FRILSHAM
Frilesham (xi cent.); Fridlesham (xii-xv cent.);
Friglesham (xiii cent.); Frylseham (xvi-xvii cent.);
Frilsham (xviii cent.).
The small parish of Frilsham lies in the valley of
the Pang to the east of the Didcot and Newbury
railway. The land rises from 248 ft. above the
ordnance datum where the Pang leaves the parish to
424 ft. on Frilsham Common towards the east. The
parish contains 978 acres, about half of which
are arable, three-eighths permanent grass and the
remaining eighth woods and plantations. (fn. 1) The chief
crops are wheat, barley and oats. The soil is chalk
near the river, but there are beds of clay and sand
at the eastern side of the parish. No railway or
canal passes through the parish, and the only road of
importance is that from Hampstead Norris to Bucklebury. Frilsham Common was inclosed in 1857, (fn. 2) and
the award is in the custody of the chairman of the
parish council. The population is purely agricultural. The village lies round the church at the
southern end of the parish, with the rectory east of
the church. The churchyard is small, and on the
north side is a row of fine chestnuts.
Frilsham Church From The South
Benjamin Buckler, author, amongst other works, of
Stemmata Chichcleana, was rector of Frilsham during
the latter part of the 18th century, and John Bradford, afterwards a Nonconformist divine and author
of several works on theology, was curate here about
the same time. (fn. 3)
Frilsham Manor, close to the church, is a modern
building of hard-burnt bricks and stone. Frilsham
House, rebuilt in 1896, is the seat of Sir Cameron
Gull, bart., purchased by him from Mr. T. F. Floyd.
Manor
The manor of FRILSHAM had been
held of Edward the Confessor by two
free men, and at the time of the Domesday
Survey was in the hands of Henry de Ferrers. (fn. 4) It
would appear to have passed to his son Robert, who
in 1138 was created Earl Ferrers, and the overlordship continued in the hands of his descendants until
the 13th century, when we find the manor described
as held of the fee of Earl Ferrers. (fn. 5) Robert, the
sixth earl, was engaged in a rebellion in 1263 and
was three years later deprived of his earldom and
estates, which were then granted to Edmund
Crouchback, the king's son. (fn. 6) In consequence this
overlordship followed the descent of the earldom and
duchy of Lancaster. Some court rolls of this manor
of the year 1440–1 are to be found among the
archives of the duchy. (fn. 7)
Roger was holding the manor of Henry de Ferrers
in 1086, (fn. 8) and in 1173–4 it was in the hands of
Sir Ralph Peche, (fn. 9) who had married Hawise daughter
and heir of Thomas lord of Boyleston in Derbyshire.
He was succeeded by his son Sir Nicholas Peche,
who married Alice de Syffrewast, and at his death it
seems to have passed to his only daughter and heir
Maud. (fn. 10) She married as her first husband Walter
de Rideware, who is returned as tenant in the 13th
century, (fn. 11) and afterwards, as her second husband,
Sir Oliver d'Eincourt, who is also mentioned as
holding the manor of Frilsham. (fn. 12) Sir Oliver died in
1245–6, and his widow continued to hold the manor
as late as 1275–6 (fn. 13) and was living on 25 November
1283. (fn. 14) She was succeeded by the third son of her
first marriage, Walter de Rideware, (fn. 15) who married
Ellen daughter of William Fitz Herbert of Northbury.
He was holding the manor of Frilsham in 1298, and
was succeeded by his son Sir Thomas Rideware, kt.,
who by his first wife Margaret had a son Walter,
who married Joan daughter of another Walter de
Rideware in 1311, and in the following year the
manor of Frilsham was settled on Thomas and
Margaret for life, with remainder to their son Walter. (fn. 16)
In the same year (1312) Thomas obtained a grant of
free warren in Frilsham (fn. 17) ; he was returned as lord of
the manor in 1315–16 (fn. 18) and was knighted in
1349–50. He died not long afterwards and was
succeeded by his son Sir Walter de Rideware, kt.,
who married Elizabeth daughter and heir of John
Falconer of Thurcaston, and the manor passed at his
death to Agnes, his only daughter and heir, who was
married to William Cotton. (fn. 19)
Ferrers. Vairy or and gules.
Lancaster. England with a label of France.
Rideware. Azure an eagle argent.
Cotton. Argent a bend between three roundels sable.
