WOOTTON
Otone (xi cent.); Wutton (xii cent.).
Wootton is a large parish and scattered village
covering an area of 3,788 acres, of which 1,423 are
arable land, 1,803 permanent grass, and 97 consist of
woods and plantations. (fn. 1) The soil is a rich, strong
clay with a subsoil of gravel and marl, producing
crops of wheat, beans and barley.
The village of Wootton lies towards the north
of the parish about 150 ft. above ordnance datum,
and has outlying districts known as Keeley, Causeway
End, Tags End and Bott End.
Wootton House, which stands in a park of 70 acres
at the west end of the village, is the residence of
Colonel the Hon. Robert Villiers Dillon. The
church and vicarage, a Georgian building, stand at
the entrance to the park, and beyond is The Hoo,
the property of Mr. Foster and at present occupied
by Miss Rohrweger. A road which enters the
parish in the north passes through Keeley, Bott End
and Tags End to Wootton Green in the south,
leaving on the right Hoo Farm, in the neighbourhood of which Wootton Hoo manor-house was
probably situated.
The Bedford branch of the London and North-Western railway and the Midland railway both
run through this parish.
The land slopes from west to east, and the highest
ground is found at Bourne End, where in the grounds
of a farm-house are remains of a moat, the site of
one of the manors. Here an altitude of 317 ft. is
reached, while in the north-east of the parish it sinks
to 107 ft.
There are brickworks here, the most extensive of
which were erected in 1899 by Messrs. B. J. Forder
& Sons, Limited, and cover an area of 5 acres.
When a survey of the manors of Studleys and
Cannons was taken in 1605 the metes and bounds
of the parish were given, and were as follows: From
the east end of Culey Grene to Hardwicke Bridge
(a mile), thence to Houghton Brooke (a mile) to
the west part of Pilling Grene (a mile), thence to
Shelton Grene, to Washinglenes Gate, to the west
of Kempston Wood, and thence to Culey Grene
(each a mile). (fn. 2)
MANORS
In 1086 the manor of WOOTTON,
extended at 10 hides, was held by Albert
of Lorraine of the king in chief. (fn. 3) This
manor continued to be so held, the last mention of
the overlordship occurring in 1612. (fn. 4) Wootton
Manor, like Sharnbrook and Chalgrave, became part
of the barony of Bedford, but whereas in these latter
parishes the Beauchamps are found as intermediary
lords, in Wootton they acquired the ownership in
fee and held of the king in chief. (fn. 5) As in Bromham
(q.v.) the manor descended in the Beauchamp family
until the death of the last male representative, John
de Beauchamp, at the battle of Evesham in 1265,
when the rights became vested in his three sisters
Maud, Ela and Beatrice, who, however, did not enter
into possession of the manor until the death in 1295
of Isabel widow of Simon de Beauchamp, the elder
brother of John, to whom Wootton had been assigned
in dower. (fn. 6) That third of the manor which was
acquired by Maud the eldest sister, widow of Roger
de Mowbray, (fn. 7) was held for the term of his life by
her second husband Roger Lestrange, who died in
1311, when it passed to John de Mowbray the
grandson of Maud, (fn. 8) who in 1316 settled it for life
on his father-in-law William de Braose. (fn. 9) In 1320
he granted the reversion of the manor to Roger
Marshall of Milton and Sarah his wife, to hold of
him by service of a rose yearly (fn. 10) ; but William de
Braose quitclaimed his life interest to them in the
same year and they entered into possession. (fn. 11) Roger
Marshall increased his estate in Wootton by the
acquisition of land from John de Patishull without
royal licence, for which offence his son John Marshall
had to obtain pardon in 1353, when he received a
grant of additional land from William son of John
de Patishull. (fn. 12) John Marshall died in 1361 and
was succeeded by his son Thomas, then two years
of age, (fn. 13) at whose death without issue in 1374
his sister Maud, then wife of Walter Merwe and
afterwards of — Dale, inherited the premises. (fn. 14)
Maud died without issue in 1418, when the manor
passed to her cousin and heir William Bosun, while
the lands acquired from William Patishull in 1353
reverted to their heirs the Toddenhams, (fn. 15) and will
be found treated with their other lands in the parish.
