GREAT STAUGHTON
Stocton (x cent.); Tochestone (xi cent.); Stotton,
Scotton, Stokton, Magna Stouton (xiii cent.);
Stowghton (xv cent.); Moche Stoughton (xvi cent.).
This large parish, which comprises an area of 6,407
acres, lies on the borders of Bedfordshire and in 1921
had a population of 685 persons. The banks of the
River Kym, which runs through it, are about 80 ft.
above the ordnance datum and the land rises to a
little over 200 ft. to the north and south. The
soil is chiefly clay with a gravel subsoil in the
south. The parish was mainly woodland down to
the 13th century, when it seems, from the licences
to assart lands, the timber was being cleared. There
is still a good deal of woodland about Agden and
Perry, but the land is mainly arable growing wheat
and beans.
The principal part of the village has grown up
as a roadside settlement along the main road from
St. Neots to Kimbolton. The village street here has
been known since the 16th century as Staughton
Highway. (fn. 1) At its eastern end the road crosses the
River Kym by a bridge which was in the early 16th
century called Wrong Bridge. (fn. 2) Along the street are
some picturesque 17th-century timber-framed houses;
the White Hart Inn, on the north side, has a gable
projecting towards the road and a way for carriages
to the yard behind under a modern wing on the
east side. On the north side of Staughton Highway
is what is called the village cross of the unusual date
of 1637. It consists of a base of modern brickwork
supporting a stone octagonal shaft with rolls divided
by hollows on a square-splayed base; the shaft has a
moulded capital upon which is a cube with a panel
bearing the inscription '1637, E.I.' on the north side
and a sundial on the south, the whole being surmounted by a ball. There are several other half-timber
and brick houses in the village street. The church,
with the earlier settlement consisting of a few houses
and cottages and a 17th-century inn, a smithy and a
windmill, is about a third of a mile to the west of the
Highway on a bye-road to Pertenhall (co. Bed.). Some
of the houses here are of the late 17th and early 18th
centuries. The road again crosses the River Kym by a
bridge, called Staughton Bridge in 1509. (fn. 3) The
vicarage (standing on the north side of the road, a
little east of the church, which is on the south side)
was built in 1852 by the Rev. A. B. Wilson, then
incumbent, who, for publication of an essay in Essays
and Reviews for which he was prosecuted, was suspended from his benefice for a year, but obtained a
reversal of the decision on an appeal to the Privy
Council. The house now called the Rectory Farm,
but formerly known as the Hermitage, was the old
vicarage, nearly rebuilt for the purpose at the
end of the 18th century. (fn. 4)
Great Staughton: Place House before restoration
To the north-west of the church, on the opposite
side of the road, is Place House, originally built on
the site probably of a moated grange of the Charterhouse, by Sir Oliver Leader about 1539, when he
acquired the Rectory Manor. (fn. 5) Here he imparked a
considerable amount of land, which led to riots by
the adjoining tenants, who claimed rights over it.
He was residing here at the time of his death in 1557.
The house built by him was a large, somewhat
irregularly planned brick house of two stories, with
tiled roof. It consisted of a main block, and north
and south wings, with stone mullioned windows and
doorways of Tudor type. A fire in the middle of the
17th century destroyed most of the house, leaving
little but the south wing. It seems to have been
partially restored and rebuilt about the middle of the
17th century. The greater part of the existing building belongs to this period. The interior has few of
the original fittings. In the west front is an arcade
of three bays in brick with four centred arches of
two chamfered orders opening to a loggia. In the
grounds are two barns of timber framing filled with
brick nogging, probably contemporary with the house
built by Sir Oliver Leader.
The lands south of the village apparently belonged
to the chief manor, the manor house of which stood
in the moated inclosure about a mile south-west of
the church, now known as the Old Manor Farm.
Here stood an interesting fortified manor house built
probably about 1274 by Adam de Creting, which for
nearly four centuries was the home of the Cretings
and Wautons. The site has been already described. (fn. 6)
The earthworks with double moats and the buildings
were of great strength and withstood what was
practically a siege in 1624. (fn. 7) The house was said to
have been in great decay in 1705 and was probably
allowed to fall into complete ruin. Staughton House,
standing near the church in a park of 500 acres,
was built as the manor house of the Rectory in the
early part of the 18th century. The house was rebuilt,
but the stables belong to the 18th-century building.
Just outside the grounds of Staughton House, on its
south-west side, is Garden Farm, built in the 16th
century but altered a century later. There is another
homestead moat marking the site of a medieval house,
near Crown Farm, on the county boundary. (fn. 8)
To the north-east of the village is the hamlet of
Dillington, and about a mile and a half from the
village is Gaynes Hall, which takes its name from the
family of Engayne, by whom the original house was
probably built as the hall of their manor of Dillington.
Viel de Engayne was evidently living here in 1238 when
he had licence to have his private chapel at his manor
of Dillington. References to St. Mary's Way and
the road leading to St. Mary's Chapel indicate perhaps
the dedication of the chapel. The park, now comprising some 300 acres, existed in the 13th century
under the names of Littlehey and East Park. All that
remain of the Engaynes' dwelling are the fragments
of the moat; some worked stones of an ecclesiastical
character may have formed a part of the chapel, but
were more probably brought from the site of a
neighbouring monastery, as they include the head
and shoulders of an abbot with a crozier which are
unlikely to have belonged to the chapel. (fn. 9) The present
house is modern, but there are remains of the 17th-century house, probably built by Sir James Beverley,
who purchased the manor in 1664 and died at Gaynes
Hall in 1670.
At West Perry, another hamlet further north-east,
is the Manor Farm, a moated brick house of the 16th
century partially rebuilt in modern time. It may
have been the manor house of the representative of
one of the coheirs of Dillington manor when the
manor was divided into moieties. (fn. 10)
The hamlet of Beachampstead, which included
Agden, lies to the north of the village. The site
of the manor house of the Beaufoys may perhaps be
identified by the homestead moat north-east of
Staughton Green. The house, we are told, was burnt
and devastated in the middle of the 14th century, and
there is no evidence that it was rebuilt. (fn. 11)
A farmhouse on the north bank of Duloe Brook
opposite Bushmead Priory represents the former
manor of Blaysworth.
MANORS
Lands in Staughton, with 100 mancosa
of gold, were bequeathed by Ælfhelm,
by deed undated, to Leofsige and his
wife. (fn. 12) She may have been the widow Livith,
Leofwina, or Lefgiva, who granted Staughton, with
Dillington, Gravely, and Yelling, to the abbey of
Ramsey. (fn. 13) Livith's gift was confirmed to the abbey
by King Edgar in 974; (fn. 14) by Edward the Confessor in
1060; (fn. 15) by William the Conqueror in 1078; (fn. 16) and by
Pope Alexander in 1178. (fn. 17) But Staughton, its
original value of £10 unchanged, was entered in the
Domesday Survey among the lands of the Bishop of
Lincoln, and though the abbot of Ramsey claimed
it against him at that time, (fn. 18) the bishops of Lincoln
remained in undisturbed possession. (fn. 19) Their tenure
of the manor, as of their manor of Buckden, was
recorded as late as 1612. (fn. 20) Six hides of land with
100 acres of underwood were held by the Bishop of
Lincoln in 1086, his under-tenant being Eustace,
probably the sheriff. In 1166 William de Eynesford
held 6 knights' fees of the bishop, (fn. 21) who made a grant
of a sheaf from each acre of his demesne in Staughton
to Hinchingbroke Priory, which was confirmed by the
Bishop of Lincoln between 1186 and 1198. (fn. 22) He was
succeeded by a son Roger de Eynesford, whose son
William died before 1194 (fn. 23) leaving a widow Eleanor,
who married Hugh de Beauchamp. (fn. 24) William, son
of the last-named William, in 1203 obtained licence to
disafforest his manor of Staughton and to have free
warren. (fn. 25) He died in or about 1231, when the custody
of Staughton was delivered to the bishop, as overlord,
during the minority of the heir, (fn. 26) William de Eynesford.
