LITTLE PACKINGTON
Acreage: 1,095.
Population: 1911, 108; 1921, 97; 1931, 86.
The parish of Little Packington or Packington
Piggott, still appropriately described as 'a most retired
district', is well wooded and contains much beautiful
rural scenery. The soil is fertile and watered by the River
Blythe. There is no village, but only a few scattered
farms and cottages with a rectory and a small church.
The Whitacre and Hampton line of the London
Midland and Scottish Railway, opened on 12 August
1839 and one of the oldest parts of the system, but now
almost disused, passes through the parish. Two mills
are mentioned in 1583, (fn. 1) but none on any other occasion.
The parish was inclosed in 1824 under the same Act
as Bickenhill (q.v.).
The farm-house north of the church has a 17thcentury timber-framed barn. Two thatched cottages
on the east side of the road, 3/8 mile to the north, have
17th-century framing in the walls, and another
thatched cottage on the same road farther north has
walls of mud. Hermitage Farm, 1½ miles north-east of
the church, is an early-18th-century brick house on a
large site enclosed by the remains of a rectangular moat.
South-east of the house within the moat are the foundations of a large rectangular building, probably medieval,
about 110 ft. long, which had walls of mud. A small
portion of the north-east angle stands a few feet higher,
adopted for other purposes.
MANOR
No mention of Little Packington occurs
in Domesday Book, but it was early attached
to the honor of Winchester and in 1235
Roger de Quency, Earl of Winchester, held a quarterfee in PACKINGTON PIGOTT. (fn. 2) After the death
of Earl Roger the overlordship seems to have been
divided, as in 1375 the quarter-fee was held by Sir
Henry de Beaumont, (fn. 3) representative of Roger's younger
daughter, (fn. 4) as it was by his son and namesake who died
in 1413. (fn. 5) But in 1431 the manor was held of Lord
Ferrers of Groby, (fn. 6) representing Roger's elder daughter. (fn. 7)
Through his granddaughter it descended (fn. 8) to Henry,
Marquess of Dorset and later Duke of Suffolk, (fn. 9) on
whose attainder in 1553 the overlordship was evidently
retained by the Crown, as in 1584 the manor was held
of the queen as of her manor of East Greenwich. (fn. 10)
The first known tenant of the manor is said to have
been Robert de Ceraso, in the time of Henry I, whose
grandson and heir Nicholas son of Richard de Torpe
released his rights therein to William son of Gilbert son
of Picot, (fn. 11) presumably about 1219, in which year
William Picot occurs as a justice for gaol delivery in
the county. (fn. 12) The manor remained in his family until
the middle of the reign of Henry III, when it was
divided among three daughters. Two parts went to the
families of Murdac and Ireys, and the third to Nicholas
Picot, who is alleged to have alienated it to Gilbert
Petemon. (fn. 13) Eventually Sir Henry Murdac became the
principal co-parcener, to whom the others did homage. (fn. 14)
In 1268 he granted all his lands in the parish to his son,
Sir William Murdac and his wife Isoult. (fn. 15) Their
daughter and eventual heir Alice married Sir Thomas
de Boyville of Stoke Aston, Leics., (fn. 16) and in 1288
Thomas de Boyville and Alice, Alexander Piggott and
Geoffrey le Ireys were joint lords of the manor of Packington Pigot, where they were said to have inclosed an
excessive proportion of the waste. (fn. 17) Sir Thomas de
Boyville's grandson, also Sir Thomas, died in 1402,
leaving a son John, a minor. (fn. 18) The custody of Boyville's
lands was granted in 1402 to Richard Stanhope, but
in 1405 this order was revoked, the lands there being
described as one-third of the manor of Packington
Pigott called 'Boyvyles part'. (fn. 19) John Boyville died in
1468 and left three daughters, of whom Elizabeth, the
eldest and wife of John Cockayne, received the lands
in Little Packington. (fn. 20) Her son and heir was Edmund
Cockayne, of Hatley Cockayne, Beds.; his son Humphrey sold the inheritance, henceforth treated as a complete manor, late in the reign of Henry VII to Sir
Robert Brudenell of Dene, Northants. (fn. 21) On the death
of Sir Robert in 1531 his son Sir Thomas succeeded. (fn. 22)
He died in 1549 and his son Sir Edmund in 1583 conveyed the estate to his brother Sir Robert, (fn. 23) whose son
Thomas in 1606 sold it to Sir Edward Brabazon of
Nether Whitacre. (fn. 24) Sir Edward was created Baron
Ardee in 1616 and died in 1625. His son William, Earl
of Meath, granted the manor to his brother Anthony
Brabazon in 1634. (fn. 25) Anthony died in 1636 and in
1653 his son Edward sold the manor to Thomas Fisher, (fn. 26)
and it has since generally followed the descent of Great
Packington (q.v.), though in the second half of the
19th century the Earl of Stamford was said to be lord
of the manor. (fn. 27) The Earl of Aylesford now holds the
lordship, and is the sole landowner in the parish.
