DUNTON WITH MILLO
Daintone (xi cent.); Dontone (xiv cent.); Dounton, Donton (xv cent.); Melnho, Milneho (xi–xviii
cent.).
The parish of Dunton covers 2,649½ acres, and is
bounded on the south-east by Cambridgeshire and
Hertfordshire, from which it is separated by the River
Rhee. The slope of the land is to the north-east;
the highest point attained is 183 ft., the lowest 104 ft.
above the ordnance datum. Of the acreage, 1,854½ is
arable land, 263¼ permanent grass, and 2 woods and
plantations. (fn. 1) The soil is greensand and strong clay,
the subsoil clay. No railway line passes through the
parish, the nearest station being Biggleswade, 3
miles off on the Great Northern Railway. The
parish, which includes Dunton village and Millo and
Newton hamlets, is traversed by two main roads, one
in the west of the parish, running from north to
south, the second crossing the other, running from
east to west through the centre of the parish.
The village and hamlets are in the western and
central districts, the remainder is devoted to agriculture. The road from Edworth, which enters
Dunton from the south, is marked at first by a sharp
rise in the ground, which shortly after begins to
slope gradually downward, and continues to do so
until it reaches the parish boundary. Some distance
off the road on the east lies Millowbury Farm, and
a little further on the entrance to the hamlet of
Millo is marked by the old Gravel Pits, beyond
which lies Millowbury. At Millow Hall Farm, still
on the same side of the road, a branch road leads
down to Dunton Lodge in the south-east of the
parish. The road, leaving Millo behind on the west,
passes the point of intersection with that leading to
Dunton, and approaches the hamlet of Newton,
whence a footpath leads northward to Newton Bury.
The road from Eyworth on the north-east leads down
into the small village of Dunton, which is near the
centre of the parish. The church, standing a little
back, is in the middle of the village, and the rectory
lies on the opposite side on the outskirts of the village,
where the road—hitherto running south—takes a
turn due west. A footpath approaches Middlesex
Farm, and shortly after the
road crosses that running north,
and passes to the western boundary of the parish. This parish
was inclosed by Act of Parliament in 1797. (fn. 2)
Manors
At the time of
the Domesday Survey, Richard Pungiant held in Dunton 8 hides
and I virgate of the king in
chief. This manor, part of
which became later known as
DUNTON CHAMBERLAIN
or NEWTONBURY, had formerly belonged to Archbishop
Stigand. (fn. 3) In 1200 the king
granted the overlordship of this
manor to William Brewer, (fn. 4)
but after his death in 1227, (fn. 5)
it reverted to the crown, of
whom it was henceforth held
by the service of one-tenth of a
knight's fee. (fn. 6)
No trace of the descent of this
manor can be found during the
next hundred years, but the
Chamberlains, from whom the manor derived its
distinctive name, appear to have acquired it some
time in the twelfth century, for in 1210 William
Brewer acquired the wardship of Geoffrey Chamberlain, who held 2 carucates of land in Dunton, (fn. 7)
and whose father Robert had already preceded him
in Dunton. (fn. 8) In 1284 Hugh, probably a grandson of the above Robert, held the manor, (fn. 9) and
was succeeded by Robert Chamberlain, (fn. 10) who in 1307
alienated the manor, under licence from the crown,
to Richard de Grymstede, retaining only a life interest
for himself. (fn. 11) Richard was probably followed by
Thomas de Grymstede, who at his death in 1328
was seised of the manor. (fn. 12) He left a son John, aged
two, who only survived his father a few months, and
the manor passed to Katherine sister of Thomas
Grymstede. (fn. 13) Katherine was married twice, first to
Ralph de Boklond, who died in 1332, (fn. 14) and secondly
to John Avenel. She died in 1334, leaving a daughter Mary by her second husband, (fn. 15) and the latter was
holding the manor for her in 1346. (fn. 16) Mary married
Warin de Bassingbourne, and was holding the manor
in 1367. (fn. 17)
Between this date and 1403 the manor passed to
Ivo de Harleston, who held it at his death in that
year, though the method of the transference has not
been discovered. (fn. 18) He left a son John, who was an
infant. (fn. 19)
Another gap here occurs in the descent of this
manor, which next appears in the possession of John
Manyngham, who in 1474 was attainted and his
lands granted by Edward IV to his wife's kinsman
Anthony Grey. (fn. 20) The attainder was, however, almost
immediately reversed and the manor restored; and
two years later the manor was alienated by fine to
Thomas Rotherham, archbishop of Canterbury, (fn. 21) who
granted it for a term of years to the prior of Huntingdon, with reversion in fee to Thomas son of John
Rotherham, the archbishop's brother. (fn. 22) Thomas
Rotherham at his death left a son Thomas, who in
1535 alienated the manor to John Gostwick, (fn. 23) on the
death of whose son William in 1546 the manor
passed to his uncle William Gostwick. (fn. 24) His son
John died in 1581 holding this manor, (fn. 25) and left a
son William, who in 1587 transferred the manor by
fine to John Burgoyne. (fn. 26)
Dunton Church, East End
In 1593, on the marriage of a kinsman, Bartholomew Chishull, John Burgoyne settled 'the manor or
farm' of Chamberlains Bury on the former, who,
dying in 1619, was succeeded by a son John Chishull,
and he transferred the manor to Nicholas Franklin in
1638. (fn. 27) The Franklins appear to have retained this
manor for some time; John Franklin was in possession in 1759, (fn. 28) but between that date and 1797 it
had become the property of Earl Spencer, to whom
Dunton Goyes (q.v.) at this time belonged, and the
manors have since followed the same descent. (fn. 29)
Rotherham. Vert three running harts or.
