FLAMSTEAD
Flamstede, Flammestede (xi cent.); Flamested
(xiii cent.).
Flamstead parish, on the Bedfordshire border of the
county, covers an area of nearly 5,491 acres, of which,
in 1905, 3,561 acres were arable land, 1,151 acres
permanent grass, and 406 acres woodland. (fn. 1) The
parish was formerly of greater extent, but by the
provision of a Local Government Act of 1888, confirmed in 1897, some few acres were subtracted in
order to form part of the new parish of Markyate.
The land slopes from a height of 534 ft. above the
ordnance datum in the north and west down to the
valley of the River Ver on the south-east. The chalk
subsoil yields good crops of wheat, oats, and barley,
and the stretches of arable land are pleasantly varied
by several small woods and copses and by the well-timbered park of Beechwood. The parish is intersected by the valleys of the Ver and one of its tributaries, and the Watling Street runs through Flamstead
along the Ver. This stream, which used to be the
home of trout, is now almost entirely drained by the
London water supply. Flamstead village itself, which
stands about half a mile from the hamlet of Friar's
Wash on the Watling Street, forms three sides of a
square round the church, with the picturesque redbrick almshouses erected by Thomas Saunders of
Beechwood in 1669 on the north. The fourth
side is open towards the south.
In the extreme north-east of the parish the hamlet
of Pepperstock forms a small settlement on the
Luton road and near is Pepsal End Farm and Bonnor's
Farm. The latter is said to have been named after
Bishop Bonner, but there is no record of his ever
having had any connexion with this place. The
house contains some fine oak beams and a panelled
parlour.
Half a mile south of the church is Trowley Bottom,
a hamlet of some size and consisting mainly of poorly-built cottages.
Two miles farther south is a smaller district
called Heavensgate, probably marking the site of an
ancient hamlet, and beyond again and in the same
line is a third hamlet called Holtsmore End. The
approach to this is a grassy lane which broadens
into a rough open green edged with bracken and holly
trees. The only dwellings near are two farm-houses.
In the west of the parish is Beechwood Park with
its modern house built near the site of the Priory
of St. Giles-in-the-Wood. It is tenanted by Mr. G.
F. McCorquodale.
The estate of Beechwood includes that of Cheverells,
where there is a large modern house of red brick and
stone, the home of Sir Edgar R. S. Sebright, bart., who
also owns Beechwood.
In the extreme south-east, near the border of Redbourn parish, is Flamsteadbury Farm, an old manor
house now inhabited by Mr. Stanley Greenfield.
The chief employment of the villagers is agriculture,
but some straw-hat making is still done by the
women. The nearest station is at Redbourn, two and
a half miles south-east.
Place-names occurring in the court rolls are Wydefeld, Nutmanfeld, Mathley, Orchard Hill, St. Giles
Hill, les Twenty Acres and les Selfeldes.
MANORS
The manor of FLAMSTEAD was
held in chief. It was apparently purchased by the two brothers, Abbots Ælfric
and Leofric, about A.D. 1000, for the church of St.
Albans. (fn. 2) The next abbot, Leofstan, granted it to
Turnot, a valiant knight, and his companions Waldef
and Thurman (fn. 3) upon the condition that they should
protect the western parts of the manor, where there
were numerous robbers and hurtful beasts, and should
be answerable for any damage done, and if war arose
should give all their power to the protection of the
church of St. Albans. They and their heirs, one
of whom was presumably Achi, the thegn who was
holding of Edward the Confessor, are said to have
held the manor until the time of William the Conqueror. (fn. 4) According to the Gesta Abbatum, King William
granted it to Roger de Tony, Thoni, or Todeni, who
undertook to perform all the services imposed upon
Turnot. The Domesday tenant was Ralph de
Tony, (fn. 5) but Mr. Round points out that his father,
who was named Roger, may have been the actual
grantee at the Conquest.
This manor descended from father to son in the
family of Tony till Robert,
Lord Tony, died in 1310, (fn. 6)
leaving as his heir his sister
Alice, widow of Thomas de
Leyburn. Alice shortly afterwards married Guy de Beauchamp, earl of Warwick, by
whom she had a son and heir
Thomas. Guy died in 1315, (fn. 7)
and after his death his widow,
Alice, married, as her third
husband, William de la Zouche
of Mortimer. They apparently lived here, as in 1332 William obtained
licence from the bishop of Lincoln to have a chapel
in his manor-house at Flamstead. (fn. 8) Alice predeceased
her third husband, who held the manor by the
courtesy till his death in 1337, when it passed to
Thomas Beauchamp, earl of Warwick, as son and
heir of Alice. (fn. 9) The manor of Flamstead was, in
1344, entailed on this Thomas and Katherine his
wife for life with remainder to his sons Guy
and Thomas in tail male. Guy died in the lifetime of his father, and at the death of the latter in
1369 the manor passed to Thomas the son, (fn. 10) who
was attainted in 1397, when his honours were forfeited. Two years later, however, they were restored.