William Bosun, from whom the holding derived the
additional name of BOSOMS MANOR, died in
1424, (fn. 16) leaving a widow Margaret, who lived until
1447, (fn. 17) and two daughters, of whom Margaret the
elder, the wife of William Burgoyne, inherited the
manor, which on the death of her husband in 1456
passed to their son Richard. (fn. 18) The latter died in 1464,
leaving a son John, then aged (fn. 19) seven years, during
whose minority his wardship was bestowed on John
Earl of Worcester. (fn. 20) The Burgoynes appear to have
afterwards alienated Bosoms
Manor, for in 1514 it was
in the possession of Edward
Langley, from whom it was
purchased in that year by
George Monoux, citizen and
alderman of London, (fn. 21) in
whose family it remained for
many generations. In 1527
George settled the manor on
his daughter Ann and her
husband Nicholas Taylor for
ninety-nine years, (fn. 22) and in
1531 he settled the reversion
on Thomas, grandson of
his brother and heir
Humphrey. (fn. 23) George Monoux
died in 1544, when the
manor was inherited by
George the son of Thomas, who had died in
1537. (fn. 24) In 1564 the manor was settled on George
and his wife Elizabeth, daughter of John Lord
Mordaunt, (fn. 25) and passed on his death in 1593 to
Lewis son of his son Humphrey, who had died in
1585. (fn. 26) On his death in 1628 Lewis was succeeded
by his son Humphrey, created a baronet in 1660, (fn. 27)
and the manor then descended as in Sandy (q.v.) to
the fifth baronet, Sir Philip Monoux, who succeeded
to the title in 1757 (fn. 28) ; but there is no mention of
the manor after 1770, and it did not by name form
part of the property divided among Sir Philip's four
sisters and co-heirs in 1809.
Monoux. Argent a cheveron sable between three leaves vert with three bezants on the cheveron and a chief gules with a dove therein between two anchors argent.
Another third of the manor which in 1295 became
the right of Beatrice, the third sister of John de
Beauchamp, passed to her daughter and heir Maud
Fitz Otho, who married John de Botetourt. (fn. 29) This
estate, known as the manor of WOOTTON, descended as in the case of Bromham Manor (q.v.)
through the families of Latimer and Nevill of Raby (fn. 30) ;
but on the death of Sir John Nevill Lord Latimer
in 1577 its history becomes distinct from that of
Bromham, as it was inherited by Dorothy his second
daughter and co-heir, the wife of Sir Thomas Cecil,
afterwards Lord Burghley and Earl of Exeter. (fn. 31) By
a fine levied in 1605 the reversion of the manor was
settled on their daughter Mary wife of Edward
Lord Denny of Waltham and Earl of Norwich, and
on their only child Honoria and her issue. (fn. 32) The
latter married James Hay, Viscount Doncaster, Earl
of Carlisle, and their son James was lord of the
manor in 1638. (fn. 33) Between this date and 1666 the
manor was acquired by Sir Humphrey Monoux, bart., (fn. 34)
and descended in that family with the manor of
Bosoms. On the death of Sir Philip Monoux in
1809 Wootton became the property of his second
daughter and co-heir Mary, (fn. 35) whose second husband
Joseph Francis Buckworth was lord of the manor in
her right in 1836. (fn. 36) Mary died in 1850, when
Wootton was inherited by Charles, her son by her
first husband John, eldest illegitimate son of Sir
Gillies Payne, bart. (fn. 37)
The manor continued in their descendants, and
is at present vested in his great-nephew Philip. (fn. 38)
The remaining third of the manor, which in 1295
was inherited by Ela second sister of John de Beauchamp, was divided again into thirds between her
three daughters Joan, Ida de Steingreve and Elizabeth.