Gostwick. Argent a bend gules cotised sable between six Cornish choughs.
An estate which the family of Goyes held in the
early thirteenth century became known two centuries
later as DUNTON GOYES manor, though it does
not appear ever to have attained the status of a
manor.
The family of Goyes was certainly holding land in
Dunton from the early part of the thirteenth century
onwards. In 1227 Andrew le
Goyes alienated land in Dunton to John le Goyes, (fn. 30) and in
the charters of the Chamberlains to Holwell Priory the
names of members of this
family recur as witnesses. (fn. 31) In
1385 Thomas de Senhous, as
heir of Thomas le Goyes,
granted to John de Fourneys
his lands in Dunton. (fn. 32) This
estate next appears in 1474,
when, together with the manor
of Dunton Chamberlain, it
was the property of Sir John
Manyngham, (fn. 33) and until they
were alienated to John Burgoyne in 1587 the descent
of these two properties is the same. (fn. 34) John Burgoyne
held Dunton Goyes for a few years only, and in 1598
alienated it, together with the advowson of Dunton
church, to Robert Spencer. (fn. 35) He was created baron
Wormleighton in 1603, and died in 1627, (fn. 36) when
his son William succeeded to the manor. (fn. 37) In 1662
Robert Spencer, grandson of William and second
earl of Sunderland, held Dunton Goyes. (fn. 38) His son
Charles, who died in 1722, left the property to a
younger son John, who was created Earl Spencer in
1765, and it remained in the direct line in this
family (fn. 39) until 1812. It appears later as the property
of Earl Brownlow, who held it in 1869, and since
1877 has belonged to the Rev. John Richardson.
Spencer, Earl Spencer. Argent quartered with gules fretty or over all a bend sable with three scallops argent thereon.
The manor of MILLO formed part of the original
endowment of Waltham Abbey, founded by Harold
son of Earl Godwin, and is mentioned in the confirmation charter of Edward the Confessor. (fn. 40) It was
seized by William the Conqueror together with other
lands of the abbey, and granted by him to the bishop
of Durham, who held this manor at the time of the
Domesday Survey. (fn. 41) It is not clear whether it had
come into the Conqueror's hands by exchange or
violence, but it was subsequently recovered by Waltham
Abbey, (fn. 42) and is mentioned as
part of the endowment (fn. 43) in
the charter of confirmation of
Henry II. The abbot claimed
view of frankpledge and free
warren in Millo manor in
1311, (fn. 44) and it continued in
his possession down to the Reformation. In 1541 the king
sold the manor for £305 10s.
to John Burgoyne, (fn. 45) who on
his death in the following year
left it to his son Thomas, (fn. 46)
who died in 1550 leaving a son John to inherit. (fn. 47)
He alienated Millo in 1599 to Robert Spencer, (fn. 48)
together with the manor of Dunton Goyes (q.v.), and
the history of the two manors henceforth coincides.
Waltham Abbey. Argent a cross engrailed sable and thereon five crosslets fitchy or.
Walter Giffard possessed 5 hides at the time of
the Survey, which constituted a second MILLO
MANOR. (fn. 49) This manor reappears later as the
knight's fee which Walter Marshal earl of Pembroke
held in Millo. (fn. 50) On the death of Walter without
male heirs this fee passed to his sister Maud, and
through her, as in the case of a moiety of the Edworth
overlordship (q.v.) to the earls of Norfolk. (fn. 51)
Ralph de Langetot held this manor of Walter
Giffard at the Survey, but no further trace of tenants
has been found until the fifteenth century, when the
family of Enderby are found holding. In 1474
Maud Bothe, widow of John Enderby, died seised of
a messuage and land in Millo held of this overlordship. (fn. 52) The inquisition held at the death of her
grandson John Enderby in 1509 states that he died
seised of the manor of Millo held in a similar way. (fn. 53)
Francis Pygott, who married his daughter Eleanor
Enderby, transferred the manor in 1544 to John
Poley, (fn. 54) who held it till his death in 1559, when he
left a son Francis as heir. (fn. 55) One further mention of
this manor has been found in 1591, when Michael
Fynderne and Alice his wife alienated it by fine to
George Smith, (fn. 56) after which all further trace of it is
lost.
