BRAY with the BOROUGH OF MAIDENHEAD
The parish of Bray, containing 7,820 acres, of
which 2,208 are arable land, 4,690 under permanent
grass and 492 woodland, (fn. 1) lies between Maidenhead
and Windsor. The subsoil is Reading and London
clay, but Maidenhead stands on the chalk. The
village of Bray is close to the river, and the road which
connects it with the main road between Maidenhead
and Windsor on entering the village forms a rough
triangle at the apex of which stands St. Michael's
Church. The old chantry chapel may still be seen
in the churchyard, at the south-east corner of which
is a 15th-century gate-house, probably a chantryhouse. The houses which compose the village have
been largely modernized, but some examples of halftimber work remain, chief among which are the
Crown and Hind's Head Inns, both much altered
and the latter cased with brick.
Jesus Hospital, founded in 1627, is at the southern
end of the village just beyond the fork of the road.
The buildings contain forty almshouses grouped
round a large quadrangle measuring 162 ft. 3 in.
by 142 ft. They are of red brick with stone dressings and tiled roofs. Each house contains one room
lighted from each side by a square-headed two-light
window, and between every two rooms is a common
vestibule entered from the quadrangle and lighted by
a gabled dormer window. At the back each room
has a separate doorway. Over the entrance, which
is in the middle of the eastern range, fronting upon
the road, there is an upper floor with an attic in the
roof. The entrance doorway has a four-centred head
under a square containing mould and label, and above
it, between the windows lighting the large room on the
first floor, is a segmental-headed niche in which is a
figure of William Goddard, sheltered by a square hood.
Let into the wall below the niche, immediately over
the central doorway, is a stone tablet inscribed, 'Jesus
Hospitall Founded in the year 1627 of the sole
foundacon of William Goddard Esq. wherein he hath
provided for the poore people for ever and lefte it to
the sole care and government of the righte Worll
Company of Fishmongers of the Citty of London of
which company he was a free brother. This new
stone erected 1844.' Below the windows on either
side of the tablet are two stones; the dexter one is
charged with the arms of the Fishmongers' Company, the sinister one with those of Goddard. The
walls are carried up in pointed gables, behind which
is the attic, lighted by two-light windows. The
chaplain's rooms are on the first floor. Against
the north wall of the entrance passage is an ironbound alms post, above which is a stone tablet
inscribed, 'Hee that giveeth to the poor lendeth
to the Lord,' surmounted by the date 1638. In the
centre of the western block is the chapel, which
measures internally 41 ft. 4 in. by 20 ft. The chancel
is at the west end and is separated from the nave
by a fine Jacobean screen. The west window is of
five trefoiled lights with elaborate tracery under a
pointed head and has both internal and external
hood moulds. The chancel is lighted from either
side by a window of three cinquefoiled lights with
tracery under a four-centred head, while in the east
wall over the entrance doorway, which is four-centred
within a square head, is a large window of five trefoiled lights with vertical tracery in the head.
The chancel screen is a fine example of Jacobean
woodwork; the central opening is round-headed with
spandrels carved with scroll work within a square
architrave. The upper part on either side is divided
into four small round-headed openings carried on flat
balusters with shaped brackets having small pendant
drops (many of which are now missing) and carrying
a moulded cornice; the lower part is filled in solid
and is panelled on the west side only. The roofs are
modern, as is also a small wooden bell-turret at the
east end of the nave.
To the south of Jesus Hospital is Stroud Farm,
which represents the manor of Strode. Some part
of the house is of the 15th century, and some interesting woodwork of that period remains.
Ockwells Manor House, belonging to Sir Edward
Barry, bart., stands about 1¾ miles to the west of the
main village. Built by Sir John Norreys between
1446 and 1466, it is an exceptionally interesting
example of the domestic architecture of the period.
The buildings, which are of half-timber with brick
filling, are grouped round a small central courtyard
having the hall on the east side, with the solar block
and servants' apartments at either end, and the
kitchen and offices on the west. At the screen end
of the hall is the normal pair of doorways, in this
case, however, opening only into two rooms beneath
a large chamber, which probably served for servants'
sleeping quarters. A corridor leading round the south
and west sides of the courtyard from the passage
behind the screens gives access to the rooms in this
part of the house, while the kitchen, on the south
side of which is the buttery with its original hatch,
apparently communicated directly with the dais end
of the hall through the room which now serves as a
lobby to the principal stairs. Touching the southeast angle of the house was a chapel with walls of
brick and dressings of chalk, the north wall of which
alone remains at the present day. It may be that a
desire to keep the offices at as great a distance as
possible from the chapel suggested the unusual
position of the kitchen and buttery at the side of
the hall instead of at its lower end, a position possessing a distinct advantage over the commoner plan
where the serving across the more or less public
passage of the screens must have always been attended
with some inconvenience. The original stairs on the
solar side have disappeared, but those at the opposite
end still survive. The former were probably removed early in the 17th century, when new stairs
were constructed in the central courtyard, and so
remained till they were moved to the position which
they now occupy on the west side of the solar block
by the present owner, who has also added a new
kitchen with offices to the north of the original
kitchen. A large court was originally formed on
the east or entrance front by the chapel on the
south, with an adjoining range of stables, a large
barn on the east, and a brick curtain wall on the
north, somewhat of the same character as that which
must have originally surrounded Southcot Manor
House in the same county. All but a short fragment of this wall has been destroyed, but the stables
and barn, which are of half-timber, are still in a fairly
perfect condition.
The hall, which measures about 41 ft. by 24 ft., is
entered through a two-storied porch by a doorway at
the south-east with moulded posts and a four-centred
head, in the spandrels of which are carved a griffon
and an antelope. This doorway opens directly into
the passage behind the screens, which occupies the
greater part of the southernmost of the four bays into
which the hall is divided by the uprights, which form
the main timbers of its framing. On the south side
of the passage is the pair of doorways above referred
to, each with moulded posts, and a four-centred head
with traceried spandrels. A larger doorway of similar
character at the west end of the passage leads into
the corridor round the central courtyard; both this
and the entrance doorway on the east retain their
original doors. The screens themselves are framed
together with plain sills and rails, and have uprights
with hollow-chamfered angles inclosing narrow panels;
there are two square-headed openings, and the lower
panels on the passage side as well as those near
the entrance doorway have cinquefoiled heads. At
the north-east of the hall is a square bay window
with two tiers of six lights, with uncusped four-centred heads and mullions of oak in the principal
face, and three similar lights in the upper part
of the southern return, the opposite return being
blank, as the bay here abuts upon the projecting
solar block. The upper parts of the two remaining
bays on this side are entirely occupied by five-light
windows of the same type, with their sills at a little
above half the height of the wall. On the west
side, in the second bay from the north, is a stone
fireplace of original date, having an opening with a
straight-sided four-centred head within a square containing casement mould flanked by engaged shafts
with moulded capitals and bases, the mouldings of
the capitals being continued across the top of the
stonework as a cornice, and inclosing a rectangular
panel above the head of the opening. In the northern
bay on this side is a modern doorway opening into
the room between the hall and the original kitchen,
and in the bay to the south of the fireplace is a
window like those in the opposite wall, taking light
from the central courtyard. The roof is of the
braced collar type, with curved wind-braces and
moulded wall-plates, the collar-braces springing from
the main uprights, while the wall-plate is supported
by moulded braces forming a flat arch where it
crosses the bay window recess. The lower part of the
walls is lined with early 17th-century panelling, but
the upper part, where not occupied by the windows,
shows the timber framing with its plaster filling.
The original dais level is shown by the flooring of
the bay window and of the room into which the
doorway at the north-west opens, the intervening
portion of the platform having been removed.
