TINGRITH
Tingrei (xi cent.); Tyngree (xiv cent.); Tyngreve,
Tingriff (xv–xviii cent.).
Tingrith has an area of 1,120 acres, of which 296½
acres are arable land and 443 permanent grass. (fn. 1) The
slope of the ground is irregular, and varies from
266 ft. above the ordnance datum in the north to
369 ft. in the south. The soil is marl, clay and sand,
the subsoil gravel; sand-pits have been worked in
the south-west of the parish. The principal crops
produced are wheat, barley, oats, beans and peas.
Tingrith is very scantily supplied with water from
a feeder of the Ivel in the north-east of the parish.
There is a considerable amount of woodland, averaging 170 acres. (fn. 2) Washers Wood and Daintry Wood
(which perpetuates the name of the Daventries,
13th-century lords of Tingrith Manor) are in the
south-west and Hills Plantation in the north.
The main road enters the parish from Flitwick and
Eversholt in the north, and, passing Home Farm on
the west, skirts the eastern boundary of the Tingrith
estate. The manor-house, at present the residence
of Captain Trevor-Battye, is a modern building
standing in a park of 120 acres, with two large
ornamental fish-ponds. About midway through the
parish the road turns to the south-west, passing
through the village of Tingrith.
As the road enters the village the Manor Farm, an
early 19th-century building, is situated on the south,
whilst beyond on the same side is the Swan Inn, with
the village school opposite. West of the schools,
standing on high ground off the main road, are
St. Nicholas Church and the entrance to Tingrith
Manor. Passing the rectory, a red-brick Queen
Anne building, on the south, the road leaves the
village, when it divides into two branches, one going
due south to Toddington, the second running west
and merging into a footpath leading to the Castle
Farm, an 18th-century brick building.
A small industry of lace and straw plait formerly
carried on in this parish is now discontinued.
Abraham Hartwell, who was rector of Tingrith in
1572, is the author of a curious work entitled 'Pigga
fetta (Phil.), Reporte of the Kingdom of Congo, a
Region of Africa,' which claimed to prove that 'the
blacke colour which is in the skinnes of the negroes,
proceedeth not from the Sunne.' (fn. 3)
Mr. Witton, a later rector, was an ardent Royalist,
and was sequestered in 1646 to give place to 'some
orthodox and godly divine,' because it was proved that
he had published royal proclamations in his church,
but had refused to recognize parliamentary ones, and
had declared the Earl of Essex and all his adherents
traitors. (fn. 4)
MANORS
The only mention which occurs of
Tingrith at Domesday is under the lands
of Nigel de Albini, of whom TINGRITH
MANOR, assessed at 2 hides 1 virgate, was held by
Turgis, who had been preceded by two thegns of
Edward the Confessor. (fn. 5) Subsequently two manors
are found in this parish attached to the Cainhoe
barony, one of which, sometimes called DIXWELLS
MANOR, follows the same descent as Wrest Manor
(q.v.) in the family of de Grey. It is enumerated
among those manors which in 1509 Richard de Grey
Earl of Kent sold to Henry VII, (fn. 6) and which the
following year were granted back to him. (fn. 7)
It eventually became Crown property c. 1525, (fn. 8)
and so remained until 1554, when Tingrith Manor
was granted by Queen Mary to George Bredyman for
twenty-one years. (fn. 9) Two years later he received a
grant in fee on the occasion of his marriage with
Edith Brocas, one of the queen's chamberwomen. (fn. 10)
He died seised in 1580, when Tingrith passed to his
son Edmund, who made a settlement of the manor in
1592, (fn. 11) and by a series of settlements between the
years 1598 and 1600 finally alienated Tingrith to
Robert Hodgson. (fn. 12) The latter, by a will made in
May 1622, bequeathed the manor to William Ashton
in consideration of a sum of money owing to him.
