FULMER
Folemere (xiii cent.); Fouwelemere, Foulmere
(xiv cent.).
Fulmer is a quiet rural parish, covering 1,370
acres, of which 138 acres are arable land, 537 permanent grass and 366 woods and plantations. (fn. 1) In
1895 524 acres were included in the civil parish of
Gerrard's Cross, which was created out of the parishes
of Chalfont St. Peter, Fulmer, Iver, Langley Marish
and Upton-cum-Chalvey. (fn. 2) The highest point is
276 ft. above the ordnance datum in the north of the
parish, the lowest 125 ft. in the south. The soil is
light, the subsoil gravel; the chief crops are oats,
wheat, barley and grass. The little village of Fulmer
lies in a hollow amid picturesque surroundings. The
mere or lake from which it derives its name was in
the 19th century a swamp laid out for the cultivation
of water-cress. (fn. 3) At the entrance of the village, opposite
Fulmer House, stands Fulmer Place, the seat of
Admiral Lord John Hay. The church is close
by, with its graveyard facing the school and blacksmith's forge. Next to it is the Black Horse Inn.
A footpath on the other side of the church leads
across the meadows to Fernacres, the property of
Mr. Frederick Burt. The village street runs south
of the church. Adjoining the cottages on the east
side of it is the public well given in 1844 by
John Kaye, and beyond them is the plain rectoryhouse. To the north-west of it stands Fulmer Hall,
overlooking Stoke Common and Pickeridge Farm
and wood.
Before the Inclosure Act of 1865 (fn. 4) Fulmer contained some 300 acres of common land, but this is
now reduced to a small public recreation ground in
the village.
MANOR
There is no mention of Fulmer in
the Domesday Survey. It may, however, be identified with the 6 hides
3 virgate; in Datchet which were held before the
Conquest by Siward, man of Earl Harold. (fn. 5) This
land was included in the manor of 13½ hides held in
Datchet in 1086 by Giles de Pinkney. (fn. 6) In the 13th
century Fulmer is named as forming one fee with
Datchet, (fn. 7) and in 1254 for the first time is termed
FULMER MANOR. (fn. 8) The overlordship follows the
same descent as Datchet Manor (q.v.) until 1472,
when the latter was retained by the king. (fn. 9) From
this time Fulmer appears to have been held in chief
by knight service, (fn. 10) last mentioned in 1639, when
Anne, widow of Sir Marmaduke Darrell, was charged
with finding a lance for the manors of Missenden and
Fulmer. (fn. 11)
The descent of Fulmer Manor is the same as that
of Datchet (fn. 12) until 1331, when it was not restored to
Edmund de Pinkney, (fn. 13) but granted by the king to
William Montagu, (fn. 14) who conveyed it in 1335 to
John de Moleyns. (fn. 15) From this date the descent of
the manor corresponds with that of Stoke Poges (fn. 16)
until it was sold by Richard Branthwaite before
1594 (fn. 17) to Sir Marmaduke
Darrell. (fn. 18) In 1607 a Crown
grant of Fulmer Manor was
made to Sir Marmaduke Darrell, probably for assurance of
title. (fn. 19) On his death in March
1631–2 (fn. 20) he was succeeded
by his son Sir Sampson Darrell, kt., (fn. 21) who died three
years later leaving a son and
heir Marmaduke, aged fourteen. (fn. 22) He took the oath
of allegiance in 1638 (fn. 23) and
in 1678 united with his wife
Katherine (fn. 24) and their son
Marmaduke in conveying Fulmer Manor to George
Castle and Richard Jones. (fn. 25) It came soon afterwards
into the possession of Judge Jeffreys. (fn. 26) After the
death of his son John in
1702 (fn. 27) the manor became the
right of John's sisters and
co-heirs, (fn. 28) Mary Dive and
Margaret Stringer. (fn. 29) Mary's
portion was included in the
sale to the Earl of Portland
in 1706 and follows the same
descent as Bulstrode Park in
Hedgerley. (fn. 30) (q.v.). Sir John
William Ramsden, bart., is
lord of the manor in Fulmer
at the present time.