Plan of Ockwells Manor House
The famous armorial glass in the eastern windows
of the hall seems to be part only of a great scheme of
heraldic decoration placed there by Sir John Norreys,
the builder of the house. Beginning with the oriel
window, the armorials that remain are as follows :
1. Henry Duke of Warwick, K.G., d. 1446 : Beauchamp quartered with Clare, Newburgh and Despenser
and impaling (in modern glass) Montagu, Monthermer
and Nevill, with a helm crested with a bunch of
columbines; 2. Edmund Duke of Somerset, K.G.,
killed at St. Albans, 1455 : Beaufort with a helm
crested with his leopard standing on a hat; 3. Margaret
of Anjou, queen of Henry VI : France and England
impaling Hungary quartered with Naples, Jerusalem,
Anjou, Bar and Lorraine, ensigned with a royal
crown and supported by a silver antelope and a golden
eagle; 4. John Duke of Suffolk, K. G., d. 1491:
De la Pole quartered with Burghersh (the crest is
missing); 5. King Henry VI : France quartered with
England, ensigned with a crown and supported by
two silver antelopes; 6. James Earl of Ormonde and
Wiltshire, K.G., d. 1461 : Butler with a helm crested
with an eagle rising from a bush of feathers all gold;
7. Abingdon Abbey, the shield ensigned with a mitre;
8. Richard Bishop of Salisbury, 1450–81 : Beauchamp
of Powick quartered with Delamere and Roche
with the difference of a silver border with black
caps, ensigned with a mitre; 9. Sir John Norreys:
Ravenscroft (for Norreys) impaling Clitherow
quartered with Oldcastle, for his second wife
Eleanor Clitherow, supported by two sea-otters
collared and chained, each holding a fish in its
mouth, and with a helm crested with a raven;
10. John Lord Wenlock, K.G., killed at Tewkesbury, 1471: Wenlock with a helm crested with
a Saracen's head; 11. an unknown shield, Azure
five fleurs de lis or, and a helm crested with
golden bulrushes, believed to refer to Sir William
Lacon of Stow in Kent, chief justice, d. 1475;
12. the shield of a Mortimer of Chirk, having
the scutcheon ermine, and a crowned helm
crested with a bush of silver feathers; 13. Sir
Richard Nanfan of Birtsmorton in Worcestershire : Nanfan quartered with Penpons, with a
helm crested with a wolf standing azure; 14.
Sir John Norreys : Ravenscroft as before impaling Merbrooke quartering Or two bars gules and
a bend azure, for his first wife Alice, with the same
supporters and crest as in the ninth achievement;
15. Sir John Langford, husband of Katherine granddaughter of Sir John Norreys : Langford, with a
helm crested with a wild man; 16. a renewed shield
of arms unidentifield with no crest upon the helm;
17. John Purye of Chamberhouse: Purye quartered
with a renewed coat and a wrongly painted coat for
More of Cookham, with a helm crested with a
peacock's head argent between two wings sable;
18. Richard Bulstrode of Upton : Bulstrode quartered
with Chopinden, with a helm crested with a squirrel
gules sitting and holding a bunch of nuts or. (fn. 2) The
quarries of the background are painted with a badge
of three distaffs tied together with a golden ribbon,
and each light is banded with diagonal stripes of
white glass with dieu et mon droit about the king's
arms, with humble et loiall about those of the queen,
and with ffeythfully serve about all the rest. For some
time the glass, which had been taken out of the
house for preservation, was stored at Taplow Court.
It was restored to the present owner by Lord
Desborough.
The solar block at the north end of the hall
contains two floors of nearly equal height, the ground
floor, now the dining room, having probably served
as a withdrawing room, while the solar above must
always have been used as the principal bedchamber.
Both have fine stone fireplaces of the Elizabethan
period, and are lined with panelling of the same date,
though the original ceiling beams and open-timbered
roof still survive. The oak-mullioned and traceried
bay window lighting both rooms from the east is a
modern reconstruction on old foundations. The
principal stairs, originally erected, as stated above, in
the central courtyard, but now placed in a modern
addition at the west end of the solar block, are a
fine example of early 17th-century joinery, with
moulded strings, raking balusters and massive square oak
newel posts, surmounted by heavy finials. They are
entered through a reset doorway of contemporary
date on the north side of the room between the hall
and the kitchen; this doorway, with the open balustraded light to the east of it, was originally in the
opposite wall, where they have been replaced by
windows looking into the courtyard. The kitchen,
now used as the servants' hall, was formerly the whole
height of the house, but is now divided into two
floors, though the large fireplace on the west side
still survives. The buttery and an adjoining room,
probably the pantry, to the south of the kitchen have
been thrown into one, and now form the billiard
room; the buttery hatch with its large falling flap
and range of open lights above it, the original doorways to both rooms, and the open-joisted ceiling
supported by a moulded beam with arched braces
still remain. The windows in the west wall are
renewals of the 17th and 18th centuries, and a fireplace of the latter date at the north-west is now used
as a cupboard. A modern lobby placed in the angle
made by the kitchen block with the southern range
connects the billiard room with the room now called
the music room, which has its original ceiling beams,
but the windows appear to have been renewed.
Between this and the two rooms at the lower end of
the hall is the original staircase to which reference
has been made above. The corridor round the
central courtyard which gives access to all this portion
of the house is lighted on the courtyard side by a
continuous range of oak-mullioned lights with fourcentred heads. The eastern portion of the room at
the east end of the south range which projects flush
with the entrance porch, and communicates with it
by a doorway with a four-centred head, may have
been the porter's lodge, but the intervening partition
has been removed. Much 15th-century work remains
on the first floor, where the corridor plan is repeated
and the original arrangement has been little altered.
Externally the timbering of the gable ends of the east
or entrance front is elaborately treated with tracerled
panelling, most of which is original, and the bargeboards are carved with pierced and foliated ornament
of intricate design. The wide entrance to the porch
is spanned by a flat four-centred arch of oak with
carved spandrels, and there are open lights with
modern mullions on the north side. The windows
of the hall are in their original condition, but the
elaborate traceried windows of the room over the
porch and the first floor of the servants' range, like
those of the solar block, are modern.
Ockwells Manor House: East Front
Ockwells Manor House: The Buttery Hatch
At the east and west ends of the remaining north
wall of the chapel are chalk doorways with continuously moulded jambs and four-centred heads, the
spandrels of the western doorway being carved with
sea-otters and the shield of Ravenscroft for Norreys.
Between them are four windows, one of four lights,
one a single light, both with four-centred heads, while
the remaining two have been built up. The stable
range is separated from the east wall of the chapel by
a cartway with a gabled room above it, perhaps a
priest's room, lighted by an oak traceried and mullioned
window on the north side. The barn on the east side
of the entrance court, a fine example of 15th-century
half-timber work, is divided by the uprights supporting
the roof principals into eight bays, and has two large
gabled wagon entrances on the side towards the
court.
Great Thrift and Little Thrift near this house
preserve in a corrupted form the name of the Frith
which once stretched as far as Cruchfield.
The Hatch, a stuccoed mansion of three stories
standing in its own grounds at the meeting of the
Maidenhead and Windsor road with the road
running north from Oakley Green, is the residence
of Laura Countess of Wilton.
Bray Court, the residence of Mrs. Phillips, is
a modern three-story red brick house standing
about half a mile south of the village at the
north-east corner formed by the crossing of the
Maidenhead and Windsor road with the road
running north from Bray to Holyport.
Bray Wick Grove, the residence of Col. Sir
James R. A. Clark, bart., is a red brick building
of two stories with attics in a slate roof. The
house is chiefly of the 18th century, though it
was originally built by Sir William Paule in
1675. The windows have wooden mullions
and transoms filled in with casements; over the
middle of the building is a small wooden cupola.