This last William left coheirs, possibly daughters,
who were represented in 1265 by Nicholas de Crioll
and William Heringaud or Herengod, perhaps
husbands of the coheirs, who, after the Battle of
Evesham, were thought to be rebels. (fn. 27) They are later
described as parceners of the inheritance of William de
Eynesford. (fn. 28) It would appear that Nicholas de
Crioll married firstly Maud, probably the daughter of
William de Eynesford, (fn. 29) by whom he had three daughters, Nicholaa, Margery, and Beatrice, (fn. 30) and secondly
Joan, daughter and heir of William de Auberville of
Eynesford (co. Kent), by whom he had a son Nicholas,
a minor at the time of his father's death in 1273. (fn. 31)
Of the daughters, who inherited their mother's
property, Nicholaa married Adam de Creting, (fn. 32)
Margery seems to have died unmarried, and Beatrice
married Anselm de Gyse. (fn. 33) Before the death of
Maud, Nicholas's first wife, her moiety of the manor
was conveyed to Roger de Leyburne. William
Heringaud, who married the other coheir of William
de Eynesford, succeeded his father Stephen in 1257
to the possessions in Kent. (fn. 34) William died before
1273, leaving a daughter Emma, but in 1293 the heir
of Stephen is said to have been Christine wife of
William de Kirkeby, from which it would appear
that Emma died unmarried, so that the interest in
her mother's moiety would pass to her cousins, the
Criolls. (fn. 35) William Heringaud, however, had conveyed the interest of his wife's moiety of Staughton
to Roger de Leyburne, who thus held the whole
manor. (fn. 36) About 1271 Roger de Leyburne and
Eleanor de Vaux, Countess of Winchester, his wife,
exchanged the manor of Staughton, which they had
of the gift of Nicholas de Crioll and William Heringaud,
with Roger de Rolling and Maud, daughter of William
de Eshetesford (Ashford), his wife, for lands in
Kent and Sussex. (fn. 37) About this time the coheirs of
Nicholas de Crioll claimed that the grant to Roger de
Leyburne was void, as Nicholas held only by courtesy
in right of his wife; consequently in 1274 the
escheator was ordered to give seisin of a moiety of the
manor of Staughton to Nicholaa, Margery and
Beatrice. (fn. 38) By 1279 Margery de Crioll and Emma
Heringaud were probably dead, as Adam de Creting
and Anselm de Gyse are said to have held the whole
manor. (fn. 39) The question whether Maud de Crioll
(Kyriel) (fn. 40) was seised in her demesne as of fee of the
manor of Great Staughton, of which one moiety was
held by Adam de Creting and Nicholaa, and the other
by Anselm de Gyse and Beatrice, was brought before
the justices of assize in 1286 and the case was adjourned
to Westminster, Adam de Rolling being vouched to
warrant. (fn. 41) The Crioll title became established and
in the same year Adam and Anselm were said to hold
the manor with view of frankpledge and free warren. (fn. 42)
By a series of conveyances, the whole manor and the
advowson became vested in Adam de Creting and
Nicholaa his wife. (fn. 43) In 1295 Adam died seised of the
manor described as the manor of GREAT STAUGHTON, BLAYSWORTH and LA MORE held, with
the advowson, of the Bishop of Lincoln by 4 knights'
fees, and leaving a son and heir John. (fn. 44) Custody of
the lands of Adam was in 1296 granted to Thomas de
Creting, (fn. 45) and a fresh inquisition was taken two years
later, when the age of John, previously given as
17–19, was returned both as 24 and as unknown,
because he had been born in Wales. (fn. 46) John de
Creting was holding the vill in 1316 (fn. 47) and in 1327–8, (fn. 48)
and received a grant of free warren in his demesne
lands in 1330. (fn. 49) He seems to have been succeeded
by another John, probably his son, at whose death
the manor passed to Edmund de Creting his brother, (fn. 50)
who in 1337 obtained protection on setting out in the
king's service in France. (fn. 51) Hawise, widow of the
younger John, held a third of the manor and advowson
in dower in 1348, the remaining two-thirds being in
the hands of Sir Edmund de Creting. Sir Edmund
granted the two-thirds of the advowson held by him,
and the reversion of the third held by Hawise,
to John de Abynton, citizen and clothier of London. (fn. 52)
Hawise married Geoffrey de Drayton and by deed
dated at Great Staughton in 1353 Edmund granted the
third of the manor held by Hawise in dower to Geoffrey
for life and sold the reversion to John Empol. In
1370, after the death of Hawise, Geoffrey de Drayton
claimed a life tenancy under the grant of 1353.
Meanwhile, John Empol had
granted this third to Thomas
de Wauton or Walton, a
minor, son of Thomas de
Wauton, and action was postponed until Thomas should
be of full age. (fn. 53) The conveyance to Thomas Wauton
was repeated when he came
of age in 1376. (fn. 54) The other
two parts of the manor passed
to Alice Bray, who in 1385–6
conveyed them to John de
Hemingford and others, evidently feoffees, who reconveyed them to her. (fn. 55) They were again settled in
the same years (fn. 56) and in 1406 the whole manor was
conveyed by John Stukeley and Robert Scott, two of
the feoffees, to Thomas Wauton and Elizabeth his
wife. (fn. 57) It would seem that Thomas de Wauton, who
married Eleanor de Stokes of Boughton in Southoe
(q.v.), had a son Thomas, aged 30, in 1349. His son
Thomas was the grantee of the third of the manor in
1376 when he came of age, (fn. 58) and it was he and his wife
Elizabeth who in 1406 acquired the whole manor. (fn. 59)
He was succeeded by John de Wauton, his son or
more probably his brother, who was returned as
member of parliament for Huntingdonshire in 1393.
Thomas, son of John, served from 1396 for 30 years as
member of parliament for Huntingdonshire or Bedfordshire and became Speaker of the House in 1425. (fn. 60)
He died in 1436 and was succeeded by his son Thomas.
The manor later passed to Robert Wauton, mentioned
in 1502 as lord of the manor. (fn. 61) John son of Robert
married Joan, sister of Sir William Gascoyne, on
whom the manor was settled about 1497. Joan after
John's death married Thomas Knighton, and in
1529 Thomas Wauton of Great Staughton, the
elder, and Thomas Wauton, the younger, were sued
for forcibly entering the lands held in dower by
Joan. (fn. 62) Thomas Wauton, the elder, was the son of
John. (fn. 63) Thomas Wauton, the younger, his son, was
dealing with lands in Great Staughton in 1541, (fn. 64) and
in 1554 settled annuities payable out of the manor
on his sons William and Gilbert. He died in 1555,
his heir being his grandson George, son of his son
Thomas. (fn. 65) In 1563 George Wauton conveyed the
manor to Henry Laurence and William Thomas, (fn. 66)
probably in connexion with a lease of the manor for
21 years to Thomas Beverley in 1562. In the course
of Chancery proceedings it was alleged that while 'a
young man, void of learning and knowledge in common
affairs of the world,' George Wauton had made this
conveyance to Thomas Beverley, 'a crafty and subtyll
man,' the property being well worth £80 a year, in
return for the sum of £80, of which he received £50
in hand, with 2 nags worth 5 marks, and a lute worth
5s. (fn. 67) Thomas Beverley must have retained possession
of the lease, which he assigned in 1579 to John Farewell (fn. 68) at the rent of £34. In 1605 Sir George Wauton,
who had been knighted at Whitehall by the king in
the previous year, (fn. 69) was dealing with the manor and
advowson, evidently in performance of a settlement of
the manor made in that year on himself for life, with
remainder to the heir male or issue male of John
Wauton, deceased, son of Nicholas Wauton, deceased,
uncle of Sir George, and second brother of Thomas
Wauton, deceased, father of Sir George. (fn. 70) Sir George
died in 1606 at Great Staughton without lawful issue, (fn. 71)
when his heir male under the above settlement was
the future regicide and brother-in-law of the Protector,
Valentine Wauton, then a boy of twelve, the son of
Nicholas Wauton, and grandson of John Wauton. (fn. 72)
After Valentine Wauton had attained his majority,
possession of the manor was again disputed, and
something like a siege seems to have been sustained
in 1624 by the old manor house, then in the possession
of his kinsman, one of the heirs of Sir George, John
Throgmorton. In January Sir Robert Osborne
wrote from Godmanchester to Secretary Conway that
the sheriff, going by commission from Chancery to
take possession of the manor from John Throgmorton
and deliver it to Mr. Wauton, was resisted and several of
his men slain or wounded; he added that the house
was double moated and of great strength, and that
the company, most of whom were Papists, had
intrenched themselves in it, with aid of divers
foreigners who had joined them. (fn. 73) In March he
wrote to the Council that he had made proclamation
at Great Staughton against John Throgmorton, but
found the house had been abandoned, and therefore
placed ten men in it, till directions were sent as to who
was to be put in possession. (fn. 74) The abandonment
was possibly a ruse and evidently temporary, as on
May 25th he wrote that John Throgmorton had surprised the sequestrators and taken forcible possession
of the manor house, refusing to give up his servant
Allabone, indicted for the death of one of the sheriff's
men, but promising to surrender the house, if so
ordered, when the Council had answered his petition. (fn. 75)
Valentine Wauton was in 1651 (fn. 76) and 1657 (fn. 77) dealing
with the manor, for possession of which there was
keen competition after the Restoration in 1660,
even before Col. Wauton's attainder was passed,
between Robert Montague Lord Mandeville, son
and heir-apparent of Edward Earl of Manchester, and
Sir Charles Howard, the former succeeding in 1661
in obtaining a lease of the manor, site, chief messuage,
etc., for 31 years, in spite of the king's intention to
grant it to the Duke of York. (fn. 78) In the same year
Sir Edward Green petitioned for a lease of 500 acres
of pasture land in Great Staughton and 400 of fen
ground, part of the estate there forfeited for treason
by Valentine Wauton, (fn. 79) who is said to have lived disguised in Holland and worked there as a gardener till
he died. John Gaule, minister of the parish, was a
petitioner in 1660 for satisfaction of arrears from
Wauton's confiscated estates. He represented that
Valentine Wauton had detained for 6 years the benefits
of his living, valued at above £400 a year, from the
petitioner, who had been kept prisoner by Cromwell and
Ireton for declaring the war against the king unlawful. (fn. 80)
In 1662 the reversion of the manor, with a rent reserved
upon the lease to Robert Montague Lord Mandeville,
was granted to the Duke of York; (fn. 81) by whom, as King
James II, a grant for 21 years in reversion was made
in 1688 to Sir Theophilus Oglethorpe. (fn. 82) A fresh
lease of the manor, site, etc., reciting these former
grants, was granted in 1691 to William Harbord, of
Grafton Park (co. Northampton) for 99 years. (fn. 83) It
was followed by a grant made in 1705 to Dame Eleanor
Oglethorpe, releasing her from any covenant entered
into by her husband under the lease to him to keep
the premises in repair, and permitting William Harbord to use the material of the chief messuage to
repair and build all other messuages, outbuildings,
etc. (fn. 84) (the chief messuage was described as then in
great ruin and decay, and Sir Theophilus had undertaken to put it into good and substantial repair within
3 years of the grant to himself). In 1671 John Darbishire and Elizabeth his wife, apparently under a
settlement, granted for the life of Elizabeth the manor
and advowson to George Montague. Elizabeth died
probably before 1684, when Charles Wauton, son of
the regicide, conveyed to Richard Derbishire and
Matthew Swallow, (fn. 85) and in the same year with his
wife Frances to Richard Graham and Richard Bell,
with warranty against the heirs of Frances. (fn. 86)
Crioll. Gules a chief or.
Creting. Argent a cheveron between three molets gules.
Wauton. Argent a cheveron sable.
