CARLTON
Carlentone (xi cent.).
Carlton is a parish containing 1,530 acres, of which
692 acres are arable land, 613¾ acres permanent
grass and 23 woods and plantations. (fn. 1) On the
north-west the Ouse divides this parish from Harrold,
and in the neighbourhood of the river the land is
liable to flood. The slope of the ground is irregular,
the highest point attained being in the east, where
the land is 296 ft. above the ordnance datum. The
parish is traversed by one main road running from
north to south of the parish. The church of St.
Mary stands some distance from the village, which is
situated in the north of the parish, grouped round
the roads from Turvey and Oakley, the former
running into the latter at right angles. Most of the
older buildings, which are chiefly of local stone built
in rubble courses with thatch or tile roofs, lie to the
west of the Turvey Road. The modern cottages are
mostly of brick with purple slate roofs. On rising
ground to the south-east stand the remains of the
hall.
The stone bridge crossing the river at the north
end of the village is of fourteen arches. Six of these
actually span the river, the remaining eight carrying
the road over a large pool on the south side. The
soil is clay, the subsoil gravel. Carlton received an
Inclosure Award by Act of Parliament in 1805. (fn. 2)
There is a Baptist chapel in Carlton built in 1760
with a burial-ground adjoining. Turvey station,
3½ miles distant, is on the Bedford and Northampton
branch of the Midland Railway.
The following 16th-century place-names have been
found in documents relating to Carlton:—Gyddings,
Prechyns, Abbotsland, Marion Preches Barne. (fn. 3)
MANORS
Four properties are mentioned in the
Domesday Survey, none of which had
attained to the status of a manor.
What later became known as CARLTON or
PABENHAMS MANOR is to be found in 1086 in
the estate held by the Bishop of Bayeux. It consisted
of 1 hide 1 virgate, which were held of the bishop by
Herbert son of Ivo, who in his turn had two
sokemen holding of him, an exceptional case at
Domesday of an undertenant himself having undertenants. (fn. 4) The Bishop of Bayeux was the Conqueror's
half-brother, and when he died in 1097 his land in
Carlton, which he held in a personal, not an official,
capacity, appears to have reverted to the Crown, and
henceforth is to be found held of the king in chief. (fn. 5)
In 1492 and 1525 it was said to be held of the king
as of his honour of Dover. (fn. 6)
It has not been possible to connect the Domesday
tenant, Herbert son of Ivo, with the family of de
Pabenham, who took their name from the adjoining
parish of Pabenham or Pavenham, and who appear to
have held in Carlton certainly from the 13th century
onwards. The Testa states that John de Pabenham
held land in Carlton by one-fifth of a knight's fee,
whilst an inquisition taken regarding the property of
one of the same name in 1269 describes his land in
Carlton as a messuage, 4½ virgates of land, 6 acres of
meadow and 12 acres of wood, which is almost identical
in extent with Herbert son of Ivo's property at
Domesday. (fn. 7)
From this time onwards until 1348 Carlton
remained in the Pabenham family and followed the
same descent as Pavenham Manor (q. v.). In 1278–9
the estate included 5 virgates, of which 3½ were
in demesne, (fn. 8) and in 1300, called for the first time a
manor, Carlton was granted by John de Pabenham
to his daughter Athelina for her life, and was then
extended at a capital messuage worth 3s., 80 acres of
arable land, 6 acres of meadow, rents of freemen
worth 6s. 6d., and 1¼ virgates of land in villeinage. (fn. 9)
In 1348–9, on the death of John de Pabenham,
his brother James as heir entered into possession of
the Carlton property, described as a messuage and a
carucate of land, a very usual extent in round numbers
for a manor in this county. (fn. 10) He died in 1360, when
his daughter Margery became his heir. (fn. 11) She married
Sir William Hugeford, and at his death in 1409 left
Carlton Manor, 'called Pabenham,' to her granddaughter Margery, daughter of her son William, then
aged two (fn. 12) ; but as she died in 1413 it reverted to
Alice daughter of Margery Pavenham. (fn. 13)
Alice was married twice, first to Thomas Lucy and
secondly to Richard Archer, and William Lucy, her