The priory of Holywell (co. Midd.) owned DUNTON MANOR, the fifth in this parish, which originated
in various grants of land there to the priory, of which
the earliest was that of Roger de Brahi in 1181. (fn. 57)
Geoffrey Chamberlain and William his brother both
gave half a virgate of land to the priory in the early
thirteenth century, (fn. 58) and these grants were confirmed
in 1235. (fn. 59) In the fourteenth century the prioress
successfully claimed view of frankpledge twice yearly
in Dunton, (fn. 60) and at the Dissolution the manor, which
was valued at £13 6s. 8d., (fn. 61) lapsed to the crown, and
was granted in 1579 to Edward Downing and John
Walker, but no further trace of it has been found. (fn. 62)
Plan of Dunton Church
At the time of the Domesday Survey Ralph de
Langetot also held 1 hide of Walter Giffard in Dunton, (fn. 63) and this probably became absorbed in his larger
manor of Millo in the same parish.
In the confirmation charter to the monastery of
Warden by Richard I mention is made of a grange
in Dunton. (fn. 64) At the Dissolution it was valued at
50s., (fn. 65) and in 1540 was granted to John Gostwick, (fn. 66)
who held the manor of Dunton Chamberlain, in
which it is henceforth included.
Church
The church of OUR LADY is a fine
building of fourteenth and fifteenth-century date, with no remains of earlier work.
Its chancel, measuring 37 ft. by 18 ft., belongs to the
middle of the fourteenth century, and has a marked deviation to the south; at its north-east angle is a modern
vestry. The nave, 50 ft. by 21 ft., has a north aisle
of fifteenth-century date, 10 ft. 9 in. wide, and a
south aisle c. 1330, 14 ft. wide, with a contemporary
south porch to which an upper story has been added
in the fifteenth century. The west tower has been
entirely rebuilt in modern times except for its fourteenth-century eastern arch. The roofs are of low pitch,
with plain parapets, only that of the clearstory being
embattled, and the walls are of rubble masonry of
flints and freestone, with wrought stone dressings,
much renewed in places. In the chancel the window
tracery in both windows on the north side, and in
one on the south, is entirely new, with leaf tracery of
fourteenth-century design, each window being of
two lights. In the east window the tracery is old,
the mullions alone being modern; it is a very fine
example of mid-fourteenth-century work, of five trefoiled lights with net tracery over, and vertical lines
in the upper part of the head which show the impending transition to the straight-lined openings of
the succeeding style. The chancel has a south doorway in modern masonry, and to the west of it a
square-headed low side window of two trefoiled lights
in early fifteenth-century style, and of later date
than the chancel. There are three sedilia, with
cinquefoiled heads, and a piscina, also cinquefoiled,
which are part of the original work, and plain but
good specimens of their date.
The chancel arch has responds of three engaged
round shafts with small rolls between the shafts, an
arch of two wave-moulded orders, and moulded
capitals and bases; the details are very like those of
the south arcade of the nave, and must be of much
the same date, c. 1330.
The nave is of four bays with a north arcade of
early fifteenth-century date, with columns of four
engaged half-octagonal shafts having small rolls in the
angles, capitals with plain bells and moulded abaci,
and arches of two moulded orders with a hollow between. The north aisle appears to be of the same
date, and has three three-light windows on the north
and one at the east, all much repaired or renewed,
with tracery of fifteenth-century style. The north
doorway is also in modern stonework, and in the wall
above it are traces of a tall two-centred arch which
may be that of a destroyed window. The south
aisle has evidently had an important altar, probably
the Lady altar, at the east end. The east window
is of four cinquefoiled lights with beautiful flowing
tracery in the head, cusped and feathered, and retaining a little old glass. To the north of it is a
fourteenth-century image-bracket in the shape of a
beardless human head, carrying a modern chamfered
abacus, and across the south-east angle of the aisle is a
large moulded and carved bracket, also of the fourteenth century. Close to it is a contemporary piscina
recess, cinquefoiled. There are two windows on the
south, the easternmost square-headed, of three trefoiled lights, a fifteenth-century insertion, and the
other a good fourteenth-century example of three
trefoiled lights with net tracery. The west window,
also of three lights, is a fifteenth-century insertion
with a four-centred head. The south doorway,
of two continuous wave-moulded orders, is coeval
with the aisle, together with the lower part of the
south porch, which formerly had a steep pitched roof,
as the marks over the doorway show. It has small
modern windows on the east and west sides, and an
outer archway of two orders with shafts to the inner
order. Over it is a fifteenth-century parvise, lighted
by a two-light window on the south, and reached by a
stone stair at the north-west, the entrance to which
is in the aisle just west of the south doorway.