He died in 1401 and was
succeeded by his son Richard.
In the inquisition taken after
his death it is stated that this
manor was held of the king
by the service of protecting
the highway called Watling
Street from Redbourn to Markyate. (fn. 11) Richard was created
earl of Aumale for life in
1417, and died in 1439. (fn. 12)
His son and heir Henry was
created duke of Warwick in
Nevill. Gules a salfire argent and a label
gobony argent and azure.
1444, and king of the Isle of Wight in 1445.
He died in the latter year leading an only daughter,
Anne Beauchamp, countess of Warwick in her own
right, (fn. 13) who died an infant without issue in 1449.
At her death she was succeeded by her aunt Anne,
wife of Richard Nevill, son and heir of the earl
of Salisbury, whose husband
became in her right earl of
Warwick. After the death
of Richard earl of Warwick,
called the King Maker, at the
battle of Barnet in 1471, the
lands of Anne his wife were
settled upon his daughters
Isabella, wife of George, duke
of Clarence, brother of Edward IV, and Anne, widow
of Edward prince of Wales.
This manor fell to the share
of Isabella, whose husband
was created earl of Warwick and Salisbury. She
died in 1476 leaving a son and heir Edward, (fn. 14)
and in the following year her husband, who
had held the manor by courtesy since his wife's
death, was attainted and executed. This manor
however passed to Edward the son, as heir to his
mother, (fn. 15) and we find the crown holding his lands
during the minority in 1483. (fn. 16) Edward the son was
attainted and beheaded in 1499, but this manor
appears to have reverted to Anne, countess of Warwick,
his grandmother, at some time previously, as we find
that she conveyed it by fine in Hilary Term, 1488, to
King Henry VII. (fn. 17) The manor remained in the
hands of the crown for some years after this date, and
was in April, 1520, leased to Sir John Cutt for
twenty-one years, (fn. 18) at whose death Elizabeth his
widow entered the manor and conveyed her interest
to Nicholas Drabull of Flamstead. She also surrendered the lease to her husband, and in 1534
Nicholas obtained a renewal from the crown. (fn. 19) In
1544 the manor was granted for life to Richard Page,
the king's servant, in exchange for the offices of chief
steward of the lordship of Beverley and recorder of
Hull. (fn. 20) Sir Richard died in 1548, and in 1552 the
manor was granted to George Ferrers. (fn. 21) The lease
to Nicholas Drabull was, however, still in being, and in the
reign of Philip and Mary a
dispute arose between George
Ferrers and Robert Angell
and Anne his wife, to whom
Drabull's interest had been
assigned, as to the right to
take housebote in Flamstead. (fn. 22)
Tony. Argent a sleeve gules.
Beauchamp. Gules a fesse between six crosslets or.
Nevil. Gules a saltire argent and a label gobony argent and azure.
In 1558 George Ferrers
conveyed the manor by fine
for the purpose of a settlement to Sir Ralph Rowlatt
and Anthony Stibbynge. (fn. 23)
Probably on the settlement at the marriage in 1575
of his son Julius with Cicely or Susan, daughter of
Sir John Boteler or Butler, he conveyed the manor
to Sir John Boteler and others. (fn. 24) The manor remained
in the hands of the Ferrers family, whose pedigree is given in Metcalfe's Visitation of Hertfordshire, (fn. 25)
till Knighton Ferrers, grandson of the said Julius, died
in 1640, leaving a daughter
Katherine who married Thomas, Viscount Fanshawe of
Ware.
Ferrers. Gules seven voided lozenges or and a label azure bezanty.
In 1654 Thomas Fanshawe
and Katherine and Thomas,
father of Thomas, sold the
manor to Thomas Saunders of
Beechwood and Joshua Lomax, (fn. 26) and in the following
year George Nevill recovered
it against Thomas and Joshua. (fn. 27)
In 1657 Thomas Saunders,
son and heir-apparent of
Thomas Saunders of Beechwood, sold half the
manor to Thomas Lee and Nathan Tilson. (fn. 28) In
1725 it was held by William Peck of Little Sampford, Essex, who seems to have inherited it from
his grandfather, Edward Peck. (fn. 29) It was settled by
William upon his eldest son William, (fn. 30) and passed
from him to his brother Randal. A conveyance
of the manor was made in 1743 (fn. 31) by Randal
Peck to Joseph Cole, and another in 1748 to Sir
Samuel Pennant, (fn. 32) but these seem to have been made
only for the purposes of settlement, for in 1753
Randal sold the manor to Richard Pearce, brewer, of
Westminster. (fn. 33) Richard died in 1800, (fn. 34) and was
succeeded by his eldest son Thomas, who was vouchee
in a recovery of this manor by David Green against
John Crutchfield in 1802. (fn. 35) Thomas died in 1802. (fn. 36)
The manor then came to Richard Pearce, rector of
Husbands Bosworth, (fn. 37) who held it in 1803. (fn. 38) He
died in 1814 (fn. 39) and left it to
Thomas Pearce of Redbourn, (fn. 40)
who before his death in 1827
devised the estate to his relative, Fanny wife of Daniel
Rosier. (fn. 41) She had a son
Thomas, who predeceased her
in 1828, (fn. 42) and two daughters,
Anne and Eliza, who married
Samuel Fryer and his brother
Edwin. (fn. 43) Anne died before
her mother in 1859, (fn. 44) and on
the death of the latter in
1876, (fn. 45) Samuel and Edwin
succeeded to the manor of Flamstead in right of their
respective wives. (fn. 46) Under an order of the High
Court of Chancery (fn. 47) Flamstead was sold in June,
1880, to Sir John Sebright of Beechwood, from
whom it has descended with the manor of Beechwood
to Sir Edgar Reginald Saunders Sebright.