son by her first husband, was her heir on her death
in 1420. (fn. 14) Richard Archer survived his wife, and
held the manor 'by the courtesy of England' until
his death in 1471, when William Lucy entered into
possession, (fn. 15) and was succeeded in 1492 by his son
Edmund Lucy. (fn. 16) Thomas Lucy son of Edmund died
in 1525 seised of Carlton Manor, (fn. 17) and in 1536 his
son William justified his succession to the manor in
accordance with his father's will, on the death of his
mother Elizabeth Lucy. (fn. 18)
In 1564 Thomas Lucy, probably a son of William
Lucy, alienated Carlton Manor to Agnes Adams
without licence, but obtained pardon for this omission
the following year when Agnes Adams's right to the
manor was fully recognized. (fn. 19) Some time before 1570
Agnes enfeoffed Thomas Adams of Carlton Manor, (fn. 20)
which he sold in 1594 to William Goddard. (fn. 21) He
died in 1615, and an inquisition taken at that date declared
his son and heir Vincent
Goddard to have been a lunatic
for some years. (fn. 22) The property is described as the manor
of Carlton alias Pavenham
with rights and members in
Carlton, Pavenham, Chellington and Turvey, and four
messuages, one barn, two gardens, 256 acres of land, 15s.
rent and rent of two capons
in those places. Vincent
Goddard died in 1609, and
his son William, who succeeded him, held the
manor in 1632 and as late as 1656. (fn. 23) In 1704
the manor was sold by the Goddard family to
William Steph, who in 1714 for the sum of £154
sold it to William Weald and he to Sir Rowland
Alston of Odell (q.v.). (fn. 24) The present owner is
Mr. Rowland Crewe Alston. (fn. 25)
Goddard of Carlton. Gules a cheveron vair between three crescents argent.
There are Court Rolls of Carlton Manor preserved
at the Record Office. The courts were held by
Thomas Lucy between the years 1512 and 1517. At
a court held in June 1516 William Michell was
summoned for lodging a certain strange woman
in his house to the injury of his neighbours, and
was warned to remove her on pain of 20s. Some
twelve months later, in July 1517, however, he
pleaded that the house wherein he kept her was outside the fee of the lord of the manor, and therefore
he refused to answer to his jurisdiction. (fn. 26)
This manor included a park. In 1278 a wooded
close of 20 acres formed part of its extent, (fn. 27) and in
1312 John de Pabenham received a licence to inclose
and impark his woods at Carlton, which were within
the limits of the king's forest. (fn. 28) Carlton Park is mentioned in extents of the manor bearing dates 1321–2,
1409 and 1420, (fn. 29) and in 1495 Edmund Lucy sold
to John Fisher and John Taylor a wood called
'Pakenham Parke in the lordship of Carlton, with
fre incurse and owtecurse for the fallinge carrynge
and remeadynge of the same wode.' (fn. 30)
A second owner of land in Carlton at the time of
the Domesday Survey was Nigel de Albini, whose
tenants held 2⅓ hides ½ virgate, later known as
CARLTON MANOR.
Like the remainder of Nigel de Albini's estates
Carlton became a member of the barony of Cainhoe,
whose descent is given in Clophill (fn. 31) (q.v.). The last
mention of it as attached to this barony occurs in
1428 (fn. 32) ; in 1609 it is declared to be held of the
king in chief. (fn. 33)
There were two tenants of Nigel de Albini at
Domesday: Chetel, who owned 1⅓ hides formerly
belonging to Golderon, a man of Levenet, and
Bernard, who held 1 hide ½ virgate, including a mill
worth 13s. 4d. (fn. 34) This dual tenancy of the barony of
Cainhoe appears to have continued until the 14th
century, when the share of Bernard (recognizable by
the presence of the mill) disappears. By 1260 John
de Grey had acquired Bernard's property in Carlton,
for in that year he conceded the right of Ralph Perot
to lands in Carlton (including a water-mill), for
which the latter had paid a yearly rent of 5½ marks
for fourteen years. (fn. 35) In 1278–9 Ralph Perot held
1 carucate of land, including a mill in Carlton. (fn. 36)
He was apparently still a tenant of the Greys, for in
1302–3 Reginald de Grey was holding of Cainhoe
barony together with Henry la Leigh, (fn. 37) and as the
latter was holding alone in 1316, (fn. 38) and no further
mention has been made of the de Grey interest, there
must have been about this date some transference to
the La Leighs.
