DODDENHAM
Dodeham (xi cent.); Dudeham, Doddeham (xiii
cent.); Dodnam, Douddenham (xvi cent.).
This parish lies on the Herefordshire boundary of
the county, on the road from Bromyard to Worcester. It is bounded on the west and south by
the River Teme. The ground is undulating and
picturesque, the greatest heights, about 400 ft., being
reached at Ankerdine Hill and at Hagborough Farm
in the north-west; the land on the banks of the Teme
is liable to floods. The village is a mile north-east of
Knightwick station on the Worcester and Bromyard
branch of the Great Western railway. A road to
Martley runs north through the parish from the
Bromyard and Worcester road, the latter entering the
parish at Knightsford Bridge, a lattice-girder structure
crossing the Teme in two spans and connecting
Doddenham with Knightwick. Near this bridge is
St. Mary's Church, built in 1856 to replace the old
church of St. Andrew, now entirely removed, and
described by Lewis, (fn. 1) writing in 1849, as very small
and in bad repair, and by Noake (fn. 2) in 1868 as a 'rude
structure.' The side of the older church is in the
village of Doddenham, to the west of Doddenham
Hall, on the north side of the Worcester and Bromyard road, a little over a mile to the east of Knightsford Bridge.
Doddenham Hall is a brick structure of little
interest, and the cottages here are few and scattered,
the main settlement being at Knightsford Bridge.
Some half-timber work, much altered and modernized,
remains here, the most interesting example of which is
the Talbot Inn, a late 16th-century building two
stories in height with an attic, refronted with brick
in the 18th century. An original chimney stack,
with brick shafts of the intersecting diagonal plan,
still survives.
Ankerdine 'lieth a mile west, and a little by north
from Dodenham chapel; it is the furthermost limits
of the parish and of Worcestershire,' (fn. 3) and Ankerdine
Hill commands very beautiful views. On the side of
the hill looking down the Teme valley is the County
Tuberculosis Sanatorium.
Habington wrote: 'Doddenham hath throughout
the village a fowle combersom stony waye leavinge on
the one syde grounds as bad as any, and on the other
pastures comparinge with the best of the realme.' (fn. 4)
The soil is various, some of it being stiff loam and
some marl and clay; the subsoil is Keuper Marl.
The parish has an area of 898 acres of land and
10 acres covered by water, rather less than twothirds being permanent grass, while, of the remainder, the acreage of arable is about double that
of woods and plantations. (fn. 5) The chief crops grown
are fruit, hops and cereals.
Almshouses were erected here in 1890 by Mr. John
Francis Greswolde-Williams and endowed for six
persons.
Among place-names have been found Smelham,
Lefdiacre, Heselfurlong, Culverfurlong, (fn. 6) Wiggebiesbroc, (fn. 7) Brockherdham, (fn. 8) Wyteburnehalle, Bernesfurlong,
Wonderfurlong (fn. 9) (xiii cent.); Wickfeild, Veney Hill (fn. 10)
(xvii cent.).
MANORS
At the date of the Domesday Survey
Gilbert Fitz Turold held DODDENHAM, which had been previously held
by Celmar. (fn. 11) Doddenham passed in the same way
as Hanley William (q.v.) to the Earls of Gloucester
and was held in 1210–12 of the honour of Gloucester. (fn. 12) It was included among the knights' fees
belonging to the earldom as late as 1296. (fn. 13)
Thomas Delamare in 1210–12 and William
Delamare a little later held Doddenham apparently
as mesne lords between the Earls of Gloucester and
the Mans family. (fn. 14) The heirs of William Delamare
were said to be holding this mesne lordship in
1296. (fn. 15)
Simon de Mans, lord of Doddenham, granted
land there to the priory of Worcester (fn. 16) towards the
end of the 12th century. (fn. 17) Simon was succeeded by
a son Walter, whose son William granted lands to
the priory in 1231 and confirmed the grants of Simon
his grandfather and William his uncle. (fn. 18) The estate
thus acquired by the priory seems afterwards to have
been the principal manor of Doddenham, and the
prior was returned about this time as holding half a
fee in Doddenham. (fn. 19) The priory remained in possession of this manor until
the Dissolution, (fn. 20) when it was
granted to the Dean and
Chapter of Worcester, (fn. 21) to
whom it was confirmed in
1608–9. (fn. 22) It was sold by
the Parliamentary trustees in
1649 to Henry Pitt of London, (fn. 23) but was restored to the
dean and chapter at the Restoration (fn. 24) and confirmed to
them in 1692. (fn. 25) With most
of the rest of the dean and
chapter's estates it was taken
over in 1859 by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, (fn. 26) who are
now lords of the manor.