Fanshawe. Sable a cheveron between three fleurs de lis or.
Peck. Or a cheveron gules with three crosses formy or thereon.
In 1278 a question arose as to the relation between
the lord of Flamstead and his tenants which throws
an interesting light upon the customs of the manor.
John de Horsindone and other villeins claimed to
hold their lands by reasonable reliefs without giving
merchet for marrying their daughters, and without
tallage, except when the king should tally his demesne.
They stated that they ought to weed three days a
week, being fed by the lord, and two days without
such food, and to plough for three days in the year,
and not at the will of the lord. They added that
when they fell into the lord's mercy they were accustomed to be amerced by their equals. The jurors,
however, presented that the manor of Flamstead was
not ancient demesne of the crown, nor was it
ever held by any predecessor of the king, unless by
custody during a minority. They said that the
ancestors of the present lord came to England with
William the Conqueror and acquired the manor at
that time, and that they had always been accustomed
to tally their men at will, and to exact merchet.
John de Horsindone and the others were undoubtedly their villeins, and had not been subjected to
other customs and services than were due. (fn. 48)
The lords of the manor further claimed rights of
free warren here, and of holding views of frankpledge,
and the assize of bread and ale. (fn. 49) In 1299, moreover,
Edward I granted to Robert de Tony the right to
hold a market every Thursday at Flamstead, and an
annual fair for eight days on the eve, day, and
morrow of Saint Leonard, and the five following
days. (fn. 50) There was a windmill here as early as 1309,
which is mentioned again in 1337. (fn. 51)
In the reign of Stephen, Roger Tony gave to the
nuns of Saint Giles' Church, Woodchurch, certain
lands in Flamstead, surrounding their house, which
became the nucleus of the manor of BEECHWOOD
or SAINT GILES IN THE WOOD. (fn. 59) In the
foundation charter Roger stipulated that there were
not to be more than thirteen nuns, except by the
consent of him or his heirs, and that the priory
should not become subject to any other religious
house. (fn. 53) The little community having been dissolved
by Henry VIII in 1537, (fn. 54) all its possessions came to
the crown. The manor of Beechwood was conveyed
in 1537–8 to John Tregonwell, LL.D., (fn. 55) but in
1539 Henry VIII, wishing to obtain Sir Richard
Page's manor of Molesey, gave him this manor in
exchange, (fn. 56) and turned out Tregonwell, who had
already spent considerable sums on the estate. (fn. 57) A
grant of the site of the priory of Flamstead had
been made in 1538 to George, earl of Salop. (fn. 58) During Sir Richard Page's tenancy of Beechwood, Edward VI is said to have paid a visit there for his
health. (fn. 59) Sir Richard Page died in February, 1548,
leaving an only daughter Elizabeth, (fn. 60) who married
Sir William Skipwith and
brought the Beechwood estate
to his family, and from her it
passed to her son and heir
Richard Skipwith, who married Mary the daughter of
Ralph Chamberlain. (fn. 61) Richard
Skipwith sold the manor in
1573 to Paul Pope. (fn. 62) In the
same year licence was granted
to Richard Skipwith, Fitz
Ralph Chamberlain and Dorothy his wife, Paul Pope and
Katherine his wife, and others
to sell the manor to Richard
and Thomas Smith, (fn. 63) and the
necessary conveyances were made in the two following years. (fn. 64) By Thomas Smith the manor was sold
in 1628 to Thomas Saunders of Long Marston, son
of John Saunders of Agmondesham. (fn. 65) John son of
Thomas Saunders predeceased his father in 1648,
and his son Thomas married Ellen daughter of Robert
Sadler, in trust for whom Thomas Saunder, senior
and junior, conveyed the property to Robert and
Edward Sadler in 1663. (fn. 66) Anne, the only surviving
child of Thomas and Ellen Saunders, married Sir
Edward Sebright, third bart., and her father by his
will left the Beechwood estate to her for life, (fn. 67) after
her mother's death. On the death of Lady Sebright
the manor was to pass to her heirs, provision being
made that they should take the name of Saunders.