The hamlets of Oakley Green, Fifield and
Water Oakley are scattered along the Windsor
Road, and Boyn Hill, Tittle Row and Cox Green
lie in the west of the parish. About half a mile
from the village of Bray is Canon Hill, once the
manor-house of the rectory. Holyport is further
to the village of Bray is Canon Hill, once the
to the south-west, and has a Wesleyan chapel;
at the north end of this hamlet are Mores, now
known as Moor Farm, and Philberds. (fn. 3) New
Lodge has remains of 17th-century work. The
old manor-house of Foxleys was burnt down in
the 18th century (fn. 4) ; its site is marked by a deep
quadrangular moat close to the present farmhouse, which is said to be a part of the stabling
of the old house. (fn. 5)
The common lands in the parish were inclosed in 1817 under an Act of 1814. (fn. 6)
Maidenhead is supposed to stand on the line
of a Roman road; several Roman remains have
been found in the neighbourhood, (fn. 7) and in Maidenhead Thicket are remains of pit-dwellings and a
circular entrenchment supposed to be British. (fn. 8) The
town is now a favourite riverside resort, and new
suburbs have sprung up on the north side, but some
buildings of interest may still be found in the old
main street leading to the bridge. The old town
hall, originally the gildhall, was pulled down in
1751, (fn. 9) and a house named Copped Hall adjoining it
was destroyed at the same time in order to make
room for a larger hall. (fn. 10)
Smyth's almshouses stand on the north side of the
Bath Road. The buildings are two-storied and of
red brick with tiled roofs, the block facing the road
containing six dwellings, divided by a central entrance
and passage, while at the rear there are two projecting
wings, each containing one dwelling. The elevation
towards the road is very picturesque; the upper floor
is lighted by brick-glabed dormers, with sills a little
above the level of the eaves where the wall is crowned
by a moulded brick cornice. Over the central doorway is a wooden hood with well-moulded cantilever
brackets. Over this a pedimented gable rises above
the eaves level, and within it is an elaborate tablet,
in the upper part of which is a shield of the arms of
Alderman James Smyth of Hammersmith (?), the
founder. Below is inscribed, 'Theis Almeshowses
were erec | ted and built at ye sole & proper | Cost &
charges of James Smyth | Esquier citizen & salter
of | London in ye yeare of our Lord 1659. |'
There was a Baptist community in Maidenhead as
early as 1669, (fn. 11) but in 1778 the Maidenhead Baptists
were regarded as members of the Reading congregation. In 1847 the Strict Baptists had a meeting in
a room over a granary in Market Street and their
first chapel was opened in York Road on 25 January
1865. The other Baptists opened their present
chapel in Marlow Road in 1873. (fn. 12) The Congregationalists have been settled in Maidenhead since
1696. (fn. 13) Their present chapel in West Street, then
known as Back Lane, was opened on 18 September
1785. (fn. 14)
The Society of Friends had a meeting here in
1722 in John Fellow's house, but it was not until
1803 that they were sufficiently numerous to build a
meeting-house. (fn. 15)
Wesleyan Methodism was introduced into Maidenhead in 1829; the community had a chapel in
Bridge Street until 1858, when they bought their
present building at the top of High Street from the
Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion. (fn. 16)
The chapel which they had vacated was taken over
by the Primitive Methodists, who had been established in the town since 1845; their meetings, like
those of the Strict Baptists, had begun in the room
in Market Street. In 1882 they built a new chapel
in Queen Street and the Bridge Street chapel was
occupied by the Salvation Army. (fn. 17)
In Market Street is the Roman Catholic church of
St. Joseph.
BOROUGH OF MAIDENHEAD
The site now occupied by the
town of Maidenhead (Maydeheth,
Maydeneth, Maidenhethe, xiii
cent.; Maidenhythe, Maydenhath, xiv cent.; Maidenhead, xvi cent.) was known
up to the latter part of the 13th century as South
Elington or Aylington. (fn. 18) This name, which appears
in the Bray Court Rolls for the last time in 1296,
is supposed to have been gradually superseded by the
later one after the construction of a new hythe or
wharf on the river, which brought an increase of
prosperity and population to the little hamlet. (fn. 19) A
much greater increase, however, was due to the
building of the bridge, for the road to the west
which had previously crossed the river at Babham
End and passed through Cookham was then diverted
at Two-mile Brook and carried over the new bridge (fn. 20)
through the hamlet of Maidenhead to the Thicket,
where the main road to Henley and Gloucester
branched off from that to Reading and Bristol. This
bridge was a wooden one, and by 1297 had become
much decayed. (fn. 21) A grant of pontage for three years
was therefore obtained from Edward I. (fn. 22) After this
date grants of pontage for varying lengths of time
seem to have been made with some regularity, (fn. 23) and
the bridge also benefited from gifts made to a
hermitage on its west side, the tenant of which promised on his admission to spend all except bare
necessities 'uppon amendyng of the brigg and of the
comen weyes.' (fn. 24) The bridge was again very unsafe
in 1451, and Thomas Mettingham, chaplain of the
chantry founded by John Hosbonde (vide infra),
obtained from Henry VI licence to found a gild 'as
well for the maintenance of his chantry as of the
bridge over Thames.' (fn. 25) The chaplain and his successors were to be surveyors of the gild, which might
include both men and women, and the members
should have the right to elect two wardens yearly. (fn. 26)
They might acquire lands for the repair of the bridge,
while the grant of pontage was made permanent, and
the gild received in addition a fishery in 'the whole
water under the bridge and for 50 ft. on either side
thereof on either bank.' (fn. 27)
Up to this date the townsmen had apparently had
no communal organization separate from the courts
of the two royal manors in which the town was
situated. From 1331 to 1386 the grants of pontage
were made to 'the bailiffs and good men of Maydenhythe,' (fn. 28) but before and after these dates to the
bailiffs and good men of Cookham and Bray. (fn. 29) After
the foundation of the gild the collection of pontage
was entrusted to two bridgemasters, (fn. 30) who seem to
have been the 'wardens' mentioned in the deed of
Henry VI, while the title of warden was afterwards
confined to the surveyor. The Maidenhead gild was
dissolved with the chantry in 1547, (fn. 31) but the inhabitants petitioned Queen Elizabeth for its reestablishment, and in March 1582 she granted them
a charter of incorporation (fn. 32) under the style of the
warden, bridgemasters, burgesses and commonalty of
the town of 'Maydenheth'; a weekly market on
Monday and two annual fairs with a court of piepowder were established, and provision was made for
a scale of tolls on merchandise passing over the
bridge. (fn. 33) These tolls were probably intended to be
spent entirely on the repair of the bridge, for though
the corporation had succeeded to all the duties of the
ancient gild, except that of maintaining the services
in the chapel, the endowments remained in the hands
of the Crown and were granted in 1592 to the
notorious 'fishing grantees' William Tipper and
Robert Dawe. (fn. 34) The toll-money proved to be insufficient for its purpose, and a new charter issued
by James I on 4 August 1604 confirmed the charter
of Elizabeth and granted in addition a third fair, to
be held on Whit Wednesday, and three oak trees
every third year for the repair of the bridge, (fn. 35) while
the increasing importance of the corporation was
marked by the provision of two mace-bearers to go
before the warden. (fn. 36)
During the Commonwealth application was made
to Cromwell for a fresh charter, (fn. 37) but though the
committee for charters was ordered in 1656 to 'draft
such a new one as is fit for his Highness to pass,'
Maidenhead received none until 1663. (fn. 38)
The charter of Charles II simply confirmed the
privileges already existing, without further alteration
than the change of the market day to Wednesday, (fn. 39)
a change which was locally considered 'likely to
prove very advantageous. (fn. 40)
In 1685 the liberties of the town were surrendered into the hands of James II, (fn. 41) who confirmed
the previous charters, raised the warden to the rank
of mayor and appointed a high steward and also a
steward who should act as town clerk. (fn. 42) No further
change in the constitution took place till the Municipal
Reform Act, when the government of the town was
vested in a mayor, four aldermen and twelve councillors; the first mayoral election under the new
system took place on 1 January 1836. (fn. 43) The formal
duties of the high steward then ceased, but as the
office had not been actually abolished by the Act the
corporation decided that it should be continued. (fn. 44)
The present high steward is Lord Desborough.
