WILLINGTON
Welitone, Weltone (xi cent.); Wilton (xiii cent.);
Wyliton, Wyllyngton (xiv, xv cent.).
Willington is a straggling parish, about twice as
long as it is broad, with an area of nearly 1,659½ acres,
of which 762 acres consist of arable land, 505¾ of
permanent grass and 183 of woods and plantations. (fn. 1)
The soil is gravel, the subsoil gravel and sand. The
principal crops are wheat, barley, peas and beans. The
general slope of the ground is from south-east to north-west, the highest point being reached at Mox Hill,
213 ft. above the ordnance datum. The River Ouse
forms the northern boundary of the parish, the land in
the neighbourhood of the river being liable to floods.
The village, which is somewhat scattered, lies in
the north-west of the parish, along a by-road some
distance north of the main road from Bedford to
Great Barford. At its extreme west end is Manor
Farm, built on the site of the old Manor House once
the residence of Sir John Gostwick, master of the
horse to Cardinal Wolsey, the only remains of
which now standing being a rectangular stone-brick
building of c. 1520, in two stories, with stepped
gables at either end. It is now used as a stable, but
its moulded ceiling beams and good arched fireplace
on the first floor show it to have been a living-place
of good quality in its best days. The entrance doorway is on the west side, and the building seems to
have stood by itself, not forming part of a larger
house. Further to the east is a double pigeon-house,
a most interesting building of about the same date, or
perhaps somewhat earlier; it is a tall rectangular stone
building, divided into two by a cross wall, and having
very remarkable stepped gables, with moulded copings
and kneelers, the latter resting on mask corbels which
are rather of 13th than 16th-century character. The
roof is tiled, and is in two pitches, separated by
upright louvres for the pigeons; the entrances are on the
south, and are low and narrow four-centered archways.
Old Pigeon House, Willington.
Adjacent to the manor-house is the parish church
of St. Lawrence, with the vicarage farther east.
Crools Farm is in the south of the village. The
houses which compose the village are chiefly model
cottages, planned
by the Duke of
Bedford about the
middle of the last
century. In 1903
a station on the
Bedford and Cambridge branch of
the London and
North Western
railway was opened
at Willington.
In the north of
the parish are
earthworks, probably of Danish
origin. (fn. 2) Roman
remains have also
been found here. (fn. 3)
MANORS
In
1086
Hugh
de Beauchamp held
WILLINGTON
MANOR, assessed
at 10 hides. It
had formerly belonged to Aschil
and to eight sokemen. (fn. 4) This manor
follows the same
descent as the other
Beauchamp property, (fn. 5) and on the subdivision of the
barony in 1265 passed to Maud de Beauchamp, wife
of Roger de Mowbray, (fn. 6) who died in 1266. She married
a second husband, Roger Lestrange, who survived her,
holding Willington till his death in 1311, when John
de Mowbray, his wife's grandson, succeeded to the
manor. (fn. 7) He settled it for life, in 1316, on William
de Braose, whose elder daughter Aliva he had
married. In 1322 John de Mowbray was hanged at
York for joining in Lancaster's rebellion against
Edward II. (fn. 8) His lands escheated to the Crown, and
Hugh le Despenser the younger was granted the
reversion of the manor of Willington for himself and
his wife. (fn. 9) On the accession of Edward III, however,
John de Mowbray's estates were restored to his son
John de Mowbray, (fn. 10) who in 1328 acknowledged the
rights of his mother's second husband, Sir Richard de
Peshale, in Willington Manor. (fn. 11) Three times the
latter lodged a complaint against John de Mowbray
—once in 1329 and twice in 1332—for breaking
into his manor of Willington. In 1329 he stated
that the raiders drove off twenty-four horses, sixty
oxen, twelve cows, five hundred sheep, two hundred
swine (worth in all £300), and 'carried away his
goods.' (fn. 12) On the second occasion the horses and
other animals driven off are stated to be worth
500 marks. De Peshale further complained that the
raiders 'mowed his crops, fished his stews, carried
away the fish and crops,' with other goods (sacks of
wool and various kinds of grain are enumerated), 'and
assaulted his servants.' (fn. 13) During their second raid
in 1332 the raiders, in addition to similar offences,
are said to have taken from Sir Richard's servants
'some writs of the king which he had sued forth and
