ODELL PARISH
Wadelle, Wadehelle (xi cent.); Wahull, Wodhull (xii–xiv cent.); Odyll (xv cent.); Odell, Woodhill alias Wahull (xvi cent.); Woodhill alias Odell or
Odley (xviii, xix cent.). (fn. 1)
Odell, a parish with an area of 2,902 acres, is
situated 8 miles north-west of Bedford. The slope
of the ground is from north-west, where the highest
point attained is 346 ft. above ordnance datum, to
south-east, where the land lies low, and in the
neighbourhood of the Ouse, which forms its southern
boundary, is liable to floods. Of this area, 1,086
acres are arable land and 904½ permanent grass. (fn. 2)
The soil is gravel, the chief crops wheat and pasture.
There is an abundance of good stone in the parish
and several springs, two of which have been reputed
medicinal. (fn. 3)
The village, which is prettily situated on the
northern banks of the Ouse, is approached by the
main road from the east. To the south of this
road is North End Farm, whilst further west on
the opposite side stands Odell Rectory. Beyond
the rectory is the parish church of All Saints, much
overgrown with ivy, and on a slight eminence. The
churchyard, which rises abruptly from the road, contains fine chestnut trees. The road, which here
makes a bend, passes on to Odell Castle, occupying
an elevated position above the river, and commanding
a beautiful view of the surrounding country. The
castle stands in 11 acres of grounds on the site of the
ancient stronghold of the Wahulls, and Oliver St.
John Cooper, writing of it in 1787, says, 'The
castle, before the art of war was so refined as at
present, must have been an impregnable fortress
from its advantageous situation near the river and on
a rock of considerable height and steep ascent. Little
remains of the old works, yet both the upper and
bas courts are very conspicuous.' (fn. 4)
The road then passes through the village, consisting of stone houses with tiled and thatched roofs,
turns south, south-west, and leaving the river, with
which it has hitherto maintained a parallel course,
and on whose banks stands a corn-mill, on the south
passes on to Little Odell, an outlying portion of the
parish.
Odell is well wooded, containing in all upwards of
370 acres. (fn. 5) The principal wood is Odell Great
Wood, towards the centre of the parish, 'the
noblest wood in this county,' containing about
300 acres, 70 of which is called Yelnoe Wood.
Other woods and copses are Great Catsey, Little
Catsey and Forty Acre in the north-west, Brownage
and Barwick Woods in the north-east.
Odell was at one time a market town. In 1221
William Fitz Warine paid 100s. for right to hold a
market here. (fn. 6) The following year a prohibition was
issued ordering the market not to be held if it
were detrimental to the neighbouring market of
Olney, Buckinghamshire. This did not prove to
be the case, and Odell market, which was held on a
Thursday, was confirmed to Saher de Wahull, lord
of the manor, in 1236. (fn. 7) Frequent mentions of the
market as attached to the manor are made during
the remainder of the 13th century and the first half
of the 14th. (fn. 8) It does not appear that this right has
been since exercised, though it is occasionally mentioned in 18th-century extents of the manor. (fn. 9)
At the beginning of the 19th century an annual
fair was held on Thursday and Friday in Whit week,
known as the Horse Fair, and a few stalls are
still erected. (fn. 10) During the fair week anyone was
permitted to sell beer without a licence, but this has
long since been stopped, on account of the abuses it
entailed. There are small industries of pillow-lace
making and leather-dressing carried on here at the
present day. Odell was inclosed in 1776 by Act of
Parliament, 'with as little benefit as other new inclosures, especially to the poor,' according to Mr.
Cooper. By this inclosure an allotment was made
to the rector for glebe and tithes, and one-sixteenth
of all the common and waste lands were to go to the
lord of the manor. Persons having a grievance were
to have the right of appeal at the quarter sessions. (fn. 11)
Edward and Peter Bulkley, father and son, were
successive rectors of this parish in the 17th century.
The former of these, who died in 1620, was one of
the commissioners appointed by the Bishop of
Lincoln in 1608 for the 'Levye of Armour in
Bedfordshire among the clergy.' (fn. 12) His son Peter,
born here in 1582, was educated at St. John's
College, Cambridge, and succeeded his father as
rector in 1620. He fell into disfavour with Archbishop Laud on account of his Puritanical tendencies,
and in 1634, on the occasion of the visitation of Sir
Nathaniel Brent, Vicar-General, he was suspended
for non-attendance at the visitation. He afterwards
came and confessed that he never used the surplice
nor the cross in baptism, 'accounting them ceremonies, superstitions and dissentaneous to the holy
Word of God.' (fn. 13) The following year, being unable
to conform, he converted the estate left him by his
father into money, and, as so many had done before
him, went to America, hoping to find there the
religious freedom denied him in his own country.