By the charter of Elizabeth a court of record was
to be held every three weeks on a Monday before
the warden and bridgemasters or two of them, to
deal with all offences, contracts and debts concerning
Maidenhead Bridge and its support. (fn. 45) James I altered
the court day to Wednesday and extended the jurisdiction of the court to all pleas personal and mixed,
provided both parties were residents in the town and
the cause of action did not exceed £20. (fn. 46) The charter
of James II provided that the court should be held
on Friday, but there was no further change. (fn. 47)
The right of taking timber from Windsor granted
by James I was regularly claimed by the corporation
of Maidenhead. (fn. 48) During the Civil War the bridge
was broken down, and the townsmen, according to
their own account, 'durst not repair it,' (fn. 49) but in
1654 they demanded not only three oaks, but the
arrears of timber due during the war. (fn. 50) The claim
was repeated in 1676, (fn. 51) and in 1679 the king is said
to have granted twenty pollard trees. (fn. 52) In 1692, however, an attempt was made on behalf of the Crown to
prove that the whole cost of the repairs should be met
by the corporation. (fn. 53) The matter was decided in
favour of the borough, but in 1714 they complained
that the oaks to which they were entitled were of
small value, especially as their tolls had been much
lessened by a free bridge built by Queen Anne at
Datchet, and petitioned for a grant of such trees as
the exigencies of the town required. (fn. 54) A similar petition in 1732 was followed by a grant of twenty oaks. (fn. 55)
The old bridge was thoroughly repaired for the
last time in 1750 at a cost of over £764. (fn. 56) The
new stone bridge, designed by Robert Taylor, was
begun in 1772 and finished in 1777, but the tolls
which were levied for the payment of the debt on
the building came to be regarded as part of the
common fund of the town, and it was not until 1903
that the bridge was freed. (fn. 57)
Some potash works in Maidenhead are mentioned
during the Commonwealth, (fn. 58) but the chief trade of
the town sprang from its position on the main roads
to the west. There is apparently no record of any
inn by name until 1459, when the 'Bull' in the
High Street (fn. 59) was kept by William Mordell, who
'took exorbitant gain.' (fn. 60) The house, which stands
on the south side of the road at the entrance to Ives
Place, was an inn until 1870, when Mr. William
Wilberforce came to live on the Ives estate: the
licence of the 'Bull' was discontinued and the inn
converted into a chapel and priest-house. (fn. 61)
The landlord of the Bear Inn in the High Street
was presented in 1489 for charging an unlawful price
for provisions. (fn. 62) It was at this inn that the officers
usually had rooms when soldiers were quartered at
Maidenhead during the first half of the 19th century,
before the building of the new barracks at Windsor;
the non-commissioned officers were put up at the
'Bull,' and the rank and file distributed among the
other inns. A temporary 'soldiers' room,' with a
ladder or steps leading up to it, was in most cases
built outside the inn, and the remains of several such
rooms and steps could be seen as late as the beginning
of this century. (fn. 63) The 'Bear' was converted into a
private house about 1845. (fn. 64) The Lion Inn is first
mentioned in 1490, when its joint owners, Robert
Norton and John Maston, were charged with the
usual offence. (fn. 65) In 1636 the inn, which had been
held some years earlier by Richard Mattingley, (fn. 66) was
considered one of the best in the town. (fn. 67) The
Excise Office was there in 1807. (fn. 68)
The 'Swan' was in existence in 1489, but had
apparently ceased to be an inn before 1636. The
record of this house is brief, and strengthens an
unfavourable impression of Maidenhead innkeepers:
'Richard Hithe holds an inn called the Swan, and
sells victuals and takes excessive gain.' (fn. 69) Great
indeed must have been the cunning of the legendary
trio who could catch such old birds of prey with
chaff, (fn. 70) and many were the victims they avenged.
The 'Greyhound,' probably the most famous of
Maidenhead inns, is first mentioned in 1636, when
it was already one of the best inns in the town. (fn. 71)
It was perhaps at this inn that Charles I stayed in
1642, (fn. 72) and he certainly came there in 1647 to meet
his children. (fn. 73) It was there, too, that Thomas
Ellwood was detained by the horrified Sabbatarians
of the town when he attempted to ride to First Day
Meeting at Chalfont St. Giles. (fn. 74) The 'Greyhound'
stood on the north side of the High Street on the site
now occupied by no. 66; it was entirely destroyed
by fire in March 1736. (fn. 75)
Of other ancient Maidenhead inns, the 'Saracen's
Head' is mentioned in 1622, (fn. 76) and the 'Sun,' which
stood at the corner of Castle Hill and the Marlow
Road, was certainly in existence at the time of
Charles II and probably earlier. (fn. 77) The 'White
Horse,' (fn. 78) which occurs in 1574, is said to have been
an inn from that time, but it is not mentioned among
the Maidenhead taverns in 1636, unless it may be
identified with the 'White harte,' (fn. 79) of which there is
no other record. 'There are good inns lodging and
entertainment' was Taylor's verdict at this time, 'it
may be one too many' (fn. 80) ; but as Maidenhead prospered and the number of visitors increased three more
inns were added to catch the traveller at his first
coming: the 'Folly,' which stood on Castle Hill
and was until 1820 almost the first house on the
west side of the town, (fn. 81) and the two famous inns at
the eastern end: Marsh's by the bridge, which was
patronized by the Eton boys concerned in the college
rebellion of November 1768, (fn. 82) and the 'Orkney
Arms,' now known as 'Skindle's,' through which the
boundary of the borough passes.
The borough extends south as far as Bray and
Bray Wick, Kimber's Lane and Harvest Hill Road
being the southern boundary; the western is marked
by Dogkennel Lane, Green Lane and Courthouse
Lane; while the northern runs along Harrow Lane
through the North Town to the river, which forms
the eastern boundary as far as the southern end of the
eyot nearest the bridge, at which point the borough
includes a part of the Buckinghamshire bank, in
accordance with the charter of Henry VI. (fn. 83) These
boundaries have been verified by repeated perambulations. (fn. 84) The regalia belonging to the corporation
include a seal, two silver-gilt maces, four bridge
masters' staves, two halberds and pikes and the
mayor's chain and robe.
MANORS
The manor of BRAY belonged to the
ancient demesne of the Crown and paid
no geld, though it was assessed in 1086
at 18 hides. (fn. 85) It was usually let to farm to a succession of wardens, (fn. 86) but as the Crown reserved the right
to grant pensions out of the issues the farmers usually
lost by the transaction. The Ministers' Accounts for
the manor show that the half-yearly expenses sometimes amounted to £48 6s. 8d., though the receipts
were only £28 7s. 8d. (fn. 87) Complaints of oppression
were made under Sir Imbert de Montreal and his
successor Hamo de Chaumbre. (fn. 88) John le Keu,
warden in 1322, (fn. 89) was afterwards accused of unjust
exactions on pretence of providing men-at-arms for
the king, (fn. 90) but the attack on him may have been
partly due to political feeling; he is said to have fled
out of the country at the time of Mortimer's triumph, (fn. 91)
and seems to have found some favour with Edward III
after the earl's fall. (fn. 92)
During the 14th century the manor was usually in
the queen's hands. (fn. 93) It was granted in dower in
1299 to Margaret of France (fn. 94) and in 1327 to Isabel
for her services in the matter of the treaty with
France and the suppression of the Despensers' rebellion. (fn. 95) Queen Philippa held it from 1331 till her
death in 1360, (fn. 96) and it was subsequently granted to
Anne of Bohemia. (fn. 97) Henry IV, however, gave it to
his son Humphrey, afterwards created Duke of
Gloucester, (fn. 98) who in 1435 settled it on himself and
Eleanor his wife, with remainder to the king. (fn. 99)
Eleanor forfeited her interest after her condemnation
for treason and sorcery, (fn. 100) and upon Humphrey's death
in 1447 the manor reverted to the Crown, (fn. 101) in whose
possession it remained until 1649, (fn. 102) when it was
taken over by the Parliamentary Commissioners. (fn. 103)
After the Restoration the manor was resumed by
the king, (fn. 104) and remained Crown property until 1818,
when it was bought by Mr.
Pascoe Grenfell of Taplow, (fn. 105)
whose great-grandson Lord
Desborough of Taplow Court
is the present owner of the
manor.
Grenfell, Lord Desborough. Gules a fesse between three clarions or with a mural crown gules on the fesse.
An interesting custom is
mentioned in the early part
of the 13th century, when it
was stated that 'it was always
the custom of Bray that if
any tenant had three or four
daughters and all of them
were married outside their
father's tenement save one
who remained at home (in
atrio) she who remained at home should have the
whole of her father's land … but if … all of
them are married outside their father's tenement
with his chattels whether this be so before or after
his death the eldest daughter should have the whole
… and if the daughters were married after their
father's death with his chattels, and this without
protest, and one remained at home she should retain
the whole. (fn. 106)
The manor of CRESSWELL or PHILBERDS
(Creswell, xiii cent.; Craswelle, Karswell in Bray,
Bray St. Philibert, xiv cent.; St. Phylyberts, xv cent.;
Filberts, Creswells, Filburds, xvii cent.) belonged in
1208 to Roger de St. Philibert, who granted it in
that year to Hugh de St. Philibert, apparently his
brother. (fn. 107) It was valued at £12 16s. 4d. at the death
of a Hugh de St. Philibert in 1248, (fn. 108) and was said in
1276 to be held by the serjeanty of providing the
king with one boucel of wine. (fn. 109) Hugh was succeeded
by his son and namesake, who was then twenty-four,
but had not yet been knighted. (fn. 110) The date of his
death is uncertain; possibly he lived until 1304, but
it seems more likely that the Hugh who died in that
year was his son. (fn. 111) This Hugh inherited Sulham from
his mother Euphemia (fn. 112) and after 1279 he leased
from the Crown various pieces of land in Windsor
Forest, (fn. 113) which were granted rent free to his son John
by Edward III in 1329. (fn. 114)
In 1317 John de St. Philibert obtained free warren
in Cresswell, and in 1329 view of frankpledge in his
manor of Bray, (fn. 115) and two years later he had licence
to settle it on his son John and Joan the daughter of
Robert de Ufford on the occassion of their marriage. (fn. 116)
The elder John de St. Philibert seems to have died in
Gascony (fn. 117) about 1333, (fn. 118) and was succeeded by his
son and namesake, then only six years old.