Priory of Worcester. The arms of the bishopric with the difference of a quarter azure charged with the figures of Our Lady with the Child or.
The part of the manor retained by the Mans family passed on the death of
William de Mans about the middle of the 13th
century to his sisters, Avice wife of Bartholomew
Marshal, and — — wife of Walter Mapnor. (fn. 27) The
Marshals seem to have been seated at Martley,
William Marshal of Martley being witness to a deed
of William de Mans. (fn. 28) In another undated charter
William Marshal of Holyene is mentioned. (fn. 29) The
descent of the Marshals' estates is obscure, (fn. 30) but they
seem to have passed before 1431 to John Staple,
described as of Martley. (fn. 31) Walter Staple appears to
have been holding land in Doddenham in 1460, (fn. 32)
but had died before 1486, when the marriage of his
daughter and heir Eleanor was the subject of a suit
brought by the Prior of Worcester against John
Washbourne of Wichenford and John Holand of
Mathon. They had carried off the heir against the
will of the prior, who claimed that Walter owed
him homage, fealty and scutage for land held of his
manor of Ankerdine. The defence was that it was held
of the Prior of Great Malvern as of that prior's manor
of Doddenham, but the Prior of Worcester recovered
damages. (fn. 33) Eleanor married John Washbourne's
son Robert, (fn. 34) and in 1512 the manor of Doddenham
was held by her second husband, Arnold Gower, (fn. 35)
in her right. In 1537 Arnold Gower and Eleanor
granted the reversion of the manor after their deaths to
John Gower of London for payment of certain sums
to Eleanor's younger children and grandchildren. (fn. 36)
Eleanor died in April 1542 (fn. 37) and Arnold Gower on
20 January 1543. (fn. 38) John Gower had the custody of
the manor granted to him in November following, (fn. 39)
and in 1546 conveyed it to Eleanor's grandson and
heir, Anthony Washbourne. (fn. 40) The manor then
descended with Wichenford (fn. 41) until 1631, when John
Washbourne of Wichenford settled his property in
Doddenham on Thomas, his son by his second wife
Eleanor. (fn. 42) In 1658 Thomas seems to have sold part
of this property to Rowland Berkeley. (fn. 43) The rest
probably came to his eldest son Samuel, who in 1690–1
sold land there to Edward Underhill and in 1696–7
to Dr. William Johnson. (fn. 44)
Gower. Azure a cheveron between three wolve's heads razed or.
Washbourne. Argent a fesse between six martlets gules with three cinqfoils argent on the fesse.
The part of Doddenham which passed to Walter
Mapnor may have descended with Knightwick (fn. 45) and
have been given with it by Walter or Lucy Mapnor
to the priory of Great Malvern. (fn. 46) The prior was in
possession of a manor of Doddenham in 1486 of
which the Staples' estate was said to be held, (fn. 47) and at
the Dissolution the priory had rents of assize at
Doddenham. (fn. 48) The rents and services of one Staple
and Richard Tellam at Doddenham were granted as
a late possession of Great Malvern Priory in 1544 to
Thomas Sheldon. (fn. 49) This property probably afterwards passed to John Hall, of whom the Washbournes'
manor was said in 1570 to be held. (fn. 50) This was
probably the estate afterwards held with Knightwick
by the Clents. Simon Clent died seised of it on
4 January 1598, when he was succeeded by his
nephew John Clent, son of his eldest brother
William, who had livery of it on 12 July 1617. (fn. 51)
The manor of ANKERDINE (Queredham,
Ancredham, xiii cent.) was probably included in 1086
in the manor of Doddenham. Ankerdine was included among the knights' fees held of the earldom of
Gloucester in 1296. (fn. 52)
A family named Ankerdine (Ancredham) held land,
and possibly a manor, here in the 13th century.