The land in Carlton which Chetel held at the
Survey of 1086 appears to have passed some time in
the 12th century to the family of La Leigh, which
derived its name from Lalegh (now Thurleigh), and
which will be found more fully treated under that
parish. In 1206 and again in 1217–18 Gerinus la
Leigh secured the recognition of his right to the advowson of Carlton (which is always found attached to
this manor). (fn. 39) The next mention of the La Leighs
holding in Carlton occurs in 1302–3, when Henry la
Leigh together with Reginald de Grey held one-fifth
of a fee here of the barony of Cainhoe. (fn. 40) In 1330
Henry la Leigh conveyed the manor (here definitely
so-called) by fine to William de Stondon, parson of
Carlton, and others, (fn. 41) and in 1359, when John la Leigh
alienated this manor by fine to John Trailly, this
family ceased to have further connexion with Carlton. (fn. 42)
John Trailly died seised of the manor, then worth
10 marks, in 1400, leaving as son and heir Reginald
Trailly. (fn. 43) He died without issue, and the subsequent
descent of this manor is not very clear. In 1428
John le Wolfe held the fee, (fn. 44) but like other Trailly
property it is subsequently found in the Vauxes of
Harrowden. An inquisition taken in 1464 states
that Sir William Vaux had held the manors of Carlton
and Chellington since 1461, but they were then in
the king's hands. (fn. 45) Sir William Vaux was attainted
in 1460 and was slain at Tewkesbury in 1471, and
his lands granted by Edward IV to Ralph Hastings,
but his son Nicholas Vaux obtained the reversal of
the attainder and the restoration of his father's lands
from Henry VII, who knighted him after the battle
of Stoke in 1486. (fn. 46) He was created Lord Vaux of
Harrowden in 1523, and died in the same year in
possession of Carlton and Chellington Manors. (fn. 47)
He left a son Thomas Vaux,
who married Elizabeth
daughter and heir of Sir
Thomas Cheyne. At his
death, which took place
in 1556, his son William
Vaux succeeded to his father's
titles and estates. He was
several times convicted of
recusancy, and was tried in
the Star Chamber in 1581
for harbouring Edward Campion the Jesuit, and sentenced
to imprisonment and a fine of
£1,000. (fn. 48) In the following year, perhaps in order
to find the required sum, he combined with his
son and heir-apparent, Henry Vaux, to sell the
manors of Carlton and Chellington and the advowsons of the respective churches to Lewis Lord
Mordaunt. (fn. 49)
Vaux of Harrowden. Cheeky or and gules.
These manors henceforward follow the same descent
as the important property of Turvey (q.v.). The
present owner is Mr. G. F. Higgins of Turvey House. (fn. 50)
A third manor, that of CARLTON HALL of
STAYSMORE, is found in Carlton at the beginning
of the 16th century. The first mention of it occurs
in 1528–9, when William Staysmore died seised of
Carlton Manor, held of Nicholas Lord Vaux as of his
manor of Carlton. (fn. 51) His son John Staysmore held
the manor in 1530, when he conveyed it to trustees
previous to a recovery. (fn. 52) It next reappears in 1609
as the property of Philip Dobbs. He was a recusant,
who for nine years had not attended any 'church,
chapel or usual place of Common Prayer.' In consequence he was heavily fined, and in default of payment two-thirds of his manor of Carlton Hall was
granted by letters patent to Francis Duncombe for
forty-one years. (fn. 53) Philip Dobbs died in 1611 and
was, according to the entry in the parish register,
buried in the night-time. (fn. 54)
It has not been ascertained to whom this manor
passed after his death, but in 1640 John Earl of Peterborough conveyed it by fine to Sir Thomas Alston, (fn. 55)
and in 1670 Henry Earl of Peterborough, who succeeded his father in 1643, again conveyed it to the
same trustee. (fn. 56) Carlton Hall appears to have changed
hands about this time, for in 1687 it was the property
of Edward Reynolds and Frances his wife. (fn. 57) From
them the manor passed to Francis Reynolds, probably
their son, by whom it was heavily mortgaged. He
died intestate, and the manor fell to Charles Cutts,
the mortgagee, who sold it to Uriah Bithray. (fn. 58) He
died in 1748, leaving Carlton Hall to his son Thomas
Bithray, from whom it had passed by 1764 to his
nephews, Charles and William Bithray. (fn. 59) According
to Harvey it next passed to Mr. Palmer, an American
merchant, who sold it to Thomas Battams. The
latter pulled down the old house, and erected a new
one about 1805. George Battams, grandson of
Thomas Battams, sold it to Earl de Grey, (fn. 60) whose
representative, Lord Lucas and Dingwall, at present
holds the manor.
