BISHAM
Bistesham (xi cent.); Bustlesham, Bistlesham (xii
cent.); Temple Bistlesham, Bestelsham, Brystelsham,
Brustelsham (xiv cent.); Bissame, Busseham, Bustesham
Montagu or Montacu, Bisleham (xvi cent.); Bissenham,
Bisham Mountague, Buselham, Bulesham (xvii cent.).
The parish of Bisham covers an area of 2,478 acres,
of which 1,030 are arable land, 900 permanent grass,
423 woods and plantations, (fn. 1) whilst 49 acres are covered
by water. The soil is light and chalky with a subsoil of chalk, but on the high ground a stratum of
Woolwich and Reading clay lies over the chalk and is
largely used for brickmaking. The manufacture of
brass and copper goods formerly carried on here has
ceased, and though a number of the inhabitants find
work in the Temple Paper Mills, the principal occupation is agriculture, wheat, barley and oats being the
chief crops.
The River Thames divides the counties of Berkshire and Buckinghamshire and forms the northern
boundary of Bisham. The land near the river is
from 90 ft. to 100 ft. above the ordnance datum. It
rises abruptly to the south-east, where the average
level is 300 ft. The district is richly wooded, the
principal plantations being known as the Quarry
Wood, Bradnam, Goulding's Wood, Fultnes Wood,
Carpenter's Wood, Inkydown Wood, High Wood,
Park Wood and Dungrovehill Wood. There are a
few chalk and clay-pits in the parish.
The road to Marlow, a branch from the Bath
Road, (fn. 2) runs northwards through the parish, and
on this the village is situated. Numerous travellers
along the road made heavy demands on the hospitality of Bisham Abbey. (fn. 3) Visits also were not infrequently paid by the kings when travelling between
Reading and Windsor. (fn. 4)
The church of All Saints stands behind an angle of
the road on the river bank. Rising sharply behind
the village on the south and east are wooded hills,
which form a beautiful setting to the church and
cottages when seen from the river. The cottages are
generally built of brick and roofed with tiles, though
there are a few examples of half-timber construction,
one or two, perhaps, dating from the 16th century.
Bisham Abbey, the residence of Sir Henry
Vansittart Neale, K.C.B., stands to the south of the
church on the low ground by the river, which feeds
the surrounding moat, (fn. 5) and is approached from the
east by a winding carriage-way, the entrance front
facing the south-west. The buildings, which are of
many dates and styles, are generally two stories in
height, and the plan, roughly speaking, is composed
of four main blocks. The first, which runs east and
west and faces due north, contains a suite of reception
rooms with bedrooms over; the second, which is
connected at its west end to the first block, runs in a
south-easterly direction and contains the kitchen and
offices; the third, which is a continuation of the
kitchen block, though its inclination to the south is
not quite so acute, contains the hall, having on the
south various domestic rooms, on the east cellars
with the council chamber over, and on the north a
large staircase. The fourth block runs north-eastwards at right angles to the hall connecting it to the
northern range and contains the dining room with
the library above. At the south-east corner of the
northern range is the tower, in which is built a
central newel staircase, and on the west side of the
dining room is a small inner hall, on the south side
of which is another staircase. Between this inner
hall and the northern and kitchen blocks is an
irregularly-shaped open court, across which has been
built a modern service passage, while at the west end
of the northern block are the servants' hall, dairy and
outbuildings.
The 13th-century preceptory of the Knights
Templars forms the nucleus of the present house,
but unfortunately not enough remains for the plan to
be completely traced, though it seems to have been
much of the ordinary manor-house type of the period.
The buildings in their original state consisted of the
present hall, which was free on the north, south and
east, and was entered through the existing entrance
vestibule; a solar at the west end of the hall with an
undercroft below; the kitchen and servants' quarters
to the west of these; and a chapel, the position of
which is uncertain. The solar occupied the upper
part of the building which now contains the butler's
quarters on the ground floor, while the undercroft
below was probably divided into a buttery and pantry
with a central passage running between the kitchen.
and hall. This block has been, through probably
erroneously, referred to as the chapel. Parts of the
offices remain in the present sculleries and the large
service passage between the kitchen and sculleries and
the butler's quarters. The site of the chapel is uncertain, but it appears to have been an isolated building (fn. 6) and most likely stood on the site of the present
servants' hall, which, with the adjoining 16th-century
additions on the east, is the only part in the whole
of the buildings precisely orientated. The north and
east walls of the servants' hall are of 13th-century date,
and its position has undoubtedly governed the setting
out of the later additions on the east.
The whole of the monastic buildings of the house
of Austin Canons founded by William de Montacute
Earl of Salisbury in 1337 have been demolished. The
abbey hall and church had been destroyed before the
site and manor were granted to Sir Philip Hoby in
1553.' (fn. 7) From the surveyors' report made at the
same time it would appear that the priory was entirely
independent of the buildings occupied by the
Templars, which were used as a mansion-house of
Margaret Pole Countess of Salisbury at the time of
her attainder in 1539, (fn. 8) and had probably been
utilized as a residence by the Earls of Salisbury soon
after the suppression of the order. (fn. 9) The buildings at
the east end of the hall, which consist of the council
chamber with the cellars and cloisters under, were
erected in the 14th century, and form one side of a
fair-sized quadrangle, the other three sides of which
were demolished by the Hobys at the time of their
alterations and rebuilding, though they had apparently
always been parts of a private residence. (fn. 10)
The tombs of the earls who were buried at Bisham
(including that of Warwick the Kingmaker) are said
to have been removed to the present hall when the
abbey church was destroyed. There is, however, no
evidence of this in the existing building or any record
of their having been removed. In the latter part of
the 15th century the screens with the gallery above
were erected at the west end of the hall, and about
the same time a floor was inserted in the solar
and a passage made along its east side against the
west wall of the hall.
It appears from the diary of Sir Thomas Hoby
that the new building had been begun by 1557, (fn. 11)
and that after the death of Sir Philip in 1558 the
work was carried forward by his brother Sir Thomas.
The tower was built in 1560, and by the following
year the main work appears to have been completed. (fn. 12)
Besides the pulling down of the quadrangle before
referred to and the demolition of the prior's dwellings, the rooms on the south side of the hall between
the entrance vestibule and the 14th-century wing
were added at this time, as were also the north block,
including the tower, and the dining rooms with the
library over ; the northern range was possibly rebuilt
on existing foundation. The entry in the diary for
1562, 'This yere … the gallery made with noble
men's arms etc.,' (fn. 13) may refer to the alterations to the
council chamber and the heraldic glass which still
remains in the windows lighting it, though some is
considerably earlier and some later than that date.
It may, on the other hand, refer to some embellishment of the gallery at the end of the hall, though
nothing can now be seen of it.
The kitchen, with the housekeeper's rooms to the
east of it, are additions of the 17th century, but with
this exception little work of any consequence was done
between the time of the rebuilding by the Hobys in
the 16th century and the acquisition of the abbey by
George Vansittart in 1780. All the rooms in the
northern wing were then redecorated, as was also the
library, while the fine staircase on the north of the
hall is also of that date. In 1859 the abbey was
restored, but the alterations made in the 19th
century are generally of only minor importance.
