LECKHAMPSTEAD
Lechamstede (xi cent.).
The parish of Leckhampstead, on the borders of
Northamptonshire, has an area of 2,570 acres, of
which 348 are arable land, 1,796 permanent grass
and 179 woods and plantations. (fn. 1) The soil is clay
and gravel; the subsoil various. The undulating
surface, about 300 ft. above ordnance datum, rises to
350 ft. in the east and north. The Ouse, which here
flows in an easterly direction, forms the southern
boundary. The Grand Junction Canal intersects the
south of the parish, and is crossed at Cattleford Bridge
by the road from Buckingham to Stony Stratford.
Leckhampstead Wharf is about a quarter of a mile
west of the bridge.
The village lies near the centre of the parish on a
road branching north-west from the Buckingham road.
It is divided into Church End at the north, where
are the church of St. Mary and the schools, Middle
End and South End, and is watered by a stream
called the Leck, which rises in Whittlebury Forest,
and is spanned here by South End Bridge. About a
quarter of a mile east of Church End is Limes End
with Limes End Bridge, formerly the manor of Little
Leckhampstead, Great Leckhampstead occupying the
north of the parish, and the space between being
called Tween Towns. (fn. 2)
A large manor-house, the seat of the lords of Great
Leckhampstead, described by Browne Willis as
'moated about antiently,' formerly stood west of the
church, adjoining the churchyard; but according to
this authority it was 'good part of it pulled down'
by Lady Wentworth in the first half of the 18th
century, and 'made a Tenants' house.' (fn. 3) The present
house, a plain stone building of the 17th century, is
occupied as a farm-house by Mr. Henry George
Hurst. 'A newly built house in Nast End,' referred
to among the possessions of Sir Edward Tyrell of
Little Leckhampstead at his death in 1606, (fn. 4) was
probably the Toy, built in 1603 at a cost of £3,000.
Browne Willis describes it as 'a lofty house of good
freestone,' but in a bad state of repair, and converted
into a farm-house long before 1735. (fn. 5) Toye Court or
Lower Farm is a modern house about half a mile
south-east of the church, but it has two early 17thcentury windows, which probably came from the Toy
above referred to.
Home Farm at South End is a 17th-century house,
and retains its original staircase with twisted balusters
and moulded handrail. A wing at the back is dated
1762, and built into the east wall are two stone windows
with moulded jambs and mullions, said to have been
brought from a house which stood near the farm.
The Rectory, about a quarter of a mile north-east
of the church, is a handsome house, pleasantly situated
on a hill, and surrounded by shrubbery and meadow.
The extreme north of the parish is occupied by
Leckhampstead Wood, with Notamore Copse, Libby
Wood and part of Wicken Wood. South of these
woods are Hill Farm Wood House, Brook House and
Lodge Farm.
Among place-names have been found Nutthrop
End (fn. 6) (xvii cent.), Fishwater Meadow and the
Harriotts (fn. 7) (xviii cent.).
Manors
At the date of the Domesday Survey
18 hides in LECKHAMPSTEAD were
included among the lands of the Bishop
of Bayeux. (fn. 8) This manor Earl Lewin had previously
held, (fn. 9) and after the confiscation of the bishop's fief
this holding, like those of his other chief tenants, (fn. 10)
became a barony, called the barony of Maminot
(Mamisnot), (fn. 11) after the Domesday tenant Maminot, (fn. 12)
held of the Crown in chief, and owing ward to Dover
Castle. (fn. 13) Maminot was probably soon displaced by
Geoffrey de Mandeville, lord of another manor in
Leckhampstead at the Survey, since this 18-hide
manor was held for one fee of Geoffrey's heirs, the
Says, (fn. 14) in the 13th (fn. 15) and 14th centuries, (fn. 16) Geoffrey
de Say renouncing any claim in the advowson, doubtless as overlord, before 1219. (fn. 17) At the death of
Elizabeth Baroness Say in 1399, and the partition of
her property among her co-heirs, the three sisters
of her father William de Say, the overlordship of this
fee appears to have passed to Mary and Maud, the
daughters and co-heirs of the second sister Elizabeth
and of her husband Thomas de Aldon. (fn. 18) Sir William
Heron, the second husband of Elizabeth Baroness Say,
who held the overlordship rights here with her in
1396, (fn. 19) styled himself Lord Say, and possessed himself
of many of his wife's estates after her death in 1399.