He settled at Concord and afterwards at Fairfield,
where he became the owner of a large estate. In
1651 he published The Gospel Covenant Opened, one
of the first books published in America. His death
took place in 1658–9. (fn. 14)
CASTLE AND BARONY
The castle of Odell situated in this
parish was the head of one of the three
great local baronies, that of Odell. It
represented the Domesday fief of
Walter le Fleming, who held 50½ hides
in Bedfordshire—extending into the parishes of
Astwick, Henlow, Holme, Langford, Milton, Odell,
Podington, Stratton, Southill, Thurleigh, Totternhoe,
Turvey, and Wymington, (fn. 15) nearly 44 hides in Northants, (fn. 16) 6 hides 1½ virgates in Hertfordshire, (fn. 17) 1 hide
and 1 virgate in Buckinghamshire. (fn. 18) He had been
preceded by Levenot and Lewin, both thegns of
Edward the Confessor, and it is interesting to note
that of this hidage 33 hides in Manshead and Willey
Hundreds (i.e. on the Northants border) and all the
hidage in Northants had formerly belonged to
Levenot, (fn. 19) whilst in 13 hides in Biggleswade (i.e. on
the Hertfordshire border) and throughout Hertfordshire itself Walter le Fleming had succeeded Lewin. (fn. 20)
To the barony of Wahull was attached the liability
to provide castle-guard of Rockingham in Northants.
That castle was constructed by command of William
the Conqueror some time previous to the Survey, (fn. 21)
and its garrison was further supplemented by a charge
on the barony of Warden (Northants) and on the
Peterborough Abbey knights. (fn. 22) In 1278 Odell, as
part of the barony, contributed one knight's service
towards the castle-guard, (fn. 23) and Thomas de Wahull,
who died in 1304, was declared to hold the manor 'in
chief by barony doing service of a knight's fee yielding yearly to the Castle-guard of Rockingham 69s. at
Michaelmas for the king's use.' (fn. 24) In 1349 John de
Wahull held his Bedfordshire property and Pattishall
(Northants) for two knights' fees and £9 yearly
towards the ward of Rockingham. (fn. 25) Other references
to this charge of £9 occur during the 15th century, (fn. 26)
and when in 1613 Sir Richard Chetwood made his
claim to this barony, he mentions in support of it
'nine pounds per annum, being the Antient Fee of
the Castle guard of Rockingham continually paid into
the Exchequer, and is at this day.' (fn. 27)
In the 12th century the barony of Wahull was an
aggregate of thirty knights' fees. (fn. 28) Walter de Wahull
(c. 1160–90) declared himself to hold twenty-seven fees
of ancient feoffment and three of his own demesne. (fn. 29)
In 1214–15 a scutage of three-score pounds was
levied on John de Wahull for his thirty knights' fees, (fn. 30)
and a little later in the same century the Testa confirms this statement, the barony then comprising
thirty fees in various counties. (fn. 31) In 1371 an inquisition was made as to the extent of the knights' fees
held of John de Wahull: the total number was then
assessed at twenty-one and a half. (fn. 32) This list, which
names with few exceptions Walter Fleming's Domesday property in Bedfordshire, Northants, and Hertfordshire, does not include the fees which John de
Wahull held in chief in this county and elsewhere. (fn. 33)
The descent of the barony of Wahull is as follows:
Walter the Fleming, the Domesday holder, was followed by his son Walter, (fn. 34) whose son Simon flourished
in the reign of Stephen
(1135–54), and who together
with his wife Sibyl and his
eldest son Walter is found
presenting Langford Church
to the Knights Templars. (fn. 35)
Wahull. Or three crescents gules.
