BEACHAMPTON
Becentone, Bechentone (xi cent.); Becchamton
(xii cent.); Bechehampton (xiii cent.).
This parish covers 1,528 acres, of which 1,229 acres
are permanent grass, 229 arable and 28 woods and
plantations. (fn. 1) The soil is clay, the subsoil limestone.
The chief crops are wheat, oats, beans and barley.
The parish is well-watered, and the low-lying land in
the north-west, where the Ouse forms the boundary,
is liable to flood. A stream which enters the parish
on the south-east runs through it in a north-westerly
direction, finally joining the River Ouse. Closely
parallel to this stream is the road along which
straggles the village, its north end bounded by a crossroad, on the far side of which stands the church of
St. Mary. The land near the river lies low, usually
less than 200 ft. above the ordnance datum, but
on each side of the village it rises to over 300 ft.
Hill Farm and Beachampton Grove also stand
high.
Hall Farm, a little distance to the north of the
church, on the south bank of the Ouse, is all that
remains of Beachampton Hall, (fn. 2) long the residence of
the lords of the manor. It is a two-storied house of
stone with tiled roofs, and dates in its present state
principally from the first quarter of the 17th century.
The plan is irregular, the main block being placed
north and south, and having wings at the northwest and south-east. The latter wing probably occupies the position of the solar and undercroft of a late
15th-century house, the gable at the west end of the
south wall of this wing probably marking the site of
the north end wall of the hall to which the solar and
undercroft were attached. The surviving portion of
the plan, with this exception, is entirely of the 17th
century, and contains, at the south end of the principal block, a very fine staircase leading to the upper
floor of the solar block. The mediaeval house to
which the greater part of the present building formed
an addition was removed in the 18th century, and
some of its stones have been re-used in the outbuildings of the farm.
The southern portion of the house, which is no
longer inhabited, remains very much in its original
state. The staircase, on the south, rises in four
flights, the solar or great chamber on the first floor
of the south-east wing being entered by a doorway
opening off the landing at the head of the two lower
flights. Both these and the third flight have heavily
moulded and carved strings and handrails, with turned
balusters, and square carved newel-posts surmounted
by square baluster-shaped finials supporting heraldic
beasts holding shields, a lion, two unicorns with
collars and chains, and a griffin. In the east wall of
the great chamber is a large bay window with five
mullioned and transomed lights in the principal face,
and one in each return. Some heraldic glass of the
16th century still remains in the window. The walls
have 17th-century oak panelling, now covered with
paint and crowned by a later deal frieze. The stone
fireplace on the south is now blocked and two of the
windows on the north are hidden by the panelling.
Below this portion of the house is a basement containing two rooms. The elevations are characteristic of the period, and many of the original mullioned
windows survive, the gabled end of the south-east
wing with the bay window lighting the great chamber being especially noteworthy. Fragments of a wall
with gate piers, to the south of the house, appear to
be of the early 17th century, and in a ruined wall
to the north-west of the house is a reset doorway of
the late 15th century.
To the south-east of the village lies the farmhouse known as Elmer School, a stone building of the
last half of the 17th century, two stories in height with
an attic, and having wood-mullioned windows and
tiled roof, and an entrance porch with a roundheaded outer doorway on the principal front. The
building has undergone alteration in the succeeding
century, the roof, which is surmounted by a cupola,
having been reconstructed with the present dormer
windows. The plan is rectangular and the end walls
are gabled. On the south side of the lane, opposite
Elmer School, is the Grange, a two-storied farmhouse of stone, with a timber-framed upper story,
dating from the first half of the 17th century. (fn. 3) On
the south-west front is a projecting two-storied timber
porch, with open balustered sides to the ground stage,
and a gabled upper story with a mullioned window
projecting on shaped brackets. Later additions have
been made at the north-west and a wing has been
added at the south-east.
