ST. MICHAEL'S
This parish consists of two parts, St. Michael's
Urban, and St. Michael's Rural. The former comprises the western part of the town of St. Albans and
is 289 acres in extent. The latter lies to the north
and west of St. Albans, and is 6,269 acres in area.
Leverstock Green was formerly partly in St. Michael's,
but was in 1850 formed into an ecclesiastical parish
out of St. Michael's, Abbots Langley, and Hemel
Hempstead. (fn. 1) Hamlets in the parish are Childwick
Green on the northern boundary of Childwickbury
Park, and Potterscrouch in the south of the parish.
There are large parks at Gorhambury, the seat of the
earl of Verulam, and at Childwickbury, the residence
of Mr. J. B. Joel, and smaller ones at Hawkswick,
the residence of Mr. Walter Reynolds, and at Batchwood. Childwick Hall, tenanted by Mr. Bricker,
is north of Childwick Green, and near it at
Beesonend there is a stud-farm. The Pré, an early
nineteenth-century house belonging to Lord Verulam,
is the residence of Mr. H. J. Toulmin, J.P. Darrowfield House, the dower house of the earls of Verulam, is
a red-brick eighteenth-century house near the church,
now the residence of the Rev. the Hon. Robert Grimston. The wrought-iron entrance gates are said to
be of Sussex iron. The Westwick estate, which is
now included in Gorhambury, comprises the greater
part of the west side of the parish, and Westwick
Row is a small and scattered hamlet lying along each
side of a street called Westwick Row, about three-quarters of a mile in length, and contains some interesting old plastered houses. St. Michael's manor,
the property of Mr. Wm. N. W. Gape, is in Fishpool Street. Verulam House, near the Pondyards,
stood on the Watling Street, close to its junction
with the present high road from Dunstable to St.
Albans. This high road branches off from the Watling Street at the boundary of the parish of St.
Michael, and follows a course on the northern side of
the River Ver, while Watling Street passes to the
south. The high road from Luton to St. Albans
also passes through this parish, skirting the eastern
side of Childwickbury.
The parish in 1905 contained 3,128 acres of
arable land, 2,099 acres of permanent grass, and 659
acres of woodland. (fn. 2) The soil is mixed clay, sand, and
gravel, and an old lime kiln in Gorhambury Park
indicates that the chalk was once worked there. The
chief crops produced are corn and roots.
This parish contains many antiquities, especially
near the town of St. Albans, where traces of the Roman
town of Verulam and the earthworks of Kingsbury
Castle are still to be seen. The site of the priory of St.
Mary de Pré is between Watling Street and the Ver,
about three-quarters of a mile to the north-west of
the church of St. Michael. A small entrenchment
called Devil's Ditch lies near Maynes Farm northeast of Gorhambury, and there are traces of a small
camp in Pré Wood. North-east of it is 'Lord
Bacon's Mount,' said to be the site of an observatory
built by Lord Bacon.
Place-names which occur are Dorwolds, Tynker Hill,
Wodreddinges, Dorrells, le Breche, Conyworth, Frear-denfelde, Evesdenbusshes, Lyttelbroke Felde, Salliputtes,
Dussemeris, Plasshfeld, Denyslond, Ferynges, Pray-marslaydes, and Pitwiches.
There was a water-mill at Childwick in the thirteenth century, which was probably annexed to the
manor of Childwick, as both were held at that time
by Geoffrey de Childwick. (fn. 3) Kingsbury mill was
among the possessions of the abbey of St. Albans at the
time of the Dissolution, (fn. 4) and was granted by Queen
Elizabeth to William Preston. (fn. 5) A water-mill and
free fishery in St. Michael's were conveyed in 1568
by John Machell and Frances his wife to Sir Nicholas
Bacon and Anne his wife. (fn. 6) The 'Malt Mylne' in
St. Michael's was granted in 1577–8 to Edward Fairchilde, and was at that time held under a lease for
thirty-one years by Hugh Story. (fn. 7) A lawsuit of 1601
shows that in the previous year Lady Anne Bacon
of Gorhambury, widow of Sir Nicholas, had erected
a water-mill about half a mile above the Abbey Mill,
and that she also possessed another mill, probably the
one mentioned above as sold to her and her husband
by John Machell. She leased the New Mill to
George Olebye, who thereupon tried to withdraw
'suit, soken, court and grist' from the Abbey Mill,
the lessees of which claimed that the corn of all the
inhabitants of St. Albans ought to be ground at their
mill. On the site of the New Mill there had formerly
been a 'force' to bring the water to Gorhambury
House, but after the death of Sir Nicholas, Lady
Bacon, not requiring the water, had converted the
force into a mill, which Olebye asserted had bettered
the flow of the water both to the Abbey Mill and to
the Kingsbury Mill which lay between the two.
Childwick Mill also existed at this time. Above the
New Mill there was a fifth mill, which had once been
part of the inheritance of Anthony Bacon, and was
then in the possession of William Preston, the owner
of Kingsbury Mill. A deponent in the suit stated
that this mill had been built by a Londoner whose
name he could not remember, and was afterwards
tenanted by a miller called Butler, when it became
known as Butler's Mill. (fn. 8) Kingsbury Mill still exists,
and Praemill House perhaps marks the site of
the New Mill. A windmill probably existed at
Gorhambury, as a copse in the north of the park is
still called Windmill Hill Wood.
St. Michael's Church Tower (Now destroyed)
MANORS
The manor of WESTWICK (Westwica xi cent, Westwic xiii cent., Westwyche xiv cent.) or GORHAMBURY
takes its alternative name from the family of Gorham
of Norman extraction, of whom a very full account
will be found in Collectanea Topographica et Genealogica, (fn. 9)
and by whom it was held during the twelfth and
thirteenth centuries. The manor was bequeathed
by Æthelgifu to Queen Ælfgifu about 942–6, (fn. 10) and
was granted by King Ethelred in 996 to the monastery of St. Albans. (fn. 11) Abbot Paul (1077–93) at the
request of his kinsman Archbishop Lanfranc granted
it to Humbald, a kinsman of the Abbot Richard de
Albini, successor of Paul to the abbacy, for life, (fn. 12)
and Abbot Geoffrey de Gorham built a hall at Westwick for the use of one of his friends and kinsmen,
a benefactor of the church. (fn. 13) This relative was
no doubt Hugh son of Humbald, for Geoffrey granted
it without the consent of the convent, though it
belonged to the monks' refectory, to Hugh on his
marriage with the sister of Geoffrey. (fn. 14) Hugh appears
to have taken the name of 'de Gorham,' (fn. 15) and to
have obtained a confirmation of the grant from
Abbot Robert de Gorham, (fn. 16) nephew of Geoffrey
(1151–66). He seems to have been succeeded by Ivo
de Gorham, perhaps the heir of Geoffrey's sister. (fn. 17)
Geoffrey de Gorham held the manor in 1166 of
the abbot of St. Albans for two-thirds of a knight's
fee and suit at the hundred of Cashio every three
weeks. (fn. 18) Geoffrey was succeeded by Henry de Gorham, who held four hides and a half of the abbot
for the service of two-thirds of a knight's fee in
1212. (fn. 19) Sir William de Gorham succeeded Henry, (fn. 20)
and died about 1230. (fn. 21) He married Cecilia de Sanford, whose 'learning, wit, and eloquence' obtained
for her an appointment as governess to Eleanor, sister
of Henry III. She took a vow of celibacy after she
had been for some years a widow, and died in 1251
universally regretted. She was buried with much
honour at St. Albans in front of the altar of St.