The principal entrance is through the porch at
the south end of the screens which is built of chalk
and has a vault with moulded diagonal and wall
ribs. It is entered through a stilted drop-arched
doorway of four moulded orders, the three outer
carried by attached shafts having moulded capitals
(and originally bases, though these are now embedded
in the ground), while the inner order stops against
the square jambs ; above the arch is an external hood
mould. The shafts and the western capitals have all
been renewed, but only the necking and lower parts of
the bells of the capitals of the eastern jamb shafts are
new, though the whole doorway has been rebuilt with
the old materials. The moulded head of the inner
doorway, which has also been rebuilt, is of the same
form, and has jambs of three orders with nook shafts
of Purbeck marble having moulded capitals, but here
again the bases are hidden. The vaulting ribs
spring from Purbeck shafts of the same scale and
design placed at each angle of the porch, and
the side walls are occupied by large shallow recesses
with plain jambs and heads concentric with the
wall ribs. The 13th-century door to the inner doorway is still in use, and the top hinge and the escutcheon
(both of ornamental wrought-iron work) are contemporary with it.
The hall measures 52 ft. 2 in. by 33 ft. 4 in., the
screens at the west end being 7 ft. 8 in. wide. It is
of the same height as the two-storied additions which
surround it, and is roofed with a fine open timber
roof. It is now lighted by three modern Gothic
windows, one of five lights high up in the east wall,
and two above the gallery in the west wall. In the
east wall is a large blocked-up window of three lancet
lights contained under a single two-centred segmental
rear arch, and having angle shafts with moulded capitals
and bases to the inner jambs. This window was
discovered in 1859 and must date from the latter
part of the 13th century, though practically all the
stonework has since been renewed. At the same time as
this discovery was made, the hoods of three blocked-up
windows, said to have contained five lancets apiece,
were found in the north wall adjoining the dining
room, and it is probable that the same arrangement
originally existed on the south wall. That the hall
was originally warmed by a central grate was proved
by the finding of many blackened rafters in the
centre of the roof at the restoration in 1859. The
present stone fireplace in the south wall is of the
early 17th century and has a fine oak overmantel.
It was given by James I to Lord Windsor about
1605 for his house at Worcester, and when this was
sold the eighth Earl of Plymouth presented it to
Bisham Abbey. Flanking the fireplace opening,
which has a straight-sided depressed head, are pairs
of Corinthian columns standing on enriched pedestals
and supporting an entablature with a carved frieze.
The overmantel, which repeats the coupled columns,
is of somewhat similar design and bears upon the
centre panel in bold relief the royal arms of the
Stuarts. Above the entablature over the coupled
columns are carved demi-eagles rising from wreaths
and each bearing two crosses formy. The screens
with the projecting gallery above were erected late in
the 15th century. The screen itself is of oak standing on a stone base and is divided into five bays by
solid posts, heavily moulded with a series of rolls.
The centre and end bays are each divided into four
panels subdivided horizontally by a deep transom,
while the two intermediate bays are open and have
four-centred heads with carved spandrels. The
lower panels are square-headed, while the upper
ones, which, though now filled with glass, were originally open, have multifoiled four-centred heads with
feathered cusping (much of the feathering of which
has been broken off) and pierced spandrels. The
stone base to the centre bay is ornamented with a
row of quatrefoils, and the oak sill on which the
screen stands is well moulded. On the west wall of
the screens passage is modern panelling of late 15th-century design. The overhanging gallery, which is
entered through a door in the north wall, has a
panelled front with a moulded sill and head, the
panels having multifoiled ogee heads with cusped
spandrels on either side. Round the lower part of
the hall walls is early 17th-century panelling. The
roof is steep-pitched and of the trussed rafter type;
many of the timbers have been renewed.
Plan of Bisham Abrey
Bisham Abbey: The 13th-Century Door
The doorway at the south end of the east wall
of the hall, which opens into the passage
on the south side of the cellar and leads
to the remaining walk of the demolished
cloisters, originally opened into the
'fayre half pace' mentioned in the
surveyor's report already quoted. Part
of the line of this stair may be traced
by the north jamb of the doorway, and
again on the first floor, where it was
utilized to overcome the difference in
levels which occurs between the tapestry
room and the Hoby addition on the
south side of the hall; the greater part,
however, was at that time destroyed and
the small, straight flight of stairs on the
north side of the passage built in its
stead. The rooms on the ground floor
along the south side of the hall have
been much modernized, while the
cellars and stores are of little interest.
The cloister walk on the east side of
the cellars is 6 ft. wide and has four
segmental arches, each of two chamfered
orders, abutting upon octagonal piers,
while at either end were narrower
openings with two-centred segmental
heads. In the 16th century walls were
built between the two northernmost
openings and across the north end of
the walk to form a small store, while
the supports of the bay window added
to the council chamber on the first floor
at the same time were carried down,
making a small semi-octagonal room
entered from the garden through a twocentred segmental arch in the centre
wall, and having similar window openings in the walls on either side. The
wall between the cloister and the cellars
is of half-timber.
The dining room and the adjoining staircase hall
to the east of it are also 16th-century additions,
though the stairs themselves are of the 18th century.
The dining room is lighted from the north and east
by large mullioned and transomed windows. The
walls have original panelling, but the ceiling and fireplace are modern.
The ground floor of the solar block is lighted from
the south by an original two-centred segmental light
having an external label resting on carved head stops.
much decayed, while immediately above this,
now lighting the bedroom over, though originally
lighting the solar, is a fine 13th-century soffit cusped
window of two trefoiled lights, with a sexfoiled circle
over within a pointed head having internal and
external labels. Both jambs and mullion are elaborately
moulded, and internally jamb shafts with moulded
capitals (now partly cut away) support the rear arch.
These are the only original features still remaining in
this block, the window lighting the ground floor from
the south end of the west wall being a much later
insertion, while the whole of the interior has been
divided up and modernized.
The room adjoining the solar block on the west
and communicating with the kitchen still retains three
of its original doorways, while in the head of the doorway between the scullery and the kitchen can be seen
part of the head of a pointed window of two soffit
cusped lights. The west end of the north wall and
the entire west wall of this scullery are modern, both
being built of brick. The kitchen block is also of
brick and has a fine 17th-century brick chimney stack
against the west wall, but the east wall has been
entirely rebuilt. The doorways at either end of the passage on the south side of the servants' hall are original
and have pointed heads; but though the walls of the
servants' hall are of 13th-century date, the doorway
is the only original feature remaining. It is a onestory building and has only quite recently been
put to its present use, and is consequently much
modernized, the servants' hall having been previously
situated in the solar building.
Bisham Abbey from the North-east
The rooms on both the ground and first floor of
the northern range (with the exception of the study,
which is panelled with 17th-century oak panelling)
are of little interest, having been entirely redecorated
in the latter part of the 18th century, when new
windows and a doorway opening on to a short flight
of steps leading into the garden were inserted in the
north wall of the central room.