In the following year he obtained a release of all her
right in this fee from Thomas de Aldon's daughter
Maud, wife of Thomas Bosenho, (fn. 20) and died seised
of it in 1404. (fn. 21) A century later his interest appears
to have come into the possession of the descendants
of William de Say's third sister and co-heir Joan,
wife of Sir William Fiennes, as the overlordship was
stated in 1511 to be vested in John Fiennes, Lord
Saye, (fn. 22) and in 1520 in Edward Fiennes, son and heir
of Thomas Fiennes, Lord Clinton and Saye. (fn. 23)
Say. Quarterly or and sable.
Fiennes. Azure three lions or.
By the end of the 12th century the manor had
been subinfeudated to Hugh Chastillon, who in 1199
levied a fine of lands here with Richard Chastillon, (fn. 24)
probably identical with his son and heir Richard,
whose widow Parnel, daughter of Ralph Pirot, received in 1205 from her father-in-law Hugh Chastillon
a third of the vill in dower, with the advowson of
the church. (fn. 25) Hugh seems to have been succeeded
by his son Hugh, to whom Parnel Pirot and Hugh
son of Richard, apparently her son, released the advowson before 1219, (fn. 26) and who as Hugh son of Hugh
granted land in Leckhampstead in 1219 to Richard
Chastillon. (fn. 27) Hugh Chastillon obtained a verdict
from the bishop in 1223 that he was lawfully married
to Gunnora de Bray, (fn. 28) and was dealing with land
in Leckhampstead in 1228 and 1229. (fn. 29) Sir Hugh
Chastillon presented to the church in 1251, (fn. 30) and
was returned as lord of Leckhampstead in 1254. (fn. 31)
He was alive in 1260–1, (fn. 32) but had been succeeded
by his son Richard Chastillon before 1279, in which
year Richard died seised of the manor, which then
passed to his son Hugh. (fn. 33) Hugh Chastillon held
Leckhampstead during the reigns of Edward I and
Edward II, (fn. 34) and was knight of the shire for 1300
and 1301. (fn. 35) Between 1316 and 1323 he was succeeded by Richard Chastillon, (fn. 36) his son, (fn. 37) who was
sued for debt in 1327 (fn. 38) and 1330. (fn. 39) He, who was
knight of the shire in 1331 and again ten years
later, (fn. 40) in 1332 settled two-thirds of the manor and
the reversion of the third held by Hawise widow of
Hugh in dower on himself for life, with remainder
to his son Hugh and the latter's wife Margaret. (fn. 41) In
1344 he settled messuages, land and rent in Great
Leckhampstead and Foscott on himself and his wife
Elizabeth, with remainder to their son Richard and his
heirs male, (fn. 42) and was still holding the manor in 1346. (fn. 43)
He was succeeded probably before 1356 by his son
Hugh, who was Sheriff of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire in that year, (fn. 44) and presented to the church
in 1359. (fn. 45) In 1366 a commission of array was issued
to this Hugh, (fn. 46) and he was still alive in 1379. (fn. 47)
His son Richard had a daughter and heir Elizabeth,
who with her husband William Gernon was plaintiff
in an action concerning Clanfield Manor, Oxfordshire,
in 1396. (fn. 48) In 1434 William and Elizabeth Gernon
settled Leckhampstead on themselves and issue, (fn. 49) but
were obliged to sue the trustees for refusing to reenfeoff them. (fn. 50) Their son and heir Thomas was
succeeded by a son William, who put in a claim to
Thornton Manor (q.v.) in 1464, (fn. 51) and died in
1479, leaving a son William, aged fourteen. (fn. 52) The
Gernon line ended in an heir Joan, who brought the
manor to her husband Ralph Tylney, citizen and alderman of London, with whom in 1488 she inspected
the settlement of 1434, Elizabeth Hill, widow, being
also a party to the proceedings. (fn. 53) Ralph's son Reginald
Tylney died in 1506, (fn. 54) before his mother Joan, who
by her will, dated and proved in 1509, left a legacy
to his daughter and heir Elizabeth. (fn. 55) Elizabeth died
in January 1510–11, her heir being her father's
brother John Tylney. (fn. 56) He, who was twice married—his first wife's name being Lucy and that of his
second Margaret—died on 15 May 1518. His will,
made four days earlier, appointed his wife Margaret
his executrix, and settled the manor on her and his
heirs by her. (fn. 57) Margaret later instituted proceedings against John Mylborne, citizen and alderman