Andrew. (fn. 22) Her son William de Gorham succeeded
to Westwick in the lifetime of his mother, and died
in 1278 seised of half the manor, leaving two sons,
William and John, both minors. (fn. 23) William survived
his father only five months, and in 1292 Hugh de
Cressingham conveyed the manor of Gorham, perhaps
the other moiety, to John de Gorham and Isabella
his wife, (fn. 24) who in 1307 settled the manor on themselves for life with remainder to Alphonsus de Vere
and the heirs of his body, and upon failure of such
heirs to Hawisia de Vere for life, with remainder
to Hugh de Vere for life, and to Thomas de Vere
and his heirs for ever. (fn. 25) John probably died before
1320, for at that date Alphonsus was in possession. (fn. 26) He died in 1328 (fn. 27) and his son John became
seventh earl of Oxford on the death of his uncle
Robert in 1331. (fn. 28) Free warren in his manor
of Westwick was granted to
John in 1329–30. (fn. 29) His son
Thomas, the eighth earl, died
in 1371, (fn. 30) having settled the
manor on his wife Maud. (fn. 31)
Robert, son and successor of
Thomas, became cousin by
marriage to Richard II, by
whom he was loaded with
honours though he had never
distinguished himself by any
special services. He was made
marquess of Dublin in 1385,
and duke of Ireland in the
following year. These royal favours roused the
jealousy of the barons, who demanded his dismissal
from all his offices as a traitor. He was attainted
in 1387–8 and all his lands were forfeited, (fn. 32) but his
mother held the manor of Westwick for life, with
reversion to the crown.
De Vere Quarterly gules and or with a molet argent in the quarter.
The alienation of Westwick by Abbot Geoffrey
had always been looked upon by the convent as
a serious loss, and this appeared to be a good opportunity of recovering it to the abbey, so Thomas
the abbot, with the help of John the prior, bought
the reversion, for which he paid more than 800 marks
to the countess, (fn. 33) part of which sum was subscribed by
friends of the abbot. (fn. 34) The conveyances in connexion with this acquisition were completed in
1395, (fn. 35) but to secure an undisputed possession of the
manor a charter was obtained
in 1401 from Richard earl of
Oxford (fn. 36) releasing all his right
in the manor to the abbey,
and a similar charter was obtained in 1446 from his successor John. (fn. 37) The manor
remained the property of the
abbey of St. Albans until
the dissolution of the monastery
on 5 December, 1539, when
it passed to the crown, and
was granted by Henry VIII
on 12 March, 1540–1, to Ralph Rowlatt. (fn. 38) He
died in 1542, leaving Ralph his son and heir, (fn. 39) who
died in the following year, when the manor passed
to his son Amphibalus Rowlatt, who settled the
manor on Mary his wife, and died in 1546. (fn. 40)
Mary his widow married George Horsey, and they
together held courts for the manor in 1547 and
1550. (fn. 41) Ralph, brother of Amphibalus Rowlatt, held
courts for the manor in 1551, possibly after the
death of Mary, widow of Amphibalus. (fn. 42) This Ralph
settled the manor in 1549 on his brother-in-law
John Maynard, with remainder to Ralph Maynard
his nephew, (fn. 43) and in 1557 he conveyed it to John
Byll and Robert Bryckett, (fn. 44) probably as trustees.
Ralph Rowlatt conveyed the manor in 1560–1 to Sir
Nicholas Bacon, lord keeper
of the great seal, (fn. 45) and in
1570 Ralph Maynard conveyed his interest in the manor
to Sir Nicholas, (fn. 46) who in 1563
pulled down the ancient hall
built by Geoffrey de Gorham, (fn. 47) and built his famous
house, which he completed in
1568. Of this house, the
walls and porch of the hall
and part of the west wing of
the main courtyard remain.
Fortunately a plan is preserved in a manuscript history of Gorhambury
written by the Hon. Charlotte Grimston in 1821,
and with its aid the annexed plan of the entire
buildings has been set out. The main court was
about 70 ft. square, with an entrance in the middle
of the south side, and at the angles projecting
octagonal turrets. The hall took up the west half
of the north side of the court, having an office
court behind it, on the east side of which was the
kitchen, with what seems to be the principal staircase adjoining it on the south. West of the hall was
the chapel, with the clock tower in the angle between
it and the west wing of the court, containing a newel
stair. In the west wing were the dining saloon, anteroom, and drawing-room, and in the east the north
dining-room with an ante-room, next to which on
the south were the 'sense room' and the 'armor
hall,' with a large bedroom at the south-east angle,
through which, as it seems, was the only access to a
large detached ballroom on the east. The dairy and
offices lay round another court to the north of the
main court, having the stables on the north-east, and
to the west of the main court was an L-shaped wing,
with an open cloister below, and a long gallery above.
On the site of this part of the house an arched recess
remains containing a mutilated statue of Henry VIII,
which may be that mentioned in an account of some
hasty additions made to the house in view of an impending visit of Elizabeth. The best-preserved piece
of the building now remaining is the porch of the
hall, which stood on the centre line of the main
court. Though now in a very shaky condition,
underbuilt with brickwork, and tied together with
iron bands, it is a beautiful piece of Renaissance
detail. It is of two stories, the lower open on
three sides with semicircular arches, and the upper
having a square-headed window, now without mullions, flanked by circular marble medallions with
busts. Over the window is a low pediment, and the
porch is finished with a coping having pedestals at
the angles, on one of which a fragmentary figure
still remains. The general design of the hall and
court seems to have been of late Gothic type,
with tall mullioned windows and no trace of Renaissance detail, and this was probably the case
with all the original work here except the hall
porch. The L-shaped wing was evidently a later
addition, and the cloister had classic columns and
round-headed arches, as shown in existing drawings. An interesting table of the money spent in
building the house is extant, showing that it was
begun on 1 March, 1563, and the cost in the successive years from 1563 to 1568 was £315 9d.,
£461 7s. 1d., £177 6s. 7½d., £568 3s. 9d.,
£171 8s. 8½d., and £204 16s. 8d., or in all
£1,998 11s. 10d.
Rowlatt. Gules a cheveron coupleclosed argent with three lions gules on the cheveron.
Bacon. Gules a chief argent with two pierced molets sable therein.
Sir Nicholas Bacon's House at Gorhambury: Ground Plan
Queen Elizabeth visited Sir Nicholas there in 1572
and again in 1577, (fn. 48) 'coming thither on Saturday,
18 May, before supper, and continuing till Wednesday
after dinner following.' A list of all the expenses
incurred during the visit, including a cup presented
to the queen, amounting to £577 6s. 7d., is preserved. (fn. 49)
The queen in return for this entertainment gave Sir
Nicholas her portrait painted by Hilliard, which
still remains at Gorhambury.
On the death of Sir Nicholas in 1578–9 the manor
came to his eldest son by his second marriage, Anthony,
chancellor of the duchy of Lancaster, who died without
issue in 1601, (fn. 50) when he was succeeded by his brother,
Sir Francis. Sir Francis built a new residence which
he called Verulam House, now the Pondyards, near the
ponds which supplied the old house with water. On
the beautifying and enlarging of these ponds Sir
Francis spent large sums of money, but they are now
overgrown with rushes and half filled up. (fn. 51) Aubrey
in his Letters gives an account of Verulam House,
which he describes as 'the most ingeniosely contrived
little pile that ever I saw.' He conjectures that the
ponds covered about four acres, and they 'were pitched
at the bottomes with pebbles of several colours which
were worked into several figures as of fishes, &c.,
which in his Lordship's time were clearly to be seen
through the clear water.' In the middle of the
middlemost pond was a curious banqueting-house of
Roman architecture, paved with black and white
marble, covered with Cornish slate, and neatly
wainscoted. (fn. 52)
Of this house several views are extant, though it
was almost entirely demolished in the latter part of the
seventeenth century. It was no doubt to the old house
of Gorhambury what Wothorpe House was to Burghley House by Stamford—a secondary house, but still of
very good size, whither, as Lord Burghley is reported
by Fuller to have said, he could retire while his great
house was a-sweeping. It was of three stories, four-square with pairs of rounded turrets at each angle,
rows of three-light square-headed windows, and doorways in the middle of each side. In the centre
was a higher block than the rest, somewhat like
the room over the hall at Wollaton, but not so
conspicuous. The house was demolished in 1663, (fn. 53)
and now one fragment only remains and is used as
a cottage.