Seventeenth-century field-names include Poor
Man's Plot, Bridge Meade, (fn. 4) Shrives Close and Queen's
Close, (fn. 5) the last-named recalling the fact that the
Queens of England once held lands here as part of
their dower.
Willis states that the parish was inclosed in 1579–80. (fn. 6)
There is no Inclosure Act.
Manors
Before the Conquest Alric, a man
and thegn of King Edward, held and
could sell a manor in BEACHAMPTON
which was in the possession of Walter Giffard in
1086. (fn. 7) It thus formed a parcel of the honour of
Giffard, and the overlordship descended with that of
Lillingstone Dayrell (q.v.). As in the case of this
latter parish, Walter's Domesday tenant Hugh was
succeeded by the Earls of Oxford, to whom a mesne
lordship of both manors belonged, (fn. 8) their rights in
Beachampton being mentioned as late as 1634. (fn. 9)
The first under-tenant recorded was Osmer de
Beachampton, mentioned in 1175–6, (fn. 10) and the names
occur in 1202 of Richard de Beachampton and
Avis his wife. (fn. 11) Richard appears to have been
identical with the Richard son of Roger de Beachampton who in the early 13th century granted his son
Richard land in Beachampton, which included a
virgate which Osmer had held. (fn. 12) Sir William de
Beachampton, kt., son of Richard, was lord of this
part of Beachampton by 1218. (fn. 13) He was probably
the elder son of the younger Richard. (fn. 14) William, or
a son of the same name, continued seised of the
manor as late as 1254–5, (fn. 15) but John son of William
succeeded before 1284–6. (fn. 16) In 1289 John de Beachampton conveyed to John Wolf and Amice his wife
two-thirds of the manor, with the reversion of the
remaining third after the death of William's widow
Margery (fn. 17) ; this conveyance was made in favour of
the heirs of Amice. (fn. 18) By 1302 Philip de Hardreshull
was lord of the manor, (fn. 19) which he held in the right
of his wife Amice, (fn. 20) evidently the widow of John
Wolf. She died in 1332, (fn. 21) but Philip was still lord
in 1333. (fn. 22) Robert Wolf, son of John, (fn. 23) however,
held in 1346. (fn. 24) William Wolf was apparently lord
in 1349, (fn. 25) but in the following year the estate was in
the hands of guardians owing to the minority of the
heir, (fn. 26) evidently the Philip Wolf who with Elizabeth
his wife made a settlement of the manor in 1357. (fn. 27)
Philip and Elizabeth Wolf still held in 1407, in
which year mention is also made of their son John
and Joan his wife. (fn. 28) Five years later John was seised
of the manor. (fn. 29) A Roger Wolf of Beachampton was
alive in 1414, (fn. 30) but there seems to be no definite
evidence concerning the manor for the next forty
years. In 1455 it was held by John Cornwall and
Elizabeth his wife in the right of Elizabeth, (fn. 31) who
may thus have been the daughter and heir of John
Wolf. The Cornwalls quitclaimed the manor in that
year to John Mody, (fn. 32) who had received a quitclaim in 1453 from William Joyntour, (fn. 33) probably
a trustee. Beachampton passed within the next few
years to Richard Pigott, who
was slain at the battle of
Wakefield in 1460. (fn. 34) His son
John inherited the manor, and
his widow Joan, who afterwards married Richard or
William Forster, also held a
share. (fn. 35) In 1490 Agnes, widow
of John Mody, petitioned
against both Joan and John
for her dower of a third of
the manor and of five messuages and 35 acres in Beachampton, (fn. 36) but the result of
the suit is not apparent. The Pigotts, however,
remained seised of the manor. John was followed by
his son Robert, and he by his son Thomas. (fn. 37) In 1585,
on the marriage of his eldest son Valentine with
Eleanor Fortescue, Thomas Pigott made a settlement
of the manor by which, after various provisions, it
was eventually to remain to the sons of Valentine
and Eleanor, and, in default of such, to the other
children of Valentine. (fn. 38) Valentine died in 1590,
during his father's lifetime; his heirs were his three
daughters by a former marriage, Mary, Ursula and
Judith, who shortly after married respectively Thomas
Waterhouse, Christopher Pigott and William
Tresham. (fn. 39)
Pigott. Sable three picks argent.