of London, and other feoffees, who refused to make
an estate to her, (fn. 58) and died in London on 15 January
1518–19, a week after the birth of a daughter and heir
Joan. (fn. 59) Joan married Richard Greenway of Dinton,
lord of Woodrow Manor in Amersham (q.v.), with
which Leckhampstead descended until the end of the
century. Joan's second husband, Michael Harcourt,
was ordered in 1587 to appear before the council
on the complaint of Marmaduke Claver (of Foscott
Manor), (fn. 60) who had instituted proceedings against
him as to right of intercommon between the two
manors, (fn. 61) but with whom he finally promised to
be 'good neighbours,' and not to unjustly molest nor
vex him. (fn. 62) His daughter Winifred married his stepson Anthony Greenway, with whom and with their
son Richard he was dealing with the manor in 1595. (fn. 63)
He died in 1597, (fn. 64) and in the year following his
death John Chowe of Leckhampstead instituted proceedings in Chanory, claiming that when Michael
Harcourt had been sheriff (which was in the year
1594–5) (fn. 65) he as under sheriff had made payments
and borrowed money on his account. (fn. 66) In 1599
Anthony Greenway, in conjunction with his mother
Joan Harcourt and his wife Winifred, made a settlement of Leckhampstead after the death of his mother,
wife and himself, on his son Richard and the latter's
wife Elizabeth, in tail-male. (fn. 67) He died on 28 January
1618–19 and was succeeded by Richard, (fn. 68) who died
in the following August, when the manor passed to
Richard's son Anthony. (fn. 69) Anthony, then just under
twenty-one, appears to have been in money difficulties
within a few years of his father's death. He was dealing with the manor in 1624 in conjunction with
Beale Sapperton, (fn. 70) with whom and with John Pollard
he and his wife Amphillis conveyed messuages and
lands in Leckhampstead to Edmund Pye in that year. (fn. 71)
In 1626 proceedings were instituted against Anthony
Greenway and Amphillis by Thomas Packington of
Shoelands in Puttenham (co. Surrey), who claimed the
chief messuage and lands as security for£600 paid
to them by him to purchase an annuity from the
manor. (fn. 72) In 1628 Anthony Greenway and Amphillis
his wife, Thomas Packington and Anne his wife,
and John Pollard and Katherine his wife conveyed
the manor to Edmund Pye (of St. Martin's, Ludgate,
London) and his son and heir Edmund. (fn. 73) The elder
Edmund was still alive in 1635, (fn. 74) in which year the
younger Edmund married Katherine, sister of John
first Lord Lucas of Shenfield. (fn. 75) The son was made
a baronet as Sir Edmund Pye of Leckhampstead in
1641, and knighted four days later. (fn. 76) In 1646 he
compounded on the Articles of Oxford; he had lived
at Oxford for three years, his fine, a tenth, being set at
£3,865. (fn. 77) He died in 1673, and was survived by
his wife Dame Katherine and his two daughters and
co-heirs—Martha, who married John third Lord
Lovelace, of Hurley, and Elizabeth wife of the Hon.
Charles West. Sir Edmund Pye's widow died in
1701, and the manor passed to Elizabeth West, at
whose death it descended to Martha Lovelace, only
surviving child of Martha Pye and John Lord Lovelace, Baroness Wentworth in her own right. (fn. 78) She
married Sir Henry Johnson, who died in 1719, and
after nearly pulling down the old manor-house, she
died childless in 1745. (fn. 79) Under her will the manor
passed to Martha, sister of the
last Lord Lovelace, who had
married Lord Henry Beauclerk, fourth son of the first
Duke of St. Albans. (fn. 80) She
being then a widow, with her
son and heir-apparent the
Rev. Henry Beauclerk, then
of Christ Church, Oxford,
barred the entail on the
manor on 17 November
1769. (fn. 81) At her death in
1788 she was succeeded in
the manor by her son Henry,
then incumbent. (fn. 82) He was
holding the manor in 1793
with his son John Beauclerk, (fn. 83)
and was lord in 1811. (fn. 84) He was succeeded by his son
John Beauclerk, whose son Henry William Beauclerk
succeeded in 1840, (fn. 85) and was lord until his death in
1894. (fn. 86) Before 1899 the manor had passed to its
present owner, Mr. Lawrence James Baker of Brambridge Park, Eastleigh (Hants).