This John, when in Italy on a pilgrimage with
Robert de Bradestan and his squire William Datchet
in 1345, was 'unjustly and unreasonably arrested in
the city of Pisa.' (fn. 119) There they remained prisoners
for more than two years in spite of the efforts of Sir
Thomas de Bradestan, Robert's father, who persuaded
Edward III to cause all the merchants of Pisa and
Lucca then in England to be arrested and kept safely
in the Tower of London and other castles until they
had obtained the release of the three Englishmen. (fn. 120)
Bradestan and St. Philibert returned to England in
August 1347, (fn. 121) and the latter proved his age a few
months later. (fn. 122) He sold the manor of Cresswell in
1352 to Edward III. (fn. 123)
St. Philibert. Bendy argent and azure.
St. George's Windsor. Argent a cross gules.
Shortly afterwards the king granted it in frankalmoign to the warden and college of St. George's
Chapel, Windsor, (fn. 124) in whose possession it remained
until 1649, (fn. 125) when the Parliamentary commissioners
sold it to Edward Curle and Richard Spencer. (fn. 126)
Curle and Spencer leased it in 1652 to Thomas and
Peregrine Wilcox, (fn. 127) who continued to hold it on
lease after the Restoration, when the Dean and
Canons of Windsor recovered their land. (fn. 128) During
the 18th century it was held of them by the Meeke
family, who sold their lease about 1780 to Mr. Fuller. (fn. 129)
His descendants held it for almost a century, being
still the tenants in 1860, when the manor was bought
from the dean and canons by Mr. Charles Pascoe
Grenfell, (fn. 130) whose grandson Lord Desborough is the
present owner.
The manor of CRUCHFIELD (Cruchesfeld, xii
cent.; Crychfeld, Cruchefelde, Crussefeld, xiii cent.;
Crouchefeld alias Lordeslond, Cruchfield alias Hawthorne, xvii cent.; Hawthorn, xix cent.) was originally
a dairy farm belonging to the royal manor of Bray. (fn. 131)
It had been established, probably in the reign of
Henry I, by Alan de Nuvill (fn. 132) ; he afterwards gave it
to Geoffrey de Baggesite, whose grandson Henry de
Baggesite was in possession of it between 1186 and
1217. (fn. 133) Henry was succeeded before 1240 by his
son Geoffrey, (fn. 134) who gave his estate in Cruchfield to
the queen's cook, Henry Lovel, about 1251. (fn. 135)
In 1253 Henry Lovel obtained from the king a
grant that he and his heirs should be quit of all
tallage in respect of these lands, (fn. 136) and in 1256 he had
a further grant of 10¼ acres of land in Bray. (fn. 137) His
descendants, the Lovels of Boveney in Burnham
(Bucks.), remained in possession of Cruchfield until
1502, (fn. 138) when Agatha Wayte, the eldest daughter of
Richard Lovel, sold it to Sir Reynold Bray and his
trustees for a settlement on Edmund Bray. (fn. 139) The
manor subsequently followed the descent of Foxleys
(q.v.) until 1577, when William Lord Sandys sold it
to William Chapman, apparently a trustee for Robert
Chamberlayne, (fn. 140) after which it passed to John Hercy,
who was seised of it in 1608. (fn. 141)
John Hercy was succeeded by his son and namesake, (fn. 142) who died in 1648, leaving the manor to his
son, a third John. (fn. 143) This John settled the estate in
1675 on himself for life with remainder to his younger
son Lovelace Hercy, whose descendants were still
living at Cruchfield in 1887. The house has belonged
since 1891 to Mrs. Henderson, but the manorial
rights are in abeyance.
In 1248 Geoffrey de Baggesite granted to William
de Cruchfield his freedom together with the messuage
and lands afterwards apparently known as LORDSLAND FARM, which he had formerly held in
villeinage, to be held freely
by him and his heirs for rent
of 10s. yearly. (fn. 144) By 1256
this rent seems to have been
reduced to 7s. 6d., which
Henry Lovel gave to Agnes
the widow of Geoffrey de
Baggesite for her life, at the
same time granting to William
de Cruchfield that he and his
heirs should be quit of the
payment for ever after the
death of Agnes. (fn. 145) The holding, which was afterwards described by its owners as the manor of Cruchfield alias
Lordsland, (fn. 146) remained in the possession of William's
descendants until the 16th century. (fn. 147) John Cruchfield, the representative of the family in 1333,
married the heir of John de Shoppenhanger, and
their son William succeeded to her estate, (fn. 148) the
descent of which was followed by the so-called manor
of Cruchfield until 1525. (fn. 149) By the time the estates
were again separated some of the lands which had
formerly belonged to Shoppenhanger had been annexed
to Cruchfield, (fn. 150) and passed with it to Humphrey
Hyde, who was seised of them in 1606. (fn. 151) He was
succeeded before 1608 by William Hyde, who sold
the property in that year to William Goddard, (fn. 152)
under whose will it was settled upon the Fishmongers'
Company for the support of the hospital of Jesus
which he had founded in Bray. (fn. 153)
Hercy. Gules a chief argent.
The reputed manor of FOXLEYS (Pukemere,
xiii cent.; Pokemere, xiv cent.) seems to have been
formed out of the various holdings in Bray acquired
in the 14th century by Sir John de Foxley.
Some of this land had belonged before 1266 to
Henry Wade, who held 22 acres of purpresture in
his own right and 1 hide of land of his wife's inheritance. (fn. 154) Between 1273 and 1275 Geoffrey de Picheford, constable of Windsor, demised 30 acres in
Pukemere to Wade and his heirs for 14s. 8d. yearly, (fn. 155)
and in 1283 Edward I granted the same land to him
for payment of 15s. yearly. (fn. 156) After Henry's death
in 1288 (fn. 157) 29s. 8d. yearly was exacted from his son and
heir John, 'as if the demise and grant had been for
different holdings, which they were not' (fn. 158) ; and it
was not until 1300 that the king in response to John's
complaints ordered that he should be acquitted of
the said 14s. 8d. from the time of the grant. (fn. 159) John
Wade died in 1310, leaving as his heir his brother
Henry, (fn. 160) who alienated the property in 1313 to John
de Foxley and his wife Constance. (fn. 161) John de Foxley
had already acquired some land in the parish, (fn. 162) and
in 1316 this was increased by a grant of all the assarts
in the forest of Windsor and parish of Bray then held
by Margaret the queen for her life. (fn. 163) In the following year he received a charter of free warren in
all his demesne lands in Bray, (fn. 164) and in 1321 he had
licence to make a park at Pokemere. (fn. 165) In 1319 he
was granted, 'in consideration of his great and meritorious services, leave … to live in his own house
as often as should seem good to him either for rest or
for attention to private affairs.' (fn. 166) He died about
1324, leaving his lands to his son Thomas. (fn. 167) Thomas
lived until 1360, when he was succeeded by his son
John, (fn. 168) who was in as much favour with Edward III
as his grandfather with Edward II. (fn. 169)
Sir John de Foxley had married about 1331 Maud
Brocas, (fn. 170) by whom he had two daughters, Katherine,
afterwards the wife of John
de Warbleton, and Margaret,
who married Robert Bullock;
but he also had a son Thomas
by Joan Martin, whom he
married after Maud's death. (fn. 171)
After Sir John's death about
1378 (fn. 172) Thomas succeded to
the manor, (fn. 173) but his right was
disputed in 1412 by William
Warbleton, the grandson of
Katherine, (fn. 174) and it was probably for this reason that he
obtained from Margaret
Hertyngton, daughter and heir of Margaret Bullock,
a quitclaim of her rights in 1429. (fn. 175) He died in
1436, (fn. 176) leaving as his heir his daughter Elizabeth the
wife of Thomas Uvedale. (fn. 177)
Foxley. Gules two bars argent.