The nave has a clearstory with four two-light windows a side, of fifteenth-century date, the north range
looking older than the other. Each window has
cinquefoiled lights and a four-centred head, but the
sections are different on the two sides; the southern
range may date from the end of the century.
The tower, except for the eastern arch, of which
mention has already been made, is modern, with an
embattled parapet and tall transomed belfry windows of
fourteenth-century style; at the north-east angle is a
projecting staircase.
The roofs of the church are all modern, and there
are no old wooden fittings. The font, at the
west end of the north aisle, is octagonal, with two
cinquefoiled panels on each face; it is probably of the
latter part of the fourteenth century.
In the east window of the south aisle are a few
quarries of ancient glass. There are five bells in the
tower; until 1887 there were only two, the treble by
Mears, 1839, and the second by William Haulsey,
1622.
The plate consists of a communion cup and cover
paten of 1569, with a narrow engraved band of
ornament on the bowl, and leaf pattern on the foot,
and a pewter almsdish.
The registers begin in 1553, the first book containing all entries to 1670, and the second those
from 1701 to 1773. The third book contains the
marriages 1755–87, and the fourth baptisms and
burials 1774–1812. In the fifth are the marriages
from 1795 to 1811.
Advowson
The first mention that has been
found of the church of St. Mary,
Dunton, is in 1189, when Richard I
confirmed its possession to the priory of Holywell; (fn. 67)
a subsequent confirmation was obtained from Henry III
in 1235. (fn. 68) The advowson, which came to the crown
at the Dissolution, was granted to John Burgoyne in
1582, (fn. 69) and by him alienated to Robert Spencer in
1599. (fn. 70) It has followed the same history as that of
Dunton Goyes manor (q.v.) till Earl Brownlow
alienated his estates in Dunton to Mr. Richardson.
He retained the advowson till 1892, (fn. 71) between which
date and 1898 it was transferred to Mrs. Sandall,
and is at present the property of Mrs. J. W. Adams. (fn. 72)
The rectory of Dunton belonged like the advowson
to Holywell Priory till the Dissolution. It was at
first the subject of temporary grants, in 1586 it was
granted to Richard Pickman at a rent of £11 6s. 8d., (fn. 73)
and in 1607 to Roger Rogers, (fn. 74) and by 1628 it had
come into the possession of Robert Lord Spencer,
who owned the manor of Dunton Goyes. (fn. 75) There
is a Baptist Chapel in Dunton.
Charities
The Rev. Robert Bamford, vicar,
who died on 24 August, 1720, by
his will charged his property then
known as the Black Bull Inn, in St. Paul's parish,
Bedford, with an annuity of 50s. to be distributed
weekly in bread in the church every Lord's Day from
Michaelmas to Lady Day to the poor of the parish
not receiving benefit from the collection. The
rent-charge is duly paid to the vicar and churchwardens by Mr. E. P. Rose from 50, High Street,
Bedford, being the property charged, which has
been converted into a dwelling-house and draper's
shop. The distribution in bread is made among
ninety recipients.
The charity of — Banks, date unknown, formerly
consisted of an annual charge of £1 out of a farm
known as the Mills, part of an estate in this parish
belonging to Earl Spencer. The charge was redeemed in 1859 by the transfer to the official trustees
of £33 6s. 8d. consols.
Poors Land—This parish was formerly possessed of
about two acres in Dunton Fen. In 1859 the land
was sold and proceeds invested in £182 10s. 7d.
consols with the official trustees. The dividends on
the two sums of stock, amounting to about £5 8s., are
applied in gifts of money to poor widows, old men
and women, and poor householders, about seventy in
number.
In 1877 the Rev. John Taddy, vicar, by his will bequeathed £100, income to be applied by the vicar
for the time being in the distribution of money to
poor widows. The legacy is represented by
£101 18s, 2d. consols with the official trustees.
In 1883 Edward Glynn Taddy by his will left
£100, income to be distributed among the poor by the
vicar and churchwardens, represented by £97 13s. 7d.
consols, also with the official trustees, the dividends
being applied in gifts of 1s. each to twenty poor inhabitants.