In 1372 William Cotton sold the manor and
advowson of Frilsham to Hugh de Berwyk, kt., and
Adam de Louches, kt., (fn. 20) the latter being apparently a
trustee. Hugh died in 1403, leaving a widow,
Gille, who died in December 1407, and two sons,
the elder of whom, Hugh, died in 1407, while the
younger, Thomas, was aged twenty-three in 1410. (fn. 21)
Thomas de Berwyk granted the manor in 1409 to
trustees, who gave it in 1416 to Margaret wife of
Ralph Boteler, sister and heir of Thomas. (fn. 22) It
would seem that Margaret afterwards married William
Haute, for in 1425 William Haute settled the manor
on himself and his wife Margaret, (fn. 23) and is returned
as holding it in 1428. (fn. 24) At a court held here in
1441 John Longe is spoken of as the farmer of the
manor. (fn. 25) In 1446–7 the manor was sold by John
Boteler, who may have been son or grandson of
Ralph, (fn. 26) to Sir Edmund Hungerford, kt., and others, (fn. 27)
who were purchasing land in this neighbourhood for
John Norreys. The same trustees also obtained a
release of all her right in the manor of Frilsham
from Elizabeth widow of John Cotton of Ridware,
who seems to have been either son or grandson of
the William Cotton who had sold the manor in
1372–3. (fn. 28)
John Norreys is described in the Herald's Visitation of 1532 (fn. 29) as of Yattendon, and in a later
pedigree by Ashmole (fn. 30) as a knight banneret and
eldest son of William Norreys of Bray. He seems to
be the John Norreys mentioned in a deed of 1476 (fn. 31)
who with Sir William Norreys, kt., and others purchased certain tenements in Reading from Edward
Clerk of Frilsham. The same Edward Clerk disposed
of other property in Reading to Sir William Norreys
in 1479, (fn. 32) when no mention of John occurs. According to the pedigree of 1552 this Sir William Norreys
would appear to have been the eldest son of John,
and so would have inherited this manor. The next
reference is to a settlement by Sir John Norreys,
grandson of Sir William, in 1542. (fn. 33) Sir John
Norreys died in 1564 seised of this manor, which he
seems to have attached to his adjoining manor of
Yattendon (fn. 34) (q.v.), with which manor it afterwards
descended till 1623, when, on the death of the Earl
of Berkshire, Frilsham passed to his daughter Elizabeth wife of Edward Wray. Their only daughter
and heir Bridget married as her first husband Edward
Sackville, second son of Edward fourth Earl of
Dorset, and after his death without issue took as her
second husband Montagu second Earl of Lindsey.
James Bertie, her eldest son by her second husband,
was in 1675 created Lord Norreys of Rycote and in
1682 Earl of Abingdon. (fn. 35) The manor descended
with the earldom of Abingdon till 1762, when,
according to Lysons, the manor of Frilsham was sold
to Sir George Cornewall. (fn. 36) He probably refers to
Sir George Amyand of London, who was created a
baronet in 1764 and died two years later, being
succeeded in the baronetcy by his son George, who
in 1771 married Catherine only daughter of Velters
Cornewall of Moccas Court, Hereford, when he
assumed the surname and arms of Cornewall. (fn. 37) Lysons
adds that in 1800 Sir George sold this manor to
Mr. Hayward, who was the proprietor in 1806. (fn. 38)
This Mr. Hayward was the Robert Hayward who
died on 21 March 1820, when under his will, dated
21 August 1818, the manor passed to Robert Floyd,
the son of his cousin Martha Aldworth, who had
married Thomas Floyd.
Norreys. Argent quartered with gules fretty or a fesse azure over all.
Bertie. Argent three battering rams with heads and rings azure.
Plan of Frilsham Church
Robert Floyd died 14 August 1837, leaving the
manor to his eldest son Robert Hayward Floyd, who
died 24 March 1889, leaving it to his wife Mary
Anne Floyd for her life. As tenant for life under
the Settled Land Act she sold the manor in December
1903 to Henry Frederick George Weber, then
residing at Hawkridge House, Bucklebury, (fn. 39) but it
was sold in 1907, (fn. 40) and was acquired by Sir
Cameron Gull, bart., of Frilsham House, who is
now the principal landowner.
No mill is mentioned in the Domesday Survey,
nor does any record of one occur until 1839. It
was then stated that in 1838 the springs were so low
that no water passed the mill for several months, and
mention was made of a tradition that about 100 years
earlier the springs were equally low and that a duck
had then made her nest under the water-wheel, laid
her eggs and hatched a brood before a drop of water
had passed. (fn. 41)
Church
The church of ST. FRIDESWIDE is
a small building consisting of a chancel
15 ft. 2 in. by 11 ft. 4 in., nave 52 ft. by
13 ft. 6 in. at the east and 18 ft. 3 in. at the west,
west tower 7 ft. 6 in. by 6 ft. 8 in. and south porch.
