ASHENDON
Assedone, Assedune (xi cent.); Essendon (xiii
cent.); Aysshyndon, Ashendon, Essundon (xiv cent.).
This parish includes more than 2,127 acres, of
which about one-eighth is arable, while the rest,
except 11 acres of woodland, (fn. 1) is pasture. (fn. 2) The soil
is loam and clay on a subsoil of Kimmeridge Clay
and Corallian. (fn. 3) The land rises from 300 ft. above
the ordnance datum in the north-west to 500 ft. near
the village, whence it sinks to about 300 ft. at Lower
Pollicott.
The village, which is small and consists of farmhouses and thatched or tiled cottages grouped irregularly on high ground, lies in the west of the parish on
a road which enters it from Westcott on the north.
The church stands on a hill at the south-west extremity
of the village. East Farm, about 250 yards in a
north-easterly direction from
the church, and the farm 50
yards further on, are both of
late 17th-century origin, but
much altered and restored.
About a quarter of a mile
south-west of the church is
the hamlet of Upper Pollicott
(Policote, xi cent.; Polikote,
xiii cent.), south of which
Lower Pollicott lies in a
hollow a little distance from
the main road. (fn. 4) Lower Pollicott farm-house, (fn. 5) about threequarters of a mile south of the
church, was built late in the
16th or early in the 17th
century. It was originally
timber-framed, but has been
partly refaced in later times
with stone rubble and brickwork. Three of the original
chimney stacks survive, and
some original oak panelling
remains internally.
Lower Pollicott Farm, Ashendon
An early inclosure of 60
acres in this parish made by
the Abbot of Nutley before
1503 rendered twenty persons homeless. (fn. 6) Towards
the end of that century Thomas Palmer, lord of the
manor, was accused by his tenants of taking in the
better half of the manor and inclosing it in his own
demesnes. (fn. 7) In 1738 1,700 acres were inclosed by
Act of Parliament. (fn. 8) Some place-names of that date
were Launders Mead, Barkham Hill, Mollets Haynes
Hill, Overgoose Bath, and Neither Landhurst. (fn. 9) A
few Anglo-Saxon remains have been found in
Ashendon. (fn. 10)
Manors
The manor of ASHENDON, which
three brothers held before the Conquest,
belonged to Walter Giffard in 1086, (fn. 11)
and was held of the honour of Giffard until the second
half of the 13th century. (fn. 12) The overlordship descended with the manor of Long Crendon (q.v.) until
between 1247 and 1255 it came to William de
Valence on his marriage with Joan daughter of Warin
de Monchensy by Joan sister and co-heir of Anselm
Earl of Pembroke. (fn. 13) Between 1302, when Joan
widow of William de Valence held it alone, (fn. 14) and the
death of their son Aymer in 1324, (fn. 15) this overlordship
apparently passed to the Argentein family, who had
enjoyed a mesne lordship here since 1255. Giles de
Argentein, of whom the manor of Ashendon was
held at that date, (fn. 16) was succeeded by his son Reynold, (fn. 17)
mesne lord in 1284 and 1302. (fn. 18) At the death of
John son and heir of Reynold (fn. 19) it was found that
Ashendon was held of him by the service of one
knight's fee and 40s. rent, payable to his manor of
Little Wymondley, Hertfordshire. (fn. 20) The overlordship
then descended (fn. 21) in the Argentein family and their
successors, (fn. 22) and Sir Robert Grosvenor had rights in
Ashendon as lord of Wymondley as late as 1738. (fn. 23)
Nothing seems to be known of Richard, sub-tenant
of Walter Giffard in 1086. (fn. 24) Thomas St. Andrew,
owner of a free tenement here
in 1213, (fn. 25) was succeeded in
a few years by Henry St.
Andrew, lord in 1236. (fn. 26) In
1255 the manor belonged to
another Thomas, (fn. 27) possibly
the Thomas St. Andrew
accused in 12–6 of having
obstructed the king's highway. (fn. 28) He seems to have
been succeeded, though perhaps not immediately, since
John St. Andrew enjoyed
rights here in 1267, (fn. 29) by his
son Walter, lord from 1284
to 1316. (fn. 30) In 1317 the manor was settled on
Thomas St. Andrew, with contingent remainders
to John son of Walter St.