Fulmer Place
Darrell. Azure a lion or with a crown gules.
Margaret Stringer's portion
in Fulmer Manor was conveyed in 1707 to Thomas
Pickering. (fn. 31) In 1711 a warranty against all likely claimants from the Jeffreys' descendants was secured by
Richard Ronnen. (fn. 32) His property corresponds to the large
estate in Fulmer which was
owned during the first half of
the 18th century by Richard
Eskrigge, Sheriff of Buckinghamshire in 1742. (fn. 33) He built Fulmer Place on
the site of the manor-house of the Darrells. (fn. 34) His
daughter Elizabeth married William Owen and the
estate descended to their son Richard, father of the
great naturalist Sir Richard
Owen. (fn. 35) Richard Owen sold
a portion of it, including
Fulmer Place, on the expiration of a lease to William
Beckwith in 1796, to William
Froggatt. (fn. 36) After his death in
1809 (fn. 37) this property passed
through several hands and
was purchased about 1876
by Admiral Lord John Hay, (fn. 38)
who is the present owner.
Willoughby, baronet. Sable a cross engrailed or, quartered with Gules a cross moline argent all within a border gobony argent and gules.
The remaining portion of
Richard Eskrigge's estate with
Fulmer Grove was purchased
by Richard Calvert (fn. 39) about
1796. (fn. 40) He sold it in 1820
to John Kaye, who rebuilt the house in 1833. (fn. 41)
John Kaye was Sheriff of Buckinghamshire in 1849
and died at Fulmer in 1861. (fn. 42)
His property came into the
possession of Sir John Pollard
Willoughby, bart., who died
at Fulmer Grove in 1866. (fn. 43)
His widow, Lady Willoughby,
owned Fulmer Grove, or
Hall, (fn. 44) as it is now more
usually called, until her death
in 1910, when she was succeeded by her son Sir John
Christopher Willoughby, bart.
A property in Fulmer, including a messuage and land
called the Warren with 150
acres of woodland, the Park
(40 acres), and Brewhouse
meadow, was alienated from
the manor by Marmaduke
Darrell in 1655 to Sir William
Bowyer. He sold it in 1676
to Henry Cave, who afterwards
settled it in jointure on his son
Henry, his wife and their issue.
In 1683 the Caves, father and
son, filed a bill in Chancery
against Anne, widow of James Harrington, who in
1681 (but not previously) had claimed this property
in virtue of an agreement made in 1652 with her
brother, Marmaduke Darrell. (fn. 45)
The usual manorial court was held at Fulmer (fn. 46)
every three weeks. (fn. 47) The view of frankpledge granted
to John de Moleyns in 1338 (fn. 48) was held twice a
year. (fn. 49) Frequent grants of the right of free warren
were made to successive owners during the 13th and
14th centuries. (fn. 50) Other rights granted to John de
Moleyns in 1337 were the return and execution of
writs, the execution of malefactors and the assize of
bread and ale. (fn. 51) All manorial rights in Fulmer as
held by John de Moleyns 'or any other person' were
included in the grant to Sir Marmaduke Darrell in
1607. (fn. 52)
In 1332 Edmund de Pinkney held some tenements in Fulmer of the manor of Temple Bulstrode
in Hedgerley by service of 6s. and a pound of wax
yearly and suit of court every three weeks. (fn. 53)
CHURCH
The church of ST. JAMES is a small
building consisting of chancel, nave, north
porch, south aisle, and west tower.
The whole church was rebuilt by Sir Marmaduke
Darrell in 1610. The present nave, west tower and
porch are of this date, but the chancel, south aisle
and vestry were built between 1877 and 1884.
The walling is of brick with plaster and stone
dressings. The roofs are covered with tiles.