trampled them under foot.' (fn. 14) In 1362, after the
death of John de Mowbray, the right of Elizabeth,
his second wife, in Willington Manor was recognized. (fn. 15)
In 1366 John de Mowbray, son of the abovementioned John, complained that Elizabeth his
father's widow had committed waste by destroying
the trees, digging up the land and allowing the
buildings to fall to decay. Amongst the items
mentioned are two courts, two dwellings, four
rooms, two kitchens, two granges and various outbuildings, two houses called 'Yathous,' two dovecots and one chapel. Some thousands of trees are
also enumerated, including oaks, ashes, elms, hazels
and white thorns, apple trees, pear trees, plum trees
and cherry trees. Elizabeth replied that one dwelling was pulled down because it was unsafe and the
other was blown down in a gale, the cottages were
pulled down because the tenants had died of the
plague, probably the plague of 1362, which was felt
severely in Bedfordshire. John de Mowbray recovered
damages against Elizabeth, estimated at £938 18s. (fn. 16)
An inquisition on Elizabeth's estates was held at
Willington in 1376 on account of the minority of
the next heir, John de Mowbray, son of the lastmentioned John de Mowbray, who had died in
1368. (fn. 17) John de Mowbray, who was created Earl
of Nottingham at the coronation of Richard II in
1377, was succeeded in 1383 by his brother Thomas
de Mowbray, subsequently Duke of Norfolk and Earl
Marshal. He was banished by Richard II in 1399
and died shortly afterwards. (fn. 18) Thomas his son and
heir was a minor and the custody of Willington Manor
was granted to Sir Thomas de Rempston. (fn. 19) Thomas
de Mowbray was executed for high treason in 1405, and
the manor passed to his brother John de Mowbray,
who died in 1432 and was succeeded by his only son
John. (fn. 20) After the latter's death in 1461 his son, another
John de Mowbray, entered into possession of the
manor. (fn. 21) He died in or about the year 1476. Anne
Mowbray his daughter and heir was the last of the direct
line of Mowbrays. At her death in 1483 the manor
passed to the Howard family as in the case of Stotfold (fn. 22) (q.v.). When the Norfolk estates were forfeited after the battle of Bosworth Field, Willington
Manor was granted by Henry VII to John de Vere
Earl of Oxford and to his heirs male. (fn. 23) In 1489,
however, Thomas Howard, the representative of the
Norfolk family, was released from prison and restored
to his earldom of Surrey. The forfeited estates,
which had been granted to the Earl of Oxford, were
restored to him. The Earl of Surrey was created
Duke of Norfolk in 1514 for his services at Flodden
Field. He was succeeded by his son Thomas Duke
of Norfolk in 1524, (fn. 24) who sold Willington in 1529 (fn. 25)
to Sir John Gostwick, whose ancestors in Willington
can be traced back to 1209. (fn. 26) Gostwick's letters to
Cromwell show that he made
use of court influence to his
own advantage by appropriating to himself adjacent lands
and properties belonging to
dissolved priories. Two of
these letters are dated at
Willington. (fn. 27) After the death
of Sir John Gostwick in 1545
the manor of Willington passed
first to his son William, who
died in the same year, and
then to his brother William,
who died in 1549. (fn. 28) Both
left directions that their bodies
were to be buried in Willington Church; that of
the former in the chancel, that of the latter 'in
the aisle of the Chapel lately builded.' William
especially bequeathed 'one Turkey Carpet to
Robert, my son, to have after the death of Anne,
my Wife.' To another son he left certain feather
beds. (fn. 29) An inquisition was taken in 1581 on the
estates of John Gostwick, the son of William. (fn. 30) His
son William, who was sheriff for the county of Bedford
in 1595 and was created a baronet by James I in
1611, died in 1615, leaving a son and heir Edward. (fn. 31)
There is an account of a visit paid by Archbishop
Williams, when Bishop of Lincoln, 'to the mansionplace of Sir Gostwick in Bedfordshire' for the purpose of hallowing a chapel there. (fn. 32) This Sir Edward
Gostwick died in 1630, (fn. 33) and there is a laudatory inscription to him and his wife on a conspicuous monument in Willington Church. His son and heir Edward
is mentioned by Archbishop Williams as having been
born deaf and dumb but yet able 'to enter into the
marriage state with a young lady of a great and
prudent family.' (fn. 34)
Mowbray. Gules a lion argent.