Each heiress dealt with a third of the manor by
fine in 1591–2, (fn. 40) but as Thomas Pigott was still
alive at the time it was he, not they, who by the
terms of the settlement was actually in seisin of the
manor. (fn. 41) In June 1592 the heiresses and their
husbands brought a suit in Chancery (fn. 42) in which they
complained that their uncle, George Pigott, eldest
surviving son of Thomas, was attempting to defraud
them of the reversion of the manor after the death
of Thomas, who was 'very old, and weak in his mind.'
Both Ursula and Thomas Pigott died at the end of
the year 1592. (fn. 43) Probably there were some further
difficulties between George Pigott and his nieces, as
in 1593–5 he received quitclaims of their shares, (fn. 44)
and soon afterwards made a settlement of the whole
manor. (fn. 45) A further settlement was made in 1599. (fn. 46)
Sir Thomas Pigott, kt., George's son, was seised in
1609, in which year he conveyed Beachampton to
Sir Thomas Bennett, kt. (fn. 47)
The latter made a settlement
in 1613 in favour of his
second son Simon, (fn. 48) who also
inherited Calverton (q.v.), with
which Beachampton descended
until the early 19th century. (fn. 49)
It was then sold by the Marquess of Salisbury, the sale
being completed in August
1807, to George Brooks, trustee of the will of Ann Brooks,
to the use of her nephew,
John Harrison of Shelswell,
Oxfordshire, for life, with
contingent remainder to her cousin James Walker. (fn. 50)
John Harrison died in or about September 1834,
without issue male, whereupon
Beachampton passed to James
Walker of Sand Hutton, Yorkshire, son of the above James
Walker, who had died in
1829. (fn. 51) James Walker was
created a baronet in 1868, (fn. 52)
and the property has since
continued in his family, Sir
Robert James Milo Walker,
the fourth baronet, being the
present lord.
Bennett. Gules a bezant between three demi-lions argent.
Walker of Sand-Hutton, and of Beachampton, baronet. Argent a cheveron gules charged with three rings or between three crescents azure.
A considerable portion of
land in the parish is owned
by the Marquess of Lincolnshire, whose ancestor, according to Lipscomb, obtained it
about 1806. (fn. 53)
A manor-house was in existence in 1333. (fn. 54) Record
of it is again found in 1592, when it was apportioned to
Valentine Pigott's widow after the death of Thomas. (fn. 55)
It was included in the conveyance of 1609. (fn. 56)
A water-mill stood on this manor in 1086 and
was valued at 10s. (fn. 57) In 1285 there were two watermills in Beachampton, which were conveyed in that
year to Ellis de Tingewick and his heirs. (fn. 58) This
conveyance was made by the lord of the second manor
in Beachampton, but in 1324 Ellis de Tingewick's
widow petitioned the lords of both manors for
her dower in the two mills. (fn. 59) They were among the
appurte ances of the united manor in 1593, (fn. 60) and
'the water-mill called the Upper Milne' was conveyed
to Sir Thomas Bennett with the manor in 1609. (fn. 61)
A second manor in Beachampton, known afterwards
as WHITYNGHAM'S MANOR, was held by Lewin
of Nuneham (Courtenay) both in the time of King
Edward and in 1086. (fn. 62) It passed to the Fitz Niel
family with Lewin's manors in Mursley and Salden
(q.v.), and followed the descent of these and of
Whityngham's Manor in Great Kimble (fn. 63) until 1499,
in which year Richard Whityngham sold his manor in
Beachampton to Richard Emson. (fn. 64) Two years later
Richard Emson sold it to John Pigott, (fn. 65) lord of the
other moiety of Beachampton, with which this was
doubtless amalgamated after that date, as no separate
mention of it occurs again.