By this will Thomas Saunders endowed the almshouses which he had built in Flamstead. (fn. 68) On the
death of Anne in 1719 the estate descended to her
son Thomas, who thereupon took the name of
Saunders Sebright. (fn. 69) He married Henrietta Dashwood and died in 1736, leaving sons Thomas and
John. Sir Thomas died unmarried in 1736, and
his brother Sir John succeeded to the baronetcy and
the manor of Beechwood. (fn. 70) He married Sarah
Knight, and at his death in 1794 the manor passed
to his son Sir John Saunders Sebright, who built
and endowed a school, and a row of almshouses
for sixteen paupers in Flamstead. In 1846 he
died leaving an only son, Thomas Gage Saunders
Sebright, and eight daughters. (fn. 71) Sir Thomas died
in 1864, and was succeeded by his son Sir John
Gage Saunders, who left an only son Egbert Cecil
Saunders. He died unmarried, and Beechwood
passed with the title to his uncle Sir Edgar Reginald
Saunders Sebright, the present possessor, a half-brother
of Sir John Gage Saunders Sebright. (fn. 72)
Skipwith. Argent three bars gules and a greybound sable with a golden collar running in the chief.
Saunders. Party cheveronwise sable and argent with three elephants' beads razed and counter-coloured.
Sebright. Argent three cinquefoils sable.
The ancient priory building has long ago given
place to a more modern house, which was built during the reign of Queen Anne. One room still remains
with a carved oak mantelpiece and a wide fireplace
dating from early in the sixteenth century, formerly
no doubt, part of the old house. Till 1854 the great
hall in the centre of the house was an open courtyard,
across which ran a covered passage uniting the two
sides of the house. Sir Thomas Sebright, the eighth
baronet, turned the yard into a hall, and in other
respects made the house what it now is. (fn. 73) The house
is now the residence of Mr. G. F. McCorquodale.
The manor of PEPSALL (Pypyshill, Pepeselles
xv cent., Peppeshull xvi cent., Pepsall Burrough
xvii cent., Peppyshall Burrow xviii cent.) was held
of the lord of the manor of Flamstead by the
service of rendering yearly a pair of spurs of the
value of 6d. (fn. 74) In 1330–1 Robert Kendale died
seised of half a messuage and land in Flamstead, (fn. 75)
held of the lord of Flamstead. The tenement
descended to his son Edward, who also died seised of
it in 1373. (fn. 76) He left a son Edward, who died in
1375, (fn. 77) but the tenement was held by his mother
Elizabeth until her death a
few months after that of her
son. (fn. 78) Thomas Kendale, clerk,
her second son, succeeded her,
but died in the same month
as his mother, leaving his sister
Beatrice, wife of Robert Turk,
his heir. (fn. 79) Sir Robert Turk
died seised of this tenement
in 1400, and was succeeded by
his daughter, Joan, wife of
John Waleys. (fn. 80) Joan in 1420
died seised of half a tenement called Pepishull, in Caddington and Luton, (fn. 81) which may have been identical
with the tenement above mentioned, and also with
the manor of Pepsall. Joan left a son, John,
who died a minor in 1422, and four daughters,
Beatrice wife of Reginald Cockayn, Joan wife of
Robert Leventhorp, Agnes and Joan, then unmarried. (fn. 82)
Agnes subsequently married John Bury or Burgh, (fn. 83)
and in 1434 the manor of 'Pepeselles' was settled on
her and her husband, and on the heirs of Agnes. (fn. 84)
Agnes, it is said by Cussans, married John Padyngton
as her second husband, (fn. 85) and died in 1453 seised of
this manor, leaving a daughter Joan, who had married
Ralph Grey the younger. (fn. 86) Joan afterwards married
Edward Goldesburgh, and died in 1497, (fn. 87) leaving
her granddaughter Elizabeth, daughter of her son
Ralph Grey, who died in 1492, her heir. (fn. 88) Elizabeth
married Anthony Walgrave, and livery of this manor
was made to her and her husband in 1512. (fn. 89) The
manor passed in 1572 from Francis Sill and William
Cocke to Sir Richard Rede, (fn. 90) who died in 1576, and
was succeeded by his son Innocent. (fn. 91) The manor was
sold by Innocent in 1589 to Thomas Slowe, (fn. 92) who
came to the court of Flamstead and acknowledged
that he held this manor of the lord of Flamstead for
fealty and suit of court every three weeks. (fn. 93) Thomas
Slowe died about 1595, and was succeeded by his son
George. (fn. 94) In 1652 Edward Slowe of Pepsallend sold
the manor to Michael Slowe of Flamstead, (fn. 95) and in
1683 William Slowe conveyed it to William Rolls,
clerk, under the name of Pepsall Burrough. (fn. 96) The
descent of the manor is lost from this date until 1724,
when we find that Charles Lloyd and others conveyed two-thirds of the manor by fine to Joseph
Osman, (fn. 97) and in 1747 John Hamilton conveyed it
by recovery to Philip Price. (fn. 98) In 1753 it was conveyed by George Hamilton and Bridget his wife, and
John Hamilton, clerk, to William Bridges, under the
name of Peppyshull Burrow. (fn. 99) From William Bridges
it apparently descended to Elizabeth and Mary Bridges,
who appeared in 1790 as vouchees in a recovery by
Thomas Brockhurst against Robert George. (fn. 100) The
descent of the manor is not traced from this date.