Sir Francis Bacon began his political career in 1576,
was elected to Parliament 1584, and in 1584 or 1585
wrote a pamphlet called Letter of Advice to Queen
Elizabeth, in which he showed a wisdom far in
advance of his time. He was employed in 1604 as
one of the commissioners to discuss the terms of the
union with Scotland. On 25 June, 1607, Bacon was
appointed solicitor-general, and in 1613 became
attorney-general. He succeeded Lord Keeper Ellesmere as chancellor in 1617, and was made lord
chancellor in 1618, and in the same year was raised
to the peerage as Baron Verulam. Three years later
he became Viscount St. Albans, but shortly after this
honour had been conferred upon him he was accused
of corrupt dealing in connexion with his office, and
was deprived of the seal and sentenced to be imprisoned during the king's pleasure. He was detained
in the Tower only a few days, but his political
career was ended, and he devoted the remainder of
his life to scientific work.
Before his death in 1626 Sir Francis conveyed the
manor of Gorhambury to Francis Leigh, Lord Dunsmore, Henry Meautis and others as trustees, to the
use of Sir Thomas Meautis, who had married Anne,
daughter of Sir Nathaniel Bacon. (fn. 54) Sir Thomas had
an only daughter Jane, on whose death without issue
the manor came to Henry, brother of Sir Thomas.
He sold the manor in 1652 to Sir Harbottle Grimston, who married Anne, widow of Sir Thomas
Meautis. (fn. 55) Verulam House, or the Pondyards, was
settled upon Harbottle's son George, after whose
death in 1655 Sarah his wife held it for life. (fn. 56) The
house was let to a Mr. Bigg, and its ruinous condition
caused some friction between Sarah Grimston and
her tenant. (fn. 57) Samuel son of Sir Harbottle died
without issue in 1700, leaving Gorhambury to his
great-nephew William Luckyn, grandson of his sister
Mary and Sir Capel Luckyn. William became first
Viscount Grimston in 1719, and died in 1756,
when the manor descended to his second but eldest
surviving son James, whose son James Bucknall
was created Baron Verulam of Gorhambury in
1790, and was succeeded in 1809 by his son James
Walter, created earl of Verulam in 1815. (fn. 58) From
him the manor has descended to James Walter the
present earl.
The present house of Gorhambury was first inhabited
on 20 October, 1784, (fn. 59) and stands at no great distance
north-east of the house which it superseded, that
built by Sir Nicholas Bacon between 1563 and 1568.
It has its principal rooms on the first floor, the ground
floor being of the nature of a vaulted basement, and
full of dark passages. A fine portico on the main
front of the house, reached by a broad flight of steps,
leads to a large entrance hall from which the principal
rooms open on three sides, the dining-room to the right,
and a fine library in the middle, out of which small
ante-rooms lead to larger rooms in the angles of the
main block. All the rooms, as usual in houses of the
date, are passage rooms, opening one to another all
round the house. There is a fine series of portraits,
a number by Lely and Vandyck, but the most interesting include a picture by Hilliard, presented by
Queen Elizabeth to Sir Nicholas Bacon, and a fulllength of Sir Francis Bacon by Van Somer.
The best picture in the house is the well-known
portrait by Petrus Christus of Edward Grimston,
ambassador to the court of Burgundy in 1441 and
1446. (fn. 59a)
The manor of Westwick at the time of King
Ethelred's grant consisted of 8 yokes (juga) of
land. (fn. 60) A detailed rental and extent of the manor
was made by John de Gorham in 1306. It then
consisted of a messuage with a hall and chapel, and a
second messuage called Newbery, with a dovecot. It
included land in Langfordlonde, Gosemere, Layehull,
Assecroft, Maningfeld, Aywynscroft, Bonnescroft,
Whitwellbeth, Bradfeld, Brokfeld, Preymade, and
Kyngesberrymade. Pleas and perquisites of court and
heriots were worth 40s. a year, and there was a fishery
valued at 2s. (fn. 61) In a lay subsidy of 1663 payment
was made by Sir Harbottle Grimston for forty firehearths at Gorhambury. He was also rated for eleven
firehearths at Verulam House, which had already been
demolished, and on this account 11s. was allowed
him. (fn. 62)
He repaired the old mansion built by Sir Nicholas
Bacon, (fn. 63) and restored the chapel there in 1673. The
marble steps in front of the communion table were
brought from Sopwell. Extensive repairs were also
undertaken in the old mansion at that date, (fn. 64) but during
the next hundred years it fell into such a ruinous state
that it could not be saved, and the new mansion was
finished in 1784, having occupied seven years in
building. (fn. 65)
In a survey of Gorhambury of the seventeenth
century, it is stated that the 'park is enclosed with a
very fair new pale, such as is seldom seen about any
other park, which pale cost at least £800 within
four years. There is a warren of conies well stored
and burrows in good repair upon 72 acres in the
park, which is well worth £60 per annum.' (fn. 66)
The exact date of the formation of Gorhambury
Park is not known, but it was probably enlarged
about 1551, for under that date there is a presentment in the court rolls that John Marston granted
to Sir Ralph Rowlatt, lord of the manor, 'all that
field called Bankefelde lying in Westwyke which now
is imparked and is within the park of Gorhambury.' (fn. 67)
In the same roll it was presented that the farmer of
Gorhambury was accustomed to have free ingress and
egress with his carts for carrying his hay from the
meadows then called Goreham Meades to the farm
called Gorehamburye Ferme, but the lord disputed
this claim. (fn. 68)
The men of Westwick, like so many others of the
tenants of the abbey, obtained a charter of liberties
from the abbot at the time of the rebellion of Wat
Tyler, (fn. 69) a charter which, like all the rest, was withdrawn at the suppression of the rebellion.