Occupying the greater part of the east end of the
building on the first floor, behind the hall, is the
council chamber or drawing room. This extends
southwards from the north external wall to the
inclosed staircase, to the south of which is the bedroom known as the tapestry room. Before these
subdivisions were made in the 16th century the
whole of the upper floor of this wing formed one
large chamber covered by a fine open-timber roof.
At the time of the alteration a bay window was thrown
out at the north end of the east wall and the whole
chamber was ceiled in at the level of the wall head by the
insertion of another floor, which was reached through
a small door high up in the north wall of the tapestry
room.
The council chamber is divided transversely into
two bays by a beam across the centre of the ceiling,
which is supported on either side by fluted pilasters
of the Doric order, the entablature of which runs
right round the room. There is a fireplace in the
centre of the west wall of each bay. The southern
one is entirely modern, though the northern one is
original and has small projecting Doric columns at
either end with an entablature above; the opening is,
however, entirely modern. The room is lighted
from the north and east by mullioned and transomed
windows, the northernmost in the east wall being
the semi-octagonal bay which was added by the
Hobys in the latter part of the 16th century. The
jambs to the windows have ornamental panelling,
while in the upper lights of the windows themselves
are preserved some interesting pieces of heraldic
glass.
In the north window is a shield of Anne of Denmark,
queen of James I, set in an oval panel and surrounded
by Jacobean strapwork, below which is the motto
Lamia Grandezza dal Eccelso; this was brought from
the Hoby chapel in Bisham Church. There are also
some fragments of Elizabethan glass consisting of a
small shield of France quartering England surrounded
by decorative foliage and roses embellished with gold
and silver work; a Tudor rose set within a wreath
of blue foliage bound by red ribbon and mauvecoloured enrichment; a golden fleur de lis, over which
are the letters 'E.R.' surrounded by ornaments
of similar type to that surrounding the shield of
France and England just described; and the arms
of James I surrounded by a garter and surmounted
by a crown The glass in the bay window is of
various dates, and consists of a 15th-century shield of
Montagu impaling Grandison surrounded by a wreath
composed of fragments of coloured glass; a Jacobean
shield in six quarters of Cecil Earl of Exeter surrounded by a garter and surmounted by a coronet;
a 15th-century quartered shield of Richard Nevill
Earl of Salisbury surrounded by a garter; a Jacobean
shield in six quarters of Cecil Earl of Salisbury;
and a shield of Pole impaling Margaret of Clarence
Countess of Salisbury surrounded by a garter. In
the window in the south of the east wall are the
shields of James I and his wife Anne of Denmark,
both surrounded by garters and surmounted by crowns.
The tapestry room, so called from the tapestries
now adorning the hall, which originally hung here,
was formed by the Hobys when the additions were
made on the south side of the hall. Leading out of
the north-west corner to the bedrooms on the first
floor along the south side of the hall (and having
a small light looking into the hall) is the short flight
of steps above referred to which no doubt occupies
the position of the 'fayre half pace' of the surveyor's
report. In the west wall is the head of a pointed
late 14th-century window which was blocked up
when the 16th-century additions were made, and
again brought to light when the tapestries were
removed some few years ago. It has a drop rear
arch moulded with a double ogee and splayed inner
jambs. The Elizabethan fireplace in the north wall
has moulded jambs and a four-centred head within a
square having small shields carved in the spandrels.
Over the fireplace is a plaster panel in which are set
the shields of Hoby in six quarters differenced with a
crescent impaling Cooke in eight quarters for Sir
Thomas Hoby and his wife Elizabeth Cooke. The
room is lighted from the south by a large five-light
transomed window. The 14th-century roof over this
wing is divided by five trusses into four bays, though
the southernmost is now separated from the others by
the upper part of the north wall to the tapestry room.
The trusses are of the braced collar type with small
king-posts carrying a longitudinal timber holding in
position the subsidiary collars of the rafters, which
are tied together near the ridge. The longitudinal
timber and the upper collars of the trusses are stiffened
by four curved braces springing from each king-post,
and the purlins are braced by curved wind-braces.
The bedrooms on the first floor along the south
side of the hall have been considerably modernized,
though they retain their original mullioned and
transomed windows. A 16th-century three-light
window lights the parvise over the porch, which is
reached from the east through the Hoby bedrooms
just mentioned, and from the west through the passage
built along the east side of the solar when its upper
floor was inserted in the latter part of the 15th
century. The main joists carrying this floor have
mouldings of the same type as the timbers of the
screen. The servants' bedrooms are accommodated
in the upper floor of the solar and on the first floor
above the offices.
The buildings on the south side of the hall with
those to the west of the solar block are only two
stories in height, but there are attics to the northern
range and above the library. Chalk is used generally
in the 13th-century work, though flint diapering
has been introduced in the walls of the solar block
and in some of the early walling at the west end
of the buildings. It was also used in the 14th-century additions, but with the exception of the
walls inclosing the 18th-century staircase on the
north side of the hall, which were erected with
material from the demolished monastery, and the
bay window to the council chamber, most of the
Hoby building was erected in brick. Much of this
work has been plastered over, but this has in many
places completely weathered off.
The south-west or entrance front is one of the
most interesting. The western end is of brick with
simple wooden mullioned windows, though the wall
between this 17th-century block and the solar
buildings is of chalk and still retains to the upper floor
a small 13th-century pointed window. The south
wall of the solar block has a gable of fairly steep pitch.
An embattled parapet was added to the wall of the
parvise over the porch by the Hobys in the 16th
century and the additions between the porch and
the 14th-century block are carried up in three stepped
gables, the roofs of which run back on to the roof of
the hall. All the windows along the first floor of
this front, except those already mentioned, have
stone mullions and transoms, surmounted by small
triangular pediments, and are of 16th-century date,
but the ground floor windows have wood frames which
may be rather later; the windows on the east front
of the 14th-century block are also 16th-century
insertions. The roof to this wing runs north and
south the whole length of the building, with gables
at both ends, and has a 16th-century coved cornice.
The north-east angle is strengthened by a modern
buttress of three stages. The north front of the
northern block is of brick with stone mullione and
transomed windows; the roof runs east and west
and the return walls are carried up in stepped
gables. The elevation is symmetrically designed and
the attics in the roof are lighted by two dormers with
stepped gables. The tower is also of brick with stone
quoins and dressings to the windows and rises above
the roof at the south-east angle of this block. At its
north-east angle is an octagonal turret, finishing in an
embattled parapet, while at the opposite corner is a
huge stack into which many chimneys have been
gathered. The buildings to the west of the northern
block have been greatly patched up at various periods,
and are generally of a nondescript character of no
particular merit or interest. The roofs throughout
are tiled.
The mediaeval barns, which run north and south
to the south-west of the abbey, have been modernized
and partly converted into stables. They are built of
chalk and still retain most of their original opentimber roofs. A circular pigeon-house, with four
buttresses and a conical tiled roof, stands to the west
of the stables. The old tithe barn also still remains.
