NORTHILL
Nortgible, Nortgivele (xi cent.); Norgewele,
Nortgylle (xiii cent.); Nortyevele (xiv, xv cent.);
Northiell, Norwell, Norrell (xvi cent.); Budenho
(xii, xiii cent.).
Northill is a large parish of 4,140 acres, watered
by a feeder of the River Ivel, which itself forms
the eastern boundary of the parish. The land lies
low, the highest point above the ordnance datum
being 205 ft. in the west, the lowest 74 ft. in the
north. The soil is clay and gravel, the chief crops
being wheat, oats, barley, beans, peas and market
gardening produce. Arable land covers 2,142 acres,
permanent grass 753 and woods and plantations
271½ acres. (fn. 1) Northill is served by the Great Northern
railway, the nearest station being Biggleswade,
3¾ miles off.
The village of Northill in the west of the parish
is comparatively small; the fine church of St. Mary,
once collegiate, stands in the centre, and grouped
near are the rectory, schools and Grange. To the
south of the village is Ickwell Bury, occupied by
Mr. John Cunningham Thomson as a preparatory
school for boys, standing in large grounds; it is built
of brick, and the oldest part of the present house was
put up in 1683; the walls finish with a brick cornice
decorated with balusters. Part of the stables was also
built in 1683, and over the roof of this portion is a
square tiled clock turret, surmounted by a small cupola
on eight Doric columns. Over the entrance to these
stables from the courtyard is a shield of arms, a
cheveron between three talbots' heads with three
trefoils on the cheveron impaling three voided
lozenges on a bend. At later dates wings have been
added to the house and other alterations made. In
the interior some of the rooms have ceilings decorated
with very elaborate and rich plaster-work, and in
one room is a finely carved wood panel, formerly
hidden by plaster. There is an open staircase round
a square well with spiral balusters, which dates from
1683. In the grounds is the site of an older building, all traces of which have disappeared, and the
moat which surrounded it is now filled up, though
it was visible until quite recently. There remains
an old octagonal pigeon-house built of brick with a
tiled roof, with two dormers and two small gable
lights. In the interior is an upright post that
revolves, with timber framing attached for reaching
the holes, of which there are fourteen rings, each
containing fifty-six holes.
East of Ickwell Bury is the hamlet of Ickwell, with
a spacious village green where until recently stood
a maypole, the scene of annual village revels. Tradition says that an ancient farm-house by the green
marks the site of the college. (fn. 2) Ickwell House, also
called the Old House, in the south of the hamlet,
was once surrounded by a moat, but is now quite
modernized. It is the residence of Captain Tippinge.
East of Ickwell is the hamlet of Upper Caldecote,
with All Saints' Church, a chapel of ease to the
parish church, consecrated in 1868. Caldecote
Lodge, the principal house and residence of Mr.
Glynn Taddy, is north-east of the church. In
the south of the hamlet is a green, round which
are grouped the manor farm, a public-house, and
various cottages. Lower Caldecote is a small outlying
district lying farther to the north-east.
Other hamlets in the parish are Thorncote, consisting of a few plaster and tile cottages grouped
round a triangular green, Hatch with an old farmhouse and a few cottages, Brook End and Budna,
which are in the north of the parish. Beeston in
the north-east, partly in Sandy parish, is rapidly
growing owing to the development of market gardening in the surrounding country. Round the green,
which seems to be a distinctive feature of the hamlets
in this parish, are many cottages, modern brick and
slate intermingling with the old thatched ones.
Beeston completes the tale of seven hamlets composing
this scattered parish, which are described in the
16th century in the following manner: 'Two of
them be ¾ mile from the church and every [one] of
them as distant from other, and other two hamlets
be a mile distant from church and every one of them
as far distant from the other.' (fn. 3)
Traces of Roman remains have been discovered in
1845 and again in 1881. (fn. 4)
The parish was inclosed by Act of Parliament in
1780, whilst a small portion was included with
Blunham in 1796. (fn. 5) Under the provisions of the
Divided Parishes Act in 1882 Beeston, a detached
part of Sandy, was added to Northill, and a detached
part of Northill was transferred to Sandy for civil
purposes.
The following place-names have been found:—
Astonthorn, Blunt's Headland, Bodenhollfeld, Clayhull, Long Drimell, Drew's Wood, Dam Acre or
Dame Margaret's Holme, Entellhedelond, le Heychal,
Loaddenhooclose, Orrell, Pollyesland, Sollchiscroft,
Syresholme, Wolmeres, le Wowelond.