The day after making this will he borrowed money
from Thomas Roupe and Leonard Welstead, granting
them the manor as security. (fn. 13) He died the same
year, and these three creditors in 1629 made a settlement of Tingrith Manor, which eventually passed
to William Ashton. (fn. 14) Robert Ashton held the manor
in 1651 and 1654, (fn. 15) which later passed to Sir John
Buck, bart., on his marriage
with Mary Ashton, described
as daughter and heir of
William Ashton. (fn. 16) Their
son, Sir William Buck, bart.,
together with Frances his
wife, made a settlement of
the manor in 1697. (fn. 17) He
died in 1717, and was
succeeded by his son, Sir
Charles Buck, who in 1720
suffered a recovery of the
manor, (fn. 18) and four years later
conveyed it to Ambrose Reddall. (fn. 19) One of the same name
still held in 1762, (fn. 20) after
which date no further trace has been found of this
property.
Buck, baronet. Lozengy bendwise or and azure a quarter ermine.
A second TINGRITH MANOR was also attached
to the barony of Cainhoe, (fn. 21) and was so held by the
Pinkneys before the 13th century. When the manor
passed from the Pinkneys by marriage (see below)
they retained an intermediary lordship, and Tingrith
is subsequently described as held of them and they as
holding of the barony of Cainhoe. (fn. 22) Tingrith was
attached to Datchet Manor (co. Bucks.), of which
Henry de Pinkney died seised in 1256. (fn. 23) Datchet
passed later to the Moleyns, and Tingrith is declared
to be held of Lord Moleyns as of the manor of
Datchet in 1508, 1562 and 1614. (fn. 24)
The history of the overlordship, drawn from
documents as quoted above, confirms the statement
made by Baker that Tingrith Manor originally
belonged to the Pinkneys, and was granted by Robert
de Pinkney c. 1231 to Walter son of Simon on the
occasion of the latter's marriage to his daughter
Isabella de Pinkney. (fn. 25) Walter son of Simon, called
de Daventry from his principal seat, held by knight
service in Tingrith about this date, (fn. 26) and was succeeded
before 1255 by his son Robert son of Walter. (fn. 27) He
obtained a grant of free warren in his manor in 1272 (fn. 28)
and was holding as late as 1301–2, (fn. 29) about which
time he died, for his son Walter son of Robert was
returned in the feudal assessment of 1302–3. (fn. 30) He
died in 1328, leaving a son Thomas, (fn. 31) who held here
in 1346. (fn. 32) He died c. 1361, leaving a son Thomas
and two daughters Joan and Matilda. (fn. 33)
Thomas died before 1387, and his two sisters
became his co-heirs, the manor being divided into
moieties, of which that of Joan will be treated later.
Matilda married Thomas Curtis, and in 1387 recognized the right of Joan to a moiety of Tingrith Manor,
charged with 10 marks yearly rent to herself and her
heirs. (fn. 34) In 1409–10 Alice wife of Edward Courtney
is mentioned as having a life interest in the manor, (fn. 35)
but it has not been found possible to ascertain her
relationship to Matilda and Thomas Curtis, (fn. 36) nor has
it been possible to trace the descent of the manor
during the remainder of the century. It reappears
in 1489 as the property of John Broughton, (fn. 37) whose
son Sir Robert Broughton, kt., died seised in 1508. (fn. 38)
He also held Toddington Manor (q.v.), with which
its history is identical for some time. Like that
manor it passed to Sir Thomas Cheney in 1540 on
his marriage with Anne Broughton, sister and co-heir
of John Broughton. (fn. 39) It remained with the Cheneys,
whose family later acquired the earldom of Cleveland,
until the latter half of the 17th century, when they
appear to have alienated Tingrith Manor to the
Chernocks of Holcot. In 1708–9 Sir Pynsent
Chernock, bart., who had involved himself in great
expense in contesting county elections with the
Russell family, made a settlement of this manor preparatory to a sale to David Willaume. (fn. 40) From him
it passed to his eldest son Edward Willaume, whose
second son Charles Dymock Willaume held the manor
in 1801. (fn. 41) Between this date and 1820 it was sold
by his brother John to Robert Trevor, (fn. 42) who died in
1834, leaving his property to be divided among his
three daughters, Mary, who died unmarried in 1883,
Elizabeth, who died in 1866, and Catherine in 1871.
