OAKLEY
Eccleye (x cent.); Achelai (xi cent.); Accleia,
Aclai (xii cent.); Akle (xiii cent.); Ocle, Okele
(xiv cent.); Okley (xvi cent.).
The parish of Oakley, bounded on three sides by
the River Ouse, lies 4 miles north-west of Bedford.
It has an area of 1,786½ acres, of which 883½ are
arable land, 682½ permanent grass and 39 woods and
plantations. (fn. 1) The land lies low, especially in the
neighbourhood of the River Ouse, where it is liable
to flood; in the east of the parish Oakley Hill rises
to 279 ft. above ordnance datum. The soil is gravel
and clay, and the subsoil Oxford clay, with patches of
corn brash and Great Oolite limestone. The village
is in the south of the parish; the parish church, on
the east of the village street, is beautifully situated on
rising ground above the river. South-west of the
village the Ouse is spanned by Oakley Bridge, an old
five-arched structure, bearing an inscription to mark
the height to which the great flood of 1823 rose.
Traces of an old mill are to be seen by the side of the
bridge. Oakley House, standing back in well-wooded
grounds on the north bank of the river, is the residence
of Mr. R. E. Prothero, C.V.O., principal agent for
the Duke of Bedford. The Midland Railway passes
through the parish, and has a station some distance
north of the village, in whose neighbourhood is an
increasing number of modern houses. Bedford Isolation Hospital was erected in this parish in 1902, and
there is also a Home for Old Soldiers, given by the
Duke of Bedford to the Bedfordshire Regiment in
1908. Small manufactures of pillow lace and rushplaiting are carried on. Oakley was inclosed in
1803. (fn. 2)
A field below Oakley Church was the scene of a
curious incident in 1707. Thither flocked the
inhabitants of the parish to assist at or witness the
swimming of a witch. The unfortunate victim was
twice placed in the river—on both occasions her
clothing kept her upon the surface of the water, convincing the majority present of her guilt. She was
then weighed against the big church Bible, and this
test resulting in her favour she was released. Many
of those present, however, went away unconvinced,
amongst these being the vicar of Oakley.
The following place-names have been found in this
parish: Benery, Cothemannesholme, Hennes, Grenes
Rugles, Burnyd Close, Bangers and Garlikes.
MANORS
In the time of the Confessor Osulf, a
king's thegn, held land in Oakley. (fn. 3) In
1086 Robert de Todeni held 4 hides,
having two knights as tenants. This property afterwards became known as the OAKLEY REYNES
MANOR. The overlordship of this manor follows
the same descent as the
honour of Belvoir, (fn. 4) as Robert
de Todeni's fief afterwards
became known, which passed
from the Todeni family to
the family of Roos of Hamlake, (fn. 5) the last mention of the
overlordship being found in
1512. (fn. 6) The earliest known
tenant of Oakley Reynes
Manor was Simon de Bosard,
who held it as a third part of
a knight's fee at the time of
the Testa de Nevill. (fn. 7) By 1278
he had been succeeded by
Richard de Bosard, who in that year held the manor,
then comprising 3⅓ hides of land, a view of frankpledge, a free fishery from Benery to his mill in Oakley and rights of common fishing from Milton Mill
to Cothemannesholme. (fn. 8) Richard de Bosard's sister
and heiress Joan married Thomas Reynes, who became
lord of Oakley Manor in the right of his wife. (fn. 9) After
his death his widow appears to have married into the
Chamberlain family, and may
be identified with the Joan
Chamberlain who held this
property together with land
in Thurleigh as half a knight's
fee in 1302. (fn. 10) Ralph Reynes
son of Joan left his son and
heir Thomas in the wardship
of John or Roger de Tyringham. (fn. 11) Thomas Reynes having
attained his majority, Simon
de Tyringham, to whom the
wardship had passed, gave him
seisin of the manor in
1330–1, (fn. 12) which he continued to hold until about 1354. (fn. 13) He died some
time before 1380, in which year Thomas (fn. 14) his
son and heir obtained seisin of the manor from his
guardian Richard Reynes. (fn. 15) John Reynes, son of the
above, had succeeded to the property (then valued at
£10) by 1415. (fn. 16) He was still holding in 1428, (fn. 17)
and was succeeded by a son John, who died without
male heirs about 1451. (fn. 18) The history of the manor
here becomes obscure, owing to the lack of documentary evidence. It appears soon after the death
of John Reynes to have been split into moieties.