In the north wall of the nave are two early 17th-century square-headed windows, the eastern of which
is of three pointed lights and has four medallions of
original glass depicting allegorical subjects. The
western window is of two similar lights, and between
them is the north doorway, which has an oak frame
and a mediaeval door with original strap hinges probably re-used from the earlier church. The south
arcade of three bays is modern and the pointed tower
arch is covered with plaster. The tower is of three
stages with angle buttresses and an embattled parapet;
there are pointed windows in the west wall of the
first and second stages, and the bell-chamber windows
are each of two pointed lights. The gabled north
porch has an outer archway with a depressed head
and an original moulded and battened door. The
nave roof dates probably from the early 17th century
and has a plastered ceiling following the line of the
collar beams.
Fulmer Church from the North-west
In a recess in the chancel is the tomb of Sir Marmaduke Darrell, kt. (d. 1631), lord of the manor of
Fulmer and 'founder of this church,' who served in
the household of Queen Elizabeth, and was afterwards
cofferer to James I and Charles I. The monument also
commemorates Anne his first wife, daughter of John
Lennard of 'Knol' in Kent, and Mary their daughter,
wife of Sir Robert Gorges, kt. On the tomb are the
recumbent effigies of the knight, in plate armour, and
his wife, and in front are kneeling figures, probably
of his two sons with their wives and children. Above
the recess are allegorical figures and a shield of
arms, on either side of which is a funeral helm. The
colouring and gilding are modern.
There is a ring of six bells: the treble, inscribed
in black letter 'Sancta Maria ora pro nobis,' is probably by John Sanders, about 1540; the second is by
Thomas Lester, 1741; the third and tenor by John
Warner & Sons, 1884; the fourth and fifth are by
Richard Eldridge, 1617, and are inscribed in black letter
'Lord plead my cause' and 'Our hope is in the Lord.'
The plate consists of a chalice and paten of the early
18th century and modern flagon and almsdish.
The registers begin in 1688.
ADVOWSON
In 1291 Fulmer was a chapelry
annexed to Datchet Church. (fn. 54) It
was made a parochial church and
rectory and endowed with the great tithes of Fulmer
by the Dean and Canons of Windsor in 1553. (fn. 55) Its
valuation in 1786 was £61 13s. (fn. 56) The descent of
the advowson is the same as that of Datchet (q.v.)
until 1905, (fn. 57) when it passed from the Dean and
Canons of Windsor to the Bishop of Oxford. (fn. 58)
CHARITIES
The charity of Sir Marmaduke
Darrell, kt., cofferer of the Royal
Household, founded by deed 6 November 1629, consists of an annuity of £26 4s.
issuing out of certain lands in the parishes of Iver and
Langley Marish, of which £5 was to be paid to the
incumbent and churchwardens, to be employed towards the restoration of the parish church and
towards the provision of books and ornaments, or
putting forth apprentices or for marriage portions,
£20 12s. for the distribution of bread to poor householders, and 12s. in the purchase of three pairs of
gloves to be presented to the Dean of the Free
Chapel of St. George, Windsor, to the senior resident
canon and to the incumbent for their supervision.
The gloves are no longer presented, the income
being now applied in the distribution of bread, in
the supply of books for church use and in a donation
to the coal club. Under the head of 'Bread Money'
a further sum of £2 a year is paid out of the Fernacres estate and distributed at Christmas.
In 1837 Ann Champnes, by her will, bequeathed
a sum of money, now represented by £160 12s. 10d.
consols, the income, amounting to £4 0s. 4d., to be
applied annually in clothes for eight girls attending
Sunday school.
The sum of stock is held by the official trustees,
who also hold a sum of £333 6s. 8d. consols, producing £8 6s. 8d. yearly, in trust for Kaye's Educational Foundation, and £666 13s. 4d. consols, producing £16 13s. 4d. yearly, applicable in the
distribution of coals, bread and money. These trust
funds were derived under codicils to the will of John
Kaye, proved in 1861.