The property next appears in the hands of William
Harbord, who bequeathed it to his four daughters
as tenants in common. (fn. 87) His daughters were Dame
Mary Ayscough, widow of Sir Edward Ayscough, kt.;
Grace, wife of Thomas Hatcher; Margaret, wife of
Robert Lord Kingston; and Letitia, afterwards
Dame Letitia Winn. Before her death without
issue, in 1698, Lady Kingston, with her sisters
Dame Mary Ayscough and Dame Letitia Winn, had
empowered Grace Hatcher, by indentures of 1689
and 1696, to dispose by will of her share, which she
bequeathed to Philip Doughty, of Snarford Hall
(co. Lincoln). Philip Doughty died in 1710, leaving
a son, George Brownlow Doughty, who married
Frances Tichborne, and died in 1743, his wife surviving
until 1765. Their son, Henry Doughty, in 1768
conveyed his fourth part of the remainder of the lease
to Peter Earl Ludlow. (fn. 88) Before the inclosure award
of 1806 this lease had expired, and the king,
George III, was returned as lord of this manor, his
lessee being George Parker, who was also lord of the
Rectory Manor of Great Staughton. (fn. 89) The Crown
is still lord of the manor.
The RECTORY MANOR was of considerable
value in the 13th century, its lands extending into
Dillington and Beachampstead. (fn. 90) It was held by
the incumbent until the rectory was granted to the
Charterhouse, London, by Richard II in 1381 and
confirmed in 1394. A vicarage
was then ordained and the
manor appropriated to the
Charterhouse, which held it
until the Dissolution. It was
granted in 1539 to Oliver
Leader (Leder) of London and
his wife Frances, with lands
in Great Staughton. (fn. 91) The
Leaders had for a long time
been connected with Great
Staughton. Thomas Leader
was attorney for Edmund Creting in 1348. (fn. 92) John Fisher of
Great Staughton was pardoned
in 1402 for killing John Leader
in 1400 in self-defence. (fn. 93)
Thomas Leader died in 1502
seised of a messuage and lands in the parish, and was
succeeded by a son and heir Stephen, (fn. 94) who later
engaged in a lawsuit about land in Great Staughton. (fn. 95)
The Leaders, after acquisition of this manor, evidently
made it their country seat.
Leader. Or a fesse between three roundels sable, with a scallop argent on each roundel and a lion's bead razed between two boars' heads or upon the fesse, all within a border engrailed azure.
In 1543 Oliver Leader and Frances his wife
acquired from Walter Devereux Lord Ferrers
of Chartley, and Richard his son and heir, Whitley
Wood and Rushoe, (fn. 96) which were held thereafter
with this manor. In 1545 Oliver, who was one of the
six clerks of Chancery, was proceeded against for
alleged unlawful arrest in a lawsuit as to land in
Beachampstead in this parish: (fn. 97) he acted also as
arbitrator with Thomas Wauton. (fn. 98) In 1554, when he
was sheriff of the county, there were riots regarding
inclosures in his parks of Rushoe and Whitley. He
instituted proceedings against Robert Sapcote and
others who had in warlike manner broken down
hedges, shot with crossbows at the keeper and his
wife in the lodge, and at other servants whom they
had driven into the moat surrounding the lodge, and
killed and maimed deer. (fn. 99) Oliver Leader, in his
pleadings, described these parks as consisting of 100
acres of pasture and 100 acres of wood, time out of
mind imparked and replenished with deer, the ditches
and hedges of which he had caused, about sixteen
years before, to be newly scoured and amended, and
there also made a great ditch and quickset hedge
about the park for the safe keeping of his cattle,
which he had peaceably enjoyed during the reign of
Henry VIII, and until the December of the riot.
Sir Oliver Leader, who had been knighted, (fn. 100) and his
wife, Dame Frances, made settlements in 1550 and
1554, (fn. 101) and both died without issue in 1557, seised of
the Rectory Manor and advowson and of the parks
called Rushoe and Whitley in Great Staughton
and Hail Weston, and of a chief messuage in Great
Staughton, (fn. 102) which 'at the dayes of their deaths they
did inhabit.' (fn. 103) This was obviously Place House, in
view of Leland's note in the Itinerary: 'From
St. Neots to Staughton Village by sum inclosed
ground a 3 miles. . . Ther hard by the church is a
praty house of Olyver Leaders and pratie comodities
about it.' (fn. 104) Thomas Baldwin, the uncle and heir of
Frances Leader, immediately on inheriting this
manor, made a grant in July 1558, to Sir James Dyer,
Chief Justice, (fn. 105) and his wife Margaret, of the chief
messuage, 4 closes of pasture adjoining, the conduit,
conduit head, pipes, etc., and the close where they
stood, of Rusho Park with the house or lodge there,
of other closes, including Rusho Stocking, Whitley
Close, the Stocking, the Hall Yard or Garth and
house built in the same, parcel whereof was held of
the manor of Beachampstead, and of Priors Pasture
(100 acres), with a cottage or house, in Great Staughton and Kimbolton, parcel of the possessions of the
late priory of Stonley, and covenanted not to alienate
or sell any of the residue of the lands of the late
Frances Leader within 4 miles compass of Staughton,
or to make any lease of the parsonage without consent
of Sir James Dyer, if he should be disposed to purchase
for himself or his friends any parcel of the same, or
the lease of the parsonage. Thomas Baldwin died at
Clerkenwell in 1560, leaving a son and heir John, who
succeeded him in the manor, (fn. 106) where the Dyers
continued to hold the chief messuage, etc., of the
Baldwins. Sir James Dyer received a grant of land in
Great Staughton in 1560–1, (fn. 107) and in 1568 some fresh
lease of the rectory appears to have been made
by John Baldwin. (fn. 108) Sir James died in 1580 (his wife
Margaret had predeceased him in 1560), and was
buried at Great Staughton. (fn. 109) In 1582 his grandnephew and successor, Sir Richard Dyer, instituted
proceedings against George Wauton, apparently
consequent upon an endeavour by George Wauton to
assert some title in the property leased to the Dyers,
as it was complained that
George Wauton had forcibly
entered the chief messuage,
base court, etc., and damaged
the conduit and watercourse
which Elizabeth, George Wauton's mother, had 'suffered
the late Sir James Dyer to
quietly hold.' (fn. 110) Sir Richard
was also in the same year
defendant in a suit brought
against him by James Farewell,
of Great Staughton (fn. 111) (where
the Farewells held, under assignment, a lease of the
Crown or Cretingbury Manor from George Wauton).
James Farewell asserted that he had occupied and
enjoyed the rectory or parsonage house as tenant-at-will under Sir James Dyer, who by word of mouth and
a codicil promised to be made in his will (as Sir Richard,
his cousin and heir, should witness) had intended him
to remain tenant after his death. Sir Richard denied
the claim of James Farewell to hold the parsonage,
mansion house, etc., for the alleged rent of £10, and
certain supplies of wheat, malt, pease, straw and
brawne for the provision of the house of Sir James. (fn. 112)
Sir Richard died at Fetter Lane, London, in 1605,
and his son, Sir William (aged 22), succeeded him in
the chief messuage, Conduit Close, Rushoe Park, etc. (fn. 113)
Sir William Dyer, of Great Staughton, in 1607
mortgaged lands in Great Staughton and Kimbolton,
his sureties being Sir Edward Harrington, Bart.,
and William Fitzwilliams, who in 1614 instituted with
him Chancery proceedings to recover the land 'given
as security in his extreme youth,' from Gabriel and
Roger Tudor. (fn. 114) There is a reference in 1613 to
Sir William Dyer's Hall at Great Staughton, (fn. 115)
where he was succeeded in 1621 by his son, Sir Lodovick Dyer, created a baronet in 1627. (fn. 116) Sir Lodovick
in 1645 compounded for his demesnes at Great
Staughton. (fn. 117) He died without surviving issue in
1669, and was buried at Colmworth, in Bedfordshire. (fn. 118)
He probably sold Place House together with the
manor of Beachampstead in 1653, and it has passed
with that manor (q.v.) ever since.
Dyer. Sable three goats passant argent.
Meanwhile the Baldwins had continued to hold the
manor, and John Baldwin (fn. 119) made a settlement of the
manor, rectory and advowson of Great Staughton
held of the king in chief, except a messuage called
the Hermitage and a tenement, formerly Lancasters,
on the marriage of his son Thomas with Judith,
daughter of Thomas Hawes, in 1599. He died in
1611, (fn. 120) leaving a son and heir, Thomas, aged 40.
In 1621 Thomas Baldwin and his wife Judith
conveyed the manor, rectory and advowson to his
son John, (fn. 121) and later John and his wife Anne were
dealing with the manor. (fn. 122) The advowson is said
to have been sold by John in 1631 to the Viscountess
Campden, and from her it passed to Archbishop
Laud. Laud gave it to St. John's College, Cambridge, of which he was president, who are still the
owners. (fn. 123) The rectory manor
and advowson became separated after the sale to Lady
Campden, the manor being retained by the Baldwins. John
Baldwin died in 1657, and was
buried at Staughton, where
there is a tombstone to Robert
Baldwin (d. 1678), who was
presumably the Robert Baldwin dealing with an estate here
in 1663. (fn. 124) Sir John Conyers,
bt., of Horden (co. Durham),
married in 1675 Mary, daughter of Edward Newman of Folkesworth and kinswoman
of Robert Baldwin, who refers to Conyers in his will as
his adopted son and left him residuary legatee. (fn. 125) John
Conyers was apparently residing at Great Staughton
in 1678, for a monument to his daughter Mary, who
died in that year, was erected in the church. Sir
Baldwin Conyers, his son, succeeded him in 1719,
and was dealing with the rectory and lands in Great
Staughton in 1720. (fn. 126) Sir Baldwin died in 1731,
leaving only daughters, and was buried at Great
Staughton with his son John, who predeceased him
in 1729. The Conyers are said to have been succeeded
in this rectory manor by Peter Ludlow, created
baron in 1755, and Earl Ludlow in 1760. The
remainder of the lease of one-fourth of the crown
manor was sold to him in 1768, and after his death
in 1803 the manor was apparently purchased by
George Parker, who is returned as lord of the rectory
manor and lessee of the crown manor in 1806. (fn. 127)
Parker was succeeded by General Denzil Onslow
(d. 1838), and he by his son Denzil (d. 1879). After
being next held in succession by W. J. Raffety,
Robert Worthe, and Edward Robotham, the rectory
manor passed to Harry Pickersgill-Cunliffe (grandson
of John Pickersgill), who was holding it before 1906,
and died in 1919. His only surviving child, Enid
Saffron, who married as her second husband Captain
E. H. Duberly, M.C., late Grenadier Guards, is now
lady of the manor.