Bisham Grange, the residence of Miss Kelly, is a
two-storied red brick building with tiled roofs, and
stands to the south of the abbey, overlooking the
river, probably on the site of the conventual grange
(see below under manor). Though apparently of late
17th-century date, it suffered during the early years of the Gothic
revival and is now of little interest.
The Temple paper-mills stand
on the river about half a mile
south-west of the church. The
manufacture of tin-plates was
carried on in the mills in the 17th
century, (fn. 14) afterwards for over a
century they were used for the
manufacture of brass and copper. (fn. 15)
The premises now used for sorting
and store rooms consist of a large
three-story erection in red brick
of good 18th-century design.
Temple House, the residence of
Mrs. Owen Williams, widow of
Lieutenant-General Owen Lewis
Cope Williams, stands in a beautiful park on the river bank. It is
a three-storied stucco mansion of
early 19th-century date and has a
tetrastyle lonic portico running
the full height of the building.
Stoney Ware, the residence of
Mrs. Taylor, is a timber gabled
mansion on the banks of the river
to the north of the church.
Besides the village of Bisham
proper there are several hamlets:
Stubbings, part of Pinkney's Green,
Temple, comprising the houses
around Temple Park and Temple
Mills, and Common Wood and
Cross Roads, including a number
of houses bordering on Hurley.
Stubbings was formed into a
separate ecclesiastical parish in
1856, part of the parish of Cookham being included in it. The
church of St. James the Less was
built by Mr. Henry Skrine of Stubbings in 1850.
To the south-west of the church is Stubbings House,
the property of Mr. Henry Mills Skrine. In 1806
Stubbings was the property and residence of the Earl
of Dorchester, who had bought it shortly before of
Elisha Biscoe, (fn. 16) and lived there in retirement after
his return from Canada. (fn. 17) In 1759 it had been the
seat of Charles Ambler, a councillor at law. (fn. 18)
The nearest railway station is Great Marlow, on a
branch of the Great Western railway. It is about
a mile from the village of Bisham, and is reached by
the suspension bridge across the river (built in 1836).
MANOR
In the time of Edward the Confessor
BISHAM was held by Bondi, and in
1086 formed part of the great possessions of Henry de Ferrers. (fn. 19) In the reign of
Stephen Robert de Ferrers Earl of Derby, grandson
of Henry de Ferrers, granted the manor in free alms
to the Knights Templars, (fn. 20) who established a preceptory there. The overlordship remained with the
Ferrers family until 1266, (fn. 21) when, on the forfeiture
of Robert de Ferrers Earl of Derby, his lands passed
to the king, by whom the honour of Tutbury, of
which Bisham formed a part, was granted to Edmund
Crouchback Earl of Lancaster. (fn. 22) The charter of
King Stephen to the Knights Templars was con
firmed by Henry II, together with a grant of 40 acres
of assart land. (fn. 23) A further grant of quittance of
assart was made by King John in 1199. (fn. 24) The
manorial estate was well-wooded then as now. (fn. 25)
The liberties enjoyed by the Templars within the
manor included pleas of namio vetito and assize of
bread and ale and free chase in Bisham and the
demesnes of Cookham. (fn. 26) By an undated charter of
Thomas de Sandford they were enfeoffed of his land
at Sandford and the advowson of the church of
Blewbury to maintain a chaplain in their house at
Bisham. (fn. 27)
Bisham Abbey from the West
Ferrers. Vairy or and gules.
The Knights Templars. Argent a cross gules and a chief sable.
On the suppression of the order in 1307 Edward II
granted the manor of Bisham to Robert de Hanstede,
jun., during pleasure, (fn. 28) and in 1311 to Roger de
Winkfeld on the same terms. (fn. 29) In 1307 an order
was issued to the keeper of the manor to see that
John de Upleden had his allowance of food, with a
robe, and 5s. yearly for necessaries, (fn. 30) and another to
pay Adam de Char a corrody of 3d. a day for food,
with 10s. for a robe, fodder for two horses (like the
palfrey of the preceptor), and the keep of two grooms
at the table of the esquires. (fn. 31)
While the manor was in the king's hands it was
used as a place of confinement for Elizabeth wife of
Robert Bruce, who in 1310 was there under the
custody of John de Bentley, the king's yeoman. (fn. 32)
It was the residence of Edward Prince of Wales in
1313. (fn. 33) In the latter year Edward II ordered the
property of the Knights Templars in England to be
transferred to the Knights Hospitallers, in accordance
with the ordinance of Pope Clement V, 'under a
protest for the preservation of the rights of himself
and his subjects.' (fn. 34) This order, however, was not
carried out, and the Hospitallers did not obtain the
Templars' lands until 1320, under a provision of
Pope John XXII, (fn. 35) who succeeded Pope Clement in
1316. In the meanwhile the manor had apparently
been claimed by the overlord, Thomas Earl of
Lancaster, who was holding it in 1316, (fn. 36) and had it
until his execution in 1322, (fn. 37) when it was granted by
the king to Hugh le Despenser the younger. (fn. 38) In 1324
the Hospitallers, whether willingly or unwillingly,
quitclaimed their right to Hugh le Despenser. (fn. 39) He
was executed in 1326 and the manor escheated to
the Crown.
The Knights Hospitallers. Gules a cross argent.
Earldom of Lancaster. ENGLAND with the difference of a label of FRANCE
In 1328 orders were sent to William de Langeford, the keeper, to repair the water-mills, broken
down by floods, (fn. 40) and in the following year there
were again expenses for the repair of houses, mills,
walls and ponds. (fn. 41) At this date the king granted to
his watchman, John de Hardyng, for his long service,
a messuage, 30 acres of land, 1 acre of meadow and
3½ acres of woodland, worth 21s. yearly, out of the
manorial estate, at a rent of 6s. per annum, (fn. 42) while a
previous grant of £10 per annum made out of the
manor by the Earl of Lancaster to Michael le
Armerer was confirmed. (fn. 43) In January 1331 the
king granted the manor to Queen Isabella, (fn. 44) it being
among the lands assigned to her on the surrender of
her dower after the death of Mortimer; but in
February following it was granted for life to Alice
widow of the late Earl of Lancaster and wife of
Ebulo Lestrange, (fn. 45) and in 1334 the grant was
enlarged to cover the term of Ebulo's life, (fn. 46) the
reversion after his death being granted in 1335 to
William Lord Montagu (created Earl of Salisbury
in 1337), (fn. 47) one of the king's chief supporters and the
instrument of Mortimer's capture. Lestrange died a
few months later, (fn. 48) and his widow, who survived until
1348, apparently quitclaimed her life interest in the
manor, as the earl seems at once to have entered into
possession of it, securing his title by a quitclaim from
Sir Hugh son of Hugh le Despenser the younger. (fn. 49)
Despenser. Argent quartered with gules fretty or and a bend sable over all.
Montagu. Argent a fesse indented gules of three points.
