
Itchington £11 5s. from 36 a., Curborough £1
2s. 6d. from 8½ a., Freeford £211 2s. 10d. from
954 a., Gaia Major £62 8s. from 272½ a., Gaia
Minor £5 0s. 8d. from 96½ a., Hansacre £2 10s.
from 26 a., Prees £21 from 83 a., and Weeford
£54 18s. 10d. from 263 a. The dean and chapter
as appropriators of Stotfold prebend were
awarded a rent charge of £20 10s. from 76 a.
The vicar of St. Mary's was awarded a rent
charge of £275 7s. 9d. for small tithes. (fn. 42)
OTHER ECCLESIASTICAL ESTATES.
The endowments of the medieval almshouse of
St. John the Baptist, Lichfield, included land
and houses in the town. (fn. 43) A survey made in the
early 1720s listed 149 a. west of the almshouse
bounded by Trunkfield brook and the Walsall
and Birmingham roads, 21½ a. in Dovehouse
field and adjacent fields, 40 a. on the south side
of Ryknild Street opposite Knowle Farm, 17 a.
between Borrowcop Hill and the Tamworth
road, 19½ a. along the north side of the Tamworth road at a place called the Quarry in the
angle of Quarryhills Lane and Gorse Lane, and
17 a. on the east side of Gorse Lane stretching
down to Darnford brook. (fn. 44) The almshouse retained much of the land until 1921, when it was
sold together with houses to various buyers. (fn. 45)
At its re-endowment in 1502–4 the almshouse
for women in Beacon Street later called Dr.
Milley's hospital had property in Lichfield comprising a house in Bird Street, one in Wade
Street, two in Sandford Street, 7 cottages and 2
crofts also in Sandford Street, 2 a. at Borrowcop, and land called Godcroft near Beacon
Street. (fn. 46) By 1821 the Borrowcop land had been
lost, but more houses had been built in Sandford
Street and the hospital also had 4 houses in
Stowe Street. All the land was sold in 1921 and
1923. (fn. 47)
Bishop Peche, 1161–82, gave a messuage in
Lichfield to Bordesley abbey (Worcs.) (fn. 48) and two
houses to St. Thomas's priory near Stafford. (fn. 49)
Bishop Nonant, 1188–98, gave a house in Lichfield as a lodging for the abbot of Buildwas
(Salop.), and before c. 1200 the abbey apparently had a messuage in the Close. (fn. 50) The nuns of
Henwood priory (Warws.) held land called
Mary ridding in Lichfield in the later 13th
century. (fn. 51) By 1283 the nuns of Farewell priory
had a house in Quonians Lane; in 1399 they also
had five tenements and other parcels of land
elsewhere in the town. (fn. 52) The priory was dissolved in 1527, and its estates were given to the
dean and chapter, who in 1550 let them at fee
farm to William, Lord Paget, lord of Longdon. (fn. 53)
Canwell priory was given land in Lichfield by
Ralph, Lord Basset, of Drayton (d. 1390). (fn. 54)
In 1467 Bevis Hampton gave land called
Pownes fields to Halesowen abbey (Worcs.) as
the endowment of a chantry in the abbey
church. The land was presumably part of the
Pones Mill estate, divided in 1302. (fn. 55) At the
Dissolution the property passed, under the style
of 'the manor of Lichfield', to Sir John Dudley,
who transferred it to his brother Andrew. In
1546 Andrew conveyed the so called manor to
Hugh Lee, a clerk of the royal armoury at
Greenwich. (fn. 56) Lee was succeeded in 1576 by his
grandson Hugh (later Sir Hugh) Wrottesley,
who held the estate at his death in 1633. (fn. 57)
Nothing further is known about it.
The guild of St. Mary and St. John the
Baptist owned extensive property in the city
until the Reformation. (fn. 58)
LAY ESTATES.
BEACON PLACE
BEACON PLACE on the
west side of Beacon Street was built in the late
18th century by George Hand, a proctor of the
consistory court, who was living in the Close in
1781. (fn. 59) He died at Beacon Place in 1806, and his
widow Ann lived there until her death in 1826.