The barony passed to
Walter, who held it in 1160. (fn. 36)
He was a man typical of the
turbulent time in which he
lived. With Robert Foliot and
others he was described by
Theobald Archbishop of Canterbury (1139–61) as 'invader' of Ramsey Abbey,
and was commanded to desist from his depredations. (fn. 37)
Again, in 1172, on the occasion of a quarrel between Henry II and his son Prince Henry, which
almost assumed the proportions of a civil war, Walter
appears to have taken an active part on the prince's
side, and in company with others was taken prisoner
in Norfolk. (fn. 38) Walter left two sons, Simon the elder
and Saher, of whom later. Simon died shortly before
1197, in which year Hubert Archbishop of Canterbury paid £333 6s. 8d. for the wardship and
marriage of his son and heir John de Wahull. (fn. 39) John
was still a minor on the death of Hubert in 1206,
and the wardship was transferred on a further payment of 300 marks to Isabel widow of Geoffrey de
Mandeville Earl of Essex and wife of Hubert de
Burgh, Justiciar of England. (fn. 40) In 1213 John de
Wahull furnished three well-equipped knights for
one year's service beyond the sea, receiving for himself at the same time permission to delay his own
departure thither on account of his ill-health. (fn. 41) He
died c. 1217, leaving two sisters and co-heirs, Rose
wife of Robert Lisle, and Agnes, at this time wife
of Robert Basingham, on whose death in the same
year she married William Fitz Warine. (fn. 42) They
obtained full seisin of their brother's barony on
payment of a relief of £200. (fn. 43) Rose de Wahull
died in 1222 without issue, (fn. 44) and Agnes thus acquired entire right in the Wahull barony. John de
Basingham, her son by her first husband, succeeded
his mother in 1238, (fn. 45) and died the following year
without direct heirs. (fn. 46) The barony now reverted to
Saher de Wahull, son of Simon de Wahull, and greatuncle of John de Basingham. (fn. 47) He paid baronial
relief on succession to the lands of his ancestors, (fn. 48) and
personally performed baronial service with the king
beyond the seas in 1242. (fn. 49) He died in 1250 seised
of the Wahull honour, when his son Walter, aged
twenty-three, succeeded him (fn. 50) and paid the ordinary
£100 relief of a baron in the same year. (fn. 51) In 1257
he received simple protection on the occasion of a
journey to Santiago, (fn. 52) probably as a pilgrim to visit
the world-famous shrine of St. James of Compostella. (fn. 53)
He was summoned by special writ (one of the privileges attached to the rank of majores barones in the
Great Charter of 1215) for military purposes in
1260, 1261 and 1263. (fn. 54) Walter de Wahull, who
died ante 1269, married Heloise daughter of Hugh
de Vivonia. His son John de Wahull received nine
writs as a baron between the years 1276 and 1295.
These were not summonses to Parliament, but undoubtedly military writs. (fn. 55) The only possible exception is a writ dated from Rhuddlan, 28 June 1283,
summoning him to Shrewsbury on 30 September.
The writ runs, 'to ordain what should be done with
the aforesaid David (fn. 56) … to speak with us upon
this and other matters.' This has been held to imply
that John de Wahull was subsequently present at the
Parliament held at Acton Burnell, near Shrewsbury,
in the same year, when David was condemned to be
hanged, drawn and quartered, and when the statute
De Mercatoribus was passed. (fn. 57)
John de Wahull married Agnes daughter of Sir
Henry Pinkney of Weedon Pinkney, by whom he
had a son Thomas, (fn. 58) who had succeeded his father in
1296. (fn. 59) Thomas de Wahull received three writs of
summons, two in 1297 and 1298 of a military character, and one in 1296–7 endorsed 'De Parliamento
tenendo apud Sarum.' (fn. 60) Apart from the fact that no
proof exists of Thomas' presence at Salisbury, this
meeting is not technically recognized as a Parliament. (fn. 61)
Thomas de Wahull died in 1303, when his son
John was one year old. (fn. 62) During his long minority
the king retained his guardianship, (fn. 63) and in 1323,
on receiving his homage, gave him full seisin of his
father's lands. (fn. 64) In 1330, on the occasion of the
special commission of inquiry into privileges known
as the Placita de Quo Warranto, John de Wahull was
exempt from amerciaments by the justices in eyre at
the Bedford Assizes as a baron, (fn. 65) that is one who in
virtue of his rank must be amerced by his equals or
before the Royal Council. (fn. 66) He was summoned to
attend the king by writ witnessed at Roxburgh in
1334, (fn. 67) and died in 1336, (fn. 68) leaving a son and heir
John de Wahull, a minor of sixteen years of age and
more. (fn. 69) He was summoned by special writ in 1347,
and died in the following year, (fn. 70) his son John being