Baldwin. Party azure and or a fleur de lis between three crescents countercoloured.
The manor of DILLINGTON, Dellingtune,
Dilincthon (xi cent.), Dylington (xiii cent.), was
granted, with the manor of Great Staughton
(q.v.), to the abbey of Ramsey, which retained the
overlordship as late as 1518. (fn. 128) The 6 hides there
entered in the Domesday Survey among the lands of
the abbot had fallen in value from £6 in 1066 to
£4 in 1086. (fn. 129) Between 1091 and 1100 Ralph,
'dapifer regis,' brother of Ilger, received a grant from
Abbot Aldwin and the abbey of the vill of Dillington
for life at £3 rent. (fn. 130) This manor, which pertained to
the barony of the abbey, (fn. 131) was for over two centuries
and a half held of the abbey by the Engaynes, Dengaynes (Gaynes). The first member of the family
whom we find holding Dillington was Richard de
Engayne, who in 1166, as one of the knights of
the abbey, was holding 6 hides there. He married
Sarah, daughter of William de Chesney, and died in
1208. (fn. 132) His elder son Richard died without issue
and was succeeded by his brother, Vitalis or Viel, who
in 1238 had licence to have a chapel in his manor
of Dillington. (fn. 133) He assarted his woods at Dillington, and gave leave for assarting his wood between
St. Mary Way and Wepetes towards Grafham, and
his wood of Dudenhey, and common of pasture in his
foreign wood called Westwood as far as the road
leading from the chapel of St. Mary to Perry. (fn. 134)
In 1244 he acknowledged the abbot's claim to the
service of one knight and suit of court at Broughton
from his lands at Dillington. (fn. 135) He died in 1248,
and was succeeded by his eldest surviving son Henry, (fn. 136)
who died without issue in 1271, seised of the manor of
Dillington and the parks called Littlehey and Est
Park. He was succeeded by his brother John, (fn. 137) who
was returned in 1279 as holding 300 acres in demesne
and a windmill. (fn. 138) John was succeeded by his son
John in 1296, (fn. 139) who married Ellen, daughter of
Robert FitzRoger, and in 1303 received a grant of
free warren. (fn. 140) He complained in 1316 that John de
Littlebury and others had broken into his park and
carried off his deer. (fn. 141) In 1318 he settled the manor
on his wife Ellen. (fn. 142) After his death without issue
in 1322, (fn. 143) the manor was held as dower by his widow
Ellen, who died in 1339. (fn. 144) John's heir was his
nephew John, son of his brother Nicholas, who married
Joan, daughter of Robert Peverel, and died in 1358. (fn. 145)
His eldest son John, a minor, died in his father's
lifetime; his widow, another Joan, married before
1358 William de Colville. Thomas, second son of
John the elder, settled the manor on his wife Katherine,
daughter of the Earl of Devon, and died without issue
in 1367. (fn. 146) He was succeeded by his three sisters
and coheirs: Joyce, married to John de Goldington; Elizabeth, married to Laurence de Pabenham;
and Mary, married to William de Bernak, who were
also the heirs of John de Offord through their mother
Joan. John de Goldington and his wife Joyce were
dealing, in 1369, with a part of the manor. (fn. 147) A
partition of the property of Thomas Engayne made
in 1372 between his coheirs comprised this manor, (fn. 148)
and they were dealing with a portion of it in 1374. (fn. 149)
The whole manor was in the hands of Sir William
Bernak and his wife Mary in 1376, when a settlement
of it in tail was made upon them. (fn. 150) Mary, having
married secondly Thomas de la Zouche, died in 1401. (fn. 151)
Her son, Sir John de Bernak, who succeeded, died in
1408, leaving a nine-year-old son and heir John, (fn. 152)
who died while a minor in 1421, a few days before
a younger brother Edmund, their two sisters, Joan
and Mary, being the coheirs of the brothers. (fn. 153) Mary,
who survived her sister, married Robert Stonham,
and they were dealing with the manor in 1427, (fn. 154)
when it was held for half a knight's fee. (fn. 155) Mary
died a widow in 1464, (fn. 156) when her trustees granted an
annuity out of the manor. (fn. 157) Mary Stonham had a
son Robert, whose daughter and heir Elizabeth married
John Broughton of Toddington (co. Bed.). (fn. 158) They
had a son John, who married Anne Denston (d. 1481).
It would appear that John and Anne had two sons,
John, who died a minor, and Sir Robert, who succeeded
to the estates and made a settlement of the manors of
Gaynes or Gaynes Hall and Dillington, as the property
was then called, on his marriage with Dorothy, sister
of Richard Wentworth, and died in 1506. (fn. 159) His heir
was his son John, who died in 1518, leaving a son and
heir John, aged six at his father's death. A settlement
was made for the proposed marriage of John Broughton, the son, with Dorothy, daughter of Thomas
Duke of Norfolk, with remainder to John's (the
father's) brother Robert (d. 1521). (fn. 160) John, son of
John, died in 1529 while still a minor, leaving two
sisters, Katherine and Anne, as his coheirs. They had
livery of their lands in that year. (fn. 161) The wardship
of Katherine was delivered to Agnes Duchess of
Norfolk, (fn. 162) and that of Anne apparently to Sir Thomas
Cheyne, to whom she was married. (fn. 163) Katherine
was married to Agnes's son William, Lord Howard,
before 1531, (fn. 164) and their only child married William
Paulet, Marquis of Winchester, (fn. 165) with whom in 1592
she conveyed the site of the manor of Gaynes Hall
to William Wallopp and Richard Beckenshaw. (fn. 166) The
marquis died in 1598, and in 1599 his widow was
dealing with the manor. (fn. 167) Later in the same year,
with Sir Giles Broughton, kt., and his wife Katherine,
her daughter, she conveyed to Oliver Williams, alias
Cromwell, the uncle of the future Protector, the
manors of Gaynes Hall, alias Gaynes Perry and
Dillington. (fn. 168) In 1600 Oliver Cromwell, as of Godmanchester, assigned to Richard Cromwell of the
same, his brother, a lease of Gaynes Park made to him
in 1599 for 21 years by Agnes, Marchioness of Winchester, widow; (fn. 169) and in 1601 he, with his second wife
Anne, conveyed the manors of Gaynes Hall, alias
Gaynes Perry, alias Dillington, to Sir Thomas Lake,
kt. (fn. 170)
In 1619 the manors of Gaynes Hall, alias Gaynes
Perry and Dillington, with that of Grafham, were
settled for the purpose of paying the heavy fines
imposed on Sir Thomas Lake and Mary his wife (fn. 171) and
Lady Roos, their daughter, for defamation of character
of Lady Exeter. (fn. 172) Sir Thomas Lake died in 1629 at
Canons (co. Middx.), where he lived in retirement. (fn. 173)
His eldest son, Sir Thomas Lake, kt., settled the
manors in 1634 and 1639, (fn. 174) and in 1636 he was prosecuting an appeal in the Court of Arches on behalf of
John Franklin, his tenant at Gaines, concerning a
demand by the minister, Mr. Gall, (fn. 175) and the churchwardens for repair of the church, described as then
'much ruinated.'
The year before his death, which took place in
1653, he conveyed the manor as Sir Thomas Lake,
described as of Great Stanmore, Middlesex, kt., (fn. 176)
and barred the entail created in 1619 upon himself
and his brothers, Arthur who had died in 1633 and
was survived by his widow Anne, and Lancelot who
had died in 1646, leaving a son Lancelot, knighted
at Whitehall in 1660. In 1663 Lancelot the son,
with Dorothy and Elizabeth Lake, the daughters and
coheirs of Sir Thomas Lake, his grandfather, Mary
Lake, widow, William Bokenham and Matilda his
wife, Richard Gedes, Thomas Mann and Elizabeth
his wife, and Ann Bigg, widow, conveyed the manor
to Thomas Harris, of the Inner Temple, (fn. 177) by whom
and by Dorothy Lake, then his wife, with Elizabeth
Lake her sister, and Thomas Mann of Yoxford, co.
Suffolk, the manor in 1664 was sold in two moieties
to Sir James Beverley, kt., of Lincoln's Inn, for
£11,330. (fn. 178) Sir James Beverley was buried in 1670
in the Gaynes chapel in Great Staughton Church,
and Thomas and James Beverley were dealing
with the manor in 1674. (fn. 179) In 1693 it was vested in
trustees for sale, and in 1698 it was sold, again for
£11,330, to Sir Henry Summers, merchant, to whom
it was conveyed by the trustees, with Thomas Webster
of St. Martin-in-the-Fields and his wife Elizabeth,
daughter and heir of James Beverley, late of Begura
(Beggary ?), in Eaton, co. Bed., the eldest son of
Sir James Beverley; Thomas Beverley the younger,
of the Inner Temple, son of Thomas Beverley the
elder, of London, and next brother of James Beverley,
late of Gaynes, deceased (which James was the eldest
son of Thomas Beverley the father), and Mary wife
of the said Thomas Beverley; Robert Beverley,
clerk, brother of the last named James and of Thomas
Beverley party to the sale; Dame Priscilla Beverley
of London, widow of Sir James Beverley; Anne
Beverley of London, widow of James Beverley;
Thomas Docwra of Putteridge (co. Herts), executor
of Jane Beverley, deceased, daughter of Sir James
Beverley, and Richard Prince. (fn. 180) The next owners of
the manor seem to have been the Handasydes.