Mr. Cussans suggests the identification of the site of
the manor with Pepperstock hamlet, which lies to the
north of the village. Pepsal End farm-house is
probably built on the site of the manor house.
Kendale. Argent a bend vert and a label gules.
The only mention of the manor of the RECTORY
of Flamstead which has been found is in 1826, when
it was conveyed with the manor of Beechwood, for the
purposes of a settlement, by Thomas Gage Saunders
Sebright to Duncombe and Philip Pleydell Bouverie. (fn. 101)
CHURCH
The church of ST. LEONARD,
FLAMSTEAD, consists of chancel 31 ft.
by 16 ft. 6 in., with north vestry 16 ft.
3 in. by 9 ft. 3 in., formerly of two stories; nave
67 ft. by 21 ft., with north aisle 10 ft. 6 in. wide,
and south aisle 9 ft., north and south porches, and west
tower 17 ft. square, all measurements being internal.
The tower, c. 1120, is the oldest part of the building, and the nave and chancel with which it was
contemporary were probably of much the same size
as those now existing, omitting the aisles and north
vestry. The lower parts of the side walls of the
aisleless nave, 4 ft. thick, have been uncovered in the
west bays, and show that the internal width of
the nave was not altered when the present arcades
were built in the thirteenth century, the thinner
thirteenth-century piers being set on the inner half
of the older wall. There is nothing now to show
if any building older than the tower ever stood on
this site, but the twelfth-century church was evidently
an important one with a nave of about three squares
in plan, and of a size not uncommonly found in the
larger country churches. In the first quarter of the
thirteenth century north and south aisles were added,
and the present nave arcades of six bays built, but
there is nothing to show whether the chancel was
materially altered at this time. In the second half of
the century the east arch of the tower, which is of
considerable span, was under-built, having doubtless
shown signs of failure. In 1332 a chantry was
founded by Sir W. de la Zouche, perhaps at the
altar in the north aisle of the nave, where a north-east window of this date remains. (fn. 102) About this time
the chancel was remodelled, its east end probably
rebuilt, and the two-story vestry added on the north.
The width of the chancel must be approximately that
of the twelfth-century chancel, so that it is possible
that the latter was never entirely pulled down, and
part of its masonry may yet remain. The north
aisle, which is wider than the south, may also have
been rebuilt in the fourteenth century. In the
fifteenth century the clearstory and the upper stage of
the tower, with the short leaded wooden spire, were
added, and the diagonal western buttresses of the
tower may be part of the same work. The north and
south porches may be of this date, and the rood-loft
stair is clearly so, marking the setting-up of a loft of
which the screen still remains. The east arch of the
north arcade was probably widened, as it now appears, at this time, but after this date the only
additions to the structure were the various buttresses
supporting the tower, which, already in shaky condition, was further tried by the added load of the
belfry stage. The blocking of the porches and addition of brick buttresses are due to the eighteenth
century and later, and in 1791 the nave roof was
partly renewed; but otherwise, with the exception of
a repair of the chancel by University College, Oxford,
some forty years since, no work of any moment was
done to the church till the last few years. The tower
has now been made sound, and further repairs are in
progress.
The chancel has an east window of five lights and
two two-light south windows of early fourteenth-century style, the tracery being a modern copy of
older work. Near the west end of the north wall is
a thirteenth-century lancet, and just west of the altarrails a doorway to the vestry. In a recess in the wall
east of the doorway is a monument of the Sebright
family, surmounted by a large urn between figures of
Faith and Hope; on the base is Flaxman's name and
the date 1782. On the south of the chancel are a
cinquefoiled fourteenth-century piscina and a single
cinquefoiled sedile with a wider cinquefoiled recess
giving room for the other two seats, immediately to
the west. Next to it is a priest's door, and above the
sedilia a moulded string runs round the chancel at
the level of the window sills. (fn. 103) The chancel arch is
also of this date. The vestry on the north of the
chancel has undergone much repair and even rebuilding, but retains many traces of its former
arrangements. The ground stage was lighted by a
narrow square-headed light on the east and two on
the north, with a fireplace between them, while in
the west wall is a water-drain and a curved recess
made to accommodate a spiral stair in the south-west
angle. Of the upper floor the corbels alone remain,
and there is no trace of a fireplace at this level. The
roof is tiled and of no great age, having succeeded a
flat roof with a parapet. The chancel roof is of high
pitch with braced collars and wind-braces, and two
cambered tie-beams, and is, perhaps, of fourteenth-century date.