Tylney. Argent a cheveron between three griffons' heads gules having beaks or.
Greenway. Gules a cheveron between three griffons' heads razed argent with three anchors sable on the cheveron.
Pye of Leckhampstead, baronct. Or a pile azure with three scallops or thereon.
Lovelace. Gules a chief indented argent with three martlets sable therein.
Beauclerk. The royal arms of King Charles II with the difference of a sinister baston gules cut off at the ends and charged with three silver roses.
Two hides included among the lands of Walter
Giffard in 1086 and previously held by Suartin, a
man of Asgar the Staller, (fn. 87) with 3 hides previously
held by Suartin, and included among the lands of
Geoffrey de Mandeville at that date, (fn. 88) were afterwards
held for half a fee and two-thirds of a fee respectively,
and though these 5 hides had amalgamated under the
same tenant by 1225, when they were held for one
and a sixth fee, (fn. 89) the distinction between the amount
of service due from each portion was maintained
during the 13th century. (fn. 90) The greater amount
was wrongly assigned to the 2-hide holding in 1254, (fn. 91)
but the mistake was rectified in 1279. (fn. 92) The total
service due from the combined estate was given in
1284–6, (fn. 93) but after that date, with the disappearance
of the Mandeville overlordship, the military service
rendered by his part of Leckhampstead fell into
abeyance, and the manor continued to be held for
half a fee only until the abolition of feudal tenure in
the 17th century. (fn. 94)
The 2 hides of Walter Giffard united with the rest
of his lands to form the honour of Giffard, (fn. 95) which
descended in the 13th century to the Marshals, Earls
of Pembroke, (fn. 96) and later passed to their successors the
Valences, Earls of Pembroke. (fn. 97) From them it was
inherited by the Lords Talbot, (fn. 98) who claimed view
of frankpledge here in 1371. (fn. 99) Their overlordship
rights cannot be traced after 1419, (fn. 100) but the Earls
of Oxford, who held an intermediary lordship under
the Marshals in the early 13th century, (fn. 101) claimed
services in this half fee until the middle of the 17th
century. (fn. 102)
Yet another intermediary lordship under the Earls
of Oxford was exercised by Roger de Missenden and
his heirs during the 13th and 14th centuries. (fn. 103)
The 3 hides which pertained to Geoffrey de Mandeville in 1086 were later held of his descendants the
Earls of Essex and Hereford, (fn. 104) but their connexion
with Leckhampstead ceases some time after 1279,
when an intermediary lordship was held under them
by Roger de Missenden, who also occupied the same
position with regard to the other fee at that date. (fn. 105)
Missenden's interest may be represented by Richard
Moore of Aylesbury, who in 1606 had overlordship
rights in this manor worth 6d. yearly. (fn. 106)
The under-tenants of Walter Giffard and Geoffrey
de Mandeville in 1086 were Hugh and Osbert
respectively. (fn. 107)
Richard Fitz Osbert, who received a grant of 8
acres of assart in Leckhampstead in the forest of
Whittlewood from Henry II, (fn. 108) probably held as
successor to the Domesday Osbert, and may have been
identical with the Richard Fitz. Osbert who was Sheriff
of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire in 1159, 1160,
1165, 1166. (fn. 109) It was doubtless a descendant of the
same name who in 1224–5 held both Domesday
manors, (fn. 110) which he granted to Richard son of Richard,
probably his son, to hold at a rent of 12d. for all
service, saving the foreign service due. (fn. 111) Richard son
of Richard was holding as late as 1254, (fn. 112) but before
1279 had been succeded by William son of Roger. (fn. 113)
It was probably the same William who as William de
Leaume was holding the manor in 1284, (fn. 114) and who
in 1293 purchased certain rents in Leckhampstead
from Gregory de Meldeburne and Isabel his wife. (fn. 115)
In 1302 this estate, first here called LECKHAMPSTEAD MANOR, and later known as LYMES END,
had passed to Alan de Leaume, (fn. 116) who was still in
possession in 1316. (fn. 117) It was probably a successor of