Elizabeth Uvedale had a son Henry, who died
childless in 1469 during his father's lifetime, and two
daughters, Elizabeth and Agnes, of whom nothing
further is known. (fn. 178) It is, however, possible that
Elizabeth the wife of Charles Ripon, who dealt with
the manor by fine in 1491, was one of these
daughters. (fn. 179) She had previously been married to
William Rekys, and had by him a son John, (fn. 180) who
was a party to a fine of 1498 by which she quitclaimed her interest in the manor to William Bishop
of Lincoln and other trustees of Sir Reynold Bray. (fn. 181)
Joan the wife of John Rekys released her right to the
trustees at the same time. (fn. 182) She was, perhaps, a
daughter of Agnes Uvedale. In the following year
a quitclaim was also obtained from William Sculle and
John Sculle and Joyce his wife, who seems to have
had some interest in Foxleys. (fn. 183)
Sir Reynold Bray bequeathed the manor after the
death of his wife Katherine to Edmund Bray, (fn. 184) who
was accordingly enfeoffed by the trustees in 1509. (fn. 185)
His claim, however, was disputed in 1510 by Sir
William Sandys, afterwards Lord Sandys of the Vyne,
and Margery his wife, the niece of Sir Reynold
Bray. (fn. 186)
William Lord Sandys died seised of the manor in
1542, leaving as his heir his son Thomas, who was
succeeded about 1560 by his grandson William.
William's son and namesake, who succeeded him
about 1623, died childless in 1629, leaving the estate
to his half-sister Elizabeth the wife of Sir Edwyn
Sandys, son and heir of Miles Sandys of Latimers,
Bucks. (fn. 187) The manor of Foxleys seems to have been
settled on their youngest son Henry, who was in
possession of it in 1630 during his elder brother's
lifetime. (fn. 188) He sold it in 1639 to Henry Murrey. (fn. 189)
Henry Murrey left his estates at his death to his
four daughters and co-heirs, Jane the wife of Sir
John Bowyer, Elizabeth, who married firstly Randolf
Egerton and secondly Charles Egerton, Mary the
wife of Roger Bradshaigh and Anne the wife of
Robert Pierrepont. (fn. 190) In 1681 Randolf Egerton
and his wife bought the share of the Bradshaighs, (fn. 191)
and by 1700 the whole manor had been acquired by
Elizabeth and her second husband Charles Egerton. (fn. 192)
In 1696 they settled a third part on Anne Egerton, (fn. 193)
Elizabeth's daughter by her first husband, (fn. 194) and in
1700 granted an eighth to their own daughter Jane. (fn. 195)
She probably died childless, as the whole manor
was afterwards in the possession of her half-sister's
descendants. Anne Egerton married William Paulet,
by whom she had a daughter and heir Henrietta, (fn. 196)
who married William Townshend. (fn. 197) Their son
Charles Townshend, created Lord Bayning of Foxley
in 1797, (fn. 198) was the owner of the manor in 1756. (fn. 199)
He sold it shortly afterwards to — Stokes of Ryll
Court, near Exmouth, (fn. 200) who died before 1763,
leaving two daughters, Catherine Stokes of Warfield
and Susanna the wife of William Mackworth Praed,
upon whom the manor was settled by her mother
and sister. (fn. 201) In 1765 Mackworth Praed and his
wife sold Foxleys to Henry Vansittart, M.P. for
Reading. (fn. 202) He was succeeded by his eldest son
Henry, whose only son Henry held the manor. He
was followed by Teresa Vansittart, who married her
cousin Arthur Newcomen of Kirkleatham Hall,
Yorkshire. Their eldest son succeeded and disposed
of the estate about 1870 to Mr. W. H. Grenfell,
now Lord Desborough. (fn. 203)
The reputed manor of OCKHOLT (Akeholte,
Ocolte, Ocholte, xiii cent.; Okholt alias Norreysmanor, xv cent.; Ocole, Ockeholte called Norreis
alias Fetyplace, xvi cent.; Ocknolds, xvii cent.;
Ockwells, xix cent.) seems to have been originally a
purpresture taken into cultivation between 1251 and 1259, (fn. 204)
and granted before 1284 to
Richard le Norreys. (fn. 205) In 1320
the land was held by another
Richard le Norreys, who was
perhaps the son of the first. (fn. 206)
He died in 1337, when his
executors John le Norreys,
Hugh de Braibeft and Roger
de Crosseby, vicar of Bray,
had it, together with the
crops, for one year, according to the custom of Bray. (fn. 207)
William son of Richard le
Norreys is mentioned in 1338, (fn. 208) but he died before
1361, when John le Norreys was seised of Ockholt. (fn. 209)
Thomas le Norreys, the heir of John, died about
1406, (fn. 210) leaving as his heir his brother Roger, who
was succeeded in 1422 by his son William. (fn. 211) In
1424 William bought from John Est all the lands
and tenements known as Fords, but he had difficulty
in making Est keep to the agreement, and it was not
until 1427 that he was finally put in possession by
judgement of the manor court of Bray. (fn. 212) His son
and heir John Norreys also increased and consolidated the family possessions in the parish. (fn. 213) About
1445 he became esquire of the body to Henry VI, (fn. 214)
and gained enough celebrity in that position to be
mentioned as 'the Conduit' in a popular song of
the day. (fn. 215) He seems to have flowed with the
opinions of the party in power, for he retained his
office and prosperity under Edward IV and left
them at his death in 1466 to his son William. (fn. 216)
The manor of Ockholt, however, had been settled
in 1459 on him jointly with his third wife Margaret, (fn. 217) who held it until her death in 1495, when
she was succeeded by her son. (fn. 218) William Norreys
had been knighted before 1480 (fn. 219) and obtained
various grants from Edward IV, (fn. 220) but enjoyed less
favour under Richard III. In 1483 he was concerned in the Duke of Buckingham's rebellion, and
a reward was offered for his capture, but he managed
to escape (fn. 221) and lived until 1510, when he was succeeded by his grandson John the son of Edward
Norreys, his son by his second wife. (fn. 222) In 1517
John Norreys was pardoned for the murder of John
Enhold of Nettlebed (Oxon.) on payment of
1,000 marks fine and the surrender of his lands to
the value of £40 yearly to his younger brother
Henry for life, at whose suit the pardon had been
obtained. (fn. 223) John's property in Maidenhead, Bray
and elsewhere was accordingly granted to trustees to
the use of his younger brother for life with reversion
after his death to John and
his heirs. (fn. 224) It passed, however,
to Sir Thomas Fettiplace, one
of the trustees, (fn. 225) who died
seised of it in December 1525,
leaving a widow Elizabeth
and a daughter Katherine. (fn. 226)
In the following spring the
widow bore a son Nicholas,
but he lived less than six
months, and in November
1526 Katherine again became
her father's sole heir. (fn. 227) She
afterwards married Sir Francis
Englefield, (fn. 228) and died childless in 1579, leaving as
her heir her cousin Sir John Fettiplace, the greatgrandson of her father's younger brother Richard. (fn. 229)
Sir Francis Englefield survived his wife, but his lands
were forfeited and Sir John Fettiplace was put in
possession of Ockholt on payment of £200. (fn. 230) In
1580 Fettiplace granted the manor to the queen so
that it might be regranted to his son Bessels to be
held in free socage and not in chief. (fn. 231) He died the
same year and was succeeded by his son Bessels, (fn. 232)
who leased Ockholt in 1583 to Thomas Ridley and
others. (fn. 233) The lease was bought in 1587 by William
Day and Anne his wife, (fn. 234) whose descendants were
still living at Ockholt in 1749, (fn. 235) but the descent of
the manor is less easy to trace. It was, however,
acquired by the Finches of Hertfordshire about 1679, (fn. 236)
and was bought from that family in 1786 by Penyston
Portlock Powney, whose representative held it in 1813. (fn. 237)
It was purchased by the Grenfells and sold by Lord Desborough to the present owner,
Sir Edward Arthur Barry,
bart.
Norreys. Quarterly argent and gules fretty or with a fesse azure over all.
Fettiplace. Gules two cheverons argent.
Barry, baronet. Argent three gimel bars gules between two wolves' heads razed sable in the chief and a trefoil vert in the foot.