Elizabeth Anstey, granddaughter of Cecilia sister of
John Reynes, married William Taylard (fn. 19) ; their grandson Sir Laurence Taylard was seised of one moiety
before 1548. (fn. 20) He was succeeded by his son Geoffrey,
whose daughter and heir Catherine married Robert
Brudenell. (fn. 21) This moiety remained in the hands of
the Brudenell family until 1648, (fn. 22) when Edmund
Brudenell alienated it to Charles Mordaunt and
others. (fn. 23)
Roos of Hamlake, Gules three water-bou-gets argent.
Reynes. Checky or and gules a quarter ermine.
Robert Lestraunge died seised of the other moiety
in 1512, (fn. 24) his son and heir Thomas levied fines of it
in 1530 (fn. 25) and 1533. (fn. 26) From the latter it would
appear to have passed to William Mordaunt, (fn. 27) whose
son Edmund made a conveyance of the moiety in
1610. (fn. 28) Charles Mordaunt son and heir of Edmund
leased the property to his mother in 1622. (fn. 29) Twentysix years later he became seised of the other moiety of
the manor as shown above. The manor thus reunited
remained the property of the Mordaunts until 1679, (fn. 30)
when it was alienated to Henry Lilly, (fn. 31) probably
acting for Sir Creswell Levinz, who became lord of
the manor in that year. (fn. 32) It remained the property
of the Levinz family until 1757, when it was purchased by the Duke of Bedford. (fn. 33) The manor of
Oakley Reynes has remained the property of the
Dukes of Bedford down to the present day.
A mill in Oakley worth 26s. and 200 eels is mentioned in the Domesday Survey. (fn. 34) Its site is still to
be marked near Oakley Bridge. Possibly this is the
same mill that was owned by Richard de Bosard in
the 13th century. (fn. 35) A mill in this parish was the
property of the Lestraunge family in 1530, (fn. 36) whilst
three water-mills were appurtenant to the manor in
the latter half of the 17th century. (fn. 37)
The history of Oakley begins with an entry in the
Ramsey Cartulary to the effect that one 'Alfelinus,'
who died in 988, gave Oakley and Potton to the
abbey. (fn. 38) 'Alfelinus' clearly represents one O. E.
Ælfhelm, and the mention of Potton enables us to
identify him with Ælfhelm of Wratting, a wealthy
thegn of East Anglia and Cambridgeshire, who disposed of part of Potton by his extant will. (fn. 39) The
church of Ramsey never obtained the latter vill, and
its possession of Oakley was delayed, for in compiling
a general charter of confirmation in the name of
Edward the Confessor (fn. 40) the monks assert that they
received Oakley with its appurtenances from Eadnoth
the son of Godric. It is significant that Ælfhelm
of Wratting in his will refers to Godric as the husband
of his unnamed daughter; but the gift by Eadnoth,
Godric's son, can hardly have been made long before
the time of the Confessor, and the abbey's tenure in
any case was brief. Although there is no direct
evidence of connexion, the Ramsey estate is probably
represented by the hide in Oakley which in 1066
had belonged to Godwine, a man of Earl Harold,
and twenty years later was held by Miles Crispin of the
Countess Judith. (fn. 41) Unlike the bulk of the property of
the countess, this hide never became attached to the
honour of Huntingdon. (fn. 42) Miles Crispin would appear
to have later become seised in chief, and the property
together with part of his Clapham lands later became
the manor of Ocle-cum-Clapham or Bayeux Manor,
and was held of the honour of Wallingford. (fn. 43) The
history of this property until 1564 is the same as
that of the manor of Ocle-cum-Clapham in Clapham
parish (q.v.). In that year, however, the manor was
divided, Lord Vaux selling his Clapham property to
Thomas Rowe, while he retained his Oakley lands. (fn. 44)
The Clapham moiety alone appears to have had
manorial rights attached to it, but both are afterwards
termed 'manors.' In 1582 Lord Vaux sold Oakley to
Miles Sandys and Anthony Saurez. (fn. 45) They in turn
sold it to Richard Faldoe in 1585 for £420, the
property then comprising 200 acres of arable land,
30 acres of meadow and 6 acres of wood. (fn. 46) In 1612
Richard Faldoe alienated the property to Charles
North and Stephen Partridge. (fn. 47) It probably was
soon afterwards broken into smaller holdings, as no
further mention of it has been found.
CHURCH
The church of ST. MARY THE
VIRGIN consists of a chancel 33 ft. 7 in.
by 16 ft. 1 in., nave 46 ft. 7 in. by
21 ft., a north aisle the same length as the nave
and 10 ft. 11 in. wide, and a south aisle also the
same length and 9 ft. 4 in. wide, and a west tower
12 ft. 1 in. by 12 ft. 1 in.