Andrew, Isabel sister of John,
and Walter son of Thomas
St. Andrew. (fn. 31) Another settlement was made about 1322
on Thomas and his wife
Alice, (fn. 32) who held Ashendon
in dower from her husband's
death until possibly after
1346. (fn. 33) The marriage of
their daughter Gille was
granted when Thomas died
in or before 1334 to John de
Moleyns, who transferred his
interest to Thomas Frembaud. (fn. 34) In his 1343 Thomas
and Gille, then husband and wife, made a settlement
of Ashendon, (fn. 35) which was held by Thomas alone in
1361. A lease of the manor, which he then granted
to Sir Richard de la Vache, and which was ratified
by his son Thomas, (fn. 36) was followed two years later by
the final quitclaim of the younger Thomas. (fn. 37) From
1363 until 1407–8 Ashendon descended with the
manor of La Vache in Chalfont St. Giles (q.v.) and
Vaches Manor in Aston Clinton. (fn. 38) After the death of
Sir Philip de la Vache in 1407–8 Ashendon Manor
appears to have passed with the Aston Clinton property, since it reappears in 1503 in the possession of
Edmund Lord Grey de Wilton and his wife Florence. (fn. 39)
In 1508 they made a settlement of Ashendon Manor, (fn. 40)
possibly a preliminary to its alienation to the Fawconer family. From Henry Fawconer, lord about that
date and in 1517, (fn. 41) the manor seems to have passed
to William Fawconer, who died seised in 1558,
leaving a son and heir William. (fn. 42) Anne, a daughter
of the second William, held Ashendon with her
husband Benedict Winchcombe in 1610, a year
after her father's death, (fn. 43) and in 1623, when Benedict
died. (fn. 44) She was childless, and the remainder of her
inheritance had been settled not two years before
Benedict's death on his nephew and heir Benedict
Hall, (fn. 45) who, with his mother Mary Hall and his
brother Henry, quitclaimed to her in 1623. (fn. 46) In
1626, however, Benedict Hall still retained his interest
here. (fn. 47) He was alive when Anne died in 1630,
leaving Ashendon to his younger brother Thomas,
generally known as Thomas Hawles, (fn. 48) for twelve
years from her death. (fn. 49) Two years later William
Fawconer, son of her father's younger brother Ralph, (fn. 50)
with his wife Catherine and sons William and
Robert, sold or mortgaged the manor of Ashendon to
Roger Nicoll and William Aston. (fn. 51) They were
probably agents for Richard Grenville of Wotton,
who acquired the manor at this date, at first for
ninety-nine years but later in fee, and settled it on
trustees for the use of his son and heir Richard in
1663. (fn. 52) It has since followed the descent of Wotton
Underwood (q.v.), Algernon Earl Temple of Stowe
being now lord.
Argentein. Gules three covered cups argent.
St. Andrew. Gules six voided lozenges or.
Dela Vache. Gules three lions argent with crowns or.
Fawconer. Play argent and azure a bend gules with three trefoils or thereon.
Lands of the yearly value of 30s., held in 1367 of
Philip de la Vache, lord of Ashendon Manor, (fn. 53) were
assigned in 1325 to Lawrence son of John Hastings,
kinsman and co-heir of Aymer de Valence, (fn. 54) and
included in the dower of his mother Juliana from
1327 to 1367. (fn. 55) From 1367 to 1400, when the
last separate mention of them seems to occur, they
descended with the Hastings manor in LongCrendon (fn. 56)
(q.v.).
William Goley, who owned land in Ashendon
in 1241, (fn. 57) fourteen years later was returned as holding 2 hides here, one as forester of the woods in
Bernwood Forest of the honour of Giffard, the other
by serjeanty of the same honour. (fn. 58) In 1316
Thomas Golde (? Goley) was one of the lords of
Ashendon. (fn. 59) The name survived in 'Gollyes Farm,'
held, with 7½ virgates of land, by Richard Franklin in
the 17th century. (fn. 60)
Two hides in Ashendon were owned by Miles
Crispin at the Survey, and held of him by Wichin,
their former lord. (fn. 61) The overlordship of this land,
which was in the honour of Wallingford, (fn. 62) descended
from 1284 (fn. 63) until 1575 with the manor of Eythrope
in Waddesdon (q.v.), whose lords of the family of
Darches enjoyed a mesne lordship here in the 13th
and 14th centuries. (fn. 64) Of the early sub-tenancy
little is known. The fee was divided between the
St. Andrew and Bernard families and the Abbot of
Nutley in the 13th century, (fn. 65) and from 1552 to 1580
descended as a so-called manor of Ashendon with
Wing Manor (q.v.). It seems to have been alienated
not long after the latter year, lands in Ashendon
purchased of Robert Dormer of Wing being held at
his death in 1615 by Richard Franklin, (fn. 66) ancestor
possibly of George Franklin, a landowner here in
1738. (fn. 67)
The manor of POLLICOTT, which consisted of
10 hides, 5 of which had been held before the
Conquest by Alric son of Godinge, whilst the rest
belonged to three brothers, was amongst the possessions
of Walter Giffard in 1086. (fn. 68) As part of the honour
of Giffard the overlordship followed the descent of
Long Crendon (q.v.) probably until William de
Valence acquired the overlordship of Ashendon. (fn. 69) It
seems then to have been shared between William and
Eleanor Countess of Leicester, window of the younger
William Marshal, (fn. 70) William holding Little Pollicott,
the countess holding Great Pollicott. (fn. 71) No part of
Eleanor's rights seems to have descended to her heirs.