De Grey, Earl de Grey. Vert a cheveron between three harts at gaze or.
Herbert, Lord Lucas. Party azure and gules three lions argent.
Osbern the fisherman held 1 hide 1½ virgates of
land in Carlton, which had formerly been owned by
a thegn, Godwin Frambolt by name. No further
mention has been found of this estate. (fn. 61)
In 1086 Chelbert also owned 3½ virgates of land
in Carlton belonging to the reeves and almsmen of
the king. He was a man of Queen Edith and could
assign to whom he wished, but the jurors declared
that he could show no warrant for 2½ virgates which
had belonged to Alli, a thegn of King Edward. (fn. 62)
During the 13th and 14th centuries the Beauchamps
of Bedford had an overlordship in this parish of which
the origin has not been ascertained. William Beauchamp owned one-sixth of a fee here at the time of
the Testa, (fn. 63) and in 1278 both Roger Léstrange and
Ralph Paynel held fractions of knights' fees in Carlton, (fn. 64)
and finally in 1392 property attached to the Bedford
Barony was transferred to Harrold Priory. (fn. 65) The
Malherbes were early tenants of the Beauchamps of
Bedford in Carlton. In 1218 Geoffrey de Karleton
quitclaimed land here to Pain Malherbe, (fn. 66) and later
in the same century William Malherbe held of this
barony. (fn. 67) John Malherbe, who held 3½ virgates of
William de Monchensey in 1278–9, is the last
tenant of this name of whom mention has been
found. (fn. 68) At the same date (1278–9) Henry of
Sharnbrooke held in chief of John Patishull, and he of
the barony of Bedford, a capital messuage and ½ virgate
of land. (fn. 69) Nigel atte Wode had succeeded to this
land in 1302–3, (fn. 70) and held it by one-fortieth of a
knight's fee. John Spynk was his successor in
1346. (fn. 71)
The Beauchamps of Eaton also appear to have
owned land in Carlton, for in an extensive benefaction of Sir Gerard Braybrook to Harrold Priory
there is mentioned 15s. 10d. rent in Carlton held of
Sir Roger Beauchamp. (fn. 72) At the Dissolution Harrold
Priory owned 17s. 2d. rent in Carlton, (fn. 73) but no
further trace has been found of this land.
CHURCH
The church of ST. MARY THE
VIRGIN consists of a chancel 28 ft. by
15 ft. 1 in., nave 35 ft. by 21 ft. 6 in.,
with north aisle 6 ft. 9 in. wide, and south aisle 8 ft. 8 in.
wide, and a west tower 12 ft. 2 in. by 11 ft. 7 in.