Boyville. Gules a fesse between three saltires argent.
Brudenell. Argent a cheveron gules between three hats azure lined ermine.
Thomas Ireys held one-third of the manor (see
above) in 1327 (fn. 28) and 1332, (fn. 29) and transferred it in 1339
to Philip de Aylestone and Katherine his wife, who was
probably daughter of Thomas Ireys. (fn. 30) In 1376 Sir
William de Clinton purchased one-third of the manor
from John Walters, (fn. 31) whether of the Aylestone or
Petemon descent is unknown. Sir William died in
1431, (fn. 32) and was succeeded by his son John, who died
in 1464, holding one-third of the manor, here called
'Litilpakenton'. (fn. 33) His son John settled it on his wife
Anne and died in 1488, (fn. 34) and his grandson Thomas,
Lord Clinton, died in 1515, leaving his five-year-old
son Edward as heir; (fn. 35) but the manor was settled on his
widow, Joan, who was still holder of it in 1524. (fn. 36)
In 1530 Thomas, Marquess of Dorset, died seised of the
manor, (fn. 37) presumably as overlord and guardian of the
heir. His rights passed to Henry, Duke of Suffolk, (fn. 38)
on whose attainder in 1553 his estates escheated to
the Crown. In 1569 Queen Elizabeth restored Little
Packington to Edward, Lord Clinton, then Earl of
Lincoln. (fn. 39) He sold it to Sampson Baker in 1573, (fn. 40)
and on the death of the latter in 1584 his nephew
Humphrey Baker succeeded. (fn. 41) Humphrey sold the
land in 1591 to Robert Brudenell, thus effecting a
reunion with the section inherited by Henry Murdac
three centuries earlier. (fn. 42) Since then they have not
been separated.
The third division of the manor seems to have come
into the hands of the overlords and to have been granted
to Edward Grey, second son of Edward Grey, Lord
Ferrers, as Edward, then Viscount Lisle, died in July 1492,
seised of a manor of Packington
Pigott, (fn. 43) more accurately described on the death of his son
John in September 1504 as onethird of the manor. (fn. 44) The latter's
heir was a posthumous daughter,
Elizabeth. She died without
issue in 1519, (fn. 45) and this section
appears to have been united to
the second by Thomas, Marquess of Dorset.
Grey. Barry argent and azure with three roundels gules in the chief.
A hermitage is said to have been built in this parish
by Hemeric, incumbent at the time when Robert
de Ceraso was lord of the manor. (fn. 46) It was given by
Gilbert Picot to the Prior and Convent of Worcester;
his son William increased the estate and it was valued
at £1 14s. in 1291. (fn. 47) At the Dissolution it was transferred to the Dean and Chapter of Worcester. (fn. 48) In
1650 the estate consisted of 74 acres valued at £46. (fn. 49)
The priories of Arbury and Maxstoke also had small
possessions here, which were granted to Charles, Duke
of Suffolk, in 1538. (fn. 50)
CHURCH
The parish church of ST. BARTHOLOMEW is a simple structure
consisting of a chancel with a modern
north vestry, nave with a west bell-cote, and a modern
south porch.
The nave is of mid-12th-century origin. The chancel
was built, probably as an addition, late in the 13th
century. The lower timbering of the bell-turret was
constructed late in the 15th century, but the upper
part is modern, as are the roofs.
The chancel (about 19½ ft. by 15½ ft.) has a late13th-century east window of three trefoiled pointed
lights and plain intersecting tracery in the two-centred
head. In each side-wall is a single trefoiled light with a
trefoil piercing in a two-centred head; both are modern
or totally restored. West of the northern is a modern
doorway to the vestry. The walls are of red sandstone
ashlar; the east wall is gabled and at the angles are
clasping buttresses.
The chancel arch is modern.
The nave (44 ft. by 18 ft.) has 12th-century walls
of red sandstone rough ashlar, about 2 ft. 8 in. thick,
with original corbels below the eaves course once carved
with masks and faces. The original north and south
doorways are of one square order with grooved and
chamfered imposts and round arches with hood-moulds.