under age, as had been the case in the two previous
successions. (fn. 71) John de Wahull died in 1367 without
male issue, when his two daughters, Elizabeth aged
three and Eleanor aged two, became his co-heirs. (fn. 72)
They both died in 1376 before attaining their
majority, and the barony reverted to their great-uncle
Nicholas son of John de Wahull. (fn. 73) Nicholas de Wahull
is described as holding the barony of Wahull in 1404, (fn. 74)
and died in 1410, when his son Thomas, aged twentythree years and more, succeeded him. (fn. 75) He paid full
baronial relief to the king in 1412–13, (fn. 76) and died in
1421, leaving one son Thomas by his marriage with
Elizabeth sister and heir of Sir Thomas Cheetwood. (fn. 77)
Thomas, who was under age in 1421, and who is
styled Baron of Wahull in Letters Patent, (fn. 78) married
Isabel daughter of Sir William Trussell, and had one
son John, who at the time of his father's death in
1441 was five years of age. (fn. 79) John de Wahull died
in 1490, and his lands and dignity passed to his son
Fulk, (fn. 80) who by his marriage with Ann daughter and
co-heir of William Newenham had three sons, of
whom the eldest, Nicholas, succeeded his father in
1511. (fn. 81)
He married Elizabeth daughter and co-heir of Sir
William Parr, by whom he had a son Anthony, who
followed him in 1531. (fn. 82) On Anthony's death in
1542 his daughter and heir Agnes was only seventeen
days old. (fn. 83) She married twice. Her first husband
was Richard Chetwood, and in 1558–9 a statute
passed for restoring to the Crown its ancient ecclesiastical and spiritual jurisdiction has a special proviso,
by which Richard and Agnes Chetwood—whose
marriage had been declared invalid by Cardinal Pole,
and who had appealed to Rome for reversion of his
sentence—were to be allowed to abide by the decision
of the Papal Court, 'any Lawe, Costume, Usage,
Canon . . . . to the contrary
nothwithestanding.' (fn. 84) Richard
Chetwood died a year later, and
Agnes subsequently married
Sir George Calvely. She died
in 1575–6, when her heir was
her only son Richard Chetwood, a minor. (fn. 85) He became
a member of the Inner Temple, and about the year 1613
presented a petition to James I
claiming the ancient barony
in fee of Wahull, as being
heir lineal and sole of his
several ancestors who had
been summoned to attend,
and had attended the king as barons. (fn. 86) This petition
was referred to the commissioners for exercising the
office of Earl Marshal, at that time void. They returned a report in which they stated that they held
his petition to be true, and that they considered him
to be worthy of the dignity of a baron. (fn. 87) According
to family tradition, after the report was made, Sir
Richard Chetwood was offered a peerage of new
creation, which he refused. (fn. 88) In 1632 Sir Richard
Chetwood alienated his Bedfordshire property to the
Alstons, (fn. 89) and died three years later. A little over
100 years later, in 1739, Knightley Chetwood,
direct heir and great-great-grandson of Richard Chetwood, presented a petition to George III claiming
the title of Baron de Wahull, and relying on the
favourable report of the commissioners in the reign of
James I; the petition was referred to the AttorneyGeneral, but no further action in the matter taken. (fn. 90)
His grandson Jonathan Chetwood in 1831 presented
a similar petition to William IV, which was referred
to Sir Thomas Denman, then Attorney-General. He,
considering the descent from Saher de Wahull satisfactorily proved and other arguments brought forward
worthy of consideration, advised that the case should
be referred to the House of Peers. In 1833 therefore it was referred to the Committee for Privileges. (fn. 91)
Jonathan Chetwood had no issue—save one son Valentine, who died in infancy—and died in 1839 without
further prosecuting his claim. A further claim was
made to this barony in 1890, when Constantia Elizabeth Chetwood-Aiken, great-great-granddaughter of
Knightley Chetwood, the claimant of 1739, presented
her petition to Queen Victoria. (fn. 92) It was referred to
the House of Lords for adjudication, but she died in
1892 without her claims having come before the
Committee for Privileges, and her son John Chetwood
Chetwood-Aiken preferred her claim. The case was
brought before the Committee for Privileges in 1892,
the petitioner basing his claim on direct descent from
the de Wahulls, (fn. 93) who it was claimed were 'Barones
Majores,' documentary proof of their possession of the
rights which belong to such rank being brought forward. (fn. 94) The claim, however, broke down on the
ground that though special writs of summons had
been issued at various times to the de Wahulls they
were either definitely for military service, or when
not definitely so stated to be they were very doubtful.