The first mention of the
so-called manor of LOWBROOK (Lyllebrok, Lollebrok, xiv cent.; Lyllebrokes
alias Lollebrookes, Lowbroke,
xvi cent.; Lolbrook's Farm,
Lullibrooke, xvii cent.) occurs
in 1376, when Thomas son
and heir of Thomas de Lollebrok appeared in court to
exhibit his title to it. (fn. 238) His family seem to have
been living for some time in the neighbourhood,
and had acquired land in Cookham as early as 1292,
when Walter de Lillebrok obtained a messuage,
lands and rent from Joan de la Lane of Elington. (fn. 239)
Robert de Lollebrok is mentioned in the Bray
Court Rolls of the same year (fn. 240) ; he was knight of
the shire for Berks. in 1323, (fn. 241) and seems to have
died about 1327. (fn. 242) His heir was Thomas de Lollebrok, father of the Thomas who claimed Lowbrook
in 1376. (fn. 243)
The younger Thomas Lollebrok probably supported Richard II at the end of his reign. (fn. 244) At the
time of his death in 1412 all his property had passed
out of his hands except one messuage called Berkeleys
in Earley. (fn. 245) Probably Lowbrook was already in the
possession of the Martyns of Athelhampton (co.
Dorset). John Martyn held it in 1426, (fn. 246) and left it
at his death to Thomas Martyn, (fn. 247) who died in 1485,
leaving as his heir his son William, (fn. 248) afterwards
knighted. (fn. 249) Sir William died in 1503 and his son
Christopher (fn. 250) died seised of Lowbrook in 1525. (fn. 251)
Robert, the son and heir of Christopher's son
Thomas, (fn. 252) sold Lowbrook in 1541 to John Yate and
Thomas Elyott, trustees for Elizabeth, the widow of
Sir Thomas Englefield. (fn. 253) Lady
Englefield died in 1543, leaving the manor by her will to
her younger son John and
the custody thereof to her
elder son Francis. (fn. 254)
Martyn of Athelhampton. Argent two bars gules.
John's son and heir Francis
Englefield succeeded to the
manor before 1594, in which
year he conveyed it for the
purpose of a settlement to
Sir Anthony Browne, whose
daughter Jane he was about to
marry. (fn. 255) He was created a
baronet in 1611, (fn. 256) and lived
until 1633, (fn. 257) when he left Lowbrook to his fifth son,
William, upon whom he had settled it in tail-male
two years earlier. (fn. 258)
As William Englefield was
a recusant two-thirds of the
estate were sequestrated under
the Commonwealth, though
he was allowed to enjoy the
remaining third on producing
a certificate from the county
committee that he 'did not
beare armes at al in these unhappy warres that wee ever
heard of.' (fn. 259) He was, however,
obliged to let the estate in
1647 (fn. 260) to Henry Partridge,
who compounded for it in
December of that year. (fn. 261)
Englefield, baronet. Barry gules and argent a chief or with a lion passant azure therein.
In 1656 Partridge bought the estate from William
Englefield's trustees, (fn. 262) and his descendants remained
in possession of it until about the middle of the
19th century, (fn. 263) when Mr. Henry Samuel Partridge
sold it to Mr. Lewis Rose, (fn. 264) from whose executors
it was bought before 1861 by Mr. Charles Pascoe
Grenfell. (fn. 265) The present owner is Lord Desborough.
HYNDENS (John de Brayesplace, ? xiv cent.;
Huvyndons, Hyndons, xv cent.) does not seem to
have been called a manor until 1455, when it was in
the possession of John Norreys. (fn. 266) John de Bray,
from whom it took its earlier name, held it in 1296, (fn. 267)
and died seised in 1333. (fn. 268) In the following year
Walter de Bray died seised of the lands in Bray
formerly held by John de Hyndon (Hened[on]). (fn. 269) He
was succeeded by Thomas Hynden, whose wife
Ellen had property of her own in the parish. (fn. 270)
Thomas died in 1373, leaving as his heir his son
John, (fn. 271) who was murdered in 1406 by John Kimber
and Richard Fairmayden. (fn. 272) He left a daughter and
heir Alice, who married Aimery Mathany, and
claimed her inheritance in 1422, (fn. 273) but conveyed it
in 1424 to John Walle. (fn. 274) This was probably, however, for the purpose of a settlement, as Aimery seems
to have been in possession in 1429. (fn. 275) The date of
his death is uncertain, but Hyndens was granted
before 1445 to John Norreys at a rent of 69s. 2d.
by Humphrey Duke of Gloucester. (fn. 276) Henry VI
afterwards reduced the rent to 6d., (fn. 277) and in 1462
Norreys obtained leave from Edward IV to settle
the so-called manor on himself and his wife Margaret
and their heirs, with remainder to his own heirs. (fn. 278)
Margaret survived her husband
and died seised in 1495, when
she was succeeded by her son
Sir William Norreys, (fn. 279) who
bequeathed it at his death in
1510 to his son Lionel, (fn. 280) afterwards knighted. Sir Lionel
Norreys died in 1537, leaving
as his heir his great-nephew
Henry, afterwards Lord
Norreys of Rycote. (fn. 281) Henry's
grandson and heir Francis
Lord Norreys sold the estate
in 1609 to Sir Thomas Bodley, who bequeathed it in
1612 to the University of Oxford for the support of
the library which bears his name. (fn. 282)
Bodley. Argent five marslets saltireways sable and a chief azure with three crowns or therein.
MORES (Moris, xv cent.; Moores, xvi cent.) was
also first called a manor in 1455, when it had passed
like Hyndens to John Norreys. (fn. 283) It seems to have
been occupied from the 13th century onwards by
the More family, (fn. 284) a branch of which continued to
hold land in Bray after they had lost the estate
which bore their name. (fn. 285) The reputed manor followed
the descent of Hyndens (q.v.) until the middle of
the 16th century, (fn. 286) after which it seems to have
been sold by Henry Lord Norreys to the Lawrences.
Thomas Lawrence held it in 1597 and was succeeded
in 1616 by his son and namesake, from whom it
seems to have passed to Nicholas Brice of Maidenhead. (fn. 287) Brice sold it in 1663 to Mrs. Elizabeth
Smith. The estate was bought in 1738 by the
Proctor family, who sold it in 1855 to John J. Coney
of Braywick Grove, (fn. 288) from whom it passed to his
nephew, the Rev. Thomas Coney, and from him to his
widow, who sold it in 1907 to Sir James Clark, bart. (fn. 289)
The reputed manor of IVES (Ivestenement, xiv
cent.; Yvyes, xv cent.; Ivez, xvi cent.) seems to
have been like Hyndens originally a holding in the
royal manor of Bray, which was called after its
tenants. This family had been settled in the parish
at least as early as 1248, when the name of Thomas
Yve occurs in a local charter. (fn. 290) Walter Ive died in
1296, leaving as his heir John Ive, who seems to have
granted the holding in his own lifetime to Thomas
his son by his first wife Idonia. (fn. 291) Thomas Ive died
childless in 1334, and in the following year John Ive
and Denise his wife alienated the tenement to Stephen
de Abyndon. It afterwards passed to John Brid or
Bird of Maidenhead, whose widow and executrix
Eleanor held it in 1376. (fn. 292) In the following year it
was bought by William Montagu Earl of Salisbury,
who obtained at the same time licence to grant it in
mortmain to his foundation at Bisham. (fn. 293) He died
before the licence could take effect, but it was renewed
to his son and heir. (fn. 294) The land subsequently remained in the possession of the priory till the Dissolution, (fn. 295) and was regranted to the new abbey of
Henry the Eighth's foundation in 1537. (fn. 296) It was
granted to Anne of Cleves for her life in 1541, (fn. 297) and
was afterwards held of the Crown by William
Chamber, who bequeathed it in 1559 to his wife
Joan for life. (fn. 298) Between 1570 and 1609 it was held
by various lessees, (fn. 299) but was finally granted to George
Salter and John Williams by James I. (fn. 300) They sold
it in 1617 to Sir William Garway, (fn. 301) whose son and
namesake sold it in 1649 to John Whitfield. (fn. 302)
Joseph Whitfield, the grandson of the purchaser, was
owner in 1696. (fn. 303) He was succeeded by his niece
Hannah, the daughter of his younger brother John
Whitfield. (fn. 304) She married John Powney, whose grandson Penyston Portlock Powney was seised in 1770
and died at Ives in 1794. (fn. 305) The estate afterwards
passed to Thomas Wilson, who was living at Ives
Place in 1810. (fn. 306) His only son Thomas died in 1824, (fn. 307)
and after his death in 1829 (fn. 308) the property was
inherited by his son-in-law, Lieutenant William Innes
Pocock, R.N., (fn. 309) who sold it in 1830 to Mr. Stephens. (fn. 310)
It is now the property of Lord Desborough.
The so-called manor of SHOPPENHANGER
(Sobbenhangel, Sobenhangre, xiii cent.; Shortenhangers, Shopinghanger, Scopinhanger, xvi cent.)
seems to have been originally a small tenement held
by a family who took their name from the place.