the same name who in 1323–5 was before the
justices for an assault on William Chastillon, parson
of Bedhampton, Hampshire, of which he, his wife
Cecilia, his son John, and Richard, 'Alan's priest of
Lenne,' had been guilty at Little Leckhampstead. (fn. 118)
Alan de Leaume and his sons seem to have carried on
a feud with the Chastillon family, and in 1333 Alan,
with his sons John and Thomas and others, had to
appear for carrying away the goods of Sir Malcolm
Chastillon at Leckhampstead, (fn. 119) John son of Alan
complaining in 1345 that Richard Chastillon of Great
Leckhampstead and Hugh, Richard, John and William,
his sons, had maimed and imprisoned him at Little
Leckhampstead, so that his life was despaired of, and
had mowed and carried away his crops. (fn. 120) In 1345
200 marks were owed by John de Wolverton to this
son John, and to his father, described as Alan de
Leaume of Little Leckhampstead, the elder, (fn. 121) and returned in the following year as holding Little Leckhampstead in succession to Alan de Leaume. (fn. 122) John's
career ended in outlawry in 1347 'for the death of
Geoffrey Fraunkleyn and others by him at divers
times feloniously slain.' (fn. 123) His father, therefore, in
1353 enfeoffed Alan, his younger son, of the manor,
which should have passed to John after his own
death, and the younger Alan occupied it from that
date. (fn. 124) After the death of his father, two years later, (fn. 125)
the manor was seized into the king's hands by reason
of John's felony, and was delivered by the king in
1360 to Michael de Ravensdale, parson of Leckhampstead, and Robert de Hornby, (fn. 126) but was restored with
all issues to Alan as Alan de Leaume the younger in
1362. (fn. 127) In July 1384 complaint was made by Alan
de Leaume that Henry de Barton and Lettice his
wife, Richard Senkler, Roger Doget and others, by
night broke his close and houses at Little Leckhampstead, assaulted him, took away six horses, three mares,
ten oxen, eight cows, three bullocks and twenty hogs,
value £20, felled trees and carried them off, as well
as other goods, charters and writings, and assaulted
servants. (fn. 128) The manor remained in the possession
of the Leaumes, and was in 1413 conveyed by
William de Leaume for 100 marks to William Pirton,
clerk, and others, (fn. 129) to whom in the same year and
term it was quitclaimed for a like sum by Henry
Fraunkleyn and Elizabeth his wife, with warranty
against the heirs of Elizabeth. (fn. 130) This grant, made
apparently to feoffees, seems to have been followed by
a lease to William Lacy, who in 1423 released to
William Pirton the manor of Little Leckhampstead,
which he had held for life by grant from him with
remainder to Thomas de Leaume. (fn. 131) It had passed
from Thomas de Leaume, possibly to a female heir,
in 1428, when it was held by William Russell and
Margaret his wife, who then granted it for 300
marks to John Morton and Richard English, with
warrant against the heirs of Margaret. (fn. 132) In 1493 it
was the property of Mary Middleton, who conveyed
it in Easter term of that year for £300 to Richard
Empson, (fn. 133) to whom in the same year and term it was
conveyed by John Maunsell and Margaret his wife. (fn. 134)
Described as a messuage with meadows, cottages, and
copses called Lymeswoods, &c., formerly belonging to
Walter Maunsell, (fn. 135) it reverted to the Crown on the
attainder of Sir Richard Empson in 1512, (fn. 136) and was
granted in that year to William Tyler. (fn. 137) It was held
by George Saunders in 1537, (fn. 138) and had passed by
1557 into the hands of Thomas Pigott of Loughton,
by whom it was then conveyed as the manor of Little
Leckhampstead or 'Lemesend' (after its former
owners) to George Tyrell, (fn. 139) already holding a manor
of Leckhampstead, probably Nast End, and lord
of Thornton (q.v.), with which it continued to be
held until late in the 19th century. (fn. 140) An arbitration
in 1811 between the Rev. Henry Beauclerk and Sir
Thomas Sheppard, bart., which decreed that the
former as lord of Leckhampstead Manor was also lord