And that since the right to being a peer, as laid
down by Coke and repeated decisions of the House
of Lords, consists in summons to Parliament by writ,
and sitting in Parliament in pursuance of that summons, the Committee of Privileges decided that the
petitioner John Chetwood Chetwood-Aiken had failed
to prove that such a peerage was ever created. (fn. 95)
Chetwood. Quarterly argent and gules with four crosses formy counter-coloured.
MANORS
Walter the Fleming owned a manor
in Odell at Domesday which was assessed at 5 hides 12/3 virgates, and which
included a mill worth 36s. 8d. and 200 eels. It was
worth 100s. as opposed to £8 when acquired. (fn. 96) The
descent of this manor is the same as that of the
barony of Wahull (q.v.) till 1632. In 1236 Saher
de Wahull received a charter of free warren. (fn. 97) John
de Wahull, lord of the manor in 1278, had in
demesne 180 acres of arable land, meadows and
pasture, one park, an ancient inclosure of 100 acres,
two water-mills and a several fishery from the head
of the Odell mill-ponds to that of Felmersham. He
owned 4½ virgates in villeinage, and the servi on his
estate were not allowed to give their daughters in
marriage nor sell their male foals without their lord's
consent. He had twenty-seven free tenants, who
held by various rents, such as a rose, an arrow, capons,
wax, a pair of gloves, they in their turn having
tenants under them. There were also twenty-six
cotarii on the estate who held chiefly by money rents,
though in one instance William Prikeavant held his
cottage by the service of a hooded falcon, and Walter
le Sergeant, who was also free tenant of half a virgate
as park-keeper, held his cottage by the service of
twelve arrows. (fn. 98) In 1304 the value of this manor
was stated to be £17 11s. 6d. (fn. 99) An excellent and
detailed account of the estate is preserved bearing
date 1368, that is nearly one hundred years later
than that given above. The extent then included a
dwelling-house within the site of the manor worth
nothing beyond reprises, the herbage in the garden was
worth 40d., the dove-house 6s. 8d., the fish-pond 40d.,
a water gate 10s., a fishery in the waters of the Ouse
10s., a market every Thursday 26s. 8d. and pleas
and perquisites of court 20s. The demesne included
2 carucates of land worth £4, pasture in the park
of the manor worth 13s. 10d., 13 acres of meadow
worth 39s., and 60 acres of wood, worth nothing at
the time of the inquisition, as the underwood had
been cut the preceding year. (fn. 100) Odell Manor was
valued at £20 in 1403, (fn. 101) whilst eight years later it
had diminished to £10. (fn. 102) A few years later, in
1421, the capital messuage of the manor was declared
to be worth nothing, 'because the houses are very
ruinous,' a garden was worth 2s. 4d., the water-mill
26s. 8d., 12 acres 3 roods of meadow were worth
31s. 10½d. The estate also included 140 acres of
arable land (of which 71 were suitable for yearly
sowing) worth 23s. 8d., (fn. 103) 35 acres of wood, 40 acres
of pasture, a fishery worth 6s. 8d., rent of free tenants
20s. 2d., 1 lb. of pepper and 1 lb. of cummin, rent
of customary tenants 41s., perquisites of court and
view of frankpledge 2s. 9d. When various services
due from the lord of the manor to the king were
deducted it was only worth 43s. 4½d. (fn. 104)
In 1632 Sir Richard Chetwood and Dorothy his
wife conveyed the manors of Great and Little Odell
by fine to Roger Nicholls and
Thomas Tirrell, (fn. 105) preliminary
to a sale to William Alston
which took place the following
year. (fn. 106) William Alston, who
was of the Inner Temple, was
made keeper of the writs in
the King's Bench, a post according to Cooper 'of considerable profit and honour,
being conferred only on the
nobility or some other eminent
persons.' The same authority
states that he was a pious and
charitable man, giving to the
church of Odell a large chalice of silver-gilt, and
completing a peal of five musical bells. (fn. 107) He died
unmarried in 1638, when his brother Thomas,
also of the Inner Temple, succeeded to the Odell
property. (fn. 108) He was created a baronet in 1642,
in which year he was sheriff for the county.