MANORS
At the time of the Domesday Survey
NORTHILL MANOR, then assessed at
6½ hides, was held by William Espec or
Spech. (fn. 6) Its early descent is the same as Old Warden
(q.v.) until the death of Walter Espec in 1183, when
it passed to his second sister and co-heir Albreda
wife of Nicholas de Trailly. The manor formed
part of the barony of Warden, (fn. 7) and while it may
be noted that it was held as a dower manor in 1185
by Mary de Trailly widow of Geoffrey de Trailly, (fn. 8)
and for some years between 1248 and 1272 by
William de la Zouche, second husband of Maud
widow of John de Trailly, (fn. 9) yet in the main it
followed the same descent as that of Yelden (q.v.) (fn. 10)
until Reginald, the last of the Traillys, alienated it
in 1401 to Sir Gerard Braybrooke, the younger, and
others (with the exception of 1 acre reserved so that
Reginald might still remain king's tenant (fn. 11) ). They
acted as executors after Reginald's death in the
following year, and an alienation appears to have
taken place about this time
probably to John de Meppershall, for in 1428 Henry
Godfrey held the property as
part of the inheritance of
his wife Joan, who was
daughter of John de Meppershall. (fn. 12) Richard Godfrey,
their son, succeeded his
mother in 1460, and his wife
Elizabeth was buried in 1492
in the chancel of Northill
Church. (fn. 13) Richard Godfrey
left daughters as co-heirs
and his property in Northill
became divided (see Carminos Manor), and Northill
Manor descended to Richard Harding, who was in
possession in 1584. (fn. 14) He was one of the Bedfordshire contributors to the defence of the country at
the time of the Spanish Armada and died in 1600,
being succeeded by his son Lewis, to whom livery of
the manor was granted nine years later. (fn. 15) Lewis
died in 1616 and was buried at Northill. Elizabeth,
his daughter and heir, married Edward Kent in 1624,
and entered into possession of Northill Manor the
following year. (fn. 16) No later reference to her has been
found, but in 1652 Thomas Ellis conveyed the manor
to Thomas Bromsall. (fn. 17) It remained in his family for
some time, passing in the next century to the Robinsons of Denston Hall, Suffolk, apparently through the
marriage of John Robinson with Frances Bromsall,
an heiress of the Bromsalls, of which family the
last reputed heir male, Owen Thomas Bromsall, was
buried at Northill in
1731. (fn. 18) John Robinson, a
descendant of John and
Frances Robinson, was in
possession of Northill Manor
at the time of his death in
1772, his widow being lady
of the manor in 1780. Their
son John having obtained
leave by Act of Parliament
to sell the family estates in
Bedfordshire, this manor was
purchased in 1802 by John
Harvey of Ickwell Bury, in
whose family it still remains, the present owner
being his grandson, Mr. John Edmund Audley
Harvey. (fn. 19)
Ickwell Bury Stables
Trailly. Or a cross between four martlets gules.
Bromsall. Azure a lion with a forked tail or.
The yearly value of the manor of Northill in 1185
was estimated at £14; in 1319, during the minority
of the third Walter de Trailly, at £9 14s. 6d.; in
1401, after the death of the last John de Trailly, (fn. 20)
at 40 marks (fn. 21) ; in 1802 at £612 10s., when it comprised 663 a. 1 r. 3 p. of arable land, meadow, pasture
and woodland, the greater part of which was distributed among four large farms. (fn. 22) The right of free
warren in Northill was granted in 1271 to John de
Trailly and his heirs, (fn. 23) and was claimed by Walter
de Trailly in the time of Edward III. (fn. 24) The court
leet and view of frankpledge once pertaining to the
manor of Northill, formerly part of the possessions
of Henry and Richard Godfrey, were granted in
1589 to Walter Coppinger and Thomas Butler. (fn. 25)
Free fishery, liberty of foldage and view of frankpledge in Northill were enumerated as manorial rights
in the 17th century. (fn. 26) A windmill was named in connexion with the manor in 1290, (fn. 27) but no later
reference to it has been found.
The RECTORY, afterwards NORTHILL COLLEGE MANOR, was an important manor in Northill.
In the time of Edward III Roger de Lameleye,
parson of Northill Church, claimed view of frankpledge over all lands pertaining to the glebe of the
church, stating that his predecessors had been seised
of these liberties from time immemorial. (fn. 28) When
Northill parish church became collegiate in 1404
Sir Gerard Braybrooke and the other executors
of Sir John and Sir Reginald Trailly obtained a
licence to appropriate it in mortmain in aid of the
maintenance of Northill College. (fn. 29) The rector was
created master of the college, and so the Rectory
Manor became the College Manor, (fn. 30) which was
further increased in 1518–19 by Edward Stacy's
grant of land to the college, of which particulars
will be found under Beeston. At the Dissolution
Northill College Manor passed to the Crown, and
in 1549 it was granted to Sir William Fitz William,
who died in 1559, being succeeded by his widow,
the Lady Joan. (fn. 31) After her death in 1575 the
manor, which was held of the queen in chief for
one-hundredth part of a knight's fee, was divided
between Sir Thomas Browne, who had married
Mabel, (fn. 32) one of the daughters and co-heirs of Sir
William Fitz William, and his other surviving
daughters, Katherine wife of Christopher Viscount
Gormanston, Elizabeth wife of Innocent Rede and
Elizabeth wife of Francis Jermy. (fn. 33) Sir Thomas
Browne acquired two of the last three moieties in
1577 and 1580 respectively, and Katherine died
without issue, (fn. 34) so that eventually the whole of the
manor reverted to Richard Browne son of Sir
Thomas, who was in possession in 1597. (fn. 35) In 1610
he sold the manor to Edward Osborne of the Inner
Temple, second son of Sir Edward Osborne, who
held it until his death in 1625, and was succeeded
by his son, another Edward, also of the Inner
Temple, who in 1651 suffered a recovery. (fn. 36) He was
buried at Northill in 1679, leaving his property,
which in his will was no longer called Northill
Manor, to his grand-niece Elizabeth Osborne. (fn. 37)
During the next century the Osborne estate must
have become quite dispersed, and no reference is
found to it when the parish was inclosed in 1780,
with the interesting exception that College Farm
was in the possession of John Harvey of Ickwell
Bury. (fn. 38)
St. Anne's Farm at Thorncote, which belonged to
St. Anne's Chantry (see below), is named in the Court
Roll of Northill College Manor in 1381 as being in
the tenure of one William Feevell. (fn. 39) In 1548 it
consisted of 64 acres of land and 4 acres of meadow
and was in the tenure of John Rysley, who paid a
yearly rent of £2 14s. 4d. (fn. 40) The steward of the
manor, at a court held in 1612, stated that one
Ferneslie or Verneslie dwelt at St. Anne's Farm and
that the croft near was called after his name. (fn. 41)
A manuscript book of Northill College Manor,
which is extant, contains a brief history of it between
the years 1380 and 1612 with catalogues of Court
Rolls (most of which are preserved in the Public
Record Office) and rentals and of the names of
tenants with notes of the tenures, rents and services
of each. In the earliest existing Court Roll, that of
1381, William Borstall, the rector, as lord of the
manor held a court leet and court baron in the
parsonage-house. Heriots were due to the lord. (fn. 42)
A survey of the college in 1535 shows that the manor
consisted then of a mansion-house called the City,
80 acres of arable land, twelve small pastures and
meadow land, with Drew's Wood (demised in 1536
to the Abbot of Warden for forty years for a yearly
rent of 10s.). (fn. 43) Stacy's Wood and another small
wood provided with the hedgerows an abundant
supply of firewood. The college had the right of
keeping on the town commons 300 sheep and other
animals. (fn. 44) A mill and mill-house stood within the
precincts of the college, which were leased in 1545
to William Wood for twenty-one years at 13s. 4d.