By the will of Mary her moiety of the manor passed
to her kinsman William Wilberforce Battye, and in
1891, in compliance with a further clause of the will,
the remaining moiety was purchased, and thus included in one ownership. Mr. Battye's widow
assumed the name of Trevor in addition to that of
Battye by royal licence in 1890, and their son
Captain C. E. Trevor-Battye is the present lord of
the manor. (fn. 43)
The moiety of the manor which Joan, co-heir of
Thomas de Daventry, inherited from her brother
became known as WALWEYNS MANOR, but there
is very little to be found as to its subsequent history.
Joan was the wife of Philip Walweyn when in 1387
she acknowledged a very heavy rent-charge payable
to her sister from her moiety of the manor. (fn. 44) The
following year they placed their property in the hands
of trustees. (fn. 45) Philip predeceased his wife, who in
1409–10, then the wife of Thomas Beaumont,
recognized the right of Alice Courtney to a moiety
of Tingrith Manor. (fn. 46) In 1422–3 Ralph Dusburgh
and Matilda his wife quitclaimed to Sir John
Cornwall (fn. 47) a manor in Tingrith, but whether it was
this one is uncertain. In 1443–4 Sir John Cornwall
was declared to have held a manor in this parish 'not
held of the king but of one Nicholas Borus,' (fn. 48) and in
the same year Nicholas Ashton, serjeant-at-law,
devised this and other manors of Sir John Cornwall
to the Bishop of Lincoln and other trustees. (fn. 49)
Trevor. Party bend stnisterwise erminois and pean a lion counter-coloured.
Battye. Sable a cheveron argent between three goats passant argent with two roundels sable on each and a chief invecked or therein a demi-woodman between two cinquefoils gules.
The manor reappears in 1504, when, called Walweyns, it was the property of Sir Thomas Rotherham, kt., of Luton. (fn. 50) It must have diminished considerably in importance, for no further trace of it as
a manor has been found, though it is possible that the
lands and tenements in Tingrith which Alexander
Kirke in 1528 and William his son in 1538 (fn. 51) held of
Thomas Rotherham may represent part of the original
property.
The Knights Templars claimed view of frankpledge
extending into Tingrith in the 13th century, when
Peter de Tingrith was their tenant. (fn. 52) Their interest
subsequently passed to the Knights Hospitallers, (fn. 53) of
whom William Inge held in this parish in 1322 by
fealty and the rent of one clove gillyflower. (fn. 54) At the
Dissolution Sir Richard Long received a grant of
Shingay Preceptory, to which this view was attached, (fn. 55)
and mention is found of appurtenances in Tingrith
attached to the larger property as late as 1689, when
it was owned by Sir Edward Russell, kt. (fn. 56)
CHURCH
The church of ST. NICHOLAS consists of a chancel 18 ft. 9 in. by 16 ft.,
a north vestry, nave 36 ft. 6 in. by 15 ft.
9 in., north and south aisles 7 ft. wide, and a west
tower 9 ft. 9 in. by 11 ft. 2 in., internal measurements.
The whole of the church was rebuilt in the latter
half of the 15th century, the angles of the chancel
being stiffened by hexagonal turrets. The windows
of the chancel have cinquefoiled lights and perpendicular tracery under four-centred arches with labels
and head stops, there being on the north and south
sides one of two lights and another of three lights,
and in the east wall a four-light window; all the
mullions and tracery are modern and the jambs and
heads covered with cement. In the north wall of
the chancel is a small cinquefoiled opening blocked
by a buttress. The inside of the chancel is faced
with modern ashlar, and on each side of the east
window is a niche and beneath it a square locker; the
piscina, south doorway and north vestry are also
modern. The roof is of simple 15th-century
character, also modern. The chancel arch is pointed
in two chamfered orders, with half-octagonal moulded
capitals.
The nave has north and south arcades of three
bays, with inner hollow-chamfered and outer double-ogee moulded orders springing from shafts composed
on plan of four rounds separated by a hollow chamfer
and having 15th-century capitals and bases. Over each
bay is a clearstory window of three cinquefoiled lights
and perpendicular tracery under depressed four-centred
heads. The nave roof is modern, of 15th-century
style, and of low pitch, divided into three bays with
moulded timbers having fine bosses and angels supporting the secondary rafters; the principals are braced
and rest on stone corbels.