The manor of CHILDWICK, Childwica (xi cent.);
Childewick Magna (xiv cent.) or CHILDWICKBURY,
was held by the fourteenth part of a knight's fee, (fn. 70) and
was given to the abbot and monks of St. Albans Abbey
by Ailwin Niger and Ailfleda his wife at the instigation
of King Ethelred II, in the later part of the tenth
century. (fn. 71) William Rufus is said to have seized this
manor, but shortly afterwards restored it to the
abbey, (fn. 72) and it was confirmed to the monastery by
John. (fn. 73) Again, after the death of Abbot Roger de
Norton in 1290, the king's escheator seized the manor,
and it would seem from the proceedings touching the
seizure that it was allotted towards the maintenance
of the prior and convent, but that Abbot Roger had
assigned it for an anniversary for his soul, and for the
provision of bread for the monastery. Upon a composition with the escheator the manor was returned
to the prior and convent, but John de Berkhamsted,
the succeeding abbot, withheld it from them. (fn. 74) In
1302 Abbot John de Maryns restored this manor to
the prior and convent, and assigned it to the use of
the office of the refectory for the provision and improvement of the bread and ale of the monastery, and
to provide one loaf and two herrings each for 300
poor persons at the feast of All Souls, for the souls of
Pope Boniface VIII and Abbot Roger de Norton. (fn. 75)
The abbot in this grant reserved to himself homage,
wards, marriages, reliefs, &c., belonging to the manor,
and view of frankpledge there. (fn. 76)
The manor appears to have belonged in the thirteenth century, probably during the seizure by the
crown, to Geoffrey de Childwick, a person of some
note at St. Albans, who held the office of bailiff
of St. Albans for some time. (fn. 77) He was probably,
if not identical with, a relative of the Geoffrey de
Childwick who is described in the middle of the
thirteenth century as an enemy of the abbey of
St. Albans. He maltreated the abbot's servants, and
for this he was excommunicated, but when attached
the appeal was withdrawn at the intercession of the
king, who afterwards granted to Geoffrey free warren
in his lands which he held of the abbot contrary
to the ancient charters of the abbey. (fn. 78) For the
manor Geoffrey paid a rent of two quarters of wheat
to the convent. This rent is said to have been
bought by John Maryns the abbot of William
Beneyt, to whom it was given by Geoffrey de
Childwick. (fn. 79) In 1346 Thomas, prior of Tynemouth,
was entertained at the manor of Childwick, when
he came to take part in the election to the abbacy,
an office for which he was afterwards chosen. (fn. 80) A
large barn and other necessary buildings were constructed at Childwick by John de la Moote (1396-1401). (fn. 81) The manor was leased out from time to
time, and a little before the dissolution of the
monastery Henry Stonham was the farmer. (fn. 82)
After the suppression of St. Albans Abbey, this
manor was granted on 26 February, 1540, to Sir
William Cavendish, and Margaret his wife. (fn. 83) In 1550
Sir William Cavendish and Elizabeth his wife conveyed the manor to Thomas Rowce or Rouse, of Ayot
St. Lawrence. (fn. 84) This alienation was made without
the royal licence, but this was shortly afterwards
obtained, confirming Thomas's estate in the manor. (fn. 85)
Thomas Rouse died seised of the manor in 1562,
having bequeathed it to his son Nicholas and his
heirs with remainder to the daughters of Thomas. (fn. 86)
Nicholas died a minor two years after his father, and
his heirs were his sisters, Frances, Anne, Dorothy,
and Joan. (fn. 87) Joan married Thomas Kere, and with
her husband conveyed her quarter of the manor in
1575 to John Puckering and Jane his wife, (fn. 88) who
together with John Manchell and Ursula his wife sold
it in 1579–80 to William Preston. (fn. 89) The other three
sisters of Nicholas, Dorothy wife of Edward Smith,
Anne wife of Humphrey Meade, and Frances wife of
William Preston, conveyed their three parts of the
manor in 1578 to George Rotheram and William
Toocke, trustees for William Preston, (fn. 90) who died in
1592 seised of the manor and the reversion of certain
land in the manor after the death of Mary, relict of
Thomas Rouse, then wife of Roger Arnold, who held
it in dower. (fn. 91) William Preston, his son and heir, died in
1644, when the manor came
to his son William, (fn. 92) who sold
it about 1666 to Joshua Lomax of Bolton, co. Lancashire. (fn. 93) Joshua died in 1685,
and was succeeded by his son
Joshua, who was M.P. for
St. Albans in 1708, and died
in 1724 (fn. 94) His eldest son,
Joshua, died in infancy, and
Childwickbury came to the
second son Caleb, after whose
death in 1729 a chancery
suit was started by his widow Mary against the
executors of his will. On account of divorce proceedings which had taken place against Mary, the
executors refused to allow her dower in the manor. (fn. 95)
The result of the suit is not given, but the manor
came to Caleb, son of Caleb and Mary, an infant at
the time of his father's death, whose grandson,
Joshua Lomax, sold it in 1854 to Henry Heyman
Toulmin. (fn. 96) On his death in 1871 it passed to his
son Henry Joseph Toulmin, (fn. 97) who sold it to Sir John
Blundell Maple, of the wellknown firm of Maple &
Co., upholsterers, in Tottenham Court Road, London.
Sir John died in 1903, and
left the property to his widow,
who afterwards married Mr.
Montagu Ballard. The property has now been sold to
Mr. J. Joel.
Lomax. Ermine a running greyhound sable between three scallops gules.
Maple, baronet. Or a cheveron azure between two horses' heads razed sable in the chief and a maple tree on a mount vert in the foot with a rose between two fleurs-de-lis or on the cheveron.
The manor-house appears
to have been built in the
reign of James II, perhaps by
Joshua Lomax. Henry Heyman Toulmin enlarged the
mansion by adding two wings, (fn. 98)
and Sir John Blundell Maple
made various alterations and
additions, and erected several stud-farms on the
estate.
The site of the manor of Childwicksay or Child-wykeshay called Bachesworth, is probably at BATCHWOOD, some half a mile south of Childwickbury. It
was perhaps included in the grant of Childwick to
St. Albans by Ailwin Niger and Ailfleda his wife, (fn. 99)
and was held by the abbot for the service of oneeighth part of a knight's fee. (fn. 100) At the close of the
thirteenth century it was in the possession of the
Bachesworth family, from whom it doubtless got its
alternative name. John de Bachesworth shortly before
his death in 1293 sold to Abbot Roger a meadow in
Childwick, (fn. 101) and the manor of Childwicksay
descended to his son Roger, an idiot. (fn. 102) On this
account the manor was in the hands of the king in
1303, Sibyl wife of John holding a third as her
dower. (fn. 103) Roger de Bachesworth died in 1308–9,
leaving Richard his brother and heir. (fn. 104) The manor
was in 1320–1 in the possession of John son of John
de Dene and Margaret his wife, probably daughter of
Richard son of Roger de Bachesworth, whose relationship to Roger and Richard de Bachesworth mentioned
above is not clear. (fn. 105) In 1336 Andrew Pynnere, a
merchant of Coventry, and Margaret daughter and
heir of Richard de Bachesworth released to Robert son
of Adam Albyn of Hemel Hempstead and Margaret his
wife and the heirs of Robert all their right in the
manor of Childwicksay near the vill of St. Albans. (fn. 106)
The manor soon passed from Robert Albyn to
Margaret relict of William Wotton, who may have
been the widow of Robert Albyn. Of her it was
bought under the name of the manor of Childwicksay
called Bachesworth about the middle of the fourteenth century by John Whitwell, the steward of
St. Albans, for himself and his mother for their lives,
with remainder to the abbey. (fn. 107) In 1429 Roger
Husewyff and Richard Byngham granted to the
abbey a toft, land, and wood in St. Albans and
Childwicksay. (fn. 108) Land and pasture called Bacheworth
and Countes were held under lease by Edward Smith
in 1535, (fn. 109) and in 1550 Batcheworth meade was parcel
of the manor of Childwick and had lately been in the
tenure of John Carpenter. (fn. 110) Batchworth or Batchwood was held in 1556 by Edward Smith under a
lease from Richard Weste. (fn. 111) The wood called
'Bathewood' was in the middle of the sixteenth
century annexed to the manor of Kingsbury. (fn. 111a)
Batchwood was the seat of the late Lord Grimthorpe, who on his death in 1905 left the estate
to his nephew, Edmund Beckett Faber.
The manor of WINDRIDGE (Wenrige xi cent.;
Wanrugge xiii cent.; Wyndrynge xiv cent.) was held
before the time of the Domesday Survey in two parts,
the one by Osbern, a monk, and Goding his man,
which had passed at the time of that survey to
Geoffrey de Bech, who held it of the abbot of St.