That portion acquired by Ida de Steingreve, which
afterwards became known as the manor of WOOTTON
HOO, passed to her daughter and heir Mabel the
wife of Simon de Patishull, who subinfeudated the
Trailly family. (fn. 39) The overlordship passed from the
Patishulls by the death of William Patishull in 1360
to Robert de Toddenham, husband of Katharine,
sister and co-heir of William, (fn. 40) and remained vested
in that family as late as 1471. (fn. 41)
The connexion of the Trailly family with Wootton
dates from 1228, when John de Trailly held a
tenement in this parish of the Beauchamps (fn. 42) ; but the
manor was not acquired by them until after the
division of the Bedford Barony, and is mentioned for
the first time in their possession in 1330. (fn. 43) The
history of the Trailly family has been given under
Yelden (q.v.), the head, (fn. 44) but Wootton Hoo was
not alienated with Yelden by Reginald Trailly,
the last male representative, and passed on his
death in 1401 to his cousin and heir Margery
wife of Sir William Huggeford and daughter of
James Pavenham. (fn. 45) From this date until the middle
of the 16th century the descent of the manor is
similar to that of Pavenhams Manor in Carlton (q.v.),
but it was not alienated with the latter and remained
in the Lucy family. (fn. 46) Sir Thomas Lucy, who sold
Pavenhams Manor in 1564, was succeeded by his son
Thomas, who died in 1605, and whose son, another
Thomas, transferred his right in Wootton Hoo to his
younger brother Francis, whose son and heir Richard
married Rebecca daughter and heir of Thomas
Chapman of Wormley. (fn. 47) Richard appears to have
conveyed the manor to his father-in-law, who was
in possession in 1712, in which year it was purchased
by Francis Duncombe. (fn. 48) It remained in the latter
family and passed to Thomas Duncombe, who had
married Elizabeth daughter of William Lowndes,
Secretary to the Treasury in
1652, by his third wife
Elizabeth Martyn. (fn. 49) Thomas
Duncombe, whose wife died
in 1712, appears to have
alienated the manor to her
brother, as the latter's grandson William Lowndes was lord
of Wootton Hoo in 1781. (fn. 50)
Richard Lowndes was in possession in 1831, (fn. 51) and in
1906 Mr. William Layton
Lowndes of Dover was among
the landowners in this
parish. He was succeeded in
that year by his cousin and heir the Rev. William
Lowndes of Broughton, Buckinghamshire, who is
rector of St. Mary's, Nassau, the Bahamas.
Lowndes. Argent fretty azure and a quarter gules with a lion's head razed thereon.
Elizabeth Hoobury, the second daughter of Ela,
died without issue in 1314, (fn. 52) when her property
passed to her sisters' descendants, John Picot and
John de Patishull, and became absorbed in their
estates (q.v.).
Joan, the third daughter of Ela, married, first,
Michael Picot, and, secondly, Ralph Paynel, and
died circa 1318, when John son of Baldwin Picot was
her kinsman and heir, (fn. 53) and was succeeded on his
death in 1337 by his son John. (fn. 54) The property,
however, had been acquired in 1316 by Adam Picot
and Anabella his wife from Thomas Paynel, with the
consent of John son of Baldwin Picot, (fn. 55) but without
royal licence, for which pardon had to be obtained in
1335, the date of Adam Picot's death, when he was
succeeded by his son William. (fn. 56) In 1346 the heirs
of Adam Picot were holding in Wootton, (fn. 57) but there
is no further trace of this property.
The manor of CULY in Wootton, which was
held of the Nevills, appears for the first time in
1474, when John Harvey died seised of it. (fn. 58) Until
the beginning of the 17th century it remained in the
Harvey family, whose pedigree will be traced under
Thurleigh, where they resided. (fn. 59) The manor was
alienated in 1617 by Oliver Harvey to Sir Oliver
Butler, kt., (fn. 60) and descended in that family with the
manor of Lorings in Sharnbrook (fn. 61) (q.v.). It is last
mentioned in 1813, when it was in the possession of
Admiral Cornish, (fn. 62) but it does not appear to have
descended with the rest of his property to his wife's
nephew Admiral Robert Gambier, for the hamlet of
Keeley, which probably comprised this estate, was in
the possession of Miss Polhill in the early 19th
century, and has since been sold to Mr. Arthur
Black, M.P.