After her death Great Pollicott was held of the Crown
in chief by William and his heirs until 1609, (fn. 72) Little
Pollicott being held of William and his heirs until
1346, (fn. 73) after which their overlordship seems to have
lapsed.
The pre-Norman division of this manor, which
also prevailed after the Conquest, two knights holding
of Walter Giffard in 1086, (fn. 74) survived to the middle
of the 19th century, (fn. 75) if not later. It is probable
that Alric's share was the manor of GREAT POLLICOTT, also called POLLICOTT CRESSY and
POLLICOTT VALENCE, which was doubtless included in the fee held in this country of the honour
of Giffard by Hugh de Cressy in 1166. (fn. 76) He had
also Chearsley (q.v.), with which Pollicott Cressy
descended (fn. 77) until the death of Aymer de Valence in
1324, (fn. 78) when Pollicott was assigned to his niece
Elizabeth Comyn, (fn. 79) on whom with her husband
Richard Talbot, afterwards
Lord Talbot, the manor was
settled in 1327. (fn. 80) They made
a life grant of it five years
later to James of Woodstock, (fn. 81)
and another in 1343 to Aline
widow of Robert de Sapy. (fn. 82)
In 1352 Richard, who had
been returned as lord in
1346, (fn. 83) obtained licence to
enfeoff his son Gilbert and
Parnel Butler of the manor of
Pollicott. (fn. 84) From Gilbert Pollicott descended to his son by
Parnel, another Richard Talbot, (fn. 85) who in 1387 and 1394 sued Sir Nicholas Stafford and others for this manor. (fn. 86) Gilbert his son and
heir was betrothed to Joan
second daughter of Thomas
Duke of Gloucester, (fn. 87) and it
is supposed that Pollicott was
included in their marriage
settlement and transferred at
Joan's death to her sister
Anne. (fn. 88) In 1425 Humphrey
Earl of Stafford, Anne's son
and heir by her second husband, was lord of Pollicott, (fn. 89)
of which six years later Sir
Lewis Robsart, husband of
Elizabeth Bourchier, a relative
of Anne through her third husband Sir William
Bourchier, (fn. 90) died seised. (fn. 91) The remainder of the
manor after the death of Elizabeth, who survived
Sir Lewis, belonged to Humphrey, Anne retaining a
mesne lordship during the Robsart tenure. (fn. 92) Humphrey, then Duke of Buckingham, was lord in
1457–8. (fn. 93) He also held Newton Blossomville Manor
(q.v.), with which Pollicott descended until the
attainder and execution of Edward Duke of Buckingham in 1521.
Talbot. Gules a lion and an engrailed border or.
Stafford. Or a cheveron gules.
In 1522 Henry VIII granted the manor of Pollicott to his servant Thomas Palmer (fn. 94) for life, (fn. 95) giving
the reversion, also for life, five years later to Henry (fn. 96)
son of Sir Edward Palmer of Angmering, Sussex, elder
brother of Thomas. (fn. 97) From Thomas, described in
1540 as 'old Master Pawmer
of Buckinghamshire, (fn. 98) Pollicott descended to Henry
Palmer in or before 1544,
when the grant of 1514 was
renewed in perpetuity. (fn. 99) He
leased the manor in 1548 for
seventy-one years to Thomas
King, whose son and successor
William complained four years
later that the ancient rights
of the copyholders had prevented his father from occupying it. (fn. 100) In 1599 the tenants
sued Sir Henry's son and heir
Thomas Palmer and his son
of the same name (fn. 101) for their
oppressive and extortionate practices. (fn. 102) The younger
Sir Thomas died in 1608, in his father's lifetime,
leaving a son, also named Thomas, (fn. 103) who in 1624
succeeded his grandfather in his lands and the
baronetcy he had acquired in 1621. (fn. 104) His tenure
lasted until 1656, (fn. 105) when Pollicott passed to his son
Henry, lord in 1658. (fn. 106) At Sir Henry's death without
issue in 1706 he was succeeded by his nephew
Thomas, son of his younger brother Herbert, who
died in 1723, leaving four daughters. (fn. 107) The three
elder of these—Mary wife of Daniel Earl of Winchilsea
and Nottingham, Elizabeth wife of Charles Fielding,
and Anne—held three-quarters of the manor in 1739. (fn. 108)
The youngest sister Frances Palmer, her mother
Elizabeth, and Thomas Hey, second husband of
Elizabeth, made a settlement of the other quarter
about three years later, (fn. 109) and in 1744 joined with the
Earl of Winchilsea and his wife Mary, Charles Fielding
and Anne Palmer in the sale of the manor to Richard
Grenville. (fn. 110) Since that time Pollicott has descended
with Ashendon and Wotton Underwood (q.v.).