These measurements are all internal.
What is now the nave of the church was in the
12th century a complete building, the narrower
eastern portion being the chancel and the remainder
the nave. No alteration appears to have been made
till the 15th century, when the present chancel was
added and the old one thrown into the nave, the
chancel arch being taken down and re-erected in its
present position, the site not admitting of westward
extension. The tower and the porch are comparatively modern.
The east window of the chancel is modern, and of
three trefoiled lights under a low-arched head, the
foils following the line of the arch. The north and
south walls each have a 15th-century window of two
trefoiled lights under a square head with a moulded
label. The chancel arch is semicircular and quite
plain, and is partly built of old stones retooled.
The narrow east portion of the nave has one
window on each side, that on the north being a small
round-headed 12th-century light with
a deep splay; the external stonework
is modern. The opposite window,
which is of the 15th century, has
three trefoiled lights, from which the
modern east window is copied. In
the north wall of the western portion
of the nave is a 12th-century window
like that in the eastern portion and
also modern externally. To the west
of this is a 12th-century doorway
with shafted jambs, having scalloped
capitals and moulded abaci and bases,
the latter probably modern like the
shafts. The arch is of two plain
orders and appears to have been rebuilt. The inner order is segmental
and the outer semicircular, the tympanum being
filled with flint. In the south wall is a three-centred
modern window of three lights, and to the west of
it is the south doorway which has old plain jambs
and a semicircular arch. In the west wall of the
nave is a modern brick doorway to the tower, and
over it on the west face only are visible the jamb lines
of a blocked window; two carved heads here were
probably label stops. On either side of the tower is
a modern wide lancet window with plastered jambs.
The tower is of brick in two stages with an
embattled parapet. In the top stage are three plain
pointed windows. The ground stage has a similar
window in the west wall and a south doorway. The
south porch is of brick with stone moulded jambs and
a four-centred entrance archway. The walls of the
rest of the building are of flint with stone dressings
and the roofs are tiled.
The plain chancel roof is probably of 17th-century
date, and has curved wind braces. The nave roof is
apparently older, and has tie-beams, collars with
arched supports resting on the tie-beams, and wind
braces. The western bay is modern. The font,
which is cylindrical and stands on a moulded base,
dates from the late 12th century, but it has been
much retooled. The pulpit and reading-desk are of
17th-century date. The south door has old ornamental iron hinges.
In the tower are two bells, which are inaccessible.
The plate comprises a chalice with a flat hemispherical bowl and a cover paten. There are no hall
marks, but the metal is apparently silver. On the
foot of the paten is 'Frilsham 1712.' The foot of
the chalice and the edge of the paten have a small
band of fluted ornament. There is another chalice,
with a paten and flagon to match, all of silver, and
made in 1863.
The registers previous to 1812 are in three books,
the first containing entries of baptisms and burials
from 1711 to 1768 and marriages from the same
date to 1753; the second is of the usual printed
form for marriages from 1754 to 1812. The third
book, which should contain baptisms from 1768 to
1812, is missing.
Advowson
The advowson seems always to
have passed with the manor. It is
mentioned in 1291. (fn. 42) In 1297 it
belonged to Walter de Rideware, (fn. 43) and is referred to
in the majority of the documents cited as relating
to the manor. It belonged in the 18th century to
Sir George Cornewall, (fn. 44) and according to Lysons the
advowson was sold with the manor by him in 1800
to Mr. Hayward. (fn. 45) Robert Hayward presented in
1809. (fn. 46) Since then the advowson continued to pass
with the manor. Sir Cameron Gull, bart., of Frilsham, is the present patron.
Charities
Charity of James Pocock, founded
by will 1610, see Reading Municipal
Charities. The sum of £6 4s., being
5 per cent. of the net income of the charity, is
divided by the trustees between this parish and
Yattendon, which is applied in the distribution of
blankets and sheets.
Charities of Robert Hayward, who died in 1820:
(1) the educational donation trust fund, £ 200
consols; (2) the eleemosynary donation trust fund,
£200 consols; (3) bequest for poor, by will proved
in the P.C.C. 13 June 1820, trust fund £ 90 11s. 10d.
consols; the sums of stock are held by the official
trustees. The income of the two charities for the
poor, amounting to £ 7 5s., is applied for the benefit
of the poor of sixty years of age and upwards,
and the income of the educational charity is being
accumulated.
By the Frilsham inclosure award, 1857, 3 a.
were allotted for recreation ground and two allotments, containing together 5 a., for the labouring
poor, subject to a yearly rent-charge of £2 10s.