Cecil, Marquess of Salisbury. Barry of ten pieces argent and azure six scutchcons sable each charged with a lion argent differenced with a crescent.
There were tenants holding this manor of the Fitz
Niels in the 13th and 14th centuries. Robert de
Bray, who is mentioned in 1277, (fn. 66) held 'half the vill
of Beachampton' of Robert Fitz Niel in 1284–6. (fn. 67)
He quitclaimed the manor in 1291–2 to Ralf de
Bray (fn. 68) and died before 1298 leaving a widow Juliana. (fn. 69)
Robert de Bray, son of Ralf, held in 1302–3, (fn. 70) and
Ralf de Bray, possibly a younger son of Ralf, in 1316. (fn. 71)
The second Ralf married Maud, and their son John
was lord in 1346. (fn. 72) The return of Ralf's name as
tenant in 1349 (fn. 73) is obviously erroneous, for the son,
John de Bray, (fn. 74) continued to hold and is mentioned
as late as 1360. (fn. 75) There is no further record of
these tenants.
A third holding in Beachampton in 1086 consisted
of a hide, previously held by Levric, a man of Azor,
which at this date was held by Lewin of Roger de
Iveri. (fn. 76) The latter's possessions were afterwards
known as the honour of St. Walery, (fn. 77) and in 1254–5
it was found that Robert Fitz Niel had a hide of land
in Beachampton which usually paid 2s. hidage per
annum to the sheriff, but that this sum had during the
past year been seized for the honour of St. Walery. (fn. 78)
The priory of Snelshall also held lands here, granted
by the lords of both moieties in the 13th century. (fn. 79)
In 1535 the prior paid an annual rent of 7s. 5d. to
the Pigotts. (fn. 80) A terrier of 1581 belonging to the
Beachampton free school mentions the 'houses and
closes, lands and meadows belonging to the grange in
Beachampton being now the lands of John Fortescue
Esq. formerly belonging to the Priory of Snelshall and
now in the tenure of William Elmer.' (fn. 81) This Elmer
was no doubt the ancestor of the founder of the free
school; the trustees of the Elmer charity still own
land here.
Church
The church of the ASSUMPTION
OF ST. MARY THE VIRGIN consists
of a chancel 28 ft. by 14 ft., with modern
north vestry and organ chamber, nave 33 ft. by
14 ft. 6 in., north aisle 8 ft. 6 in. wide, south aisle
8 ft. wide with south porch, and west tower 6 ft. by
5 ft. 6 in. These measurements are all internal.
No detail survives of an earlier period than the
north arcade of the nave, which is of the first half
of the 14th century; the aisle then added was probably the first of a series of additions to a previously
existing church consisting of a chancel and an aisleless nave. Further alterations and additions seem to
have been undertaken a few years later, the chancel
being rebuilt and an aisle thrown out on the south
side, while the clearstory was added to the nave and
a tower built at the west end. In the early part of
the 15th century both aisles were much altered.
The church was restored in 1873–4, and again more
recently. The chancel and the wooden bell-chamber
and spire of the tower have been rebuilt, while the
north vestry and the organ chamber and the south
porch are modern. The walling generally is of rubble.
No original features remain in the east and north
walls of the chancel; the windows at the east and
north-east are modern, and a modern archway opens
to the north organ chamber. At the east end of the
south wall of the chancel is a much-restored 14thcentury window of two lights with uncusped tracery
in a pointed head. To the west of this is a pointed
doorway of the same date, and at the west end of
the wall is a square-headed two-light window of
c. 1600, (fn. 82) both features, as in the case of the southeast window, having been reset and restored. The
chancel arch is of two pointed and chamfered orders
springing from moulded capitals supported by carved
corbels, that on the north having a grotesque head,
and that on the south large leaved foliage. In the
east wall of the vestry is a reset 15th-century
window.