Palmer of Wingham, baronet. Or two bars gules each charged with three trefoils argent and a greyhound sable running in the chief.
Early in the reign of Henry III the other half of
the manor, LITTLE POLLICOTT or POLLICOTT
BUCKTOT, was held by Thomas Bucktoft as half
a knight's fee. (fn. 111) He or his heir of the same name
acquired land here in 1236. (fn. 112) In 1255, 1284 and
1302 the lord was again called Thomas Bucktoft. (fn. 113)
Ellen, widow of the last Thomas, with her son Philip,
received in 1325 from Walter St. Andrew a release
of his rights in lands in Ashendon and Pollicott
Bucktot which he held by gift of her late father,
Philip Horton. (fn. 114) Philip Bucktoft was lord in 1346. (fn. 115)
The manor seems to have remained in this family
until the reign of Henry VI, when it was held by
John Bucktoft, clerk, (fn. 116) son of another Philip Bucktoft, who granted it to Lincoln College, Oxford, in
1451. (fn. 117) John was dead in 1452, when his kinswoman and heir, Thomasine, with her husband John
Ascote, surrendered her rights in the manor to John
Beck, rector of Lincoln College. (fn. 118) Pollicott Bucktot
was retained by Lincoln College, which had manorial
rights here in the middle of the 19th century. (fn. 119)
In 1255 the Abbot of Nutley, through the gifts of
Walter Bernard and an ancestor of Walter de Berk,
owned a hide in Ashendon, (fn. 120) which belonged to the
honour of Wallingford. (fn. 121) One of his successors owned
suit to the court of this honour in 1422, (fn. 122) and in the
16th century another was tenant of 40 acres by lease
from Henry Fawconer. (fn. 123)
Land in Pollicott Bucktot acquired in 1279 by
John Grenville (fn. 124) is said to have passed by marriage to
Reynold Hampden and to have been held by his
descendants as part of Ashendon until the forfeiture
of Sir Edmund Hampden, (fn. 125) after which Edward IV
granted it to Richard and Thomas Croft. (fn. 126)
In 1334 the manor of Ashendon had a capital
messuage, a dovecote and a windmill, (fn. 127) and a windmill was one of its appurtenances in the 17th century. (fn. 128)
A capital messuage, 'well-built and fitly roofed,'
belonged to the manor held of Simon Darches in
1392. (fn. 129) From the 13th to the 18th century view of
frankpledge was reckoned amongst the liberties of the
lords of Ashendon and Pollicott, (fn. 130) and the grants of
Pollicott to Thomas and Henry Palmer made especial
mention of court leet, view of frankpledge and free
warren. (fn. 131)
Church
The church of ST. MARY, built of
stone rubble, consists of a chancel
measuring internally 28 ft. 6 in. by 16 ft.,
nave 47 ft. 6 in. by 16 ft. 6 in., south aisle 9 ft. 6 in.
wide, west tower 8 ft. 6 in. by 8 ft., and south porch.
The church dates from about 1120, and, as first
built, consisted of the eastern part of the present nave,
a south aisle, and probably a small chancel. About
the end of the 12th century the nave and aisle were
lengthened westwards, while at the end of the 13th
century the chancel and aisle were rebuilt and the
latter widened. The nave clearstory and the tower
were added about 1480, and the fabric appears to have
been restored in the 16th century and again in the
18th century, while early in the following century the
chancel was again rebuilt.
The chancel is lighted from the east by a squareheaded window of three lights and from the south by
two square-headed windows of two lights, all of which
probably date from the 16th century, but have been
restored later, and were reset in the walls when the
chancel was rebuilt. In the north wall is a low 15th
century recess with a moulded arch and crocketed label,
and on the south is a trefoiled piscina, which probably
dates from the 13th century. The pointed chancel
arch is of the late 13th century, but the capitals and
bases of its responds have been restored.