Howard. Gules a bend between six crosslets fitchy argent.
Gostwick of Willington. Argent a bend cotised gules between six Cornish choughs.
Edward Gostwick was succeeded, probably about
1665, by his second son William, who was Sheriff
of Bedfordshire 1679–80 and member for the county
from 1698 to 1713. (fn. 35) He was succeeded in 1719–20
by his grandson William,
who sold the manor
of Willington in 1731 to
Sarah Duchess of Marlborough. (fn. 36) In 1779 it was
purchased by the Duke of
Bedford, and remained in the
possession of the Dukes of
Bedford until 1902, when
it was sold to George and
James Keeble of Peterborough. (fn. 37) Further alienation
has since taken place and the
property has been broken up,
Colonel Frank Shuttleworth
of Old Warden and Messrs.
Mark Young of Sandy being now the principal
landowners in Willington.
Russell, Duke of Bedford. Argent a lion gules and a chief sable with three scallops argent therein.
The right of holding a court, a view of frankpledge and a halmote was attached to Willington
Manor, and Court Rolls are preserved at the British
Museum dated between the years 1463–70, from
which it appears that the courts were held twice
yearly and the halmote once a year in May. (fn. 38)
Sheerhatch Wood formed an important part of
the manor of Willington. When John de Mowbray
in 1366 entered an action, already alluded to, for
waste against his father's widow Elizabeth, the trees
destroyed are set out evidently in round figures. The
most numerous were the elms and ashes, of which
6,000 of each are said to have been cut down.
Elizabeth pleaded that 'the trees were blown down
by the gale, except some which were cut down for
the repair of the manor-houses, and that the whitethorn trees and ash-trees died naturally.' (fn. 39) John de
Mowbray, on account of Elizabeth's waste, recovered
the wood and also a grove of 10 acres (fn. 40) (perhaps
the present Compton Grove to the north-west of
Sheerhatch Wood), stated to be parcel of Willington
Manor held as of the barony of Bedford.
The priory of Newnham owned lands in Willington
which in 1291 were valued at £1 1s. 10d. (fn. 41) In
1385 they received a grant of free warren which
extended over their lands in Willington. (fn. 42) At the
Dissolution all lands which the priory of Newnham
held in Willington were granted to Sir John Gostwick, (fn. 43) who held Willington Manor, in which this
property became henceforward absorbed.
In the time of Edward I the Knights Hospitallers
claimed view of frankpledge in Willington. (fn. 44) In
1540 this view was granted to Sir Richard Longe. (fn. 45)
CHURCH
The church of ST. LAWRENCE
consists of a chancel 32 ft. 8 in. by
17 ft. 2 in., nave 47 ft. 5 in by 16 ft. 4 in.,
a north aisle 43 ft. by 11 ft. 3 in., a chapel to the
north of the chancel 33 ft. by 17 ft., and a west
tower 11 ft. 5 in. by 12 ft.