The nave arcades, of six bays, have pointed arches
of two hollow-chamfered orders, with octagonal shafts,
foliate capitals, and moulded bases. The arches have
labels towards the nave, and in the case of the two
eastern arches of the north arcade, towards the aisle
also, marking the importance of the altar at the east
of the north aisle. The details of the south arcade
are better than those of the north, the foliage on the
capitals being admirable work in the easily-wrought
Totternhoe stone. The spacing of the arcades also is
not identical on both sides. The responds are of a
different character from the arcades, with slender round
detached shafts, but only that at the south-west
remains perfect, while the north-west respond has a
capital made up in plaster and a wooden shaft. The
south-east respond has been cut away, and the north-east destroyed at the widening of the arch here, as
already noted. The clearstory has four windows a
side, each of two cinquefoiled lights, under a square
head; the windows are arranged to come in the
alternate bays, beginning from the west, with an
extra window in the east bay to give more light to
the rood and nave altars. The roof is of flat pitch
with curved braces to the tie-beams, and partly contemporary with the clearstory, as are the corbels from
which the braces spring; many of the timbers, however, are rough, and probably date from the repairs
of 1791.
The north aisle of the nave has two fifteenth-century windows of two cinquefoiled lights on either
side of the plain fifteenth-century north doorway, and
another two-light window of the same date at the
east end. The north-east window, as already noted,
is fourteenth-century work. On the north side of the
east window is the bracket for an image, and over it a
wall painting representing our Lady, and giving the
dedication of the chapel. In the respond of the
north arcade is a trefoiled piscina recess, and over the
head of the east window is a black-letter inscription
apparently recording some early seventeenth-century
parish clerk, doubtless in connexion with a repair or
'beautifying' done during his term of office. The
south aisle has three-light south windows, of which
that west of the south porch retains its cinquefoiled
fifteenth-century heads, the other two having flat
heads of late seventeenth-century date. The east end
of the aisle is taken up by the monument of the
Saunders family.
The tower has a wide semicircular eastern arch
with a chamfered label, now under-built with a late
thirteenth-century pointed arch of two orders with
half-octagonal responds. At the west is a plain
fifteenth-century doorway with a two-light window
over it, and in the south-east angle an original stair,
entered by a round-headed doorway from the inside
of the tower space. It was till recently blocked in its
lower part on account of the weak state of the tower.
The upper stage of the twelfth-century tower had
double round-headed belfry lights on each face, of
which traces yet remain, blocked with masonry to
carry the fifteenth-century story above. This has
square-headed windows of two cinquefoiled lights in
each face, and is finished with a plain parapet, from
within which rises the small leaded spire of Hertfordshire type.
The church retains for the most part its deal box
pews, a little cut down from their former height, and
at the west of the nave are a few late mediaeval
benches. The chancel screen is good fifteenth-century work with four openings on either side of
the central doorway, and has had a loft over projecting on half canopies, now replaced by a moulding
on the top beam. The altar rails have twisted
balusters of late seventeenth-century date, and the
altar table belongs to the earlier part of the same
century.
In the third bay of the north arcade is an altar
tomb with the effigies of a man and woman, with a
large crocketed canopy at their heads, and pinnacled
shafts at either side of the figures. There is nothing
to show to whom the tomb belongs, but its date may
be c. 1420.
In the chancel floor is the brass figure of John
Oudeby, rector, 1414, in processional vestments, and
over his head a small canopy formerly containing a
figure of our Lady and Child. Near by are the
fifteenth-century brasses of a man and wife and their
children, the inscription plate and heraldry being
lost.
At the south-east angle of the chancel is the mural
monument of Sir Bartholomew Fouke, 1604, of
alabaster and marble, with a kneeling figure under an
arch, over which is a broken pediment with heraldry.
In the north aisle is a framed wooden tablet, evidently
from its inscription formerly in the nave, to George
Cordell, Sergeant of the Ewry to James I and to
Charles I, the date of death not being given.
The Saunders monument at the east end of the
south aisle is of very considerable merit, the small
kneeling white marble figures of the children being
beautiful work of their kind.
On the first pillar of the north arcade, and the
first and second of the south, are cut three rhyming
inscriptions relating to burials near by. The first on
the south runs thus:—
At this seate's end in the middle alley
There lieth buried John Pace of ye valley.
Ano 1596. June xiiij.
The second is :—
Within this pier where bricks are laide
there buried lieth a virgin maide
Ffrauncys Cordell was hir name
she lived and died in godlye fame.
Ano 1597. June vij.
The verses on the north are :—
In this middle space and at this seat's end
There lieth buried our neighbore friend
Olde John Grigge of Cheverill's end.
Ano 1598. April 15.