On the south side of the nave is an arcade of two
pointed bays supported by a central octagonal pillar
and responds with moulded capitals and bases; this
dates from the rebuilding of the aisle late in the 13th
century. The pointed arch to the west of it is contemporary with the extension of the nave and aisle at
the end of the 12th century. A chapel existed at the
north-east of the nave in the 15th century, and the
arch opening from it to the nave as well as the line
of the low-pitched roof can still be traced; further
west is a plain 12th-century doorway, now blocked,
and at the west end of the wall is a 13th-century
lancet. The clearstory is lighted by late 15th-century
traceried windows of two trefoiled lights; the
window at the north-east contains in its head some
contemporary glass. The upper doorways of the
rood-loft can be traced at the east end of both walls,
though both doorways are blocked; a corbel for the
support of the loft remains on the south. The
open low-pitched roof probably dates from the 17th
century.
The south aisle is lighted from the west by twin
lancets, one of which is of the 13th century, but
the other is probably an 18th-century addition.
The easternmost of the two windows in the south
wall, of about 1300, is of three lights with tracery
in the head; the lowered sill forms a sedile, and
near it is an early 14th-century trefoiled piscina.
The other window, which dates from the first half
of the 14th century, is of two lights, with the head
and tracery cut out of a single stone. The moulded
doorway between them, which is also of the
same period, retains an old door with its hinges.
The aisle is covered by a 15th-century lean-to
timber roof.
The west tower, which is crowned by a plain parapet, is of two stages, and has diagonal buttresses at the
western angles; its moulded west doorway and twolight window and the pointed tower arch are all
original. The bell-chamber has a small opening in
each wall filled with a pierced oak shutter.
The circular font probably dates from the 12th
century, but has been retooled at a later period; it
has a tapering bowl with a roll at the bottom and
a 17th-century wood cover. In the chancel are a
communion table and a chair, both of the 17th
century, and above the recess in the north wall are
two small oak shields which are said to have belonged
to the rood screen and have palimpsest heraldry, the
lower coats being probably of the 15th century and
the upper of about 1600. The pulpit dates from
about 1700, but has a modern base. In the south
aisle are preserved a chest and a stool of the 17th
century. In the vestry is a similar stool, and a washing stand which is placed here contains some re-used
17th-century panelling.
In the recess on the north side of the chancel is a
late 13th-century Purbeck marble effigy of a knight
in chain mail and surcoat carrying a shield charged
with a cheveron, possibly for Chenduit; the legs are
crossed and the feet rest on a lion. On the north
side of the nave is a floor slab to Ann wife of
Samuel Bampton, who died in 1697. The lead
rain-water pipes and heads on the outside of the
clearstory may be of the 17th century.
There are three bells and a sanctus: the first is by
Robert Atton, 1633, and the second, the third, and
the sanctus are by Henry Bagley, 1658.
The plate consists of a plated cup, flagon and paten.
The registers begin in 1732.
Advowson
The church was given by Walter
Giffard, the founder, to Nutley
Abbey, (fn. 132) and remained in its possession until its surrender. (fn. 133) In 1542 and 1546 it was
granted by Henry VIII to Christ Church, Oxford, (fn. 134)
and the dean and canons were patrons until 1881. (fn. 135)
Since 1882 the advowson has descended with the
manor (fn. 136) (q.v.). The living, which was a perpetual
curacy, was united to that of Dorton (q.v.) on
30 October 1847 under the Act of 1 & 2 Victoria. (fn. 137)
Half a virgate in the park of Pollicott belonged to
the rectory in the 16th century, (fn. 138) when the rent of
a cottage given for keeping an obit in this parish was
valued at 2s. (fn. 139) In 1738 there was a rectory-house
here known as the 'Priest's Lodging.' (fn. 140) A pension
of 3s. 4d. from the revenues of the manor of Little
Pollicott was paid by Lincoln College for the preaching of the 'divine word' in the church there, pre
sumably the parish church of Ashendon, in the 16th
century. (fn. 141)
Charities
John Hart, by his will proved in
the P.C.C. 15 May 1665, demised
(inter alia) an annual rent-charge of
£2 issuing out of Easington Manor, Oxfordshire, for
apprenticing a poor boy. A sum of £73 Great
Eastern Railway 4 per cent. stock, arising from accumulations, is also held by the official trustees in trust for
this charity.
By a scheme of the Charity Commissioners, dated
30 March 1904, the annuity of £2 (less land tax)
and the annual dividends, amounting to £2 18s. 4d.,
are made applicable in apprenticing or in providing
outfits for poor boys entering upon a trade or
occupation.