The tower is the oldest part of the building,
its lower part dating from the middle of the
12th century, and the two western bays of the nave
arcades were probably first built at the end of the
same century. The chancel dates from c. 1220, and
the east bay of the nave, which has pointed arches
much narrower than those in the two western bays,
may belong to the same time. The east wall of the
12th-century nave was perhaps some 12 ft. west of the
line of the present chancel arch. In the 14th century
the south aisle was rebuilt, and the north aisle, the
clearstory, the upper story of the tower, the south
porch and the west end of the chancel are also of
this century or the early part of the 16th.
Oakley Church from the South-east
The east window of the chancel is a very good
piece of late detail, probably c. 1530, of four cinquefoiled lights with uncusped tracery in the head; it
contains two roundels of contemporary glass with
gold suns on a dark background.
The only window on the north is near the west
end, a 13th-century opening with a moulded rear
arch, into which modern two-light tracery of 15th-century style has been inserted. There was probably
a north-east vestry to the east of it.
In the south wall, near the east end, is a restored
14th-century window of two lights, with its sill
stepped for sedilia, and a trefoiled 14th-century
piscina to the east of it; further west are a 13th-century
lancet, much renewed, and a blocked recess low in
the wall, probably a destroyed low-side window.
The 18th-century altar table and rails remain, but
are disused, the present altar being set some feet to the
west against a reredos formed of a fine 15th-century
rood screen. This, though clogged with yellow
paint, has remains of a very beautiful traceried cove
over its middle doorway and large open traceried
bays on either side, with solid lower panels. Against
the chancel wall parts of some 17th-century pews
are set as a dado.
The south door of the chancel is 13th-century
work, with a chamfered arch; it is now blocked up on
the inside. The chancel arch has lost its inner order,
but the outer is well moulded with 13th-century
detail, and the responds are of three engaged shafts
with moulded capitals and bases.
The nave arcades consist of three bays, the two
western on both sides being considerably wider than
that nearest the chancel, and the pointed arches are
of one square order with a chamfered label. On the
north the arches are two-centred and have plain
circular capitals on short circular columns, while those
on the south have square abaci with recessed angles,
and the arches are low, struck from centres well
below the capitals. The wall above the north arcade
seems to have been rebuilt, as the extrados of the
arches projects beyond the wall face, and the level
of the nave floor has been considerably lowered,
exposing the foundations of the columns. The arches
of the north arcade spring very awkwardly from their
round capitals, leaving ample space on the capital to
take a second order, but such an order does not seem
to have existed. The capitals of the two columns of
the south arcade are both modern, but the respond
capitals are old and very clumsy and shapeless; the
east respond was probably moved to its present place
when the east bay of the arcade was built. The
arches in the east bay are of two chamfered orders.
The nave clearstory has four two-light windows
a side, cinquefoiled, with quatrefoils in the head,
except the west window on the south, in which the
tracery of a small early 14th-century window is
re-used.
In the east end of the north aisle is a 15th-century
window of two cinquefoiled lights. In the north
wall of this aisle is a three-light 15th-century window,
and next to it another of very similar type, probably
a later copy of it. There is a plain 15th-century
north doorway, with an original oak door, and to the
west of it a 14th century two-light window with a
square head and label, like that in the south side of
the chancel. The west wall of the north aisle is of
15th-century rubble walling, with a straight joint
between it and the nave wall.
The south aisle has a 15th-century east window
of three cinquefoiled lights with tracery, filled with
fragments of mediaeval and later glass, a three-light
south-east window like that in the north aisle, also
with some old glass; next to it an early 14th-century
window of three uncusped lights, and on each side
of the south porch a two-lights, 15th-century window.
The west window is of the 15th century, of three
uncusped lights. The porch is of the 15th century,
with a parvise over, and its inner and outer doorways
are of simple 15th-century detail.
The west tower is built in two stages, of which
the lower is of the 12th and the upper of the 15th
century, containing two-light windows with a quatrefoil in the head in each face; it is crowned with a
15th-century parapet, and there are gargoyles projecting diagonally at the angles. At the west angles
are diagonal buttresses, and in the west wall is a low
doorway of two moulded orders, having over it a
modern window. Immediately above it is a narrow
12th-century light and a similar one in the lower
stage on the south side. The tower arch is in two
chamfered orders with a label roughly carved with a
nail-head ornament, resting upon plainly moulded
capitals.