The font, in the fifth bay of the north arcade,
shows no signs of antiquity; it is mentioned in the
registers as having been repaired in 1852.
There are six bells, the tenor by John Waylett of
London, 1729, and the others by Chandler of Drayton
Parslow, 1664. The plate consists of a silver cup
and paten, unmarked, but of seventeenth-century date,
a second cup, copied from the other, and given in
1860, a bread holder given in 1700 by Lady Sebright,
a flagon of 1690 given in 1858 by Sarah Hinde,
a modern alms dish given by the same donor in 1850,
and a strainer spoon with a pointed handle. There
is also a large pewter flagon with an inscription,
'Thomas Halsey and Philip Coot, Churchwardens of
the Parish of Flamstead, 1675.'
The registers begin in 1548. Book i contains
baptisms, burials, and marriages, 1548–1723; Book ii
has baptisms 1727–81, burials 1723–81, and
marriages 1742–53; Book iii, baptisms and burials
1782–1812; Book iv, marriages 1754–1811; and
Book v, marriages 1811–12. (fn. 104) Book i has been
rebound by the vicar.
ADVOWSON
The church of Flamstead was
originally a chapel annexed to the
church of Redbourn, and belonged
to the abbey of St. Albans, but at the beginning of the
twelfth century it was sold by the abbot and separated
from Redbourn. (fn. 105) The name of the purchaser is
not given, but it was probably the lord of the manor,
for the church afterwards seems to have passed with
the manor, (fn. 106) and to have followed its descent (q.v.) till
1488, when it was granted with the manor by Anne,
countess of Warwick, to Henry VII. After this date
the right of presentation remained in the hands of the
king until 1546, when it was granted to Sir Philip
Hoby. (fn. 107) In the following year it was given to
Edward VI by Sir William Herbert in exchange for
manors in Wiltshire, (fn. 108) and a few months later the
king granted it with the rectory, church, and tithes, in
exchange for manors in Lincoln, to the dean and
chapter of the collegiate church of Thornton, and
from this time it became a perpetual curacy. (fn. 109) The
rectory had previously been conveyed in 1543 by
Henry VIII to Sir Robert Tyrwytt, (fn. 110) and he
continued to be lessee under the dean and chapter
for a term of twenty-one years. (fn. 111) In 1563 the
rectory was leased to William Skipwith and Christopher
Smith for twenty-one years, (fn. 112) and this lease was twice
renewed to Christopher Smith for further terms of
twenty-one years in 1568 and 1575. (fn. 113) Christopher's
son Thomas left it by will to Joan his wife, who
afterwards married Sir John Luke. (fn. 113a) Sir John was
holding it in 1607–8, (fn. 113b) but in 1604 a lease of thirty-one years was granted to George Smith, son of Joan
by her first husband. (fn. 114) James I, in 1612, granted it
to Francis Morrice and Francis Phelipps, (fn. 115) who sold
it in 1614 to Robert Gunsley. (fn. 116) By his will, dated
30 June, 1618, Robert left the reversion of the
rectory and parsonage to the Master and Fellows of
University College, Oxford, after forty-two years,
when the leases made by Elizabeth and James I should
have expired, reserving to his heirs all tithes from Roe
End or Cheverells, Wood End and Maryot (Markyate)
End. The conditions of the legacy were that the
Master and Fellows should maintain two scholars
until the expiration of the forty-two years, when they
should maintain four; two chosen from the grammar
school of Rochester and two from the grammar
school of Maidstone, being only such as are born in
Kent. Each of the scholars was to be paid £15 a
year. A further condition was that the Master and
Fellows should pay £60 yearly to the curate of
Flamstead. (fn. 117)
In the grant of the rectory to Christopher Smith,
the advowson was also included, and it apparently
passed with the rectory to Robert Gunsley, and
from him to University College, in which the
presentation is now vested. The advowson is entered
in the inquisition on the death of George Ferrers as
belonging to him, and similarly to his descendants,
Julius and Sir John Ferrers (fn. 118) and Katherine
Fanshawe, (fn. 119) but no grant of the advowson to them
has been found, so that it would appear that it was
wrongfully claimed by them.