The north aisle has two three-light windows in the
north wall, the west window being modern, and the
east window is of two cinquefoiled lights. The north
door is pointed in two hollow-chamfered orders, and
has a low massive buttress on each side. There is a
plain piscina, of which the basin has disappeared. In
the north-east angle is an image corbel carved with
two eagles supporting a shield, and to the south of
the east window is a small moulded bracket. The
roof is of 15th-century style, with angel corbels of
wood supporting each principal and carved bosses.
The windows and roof of the south aisle are of a
similar type to those in the north, and the doorway
is moulded with a square head and pointed sub-arch,
the spandrels being carved with foliage. To the
north of the east window is an image corbel carved
with an angel, and in the south-east angle is a canopied
niche with a ribbed vault and a bracket resting on a
grotesque head corbel. The porch is embattled, and
the doorway, which is faced with cement, is moulded
and pointed; on the east and west sides are windows
of three cinquefoiled lights under a four-centred head
and label.
The tower is built of large coursed rubble with an
embattled parapet, moulded plinth and diagonal buttresses ending below the belfry stage; at the north-east angle is an octagonal stair turret. The west
doorway is like the south doorway, and the west
window of three lights like those in the chancel.
The belfry windows each consist of two cinquefoiled
lights under a pointed head and label.
The font is modern, with a ten-sided bowl resting
on a central and four attached shafts. In the vestry
is a 17th-century chest, and in the south aisle a communion table of about the same date.
In the north wall of the chancel is a small brass
effigy and inscription to Robert Hogeson, sometime
lord of the manor, who died 1611; arms, Gules,
three scimitars or. In the floor is a slab inscribed to
William Mole, who married Anne the second daughter
of Sir William Boteler, and died in 1656; arms, Two
bars with three roundels in chief and a trefoil in
fesse point; impaling a fesse checky between six
crosses. There is also another stone in the floor to
Joanna wife of Alexander Read, 1629.
There are three bells: the treble by Christopher
Graye, 1660; the second by John Dier, c. 1590;
and the third by John Daniell, c. 1450, inscribed
'Sancta Margareta ora pro nobis.'
The plate consists of a cup and paten of 1771, a
modern almsdish and a plated flagon.
The register books are: (1) all entries 1572
to 1705; (2) 1705 to 1739; (3) 1740 to 1812,
the marriages till 1754; (4) marriages 1757 to
1812.
ADVOWSON
The right of presentation to
Tingrith Church appears to have
been attached to the manor held in
this parish of Lord Moleyns. The Abbess of Elstow
claimed the advowson in the early part of the 13th
century, (fn. 57) but did not succeed in substantiating her
title, and in 1320 the lord of Tingrith Manor
exercised the patronage of the church, (fn. 58) which follows
the same descent as the manor till 1642. At this
date it was alienated by the Earl of Cleveland to
William Ashton, (fn. 59) lord of Dixwells Manor in the
same parish, with which manor it descended until
1724, when Sir Charles Buck presented. (fn. 60) Between
this date and 1742 it was transferred to David
Willaume, (fn. 61) and has since followed the descent of
Tingrith Manor (q.v.). The living, which is a
rectory, was worth £9 at the Dissolution. (fn. 62)
At the dissolution of the chantries Tingrith
Church was endowed with the farm of an acre of
land, valued at 6d., to maintain an obit at the feast
of the Annunciation and Michaelmas.
A light in the church was endowed with land of the
yearly value of 10d., and the stock of money in hand
for both these endowments was declared to be 9s. 4d. (fn. 63)
CHARITIES
In 1725 Thomas Deacon by will
charged a cottage in Dennell End,
parish of Flitwick, with 5s. a year for
ever for bread for the poor, and in 1730 Mrs. Dorothy
Astry gave for poor widows the profits of 2 acres of
open-field land in Cranfield Mead, which produces
£2 10s. a year. The two charities are administered
together, the income being distributed amongst
widows and old men.