Thomas Handasyde, at one time Governor of Jamaica,
appears in the vicars' books in
1717, and died in 1729, when
his son, General Roger Handasyde, Governor of Berwick
in 1745, succeeded him at
Gaynes, (fn. 181) and died in 1763.
George Handasyde was dealing
with the manor in 1769, (fn. 182) and
in 1771 it was conveyed with
the chief messuage, parks, etc.,
to Elizabeth Galley, of Great
Russell Street, Bloomsbury,
widow, as heretofore the property of Clifford and George
Handasyde. (fn. 183) It was conveyed by her in 1777, together
with the reversionary interest of John Cheshyre of
Bennington (co. Herts.) and his wife Juliana, to Henry
Galley. In 1786, for the purpose of barring the entail
on Sir John Cheshyre, deceased, late of Isleworth
(co. Middx.), kt., sergeant-at-law, it was released by
Henry Galley to John Cheshyre and Julianna, and
by them conveyed for settlement to Vicary Gibbs. (fn. 184)
It was purchased about 1797 by Sir James Duberly,
kt., who died in 1832. His eldest son, James Duberly of Gaynes Hall, who served in the 11th Light
Dragoons, was present at Waterloo, and married
Emily Hannah, daughter of Col. the Hon. William
Grey, brother of the first Earl Grey. He died in
1864. His son William was a captain in the Grenadier
Guards, and High Sheriff in 1884. He died in 1888,
and was succeeded by his son Grey William Duberly,
killed in action in 1915, whose widow, the Hon. Mrs.
Duberly, now resides at Gaynes Hall, and her
brother-in-law, Capt. Evelyn Hugh James Duberly,
is now lord of the manor.
Handasyde. Argent a lion sable and a chief azure with three molets argent therein.
With the manor in Dillington, held of the Abbot
of Ramsey from an early date, there had descended
in the family of Engayne a property at PERRY
(partly in Grafham, partly in Great Staughton) held
of the fee of Lovetot. These properties descended
together and were together
divided into the moieties which
became known as Gaynes Hall
and Dillington. When, however, the moieties were reunited and Perry had come
to be identified with them,
the descriptions Gaynes Perry
and Dillington Perry became
adopted. (fn. 185)
Duberly. Vert a fesse between in the chief two sheaves or and in the foot a sickle argent with its bandle or, and on the fesse an arrow gules between two stars azure.
At the Domesday Survey a
hide in Perry was held of the
Sheriff Eustace by Aluuin
Deule. Its value of 40s. in
1066 had remained unchanged
in 1086; there was a church
there, and woodland for pannage a league in length and 4 furlongs in breadth. (fn. 186)
William de Perry was dealing with half a virgate in
Perry in 1218–19. (fn. 187) In 1272 this property was in the
hands of the Engaynes, who held it of Eustace's
successors, the Lovetots, and Henry Engayne died
seised of 100 acres of arable, 2 acres of meadow, and
15s. rent held for one hide of land of Roger de Lovetot. (fn. 188)
Roger's heir was Thomas de Lovetot, (fn. 189) who in 1279
was holding Perry as half a knight's fee of the fee of
Lovetot, and under him Henry Engayne's son John,
who had in demesne in arable land 80 acres of old
and 60 acres of new assart, for which he paid the
king 2s. yearly. (fn. 190)
In this half-fee were evidently included 140 acres
of arable in the field called Gerard Stocking in East
Perry in Grafham held of John de Lovetot by the
service of a quarter of a knight's fee by John D'Engayne at his death in 1323. (fn. 191) William de Perry
was one of the principal tenants of Adam de Creting
in his manor of Great Staughton in 1279. (fn. 192)
The manor of BEACHAMPSTEAD, Bichamestede (xii cent.); Brichamstede (xiii cent.); Bychamstede, Bischamstede (xiv cent.); Bechamstede (xvii
cent.), was held at an early date of the honour of
Huntingdon, and between 1140–53 Earl Simon de
St. Liz gave to Odo de Danmartin lands there and in
Southoe, which Earl Simon III (1153–84) confirmed
to Aubrey de Danmartin (brother of Odo) and his
son Reginald. (fn. 193) Rents from lands in Southoe and
Beachampstead were paid by Reginald de Danmartin
Count of Boulogne, in 1194 and 1197. (fn. 194) The lands
seem to have been forfeited probably as lands of the
Normans, and early in the 13th century came into
the possession of Julian de la Haye, (fn. 195) who gave certain
woods here as dower to Sanicula, the wife of his son
Maurice. In 1231, when Sanicula had been a widow
ten years, she brought an action against Parnell,
widow of Saher de la Haye, apparently son of Maurice,
who had died during his minority, regarding the
lands of their dowries. (fn. 196) Three years earlier Parnell,
daughter of Geoffrey, had brought an action against
some of her tenants of Beachampstead for customs
and services which she held in dower by gift of Saher,
formerly her husband, the heir being under age. (fn. 197)
This heir was probably Julian de la Haye, who claimed
rights in the woods of Agden here in 1240–1 and
1248–9. (fn. 198)
Julian had been succeeded before 1271–2 by
Ingelram del Hay, who in that year was dealing with
land in Beachampstead. (fn. 199)
By 1279 the manor had become deeply subinfeudated. The quarter of a fee in Beachampstead was
held of Robert de Brus as of the honour of Huntingdon by Ingelram de la Hay, of Ingelram by Henry
de Walpole, and of Henry by Geoffrey Beaufuy (Beaufoe, Beufitz, de Bealfo, or de Belafago). With his
messuage there Geoffrey Beaufuy held 180 acres of
arable land; the mowing of Mockespol Meadow and
keeping of Agden Wood were included among the
services of his villeins. (fn. 200)
One of the mesne lordships was probably eliminated
in 1281 by the grant of 2 carucates in Beachampstead
from Henry de Walpole and his wife Isabella to
Geoffrey de Beaufuy and his wife Amice. (fn. 201) In
1356 Alice, widow of John Beaufuy, held at her death
a property in Beachampstead, where there was a
messuage burnt and devastated, lands and rents held
of the king in chief as of the honour of Huntingdon, a
croft called Greggiscroft held of John Dengayne, and
6 acres held of Edmund de Creting. Her heir, John
son of William de Beaufuy, was of full age, but since
her death the issues had been received by Sir Roland
Daneys, kt., by grant of the king. (fn. 202)
In 1316 Dillington and Beachampstead were held
as one vill by John Dengayne and Peter de Croft. (fn. 203)
In the same year Peter de Croft was returned as
holding a quarter of a fee in Beachampstead, claimed
by Richard de Waleys and Eleanor his wife, formerly
the wife of Robert de Brus, as part of the dower of
Eleanor in the forfeited estates of Robert. (fn. 204) A Hugh
Croft was dealing with land in Beachampstead in
1341–2. (fn. 205)
A manor or manors of BEAUFOES or BEUFITZ
and CROFTS in Beachampstead was held in 1377
by Nicholas Stukeley, (fn. 206) and descended with the
Stukeleys' manor of Great Stukeley (q.v.) to Laurence
Torkington, (fn. 207) who with William Sterne and his
wife Bridget in 1561 conveyed the manors to Sir
James Dyer, kt., (fn. 208) already holding with his Rectory
Manor, the hall, yard and house in the same, held of
the manor of Beachampstead. (fn. 209) Sir Richard Dyer,
grandnephew and heir of Sir James, granted an
annuity in 1603 to his third son, Richard, out of his
manor of Beachampstead, (fn. 210) described at his death in
1605 as the manor of 'Croftes alias Beaufittes alias
Beachampstead.' (fn. 211) From his son William, who then
inherited it, and who dealt with it as the manor of
Beachampstead in 1609, (fn. 212) it passed to his son Sir
Lodovick, who dealt with it in 1628. (fn. 213) In 1653 it was
conveyed by Sir Lodovick Dyer, Richard Dyer,
Katherine Dyer, widow, and Doyley Dyer to Sir
Edward Coke, bart. (fn. 214) Sir Edward Coke, the youngest
son of the celebrated Lord Chief Justice, married
Katherine, sister and heir of Sir Lodovick Dyer,
whose only child Henry had died in 1637. Sir
Edward died in 1669. His son, Sir Robert, died
without issue in 1687, as did the latter's brother and
heir, Sir Edward, in 1727, all being buried at Langford
(co. Derby). (fn. 215) Before this date, however, the manor
had passed from the Cokes and was in 1717 held by
John Howe, (fn. 216) the son, it is thought, of the eminent
physician, Dr. George Howe, and of Letitia Foley. (fn. 217)
John Howe was dead in 1729, and left only female
issue. (fn. 218) Sophia, his daughter, married Christopher
Walter, and in 1740 they conveyed the manor to
Charles Clarke and Robert Palmer with warranty
against the heirs of Sophia. (fn. 219) Arthur Walter in 1753
was dealing with it with Mary Walter, widow, (fn. 220) and
his nephew was lord of the manor at the passing of
the Inclosure Act in 1806. He died in 1821. (fn. 221) In
1822 Sophia Walter, Giles Smith and Anna Maria
Eloisa his wife, James Stokes and Sophia Howe his
wife, Richard Walter and Mary his wife, Arthur Walter
and Adele Adelaide his wife, Christopher Walter, John
Parr Walter, William Walter and Charles Walter (fn. 222) sold
the manor which has now been held for some generations by the Duberlys with Gaynes.