The priory of Worcester exchanged lands at Doddenham with Adam, lord of Ankerdine, giving him lands
near his house at Ankerdine which had been granted
to the monks by their benefactors the Mans. (fn. 53)
Adam de Ankerdine granted to the priory other
lands, (fn. 54) and witnessed deeds, undated. (fn. 55) Robert son
of Martin de Ankerdine gave to the priory lands and
rent, (fn. 56) as did Gilbert son of Walter de Ankerdine,
these grants being confirmed by William son of Walter
de Mans. (fn. 57) John de Ankerdine granted land to the
priory in 1276–7. (fn. 58) Margery de Ankerdine contributed to the subsidy about 1280. (fn. 59) Walter de Ankerdine is mentioned as a juror in 1304 (fn. 60) and 1308, (fn. 61)
and in 1317 granted a messuage, land and rent in
Doddenham and Ankerdine to the priory of Worcester in free alms. (fn. 62) Habington writes that this
'was the last of Ancerdham's manors in Doddenham,'
because in 1393–4 the priory of Worcester leased
the manor of Doddenham and Ankerdine. (fn. 63) The
monks of Worcester seem to have henceforth held
the two manors, which were sometimes regarded as
one. (fn. 64)
The mill of Doddenham was entered in the
Domesday Survey as worth 12s. (fn. 65) It was granted in
1221 by William de Mans to John son of Adam. (fn. 66)
In 1231 it was acquired by the Prior of Worcester, (fn. 67)
who leased it in 1235 to Henry Drugel for a rent of
37s. 2d. (fn. 68) The priory accounts for 1350 contain an
entry of 16s. a year from the mill. (fn. 69)
CHURCH
The church of ST. MARY, erected in
1856 at Knightsford Bridge, consists of
a chancel, north vestry, nave, north
porch, and a western bellcote. The design is in the
'early decorated' style, and the walls are of polygonal
sandstone rubble with wrought stone dressings, the
roofs being covered with tiles. The fittings are all
modern, with the exception of the plain circular tut
font, which is of the 12th century. In the porch is
preserved a mediaeval iron-bound chest of elm with
three locks.
The plate in use includes the old plate of Knightwick, under which parish it has been described.
The registers before 1812 are as follows: (i) all
entries 1538 to 1695, with a break between 1646
and 1674, and only fragmentary entries from 1681
to 1695; (ii) baptisms 1695 to 1779, marriages
1698 to 1751; (iii) marriages 1760 to 1809. From
1781 the entries of baptisms and burials are kept
with the Knightwick registers.
ADVOWSON
The descent of the advowson of
Doddenham has always been the
same as that of Knightwick, (fn. 70) the
livings having been united from early times. (fn. 71)
In 1535 Martley Church received an annual
pension of 2s. 4d. from Doddenham chapel. (fn. 72) In
Habington's day Doddenham and Knightwick had no
right of burial, but buried at Martley. (fn. 73)
Messuages for maintaining lights in Doddenham
Church were granted to William Dalby in 1560. (fn. 74)
CHARITIES
Elizabeth Richards— as stated on
the church table—gave £20 for the
poor. A sum of £20 6s. 1d. consols,
producing 10s. a year, is held by the official trustees
in respect of this charity.
The other gifts mentioned in the same table appear
to have been expended.
A sum of £2 10s. a year payable out of property
known as Gaines Estate in Whitbourne, co. Hereford,
is also distributed among the poor under the title
of John Freeman's charity, together with a sum of
£1 5s. in respect of the poor's land.
For the charities of John Francis GreswoldeWilliams see under the parish of Knightwick. (fn. 75)