In March 1337 the Earl of Salisbury obtained
licence to found a house of Austin Canons in the
manor of Bisham and to grant the manor to them. (fn. 50)
The grant of the manor was made on 15 April 1337, (fn. 51)
and a royal charter was drawn up on the 22nd of the
same month, granting the prior full liberties within his
lands, including view of frankpledge and free warren,
goods and chattels of felons and fugitives, fines from
his tenants, waif and stray, exemption from suit at
the courts of the shire and hundred, from all tolls,
pavage, pontage, &c., from purveyance and prisage of
wool and from aids and subsidies. (fn. 52) A new charter
of endowment was issued by the earl in June 1338, (fn. 53)
followed in 1339 by a royal charter containing an
inspeximus of the liberties granted before and a further
grant of return of writs, infangentheof and outfangentheof. (fn. 54) In 1339 the king bestowed on Bisham
Priory the rent from the messuage and land previously
granted for life to his watchman John Hardyng and
the reversion of the same. (fn. 55)
There seems to have been some uncertainty, as
there had been in the times of the Templars, (fn. 56) as to
the boundaries of the manor on the Cookham side,
between Wyntersgrove on the south and the Thames
on the north, and in 1385 the Sheriff of Berkshire
was ordered to have a perambulation made and to
set up sufficient landmarks for the future. (fn. 57) In 1392
William Earl of Salisbury made a further grant of
land in Bisham to the prior and convent, (fn. 58) who
retained the manor until the Dissolution. (fn. 59)
The priory surrendered in 1536, (fn. 60) but in 1537 the
king founded a Benedictine abbey of Holy Trinity
there, transferring to it the abbot and monks of the
dissolved monastery of Chertsey and endowing it with
the lands and revenues of its predecessor, including
the manor of Bisham. (fn. 61) This new foundation on a
larger scale of a house already surrendered, the only
instance of the kind that has been found, lasted however only six months, and surrendered to the king in
June 1538. (fn. 62) Sir Richard Riche, chancellor of the
Court of Augmentations, was anxious to obtain a
lease of the demesne lands of Bisham, which he
claimed that the abbot had promised him 'when
first moved to surrender,' (fn. 63) and Margaret Vernon
coveted Lady Salisbury's house there. (fn. 64) Neither of
these appears to have been gratified. In 1541 the
king granted the manor for life to Anne of Cleves, (fn. 65)
and the reversion of it in 1544 to Thomas Persse for
the sum of £138 6s. 8d. (fn. 66) In 1552 Edward VI
ordered Anne of Cleves to exchange the manor for
some other of equal value, and sent a letter to
Sir Richard Sackville, chancellor of the Augmentations, authorizing him to take it into the king's
hands. (fn. 67) Anne acceded to the king's request, (fn. 68) but
there was evidently some delay, as Sir Philip Hoby,
to whom the manor and site of the monastery were
later granted, wrote to Sir William Cecil asking his aid
for the completion of the arrangements, 'as the Lady
Anne was dissatisfied.' (fn. 69) The transaction appears
to have been brought to a satisfactory conclusion in
the January of 1553, as at that date Anne wrote to the
Princess Mary saying that the manor of Westropp
(Westhorpe) in Suffolk had been granted to her in
exchange for Bisham. (fn. 70) In March 1553 Sir Philip
Hoby, the last English legate to Rome, was granted
the site of the monastery, with a close called le
Covent Garden, a grange within the site then held
with the demesne lands by Thomas Weldon, the
manor of Bisham, lands called Warderobes and Barkefordes or Bekfordes and the capital messuage formerly
parcel of the lands of Margaret Countess of Salisbury. (fn. 71)
He was succeeded on his death in 1558 by his brother
Sir Thomas, (fn. 72) ambassador to France at the beginning
of Elizabeth's reign. (fn. 73) Sir Thomas died at Paris in
1566, (fn. 74) being succeeded by his son Edward, who
took a prominent part in the theological disputes of
the day. He was a scholar and diplomatist and was
sent on many confidential missions, but the favour
shown him by James VI of Scotland so much
incensed Elizabeth that he had to absent himself
from court. In 1592, however, the queen and
court were at Bisham. (fn. 75) Hoby was in favour with
James I, whom he often entertained at the abbey. (fn. 76)
He held the manor (fn. 77) until his death in March
1618. (fn. 78) He had made his illegitimate son Peregrine
Hoby his heir, (fn. 79) and Sir Thomas Posthumus Hoby,
brother of Sir Edward Hoby, apparently quitclaimed
the manor of Bisham to Peregrine (fn. 80) in 1620. (fn. 81)
Edward son of Peregrine, (fn. 82) who predeceased his
father in 1675, was created a baronet in 1666, with
special remainder, failing issue. to his brothers. (fn. 83)
John, his brother, succeeded to the title in 1675 and
inherited Bisham at the death of Peregrine in 1679. (fn. 84)
He died in 1702 and was buried at Bisham. (fn. 85) Thomas,
his eldest surviving son and heir, suffered a recovery
of the manor in 1708. (fn. 86) His son Thomas, who
succeeded in 1730, was M.P. for Great Marlow
in three Parliaments. (fn. 87) At his death in 1744 he
left no issue, and his brother and heir, the Rev. Sir
Philip Hoby, chancellor of St. Patrick's, Dublin, and
Dean of Ardfert 1748–66, also died without issue in
1766, (fn. 88) when the baronetcy became extinct. Sir
Philip left Bisham to his maternal first cousin John
Mill, second son of Sir Richard Mill, fifth baronet,
on condition of his taking the name of Hoby. (fn. 89) He
succeeded his brother as seventh baronet in 1770 and
died without issue in 1780, (fn. 90) having bequeathed the
manor to his wife Elizabeth, who in 1780 received a
quitclaim from Sir Henry Mill of Woolbeding, co.
Sussex, brother and heir of Sir John Hoby Mill. (fn. 91)
Elizabeth Hoby Mill sold the manor soon afterwards
to George Vansittart, (fn. 92) sixth son of Arthur Vansittart
of Shottesbrook, for twenty-eight years M.P. for
Berkshire. (fn. 93) He was succeeded in 1824 by his grandson George Henry Vansittart, (fn. 94) M.P. for Berkshire
from 1852 to 1859. (fn. 95) The latter dying without surviving issue, the property passed in 1885 to his cousin
Edward Vansittart Neale, (fn. 96) Christian socialist and
founder of the first co-operative stores, (fn. 97) whose son
Sir Henry James Vansittart Neale is the present
owner.
Vansittart. Ermine an eagle sable and a chief gules with a crown between two crosses formy argent therein.
Neale. Party table and gules a leopard argent.