Another manor in Wootton which became known
after the Dissolution as the manor of CANONS
belonged to Newnham Priory, upon whom lands in
Woottonbourne, Church End and Campion's Hill in
this parish were bestowed by David Loring, Hugh
St. Edward and the Engayne family. (fn. 63) These possessions were rated at £2 4s. 3½d. in 1291, (fn. 64) and in
1330 the prior claimed the right to hold a view of
frankpledge. (fn. 65) He was granted free warren in Wootton
in 1385, (fn. 66) and in 1535 the estate was valued at
£15 7s. 3d. with 8 acres of wood worth 8s., while
rents repaid and wages amounted to £1 7s. 1d. (fn. 67)
After the Dissolution this property escheated to
the Crown, and in 1542, when it was annexed
to the honour of Ampthill, the value was only
£10 10s. 8¾d. (fn. 68) Courts were held for the manor in
1547, (fn. 69) and a survey of the royal lands made in 1605, (fn. 70)
while in 1613 Lord Fenton resigned the office of
steward, which was then conferred on Lord Edward
Bruce. (fn. 71) A grant of the manor with the assize rent
of the free tenants, worth £1 3s. 8d. per annum, and
the perquisites of courts, valued at 1s. 3d. yearly, was
made in 1612 to John Eldred and William Whitmore,
'the fishing grantees,' and their heirs (fn. 72) ; but the
manor was acquired shortly afterwards by Richard
Button, who was in possession in 1623. (fn. 73) His daughter
and heir married Edmund Wingate, the mathematician, who had resided for some time in Paris, where
he was tutor to the Princess Henrietta Maria, afterwards Queen of England (fn. 74) ; and their son Button
Wingate conveyed his right in Canons Manor in
1658 to Robert and Thomas Yarwey, (fn. 75) from whom
it afterwards passed to the Monoux family, and is
mentioned for the last time in 1729 in the possession
of Humphrey Monoux. (fn. 76) After this date it doubtless
became merged in their larger manor of Wootton.
The manor of STUDLEYS in Wootton, held of the
barony of Bedford, originated in the subinfeudation
of lands by the Beauchamps to the St. Edwards. The
first mention of the family occurs in 1224, when
Alice widow of Hugh St. Edward was confirmed in
her dower by William de Beauchamp, (fn. 77) but the manor
passed out of the possession of this family in less than a
century, as Joan the daughter of John St. Edward and
Alice his wife, upon whom this estate was settled in
1305, (fn. 78) carried it in marriage to her husband Thomas
Studley, who was holding in her right in 1318. (fn. 79)
In 1330 Thomas claimed to hold a view of frankpledge for this manor, (fn. 80) and in 1337 he brought an
action against the Abbot of Ramsey for having trespassed upon his land and done damage to the value
of £20. (fn. 81) Thomas died in 1342, leaving a son
Thomas (fn. 82) ; but before his death he appears to have
conveyed the manor to trustees, from whom it was
purchased in 1389 by Newnham Priory, to whom
Edward III had granted licence to acquire lands in
mortmain to the value of £20 a year. At this date
the manor consisted of one messuage, two cottages,
18½ a. 1 r. of land, 3 a. 1 r. of meadows, 7½ acres
of pasture, 17 acres of wood and 16s. rent, (fn. 83) while
12 acres of land, part of this property, had already
been acquired from Thomas Studley in 1341. (fn. 84) The
manor then follows a descent similar to that of
Canons (q. v.), with which it was valued in 1535
and afterwards annexed to the honour of Ampthill.
The site of the manor was granted in 1610 to John
Eldred for a term of sixty years, (fn. 85) but the manor was
reserved by the Crown and was mortgaged in 1628
to Edward Ditchfield and others, trustees of the City
of London, in return for loans obtained by the king. (fn. 86)
Studleys Manor was subsequently bought by Richard
Button, who held it jointly with Canons in 1637, (fn. 87)
since which date the history of both manors is
identical.