The 14th-century north and south arcades of the
nave are each of three bays with pointed arches of
two chamfered orders carried by clustered columns
having moulded capitals and bases, the mouldings of
the capitals in the south arcade being of a slightly later
section. The east and west responds continue the
outer order, the inner order being carried by foliated
or grotesque corbels with moulded capitals. The
nave roof is of low pitch, and on the tie-beam of the
eastern truss is the date 1622.
The north and south aisles are each lighted from
the side by two square-headed early 15th-century
windows in the north and south walls, the eastern
windows being of three lights and the western of
two. At the east end of the north aisle is a modern
archway to the vestry, and at the east end of the south
aisle is a pointed late 15th-century window of three
transomed and cinquefoiled lights with a traceried
head, on either side of which are plain image brackets,
the southern one being a restoration. The window
in the west wall of the north aisle and the north
doorway are modern. To the east of the latter is a
stoup recess with a round head, the basin being
destroyed, and in the same wall is a square-headed
aumbry. The pointed south doorway, which is of
two continuous chamfered orders, is of the 14th
century, but has been much restored. At the east
end of the south aisle is a 15th-century piscina with a
trefoiled head and round basin. The outward thrust
of the north wall has necessitated the erection of a
flying buttress spanning the aisle.
The tower is of three stages, crowned by a plain
parapet, above which rises the timber bell-chamber
and shingled spire, originally built in 1680, but much
altered in the last century. The western angles are
strengthened by diagonal buttresses, stopping below
the third stage. The tower arch is of two orders,
both chamfered, the outer brought to the square of
the plain jambs by broach-stops and the inner carried
by roughly-worked corbels. The two-light west
window of the ground stage has modern tracery.
The uppermost of the stages in the stone portion of
the tower has a rectangular 14th-century opening
with tracery, placed low down. The remains of a
flight of steps to the intermediate stage of the tower
can be seen against the west wall of the north aisle.
The font and fittings are modern.
On the south wall of the chancel is a curious and
elaborate monument with a figure in grave-clothes
and an inscription on a brass plate commemorating
Matthew Pigott, a former rector (d. 1598). A modern
slab in the north aisle contains the brass, with figure,
of William Bawdyn of Beachampton, blacksmith
(d. 1600). In the south aisle is a brass to Alice
wife of George Baldwyn, and daughter of William
Mathew of Calverton (d. 1611). The brass is
engraved with her figure and those of her two sons
and two daughters. At the east end of the nave is a
brass to William Elmer (d. 1652), a benefactor to the
parish. A modern recess in the north wall of the
chancel contains a monument commemorating Simon
Bennett (d. 1682), Grace his wife, and their children.
The monument is of marble and of elaborate design,
consisting of a black marble pedestal, on which stands
a white marble bust under a classical canopy, supported by Ionic columns and bearing the arms and
crest of Bennett. A floor slab in the chancel commemorates Sir Simon Bennett, bart. (d. 1631).
There is a ring of five bells which were recast
from three old bells in 1912, and a sanctus. The
original treble, inscribed 'Sancta Margareta Ora Pro
Nobis,' bore the initials of Johane Sturdy, the
widow of John Sturdy, and must have been cast
between 1458 and 1461, the years of her widowhood (fn. 83) ; the second was probably of the 14th century,
and bore the inscription, in Gothic capitals, '+ Nos:
prece: sanctorum: defendas: Xpe: tuorum'; the
tenor was inscribed 'Robert Atton made me 1633
W.E.' The sanctus is dated 1695 and is probably by
Richard Chandler.
The older plate consists of a chalice, paten and
flagon and two large plates. There are also a modern
chalice, two patens and a flagon.
The registers begin in 1628.
Advowson
The church of Beachampton was
held at an early date in separate
moieties by the two lords of the vill.