The church is a very interesting example of the
latest phases of Gothic work, and it is doubtful
whether any part, except perhaps some of the masonry
of the south wall of the nave, is anterior to the
16th century. The chancel is fine and well-proportioned and of the best detail and workmanship;
it appears to be older than the adjoining north chapel,
which on the evidence of an inscription was built
by John Gostwick, 1541, and is extraordinarily good
Gothic work for the date. The south windows of
the nave and all the north aisle of the nave belong
to the decadence of Gothic art, with uncusped tracery
and poor and starved details, and are probably the
latest work in the church.
The east window of the chancel is a fine one,
taking up almost the whole width of this wall; it
consists of five cinquefoiled lights with moulded
jambs and main and secondary tracery under a two-centred arch and label. The original intention was
to vault the chancel in stone, and the vaulting shafts
remain at the north-east and south-east. On the south
side of the chancel are two windows of three lights
each, of which the middle is trefoiled and the two outer
cinquefoiled under embattled transoms; the arches
and labels of these windows are four centred with
perpendicular tracery and the jambs are moulded.
Between them is a small priest's doorway with moulded
jambs, of which the inner order is four-centred and
the outer square; in the spandrels are trefoils. Over
the door on the outside is a quatrefoil bearing a shield
in the centre. There is a chamfered piscina in the
east end of the south wall of the chancel.
On the north of the chancel is an arcade, the
arches of which are four centred, springing from piers
consisting of four half-round shafts attached to a
square with the angles chamfered off, and similar
responds, each shaft having a moulded semi-octagonal
capital and base. On the north side of the east respond is a panel having a four-centred head beneath
a square one, with carving in the spandrels. The
east window of the chapel consists of three cinquefoiled lights with moulded jambs and a two-centred
head with perpendicular tracery. In the interior,
on each side of the head of this window, is a
quatrefoiled panel. There are two windows in
the north wall of the chapel, of the latest form of
Gothic detail, consisting of three cinquefoiled ogee
lights with tracery over. Between these windows is
a square buttress in three stages, and at the north-west angle a diagonal one. The chancel arch is in
two orders, the inner of which springs from an
attached shaft to the respond, having a semi-octagonal
capital and a modern circular base. There is a
pointed arch with continuous moulding, the section
being that of a window without the glazing groove,
opening from the east end of the aisle into the
chapel.
The nave is separated from the aisle by an arcade
in three bays, of two moulded orders, springing from
piers like that of the arcade between chapel and
chancel, with moulded capitals and bases. In the east
respond is a rood staircase, with upper and lower
doorways. Over this arcade is a clearstory of three
windows of two uncusped lights each, with moulded
jambs and four-centred heads. The south doorway
of the nave is in two orders, with a four-centred head
and label and continuous jamb and arch moulds, and
opens to the south porch, in each side of which is a
square-headed window consisting of three uncusped
pointed lights under a square label. The outer doorway of the porch has a very low depressed arch,
almost amounting to a flat top with round corners,
springing from moulded jambs, the inner order of
which has an attached shaft with a moulded capital.
The arch mould is ornamented with a row of small
diamond-shapel panels. Over this doorway is a small
niche with a projecting sill and canopy, the soffit of
the latter being carved to represent small vaulting
ribs; the jambs have small attached shafts, which have
been broken. The walls, in common with those of
the remainder of the church, have embattled parapets. On either side of the south doorway is a
window of four lights, each of which is divided into
two stages, the lower having pointed cinquefoiled
heads immediately beneath a transom bar, the upper
having four-centred heads and tracery with no cusping.
The north wall of the aisle also has two windows,
with the north doorway between them, which has a
pointed head and moulded jambs and label. Each
window has three plain lights without cusping under
a four-centred head, the jamb moulds being like
those in the opposite wall of the nave.