of the manors of Lymes End and Nast End, parcel
thereof, (fn. 141) cannot have affected the manorial rights of
Sir Thomas Sheppard, since his representative, the
Hon. Richard Cavendish of Thornton, was lord circa
1860. (fn. 142)
The property known in the 17th century as the
manor of NAST END appears to have in part
originated in the grant of lands made by Hugh
Chastillon in 1280, after the death of his father
Richard, to Rose widow of the same Richard. (fn. 143) This
consisted of one messuage and one-third of the profits
of a dovecot belonging to it, but not the garden and
fish-stew. She was also to have a third of a wood,
and lands in Morsladefield, Longeneham, Sladefield
and Northfield, with one-third of Marham Moor. All
this was to be held of Hugh for a penny a year and
to revert to him after Rose's death. (fn. 144) The land,
however, afterwards assessed at 2 virgates, remained in
Rose's heirs, and continued to be held of the Chastillons of Great Leckhampstead during the 14th
century. (fn. 145) This estate was augmented by 2½ virgates
subinfeudated to the Chastillons by the lords of
Little Leckhampstead before 1279, (fn. 146) and held of the
Leaumes during the 14th century. (fn. 147) An intermediary
lordship of half a virgate of this part was held in the
late 13th and early 14th centuries by Ellis Tingewick, (fn. 148) Roger de Missenden standing between him
and the lord of Lymes End in 1279. (fn. 149) Temporary
overlordship rights appear to have been obtained
during the 14th century by eight other persons, (fn. 150) one
of whom, William le Vavasour, owned lands in Great
Leckhampstead in 1325. (fn. 151)
Rose Chastillon, the holder in fee of this combined estate, immediately after her husband's death
married John Tingewick, (fn. 152) who was returned as
free tenant in Little Leckhampstead in 1279. (fn. 153) In
1285 he and Rose acquired additional lands here
from Hugh son of Ralf le Clerk and Agnes his wife, (fn. 154)
and also purchased an estate from Ralf son of William
de Plumpton, which at John Tingewick's death in
1304 reverted to William his son and heir by Rose. (fn. 155)
William also enjoyed the property which had been
settled on Rose in 1280 by Hugh Chastillon, but
at William's death in 1316, though John Tingewick, his brother, was his heir-at-law, the Chastillon
lands went to Malcolm son of Rose by Richard
Chastillon. (fn. 156) Malcolm Chastillon was lord of Thornton Manor (fn. 157) (q.v.), with which this Leckhampstead property henceforward descends. The name
Nast End first appears in 1606, when Sir Edward
Tyrell died seised of a newly-built house in Nast End
in Great Leckhampstead, which he bequeathed to his
wife Margaret. (fn. 158) The Tyrells seem to have held their
Little Leckhampstead property as Lymes End Manor
and their Great Leckhampstead property as Nast End
Manor. (fn. 159) In the early 19th century Nast End appears
to have been absorbed into Lymes End, and is not
mentioned separately by name after the arbitration of
1811. (fn. 160)
A mill was held with the manor of Great Leckhampstead in 1205, (fn. 161) and in 1279 the freeholders of
Great Leckhampstead included John the Miller, who
held a water-mill at a rent of 20s. (fn. 162) A mill was
held by Hugh under Walter Giffard at the date of
the Domesday Survey, (fn. 163) and in 1279 the freeholders
of Little Leckhampstead included Richard the Miller,
who held a water-mill rented at 26s. 8d. yearly. (fn. 164)
This water-mill was among the appurtenances of
Lymes End Manor in 1360, (fn. 165) and was doubtless one
of the three or four water corn-mills standing on
the Tyrells' Thornton and Leckhampstead estates in
the 17th and 18th centuries. (fn. 166)
A several fishery in Great and Little Leckhampstead
was held with Lymes End Manor in 1557, (fn. 167) 1573, (fn. 168)
and 1606. (fn. 169)
Church
The church of the ASSUMPTION
OF THE VIRGIN consists of a chancel
measuring internally 27 ft. by 15 ft.,
north vestry, nave 56 ft. 6 in. by 19 ft., north aisle
9 ft. wide, south porch, and west tower 11 ft. square;
it is built of rubble and roofed with tiles and lead.