Lands in Wootton Pilling, which afterwards became
known as the manor of PILLING ROWSBERRY,
attached to the Mowbrays' portion of Wootton
Manor, are mentioned for the first time in 1248 in
the possession of Geoffrey le Rous, and remained in
his descendants for several generations. (fn. 88) William
le Rous, who settled the estate on himself and his
wife Joan in 1305, (fn. 89) died in 1310, leaving a son
Simon, aged nine, (fn. 90) who in 1347 settled £10 annual
rent in Pilling on John Oyldeboef of Colmworth in
marriage with his daughter Laura. (fn. 91) Simon died
some time before 1368, when his widow Joan
recovered the manor against John de Bracebridge and
others, (fn. 92) but for the next 120 years there is no trace
of the manor. In 1497 it was held by William
Church and his wife Katherine, who conveyed it in
that year to John Mordaunt, king's serjeant. (fn. 93) The
latter's great-grandson Lewis alienated it in 1588 to
Thomas Terle, (fn. 94) by whom closes called 'Bowes,'
'Garners' and 'the Greate Hayes,' parcel of the
manor, were sold to Thomas Spicer alias Helder in
1596, and the rest of the manor was mortgaged to
Anthony Jenkinson. (fn. 95) It was acquired by Sir Francis
Clerke, lord of the manor in 1605, (fn. 96) who in 1627
bestowed it and the manor of Pilling Shingay upon
Sidney-Sussex College, Cambridge, in order to found
four fellowships and eight
scholarships. (fn. 97) In 1836 both
manors were in the possession
of the College, which at the
present day is a landowner
in this parish. (fn. 98)
When Sir Francis Clerke
granted the manors to SidneySussex College he apparently
retained the capital messuage,
and obtained a lease of the
manors for ninety-nine years
at a rent of £140. By his
will dated 31 May 1632
the capital messuage and
remainder of the lease were
left to his nephew Francis
Clerke, who in 1651 held a court baron for the
manors jointly with the College. After his death in
1661 his executors, Richard Marsh and Thomas
Warren, sold the remainder of the lease and capital
messuage in 1662 to Sir William Thompson for
£8,500. The latter in 1663 settled them on his son
Samuel and his heirs male on the occasion of his
marriage with Mary Buller, but as they had numerous
issue Samuel broke the entail in 1681 in order to
raise portions for his younger children. The estate
was mortgaged at first to Edward Strode in 1694 and
afterwards in 1700 to Joshua Lomax, and, as the
Thompsons were unable to redeem the mortgage, it
passed into the possession of the Lomax family. The
ninety-nine years' lease of the manors expired some
time in the first quarter of the 18th century, and was
not renewed by Sidney-Sussex College, but the
capital messuage and other lands were left by Joshua
Lomax at his death in 1724 to his widow Ruth, who
in 1720 sold them to their son Caleb for £7,000.
The latter died shortly after, and the premises were
conveyed by his trustees in 1734 to Thomas Inwen
of Southwark, who in 1740 obtained licence by
Private Act of Parliament to exchange lands in
Wootton with Sidney-Sussex College. The capital
messuage and premises were inherited by Sarah
widow of Henry Earl of Suffolk and daughter and
heir of Thomas Inwen, who married as her second
husband Lucius Charles Viscount Falkland. By her
will dated 25 May 1776 she vested her estate in
trustees to the use of her husband after her death, and
left as her residuary legatee Francis Mottey Austen,
who obtained possession in 1785. (fn. 99) Austen sold the
Bedfordshire estate in 1812, but the capital messuage
by that time had been demolished, for the land purchased by William Parsons was described as 'the toft
in which a capital messuage formerly stood wherein
Francis Clerke deceased heretofore dwelt.' (fn. 100)
Sidney-Sussex College, Cambridge. Argent a bend engrailed sable, for Radcliffe, impaling Or a pheon azure, for Sidney.
The manor of Pilling-in-Wootton, which was
known in the 17th century as the manor of PILLING
SHINGAY, was held by the Knights Hospitallers and
attached to their preceptory of Shingay. The first
evidence of their connexion with Wootton occurs in
1247, when a criminal took refuge in their chapel
there. (fn. 101) In 1287 and in 1330 they claimed view of
frankpledge held twice a year in their manor of
Pilling, (fn. 102) and in 1338 their rental was as follows:—
1 mill, worth 13s. 4d.; 30 acres of wood, worth 10s.;
109 acres of land, worth 54s. 6d.; 2½ acres of meadow,
worth 3s. 9d.; 4 acres of pasture, 4s.; while the rent
of assize was 57s. 2¾d., and the works of tenants 20d. (fn. 103)
After the Dissolution the preceptory and its possessions
in Wootton were bestowed in 1540 on Sir Richard
Longe, (fn. 104) and descended, as in Clifton (q.v.), to Elizabeth wife of William Lord Russell. Elizabeth died
seised of the manor in 1617, leaving a son Francis, (fn. 105)
by whom Pilling Shingay was doubtless alienated to
Sir Francis Clerke, lord of Pilling Rowsberry, who in
1627 bestowed both manors on Sidney-Sussex College,
Cambridge, (fn. 106) since which date their history has been
identical.