The water-mills at Bisham are mentioned in 1328,
when they were broken down by floods. (fn. 98) In September 1544 the reversion of a messuage beside
Marlow Bridge, 3 acres of meadow, a 'wynch' and
an 'eight' in the Thames, the Temple Mills 'under
one roof,' and fishing from Temple Lock to the 'over
ende de le Westmeade,' and from the end of 'le
Severne' and Westmeade to 'le Stonehouse in Bisham
and Cookham,' and of a meadow called Severne and
land between it and the mills, late belonging to the
monastery and then held by Anne of Cleves, was
granted to Thomas Persse. (fn. 99) Thomas Persse conveyed the property in the same month to John
Brinkhurst, (fn. 100) who died seised of it in 1572. (fn. 101) His
heir, John Brinkhurst, entailed it in 1590 upon his
brother Richard, who predeceased him, dying in
1612 and leaving a son John, who succeeded his
uncle in 1614. (fn. 102) In 1669 he and his son John were
parties to a fine dealing with the free fishing, (fn. 103) and in
1697 the latter made a settlement of the mill and
the free fishery. (fn. 104) In 1723 he and his son of the
same name dealt with the fishing, (fn. 105) probably to bar
the entail, as in 1759 the
mills were in the possession
of William Ockenden. (fn. 106) They
were bought in 1788 by
Thomas Williams of Llanidan, Anglesey, M.P. for Great
Marlow 1790–1802, (fn. 107) who
built Temple House (fn. 108) and used
the mills for smelting copper
brought from his mines in
Wales. His son Owen
Williams of Temple House,
M.P. for Great Marlow, died
in 1832 and was succeeded
by his son Lieut.-Colonel
Thomas Peers Williams, M.P.
for Great Marlow, who died in 1875. His son
Lieut.-General Owen Lewis Cope Williams represented the same borough from 1880 to 1885 and
died in 1904. (fn. 109) The mills are now the property of
Mrs. Owen Williams of Temple House.
Williams. Argent a cheveron sable between three choughs each holding an ermine tail in his beak.
A family of Blunt held land in Bisham in the
12th century. (fn. 110) Adam le Blunt of Bisham was
yeoman to Eleanor, the king's mother, in 1282. (fn. 111)
CHURCHES
The church of ALL SAINTS
consists of a chancel measuring internally 35 ft. 2 in. by 16 ft. 7 in., a
modern north chancel aisle, a south sepulchral chapel
30 ft. by 16 ft. 6 in., a nave, modern north and south
aisles, a west tower about 15 ft. square and a modern
south porch.
The oldest part of the present building is the mid-12th-century tower, but it is probable that the plan
of the nave and chancel is also of that date, though
modern restoration has obliterated or concealed all
ancient work save that of the tower and the east
window of the south chapel. The aisles with their
arcades are modern, so that probably the original
building consisted merely of chancel, nave, and tower,
to which was added in the latter part of the 16th
century a chapel on the south side of the chancel for
the reception of the monuments of the Hoby family.
In 1849–50 a restoration took place, when the south
aisle was added, lining with the south chapel, and
the south wall of the nave was pierced by an arcade
of three bays. The chancel arch was also rebuilt and
a new arcade inserted between the chancel and the
south chapel. The aisles on the north side of the
chancel and nave were added in 1877–8 and
at the same time the chancel was extended some
feet eastwards. In 1903, and again in 1905, some
minor restorations were made to the tower, the
defective stonework being repaired and a coating of
rough-cast removed.
The east window of the chancel is modern and of
three lights under a pointed head. At the east end
of the north wall is a small modern recess and in the
wall opposite are three sedilia. Modern arcades,
designed in the style of the 14th century, open into
the north chancel aisle and south chapel. In the
east wall of the south chapel is a late 16th-century
window of six lights with three-centred heads, above
which is a modern multifoiled light. In the south
wall are a three-light window and a pointed doorway,
both modern.
Both arcades of the nave are of three bays, that on
the north being similar in design to those of the
chancel. The north aisle extends further westward
than the nave, the upper part of the west end being
utilized as a gallery. In a corresponding position in
the south aisle is a private pew, below which is the
vestry. The principal entrance into the church is
through the south doorway of the aisle.
The tower, which is built of chalk and has a
pyramidal tiled roof, is divided into three stages by
chamfered string-courses, and is crowned by a 16th-century embattled brick parapet; the west wall of
the bottom stage projects some inches in front of the
wall above. The tower arch is semicircular and of
two moulded orders, the inner one being supported
on either side by an attached shaft having a carved
capital, the abacus and necking of which are continued round the respond. The capital to the
southern shaft is scalloped, but the northern capital is
foliated. The angles of the responds are chamfered,
the chamfer being carried on to the square between
the necking and the abacus by a conventionally
carved leaf. In the west wall, which as before stated
projects externally in front of the wall above, is a
modern doorway and above this a small round-headed
opening with widely splayed inner jambs. All the
external stonework of this window is modern, but the
opening itself is no doubt original. There is a
similar window at the same level in the north wall
which has been left unrestored; externally it is of
two slightly chamfered orders and internally has deep
splayed jambs. There was probably a similar window
in the south wall, but no trace of any opening is discernible, the wall being plastered at this point both
inside and out. The ringing stage is lighted from
the north, south and west by pointed single lights of
similar detail to the original round-headed window
mentioned above, though their rear arches are flat.
Looking into the nave from this story is a round-headed light, partly blocked. The bell-chamber has
coupled round-headed lights of original date on all
four sides, the heads of which are rudely carved with
cheveron ornament, while their labels are formed by
a much decayed string-course which runs round the
wall at the springing level of the heads. The sills of
these windows are at the level of the string-course
which marks the bell-chamber level, but the eastern
ones have been completely filled in save for a small
rectangular slit, while the lower parts of the remaining
window are blocked. Worked on the angles of the
top stage are badly decayed attached shafts. All the
roofs are modern and tiled.
The famous Hoby window in the east wall of the
chapel consists of six lights with two shields in each
light, and an inscription showing that it was put up in
1609 in memory of the two brothers, Sir Philip and
Sir Thomas Hoby, of Elizabeth Cooke, mother of
Sir Edward Hoby, and of Margaret Cary his wife.
The coats of arms in the upper row are those of
Sir Edward Hoby, his two wives Margaret Cary
and Catherine Danvers, his father-in-law William
Cary Lord Hunsdon, his brother-in-low Henry
Lord Danvers, his father Sir Thomas Hoby, and
his uncle Sir Philip Hoby. In the lower row are
the shields of his brother Sir Thomas Posthumus
Hoby of Hackwood and of certain of his first cousins
who were children of William Hoby of Hailes in
Gloucestershire. These shields are arranged in the
following order. In the northern light in the upper
row is the achievement of William Lord Hunsdon,
K.G., who died in 1596, showing his shield of sixteen
quarters surrounded by his garter and supported by a
yale and a horned griffon. In the lower row is
Hoby impaling Dakyns, for Sir Thomas Posthumus
brother of Sir Edward and his wife Margaret, daughter
and heir of Sir Arthur Dakyns of Linton in Yorkshire.
In the upper part of the next light is the shield of
Sir Edward Hoby of twelve quarterings impaling
Cary, for Margaret his first wife, with sixteen quarterings, and below it is Hoby impaling Paulet, for Giles
Hoby of Hailes and his first wife Elizabeth Paulet.