Lymage Farm, in the north-west of the parish,
appears to represent a manor of LIMINGE (Lymynge
xiii cent.) which was granted by King John with
the manors of Alconbury and Old Weston to Earl
David of Scotland, (fn. 223) and descended with Brampton,
Alconbury (q.v.) and other demesne manors of the
honour of Huntingdon until the 16th century. John
de Hastings in 1302 received a grant of free warren
in Brampton and Liminge, (fn. 224) and in 1317 he obtained
licence to grant Limage manor, as a member
of his manor of Brampton, and held in chief, to
William de Brom and Ascelina his wife, and John,
son of the said William, for their lives. (fn. 225) It was
held for life by John Waldegrave le Fitz, at whose
death in 1349 it reverted to the Hastings family.
During the minority of John, son of Laurence Hastings,
the manor was in the wardship of Sir John Dengayne,
kt. (fn. 226) Thomas, son and heir of John Dengayne of
Dillington, was in 1359 pardoned the damage done
by his father to houses and trees belonging to the
manor of Limage while it was in his wardship. (fn. 227)
The custody of the manor was in 1363 given to the
King's clerk, John de Ditton, and in 1375 was granted
as dower to Anne, widow of John de Hastings. (fn. 228) In
1543 Thomas Grey, who had succeeded to the manor
from the Hastings, and Anne his wife conveyed it
with tenements in Kimbolton and Stonley to Robert
Burgoyne of London. (fn. 229)
It continued to be held by the Burgoynes, and was
in 1651 allotted in moieties by an indenture of partition between Peter Burgoyne of the city of Coventry,
Sir John Burgoyne of Sutton,
co. Bed., bart., and Edward
Cater of Kempstone, co. Bed.
(1st part), and Jonathan Andrewes of the city of London,
merchant (2nd part). (fn. 230) In
1655 the manor (or a moiety)
was sold by Sir John Burgoyne, Edward Cater, Henry
Porter of Parkwood (co. Warwick), and Robert Burgoyne
of Sutton, son and heir of the
above Peter Burgoyne, to
Christopher Mercer, of the
town of Cambridge, (fn. 231) after
whose death it was conveyed, in
1673, to Francis Jaggard, citizen and grocer of London,
by John Swale and his wife Ann, only surviving
daughter of Christopher Mercer. (fn. 232) Francis Jaggard
(d. 1680) bequeathed the moiety bought by him to
John Jaggard, his brother and executor, citizen and
merchant tailor of London, by whom and by Elizabeth,
wife of the said John Jaggard, it was sold in 1682 to
William Ingram, citizen and tallow-chandler of
London, with fishings, franchises, courts, etc., appurtenant to the same in Limage, (fn. 233) as the manor
of Lymage. In 1701 William Ingram and his wife
Susan conveyed a moiety of the manor to William
Welby. (fn. 234) The manor was being dealt with in 1734
by William Welby, (fn. 235) presumably his nephew and heir,
who died in 1792 and whose only son, Sir William Earle
Welby, was created a baronet in 1801 as of Denton,
and died in 1815. His son,
Sir William Earle Welby, 2nd
bart., who succeeded him in
the baronetcy and survived
until 1852, appears to have
bestowed the manor in his
lifetime on his son and successor, Glynne Earle Welby,
who was dealing with the
manor of Lymage in 1827, (fn. 236)
and succeeded him in the
baronetcy in 1852. He assumed in 1875, the year of his
death, the additional name of
Gregory, now borne by his son Sir William Earle
Welby-Gregory, 4th bart. (fn. 237)
Burgoyne. Gules a cheveron or between three talbots argent and a battled chief argent with three martlets azure therein.
Welby. Sable a fesse between three fleur de lis argent.
The hamlet of AGDEN GREEN (Akeden', xiii cent.)
probably represents one of the three berewicks
returned in the Domesday Survey as held by the
Confessor with Paxton. (fn. 238) The de la Hays held with
their lands in Beachampstead (where its history has
been given) a wood in Agden where rights of estover,
etc., were in 1240–1 and 1248–9 held by Reginald,
parson of Paxton. The Aungevins held lands at
Agden and at Beachampstead, and William Aungevin,
who in 1279 owned half the site of the mill at Beachampstead, had granted 6 acres of land to the Priory of
Stonley. (fn. 239) With lands held by the priory at its
dissolution and granted with the priory to Oliver
Leader and his wife Frances in 1544, were included
messuages in Great Staughton, common of pasture
in Agden, and Agden mills. (fn. 240) In 1552 tofts, a windmill, lands, etc., in Agden Green were granted with
the site of the late priory and appurtenances in
Great Staughton, Kimbolton, and Stonley by Oliver
Leader and his wife Frances to Thomas Mary Wingfield, and his wife Margaret. (fn. 241) Tenements in Great
Staughton were conveyed by Sir James Wingfield, kt.,
and his wife Margaret to Sir Henry Montagu, kt.,
Sergeant-at-law in 1615, (fn. 242) and to him again as Henry
Earl of Manchester, in 1633. (fn. 243)
A windmill in Great Staughton was in 1598 conveyed to John Baldwin by Edward, Thomas and
Oliver Woodley. (fn. 244)
The manor of BLAYSWORTH was apparently
held of the chief manor of Great Staughton (q.v.) by
the Daneys family and may have been brought to
them like Offord Darcy (q.v.) through the marriage of
William le Daneys with Emma, daughter of Robert
de Offord. In 1241 a knight's fee in Blaysworth was
conveyed by John le Daneys to William le Daneys his
brother. (fn. 245) The manor was apparently reconveyed to
John, as free warren in their demesne lands in Blaysworth was in 1254 granted at the instance of Nicholas
de Boleville to William de Boleville and Ella his wife
who was daughter and coheir of John le Daneys, (fn. 246)
In 1261 William le Daneys, grandson of Richard.
brother of the above mentioned William le Daneys,
sued Richard Pauncefot and Isabella his wife, the
younger William's cousin, for 2 carucates of land (fn. 247) in
Blaysworth which he claimed as heir of Ella. William
lost his suit owing to a technical error in his description in the pleadings. Isabella retained possession
and granted the manor in her widowhood about 1270
to the Priory of Bushmead (co. Bed.), and a little later
Nicholaa, Margery and Beatrice Crioll, as ladies of
the manor of Great Staughton in consideration of the
affection of their mother Maud de Crioll to the
priory, where she was buried, and for the health of
the souls of their mother, of themselves and of Roger
de Rollinges, released to the canons all reliefs and
suits. (fn. 248) Isabella's grant was disputed in 1286 by
Brice le Daneys, who claimed the lands as heir of
Ella le Daneys, who married William de Boleville and
died without heir of her body. He pleaded that on
the death of Ella the fee went to Richard le Daneys,
her uncle, brother of John, Ella's father; from Richard
it descended to William his son, then to his son
William, and so to Brice, son of the latter William.
The prior contended that others besides Ella held the
lands and amongst them was Isabella (Pauncefot),
daughter of Maud, who was Ella's kinswoman and
heir. The record of the case is unfinished. (fn. 249) The
priory was holding the manor of Adam de Creting in
1279 (fn. 250) and, at the Dissolution, held in Blaysworth in
the parish of Great Staughton a rent of 40s. (fn. 251) In 1537
all the lands in Blaysworth formerly held by the Prior
of Bushmead were granted to Sir William Gascoigne
and Elizabeth his wife (fn. 252) and in 1545 licence to alienate
them together with the site of the priory, to Anthony
Cokett of London was given to Sir John Gascoigne
of Cardington (co. Bed.), son and heir of Sir William. (fn. 253)
Blaysworth seems to have passed with the site of the
priory in 1562 to William
Gery, (fn. 254) who died seised of
lands in Great Staughton in
1592, (fn. 255) leaving a son William
who died in 1596. His son
Richard died in 1638, leaving a
son William. William married
Anne daughter of Sir William
Dyer of Great Staughton in
1633, when these lands formed
part of the marriage settlement. (fn. 256) He suffered heavily
on behalf of the royalist cause
and died before the Restoration. His son William retired
abroad complaining that he
had been 'plundered to his shirt.' The existence of
this property as a manor is lost sight of from this time,
but the lands apparently remained in the possession
of the Gery family and their descendants the Wade
Gerys. (fn. 257)
Gery. Gules two bars argent each charged with three voided lozenges gules and a quarter or with a leopard's head azure therein.
Mention of the Moor occurs in accounts of tenants
of the Cretings' manor, some of whom were also
tenants of the Priory of Huntingdon in 1279.
At this date Geoffrey, son of Everard de Staughton, (fn. 258)
held half a knight's fee in Great Staughton of Anselm
de Gyse by homage and foreign service: he had in
demesne 120 acres of arable land and a messuage,
garden, etc.; his free tenants included William
Scohisfot, who held a messuage and common rights in
the pasture called the More. This hamlet of the Moor
belongs now chiefly to Mr. Richard Wade-Gery.
CHURCH
The Church of ST. ANDREW consists
of a chancel (36 ft. by 16 ft.) with north
vestry (14 ft. by 10½ ft.), north chapel
(15 ft. by 12¾ ft.), nave (58½ ft. by 20 ft.), north aisle
(10½ ft. wide), south aisle (13¾ ft. wide), west tower
(14¾ ft. by 14¾ ft.) and south porch. The walls are
of stone and pebble rubble except the tower, which is
of coursed rubble, and stone dressings. The roofs are
covered with lead, tiles and slates.
GREAT STAUGHTON. PARISH CHURCH OF ST ANDREW
Reproduced by permission of the Controller of H.M. Stationery Office from the Royal Commission on Historical Monuments, Hunts.
The church is mentioned in the Domesday Survey
(1086), but nothing of this early date remains in situ.
At the end of the 13th century a gradual rebuilding
was commenced by piercing three arches in each side
wall of the nave, and this was quickly followed by an
extension of the arcades by two western bays, the
building of the aisles and rebuilding of the chancel.