In a survey of church livings supposed to have been
made in 1654 it is stated that a rent of £32 was
paid out of the rectory to University College, and
that the rectory belonged to the crown, and had been
leased to Lady Barrington by King James for a term
of years of which eleven or twelve still remained
unexpired. The cure was supplied at the charge of
Lady Barrington, by such as the parish made choice
of. The name of the patron is not given. (fn. 120)
In 1845 the church of Flamstead was transferred
from the diocese of Lincoln to that of Rochester, (fn. 121)
and in 1868 it was constituted a vicarage. (fn. 122)
The church was from time to time during the
Middle Ages the scene of stirring incidents. During
the invasion of England by Louis of France (1216–17)
some robbers, presumably taking advantage of the
general disorder of the country, plundered Redbourn
church. One of them, unknown to his fellows, stole
the cross and put it in his breast, whereupon he was
immediately seized with madness. The other robbers,
ignorant of the cause of his malady, took pity upon
him, and led him with them to Flamstead church,
which they had meant to spoil as they had already
spoiled Redbourn. Hardly had they begun their
sacrilegious work when they were met by the parish
priest, on whose appearance the mania of their companion was redoubled, and they held their hands in
fear. At this moment the precious relic fell to the
ground, and the undaunted priest, holding it aloft,
asked what it might be. The robbers, fearing that
the evil spirit might attack them also, confessed that
it must have come from Redbourn, and adjured him
to restore it before supper-time. (fn. 123)
Not many years later a vacancy occurred in the
church of Flamstead during the minority of Ralph
de Tony, whose wardship had been entrusted by
Henry III to the queen. She, as guardian of Ralph's
lands, forthwith presented her chaplain William to
the benefice, never doubting her right to make the
presentation. But when the king heard what had
been done he was exceedingly wrathful, exclaiming :
'To what heights will the pride of women rise if it is
given free play!' Accordingly he annulled the presentation and appointed one of his own clerks, Hurtold,
a Burgundian. The queen was deeply hurt by the
insult and shame, but when the story came to the
ears of Grosteste, the bishop of Lincoln, he excommunicated Hurtold, and placed the church under an
interdict (fn. 124) —a course which speaks well for Grosteste's
fearless attitude towards Henry III, but punished
the innocent parishioners for the fault of the king, as
divine service could not be held in the church, and
the dead had to be buried elsewhere than in the
churchyard of Flamstead. (fn. 125)
The house of William Eeles at Flamstead was
licensed as a Congregational meeting-place in 1672.
Among the Nonconformists there were Anabaptists as
well as Congregationalists, judging from the frequency
with which we find after the entry of the burial of a
child the words 'not baptized,' or 'unbaptized,' a
case occurring as early as 1615. Other certificates
were taken out in 1690, 1691, 1699, 1752, 1781,
1798, 1800, and 1820. In 1806 a messuage at
Trowley Bottom was appropriated by Independents,
and in 1731 a newly-erected house at or near Markyate Street was certified as being intended to be used
for religious worship by Protestant Dissenters. The
Independents were the first Dissenters who appeared
in this parish in the licence of 1672, and the Quakers
came next. The Baptists also obtained a footing at
an early date, and retain it to the present time. They
erected a chapel in 1731, and the place was a station
of the old Baptist church at Luton. In 1813 a
church was formed, and the chapel was enlarged in
1832. A new chapel was built in 1873. The
Wesleyans and Primitive Methodists likewise have
places of worship at Flamstead. (fn. 126)
CHARITIES
In 1669 Thomas Saunders of
Beechwood founded almshouses for
two poor widowers and two poor
widows, and endowed the same with £20 a year,
charged upon the Beechwood estates, which is paid
by Sir Edgar Reginald Saunders Sebright, bart. The
four inmates receive 8s. a week.
In 1839 Sir John Saunders Sebright, bart., by
deed gave a fund, now £1,049 3s. 7d. consols, known
as the Beechwood Woollen Charity; the income to be
applied in blankets, petticoats, and waistcoats, to poor
residing within one mile of Beechwood.
In 1843 the same donor by deed gave £2,744 10s.
consols, known as the Beechwood Widows' Charity,
income to be applied in fuel, clothing, and furniture,
to the inmates of the sixteen almshouses, erected in
1869, on the Beechwood estate.
In 1845 the same donor gave £2,000 consols,
known as the Beechwood Coal Charity, income to be
applied in coal and fuel amongst poor persons residing
in Flamstead and the cottages in that and the adjoining parishes belonging to the Beechwood estate.
The several sums of stock are held by the official
trustees, and the charities are administered together,
producing a total income of £144, which is applied
proportionately in accordance with the trusts affecting
the principal funds.
The Sebright School, Cheverell's Green, was built
in 1866 by Sir Thomas Sebright, bart. There is an
endowment of £1,904 15s. 3d. (of which the vicar
of Flamstead and the master of Beechwood are
administering trustees) in connexion with the religious
education of the parish. At present this endowment is being applied at this school at Cheverell's
Green. It was left by Sir John Saunders Sebright,
who died in 1846.
The parish was formerly in possession of 4 a. 2 r.
called the Church Field, and certain cottages. The
property is understood to have been sold some years
ago by order of the Poor Law Board, and proceeds
applied in building the union.
In 1894 William Newman by his will bequeathed
£300 2½ per cent. annuities, the dividends to be
applied for the benefit of the poor.
The said William Newman also bequeathed £200
like stock, the dividends to be paid to the minister of
the Baptist chapel, Bucket Lane, Markyate Street,
and £100 like stock, the dividends to be applied in
the purchase of books to be distributed among the
children attending the Sunday school connected with
the same chapel. The several sums of stock are held
by the official trustees.