In the upper part of the third light is the shield with
six quarterings of Sir Philip Hoby impaling the six
quarterings of Elizabeth Stonor. Below is Hoby
impaling Tracy, for William Hoby, second son of
William of Hailes, and his second wife Mary, daughter
of Sir John Tracy of Toddington. In the upper
part of the fourth light are the six quarters of
Sir Thomas Hoby impaling the seven quarters of
Cooke of Gidea, for his wife Elizabeth, one of the
three learned daughters of Sir Anthony Cooke of
Gidea Hall in Essex. Below is Hoby impaling Rous,
for Anthony third son of William of Hailes and his
wife Elizabeth Rous. In the upper part of the fifth
light is Hoby with eleven other quarterings impaling
Danvers of twelve quarters. These are the arms of
Sir Edward Hoby and his second wife Elizabeth,
daughter of Sir John Danvers, who was a kinswoman
of the Nevills. At the bottom of the light is Hoby
impaling Fermour, for William second son of William
of Hailes and his first wife Catherine Fermour,
daughter of George Fermour of Easton Neston. In
the upper part of the southernmost light is a Danvers
shield of thirty-nine quarters supported by a griffon
and a leopard, and above it a helm crested with a
wyvern. This is the achievement of Henry Lord
Danvers, the brother-in-law of Sir Edward Hoby;
he was created Lord Danvers in 1603 and Earl of
Danby in 1626. At the bottom of the light is
Hoby impaling Clarke, for Giles Hoby of Hailes and
his second wife Anne, daughter of Sir Thomas Clarke
of Avington. Above the four middle shields are the
crests of Hoby and Cary, a tiger argent on a hat for
the former and a swan for the latter, in alternate lights.
On the west wall of the nave, to the south of the
tower arch, is a brass with the effigy of a civilian and
a black letter inscription to Thomas Crekett, fishmonger of London, and Anne his wife. He died
25 July 1517. On the wall below the gallery at
the west end of the north aisle is a brass with a black
letter inscription to Christopher Gray, who died
11 June 1525, and Wilmott his wife, who died
5 September 1525. On the wall between the south
aisle and the vestry is a brass inscribed in Roman
capitals: 'Here lieth the bodyes of John Brinckhurst | sometime Citizen and Mercer of London,
and | Marchaunt adventurar wth Elizabeth Blundell |
and Jane Wodfoorde his two wifes, the said John
deceased the … the | said Elisabeth deceased the
22th of June, A° 1581, & the said Jane deceased
the … .'
The centre monument against the south wall of
the chapel was erected by Dame Elizabeth Hoby in
memory of her first husband Sir Thomas and his stepbrother Sir Philip Hoby. It is an alabaster altar
tomb with the recumbent effigies of the two brothers,
and is built slightly into the wall, which is arched
over, the recess being faced with the same material
as the tomb. Small Doric pilasters supporting an
entablature divide each end of the tomb into two
bays and the front into three. Round the frieze
at either end runs the following inscription: 'Sr
Philip maried dame Elizabeth daughtr to Sr Waltr
Stoner | and after worthy service done to his prince
and country | died without issue 31 of May 1558
being of the age of 53 | at his house in Londō and
fro thē was convayd hither.' The frieze along the front
of the tomb is inscribed: 'Syr Thomas Hobye maried
with dame Elizabeth | daughter to Syr Anthonye
Cooke Knighte | by whome he had issewe fower
children | Edward, Elizabeth, Anne and Thomas
posthumus, | and being ambassador for Queene
Elizabetha in Fraunce | died at Paris the 13 of July
1566 of the age of 36 | leving his wife great with
child in a strange countrey | who brought hym
honourable home, built this chappell | and laid him
and his brother here in one tombe together | vivat
post funera virtus.'
In the head of the recess over the back of the
tomb are the inscriptions: 'Elizabetha Hobaea |
conjunx ad Thomam | Hobaeum equitem maritum,'
and 'Elizabetha Hobaea | soror ad philippum
hobaeum | equitem fratrem,' followed by a set of
Latin verses. In the centre bay on the front of the
tomb is the inscription:—
'Two worthye Knights, and Hobies bothe by name,
Enclosed within this marble stone do rest.
Philip, the fyrst, in Caesar's court hathe fame:
Such as tofore, fewe legates like possest.
A diepe discoursing, head, a noble brest:
A Courtier passing, and a curteis Knight:
Zelous to God, whos gospel he profest:
When gretest stormes gan dym the sacred light,
A happie man, whom death hath nowe redeemd
From care to joye that can not be esteemd.
Thomas in Fraunce possest the legate's place,
And with such wisdome grew to guide the same,
As had increst great honour to his race,
Yf sodein fate had not envied his fame.
Firme in God's truth, gentle, a faitheful frend:
Wel lernd and languaged; nature besyde
Gave comely shape, which made ruful his end.
Sins in his floure in Paris towne he died,
Leaving with child behind his woful wief,
In forein land opprest with heapes of griff;
From part of which when she discharged was,
By fall of teares that faithful wiefes do shead
The corps with honour brought she to this place,
Perfourming here all due unto the dead;
That doon this noble tombe she causd to make
And both thes brethern closed within the same,
A memory left here for vertues sake,
In spite of death to honour them with fame.
Thus live they dead, and we lerne wel thereby
That ye and we, and all the world must dye.'
T. B.
In the panels along the sides and at either end of the
tomb are six shields showing the quarterings and
alliances of the two Hobys. From the position of these
the effigy against the wall must be that of Sir Philip.
Against the south wall, at the west end of the chapel,
is the elaborate coloured marble monument erected
to the memory of the same Elizabeth Lady Hoby.
In the centre of the monument, under a canopy
formed by an entablature supported at either end by
Corinthian columns standing upon pedestals and inclosing a semicircular arched recess, are the kneeling
figures of Lady Hoby and her children. Those
apparently who predeceased her are under the canopy,
those who survived her, without. The whole stands
upon a panelled plinth. As is recorded on the lastdescribed monument, she had by her first husband,
Sir Thomas Hoby, 'fower children, Edward, Elizabeth, Anne and Thomas Posthumus,' while by her
second husband, John Lord Russell, eldest son of the
Earl of Bedford, who died in 1585, she had three,
Francis or Thomas, who died in infancy, Elizabeth,
who died in early womanhood, and Anne, who survived her mother and married Henry Somerset, who
was summoned to Parliament in the lifetime of his
father as Lord Herbert of Raglan and succeeded him
as Earl of Worcester in 1628. Lady Hoby is represented kneeling at a desk with a babe lying at her
knees, apparently her only son by Lord Russell,
while behind her are three daughters; the taller one
is evidently Elizabeth daughter of Lord Russell, while
the other two are Elizabeth and Ann Hoby, who died
in 1570, aged seven years and nine months and five
years and three months respectively. Kneeling at
the north end of the monument, without the canopy,
and facing her mother, is Anne daughter of Lord
Russell, who being Viscountess Herbert at the time
of her mother's death is represented as wearing a
coronet, as is also Lady Hoby. At the south end of
the monument, without the canopy, are the figures of
her two sons by her first husband, Sir Edward Hoby
and Sir Thomas Posthumus Hoby. On the monument are twelve shields of the relations of Lady
Hoby. In the centre of the entablature is the shield
of her mother's family, Fitz William of Gaynes Park
in Essex. In the spandrels of the arched recess
under the canopy are Russell and Hoby, while on
the wall behind the figures at either end of the monument without the canopy are Russell impaling Cooke
and Hoby impaling Cooke. On the pedestals to the
columns supporting the canopy are those of Lord
Herbert of Raglan impaling Anne Russell, and Sir
Edward Hoby and his wife Margaret Cary, while
along the base of the monument are five shields: (1)
William Cecil Lord Burghley and his second wife
Mildred Cooke, Lady Hoby's eldest sister; (2) Sir
Nicholas Bacon, lord keeper, and Anne Cooke,
another of Lady Hoby's sisters, and mother of
Francis Bacon Viscount St. Albans; (3) Sir Anthony
Cooke and Anne Fitz William, father and mother of
Lady Hoby; (4) Hoby impaling Bacon, but no
such marriage can be traced; while the fifth is for
Sir Henry Killigrew and Katherine Cooke, another
of Lady Hoby's sisters. Between the three middle
shields upon the base are two inscribed panels. The
monument is inclosed by an iron railing, on the
corner and centre posts of which are three banners.