The north doorway has its imposts carved with (east) a
monster and (west) faint scroll ornament, and the hoodmould has some traces of diaper ornament on the
vertical face. The south has zingzag ornament on the
imposts, and the hood-mould has pyramidal paterae at
3-in. intervals. East of this doorway is a small 12thcentury round-headed light. In the north wall are three
windows; the first near the east end is a 15th-century
insertion of two trefoiled lights under a square head
with a shouldered lintel inside. The second is similar
but restored, and the third is a modern single light.
In the south wall the easternmost is of three trefoiled
pointed lights and tracery in a two-centred head with
a chamfered rear-arch; the mullions and tracery are
modern, but the jambs and arch are probably of the
late 13th century. The westernmost is modern like
that opposite.
Plan of Little Packington Church
The west window is of three trefoiled lights and
vertical tracery in a two-centred head, with a chamfered rear-arch. The outer order of the head is of red
sandstone and may be earlier, but the rest, of a yellowcream stone, is of the 15th century. The wall is of red
sandstone squared rubble, but the gable-head is of
modern timber-framing. At the angles are diagonal
buttresses. Within the walls at the west end is 15thcentury framing supporting the bell-turret. It has two
cross-trusses with posts rising from the floor. In the east
truss the posts have been renewed, but the curved
braces forming a nearly pointed arch, the framing in
the spandrels, and the tie-beam appear to be ancient.
The west truss has old posts, curved braces and, in the
spandrels, short struts with foiled piercings. The
framing above the tie-beams with cross-braces, &c., is
modern, also the turret above the roof, which has
tile-hung sides and pyramidal roof.
The modern south porch is of oak framing with
open sides.
The east window contains some ancient glass, including a medieval nimbed head of a female saint (the
face modern), a human hand, &c. In the tracery are
17th-century oval cartouches of arms; there are also
later shields of Aylesford and of Beilby Porteus, D.D.,
Bishop of London, 1788.
The font is probably of the 16th century; it has a
cup-shaped bowl on a plain baluster stem: in the bowl
are repairs where the former staples for the lid existed.
The pulpit has three sides of an octagon, of 17thcentury panelling in two tiers with fluted styles, raised
middle mouldings, and moulded cornice.
On the south wall of the chancel is some Elizabethan
moulded panelling, reset sideways. Also on the north
wall of the chancel and south wall of the nave some
17th-century panelling reset, partly from old pews.
Another piece is made up into a front desk to the pews
west of the south doorway.
Set in the blocking of the north doorway is a 13thcentury coffin-lid with a flowered cross.
The communion plate includes a silver chalice with
a cover bearing the date 1606, and a flagon presented in
1784.
The registers begin in 1628.
There are three bells: (1) inscribed s. ANNA in Lombardic capitals, probably early 16th century, by Newcombe of Leicester; (2) from the same foundry c. 1595,
inscribed backwards 'IN THE NAME OF GOD'; (3) with
part of the alphabet backwards, c. 1600, also by a
Newcombe. (fn. 51)
ADVOWSON
The advowson of the church was
given by Sir Gilbert Picot to the
Prior and Convent of Worcester. (fn. 52)
In 1535 it was still their property, and was valued at
£3 per annum; (fn. 53) but the rectory was never impropriated to the priory. In 1542 the advowson was
granted to the newly established Dean and Chapter of
Worcester, (fn. 54) who still held it in 1757. (fn. 55) It was subsequently acquired by the Earl of Aylesford, ancestor
of the present holder. The living was united with that
of Great Packington on 1 August 1860. (fn. 56)
CHARITIES
George Shakespear by will dated
30 May 1719 gave to the churchwardens and overseers £10 to be laid
out in land or secured, in order to lay out 10s. in bread
yearly to the poor of Little Packington. The yearly
payment of 10s. is now secured on land belonging to
Lord Aylesford.
The Rev. John Jacques by will proved 23 May 1800
gave £150 and directed that out of the interest of £6
per annum 50s. yearly should be paid to a schoolmistress to teach ten of the poorest children of the
parish to read and say the Catechism in the church and
the remaining £3 10s. should be laid out in providing
comfortable clothing for the most necessitous poor of
the parish. The endowment is now represented by
Stock producing £11 7s. 8d. annually in dividends,
of which £4 14s. 10d. is applied to educational purposes and the remainder distributed to the poor.