rent, but no further mention of them has been
found. (fn. 45)
No reference is made in Domesday to the hamlets
of Ickwell or Caldecote, but Eudo son of Hubert
owned 3 hides of land in Northill, which were afterwards included in
these hamlets. Of
these 3 hides 1½ were
tenanted by Ralf, (fn. 46)
and became known
later as ICKWELL or
ICKWELL BURY
MANOR, being
attached to the barony
of Eaton (fn. 47) (q.v.) in
common with other
estates formerly belonging to Eudo in
Bedfordshire. Before
1284 this manor, by
the gift of William
Hobcote, belonged to
the Prior of St. John
of Jerusalem, who paid
sixths from it to the
county and the hundred. (fn. 48) It remained
in the possession of
the Hospitallers, (fn. 49) and
after the Dissolution
was granted by the
Crown in 1543 to
John Barnardiston
and his wife Joan. (fn. 50)
The former died in
1587 and was succeeded by his grandson Robert, who died
at Ickwell Bury in 1631. (fn. 51) Robert's son Henry died
in 1640 and Henry's son Robert in 1652 suffered
a recovery of the manor; but in 1680 with his
son George conveyed it to John Harvey. (fn. 52) Since
this time the Harvey family in the direct line
have continued in possession of Ickwell Bury
Manor, (fn. 53) the present representative being Mr. John
Edmund Audley Harvey, lord of the manor of
Northill.
In 1639 Ickwell Bury Manor comprised 487 acres
lying together, with the exception of about 96 acres
in the common fields, worth in all £404 15s. 4d.,
with timber and woods worth £400, while Bowells-fields lying in the adjoining parish of Old Warden
were worth an additional £60 6s. 8d. On this
estate there were two freeholders but no copy-holder. (fn. 54)
The Old House at Ickwell Green, which was leased
to John Corker in 1639, (fn. 55) afterwards came into the
possession of Humphrey Fish, probably through his
mother Margaret, daughter of John Barnardiston. (fn. 56)
He died in 1647, leaving his property to his brother
Henry, representatives of whose family, Humphrey
Fish, senior, and Humphrey Fish, junior, were commissioners of the land tax for Bedfordshire in 1707. (fn. 57)
The latter died in 1720, being the last heir male of
his family and an octogenarian, and was buried at
Northill. (fn. 58) His descendants on the female side,
Henry and Charles Fish Palmer, are named in the
Inclosure Act of 1780, (fn. 59) and the estate remained in
their family, (fn. 60) the last member of which, Lady
Madeline Palmer, died in 1840, when it was
bought by John Harvey, father of the present owner,
Mr. John Edmund Audley Harvey.
Ickwell Bury Pigeon House
The Prior of St. John of Jerusalem claimed view
of frankpledge in Caldecote, Ickwell and Caldecote, (fn. 61)
which with a court leet was granted in 1543 to John
Barnardiston. (fn. 62) In 1676 the
right of holding a fair on
Ickwell Green on 25, 26 and
27 March (and if one of these
days happened to be a Sunday
then on the Monday following) was granted to George
Barnardiston and his heirs. (fn. 63)
One of Lysons' correspondents stated in 1812 that
Ickwell fair had been transferred to Beeston, but no
other reference to it has been
found. (fn. 64)
Barnardiston. Azure a fesse dancetty ermine between six cross-lets argent
The lords of the manor
of Ickwell Bury claimed a
right of way to Northill Church, which about 1550
involved John Barnardiston in a lawsuit. (fn. 65)
In 1086 Pirot held the other 1½ hides of Eudo, (fn. 66)
part of which in 1284–6 was held by Thomas de
Kancia, (fn. 67) and became known later as CARMINOS
or LOWER CALDECOTE MANOR. It was held
of the barony of Eaton, and the last reference to the
overlordship is in 1428. (fn. 68) John de Carmino, who
gave his name to this manor, succeeding James de
Kancia, probably the son of Thomas, was in possession
in 1316, (fn. 69) and was followed by his wife Joan, who
was lady of Carminos in 1346 and 1350. (fn. 70) In
1360–1 Ralph son and heir of Walter de Carmino,
and probably the grandson of Joan, granted his manor
to Ralph Restwold, who a few years later alienated it
to Richard de Craunfeld. (fn. 71) Before 1428 it had
passed to Henry Godfrey, (fn. 72) then lord of the manor
of Northill, whose granddaughter Elizabeth with her
husband, Randall Borough, sold the reversion to
Thomas Chibnall, and he to John Poley in 1556. (fn. 73)
The latter died in 1558 and was succeeded by his
son Francis, who died ten years later, leaving as heir
an infant daughter Alice, who married Robert Reade. (fn. 74)
In 1588 Robert and Alice alienated their manor to
George Mordaunt and Cecilia his wife. (fn. 75) The Mordaunts retained the manor for nearly 100 years,
George Mordaunt, the grandson of George and
Cecilia, owning it in 1657, (fn. 76) but it passed from
them when it was conveyed to William Atkins and
others in 1685–6. (fn. 77) The later history of Lower
Caldecote Manor is obscure, but Lysons states in
1813 that it had been more than a century in the
family of John Harvey, its proprietor at that date. (fn. 78)
Since then its descent has been the same as Northill
Manor, Mr. John Edmund Audley Harvey being its
present owner.