Early masonry remains in the chancel and tower,
which may date from the latter part of the 11th or
early 12th century. The church at this time was
aisleless. The chancel has been lengthened eastward
at a later date, having been some 20 ft. long at first,
and a good deal of the early masonry, in small flat
stones set herring-bone fashion, is to be seen in its
north wall, as well as the remains of an original
window, now blocked. It was about 1 ft. 10 in. wide
at the wall face, and probably double splayed. The
tower is built of small flat stones like the chancel, but
set in level courses, and the quoins, now only preserved
at the east, are little if any larger than the wallingstones. The same thing is to be seen in the tower
of St. Peter's Church, Bedford, also probably of late
11th-century date. The quoins of the aisleless nave
are somewhat larger. The difference between the
masonry in the chancel and that in the tower may
indicate different periods of building, but they are
probably not far removed in date. The first enlargement of the church seems to have been the addition of
a south aisle to the nave. c. 1275. A north aisle was
added about 1310, and a south chapel to the chancel
about 1330, the chancel being lengthened at the same
time. Early in the next century the blank eastern
respond of the north arcade was pierced with an arch,
and later in the century a clearstory was added to the
nave, but at some time before this a chamber with a
lean-to roof had been built against the south wall of
the tower and the west wall of the south aisle. The
upper stage of the tower also dates from the 15th
century. The south chapel was pulled down, and
the arches opening to it from the chancel and south
aisle blocked up, probably at a late date, the windows
of the chapel being reset in the blocked arches. The
chamber west of the south aisle has also been pulled
down.
The chancel has pairs of buttresses at its eastern
angles, and the east window is of the 14th century,
but with modern net tracery over three trefoiled main
lights. Near the east end of the north wall is a
narrow 14th-century ogee-headed light, trefoiled, and
immediately opposite to it in the south wall is a
similar window, with a contemporary trefoiled ogeeheaded piscina under it, having two drains—one
plain and one fluted; under the north-east window is
a square locker. In this wall, further to the west, is
a square-headed 15th-century window of three cinquefoiled lights, with a wooden lintel, the mullions being
restored, and near the north-west angle a small
window of two uncusped lights under a pointed
head, perhaps late 13th-century work; immediately
below it is a small chamfered doorway with a square
head. The blocked early window in this wall has
been already noted. On the south side of the chancel,
besides the window already mentioned, is the wide
blocked arch which formerly led into the south
chapel, with a 14th-century window, three trefoiled
lights with tracery, doubtless from the destroyed
chapel, set in the blocking. The pointed chancel arch
is very plain and of irregular shape, of two chamfered
orders which die into the wall, without capitals or corbels at the springing: it is perhaps of the 14th century.
The nave arcades are of three bays, those on the
north (c. 1310) being exactly similar to those in the
neighbouring church of Chellington, of two chamfered
orders, separated by a hollow, with a moulded label,
and piers formed of engaged half-round shafts with
moulded capitals and bases. The lower part of the
wall to the east of this arcade has been pierced in the
15th century by a half-arch butting against the mass
of walling carried by a 15th-century octagonal pier
with moulded octagonal cap and base. This replaces
the 14th-century east respond of the arcade, and in the
face of the respond of the 15th-century arch is cut a
small ogee-headed niche. The south arcade is in two
orders, the outer moulded and
the inner chamfered on the
nave side, while both are
chamfered towards the aisle;
the pillars are octagonal with
moulded caps and bases, and
the responds semicircular in
plan.
Above these arcades in the
15th century was added a
clearstory, with three windows
on each side, each of two
trefoiled lights under a square
head. There is a rectangular
doorway, which formerly led
to a rood loft, high up in the
east respond of the south
arcade. The roofs of the
nave and chancel are modern.
The east window of the north
aisle has three cinquefoiled
lights with quatrefoiled tracery
in the head of 15th-century
date, though the arch and jambs are of the 14th
century; and in the north wall are a similar threelight window and a 14th-century doorway with
continuously moulded jambs and head. In the west
wall is a narrow 13th-century lancet, re-used.
The east window of the south aisle was probably
that of the destroyed south chapel, and is like that on
the south side of the chancel. In the south wall is
another three-light window of the same character,
and a plain chamfered south doorway with a pointed
head under a porch of 15th-century style. On the
outer face of the wall are the marks of a previous
porch slightly to the east of the present one. To
the west of the porch is a 13th-century lancet contemporary with the aisle, while the west wall is
blank, but has towards the south a projecting block of
masonry in the upper part of which is a fireplace,
showing that the destroyed chamber to the west of
the aisle had a living room on the first floor, and was
doubtless a priest's house. The line of a low-pitched
lean-to roof is visible on the west wall of the aisle,
the masonry of the clearstory overhanging it and being
clearly of later date.