In the 14th century the south aisle was rebuilt and
widened and a porch added, and the north aisle was
partly rebuilt. In the latter half of the 15th century
a considerable reconstruction took place; the nave
arcades were rebuilt, using much of the old materials,
a rood staircase formed and a clearstory added, the
chancel arch and the east wall of the chancel being
rebuilt. Somewhat later, a chapel known as the
Gaynes chapel was erected on the north side of the
chancel and the west tower was built. The vestry
was built in 1526. In 1636 the church was said to
be 'much ruinated' and a large sum was spent in
repairs. (fn. 259) Considerable repairs were effected in
1848–50, and a complete restoration took place in 1866.
The late 13th-century chancel has a late 15th-century five-light window in the east wall. In the north
wall one original lancet window remains, an early
15th-century window has been cut down to the floor
and converted at some uncertain date into an opening
to the north chapel, (fn. 260) and an early 16th-century
doorway opens into the vestry. The south wall has
an early 15th-century square-headed three-light
window partly blocked by a 17th-century monument,
a two-light window of c. 1300, another of c. 1340
forming a low-side window, and an original doorway.
The late 15th-century chancel arch is two centred,
of two chamfered orders, the lower resting on semi-circular shafts with moulded capitals and bases; the
gable above has a sanctus-bell cot, which still retains
its bell. The walls have lost their parapets, and the
roof is modern and very flat, but two 15th-century
tie-beams remain.
The north vestry has a modern two-light window
in the east wall. The words 'Aō. Dō. 1526 E. Nel.'
have been boldly cut on the north parapet. The
contemporary roof has cambered tie-beams.
The north chapel, probably built about 1455, has
a blocked three-light east window; on the north side
is a shallow bay having a three-light window in its
north wall and very small square-headed lights at the
sides, and arched over with a panelled vault having
three bosses carved with shields, (fn. 261) viz.: (1) in the
centre, [Argent] on a cross [Sable] six escallops [Or]
(Stonham), impaling [Argent] a horse-barnacle [Sable]
(Barnack); (2) [Gules] a fesse dancette between seven
crosses croslet [Or] (Engaine), impaling [Argent] two
pales [Sable] (should be paly, for Burgatt); (3) [Argent]
a cross engrailed [Vert] (Noon), impaling [Argent]
three boars' heads couped [Gules] (Swinford). On
the south is the altered window of the chancel,
previously mentioned, and on the west is a modern
arch to the aisle.
The 15th-century nave has an arcade of five bays
on each side, having two centred arches of two chamfered orders resting on circular columns with moulded
capitals and bases. The two eastern bays on each
side are narrower than the others and perhaps indicate
an earlier nave of only three bays, increased to five
bays in the 13th century; but the whole was rebuilt
(with the exception of the three western bays on the
south) in the 15th century, when much of the old
materials was used. The 15th-century rood-stairs
remain in the south-east corner, both doorways being
intact, and the contemporary clearstory has five two-light windows on each side. The modern roof is of
hammer-beam type, (fn. 262) and the jack-legs stand on
15th-century carved stone corbels. The parapets are
embattled, and the east gable has a sanctus-bell cot
and bell.
The 14th-century north aisle has three 15th-century
two-light windows and a doorway of c. 1300 in the
north wall, and a 15th-century three-light window in
the west wall. The roof is modern.
The mid-14th-century south aisle has an original
three-light window with reticulated tracery in the
east wall; in the south wall are three similar two-light
windows, and a contemporary doorway with moulded
arch resting on jambs having two engaged shafts with
carved caps; the door itself has a 16th-century
ornamental iron lock-plate. The west wall has a
three-light window like that at the east end. The roof
is modern.
The early 16th-century west tower (fn. 263) has a two-centred tower-arch of three moulded orders resting on
attached shafts with moulded capitals and bases.
The west doorway has a two-centred arch in a square
head with traceried spandrils; above it is a four-light
window. The next stage has a blocked recess on the
west front, a two-light window on the south and a small
opening above the roof on the east. The belfry
windows are coupled two-lights with transoms. There
is a broad plinth enriched with a band of quatrefoils:
the buttresses stand square at the angles and rise to
the sills of the belfry windows, at which point the
walls are recessed and above the windows is a band of
cusped lozenges; the whole being finished with an
embattled parapet having crocketed pinnacles at the
angles.
The mid-14th-century south porch has a two-centred arch with continuous mouldings in the south
wall, and a modern two-light in each of the side walls.
The porch has a mean slated roof and has been much
mutilated and modernised.
The 13th-century font is a plain octagon; the
upper part appears to be only roughly worked. It
bears faint traces of red and black paint. It stands
on a central and four smaller shafts, all modern. (fn. 264)
There are six bells, inscribed (1) '✠ To the Glory of
God and in memory of those from this Parish who
gave their lives in the Great War, 1919. J. W. Wragg,
Vicar, C. W. Pearson, R. Ekins, Churchwardens.'
(2) 'I H S. Nazarenvs Rex Ivdeorvm fili Dei miserere
mei, 1633.' (3) 'Edmond Ibbott, Raphe Paine, C.
1633.' (4) 'Hac in conclaue Gabriel nunc pange
suaue.' (5) 'John Appleby, Vicar, Edwd. S . . .
A . . . (fn. 265) & John Rose, Churchwardens. Robt.
Taylor, St. Neots, fecit, 1787.' (6) 'George Wauton
Esquier, 1600. George (fn. 266) Walkre, Minister, George
Darter, Willim Glover, Churchwardens.' A sanctus
bell (blank) hanging in its cote and roped. In 1552
there were four bells and a sanctus bell. (fn. 267) In 1711
there were five large bells and the sanctus bell. (fn. 268)
The bells were quarter-turned in 1901, and again
rehung and a new treble added by Messrs. John
Warner and Sons, in 1926.
At the west end of the nave is an oak screen formed
of materials of two periods: the upper part being the
back of a seat, inscribed 'Of your Charyte Pray For
The Good Astate Of Olyver Leder and frances hys
Wyfe, Anno dñi. 1539'; the lower, parts of the 17th-century pulpit. They were put together in their
present form in 1903.
The chancel has a dado of 17th-century panelling,
and the contemporary altar-rails have turned and
twisted balusters.
The indents of four brasses remain in the chancel
(1) An inscription plate and two shields, probably
early 15th century; (2) covered by the seats, but the
indent of a shield is visible; (3) a civilian and wife
with children, two inscription plates, &c., early 16th
century; (4) almost worn away.
There are several ancient stones lying loose in the
church, including a corbel carved with a demi-angel
holding a chalice, 15th century; and in the north
chapel is an early 17th-century funeral helm and a pair
of gauntlets, lying upon the Beverley monument.
In the chancel is a large double monument to
Sir James Deyer, kt., d. 1582, and Margaret (Barrowe)
his wife, d. 1560, and Sir Richard Deyer, kt., his
great-nephew, d. 1605, and Marie (Fitzwilliam)
his wife, d. 1601. The monument is of two bays
with Corinthian columns supporting a cornice
surmounted by obelisks and Elizabethan strap-work
inclosing two shields of arms; in each half are kneeling
figures of husband and wife facing each other under
a double arch; the monument is carried by a heavy
bracketed corbel enriched with shields of arms;
and the whole is painted in colours; the eastern
half was made by Sir Richard and the western half
by his son.
In the north chapel a table-tomb to Sir James
Beverley, kt., d. 1670, has a moulded top, panelled
sides, and a shield of arms at each end.
At the east end of the south aisle is a monument
to Sir George Wauton, eques auratus, d. 1606. The
recumbent effigy rests on a stout stone shelf supported
by two figures in Roman costume; behind the effigy
is a shield of arms in a circular medallion flanked by
double pilasters and with a shaped cornice over all.
There are other monuments: in the chancel,
to Sarah, wife of John Spencer, and Sarah their
daughter, d. 1632; Christopher and Mary, infant
children of John Conyers, d. 1679; Sir John Conyers,
bart, d. 1719, and Mary [Newman] his wife, d. 1714;
Sir Baldwin Conyers, bart, d. 1731, John his son, d.
1729, and Margaret his wife, d. 1758; the Rev.
Richard Walters, d. 1785, and Jane his wife, d. 1813;
the Rev. James Pope, Vicar, d. 1822; the Rev.
Thomas Clare, Vicar, d. 1830; General Denzil
Onslow, d. 1838, Denzil his son, d. 1879, and Henry
Cope, another son, d. 1870; the Rev. Henry Bristow
Wilson, Vicar, d. 1888, and his father the Rev. Harry
Bristow Wilson, d. 1853; William Stephen Watson,
d. 1900; John Reynolds Pickersgill-Cunliffe, d.
1914; Harry Pickersgill-Cunliffe, d. 1919; and Harry
Hardwick, d. 1927; floor slabs to John Baldwin,
d. 1657; Anna wife of John Baldwin, d. 1663;
Robert Baldwin, d. 1678, and Mary, daughter of
John Conyers, d. 1678; Christopher William, son
of Baldwin Conyers, d. 1703; Edward, 5th son of
Sir John and Mary Conyers, d. 1705, and Ann Ward,
daughter of Jane Ward, d. 1665; and glass windows
to Frances Cox Robotham, erected 1900; and Emma
Murfine, d. 1907.
In the north chapel, to Sir James Beverley, kt.,
d. 1670; Major General Thomas Handasyd, d.
1729, General Roger Handasyd, d. 1763, and Mrs.
Ann Proby, sister of Roger, d. 1777; Sir James
Duberly, kt., d. 1832, and his daughters Caroline,
d. 1812, and Emily, d. 1819; Etheldred (St. Barbe),
widow of Sir James Duberly, d. 1859; Cecil Vesey
Duberly, d. 1878, Louisa, Lady Sandys, d. 1886,
and William Duberly, d. 1888; Emily Hannah
(Grey), widow of James Duberly, d. 1883; Charles
Conrad Grey Duberly, d. 1893; Grey William
Duberly, d. 1915; and glass windows to James
Duberly, d. 1864, and Frederic James his son, d. 1851.
In the nave, War Memorial, 1914–19.