Albans. (fn. 112) The other portion had been held in the
time of King Edward the Confessor by Ailmer one of
Earl Lewin's men, and was at the time of the Survey
held by Ralph of Geoffrey de Bech. (fn. 113) The manor
seems to have remained divided for some time. The
latter portion apparently passed to the family of Weyland, and Sir William Weyland died seised of it in
1276, leaving a brother and heir Sir Thomas, whose
son John died in 1318 leaving three daughters and
co-heirs, this portion of the manor of Windridge falling to the share of Maud, who married John Pecok
of Redbourn. (fn. 114)
The other portion of the manor went to Richard
Pirot, whose brother Ralph recovered it in a suit against
Ranulph Brito in 1228–32. (fn. 115) In 1287 Ralph Pirot
claimed free warren in his demesne lands at Windridge, and in 1277–8 he claimed the right of presenting a leper to the hospital of St. Julian, and on the
death of one to present another. (fn. 116) Joan daughter of
Ralph Pirot held a fourth and a fortieth part of a
knight's fee in Windridge in 1303. (fn. 117) In 1321
Reginald son of Ralph Pirot of Herlingdon conveyed
the manor to John son of Robert Pecok of Redbourn, (fn. 118) bringing the two portions of the manor
together. John Pecok in 1327 conveyed the whole
manor by fine to John le Turnour of Redbourn,
chaplain, for the purpose of settling it upon himself
and his wife Maud and the heirs of their bodies. (fn. 119)
From John Pecok it passed to Edmund Pecok, who
died without issue, leaving his sister married to John
Somersham his heir. (fn. 120) John Somersham and his wife
had two daughters, Margery who married Nicholas
Laurence, and Alice married to John Swanborne.
Robert Dykeswell and Agnes his wife, probably the
relict of John Somersham, in 1377 conveyed a third
of the manor of Windridge to Nicholas Laurence and
Margery, and John Swanborne and Alice, and the
heirs of Margery and Alice. (fn. 121) Margery afterwards
married William Ashe, and in 1399 she and her
husband conveyed their moiety of the manor to John
Swanborne and Alice. (fn. 122) Margery eventually became
heiress of her sister, and her only daughter Elizabeth
married Thomas Frowick, in whose family the manor
remained till their descendant, Henry Frowick, sold it
in 1478 to Sir John Fortescue, (fn. 123) who seems to have forfeited it under Richard III, perhaps as a Lancastrian,
for in 1484 the manor was granted by Richard III to
Richard Decons for life. (fn. 123a) It must shortly afterwards
have been restored to John, for he died seised of it in
1500, leaving John his son and heir, (fn. 124) who died in
1518, leaving his son Henry his heir, aged two
years. (fn. 125) In 1538 Henry Fortescue conveyed the
manor to Sir Thomas Seymour, (fn. 126) afterwards Lord
Seymour of Sudeley, who leased it to Richard Raynshawe. (fn. 127) Lord Seymour was attainted and beheaded
in 1549, when the manor reverted to the crown.
The site and capital messuage of the manor were
leased on 26 May, 1549, to Edmund Foster, (fn. 128) and
he in 1553 sold the remainder of the lease to Raynold Carte. (fn. 129) In 1552 Edward VI granted the
manor to Sir Edward Fynes, Lord Clinton, (fn. 130) who
conveyed it on the following day to John Cock of
Broxborne. (fn. 131) Upon the death of John Cock, about
1558–9, (fn. 132) litigation took place between his son
Henry and Anne his widow, who had married George
Penruddocke, as to waste committed upon this and
other manors. (fn. 133) In 1574 Henry Cock and Ursula
his wife conveyed the manor to Sir Nicholas Bacon,
Lord Keeper. (fn. 134) Anthony Bacon and Francis Bacon,
sons of Sir Nicholas, in 1593 conveyed it to Robert
Prentice, probably for the purposes of some trust, (fn. 135)
and in 1599 Anthony Bacon sold it to John Crosby. (fn. 136)
It was confirmed to John by letters patent in 1614, (fn. 137)
and he sold it in 1623 to Francis Fuller, (fn. 138) who died
in 1637, having bequeathed the manor to Francis
Osbaston, son of his sister Barbara, the wife of Henry
Osbaston of Aldersbrooke in Essex. (fn. 139) Francis died
without leaving issue, (fn. 140) and his brother and heir
Henry sold it in 1679 to Samuel son of Sir Harbottle Grimston, (fn. 141) and from this point its descent is
identical with that of Gorhambury (q.v.).
The manor of KINGSBURY (Chingesbiri xiii cent.)
anciently belonged to the Saxon kings and was
bought by Alfric afterwards abbot of St. Albans, then
the king's chancellor, of King Ethelred, with the
ponds and wood belonging to it. (fn. 142) The manor was
afterwards given by Alfric and Leofric his brother to
the abbey of St. Albans. (fn. 143) Alfric had previously
bought a large fishpond called 'Fischpol' near the
castle of Kingsbury, which was very obnoxious to the
abbey, and as part of the price of this pond gave the
king the cup given to the monastery by Abbot Eadfrith, besides many other valuable presents. (fn. 144) The
fishpond was drained, with the exception of a small
pond surrounded with reeds, and the rest of the land
was converted into gardens. (fn. 145) This pond is perhaps
identical with that mentioned in the Domesday Survey as existing at St. Albans. (fn. 146)
The manor of Kingsbury was confirmed to the
abbey by King John in 1199, (fn. 146a) and in 1258 the
proceeds of the manor were assigned to improve the
victuals of the abbey. (fn. 147) A composition was made in
1535 between the abbot and the vicar of St. Michael's
by which a pension of 20s. became payable to the
vicar from this manor. (fn. 148)
During the insurrection under Wat Tyler the
manor-house of Kingsbury had a narrow escape from
being burnt down by the insurgents. A certain farmer of the manor who owed money to the prior
joined the rebels, and threatened that if the abbot
did not pay him 100 marks he would burn down
both the manor-house of Kingsbury and the Grange
of St. Peter. To save his property the prior gave
£20 of the required sum. (fn. 149) The manor remained
in the possession of the abbey until the Dissolution,
when it came to the crown.
The manorial rights appear to have become annexed to the manor of Pré, which is usually called
Prée cum Kingsbury, and the courts of the three
manors of Westwick, Pré, and Kingsbury were
held together. (fn. 150) The manor of Kingsbury, by
which the site of the manor is probably meant,
was granted in 1553 to Thomas Wendy, (fn. 151) one of
the royal physicians. He had to pay 10s. per annum
to the collector of rents in the manor, and 20s. to
the vicar of the church. Thomas died seised of
the manor in 1612, leaving William his son and heir. (fn. 152)
He settled it upon his wife Blanche in 1615, (fn. 153) and
died in 1623 without leaving issue, when he was
succeeded by his nephew Thomas, son of Francis
Wendy, then a minor. (fn. 154) The manor belonged to
Sir Samuel Grimston in 1688, (fn. 155) and from him it
has descended to the present earl of Verulam.
The hallmote of the manor of Kingsbury was held
sometimes at Childwick and sometimes at Westwick.
The court rolls of the manor between 31 Henry III
and 5 Edward III are preserved among the manuscripts
of the earl of Verulam at Gorhambury. (fn. 156)
The manor of LEVESLESTOCKE, MARKET
OAK, MARKET DOLE or LANGLEY with WESTWICK was part of the possession of the priory of
Markyate, (fn. 157) and at the Dissolution was probably
included under rent of customary tenants in Westwick. (fn. 158) In 1619 the manor was conveyed by
William Hatche and Pleasance his wife to John
Field, (fn. 159) and in 1634 John Field conveyed it to his
son John, (fn. 160) and in the same year John Field died
seised of the manor, leaving Benjamin his son and
heir. (fn. 161) John Field and Mary his wife sold the manor
in 1666 to Harbottle Grimston, (fn. 162) and from that
point its descent has been identical with that of
Gorhambury, with which its manorial rights have
now become merged. Its site is probably at Leverstock Green, now an ecclesiastical parish, formerly
partly in the parish of St. Michael's.