The church dates from the early years of the 12th
century, and originally consisted of the eastern part of
the present nave to within 16 ft. of the west end,
and probably a small chancel; the nave seems to have
been lengthened westward about 1180, when the
north aisle was built, the tower was added in the
late 13th century, and the chancel was rebuilt and
widened about 1350, while the south porch was
added late in the 15th century. The whole fabric
has been restored at a modern period.
The axis of the chancel does not line with that of
the nave, the widening having been effected towards
the north only. In the east wall is a modern threelight traceried window and there are two windows in
each of the side walls; that at the south-east, of two
lights with flowing tracery, is of about 1350, and
opposite to it on the north is a window of similar
character, but its tracery has been entirely renewed.
The north-west window is also original, and is of
two trefoiled lights with tracery in the head composed practically of one large multifoiled opening;
the south-west window, entirely modern except the
head, which dates from about 1500, is of three trefoiled lights in a four-centred head. On the north
is a narrow 14th-century doorway with an ogee head
and a label with head-stops and foliated finial, and
on the south are two plain round-headed sedilia, one
of which is much wider than the other. The pointed
chancel arch and the open timber roof of the chancel
are modern.
The nave is lighted by two modern windows in the
south wall, each of three pointed lights. The south
doorway, which dates from about 1120, has a round
head of one order with a large edge roll supported by
jamb shafts with carved bird-like capitals and chamfered abaci. Both shafts are enriched with scale and
cheveron ornament, that on the east, which terminates
below the capital in a monstrous head, having the
appearance of a serpent. The tympanum, which rests
on a flat lintel with diaper ornament, has a sculptured
representation of two dragons which appear to dispute
the possession of a long-eared human figure standing
between them, and on the infilling above is some
mediaeval paint. On the nave wall inside is a large
pointed stoup with a modern round bowl. Opening
to the aisle on the north is a late 12th-century arcade
of four pointed arches supported by square piers and
responds with moulded abaci and double-chamfered
plinths, the latter extensively repaired. The arches
are single chamfered on the side towards the aisle, but
on the nave side are recessed in two moulded orders
with engrailed labels. There are large grotesque stops
at the junctions of the labels over the piers, and
carved heads or flower ornament at their apexes, two
of the heads having their faces turned towards the
altar. Traces of 13th-century painting remain on
the piers, including cheveron ornaments and other
designs, and two inscriptions, 'Hic sedet Isabella' on
the central pier and 'Ave Maria' on the easternmost
pier, the last four letters being almost obliterated.
The late 13th-century pointed tower arch in the west
wall is the full width of the tower, and is of three
chamfered orders which die into the walls on both
sides. At the north-east of the nave is a 15th-century
doorway to the rood-loft, and built into the wall
below its sill is a piece of 12th-century stonework
with diaper ornament.
The north aisle is lighted by three windows in the
north wall and one in the west wall, all modern,
except perhaps the head of the latter, which is a single
trefoiled light. The north doorway, a good example
of late 12th-century works, has a round arch of two
moulded orders; the inner order is enriched with
cheveron and foliated ornament, and the jambs are
moulded with keeled edge rolls, while the outer order
has attached jamb shafts, both rolls and shafts having
rudimentary foliated capitals and moulded abaci; the
label has enrichment like that of the inner order of the
arch and has head-stops at the springing and the apex.
The south porch has an original four-centred entrance
archway, which has been repaired, and a restored
two-light window in each side wall. A stone over
the entrance is inscribed 'W.C. 1688,' and circles
have been scratched on the south wall. Standing
near the porch is the base of the mediaeval churchyard cross.