At the Survey of 1086 Albert of Lorraine held a
manor of 3 hides in Shelton, a member of Wootton. (fn. 107)
It appears to have been obtained by the priory of
Caldwell, who as early as 1276 received land in
Wootton of the gift of William son of Ralph le
Carter. (fn. 108) In 1291 the priory's possessions in Shelton, Kempston and Biddenham were assessed at
£6 10s. 4½d., (fn. 109) and in 1387 additional land in this
parish was acquired from Adam, vicar of Oakley. (fn. 110)
In 1535 the priory's temporalities in Shelton were
said to amount to £9 10s. 3d., (fn. 111) but in 1536 a total
value of £9 14s. 2d. was recorded, of which £5 16s.
was received as rent of the manor of WOOTTON
SHELTON alias UPPER SHELTON, leased in 1532
to William Wheeler for a term of twenty years, and
the rent was obtained from lands in Wootton. (fn. 112) This
manor was taken into royal custody at the Dissolution,
and William Wheeler's lease was renewed for a period
of twenty-one years by Edward VI in 1550, while in
1560 the reversion was bestowed on Richard Champion, John Thompson and their heirs. (fn. 113) Wootton
Shelton was afterwards obtained by John Matthew,
who was lord of the manor in 1595, (fn. 114) and whose
relative William Matthew and Sarah his wife alienated
it in 1625 to Roger Pemberton. (fn. 115) The latter, who
died in 1627, by a codicil dated 7 November 1627
to his will of 13 November 1624, left legacies of £40
a year each to his grandsons Robert and Ralph Pemberton, and six widows, 'in my almshouses to be erected'
at St. Albans, were to receive £5 a year each. (fn. 116) He
was succeeded by his son John, on whose death in
1645 the manor passed to his son, another John, who
was lord in 1665. (fn. 117) Wootton Shelton remained in
the Pemberton family for the next 120 years, and is
last mentioned in their possession in 1784, when John
Pemberton was the owner. (fn. 118) During the 19th
century the history of this manor is obscure. Mr.
Dimmock, who was lord of the manor at the close
of the century, mortgaged the property, which mortgage has recently been foreclosed.
The hamlet of Upper Shelton is now in the parish
of Marston Moretaine, about a quarter of a mile
south of Wootton boundary.
Land in this parish was held by the Prior of
Harrold, who in 1225 was granted custom and services by Hugh St. Edward, lord of Studleys Manor. (fn. 119)
In 1392 the priory obtained licence to acquire a toft,
56 acres land, 1 acre of pasture, and 40s. 11d. rent in
Wootton from Gerard Braybrook, (fn. 120) and in 1535 their
estate was assessed at 33s. 7d. (fn. 121) After the Dissolution
it was sold in 1557, when the yearly rental was
£2 7s. 9d., the estate comprising Penneclose and
Trawles Close. (fn. 122) There is no subsequent mention
of their property, which was doubtless acquired in
small parcels by many purchasers.
CHURCH
The church of ST. MARY consists of
a chancel 35 ft. 3 in. by 17 ft. 8 in. with
a north vestry, a nave 47 ft. 3 in. by
21 ft., north and south aisles 10 ft. 6 in. wide
with north and south porches, and a west tower
14 ft. square, inclosed by the aisles on both sides.
The whole has been much restored, and the north
porch and west ends of the aisles are modern.