CALDECOTE MANOR
CALDECOTE MANOR was another manor in
Caldecote and Ickwell, which
probably consisted of lands
formerly belonging to
Northill Manor, the possession of which was claimed
by Warden Abbey from the
12th century. In 1252 free
warren was granted to the
abbot in the woods belonging
to the granges of Caldecote,
and this right and that of
view of frankpledge were
asserted under Edward III. (fn. 79)
The manor remained with
the abbey until the Dissolution. (fn. 80) In 1564 it was granted to Robert Dudley
Earl of Leicester, (fn. 81) and subsequently came into the
possession of George Fish of Southill, who died seised
of it in 1603. (fn. 82) In 1674 it was owned by John
Moore and Mary his wife, who quitclaimed it to
Nicholas Ratchford. (fn. 83) In the reigns of William III
and Anne George Vaughan possessed the manor,
but in 1714 it was conveyed to trustees for the
use of Mrs. Stukeley, sister-in-law of Sir George
Byng, (fn. 84) and was owned by his grandson George
fourth Lord Torrington in 1776. (fn. 85) It was probably
purchased from him by Thomas Smith of Gray's Inn,
in whose possession it was early in the 19th century. (fn. 86)
Caldecote Manor afterwards passed to the Thornton
family, Col. Godfrey Thornton owning it in 1821, (fn. 87)
after which date its identity as an independent manor
has not been preserved.
Mordaunt. Argent a cheveron between three stars sable.
Cook's alias Butler's Farm, of which Nicholas Cook
died seised in 1561, was named two years later as
having formed part of the possessions of Warden
Abbey, while some of the abbey farms in Ickwell are
specified as the property of William Scroggs, who died
in 1606. (fn. 88)
Views of frankpledge were held twice yearly at
Caldecote, of which Court Rolls are preserved at
the Public Record Office for the latter years of
Henry VIII. (fn. 89) Court leet and free warren in
Caldecote were included in the grant made to Robert
Earl of Leicester. (fn. 90)
The origin of a fourth manor in Caldecote and
Ickwell, that of UPPER CALDECOTE, formerly
BLUNDELLS alias HARTSHORNE, is obscure.
The land which John Blundel owned in 1381 was
held of Northill Rectory Manor, (fn. 91) but the tenure of
Blundells was stated in 1558 to be unknown, while
Hartshorne Farm in Ickwell, (fn. 92) then apparently not
included in the manor, was held of the king by
knight service in 1561 and 1606. (fn. 93)
At the end of the 12th century the Hartshorne
family owned lands in Hartshorne, and in 1439
it was still named in connexion with Ickwell, (fn. 94)
while scattered references show that the Blundells
were settled in Caldecote for upwards of one
hundred years from the latter half of the 13th
century, but no mention has been found of the
manor until the reign of Edward VI. (fn. 95) John
Poley acquired Blundells from the Colts, (fn. 96) and
bequeathed it to his wife Alice, while his son Francis,
who died in 1568, left the reversion to his wife
Denys. (fn. 97) From this date the manor followed the
same descent as Carminos (q.v.), passing from the
Reades to George Mordaunt and his wife Cecilia.
John Mordaunt, their grandson, owned Blundells in
1728. (fn. 98) After this date the history of the manor
becomes obscure. It apparently became known as
Upper Caldecote, which in 1801 belonged to John
Harvey, (fn. 99) and passed in the same way as Northill
Manor (q.v.), the owner at the present time being
Mr. John Edmund Audley Harvey.
Walter Launcelyn owned land in Northill in
Caldecote and elsewhere in 1316, which he conveyed to John Colville and Maud his wife in 1331, (fn. 100)
and to which no further reference has been found.
The manorial history of the remaining hamlets of
this parish is very involved, but what appears to have
happened is as follows. In 1086 the land of Eudo son
of Hubert in Beeston (exclusive of the 3 hides which
he owned in Northill) was assessed at 8 hides, which
were divided between three principal tenants, Norman,
Rolland and Pirot, who held respectively 4 hides,
3 hides and 1 hide. (fn. 101) Norman's land, which he
had occupied before the Conquest, became known
later as BEESTON MANOR or BEESTON, THORNCOTE and HATCH. This land escheated to the
Crown on the death of Eudo and became attached to
the honour of Lindon, (fn. 102) as did other land of his in
Easton (Northants). (fn. 103) In the 13th century Beeston
Manor was owned by Drew de Sutton and later by
William Dru. (fn. 104) In 1313 it was conveyed by John
de Wresle to Walter de Huntingfold and Joan his
wife. (fn. 105) The Huntingfolds continued in possession
of the manor, and we find Joan wife of Godfrey,
probably son of Walter, holding it in 1346. (fn. 106) Agnes
wife of Henry de Huntingfold was dispossessed by
William de Brounsford and his wife Isabel before
1377. (fn. 107) The Brounsfords alienated the manor to
Nicholas Westerdale and others, (fn. 108) who obtained a
licence in 1386 to convey Beeston Manor to Warden
Abbey in exchange for the granges of Ravensholt and
Burdon in Cambridgeshire. (fn. 109) The manor remained
with Warden Abbey until the Dissolution, after
which the Crown at first leased it, (fn. 110) but in 1652 it
was granted to John Eldred and others, (fn. 111) well-known
land speculators, who apparently cut up the lands into
four portions. In 1658 one portion was owned
by Nathaniel Parcell and Mary his wife and conveyed
by them to Jasper Edwards, chief registrar of the
Court of Chancery. (fn. 112) In the course of the next
century it reappears as one manor in the possession of
Samuel Cockayne and Katherine his wife and Bromsall Throckmorton, (fn. 113) and was purchased later of
Thomas Smith of Gray's Inn by Godfrey Thornton
of Moggerhanger, who owned it in 1801. (fn. 114) In
1821 his property had descended to his grandson,
Col. Godfrey Thornton. (fn. 115)
Courts were held twice a year at Beeston Manor. (fn. 116)
The monastery of Warden had right of common
for sheep on Beeston Leys, and the reversion of this
land was granted in 1538 to Sir John Gostwick and
his wife Joan. (fn. 117) Robert Thornton, lord of the manor
of Moggerhanger in 1780, disputed this right of
common, which was decided in his favour, since the
common of Beeston Leys was described in 1796 as
appendant to Moggerhanger. (fn. 118) The name survives
at the present day.