The house, standing in grounds of 15 a., was
sold by trustees in 1827 to Thomas Hinckley, a
Lichfield attorney. (fn. 60) By 1828 the property had
been divided between him and his brother
Richard, also an attorney, and both lived at
Beacon Place. In his will of that year Thomas
left his half share to Richard. By 1836 Thomas
had gone mad and was in confinement; he died
in 1837. (fn. 61) In 1835 Richard married, as her third
husband, Ellen Jane, daughter of J. C. Woodhouse, dean of Lichfield 1807–33. She was
living with her sister at Maple Hayes, in
Burntwood, and she and Richard made their
home there while Beacon Place was being extended and refurbished. They had moved to
Beacon Place by April 1837. General William
Dyott of Freeford noted their sumptuous style
of living and commented that they had made
Beacon Place into 'a superb residence' and 'one
of the best houses in the neighbourhood'; he
attributed the improvements to Mrs. Hinckley's
taste and money. (fn. 62) The work was designed by
Sydney Smirke and included the addition of two
wings. (fn. 63) The house was renamed Beacon
House. (fn. 64) In 1848 the grounds covered 36 a. (fn. 65)
Richard Hinckley died in 1865 and his wife in
1870. The Beacon House estate passed to
Richard's nephew, Arthur Hinckley, who continued to live at Stowe Hill. In 1881 he sold
Beacon House to S. L. Seckham, who moved
there from Hanch Hall in Longdon. The house
became known as Beacon Place again. (fn. 66) At the
end of the century the gardens and park covered
nearly 100 a.; there were three drives, with
lodges in Beacon Street, Sandford Street, and
Walsall Road. (fn. 67) Seckham moved to Whittington
Old Hall c. 1897, and Beacon Place was let. (fn. 68) He
died in 1901, and Beacon Place passed, subject
to his widow's life interest, to their son Gerald. (fn. 69)
In 1922 he sold it with 10 a. to the War Department, which had taken it over as offices during
the First World War. (fn. 70) During the Second
World War it was used by the Royal Army
Service Corps. It stood empty from the later
1950s, and after being bought by the city council
it was demolished in 1964. The site was let to a
private developer, and houses were built over it
in the later 1960s. (fn. 71) Much of the land formerly
attached to the house has been incorporated in
Beacon Park.
THE FRIARY
THE FRIARY originated as a house of Franciscan friars, established c. 1237. (fn. 72) In 1309 the
friars occupied 3½ burgages, (fn. 73) presumably along
St. John Street and Bird Street and bounded on
the north by Friars Alley. The original precinct
probably extended on the west as far as the town
ditch, beyond which an area of land was later
added. The friary was dissolved in 1538 and its
site granted in 1544 to Gregory Stonyng, master
of St. Mary's guild in 1536–7 and one of the first
two bailiffs of the corporation in 1548–9. (fn. 74) In
1580–1 the estate was held by his son Edward
(d. 1611). Edward's son Henry sold the estate to
Thomas Clayton, who was succeeded in 1613 by
his infant daughter Ursula. (fn. 75) In 1636 she married John Hill of Little Pipe in Farewell, a
barrister of Gray's Inn. (fn. 76) The estate covered 10½
a. in 1638. (fn. 77) Hill, town clerk by 1660, (fn. 78) was
succeeded in 1667 by his son John, who sold the
estate to Zachary Johnson (d. 1669), rector of
Seal (Leics., later Derb.). Zachary was succeeded by his nephew Richard Johnson (d.