The church dates from the early part of the 14th
century, the south porch being a slightly later addition, and the upper part of the tower being early
15th-century work. Fifteenth-century tracery has
been inserted in several windows, and the lower part
of the tower has been largely rebuilt. The north
and south walls of the chancel have been refaced, and
its tiled roof is modern, as are the low-pitched roofs
of the nave and aisles; these latter have embattled
parapets, while the chancel has plain eaves. The
east window of the chancel is good early 14th-century work of three trefoiled lights with quatrefoiled
net tracery. The north vestry is rebuilt, and has
nothing old but part of its two-light east window,
and west of it in the north wall is a restored 14th-century window of two lights; the two south windows
and south doorway are modern, but the trefoiled
piscina is old. On the outer face of the north wall
of the chancel is a blocked trefoiled recess. The
chancel arch is in two chamfered orders with a label
and springs from responds of three rounds with
moulded capitals and bases; on the gable over it is
a sanctus bell-turret. The nave arcades are in three
bays, very tall and slender, on quatrefoiled columns
with moulded capitals of c. 1310, and there is no
clearstory. The north aisle has a much-restored east
window and two 15th-century north windows of three
and four lights respectively; between them is a 14th-century doorway under a modern wooden porch.
The south aisle has a modern east window and two
restored four-light 15th-century south windows, and
a three-light window over the south door. The doorway is 14th-century work recut, and opens to a later
14th-century stone porch, which has a two-light east
window and a single light on the west. The western
bays of both aisles are of poor early 19th-century
Gothic, with plaster-vaulted ceilings. Their western
gables are alike, with a pointed doorway in each and
over it a circular traceried window. In the south aisle
is a wide trefoiled recess for a piscina.
The western tower is of three stages, with an embattled parapet with gargoyles at the angles, that on
the north-east angle representing a man with a shield
lying at full length. The tower is surmounted by
a small octagonal leaded spire. The west window is
of three cinquefoiled lights with tracery in the head,
and in the second stage is a two-light window on the
south, and a door with a modern head on the east.
The belfry windows are pairs of cinquefoiled lights
with a quatrefoil over. The tower arch is in three
chamfered orders, and its responds have been rebuilt
on old bases, which they do not fit; the capitals
are moulded like those of the north arcade, but
the responds have small rolls between the main
shafts, showing their date to be a little later
than that of the nave arcades. The tower has a
modern plaster-vaulted ceiling, like the west ends
of the aisles.
Near the south door is the modern font. There
is a good 15th-century rood-screen, in five bays, with
tracery; it has a coved vault, which is modern. In
the chancel are two 17th-century oak arm-chairs and
a Jacobean table in the vestry.
In the chancel are many monuments to the
Monoux family, the floor being almost entirely paved
with memorial slabs, the oldest of which is that of
Sir Humphrey Monoux, 1675, with his arms: impaling
azure a bend or between three roses argent, with
five drops gules on the bend. On the north wall is a
marble monument, with Corinthian pillars, to Sir
Humphrey Monoux, 1680, and a similar one to his
son Philip, 1707, on the wall opposite. In the south
aisle is the worn matrix of a very large 15th-century
brass.
There are six bells: the treble by Emmerton of
Wootton, 1779; the second and fourth by Taylor of
Loughborough, 1874; the third by Thomas and
William Russell, 1736; the fifth by Keene, inscribed
'God save our King 1641. J. H.'; and the tenor
by Taylor, 1904. There is also a small bell in the
turret on the apex of the nave roof, dated 1748.
Wootton Church from the North
The communion plate consists of a flagon of 1684,
the gift of Dame Alice Monoux, 1685, with the
Monoux arms impaling a spread eagle.
The registers previous to 1813 are in six books:
(1) all entries 1562 to 1652; (2) the same from
1653, the baptisms to 1665, the marriages to 1705,
and the burials to 1667; (3) burials only 1668 to
1705; (4) baptisms 1683 to 1704; (5) all entries
1723 to 1812, marriages till 1754; (6) marriages
(printed), 1754 to 1812.
The church is to the south of the village, and the
churchyard is chiefly to the north of the church,
surrounded by brick walls, and, where it lies by the
side of the road, by a dwarf wall and iron fencing;
to the north of the church is a coffin lid, with a
beautifully carved 14th-century cross.