The tower is of three stages with buttresses at the
angles of the ground stage, and is surmounted by an
embattled parapet with a moulded string-course and
gargoyles. The west doorway, which dates from about
1280, though slightly restored, has a pointed arch
of two richly moulded orders, the inner continuous
down the jambs and the outer supported by attached
shafts with moulded capitals and bases. Above is a
restored round-headed light of about 1180, which has
been reset in the wall; the arch is of two orders, the
outer being supported by attached jamb shafts with
foliated capitals and moulded bases. The second stage
is lighted by loopholes, and the bell-chamber by four
windows, each of two lancet lights in an unpierced
pointed head, all probably dating from the late 13th
century.
The font has an early 14th-century octagonal bowl,
four sides of which have sculptured representations of
the Crucifixion, the Virgin and Child below a crocketed
canopy, St. Catherine, and a bishop; the other four
sides are embellished with conventional foliage, the
leaves on the south-east side being connected by a
strap-like ornament which might be confounded with
earlier work but for the typical 14th-century foliage
with which it occurs and in the design of which it
obviously forms a part. The stem and base are
modern. On the floor at the east end of the north
aisle is a brass figure of a man in a fur-lined cloak
with the inscription 'Hic jacet Regenoldus Tylney
gentylman filius secundus Radulfi Tylney civis et aldermani londinii et unicus heres istius manerii qui obiit
tercio die maii anno dñi MCCCCCVI.' Below are
small figures of his three daughters and above are the
arms of Tylney impaling Gernon; there is also an
early 16th-century brass figure of a lady in a gabled
head-dress, which was recently recovered from a house
near by, and is now affixed to the south wall. Under
the westernmost arch of the arcade is a table tomb,
probably commemorating Hugh Chastillon, who died
between 1316 and 1323, with the recumbent effigy
of a knight in armour wearing a bascinet, cyclas, and
long sword, and a shield on the left arm. On the
north wall of the chancel is a tablet to Sir Anthony
Greenway, who died in 1619. There is a 17th-century carved chair in the chancel.
The tower contains a ring of five bells; the treble
and second were added in 1897; the third, inscribed
'Gaude Virgo mat(e)r,' dates from the first half of
the 16th century; the fourth is inscribed 'Chandler
made me 1664,' and the tenor 'Chandler made me
1662'; there is also a mediaeval sanctus, now in
a framework at the west of the north aisle, inscribed
'Crestit me firi fecit.'
The communion plate consists of a beautifully
chased cup of 1569 inscribed 'Leckhamstead Parish,'
a paten of 1829, and a flagon of 1833.
The registers before 1812 are as follows: (i) all
entries 1558 to 1754; (ii) baptisms and burials
1756 to 1812, several leaves of this book, some containing earlier entries, have been cut out; (iii) marriages 1754 to 1823.
Advowson
The church is mentioned in
1209–19, when Hugh Chastillon
held the advowson, (fn. 170) which remained
vested in the lord of the manor of Great Leckhampstead (fn. 171) until circa 1860, when it was held by Henry
William Beauclerk. From him it passed circa 1882
to Mr. S. Tompkins, who held it until 1899, (fn. 172) and
has since been again held by the lord of the manor.
The church was valued at £16 in 1291 (fn. 173) and at
£15 13s. 4d. in 1535. (fn. 174)
Charities
The charity for a schoolmaster,
founded by will of John Smith,
proved in the P.C.C. 28 August 1806,
is endowed with a sum of £315 consols, the annual
dividends of which, amounting to £7 17s. 4d., are
applied in support of the school.
The charity of the Rev. Heneage Drummond,
founded by deed 6 October 1879, now consists of
£278 10s. 6d. 2½ per cent. annuities, arising from
the sale in 1899 of premises formerly known as 'The
Chequers.' By a scheme of the Charity Commissioners
of 7 June 1895 the annual dividentds, amounting to
£6 19s. 4d., are applicable for parochial purposes, such
as providing gratuitous lodging for a curate or schoolmaster, or the maintenance of a museum.
The Major Charles Hall Memorial Charity,
founded by deed 4 March 1895, is endowed with
a sum of £1,737 4s. 9d. India 3½ per cent. stock,
purchased with a sum of £2,000, producing £60 16s.
yearly, applicable for the benefit of the poor. In
1912 the distribution was made in medicines, food,
in the payment of doctor's bills and in subscriptions
to hospitals. The sum of £36 8s. 4d. was also
distributed in Christmas gifts to about forty recipients.
The several sums of stock are held by the official
trustees.