The roofs of nave and aisles are low-pitched, dating
from the 15th century or later; the south aisle roof
was repaired in 1629, from a date on it. The fronts
of the lofts to the west screens of the aisle chapels
remain in position, and in the north aisle the lower
part also with its cove, on which is painted our Lord
seated on a rainbow with an orb at His feet and an
angel bearing passion emblems on His left; the
northern part of the cove is gone. The original colour
remains to a large extent—red, white and green—
and the panels to the fronts of the lofts appear to
have had figures of saints painted on them, though
divided in half by applied tracery. There is a considerable amount of 15th-century pewing, with some
17th-century oak panelling in the chancel. There
is a good 15th-century octagonal font with traceried
panels to the bowl and buttresses, much cut back at
the angles. In the chancel are an old alms-box and
a chest, and a 17th-century chest in the vestry at the
west of the south aisle. On the south wall of the
chancel is a mural slab to Robert Stoakes, vicar of
the parish, 1770. In the south aisle is a good early
14th-century tomb recess containing the effigy of
Amabel daughter of Sir Richard Chamberlain of
Petsoe, who was wife of Ralph Reynes of Oakley.
It has been reset and its spandrels reversed; one
bears a shield of Reynes, and the other a scallop shell
and a shield of Chamberlain, a cheveron between
three scallops. On the east label of the arch is a
shield with two bars with three roundels on each bar
and a label of five points over all. On the front
of the low tomb on which the figure rests are five
shields: (1) Reynes; (2) a fesse and three scallops (?);
(3) two bars, each with three roundels; (4) Chamberlain; (5) a lion rampant.
In the churchyard, a small distance north of the
tower, is a 13th-century slab with a cross in relief
and a beast at the foot, and near the south porch is
the base of a churchyard cross.
There are five bells: the treble, of 1750, by
T. Eayre of Kettering; the second by John Chandler,
1711; while the third and tenor date from 1900
and the fourth from 1842.
The plate is modern, consisting of an electroplated flagon and silver communion cup and footpaten. There are a pewter jug with lid and a pewter
plate of 1702.
The registers previous to 1813 are in six books:
(i) all entries 1560 to 1653; (ii) the same, 1653
to 1688; (iii) the same, 1689 to 1790; (iv)
marriages 1754 to 1794; (v) baptisms and burials
1791 to 1812; (vi) marriages 1794 to 1812.
ADVOWSON
Oakley Church with the chapel
of Clapham was by the end of the
12th century in the hands of the
Prior and convent of Caldwell, (fn. 48) but the early history
of this monastery is so obscure that it is impossible to
say when and by what means they became possessed
of it. In 1229 the advowson of the church was the
subject of a dispute between the priory and the proprietors of that property which afterwards became
known as the manor of Clapham Greenacres. (fn. 49) The
prior and monks were successful in the action, and in
1296 they impropriated the church and chapel and a
vicarage was ordained. (fn. 50) The advowson remained in
the hands of the monks until the Dissolution, when
Clapham Chapel was separated from Oakley Church. (fn. 51)
The latter was granted to Eton College by Edward VI. (fn. 52)
The advowson has remained in the hands of the
college down to the present day. (fn. 53) The living was
incorporated with that of the neighbouring church of
Bromham in the early part of the 19th century.
In 1291 the church of Oakley with the chapel of
Clapham was valued at £12 per annum, (fn. 54) out of
which £4 6s. 8d. was due to the Abbot of Oseney. (fn. 55)
At the Dissolution the vicarage was worth £8 16s. 9d., (fn. 56)
and the rectory £12. (fn. 57)
The commission to inquire concerning chantries in
1548 reported that two plots of land, one of 1 a.,
bringing in 8d., and one of 1 a. and 3 r., worth
14d. per annum, had been given to Oakley Church
that the donors might have their names entered on
the bead roll, (fn. 58) while, for the sustentation of a light,
property had been given to the value of 2s. 3d.
per annum. (fn. 59)
There is a Primitive Methodist chapel in Oakley
built in 1878.
CHARITIES
The Charity estate consists of
20 acres, producing £15 10s. a year,
and 1 a. 30 p., with the school buildings thereon, in respect of which the Bedford County
Council as the education authority pay £6 a year.
The official trustees also hold a sum of £88 2s. 7d.
consols for the educational branch of the charity, and
£14 18s. 6d. like stock for ecclesiastical purposes,
arising from accumulations of income.
The trust is administered under the provisions of a
scheme of the Charity Commissioners and subsequent
orders, whereby a moiety of the net income is applicable for educational purposes. (fn. 60) The other moiety is
applicable in ecclesiastical purposes