Willington Church from the North-west
The tower arch is in two chamfered orders,
springing from responds with moulded capitals. The
tower itself is divided by strings into three stages,
terminating in an embattled parapet, and supported
by a diagonal buttress at each angle; in the top stage
in each face is a window of two lights under a square
label. The west door has been blocked up, and over
it is a modern window of three lights. On the south
side of the tower are a plain chamfered doorway and
four small lights to the staircase.
The roofs are of low pitch, and are all old, though
a good deal repaired; that of the chancel is in three
bays, and the braces rest on delicately carved wooden
corbels, as in the chapel. The nave roof in four bays,
and the aisle in seven, are ornamented with foliated
bosses at the intersection of the timbers, and the wallplates are embattled. Under the west tower is a
modern panelled octagonal font. There is some
16th-century carved tracery in some of the benchends, which are themselves in some cases old.
In the north chapel is a fine Jacobean tomb of
alabaster and black marble, with an alabaster effigy in
plate-armour lying on a mattress under a wooden
hearse-canopy painted to represent marble; the figure
is coloured and gilt in perfect condition. On the
pedestal is an inscription to Sir William Gostwick, bart.,
who married Jane Owen, daughter of Henry Owen,
and died 1615. There is a shield of the baronet
at the west end; at the opposite end are his arms
impaling Owen. In the north-east angle is a late
Gothic altar-tomb of stone, on which is a marble
slab with the indent of a brass and inscription; a
modern painting of the Gostwick arms is on the south
side of the tomb.
On the north wall is a Renaissance monument to
Sir Edward Gostwick, kt. and bt., 1630, and his wife
Anne, eldest daughter of John Wentworth of Gosfield,
Essex, 1635. There are two kneeling figures under
canopies, and beneath these the figures of five
girls and two boys, also a cradle with an anchor
of hope.
Under the arch between the chancel and chapel is
an altar-tomb to Sir John Gostwick, kt., of Willington, and on the east wall of the chapel are two
helmets, one of which was worn by him at the
Field of the Cloth of Gold.
Under the communion table is an altar-slab with
five crosses. In the nave is a slab to Robert Howgill,
vicar, 1643. In the floor of the chancel are several
gravestones of the Gostwick family and one slab and
brass plate with a forged inscription to Robert
Gostwick, 1315, evidently of 19th-century date, and
on the south wall of the chancel another old helmet.
On a bracket attached to the east respond of the nave
arcade is an iron hour-glass stand, and in the west
doorway of the tower, which is now blocked up, are a
13th-century coffin lid and part of a 13th-century
capital. There are in the north chapel a number of
mediaeval tiles, the earliest being some incised tiles
probably of early 14th-century date.
There are six bells, five of which were recast by
Mears & Thompson in 1898, and a new treble
added.
The plate consists of a flagon given by Charles
Gostwick, 1697, crest a griffin displayed, date mark
1691; a communion cup, silver gilt, presented by
William Gostwick, 1686; a paten lid, date mark
1685; and a large foot-paten, presented by Sir
William Gostwick, kt. and bart., 1685, date letter
illegible. Arms: Gostwick impaling Boteler.
The registers previous to 1813 are in three books:
—(1) all 1676 to 1758; (2) marriages 1754 to 1812;
(3) baptisms and burials 1758 to 1812.
ADVOWSON
Simon de Beauchamp, grandson of
Hugh de Beauchamp, granted the
advowson of Willington Church to
Newnham Priory as part of his endowment of that
foundation in 1166. (fn. 46) Its value in 1291 was
£2 13s. 4d. (fn. 47) It remained in the hands of the
priory until the Dissolution, when it was valued at
£12. (fn. 48) It was granted in 1539–40 to Sir John
Gostwick and Joan his wife. (fn. 49) From that time the
history of the advowson is the same as that of the
manor (q.v.) until the present Duke of Bedford sold
it in 1902 to Mr. G. Keeble of Peterborough, who
is the present owner.
The fraternity of Blunham owned certain lands in
this parish, valued at the dissolution of the chantries
at 16d. yearly. (fn. 50)