The tower arch is of two chamfered orders dying
into the wall, with a label on the east side, and is
probably a 14th-century insertion. The tower is of
two stories, the lower part being the early work already
noted and the upper a 15th-century addition, with
an embattled parapet and carved gargoyles projecting
diagonally at each angle. At the west angles of the
tower are 15th-century diagonal buttresses stopping
below the belfry stage. In the north and south sides
of the lower story are very small original round-headed
lights, and in the west wall a plain square-headed
doorway of uncertain date, with a two-light 13thcentury window over it; over this again is a single
lancet, also of the 13th century. In every face of
the top story is a window of two cinquefoiled lights
with a quatrefoil over. The stair is at the northwest, and is lighted by a small trefoiled window and a
quatrefoil.
The font stands under the east arch of the tower,
and has a round bowl of c. 1130, ornamented with
an arcade of round-headed arches, on which are fleurs
de lis and heads; it has been altered in the 14th
century to fit a stem of six engaged shafts. The stem
is now covered with plaster.
Plan of Carlton Church
At the west end of the chancel is a good 15thcentury screen of five bays, the appearance of which
is much spoilt by the lack of a horizontal upper line.
The rood loft, with its vaulting beneath, has been
destroyed, and the arched heads of the bays form the
top of the screen, giving a very unpleasant and
unfinished effect. The upper part of the two bays on
either side of the central doorway is filled with pierced
tracery, while the lower panels are solid, relieved by
cinquefoiled arches, with tracery in the spandrels.
Against the east side of the screen are set some old
seats, probably of 17th-century date; and a large part of
the nave pewing is of the 16th century, while the pulpit is good early 17th-century work, set on a modern
pedestal. In the chancel is a 17th-century chest.
There is an inscription on a brass plate and a brass
scroll in the south wall of the chancel in memory of
Joane Goddard, 1610, and on the floor a stone slab
to Maria Great Bach and Thomas Great Bach, 1672;
and another to Mr. Thos. Wells, 'parson of Carlton
& Chellington about threescore years & ten, who
died Aug. 5th 1642, aged about a hundred.' In the
churchyard east of the chancel is a good 15th-century
grave-slab with a cross on it.
There are four bells: the treble by Taylor, 1868;
the second by Hugh Watts, 1602, inscribed 'Praise
the Lorde'; the third a 15th-century bell, probably
from Reading, inscribed 'In multis annis resonet
campana Johannis,' and bearing the lion's face, cross
and groat associated with that foundry, as well as a
shield with a bell like that of Roger Landon, but
without his initials. The tenor is a 15th-century
London bell, inscribed S· MARTHE, and bearing the
mark of Robert Crowche.
The plate is modern and consists of an electro-plated
flagon, cup and foot paten and a silver chalice. In the
chest in the chancel are three old pewter plates and a
pewter jug.
The registers are in three books, the first containing
all entries 1554 to 1777; the second marriages
1754 to 1812; and the third baptisms and burials
1777 to 1812.
ADVOWSON
Carlton Church is not mentioned
in the Domesday Survey, and the
first reference has been found in
1206 when Gerinus de Leigh, lord of Carlton Manor,
attached to the Canihoe Barony, owned the advowson. (fn. 74) In 1278–9 Ralph Pirot, lord of the same
manor, had the presentation, and the church was
endowed with 1 virgate of land. It remained
attached to Carlton Manor (q.v.) until 1710, when
together with Chellington rectory it was alienated to
Lord Trevor, in whose family it remained until
1862. (fn. 75) The living is now in the gift of and held by
the Rev. William Henry Denison.
Before the Dissolution a lamp in Carlton Church
was provided from the rent of half an acre of land
in the tenure of the churchwardens valued at 4d.
There was also a sepulchre light whose endowment was provided from the rent of 21 'fote of
medowe' in the tenure of Nicholas Taylor, valued
at 12d. (fn. 76)
There are no endowed charities in this parish.