In the north aisle, to Lieut.-Col. Henry Duberly,
d. 1890; Robert Moulton, d. 1895; South African
War Memorial, 1899–1902; Martha Embleton,
d. 1912; James Duberly, d. 1912; Grey William
Duberly, d. 1915; Vernon Conrad Duberly, d. 1916.
In the south aisle, to the wife of James Nicholson,
d. 1783; the Rev. John Negus, Vicar, d. 1785, and
his wife, d. 1784; Margaret wife of John Byrn, d.
1794; and glass windows to the Rev. James Pope,
Vicar, d. 1822; Elizabeth wife of Thomas Henry
Murfin, d. 1872; and William Stephen Watson, d. 1900.
In the tower glass window to Thomas Henry
Murfin, d. 1885.
The registers are as follows: (i) Baptisms,
marriages and burials, 28 March 1540 to 22 Oct.
1652; (ii) the same, 17 Dec. 1653 to 24 July 1701;
(iii) the same, 27 Sept. 1702 to — Oct. 1747;
marriages end 24 July 1726; (iv) the same, 12 Feb.
1747 to 27 Dec. 1801; marriages end 24 Dec. 1759;
(v) baptisms and burials, 4 Jan. 1802 to 29 Dec.
1812; (vi) the official marriage book, 7 June 1754 to
9 March 1804; (vii) the same, 29 March 1804 to
16 Nov. 1812.
The church plate consists of a large silver cup
inscribed 'M. S. Carissimae suae conjugis Sophiae,
Quae obiit 1 mo. Feb. Anno Dom. 1750, Ætat. 31, et
sepulta jacet in hoc Templo, Dono Dedit C. Walter'
and with coat of arms, Azure a fesse dancette between
three eagles displayed Or; on a shield of pretence
quarterly 1 and 4, Argent a fesse between three lions'
heads rased gules, 2 and 3, Or, on a fesse gules three
- - - for Christopher Walter and his wife Sophia,
dau. of Col. John Howe, by his wife . . . dau. of White
Kennett, Bishop of Peterborough, hall-marked for
1751–2; a silver standing paten with same inscription, arms and hall-mark, and inscribed 'Staughton
Magna' on back; a silver alms dish as last; a
silver chalice, inscribed 'Presented to St. Andrew's
Church, Great Staughton, by the Members of Mrs.
Gibson's Working Guild, 1894' hall-marked for
1886–7; a silver standing paten hall-marked for
1909–10; a plated chalice with no inscription.
ADVOWSON
The Domesday Survey (1086)
mentions a priest and a church in
the Bishop of Lincoln's manor, (fn. 269)
and the church was in 1178 confirmed by Pope
Alexander III to the Abbey of Ramsey, (fn. 270) whose
protest against the bishop's tenure of this manor was
recorded in the Survey. There is also mention in the
Survey of a church in Perry that was represented
in 1492 by the chapel of Perry to which Walter Brey
then made a bequest. (fn. 271) Although the tenants of
Eustace the sheriff, under-tenant of the bishop in
1086, are not found in the bishop's manor, they appear
for a time to have retained rights in the church, as
in 1238 when Vitalis Engayne was licensed to have a
chapel (fn. 272) in the court of his manor house at Dillington
within the parish of Staughton church, the consent
of Sir Geoffrey de Mandevill, kt., the patron of
Great Staughton, as well as that of Ralph, rector
there, had first been obtained. (fn. 273) By 1279 the advowson was held with the manor, and Anselm de
Gyse was patron. (fn. 274) With the manor it was held
after Anselm again by Adam de Creting and his
successors, and frequent grants of it were made by
them with 2 acres of land in the manor appurtenant
to it. After the death of John de Creting disputes
resulted from grants made by his widow Hawise
(remarried to Geoffrey de Drayton) with her dower
third of that manor (q.v.). The advowson was
claimed in 1363 by Laurence de Pabenham as nephew
and heir of John de Offord, but his claim was disputed
on the ground that John de Offord had held only under
a grant made by Hawise, then already dead, and that the
advowson was appurtenant to the manor of Edmund
de Creting, of whose inheritance she had held it. (fn. 275)
The church was valued in 1291 at £26 13s. 4d. (fn. 276)
The foundation of the Charterhouse (1371) (fn. 277) was
followed by efforts on the part of the prior to secure
the right of advowson from the king. (fn. 278) In 1377
Richard II acquired 2 acres of land in Great Staughton
and the advowson of the church from Thomas de
Wells (of co. Norfolk), (fn. 279) and in 1381 granted the same
to the prior and convent of the Charterhouse. (fn. 280)
This appropriation was confirmed by the pope, but
on the ground that it had been obtained by false
suggestion on the part of Charterhouse, efforts were
made to oust the priory, which in 1393 had obtained
a decree in Chancery confirming its rights, (fn. 281) which
were again confirmed to it in 1394. In 1419 a dispute
between the perpetual vicar and the priory of Charterhouse was terminated by a release to the priory
of all personal actions. (fn. 282) The rectory, appropriated
to the Charterhouse, was valued at the Dissolution
at £38 yearly and the vicarage at £20, (fn. 283) and the
advowson was granted with the rectory as part of
the possessions of Charterhouse to Oliver Leader
in 1539, its subsequent history being given in that of
the rectory manor (q.v.) (fn. 284)
Tithes in Perry in Great Staughton were in 1771
conveyed by George Elliott and others to Robert
Godley senior; (fn. 285) and tithes in Great Staughton by
William Henry Chauncey and others to Henry
Galley in 1775; (fn. 286) and by John Hughes and his wife
Sarah to Bernard Baldwin in 1787. (fn. 287)
CHARITIES
The following charities constitute
the Great Staughton parish charities
and are regulated by a scheme of
the Charity Commissioners dated 23 May 1865:—
The Town Field Charity consists of an allotment of
24 a. 3 r. 37 pls. allotted on the inclosure of the
parish in or about 1808 to the minister and churchwardens, the rents to be applied to the poor in bread.
The Poor's Estate consists of certain pieces of land
at Agden Green in the parish containing 3 a. 1 r.
3 pls., allotted on the above-mentioned inclosure
to the minister and churchwardens and 4 cottages
at Agden Green, the rents to be applied in bread to
the poor.
The Rectory Dole. The endowment of this
charity consists of a rentcharge of the value of 4
bushels of wheat and 10 bushels of barley secured
upon an estate in the parish which was allotted in
lieu of the rectorial tithes. The value thereof
is distributed to the poor in bread.
Shudbolt's Gift. Edward Shudbolt, in or about
1806, gave £20 to the minister and churchwardens
the interest to be distributed among poor widows.
Rachael Johnson's Charity consists of an annuity
or annual sum of 18s. payable out of the net income of
the Poor's Estate aforesaid.
The Church Lands Charity consists of a piece of
land in the moors in the parish containing 1 r. 22 pls.
and a piece of land in Agden Green aforesaid containing 1 r. 2 pls. allotted on the aforesaid inclosure
to the minister and churchwardens.
The Bell Rope Charity. Certain pieces of land
situate in the Town Field at Great Staughton
containing 2 a. 1 r. 13 pls. were allotted upon the
aforesaid inclosure to the minister and churchwardens.
By an order of the Charity Commissioners dated
25 February 1896 the Church Land Charity and the
Bell Rope Charity were separated from the rest of
the Great Staughton parish charities and called the
Great Staughton Ecclesiastical Charity. The income
of the charity, amounting to about £4 per annum in
rent, is carried to the churchwardens' account and
applied towards church expenses and repairs to the
bellropes.
By a further order of the said Commissioners
dated 31 May 1907, the whole of the endowment of the
Great Staughton parish charities—except the annual
sums referred to in clause 8 of the scheme of 23
May 1865, and amounting in the aggregate to
£34 7s.—were determined educational and form the
endowment of the Great Staughton Educational
Foundation.
The above-mentioned sum of £34 7s. is distributed
by the vicar and churchwardens in bread to the poor
and doles to widows in accordance with the provisions
contained in the above-mentioned scheme.
Mrs. Sophia Ann Pope, by will proved in the
Principal Registry 22 December 1920, gave to the
vicar and churchwardens of St. Andrew's Church
the sum of £2,800 upon trust (1) as to £2,300 thereof
to be applied in providing and maintaining a nurse
whose services shall be available among and for the
benefit of the parishioners of Great Staughton, and
(2) as to the remaining £500 to maintain in good order
the Burial Ground in the parish.
The above-mentioned legacies are now represented
by sums of (1) £3,080 8s. 5d. and (2) £669 13s. 2d.
India 3 per cent. Stock held by the Official Trustees
and producing (1) £92 8s. 4d. and (2) £20 1s. 8d.
yearly in dividends which are applied in accordance
with the directions contained in the will of the
donor.
Emma Dinah Murfin, by will proved in the Principal Registry 20 March 1907, gave to the vicar and
churchwardens (1) a sum of £2,000 the income
to be distributed to the poor in coals, blankets
and bread, and (2) a sum of £200 for keeping in
repair and good condition the organ of the parish
church. The above-mentioned legacies are now
represented by (1) £1,483 14s. 8d. India 3 per cent.
Stock and £472 L.M. & S. Rly. 4 per cent. Pref.
Stock (1923) held by the Official Trustees producing
a total income of £63 7s. 8d. yearly in dividends
which are distributed to the poor in coals, and (2)
£189 L.M. & S. Rly. 4 per cent. Pref. Stock (1923)
held by the Official Trustees producing £7 11s. 2d.
yearly in dividends which are applied towards the
upkeep of the organ.
Duberly Memorial Fund. The endowment of
this charity, founded by declaration of trust dated
2 May 1918, consists of £400 2½ per cent. Consols
held by the Official Trustees. The income amounting
to £10 annually in dividends is applied by the vicar
and churchwardens in gifts of £1 every Christmas
to each of the deserving and necessitous poor persons
resident in the ecclesiastical parish of St. Andrew,
Great Staughton.