probably in the late 1690s), who left the estate in
trust as the endowment for an almshouse at
Seal. (fn. 79) Tenants in the 18th century included
Michael Rawlins (d. 1754), son of a former town
clerk, John Rawlins; (fn. 80) Thomas Cobb, political
agent for Lord Anson and Lord Gower, from
1754; (fn. 81) and William Inge of Thorpe Constantine (d. 1785), a magistrate for both Lichfield
and Staffordshire. (fn. 82)
In 1891 the trustees of Richard Johnson's
charity sold the estate, then 11½ a., to the tenant
John Godfrey-Fausett (d. 1893). In 1894 it was
sold to Harry Tichborne Hinckes of Tettenhall
(d. 1895), whose nephew and heir Ralph Tichborne Davenport (later Hinckes) sold it in 1907
to Col. Henry Williams, the tenant. In 1920
Williams sold it to Sir Richard Cooper, Bt.,
M.P. for Walsall, who gave it to the city later the
same year for the purpose of laying out a new
road and developing the area. (fn. 83)
The friary church, cloisters, refectory, and
most of the domestic buildings were destroyed
at the Dissolution. (fn. 84) The site of the church was
excavated in 1933, and the foundations were left
exposed. (fn. 85) A four-column portico was set up by
the council in 1937 as an entrance to the site. (fn. 86)
The only domestic buildings which survived
were the west range and a house at its southern
end. The northern end of the range was demolished when a new road was cut across the site in
the later 1920s. The house was presumably 'the
inn called le Bishop's Lodging or le Great
Chamber', used as a guest house by the friars
and included in the 1544 sale to Stonyng. (fn. 87) Built
of sandstone probably in the early 16th century,
the house together with the south end of the
west range is L-shaped with a wing on the
west. (fn. 88) The house was remodelled by Stonyng
and further improved in the late 18th century by
William Inge. (fn. 89) It was taken over by the girls'
high school in 1921 and incorporated in new
buildings opened in 1928. (fn. 90)
A rent of £3 from a house and 1 a. in Lichfield
was part of the PENDEREL GRANT settled on
trustees by Charles II in 1675. The grant provided pensions for members of the Penderel
family and their descendants as a reward for
helping him to escape after the battle of
Worcester in 1651. (fn. 91) The rent was redeemed in
1914. (fn. 92)
A mill at Nether Stowe was held c. 1180 by
Gilbert Poun, a chamberlain of Bishop Peche, (fn. 93)
and in 1242–3 Robert Poun held an estate there
called PONES MILL as 1/6 knight's fee. (fn. 94)
Robert's heir may have been Geoffrey, son of
Gilbert Poun, who held land in the area in the
later 13th century. (fn. 95) By 1285 Ralph Poun held
the estate, recorded in 1298 as 1 / 15; knight's fee,
and in 1299 it comprised the mill, a messuage,
and 39 a. (fn. 96) In 1302 Ralph's son Robert granted
the mill to Robert, lord of Pipe in Burntwood. (fn. 97)
The rest of the estate is probably identifiable as
the land called Pownes fields given to Halesowen abbey in 1467. (fn. 98)
Two houses at Stowe, STOWE HOUSE and
STOWE HILL, were built in the 1750s by
Elizabeth Aston, daughter of Sir Thomas Aston
of Aston, in Runcorn (Ches.). (fn. 99) In 1752, while
living in the Close, she bought 9 a. on Stowe
Hill from her sister Magdalen, who had inherited the land from her husband Gilbert Walmisley, the diocesan registrar (d. 1751). (fn. 100) Elizabeth
had built three houses there by 1756. (fn. 101) She
herself lived in the house later known as Stowe
Hill. (fn. 102) The house to the south-west later known
as Stowe House appears to have been occupied
by Thomas Hinton, perpetual curate of the
nearby St. Chad's (d. 1757). (fn. 103) In 1770 and 1771
it was occupied by Thomas Day, author of
Sandford and Merton. (fn. 104) It became the home of
Elizabeth's sister Jane, who probably moved
there on the death of her husband Francis
Gastrell, vicar of Frodsham (Ches.), in 1772. In
1776 Samuel Johnson, a friend of both sisters,
described her as living 'at the lower house on
Stow Hill'. (fn. 105) The third house was standing
empty in 1777, (fn. 106) and only two were mentioned
by Anna Seward in 'Lichfield: an elegy' written
in 1781: (fn. 107)
We mark the villa, rising near the lake,
And fairer she, that 'midst the verdant brake,
From sultry gleams, and wintry tempest
shrill,
Stands softly curtained on the eastern hill.
When Elizabeth died in 1785, Stowe Hill
passed to Magdalen Walmisley, then living in
Bath, and Stowe House to Jane Gastrell. Magdalen at once moved to Stowe Hill, and when
she died in 1786, that too passed to Jane. (fn. 108) She
let it to Lady Carhampton, presumably Judith,
widow of the 1st earl of Carhampton, but in
1788 it stood empty. (fn. 109) Jane died in 1791, and in
1792, under the terms of her will, both houses
were sold. (fn. 110)
Stowe House, so called by then, was bought
by John Walker Wilson, who sold it to Fairfax
Moresby in 1793. Moresby went to live there,
but it was let by 1817. (fn. 111) That year Moresby sold
it to Richard Gresley, who moved there from
Kenilworth (Warws.). (fn. 112) In 1830 he sold it with
10 a. to William Gresley, assistant curate at St.