In 1086 Norman owned a mill in Beeston worth
30s. (fn. 119) At the Dissolution Caldecote Mills, which
were parcel of this manor, were worth £2 13s. 4d. (fn. 120)
The 3 hides of land which Rolland held of Eudo
in 1086 became BUDDENHO MANOR or
BERELLS and FRENCHES. They formed the
corresponding half fee to Beeston Manor and were
held of the honour of Lindon (see above). This
manor was owned in the 13th century by Eustace de
Sutton, and in 1284–6 by Richard de Buddenho. (fn. 121)
Nicolaa de Buddenho was in possession in 1316, (fn. 122)
but by 1338 the manor had passed to John Stacy. (fn. 123)
A descendant of his, Thomas Stacy, was styled lord of
Beeston in 1416 and by his marriage with Agnes at
some time previous to 1457 had acquired the lands
belonging to John Berell and William Frenches,
which, added to Buddenho, later gave it the distinctive name of Berells and Frenches. (fn. 124) In 1440–1 he
(being then in rebellion) surrendered his estates to his
son Thomas, who in 1451 granted the lands which
had belonged to his mother to Elizabeth daughter of
Robert Codon, and, possibly on this account, was
styled lord of half Beeston in 1472. (fn. 125) Between the
years 1491 and 1497 William Stacy, probably the son
of Thomas, leased Buddenho Manor to Thomas
Randolph, master of Northill College, and about the
same time granted a rent-charge on it of 4 marks a
year to Pembroke Hall, Cambridge. About 1519
Edward Stacy son and heir of William granted the
manor with other lands in Beeston, Budna, Thorncote and Hatch to Thomas Underhill, then master of
the college and other feoffees. (fn. 126) The latter withdrew four years later and Stacy's land remained in the
possession of the college and at the Dissolution was worth
£6 4s. 0½d., the yearly payment made to Pembroke
Hall being £2 13s. 4d. in 1548. (fn. 127) In 1632 it was
stated that this manor had long since become extinct,
that neither any rentals nor Court Rolls were extant,
but only certain deeds and conveyances to prove the
past existence of a court. (fn. 128)
Under King Edward the Confessor Ravan, a man
of Ulmar of Eaton, held and could assign to whom he
wished the land which Pirot owned in Beeston in
1086. (fn. 129) This, together with that which he held of
Eudo in Northill (see above), was doubtless comprised
in the four fees which his descendant Ralph possessed
in 1166 of the fief which had been Eudo's. (fn. 130) From
the Pirots a third manor in Beeston and Northill
derived its first name PEROTS, later known as
BEESTON-CALDECOTE alias TRUMPINGTONS.
This manor formed part of the barony of Eaton, but
between the years 1369 and 1379 passed to the lords
of Groby, (fn. 131) after which the overlordship followed the
same descent as that of Moggerhanger Manor (q.v.),
though in the case of Beeston-Caldecote one later
reference has been found in 1510 to the overlordship
of Thomas Marquess of Dorset. (fn. 132) An interesting
survival occurred at the inclosure of the parishes of
Northill and Sandy in 1780, when an allotment of
land was allowed for Dam Acre or Dame Margaret's
Holme, which was still held by copy of court roll
of the manor of Sandy, the name recalling the tenure
of this manor by Margaret Trumpington in the
15th century. (fn. 133)
A Ralph Pirot later than the one mentioned above
owned Pirot's Manor in 1284–6, when it formed the
corresponding quarter-fee to that held by Thomas of
Kancia in Northill (fn. 134) (see Carminos), but by 1300 it
had passed into the possession of Giles de Trumpington (fn. 135) (hence one of the later names of the manor),
who also acquired the half-fee in Beeston which at
some time during the previous century had been
owned by Thomas son of Bernard. (fn. 136) From this
time the manor followed the same descent as that of
Moggerhanger (q.v.), passing from the Trumpingtons
to the Enderbys and Lucys until the death of Lady
Eleanor Lucy in 1510. It then reverted to Eleanor
Enderby (Lady Lucy's daughter by her former
husband), who afterwards
married Francis Pigot, on
whom it was settled in
1539. (fn. 137) Their son Thomas
Pigot conveyed the manor
of Beeston-Caldecote to Henry
Everard in 1555, (fn. 138) in the
possession of whose family it
appears to have remained
during the 17th century,
but by 1741 it had passed
to the same owners as the
manor of Beeston, Thorncote
and Hatch, and follows the
same descent (see above). (fn. 139)
Pirot. Quarterly fessewise indented or and azure.