Richard Fitz Niel granted his moiety to the priory
of Luffield (fn. 84) probably in the 12th century. (fn. 85) The
priors from that time until 1470 presented a rector
to their moiety. (fn. 86) The other half was held by the
Beachampton family and their successors, the earliest
presentation recorded being made in 1218 by Sir
William de Beachampton. (fn. 87) Their incumbent appears
to have ranked as a chaplain. (fn. 88) In 1470 an agreement was come to by the Pigotts and the prior
by which the two moieties were united under one
incumbent, (fn. 89) who was presented by the priors and
the lords of the manor alternately. (fn. 90)
The manorial portion always descended with the
manor. (fn. 91) That held by Luffield was granted after the
Dissolution, with the site of the priory, to Sir Nicholas
Throckmorton, (fn. 92) and continued to be held by this
family and their heirs the Temples as late as 1701. (fn. 93)
In 1687 both Viscountess Baltinglass, the granddaughter and co-heir of Sir Arthur Throckmorton, (fn. 94)
and Mrs. Bennett were returned as presenting to the
living. (fn. 95) Willis states that this was the result of a
claim to the patronage set up by Lady Baltinglass, (fn. 96)
but that all the Luffield right had been sold to the
Pigotts about 1610. (fn. 97) The latter statement does not
appear to be correct, but it is possible that some
agreement was afterwards come to between the Temple
heirs and the lords of the main manor, as the latter
continued sole patrons as late as 1798. (fn. 98) In 1811
William Palmer presented William Jocelyn Palmer, (fn. 99)
who vacated the living and presented the next rector
in 1815. (fn. 100) By 1827 the patronage was vested in the
Master and Fellows of Gonville and Caius College,
Cambridge, (fn. 101) by whom it is still held.
An annual rent from half a yardland was paid for
the maintenance of a light in the church. (fn. 102)
Charities
For the charity of Sir Simon
Bennett, bart., founded by will, 1631,
see under parish of Calverton in Newport Hundred. The share of this parish in 1910
amounted to £16 15s. 10d., of which £12 was applied
in clothing and £4 15s. 10d. was carried to the
churchwardens' general account.
Charity of Simon Bennett, or the Bradwell estate
(see under parish of Calverton). In 1911 the share
of this parish amounted to £9 10s., being five twentyfirst parts of the net income, which was distributed in
coal.
The following charities were founded by will of
William Elmer, proved at Westminster 3 May 1653,
namely:
(1) The school, for which see article on Schools. (fn. 103)
The charity is now administered under a scheme of
the Board of Education of 19 January 1906. A sum
of £352 17s. consols is held by the official trustees,
producing £8 16s. 4d. yearly.
(2) Charity for clothing sixteen poor men and
women. The trust property consists of a messuage
called The Grange and several parcels of land, containing together about 60 a. and two cottages, producing together about £50 a year. The official
trustees also hold £69 18s. 5d. consols, producing
£1 14s. 8d. yearly. The will directs that three of
the men and three of the women should belong to
Beachampton, one man and one woman to Maids'
Moreton, one man and one woman to Nash, two
men and two women to Whaddon, one man and one
woman to Calverton. After providing coats and
gowns to the sixteen beneficiaries, the net income is
paid proportionately to the parish officers of the five
parishes specified, and applied for the benefit of poor
families.
(3) Charity for apprenticing, consisting of 4a. 1r. 24p.,
formerly known as Water Close, now as 'Five Pound
Meadow,' let at £5 a year.
(4) Bridge Trust, endowed with 2a. 2r. in Calverton of the rental value of £3 a year, and £5 0s. 6d.
consols with the official trustees.
(5) Charity for the trustees, consisting of 3a. 1r. 17p.
in Side Meadow, let at £2 18s. a year.
(6) Charity for the poor of Beachampton, endowed
with 3a. 1r. in Whaddon, let at £3 a year.
(7) For charity for the poor of Whaddon and Nash
see under Whaddon parish in Cottesloe Hundred.