ADVOWSON
The church of Wootton was
bestowed on Newnham Priory by
Simon de Beauchamp in his
foundation charter c. 1166, and the grant was confirmed by his son William, by Henry II, and afterwards by Edward II in 1317. (fn. 123) The descendant of
the Beauchamps, Lord Thomas Mowbray, confirmed
the charter in 1391, (fn. 124) and the tenure of the priory
seems to have been untroubled but for one incident
when William de Beauchamp son of the founder and
Ida his wife attempted to dispute the priory's claim. (fn. 125)
Hugh of Wells, Bishop of Lincoln, confirmed the
appropriation of the church in 1224, (fn. 126) and a vicar's
portion in the church was reserved by the pope in
1255, (fn. 127) although the ordination of the vicarage was
the work of Bishop Gravesend in 1272. (fn. 128) In 1291
the church was assessed at £10, (fn. 129) and in 1532 the
vicarage was valued at £13 17s. 2d. yearly, while the
rectory was worth £20 per annum. (fn. 130) At the Dissolution both advowson and rectory escheated to the
Crown, by whom the former was retained for many
years. A report on the state of the church was
issued by the Archdeacon of Bedford in his visitation
in 1578, wherein he states that the 'Chauncell is in
decay at Quene's defalt,' (fn. 131) but some time after 1605
the advowson was obtained by John Leigh, who died
seised of it in 1620. (fn. 132) His son and heir Lewis
doubtless sold it to Edmund Wingate and Elizabeth
his wife, who already owned the rectory, for in 1644
they were in possession of both. (fn. 133) Their son Britton
Wingate alienated the advowson and rectory in 1658
to Robert and Thomas Yarwey, when he sold them
Studley and Canons Manors, (fn. 134) with which they
passed to Humphrey Monoux, first baronet, and
descended in his family as in Sandy (q.v.). (fn. 135) Some
time, however, at the beginning of the 19th century
the advowson was sold by Sir Philip Monoux, the
fifth baronet, and was held in 1836 by John Jenkyn,
then vicar there. (fn. 136) It was sold in 1873 to Mr.
J. N. Foster, who was patron in 1895, (fn. 137) and at the
present day is held by trustees of the late Edward
J. F. Foster.
The rectory and other premises in Wootton had
been granted by Newnham Priory in 1525 to
William Borne for a term of forty-six years at £20
rent, and in 1537 William Clarke received a grant
for sixty years at £26 rent to date from the termination
of William Borne's lease. (fn. 138) Queen Elizabeth in 1587
granted to James Batten on the same terms a lease of
the rectory for twenty-one years at the end of the term
of William Clarke, (fn. 139) and on the strength of this grant
Richard Batten laid claim to the rectory in 1605, (fn. 140)
and apparently obtained the ownership in fee, for his
daughter and heir Elizabeth carried it in marriage to
Edmund Wingate. (fn. 141) From this date till the beginning of the 19th century it was held jointly with the
advowson, but was retained by Sir Philip Monoux,
bart., when he alienated the latter, and was inherited
on his death in 1809 by his elder daughter Mary,
widow of Sir John Payne, bart., who married in 1811
as her second husband Joseph Francis Beckworth. (fn. 142)
The latter claimed to be impropriator in right of his
wife when the parish was inclosed in 1836, and
received land in commutation of the tithes. (fn. 143)
There was a chantry founded in Wootton Church
before 1260, but there is no record of its history. (fn. 144)
At the dissolution of the chantries in the reign of
Edward VI it was stated that one messuage and 3 acres
of land, worth 5s. per annum, had been given for an
obit in the church, out of which 1½d. and 2d. were
repaid in rent to the king and Gerard Hervy respectively. There was also one close given for the
maintenance of a light valued at 8s. (fn. 145)
CHARITIES
The Church and Poor's Land Estate
consists of 1 a. 2 r. 13 p. of land, four
cottages with gardens, and 31 a. 1 r.
14 p. (let in allotments), producing an income in
1909 of £75 6s.
It appears from the earliest deed extant, dated
23 March 1611, that the land was held for the repair
of the church, and for the relief of the lame, blind
and impotent poor, and orphans. Some portion of
the land was acquired on the inclosure in 1804 of
the parish of Kempston, in exchange for land in that
parish which had anciently belonged to the poor of
Wootton. The net income is applied in moieties for
repairs of the parish church and for the poor.
In 1634 Mary Willoughby by deed dated 9 June
in that year charged certain lands in the common field
of Pillinge with £3 a year for the benefit of six poor
widows. The charge is now paid out of land at
Pillinge and Broadmead in the possession of different
owners, and is distributed in doles of 5s. in June and
December.