Manor of PRÉ (Pray, de Prato). The house of
St. Mary de Pré was founded as a Benedictine nunnery about 1194 by Warin, abbot of St. Albans. (fn. 163)
Rents from the churches of Walden and Newnham
and all tithes from the demesne of Luton besides other
revenues were granted to the nuns in the foundation
charter. (fn. 164) King John in 1199 granted to the nuns
of Préafair to be held in the manor on the vigil and
feast of the nativity of B. V. Mary. (fn. 165) This fair was
held at Romeland or in Keyfield. (fn. 166) In 1204
30 acres of assart in Estbrok were granted to the
foundation, (fn. 167) and land in Westwick was given them
in 1248 by Alexander son of Richard de Langel, (fn. 168)
and in 1278 Joan daughter of John Howeles granted
to the nuns land and wood in Westwick. (fn. 169)
The last prioress died in 1527, having under her
at that time only three nuns, who deserted the convent on her death. The possessions of the nunnery,
which included the manors of Pré, Playdell, and
Beaumond, and tithe rents in Redbourn, Sarratt, and
Codicote, and land in St. Albans and elsewhere to the
yearly value of £33, (fn. 170) were granted to Cardinal
Wolsey, who gave them to his foundation called
Cardinal's College at Oxford. (fn. 171) On Wolsey's disgrace
in 1529, his college was dissolved and the manor of
Pré was leased for thirty years in 1530 to Richard
Raynshawe, a yeoman of the guard. (fn. 172) The possessions
of the priory had previously been annexed to the
abbey of St. Albans by a papal bull, but Wolsey
obtained another bull for their annexation to his
college at Oxford. (fn. 173) In 1531 the site of the monastery of Pré, together with the manor of Pré, and
all the other possessions of the nunnery, were
granted by the king to the abbey of St. Albans
in exchange for other manors. (fn. 174) The abbot leased
the manor in the following year to Richard Raynshawe, who already held a lease from the king. (fn. 175)
On the suppression of the monastery of St. Albans
the site of the nunnery and the manor of Pré again
came to the crown, and were granted in 1540 to
Ralph Rowlatt. (fn. 176) From this point it descended with
Gorhambury.
The Pré which marks the site of the ancient manor
is now the residence of Mr. Henry Joseph Toulmin, J.P. In the house are some carvings by Grinling Gibbons brought from Childwickbury by
Mr. Toulmin.
A property called DIXIES in Westwick belonged
in 1493 to Robert Stodley. It was demised in 1500
by William Stepneth and John Marchall, schoolmaster,
and others to Thomas West of Tygheley. In 1531
Henry Bestney sold to William Sharpe land called
Tyghele, Dykes, and Bushecroft which had lately
belonged to Thomas West, of whom Bestney purchased them. (fn. 177)
A tenement called MAYNES in the lordship of
Gorhambury was surrendered in 1551 by Isabel
widow of John Marston of Hillend to Thomas
Marston, one of the tenants of Gorhambury appointed to receive surrenders in extremis. This
surrender was made to the use of John Marston
the younger, her son, and of her three daughters
Margaret, Florence, and Isabel. (fn. 178) At the next court
it was presented that the lane called Maynes Lane
and le Dyche lying next Brokefylde was parcel
of the customary land called Maynes belonging
to George son of John Marston. (fn. 179) George Marston
died in 1622 seised of the reversion of various
closes in the parish of St. Michael, by conveyance
from Francis Bacon in 1616. His heirs were his
sisters Joan Gape, widow, and Alice Marston. (fn. 180) John
Gape died in 1625 seised of tenements in the parish
of St. Michael, leaving John his son and heir. (fn. 181)
In an undated extract from a court roll the homage
testified that they found that 'Maynes lond with the
apertense hathe behoden as ytt ys nowe wytheoutt
remembrans of man, also we fynde that Maynes dyche
is pessell of the lond of Georgy Marston cayllyd
Maynes, allso we fynd that all the copyehollders of
thys maner may falle and sell all maner of tymber
and underwodes acordyng to the custum of the
maner.' (fn. 182) The site of this tenement is probably to
be found at Mayne's Farm.
An oratory of ST. MARY MAGDALENE was
built not far from that of St. Germain by Wulsin,
the sixth abbot of St. Albans, (fn. 183) and a chapel of
St. Mary Magdalene was dedicated by Herbert,
bishop of Norwich (1094–1119). (fn. 184) In 1530 Helen
Atkynson, widow, left a bequest to Sir Nicholas Insley
the hermit at St. Mary Magdalene's to sing a trental
of masses. (fn. 185)
The reversion, after the expiry of a lease for twentyone years granted in 1541 to Sir Francis Bryan, of
this chapel, with a mansion and land adjoining, was
granted in 1547 to Sir Richard Lee, (fn. 186) who sold it in
the same year to John Maynard and Dorothy his
wife. (fn. 187) Dorothy outlived John, who died in 1556–7,
and married Francis Rogers as her second husband.
Francis died in 1571 seised of a capital messuage called
Mary Magdalene or Verilondes, which he held in right
of Dorothy. (fn. 188) He was succeeded by Sir Henry Maynard, a son of John and Dorothy, who died in 1610,
when the property came to Henry Maynard his second
son. On his death in the same year without issue the
chapel passed to his brother John, the fourth son of
Sir Henry. (fn. 189) The site of the chapel now belongs to
the earl of Verulam.
An oratory of ST. GERMAIN of Auxerre was
built at St. Albans in the time of Eadfrith, the
fifth abbot. (fn. 190) There had formerly been a chapel
dedicated to this saint founded by Ulf, prior of St.
Albans, as it was supposed on the site of the house in
which St. Germain dwelt when he visited Verulam to
refute the Pelagian heresy, (fn. 191) but it had been allowed
to fall into a ruinous state, and was quite deserted in
the time of Eadfrith. Wulf, a Dane, was established as
a hermit in the newly-built chapel, and at his death
'in reverence for his virtue,' he was buried among
the abbots. (fn. 192) Eadfrith, after his resignation of the
abbacy, succeeded Wulf as a hermit at St. Germain's,
where he died. (fn. 193)
The chapel was dedicated by Ralph, bishop of
Rochester (1108–15), and Geoffrey Agnus was ordained priest there. (fn. 194) Various repairs and improvements were made at St. Germain's by Abbot Richard
(1326–35). (fn. 195) This chapel, under the name of
St. Jermayne's, with a house and land and a dovecote
and inclosure called St. Jermyn's Pricks, was included in
the grant of the chapel of St. Mary Magdalene to Sir
Richard Lee, (fn. 196) and passed in the same way to the
Maynards. No further mention of it has been found
until 1691, when Henry Killigrew, the purchaser of
St. Julian's, is described as of St. Germain's. (fn. 197) Joseph
Aldridge of St. German's Farm died in 1873. (fn. 198) The
farm now forms part of the property of the earl of Verulam,
and is the residence of Mr.
James A. Mousley. Traces of
the chapel still exist, the piece
of the Roman wall of Verulam
called St. Germain's block
having probably been used as
a part of the chapel and so
preserved.
Gape of St. Michael's. Or three lions sable passant bendways between two bends vair.
ST. MICHAEL'S MANOR.