By his wife Elizabeth, daughter of Sir Rowland
St. John and sister of three successive Lords St. John
of Bletsoe, he had two sons—Thomas, who predeceased him, and Rowland, who together with his
father made a settlement of the manor in 1674. (fn. 109)
Sir Thomas Alston died in 1678, when Rowland
acquired the Odell property. He died in 1697, (fn. 110)
and was succeeded by his son Sir Thomas Alston,
bart., (fn. 111) who sat for Bedford borough in 1698, and
on whose death unmarried in 1714 Odell passed to
his brother Rowland. He died in 1759, aged eighty, (fn. 112)
when his son Thomas succeeded to the baronetcy and
family estates. He, who sat as member for the county
in 1747 and for Bedford borough in 1760, died in
1774, (fn. 113) having devised his property by will to his
natural son Thomas Alston, who with his son
Justinian made a settlement of the manor in 1803, (fn. 114)
and again in 1814. (fn. 115) Justinian Alston succeeded his
father in 1823, and was followed by his son Crewe
Alston, on whose death in 1901 the castle and manor
passed to his son Rowland Crewe Alston, the present
owner.
Alston of Odell, baronet. Azure ten stars or.
The castle stands on an eminence on the north
bank of the Ouse about midway between Harrold
and Felmersham. It was in ruins in Leland's time, (fn. 116)
and nothing now remains to show either the extent
or disposition of the original buildings or the date of
their erection. Sir William Alston (fn. 117) appears to
have built a new residence here in 1623, in which he
utilized the remains of the castle keep, as is testified by
the great thickness of the walls in the basement along
the south-west and north-west sides of the house.
In the 18th century Lady Wolstenholme made
considerable alterations to the interior of the house
and rebuilt both the north-east and south-east
fronts, (fn. 118) while in more recent years the south-east
corner was again rebuilt and heightened, and other
alterations made. (fn. 119)
The main block faces the south-east and is L-shaped
in plan. It is built of stone and is mainly two
stories in height with one in the roof. The projecting arm extends to the north-west from the
southern corner of the building, while running parallel
with it from the centre of the main block but at a
lower level are the kitchen wing and offices.
This wing, which is only one story high, is entirely
the work of Sir William Alston, and in the gable
is a stone with the date 1623. The principal
approach from the road is now from the west through
a courtyard, which is bounded on the north-east by
the kitchen wing, but in the 17th century the main
entrance was on the north. The original gate-piers
with the gates are still standing at this point, and
form the entrance to the stableyard; the stables are
of the same date as the main rebuilding and back on
to the roadway. To the south-east of the kitchen
block is a stone well known as 'King John's Well,'
which is sunk to a great depth, being apparently over
60 ft. to the water level. The house is entered
from the courtyard up a modern flight of stone steps,
which are covered by a verandah, the ground floor
being considerably above the ground level.
At the end of the entrance corridor, lighted from
the north-east, is the Monks' Hall, a large room
lined with 18th-century panelling. The southeast wall from its thickness must have belonged to
the mediaeval building. Behind the panelling in
this wall is a small doorway with a flight of stone
steps leading down to the basement, the level of
which is only a little below the present level of the
ground outside. These steps are said to continue
down some way below the basement level.
The south end of the south-east front was raised
in 1864–5; it is now in three gables and is lighted
by sash windows. The north end of this side and
the whole of the back of the main building are 17thcentury work, although much modernized. The
chimneys are original and are rectangular with
moulded caps and bases.
The grounds of the Castle are nicely wooded.