On the one at the east end are the Hoby arms and
crest, on the centre one the arms and crest of Cooke,
and on that at the west end the arms of Russell.
In the south-east corner of the Hoby chapel is a
monument to Margaret Cary, wife of Sir Edward
Hoby. It is of marble and of curious design, being
square in plan and divided into three stages, the
lower two forming a base from which rises an obelisk
between four swans (a swan being the Cary crest).
In a panel in the front of the lower base, which is
swelled in section, is inscribed, 'Here lieth Margaret,
late Wiefe of Sr Edward Hoby | Knight, daughter to
Henrye Lord Hunsdon of ye privie | Chamber to
the glorious Queene Elizabeth & neare | of the
bloode.' … Here follow some laudatory lines, and
the inscription finishes, 'She was borne 30th Novemb
1564, Maried 21 May 1582, & died the same daye
of the month on web she was borne 1605.' On the
front of the upper base or pedestal is a shield with
the arms of Hoby impaling Cary, for Sir Edward
Hoby and his wife Margaret; while on the east side
are the arms of Cary and on the west Hoby.
In the north-east corner of the north chancel
aisle is an early 16th-century tomb of dark Purbeck
marble erected in its present position to the memory
of Mrs. Wheatley, daughter of Mr. Thomas Williams
of Anglesey and Temple House, Berks., who died in
1850. The lower part is in the form of an altar
tomb with a panelled front, while above, supported
by angle columns ornamented with an interlacing
pattern, is an elaborate canopy surmounted by a
cresting of Tudor flowers. Above the angle column
the front of the canopy is divided into three multifoiled ogee arches, crocketed and finialled, and separated
from each other by small crocketed pinnacles. In the
soffit of the canopy is a panelled vault, while within
a crocketed panel on the east side is a small bracket.
The history of this monument is interesting. It was
bought with another one of the same date by Owen
Williams of Craig-y-don, Anglesey, and Temple
House, Berks., from Penmynydd Church, Anglesey,
where Owen Tudor was buried. One was subsequently erected to his own memory in Llandegfan
Church, Anglesey; the other, which he had originally
intended for his wife, to whom he subsequently erected
a modern monument, he gave to his cousin, Mr.
Wheatley, who placed a tablet upon it to his mother's
memory and erected the monument in Bisham Church,
where she was buried. There is also a monument to
George Kenneth Vansittart (d. 4 October 1904)
with a kneeling figure under a canopy.
There are three bells, all by Thomas Mears of
London, 1840.
The plate consists of a paten, chalice, flagon and
almsdish, all silver-gilt and of the year 1844, a small
private communion chalice, also silver-gilt and apparently of the 18th century (the date letter being illegible), a cover paten of 1765 to go with it, and a small
glass flagon of uncertain date. This flagon, which is
mentioned in a terrier dated 1783 as a 'flint glass,'
had a modern silver-gilt stopper fitted to it in 1868.
The registers previous to 1812 are as follows: (i)
all entries 1560 to 1708; the burials, however, stop
in the year 1707, the last page having been destroyed;
(ii) baptisms and burials 1709 to 1812, marriages
1709 to 1753; (iii) marriages 1754 to 1789; (iv)
marriages 1789 to 1812.
The church of ST. JAMES THE LESS, Stubbings,
consists of a chancel, nave, north aisle, north vestry,
and a south porch; over the west gable is a stone
bellcote. The church was erected in 1850. The
materials are flint with wrought stone dressing; the
roofs are of timber and are covered externally with tiles
The design is in the early decorated style. The
advowson of the vicarage belongs to Mr. D. W. H.
Skrine of Hoisley Court, Stroud, Gloucestershire.
ADVOWSON
There was a church at Bisham at
the date of the Domesday Survey. (fn. 112)
The advowson has followed the
descent of the manor. (fn. 113) The rectory was appropriated
to the abbey of Bisham, and, after having been leased
to Thomas Weldon in 1536, (fn. 114) was granted with
the manor to Sir Philip Hoby, (fn. 115) and has since
remained with his successors.
By a composition made in the time of the Master
and brethren of the Temple the latter paid to the
perpetual vicar of Bisham a pension of 5 marks and
1 bushel of corn. This payment was continued after
the suppression of the order. (fn. 116) In 1312 the vicar
was receiving 4 marks yearly from the church in
augmentation of the vicarage. (fn. 117)
CHARITIES
In 1691 (as appeared from a tablet
in the church) William Redeway
gave 5s. yearly to the poor. This
charge, which was formerly paid out of land in
Cookham known as Redeway's Close, is not now
received.
In 1810 Matthias Joseph Kirch gave to the poor
by will £60, the interest to be given away in bread
every Good Friday. The legacy was applied in
building two cottages, now belonging to the Bisham
Abbey estate, in respect of which the yearly sum of
£2 10s. is received and duly applied.
This parish is entitled to nominate inmates to the
Oxford Lane almshouses founded in 1608 by John
Brinckhurst, which charity is regulated by a scheme
of the Charity Commissioners, 9 August 1907 (see
under Great Marlow, Bucks.). (fn. 118)
The Church of England school, comprised in deed
poll, 5 March 1860 (enrolled), was enlarged in 1895
at a cost of £190, being part of a gift in 1870 by
Augustus Arthur Vansittart. The residue of the
fund, consisting of £300 Great Western Railway
4½ per cent. stock, stands in the names of the
Rev. William Farrer and Henry James Vansittart
Neale; the annual dividends, amounting to £13 10s.,
are applied towards defraying the managers' expenses.
In 1904 Edward Westby Vansittart, by codicils
to his will, proved at Chichester, 29 November,
bequeathed £300, free of duty, for the benefit of the
poor of Bisham. The legacy was invested in the
purchase of £322 19s. 2d. Manchester Corporation
3 per cent. stock, now standing in the name of the
Rev. William Farrer, the vicar of the parish, producing
£9 13s. 8d. yearly, which is applied by the vicar in
gifts to the sick and poor.