The family of Gape (fn. 199) have
held property in St. Albans
since the latter part of the
fifteenth century. John Gape,
whose will was proved in 1495, left a tenement in
Sopwell Lane to his son Henry. (fn. 200) Henry Gape,
who may have been this son, possessed two tenements in Salipath, and died in 1558. (fn. 201) John
Gape, the eldest son of Henry, who was mayor of
St. Albans in 1564, 1572 and 1579, (fn. 202) may have
been the builder of the manor-house, for the date
1568 is carved on some of the oak ceilings of
the house. The property has descended in the
family to William Nugent Walter, (fn. 203) the present representative, and the house is now occupied by Mrs.
Haviland.
CHURCH
The church of ST. MICHAEL has a
chancel 24 ft. 6 in. by 14 ft. 6 in., a nave
76 ft. 9 in. by 20 ft. 9 in., with north aisle
9 ft. 3 in. wide, south chapel 30 ft. by 18 ft. 6 in., and
modern south porch, south-west vestries, and north-west tower. The west end of the church was destroyed
by Lord Grimthorpe a few years ago, and rebuilt as
it now appears. Before this time it had a tower at
the west, mainly of fifteenth-century date, though in
the process of its destruction evidence is said to have
been found of an older tower incorporated in its
walls.
Plan of St. Michael's Church
The history of the church is a long one. The first
building on the site was due to Wulsin, abbot of St.
Albans in the middle of the tenth century, who
founded at the same time the churches of St. Peter and
St. Stephen. There are points of resemblance between
these two churches of St. Stephen and St. Michael which
are too marked to be accidental, and they form a valuable commentary on each other. Both have developed
their present plans from aisleless buildings consisting
of a chancel and nave, with thick walls of flint and
Roman brick, and both have been enlarged in the
second half of the twelfth century by the addition of
aisles to the nave; in the case of St. Stephen's circumstantial evidence only is available as to the addition of a
south aisle at this date. Much more is left at St.
Michael's of the aisleless church than at St. Stephen's,
the only parts entirely destroyed being the east wall
of the chancel, the chancel arch, and the west
wall of the nave. Enough remains of the side walls
of the chancel to show that there was a doorway on
the north, and in the nave the arrangement of the
north and south windows can be recovered with
practical certainty; there were four on each side equally
spaced. All the details are worked in Roman brick,
and are of the simplest character. The north doorway of the chancel has a plain semicircular head and is
cut straight through the wall without a reveal, the
windows are small round-headed openings with no
external rebate, the splayed jambs and head running
through to the outer face of the wall, and the bricks
in the window heads are, in one case at least, not set
radially with their curve, but overlap at the crown
of the arch in herring-bone fashion. These details
undoubtedly point to a pre-Conquest date for the work,
but the thickness of the walls is a rather serious obstacle to the theory, and the analogy of St. Stephen's
church, where the walls are equally thick, tells in the
same direction.
In the absence of
actual proof, it
may perhaps be
allowable to give
the very early-looking details of
windows and
doorway the
benefit of the
doubt, and hazard
the opinion that
they are of early
eleventh-century
date. The nave
arcades belong to
the latter part of
the twelfth century, and are very
irregularly cut
through the thick
walls. On the
north side are
three bays, and
on the south four,
the eastern arch
on the south having been widened at a later date by cutting away half
its western pier. All have angle dressings of small
pieces of Totternhoe stone in the arches, which are of
a single square order, and in the jambs, and at the
springing are square abaci with a quirk and a hollow
chamfer below. The line of the original west wall of
the church, as given by the west wall of the former
tower, would allow some 60ft. for the old nave,
the regular length of the nave in the larger pre-Conquest churches.
The addition of a clearstory to the nave was probably some twenty years later than the addition of the
aisles, and the Lady chapel on the south side of the
nave belongs to the first decade of the thirteenth century. The chancel was much altered, but not entirely
rebuilt, except as regards its east wall, in the fourteenth
and fifteenth centuries, and the now destroyed west
tower was for the greater part, if not entirely, of the
latter date. The rood stair, at the north-east angle of
the Lady chapel, is a fifteenth-century addition. The
early chancel arch, which was no doubt narrow and
round-headed, was cut away and widened as it now appears at a date which cannot be definitely fixed, perhaps
late in the fourteenth century, and the wall itself is
thinned on the eastern side to give more room in
the chancel.
The chancel has an east window of three trefoiled
lights with net tracery of fourteenth-century style.
In the north wall the only window is a small single
pointed light, much modernized, if any part of it is
mediaeval. It is near the north-west angle, and
immediately east of it is the early blocked round-headed doorway in Roman brick already noted.
Internally it is perfect, but externally only part of
its west jamb remains, the wall from this point eastward having been rebuilt. The early masonry is
here easily to be seen, the north-east angle of the
nave being quoined with Roman brick, which is also
freely used in the walling, with some attempt at
banding as in Roman work. The flint masonry is
of large scale, as in early flintwork elsewhere, and
a curious but not original feature is a half-arch of
brick in the north wall of the chancel, the reason for
which is not now apparent. The south wall of the
chancel is too much cut up with later insertions to
show any early features, but part of the south-east
angle of the early nave is still to be seen. The south
doorway of the chancel is entirely modern outside;
to the east of it is a square-headed fifteenth-century
window of three cinquefoiled lights, and to the west
a mid-fourteenth-century two-light window, trefoiled
under a square head, having beneath it a beautiful
ogee tomb-recess with cinquefoiled feathered cusping,
of somewhat earlier style than the window. It contains a fourteenth-century coffin lid which, however,
does not seem to be in position. In the angle formed
by the nave and chancel is a narrow square-headed
light, blocked up a little within the wall face, but
showing unequally splayed plastered jambs, and at the
east end of the chancel wall is a small fifteenth-century four-centred recess, like a small locker. It is
impossible not to connect some at least of these
unusual features with the succession of anchorites who
were attached to St. Michael's. (fn. 204) The chancel has a
small piscina at the south-east, with a fifteenth-century uncusped head, and the altar table is a very
fine carved specimen of late sixteenth-century date.
The chancel arch is segmental of two chamfered orders,
with plain rectangular jambs, into which the arch dies.
The nave arcades have been already noticed, and
the remains of earlier windows into which they cut.
The east end of the north aisle has been used as à
vestry or perhaps a chapel, and for some reason the
first 10 ft. of the nave wall here have been left
unpierced, except for a small fifteenth-century doorway. The nave clearstory is of six lights a side,
spaced without regard to the arches below; the
windows were originally thirteenth-century lancets,
but on the north side the first, second, and fourth
from the east have been replaced by square-headed
windows of two cinquefoiled lights, c. 1500. On
the south side the first three lancets are in perfect
preservation, being covered by the roof of the Lady
chapel, and show external rebates for frames, and the
other three to the west are also old but less perfect.
A modern lancet, making seven in all, has been
added by Lord Grimthorpe on this side at the west.
The nave roof is of late fifteenth-century date, of
low pitch with moulded timbers and stone corbels
carved as angels with shields; on some the saltire of
the abbey occurs.
The north aisle has an east wall as thick as those of
the early nave, though there seems no reason to
suppose that it is older than the latter part of the
twelfth century; it contains a wide round-headed
window, much modernized and of doubtful date.
In the north wall are four windows and a blocked
doorway, three of the windows being square-headed,
of two cinquefoiled lights, but of different size and
proportions; all are of fifteenth-century date. (fn. 205) The
doorway only shows on the inside, being blocked
and partly destroyed, and to the east of it is a small
two-light arched window, c. 1340, with very pretty
flowing tracery on a curiously small scale. At the
west end of the aisle a door opens to the new tower.