At the time of the Domesday Survey William Spech
held 3½ virgates in Beeston, whose previous possessor
had been Lewin Cilt. These virgates evidently lay
principally in Thorncote, (fn. 140)
and were attached to Old
Warden Manor as part of
the honour of Warden (Old
Warden, q.v.). During the
13th century Fulk le Moyne
and Robert Joce each held a
quarter-fee of this honour, (fn. 141)
and their descendants still
owned land in Thorncote
during the following century.
In 1309 John de Bowels
seized the cattle of Robert le
Moyne because his services
(consisting of those appertaining to half a fee and that of doing suit to John's court
at Warden) were in arrear. (fn. 142) In 1346 John Joce
owned land of the Abbot of Warden which William
Joce had formerly held. (fn. 143) By 1428 it was occupied
by three tenants, namely, John Greenlane, John
Cooke and Thomas Ivell, after which its descent
cannot be traced. (fn. 144)
Everard. Gules a fesse between three stars argent with three roundels gules on the fesse.
Other Domesday tenants were Walter, who held
half a hide of Hugh de Beauchamp in Northill which
Osiet, a man of King Edward, formerly occupied and
could sell, (fn. 145) and Turstin the Chamberlain, who
owned half a hide of the king in Beeston which previously Godwin, a man of Earl Tosti, held and could
assign. (fn. 146) This land later belonged to the barony of
Bedford (an overlordship which is traceable in Thorncote as late as 1499), following the same descent as in
Astwick, (fn. 147) and appears to have been divided among
numerous small tenants. Finally 3 virgates in Beeston
in 1086 were held by Godmund of the king and
were in the possession of the burgesses of Bedford, but
no later particulars about this land have been found. (fn. 148)
CHURCH
The church of ST. MARY THE
VIRGIN consists of a chancel 41 ft. 11 in.
by 20 ft. 7 in., nave 64 ft. by 17 ft. 1 in.,
north and south aisles, each 9 ft. 5 in. wide, and a
west tower 14 ft. square.
It is a beautiful and dignified building, begun
about 1330. The nave is the oldest part, and with
it the lower part of the tower and the ground story
of the porch were built. The chancel belongs to
c. 1350–70, and with it the north-east vestry. There
has been a break in the work, the upper part of the
tower and the vault and upper story of the porch
being of 15th-century date, and towards the end
of this century two windows in each aisle were
altered. The church was repaired in 1862 and a
vestry and organ chamber added on the north of the
chancel, and the window tracery is almost entirely
modern. The walling is of dark brown ironstone,
which is also used for the nave arcades and the
window heads, but as it is unsuitable for the finer
details these are worked in clunch, giving a very
effective contrast. The church is very well cared
for, and the modern fittings are good of their kind.
The chancel has a modern east window of five
lights and three south windows of three lights; only
the eastern of the three retains old tracery, though
the jambs and rear arches of all are old, c. 1360.
Below the window is a moulded string running round
the walls in the interior and breaking up over the
triple sedilia, which with the piscina have cinquefoiled
heads and are original work, plain but very well
designed. The piscina has a stone shelf. There are
a modern stone reredos and a modern credence in
the north wall.
The vestry is entirely modernized, and has a three-light east window and a cinquefoiled piscina on the
south, to the west of which are traces of a wide recess
now plastered over but showing old stonework.
At the north-west of the chancel the rear arch
and jambs of an original window serve as an opening
to the organ; a light wooden screen of modern date
is set in it.
The chancel arch is modern, a copy of the nave
arcades, and in it is a modern screen into which are
worked two bands of quatrefoils from an old screen
and some traceried heads of panels. Part of the
stalls in the chancel are also of early 15th-century
date. A range of four stalls with plain misericordes
is set against the south wall, with plain panelling
above and four bays of panelling to the east over a
bench, which though modern seems to represent the
original arrangement. On the north is a like scheme,
but only two stalls remain. The carvings below the
misericordes are simple fleurs de lis or the like, and
only three are left. Just east of the panelling on the
south side is a priest's door of original date.
The nave arcades are in four bays built of ironstone, with tall lancet arches in two wave-moulded
orders, with a fillet between and plain labels on both
sides; they spring from tall and graceful piers of
four round engaged shafts with rolls in the angles,
and have moulded capitals and bases on plinths
of unusual and effective character. The responds
of both arcades and the capitals of the western
pair of piers are in clunch, but all the rest are of
ironstone.
In the east respond of the north arcade, facing the
aisle, is a trefoiled piscina recess in two moulded
orders with a stone shelf, surmounted by a crocketed
canopy and flanked by small buttresses, part of the
original work, though much restored.
The north aisle is divided by buttresses into four
bays, and has an original east window, of which the
tracery has been removed to open out the organ.
The west and north-west windows are also original
but with modern tracery, but the two other north
windows were altered in the late 15th century.
The outer jambs of the eastern of the two are of
14th-century date, but the head and three-light
tracery belong to the alteration, as do the inner
jambs. The remaining window is entirely in the
later style, but its outer jambs are probably 14th-century work recut. In the third bay is a 14th-century doorway in three wave-moulded orders with
a pointed head and label springing from head stops.
The windows of the south aisle are arranged like
those of the north and have a parallel history, except
that the east window still serves as a window.
Beneath it a modern side altar is fitted up.
The south doorway dates from the 14th century,
with a pointed head and label; the head is moulded
with three filleted rounds, separated from each other
by small hollows and springing from half-round shafts
with moulded capitals, which differ in either jamb,
and chamfered block bases. The south porch is
vaulted in stone in two bays, with diagonal and
cross ribs springing from modern vaulting shafts with
moulded capitals and bases. At the intersection
of the ribs in the centre of the north bay is a
foliated boss on which are the arms of Trailly;
at the centre of the other bay is a foliated boss of
the 15th century, and between them a boss with
a rose in foliage.