Chad's from 1829 and prebendary of Wolvey in
the cathedral from 1840. He was still living at
Stowe House in 1843. (fn. 113) By 1848 the 40-a. estate
was owned and occupied by Richard Greene, a
Lichfield banker. His bank collapsed in 1855,
and in 1856 the house and 24 a. were offered for
sale. (fn. 114) The estate was bought by Charles Holland, M.D., who changed the name of the house
to St. Chad's House and lived there until his
death in 1876. (fn. 115) As Stowe House it was sold that
year to W. F. Gordon, who moved there from
Stoke upon Trent and was still living there in
1900. (fn. 116)
In 1902 Stowe House was bought by Nelly
Thorpe, the widowed daughter of A. J. Mundella, the Liberal politician. Soon after settling
there she fell ill, and her daughter Dorothea
moved there with her husband G. R. Benson. (fn. 117)
A Liberal politician and a man of letters, Benson
(1864–1945) was created Baron Charnwood in
1911. He was elected to Lichfield city council in
1904 and was mayor 1910–11; he also served on
Staffordshire county council and was chairman
of Staffordshire quarter sessions from 1929. A
pillar of the Johnson Society, he was its president 1934–5. (fn. 118) Mrs. Thorpe died in 1919, but
Lord and Lady Charnwood remained at Stowe
House until 1933. Their son John, who married
in 1933 and was sheriff of Lichfield 1933–4,
remained at the house until c. 1937. (fn. 119) It was
taken over by the army at the beginning of the
Second World War, but from 1940 until 1944 it
was occupied by Belmont School, evacuated
there from Hassocks (Suss.). (fn. 120) In 1945 it was
bought with 14 a. by the city council, which sold
the house to the county council in 1948 but
retained most of the land. In 1951 work began
on the conversion of the house into a home for
nurses at Victoria and St. Michael's hospitals. It
remained a nurses' home until 1969 when it was
bought by Birmingham Regional Hospital
Board and turned into a management training
centre. (fn. 121)
The house is of brick with white-painted
dressing. Alterations have obscured the plan of
the original house. The main front is on the west
and has five bays. The wide central bay breaks
forward and contains a pedimented entrance.
The south-east corner of the house was altered
early in the 19th century when a large drawing
room was built there; it projects south from the
main block and ends in a canted bay. A ballroom, which has been divided into bedrooms,
was built against the north-east corner early in
the 20th century, and much of the elaborate
18th-century style decoration of the older rooms
probably dates from that time. The original
service wing was to the north; it was demolished
when the house was made into a nurses' home
and new kitchens were built on the site. (fn. 122)
Stowe Hill was bought in 1792 by Phoebe
Simpson, who had moved there from Wickersley (Yorks. W.R.) by 1798. A member of the
Rider family of Lichfield, she was the widow of
Stephen Simpson, a younger son of Stephen
Simpson, a Lichfield attorney. (fn. 123) She died in
1816 at what was then known as Stowe Hill
House, which passed to William Harding of
Breck House near Liverpool. (fn. 124) At first he let the
house, (fn. 125) but in 1821 he sold it to Frances
Dorothy Furnivall, who was still living there in
1854. (fn. 126) The estate covered 17 a. in 1848. (fn. 127) The
next owner was Arthur Hinckley, who moved
there in 1859 and died in 1889. (fn. 128) The estate was
bought by F. H. Lloyd, a South Staffordshire
iron and steel master, who moved to Stowe Hill
from Wood Green, Wednesbury, and remained
there until his death in 1916. (fn. 129) A Birmingham
firm bought the estate in 1955. In 1956 the
house and 7 a. were put up for sale, while a
further 12 a. between Netherstowe and Brownsfield Road were advertised as building land. (fn. 130)
The house was bought in 1978 by Mr. and Mrs.
P. L. Rule. (fn. 131)
The house is also of brick with white-painted
dressings. The entrance front, which is on the
north, is of five bays, and the garden front has a
large central semicircular bow. On the west
there is a lower service wing, while on the east a
19th-century conservatory with a segmented
front extends across the width of the house. (fn. 132)
There are many mid 18th-century fittings, including the main staircase. The grounds include
a grotto, built partly from medieval stonework,
and a sunken fernery. The 18th-century stables
backing on Netherstowe were converted into a
house in 1959. (fn. 133) Part of the brick boundary wall
survives in the same road.