Among the early tenants of Odell Manor was
Robert Parentine, who at the time of the Testa held
one-seventh fee of the Wahull Barony. (fn. 120) By 1278
this fee, which had increased to one-fourth, was held by
William St. John, who owned a carucate of 100 acres
and a capital messuage, and had under him twelve
tenants. (fn. 121) By 1302 this fee had passed to Sampson
de Batsford, (fn. 122) a member of whose family, William
de Batsford, held in Odell in 1315 (fn. 123) and in 1346. (fn. 124)
Ralph Druel was another 13th-century tenant of
the Wahulls, holding by one-tenth of a knight's
fee. (fn. 125) Sampson Druel held this fee in 1302, and
one of the same name in 1346. (fn. 126)
Ralph Caperon, another tenant, holding onetwenty-fourth fee, (fn. 127) was succeeded in 1278 by Sybil
and Agnes Caperon, who each held half a virgate of
land here. (fn. 128)
Reginald de la Hoo and Ralph son of Wymark
were other tenants of the barony of Wahull in the
13th century. (fn. 129)
A second estate in this parish at the Survey was
LITTLE ODELL MANOR. It was assessed at
4½ hides and one-third of a virgate, and belonged at
this time to Count Eustace, the successor of Alwold,
a thegn who had held under the Confessor. (fn. 130) The
overlordship of this manor, like other of Count
Eustace's property, became attached to the honour
of Boulogne, and follows the same descent as that of
Stevington. In 1278 Baldwin Wake was overlord
of this manor. (fn. 131) The Wakes continued to exercise
paramountcy until c. 1441, (fn. 132) at which date it was
held of the Earl of Huntingdon. (fn. 133)
The Domesday tenant of Little Odell was Ernulf
de Ardres, but by the beginning of the 13th century
it had become the possession of his heir the Count
of Guînes. (fn. 134) Subsequently it is found in the hands
of the Wahulls who owned the larger manor. (fn. 135) In
1278 the manor, then held by John de Wahull,
included 1 carucate, containing 200 acres of land,
meadow and pasture, an ancient park, 20 acres of
common, 20 acres of woods, a fishery in common
with Walter Trailly from Harrold Bridge to Great
Odell Mill. He had 12½ virgates of land in villeinage held by nineteen servi for 20s. each virgate or
works. He had ten free tenants who held by small
money rents, or quit-rents, among which may be mentioned a garland of roses and a bundle of rushes. (fn. 136)
The manor was worth £16 0s. 10½d. in 1304. (fn. 137)
It has always followed the same descent as Great Odell
(q.v.), although invariably differentiated by name.
The Prioress of Harrold received a grant of 1 virgate of land in Little Odell from William Fitz Warine
(living in 1221 (fn. 138) ) and 2 virgates from Walter de
Wahull in the time of Henry III. (fn. 139) In 1240 Saher
de Wahull confirmed to the priory 30 acres of land
with appurtenances in this parish. (fn. 140) At the Dissolution the rents arising from this land were valued at
12s., (fn. 141) and in 1557 were granted to John Thompson. (fn. 142)
In the 13th and 14th centuries the Hospital of
St. John of Jerusalem claimed a view of frankpledge
extending into this parish as appurtenant to their
neighbouring manor of Bedford. (fn. 143)
In Easter 1275 Odell, as a 'mercatorial vill,' received a summons to send a representative to the
Parliament held in that year. (fn. 144)
CHURCH
The church of ALL SAINTS is a
good example of a 15th-century church
built all at one time, and consists of a
chancel 30 ft. 3 in. long by 17 ft. 4 in. wide, nave
56 ft. 4 in. long by 19 ft. 10 in. wide, north aisle
11 ft. 6 in. wide, south aisle 11 ft. wide and a west
tower 15 ft. square, internal measurements.
The chancel is of two bays, and has a modern east
window of three lights and in the west bay on the
north one of three lights, the tracery of which has
been replaced by vertical mullions; the east bay is
blank on the north, but has a blocked doorway, which
once opened into a north vestry. In the south wall
are two windows of
three cinquefoiled
lights, with tracery
under a four-centred
head; the sill of the
eastern of these windows serves as sedilia,
being stepped in
three levels, and to
the east is a piscina
with a cinquefoiled
ogee head. To the
west of it is a small
priest's door. The
chancel arch is of
two wave-moulded
orders separated by a
hollow, and springing from shafts with
moulded capitals and
bases; underneath
is a 15th-century
screen, the lower
part of which retains
some old stencil
work. The chancel
roof is divided into
three bays by old
wood principals resting on carved head corbels.
The nave arcades are of four bays with slender
shafts and arches with capitals and bases like those of
the chancel arch. Above is a clearstory with four
two-light windows in each side. The roof, of low
pitch, is in four bays, the principals resting on old
carved corbels. At the north-east end is a rood-loft
doorway, entered by a circular staircase from the north
aisle.
The north aisle has three three-light north windows
and one each at east and west, the cusping of which has
been mutilated; under the north-east window is a
very small trefoil-headed recess, and at the south-east
angle the door to the rood-loft stair. The north
doorway is in two continuous wave-moulded orders,
divided by a hollow. The roof, which is of low
pitch, is old. The south aisle has windows like those
in the opposite aisle, but taller, their sills being at a
lower level, as the ground falls from north to south.