The south chapel is of good proportion, with a
tall round-headed light set centrally in its south
wall, its inner jambs and head ornamented with an
edge roll, and two similar lights, but with engaged
shafts in the inner angles, in the east wall, with a
blank shallow recess between them, at the top of
which is a circular window. In the south wall two
fifteenth-century windows have been inserted right
and left of the original single window, that to the
east being of three cinquefoiled lights under a square
head, and the other a two-light window of rather
earlier detail. The west wall is strongly buttressed
at the south-west, and has no opening except a
curious round opening low in the wall and giving
on to the porch, but formerly to the south aisle. The
chapel takes up two bays of the south arcade of the
nave, the first arch having been widened, as already
noted, and the second underbuilt with a thirteenth-century doorway of two chamfered orders, the door
having opened towards the chapel. In the third bay
is another arch of different detail, but probably much
the same date, in which the south door of the nave
is now hung. The door is itself old, with plain
wrought-iron strap hinges, probably of the fifteenth
century, and opens to an entirely modern south porch
of thirteenth-century style. The fourth bay of the
arcade is blocked, except for a modern opening at the
west leading to the modern vestry, which stands west
of the porch. In the vestry is preserved part of a
fifteenth-century doom, painted on a board, showing
the dead rising from their graves. The west end of
the nave and the north-west tower are of Lord
Grimthorpe's design, and call for no comment. (fn. 206)
The font at the west end of the nave is of the
fifteenth century, with a panelled octagonal bowl, a
good deal re-tooled.
A good deal of late fifteenth or early sixteenth-century linen panelling remains worked up in the
nave pews, and the pulpit is a very fine specimen
of Jacobean work, richly carved, with a tester over,
and a bookboard carried on pierced brackets. An iron
hourglass holder is fastened to it on the west side.
Considerable remains of a Doom were found at the
east end of the nave in former repairs, but nothing
is now left there. There are, however, some remains
of colour on the east jamb of the south-east window
of the clearstory.
The rood stair, a fifteenth-century addition, was
at the south end of the nave, entered from the
Lady chapel, where its blocked doorway, in a projecting pier of masonry, still remains.
The clock in the tower was presented in 1897 by
Mrs. Hill, of Hawkswick, in memory of her late
husband.
In the north wall of the chancel is the well-known
monument of the great Lord Chancellor Bacon,
showing him seated in a chair as in his lifetime he
was accustomed to sit, according to the brief inscription below. It was set up by Sir Thomas Meautis
to his memory, and though coming rather near the
theatrical, is a fine and striking piece of work.
There are two brasses to the Pecok family, one in the
south chapel of about 1330, with figures of John Pecok
and Maud his wife, and another in the nave of about
1400. In the chapel there is also a beautiful fourteenth-century floriated cross with a figure in the open head of
the cross; the inscription has unfortunately perished.
On the floor of the chancel there is a slab to the
memory of George Grimston, son and heir-apparent
of Sir Harbottle Grimston.
On the floor of the nave are brasses to the memory
of Henry Gape (1558) and Florens his wife, and
slabs to John Bressie (1691), Margaret Lowe (1672),
Mrs. Mary Martin (1703), Amos Martin her husband
(1675), and their son Amos Martin (1706).
On the south wall are the remains of a painted
inscription to John Maynard, who married Mary,
daughter of Ralph Rowlatt (1556).
There are six bells:— the treble, 2, 3, 4, and 5, by
Samuel Knight, 1739, the last inscribed, Robert
Catlin hung us all, 1739; the tenor was recast by
C. and G. Mears in 1845.
The plate consists of a large cup and paten and
flagon, and a large almsdish, all having the London
date letter for 1736. All are inscribed: 'For the
use of the altar of the parish church of St. Michael's
in St. Albans, to be always kept in the dwelling
house of the incumbent.' There is also a small almsdish of 1743.
The first book of the registers contains baptisms,
burials, and marriages from 1643 to 1724; the
second book, baptisms and burials from 1724 to
1812, and marriages from 1724 to 1755; book
three contains marriages from 1754 to 1803; and
book four, marriages from 1803 to 1812. (fn. 207) There
are bishops' transcripts for 1572, 1581, 1584, 1592,
1598, 1599, and 1629. (fn. 208)
In 1502 there is mention of the Brotherhood of
St. Michael in the parish. (fn. 209) In 1527–8 (fn. 210) there
is mention of the Palm cross in the churchyard,
and in 1485 and 1502 of a church-house in the
churchyard, (fn. 211) possibly on the site of the present
schoolroom in the north-east of the churchyard.
ADVOWSON
The church of St. Michael was
built by Wulsin, sixth abbot of St.
Albans, in the tenth century. (fn. 212) The
church was confirmed to the abbey by Honorius III in
1219, (fn. 213) but in the time of Abbot John de Hertford
(1235–60) some difficulty arose with regard to it
which could only be settled by an expensive mission
to Rome. (fn. 214) Two-thirds of the tithes were assigned
by Abbot Geoffrey to the Hospital of St. Julian at its
foundation. (fn. 215) Abbot John de Hertford in 1252
took the church from the convent and gave it to the
sacrist, and at the same time instituted it as a vicarage. (fn. 216) The grant to the sacrist was confirmed by
Innocent IV, and it is stated that the rectory was
vacant at that time, and that the value scarcely exceeded 22 marks. (fn. 217) The king presented to this
church in 1349, on account of the voidance of the
abbey at the time. (fn. 218) The advowson of St. Michael's
remained with the abbey till the Dissolution, at which
time the rectory was valued at £10 0s. 14d. (fn. 219) It
was granted in 1542 to Richard Andrews and
Leonard Chamberlain, (fn. 220) who conveyed it in the same
year to Ralph Rowlatt, (fn. 221) from which time its descent
has been identical with that of Gorhambury (q.v.).
The rectory with the exception of the tithe corn
of the third sheaf was granted in 1612 by James I
to William Allen and Christopher Goodfellow. (fn. 222)
Three-fourths of the rectory subsequently passed to
Samuel Dagnall, Humphrey and James Rogers, and
others, who sold it to Joshua Lomax of St. Albans. (fn. 223)
He sold it in 1663 to Sir Harbottle Grimston, (fn. 224)
whose descendant the earl of Verulam is the present
impropriator of the great tithes.
There is a private chapel at Childwick Green,
which is served by the clergy of St. Michael's. Christ
Church was partly built in 1848 by Alexander
Raphael, M.P. for St. Albans, as a Roman Catholic
church, but at his death it was in an unfinished state,
and was sold to Mrs. Isabella Worley of New Barnes
in the parish of St. Peter. She completed it in
1856 as a Protestant church, and it was consecrated in
1859. The living is a vicarage in the gift of trustees.
The church of Holy Trinity, Leverstock Green,
was built in 1849. The living is a vicarage in the
gift of the earl of Verulam.
Places were certified for dissenting worship in the
parish of St. Michael's between 1783 and 1850 and
at Childwick Hedges in 1822 and Leverstock Green
in 1834 and 1841. (fn. 225)
CHARITIES
This parish is entitled to have one
almswoman in Roger Pemberton's
Almshouses (see parish of St. Peter),
and to receive a tenth of the income of the Bray Norrice
or Norris Charity for four widows, and to nominate
two widows for annuities under Jane Nicholas's
Charity (see the Abbey parish).
St. Michael's share of the charity of Joshua
Lomax (fn. 226) is now represented by £66 15s. consols
with the official trustees.
In 1713 John Ewer, by his will proved at London
on 1 October, left £50 to be laid out for the
help of the truly good and impoverished persons
within one week next after 25 December in every
year. In 1727 the legacy, with £13 added, was
laid out in the purchase of a close in Shenley known
as Maggot's Croft, now let at £5 a year, which is
usually distributed in gifts of 1s. 6d. each to the poor.