The wall ribs of the vault are of the same character
as the mouldings of the south door, but the ribs are
of later type, and it is clear that though a vaulted
porch was intended in the 14th-century work it was
not carried out till the 15th century. The other
details of the porch and its upper story, which has
a stair on the west and a four-light opening to the
nave, are now modern. The upper story was used
as the chapel of St. Anne, founded as a chantry by
William Fitz and Cecily Beton in 1489. (fn. 149)
The door of the stair-turret has trefoiled traceried
panelling of the 15th century in the head, and at
the base three little quatrefoiled panels.
The tower arch has been restored; it is in three
wave-moulded orders with labels, and springs from
moulded responds with capitals and bases. The top
stage of the tower belongs to the 15th century, and
at the angles of the parapet are gargoyles; the stairturret, in which are four narrow lights, is at the
north-east angle, and is entered from the tower by
means of a pointed doorway. At the western angles
of the tower are two square buttresses in four stages.
There is a pointed doorway into the tower on the
south side, a modern alteration, and on the west is
a window of three cinquefoiled lights in two wave-moulded orders with a pointed head and label; the
mullions and tracery are similar in style to those of
the east window, and they and the inner order of the
head are all modern. Over this window is a narrow
chamfered light. On the east and west sides of the
top stage are two windows side by side, in two
chamfered orders, separated by a casement; they consist of two cinquefoiled lights: the outer order forms
a rectangle round the two windows, the inner orders
form pointed heads in which is perpendicular tracery;
in the spandrels is quatrefoiled panelling, and also
at the base of each light are two quatrefoiled panels.
In the other two sides of the top stage is a window of
two trefoiled lights in two chamfered orders, with a
pointed head and label containing a quatrefoil.
The chancel roof, which is modern except for parts
of the arched braces, is of oak in three bays; the
nave has a trussed rafter roof of steep pitch, divided
into four bays with tie-beams and strutted kingposts; it is very plain work, but perhaps original, and
the plain lean-to roofs of the aisles are probably also
of 14th-century date.
The pulpit and the seating are modern.
In the north wall of the north aisle is a brass of a
knight in full plate-armour (without a helmet), and a
shield quarterly (1) on a bend three trefoils with a
molet for difference, (2) and (3) a lion rampant in a
gobony border, (4) on a bend three trefoils, and an
inscription: 'Hic jacet Nicholaus Harve miles, qui
obiit in festo Sancti Oswaldi, Anno Domini millesimo
quingentesimo trigesimo secundo ac anno Regni Regis
Henrici Octavi xxiiii, cujus anime propicietur deus
Amen.'
In the north-east angle of this aisle are ten inscriptions in brass, of the 19th century, to various members
of the Harvey family. On the north wall of the
chancel and on the walls of the aisles are many
memorial slabs of the 18th and 19th centuries and
a brass to Susannah widow of John Harvey, esq.,
1863, in the floor of the nave near the chancel arch.
Three large panels of good late 17th-century glass
with the arms of the Grocers' Company, the royal
arms and those of Slany, dated 1664, are fixed in
front of two windows in the south aisle.
In the tower is a curious old bier with hinged
handles, and on it is carved 'After death cometh
judgement. Thomas Tompion, John Cozens, Churchwardens, 1663.'
There are five bells: (1) 'Sancte Gabriel ora pro
nobis,' by Thomas Bullisdon of London, c. 1510;
(2) 'Richard Harding et Anne Harding 1589,' by
Newcombe of Leicester; (3) 'Feare God and obey
the Prince 1602'; (4) 'Richard Chandler made me
1711'; (5) ' Newcome of Leicester made me.
A° 16113' (sic).
The communion plate consists of a foot-paten
engraved with 'I.H.S.,' a cross, and nails, given by
Thomas Clarke to 'the parish of Norrell,' date
letter 1689. There are also a smaller foot-paten, the
marks of which are quite worn off; a communion
cup, with chasing round it, date letter 1569; a
flagon, given by Sir John More, Sir Ralph Box and
Mr. Thomas Symonds, members of the Worshipful
Company of Grocers, to the parish of Northill, date
letter 1696.
The registers previous to 1813 are in six books:—
(1) all 1562 to 1598 (the next are missing); (2) all
1672 to 1726; (3) all 1727 to 1758, marriages till
1754; (4) marriages (printed) 1754 to 1812; (5)
baptisms and burials 1759 to 1778; (6) baptisms and
burials 1779 to 1812.
ADVOWSON
The advowson of the church of
Northill belonged to the Trailly
family, and followed the same descent
as the principal manor (q.v.). (fn. 150) Its valuation in the
13th century was £16 13s. 4d., (fn. 151) and it was taxed at
25 marks in the time of Edward III. (fn. 152) In 1404 the
executors of Sir John and Sir Reginald Trailly
obtained a licence to change the church into a
college, to which they granted the advowson in frank-almoigne. (fn. 153) When the college was dissolved in 1547
the church and rectory, being then valued at
£50 11s. 4d., passed to the Crown, (fn. 154) who granted
them to Sir William Fitz William in 1553, (fn. 155) after
which they once more followed the same descent as the
manor, but were not included in the property sold by
Richard Browne to Edward Osborne in 1610. (fn. 156) In
1652 the advowson was quitclaimed to Thomas
Bromsall, (fn. 157) and within the next ten years both
rectory and advowson were purchased (Lysons says
with money given by Margaret Lady Slayny) by the
Grocers' Company, which in 1662 made a presentation on recommendation by the king, (fn. 158) and is still in
possession at the present day. (fn. 159) All Saints', Caldecote, is a chapel of ease to the parish church.