Roger de Shoppenhanger held land in Bray in 1204, (fn. 311)
and Adam de Shoppenhanger was one of the jurors
in the inquisition concerning the lands held by
Henry Wade in 1267. (fn. 312) Between 1274 and 1283
lands were held in Bray both by another Roger and
John de Shoppenhanger, (fn. 313) and in 1293 Thomas de
Shobbenhanger held lands by suit at court of the royal
manor. (fn. 314) He was succeeded by another John de
Shoppenhanger, who was one of the commissioners
appointed in 1340 to inquire into the rights of
pasturage in Oldfield, and knight of the shire in the
Parliament of the same year. (fn. 315) His son Richard is
first mentioned in the Court Roll of 1335; he was
tithing man in 1340 and died in his father's lifetime, leaving a daughter Joan. (fn. 316) She perhaps married
John de Cruchfield, for on the death of John de
Shoppenhanger and his wife Isabel in 1362 their
lands passed to Thomas de Churchfield, who died in
1368, leaving as his heir his son Thomas, then a
minor. (fn. 317) This Thomas in 1376 was seised of the
lands formerly held by Thomas de Lollebrok. (fn. 318) He
was succeeded by a third Thomas Cruchfield, who
was seised of Shoppenhanger in 1422, but died before
1433, when the estate was held by John Cruchfield.
John Cruchfield died in 1487, (fn. 319) and was succeeded
by William Cruchfield, who died in 1520, leaving as
his heir his kinswoman Alice Preston. (fn. 320) In 1525
Alice Preston and Alice Davy, who may have been her
mother, leased the property to William and Edmund
Holgill and Emma Stanyland, widow. (fn. 321) Emma
Stanyland did suit of court at Bray for Shoppenhanger
in 1550, (fn. 322) but by 1565 the property had passed to
Roger Leake. (fn. 323) He was succeeded by Jasper Leake
about 1601, (fn. 324) at which time the farm was already
occupied by the Winch family, into whose possession
it had passed by 1649. (fn. 325) Richard Winch, the
owner at that date, was succeeded by his son James,
who died in 1699, leaving as his heir his son Richard.
Elizabeth, the only surviving child of this Richard
Winch, became the wife of Robert Holden, and had
by him two daughters, Charlotte, who married the
Rev. Sir Adam Gordon, bart., and Elizabeth the wife
of Mr. Richard Webb. (fn. 326) Mr. Richard Holden Webb,
the son and heir of Elizabeth, sold his interest in
1799 to Sir Adam Gordon, from whom the whole
estate was bought in 1801 by Mr. Pascoe Grenfell. (fn. 327)
The present owner is Lord Desborough.
The manor of STRODE (Staverton, xvi cent.;
Strowd alias Staffertons alias Shiplakes, xvii cent.) (fn. 328)
seems to have been held in the 14th century by
Robert de Shiplake, whose family had been connected
with Bray as early as 1293. (fn. 329) Maud the wife of
Robert de Shiplake the younger held a messuage and
6½ virgates of land in Bray of her own inheritance,
which she and her husband seem to have exchanged
for other land belonging to Robert de Shiplake the
elder in 1332. (fn. 330) In 1373 Thomas Puttenham, vicar
of Bisham, did homage for Robert de Shiplake's lands
in Bray, (fn. 331) but the manor afterwards passed to the
Stavertons. (fn. 332)
William Staverton was one of the surveyors of the
pontage for Maidenhead Bridge in 1400. (fn. 333) He was
killed in the following year
by certain evildoers, who also
attacked his fellow surveyor
John Hynden. (fn. 334) William was
succeeded by Ralph Staverton,
who was seised of the manor
in 1422, and was succeeded
by his son William. (fn. 335) This
William was living in 1461, (fn. 336)
but died before 1488, when
the manor passed to his son
William, who settled it in that
year on his son Humphrey
and Humphrey's wife Maude
Lollebrok. (fn. 337) Humphrey
Staverton died before 1524, (fn. 338) leaving two daughters,
Anne the wife of Thomas More, who died childless,
and Eleanor, who married Robert Loggins and
became eventually sole heir to the property. (fn. 339) Her
right seems to have been disputed by Richard Staverton, a descendant of Richard the younger son of
Ralph Staverton, whose family apparently lived at
Stroud Hall, though the manor belonged to the elder
branch. (fn. 340) The case was decided in favour of Eleanor,
whose son Simon Loggins was in possession of the
manor of Bray about 1560. (fn. 341) He was succeeded by
his son, another Simon, whose son and heir John
Loggins died childless in 1606, leaving the manor to
his sister Elizabeth the wife of Sir John Blagrave. (fn. 342)
Sir John Blagrave dealt with it in 1625, (fn. 343) but subsequently sold it to Archbishop Laud, who settled it
shortly before his trial on the town of Reading. (fn. 344)
Staverton. Argent a cheveron between three water bougets vert.
The reputed manor of WINKLES (Wenckles,
Wenkeles, xiv cent.; Wyncles, xvi cent.) was, like
Foxleys, a collection of various holdings acquired in
the 14th century by one owner, John Brocas. One
of these had been granted by Henry III to Simon
Hartaud in 1253, (fn. 345) and passed from his descendant
Nicholas Hartaud to John Brocas about 1337 (fn. 346) ;
the rest were chiefly purprestures taken into cultivation towards the end of the 13th century and arrented
to various holders by Geoffrey de Pycheford and his
successors, wardens of Bray. (fn. 347) The estate followed
the descent of the Brocas manor of Clewer (fn. 348) (q.v.).
The rectorial manor of CANON HILL was held at
the time of the Domesday Survey by Rainbald, (fn. 349) and
was granted about 1133 by Henry I to the abbey of
St. Mary of Cirencester. (fn. 350) The grant was afterwards
confirmed by King John, (fn. 351) and the abbey remained
in possession of the manor till the Dissolution, (fn. 352)
occasionally letting it out on lease. Between 1504
and 1515 it was let by the abbot to John Gawesem
and Michael Poyhant, who sublet the parsonage to
'one Passemer … sythen which lease the said
Passemer for certen offencys by him committed …was attachyd in a cause of eryse [heresy] and thereupon abjured, sithen which adjuracion he had upon
certen surmyses conc'nyng the seyd erysy of late was
takyn, and remayneth in hold att the comaundement
of hys ordinary.' (fn. 353) The original lessees had therefore no means of raising the rent for which they
were bound to the abbot, especially as the corn
which might otherwise have been sold had remained
so long 'in mowes unthrosh' that the greater part of
it was spoilt. (fn. 354)
Cirencester Abbey. Argent a cheveron gules charged with three rams' heads caboshed argent having their horns or.
Bishopric of Oxford. Sable a fesse argent with three queens' heads in the chief and an ox argent passing over a ford in the foot.
In 1547 Edward VI granted the manor to John
King, Bishop of Oxford, and his successors (fn. 355) in the
see, who leased it to various tenants. From 1539 to
1608 it was held by the Norreys family, (fn. 356) but passed
before 1637 (fn. 357) to Sir Henry Marten, judge of the
Admiralty, who died at his house in Bray in 1641. (fn. 358)
In 1651 it was sold by the Parliamentary commissioners to Francis Hardinge, (fn. 359) but was recovered at
the Restoration by the Bishop of Oxford and remained
in possession of the see until the 19th century, (fn. 360) when
it was enfranchised by the representatives of Mrs.
Law. (fn. 361) It was bought in 1857 by Mr. J. H. Palmer,
whose son Mr. Edward Howley Palmer held it in
1860, (fn. 362) and is now the property of Mr. Henry
Adams.
A small holding at Shortford in Bray, with leave
to build there, was demised before 1270 to William
de Shortford, (fn. 363) who afterwards obtained from
Edward I a grant of the same lands, to hold to him
and his wife Felise, nurse of Alphonso, the king's son,
and their heirs for rent of 10s. 10½d. at Michaelmas
and Easter and 6d. yearly for tallage. (fn. 364) William was
succeeded by his son Robert, who was described
about 1320 as holding his tenement 'by charter in
the same way as Richard le Norreys.' (fn. 365) Robert
alienated it in 1335 to John Hereward and his wife
Mary, (fn. 366) who granted it in 1345 to the abbey of
Cirencester, (fn. 367) and it is probable that it was subsequently merged in the manor of Canon Hill.