In the south wall near the east end is a trefoiled ogeeheaded piscina. The south doorway has two continuously moulded orders, and the porch has a stone
vault with carved bosses at the intersections of the
ribs; the outer archway is in two delicately moulded
orders, the outer one of which forms a square head
and the inner a two-centred arch. The font, which
is in the south aisle, is of the same date as the church,
and is octagonal with cinquefoiled panelling on the
bowl.
The tower is massive, with an embattled parapet,
under which are a band of quatrefoil panelling and a
moulded plinth. At each angle are large clasping
buttresses, on which are large crocketed pinnacles,
and strings divide the tower into four stages, the
uppermost having a pair of windows on each side
of two trefoiled lights divided by transoms quatrefoiled on the lower side. The west doorway is of
three moulded orders with a label, and over it is a
window of four trefoiled lights with modern tracery
under a two-centred head. The tower arch is in two
chamfered orders, of which the exterior is continuous
and the interior rests on shafts with capitals and bases
of the same type as those of the chancel arch; under
this is a screen with a gallery over and two ranges of
turned balusters, and an inscription recording it to
be the gift of William Alston, deceased 1637–8,
with a shield of his arms. The two front blocks
of seats in the nave, six rows on either side, are good
17th-century work, inclosing the backs of the mediaeval
seats, while at the west are four rows of these seats but
little altered, and more in the west ends of the aisles.
The pulpit is of 17th-century date, and at the
east end of the south aisle is a box pew made up of
the same work. The rood-screen, of original date,
remains, a fine and simple structure with a cusped
central arch and four traceried openings on each side;
the solid lower panels are painted alternately red and
black, and have on the north side a diaper pattern of
IHS and on the south the Maria monogram crowned.
The altar table is good 17th-century work.
Odell Church from the North-West
In the north aisle is a 13th-century slab with a
foliate cross carved in relief, and near it is another
much smaller. On the north wall of the chancel is
a fine white marble mural monument of the Alston
family, beginning with Frances Alston, 1644, and
William her son, 1637, and ending with Vere John
Alston, rector of Odell, 1762.
There are several relics of the original glass. In
the tracery of the south-west window of the chancel
is some pretty white and gold glass with roundels,
which when perfect had the four Evangelists' symbols
and the monograms IHS, and probably XPS. In the
east window of the south aisle are five seraphs, out of
six originally there, the place of the last being taken
by the figure of a bishop. There are also parts of
another set of evangelistic symbols.
The flooring of the nave and aisles, with diamond
patterns within straight borders, is very good of its kind.
There are five bells: the first three, of 1638, are
by James Keene of Woodstock; the fourth, of 1618,
is inscribed 'God save our King'; and the tenor, of
1635, by Hugh Watts, is inscribed 'Love and feare
God, honour and obaie the King.'
The plate consists of a large silver-gilt communion
cup, with a Latin inscription on the bottom to the
effect that it was the gift of William Alston in 1637,
and has his arms and the date letter of 1638; a silvergilt paten, of the same gift; a paten of 1685; a
second paten, 'the gift of Dame I. Wolstenholm
1728,' date letter 1695; also a modern electro-plated
flagon and cup.
The books of registers are five in number: Book i
has all entries 1604 to 1667; (ii) the same, 1667 to
1712; (iii) the same, 1712 to 1754; (iv) has baptisms
and burials 1754 to 1796; (v) baptisms and burials
1797 to 1812.
ADVOWSON
The church of Odell has always
been attached to the principal manor
(q.v.) and follows the same descent. (fn. 145)
The first mention has been found in 1235, when Saher
de Wahull presented. (fn. 146) In 1278–9 the church had an
endowment of 1½ virgates, which the rector held in
demesne. (fn. 147) At the same date, among the free tenants
of John de Wahull, lord of Odell, Robert 'Firegod'
(with his tenants Robert Keyrun, Robert le Cleck
and Seylade) held one messuage 3 acres by the service
of one lamp to be kept burning in the parish church
for John de Wahull; Joan Meyhec held one messuage and 3 acres for 2 lb. of wax for the light of the
Blessed Virgin Mary in the same church; Henry
Page held half a virgate for 1 lb. of wax for the same
light. (fn. 148) At the dissolution of the chantries there was
an endowment for the maintenance of a light arising
from the farm of land valued at 2s. 11d. yearly, and
also for the maintenance of a lamp, arising from
pasture, land valued at 4d. There was further a piece
of pasture, value 1s., in the hands of the parson to
provide a yearly drinking or church ale on Rogation
Monday. (fn. 149)
There are no endowed charities in this parish.