At the inclosure of Northill parish in 1780 the
great tithes belonged to John Harvey and the small
tithes to the rector, with a few minor exceptions in
both cases. The latter received some further allotments for tithes in 1796. (fn. 160)
The college of St. Mary, Northill, was founded in
1404 to pray for the souls of Sir John Trailly and his
son Reginald, (fn. 161) its first master being the rector of the
parish, John Ward, who died in 1422, and was
buried in the chancel of Northill Church. (fn. 162) The
succeeding masters were presented by the fellows of
the college (who were four in number), and afterwards
instituted by the Bishop of Lincoln to the college and
parsonage. (fn. 163) The clear income of the college in
1535 was estimated at £61 7s. (fn. 164) Further particulars
may be found under the article on the Religious
Houses. (fn. 165) The college was dissolved in 1547, (fn. 166) and
was granted by the Crown in 1549 to Sir William
Fitz William and his wife Joan, (fn. 167) following the same
descent as the College Manor, under which the site
and demesnes of the college were still included in
1651. (fn. 168)
St. Anne's chantry was founded in 1489 by
William Fitz and Cecily Beton, who gave certain
lands in Beeston, Hache, Thorncote and Budna to
find a priest to sing mass for the souls of William and
of William Resby, his grandfather, in a chapel built
on the porch of the parish church of Northill, and for
an obit to be kept yearly in the same church for their
souls and for those of their friends. (fn. 169) It was granted
in 1549 to Sir William Fitz William, to be held of
the Crown as of the honour of Ampthill, by fealty,
in free socage. (fn. 170) The last mention of this chantry
that has been found occurs in 1598, after the death
of Sir Thomas Browne. (fn. 171)
In 1548 William Abbesse and John Hithe of
Kempston held 1s. 4d. in trust for the provision of a
sepulchre light in the parish church of Northill. (fn. 172)
CHARITIES
The Amalgamated Charities. (fn. 173)
The Town Charity Estate has
the three principal sources of income
next mentioned:—
1. The ancient prescription mentioned on the
church board, the property of which was the subject of
inquisition by commissioners of charitable uses, 1610.
2. Charity of Rev. Robert Hancock, a former
rector, founded by will dated 4 September 1683,
whereby the testator left £60 to be laid out in the
purchase of land, the rents to be applied in mending
the footways leading to the church and in relief of
poor widows. The legacy with gifts from other
donors was applied in the purchase of certain lands
comprised in a deed of feoffment, dated 3 October
1687, the specific trusts of which were declared by
deed dated 13 April 1691.
3. Clement Marsland's charity, originally an
annuity of 4s. on land in Prigdale charged by will,
dated 21 April 1612, for sixteen poor people, in lieu
of which 3 r. 7 p. in Drover's Way Field was allotted
on the inclosure in 1781.
4. Mrs. Elizabeth Hutchinson's charity, founded
by will proved 2 May 1728, whereby the testatrix
left £200 to be laid out in the purchase of land, the
rents and profits to be applied in educating fatherless
girls and putting them out as apprentices. The legacy
was in 1740 laid out in the purchase of land and
cottages at Thorncote (East) and Beeston Leys.
5. Henry Smith's charity, 1626, consisting of an
average payment of £4 10s. a year from lands in
Longney, Gloucestershire, for the poor in clothing.
6. John Atterton's charity, being £5 a year for
the poor, charged on an estate at Nether Caldecote
by will of donor, who died in 1738.
7. In 1870 Vinegar Hill Toll House was purchased for £52 10s. belonging to the charity for poor
widows, producing £4 8s. a year.
In 1905 the trust estates of the charities nos. 1 to 4,
inclusive, consisted of 1 a. 2 r. in Beeston Leys,
16 a. 1 r. 18 p. in Drover's Way, 2 a. 0 r. 19 p. in
Vinegar Hill, 1 a. 3 r. 13 p. in Thorncote (East) and
Homestead and two cottages producing yearly £70
or thereabouts, which, after deducting outgoings, is
with the income of charities 5, 6 and 7 divided as to
fifteen forty-eighths to the general poor, two forty-eighths to the widows and two forty-eighths for
church paths and twenty-nine forty-eighths to the
fatherless girls. Also 2 a. 2 r. 3 p. in Thorncote
(West) and two cottages, producing £15 18s. yearly,
which is applied as to thirteen twenty-sevenths for
the general poor, seven twenty-sevenths for widows
and seven twenty-sevenths for church paths.
The official trustees also hold £100 Metropolitan
3 per cent. stock in trust for Mrs. Elizabeth Hutchinson's charity.
In 1879 the Rev. John Taddy by will, proved at
London 28 February, bequeathed £100, the income
to be divided among poor widows as the rector should
think fit. The legacy was invested in £102 11s. 3d.
consols.
In 1886 Edward Glynn Taddy by will, proved at
London 17 August, left a similar legacy of £100
consols for the poor.
The two sums of stock are held by the official
trustees; the annual dividends of £2 11s. and £2 10s.
respectively are duly applied.
In 1882 Miss Anna Louisa Potts by her will and
codicils thereto, proved at London 9 November,
bequeathed legacies upon trust to be invested and
income applied towards the endowment of the church
of All Saints. The trust fund consists of £440 0s. 6d.
consols (producing £11 a year) with the official
trustees, who also hold £100 Metropolitan Consolidated 3½ per cent. stock and £202 15s. 9d. consols,
the dividends of which (amounting to £8 11s. 4d.)
are, under a declaration of trust of 28 April 1884,
applicable for the maintenance and repairs of the
same church.