LITTLE KIMBLE
Chenebelle (xi cent.); Parva Kynbelle (xiv cent.);
Little Kymbell (xv cent.).
The parish of Little Kimble lies on the northwestern face of the Chiltern Hills. The hills are
well wooded. There is a small lake in the grounds
of Ladymede House, out of which runs a stream
called Bonny Brook. It flows to the north through
Little Kimble village to the hamlet of Marsh.
The height of the land varies between 300 ft. and
500 ft. above the ordnance datum. (fn. 1) The subsoil in
the hills is Chalk, and in the lower lands Upper
Greensand. The occupation of the people is entirely
agricultural; arable and pasture farming is carried on,
234 acres being arable land and 311 acres permanent
grass. (fn. 2) The village lies on the road from High Wycombe to Aylesbury, and there is a railway station
to the south of the village on the Great Western
Railway. The parish was inclosed under an Act
of Parliament for inclosing the common fields of
Great and Little Kimble and Ellesborough. The
award was given on 2 May 1805. (fn. 3)
Little Kimble has now been amalgamated with
Great Kimble parish, by a Local Government Order of
25 March 1885.
Manors
In the time of King Edward the Confessor one of his thegns named Brictric
held the manor of LITTLE KIMBLE. (fn. 4)
After the Norman Conquest, however, it was granted
to Turstin son of Rolf, who held it at the time of
the Domesday Survey. (fn. 5) For more than a century
the name of the lord of the manor is completely lost,
but presumably in the 12th century it was held by
James de Newmarket, who died before 1215, leaving two daughters and heiresses, Isabel and Hawisia. (fn. 6)
Of these, Isabel was married to Ralph Russel, whose
father, John Russel, had custody of her father's lands, (fn. 7)
and Hawisia, first to John de Botreaux (fn. 8) and secondly
to Nicholas de Moels. (fn. 9) Both the Russels and the
de Moels claimed the overlordship of Little Kimble,
and it is impossible to disentangle their respective
shares of the inheritance. Early in the 13th century
Ralph Russel was overlord of half a knight's fee in
Little Kimble, held of the heir and fee of [Hard]wyk,'
and another half fee there also belonged to Hardwick. (fn. 10)
In 1284–6 James Russel held the overlordship of
part of Little Kimble jointly with Roger de Moels,
and, together with the townships of Hardwick and
Wedon, it formed one fee. (fn. 11)
On his death, Robert Russel, the son of the Ralph
Russel already mentioned, was found to have held the
overlordship of the manor of Little Kimble, which
was reckoned as one fee, apart from Hardwick. (fn. 12) In
1302–3 William, brother and heir of Robert Russel,
with John de Moels, held the three townships as one
fee, Little Kimble being held in demesne by a subtenant, according to the inquisition made for Cotteslow Hundred, (fn. 13) but under the hundred of Stone he
appears to have been the overlord of one fee in Little
Kimble alone. (fn. 14) In 1346 Edmund Russel held this
fee; (fn. 15) he was the son of a Robert Russel, and died
In 1708 the Sub-dean of Lincoln presented.
leaving no direct heirs. (fn. 16) The descendants of his
sister Sybil claimed some of his lands in Nottinghamshire, but neither they nor the descendants of
William Russel seem to have laid any claim to Little
Kimble. (fn. 17) In 1486, however, a manor in Little
Kimble was said to be held of the heirs of Edmund
Russel. (fn. 18)
The Moels rarely claimed the whole of Little
Kimble. In 1284–6 (fn. 19) and 1302–3 Roger de Moels
and John de Moels (fn. 20) were joint overlords with the
Russels. John de Moels died seised before 1310 of
half the hamlet of Kimble; (fn. 21) his grandson, however,
another John, held the overlordship of one knight's
fee in Kimble at the time of his death. (fn. 22) He left two
daughters, the elder of whom inherited Little Kimble
in 1338. (fn. 23) She was the wife of Sir Thomas Courtenay, (fn. 24) and their daughter and heiress Muriel married
John Dinham. (fn. 25) Shortly after this the sub-tenancy of
part of Little Kimble appears to have lapsed, and thus
the Dinhams, who succeeded the Moels, became the
tenants in demesne of their manor.
Moels. Argent two bars gules with three roundels gules in the chief.
Dinham. Gules a fesse indented ermine.
Sir John Dinham died in 1457–8 seised of the
manors of Eythorpe, Crendwell, and Little Kimble,
held of Edward, Prince of Wales, as of the honour of
Wallingford, by right of inheritance of Joan his wife,
who survived him. (fn. 26) His wife was the heiress of the
Darches family, (fn. 27) who had held the two first-named
manors, and probably part of Little Kimble, (fn. 28) as subtenants, but presumably Sir John's right in the manor
came also through his great-grandmother, Muriel de
Moels.
He was succeeded by his son John, Lord Dinham,
who died leaving his four sisters and their children as
his heirs. (fn. 29) In the inquisition on his lands, however,
he was said to be seised only of tenements in Little
Kimble, (fn. 30) but his heirs afterwards appear to have held
portions of the manor. These heirs were his sisters,
Lady Elizabeth Fitzwarren, a widow, who afterwards
married Sir Thomas Brandon, and Lady Joan Zouche,
and his nephews, Sir Edmund Carew and Sir John
Arundel, sons of his sisters Margaret and Katherine
respectively. (fn. 31) Elizabeth died seised of a fourth part
of the manor in 1516, leaving John Bouchier as her
son and heir. (fn. 32) Lord Zouche and his wife Anne also
held a fourth part in 1531, (fn. 33) and one of the coparceners apparently sold a share to Sir William
Compton. (fn. 34) His grandson Henry, Lord Compton,
conveyed this to Ralph Redman, William Hawtrey,
and Richard Hollyman, (fn. 35) who very shortly afterwards
acquired the share of the Arundels as well. (fn. 36)
Nothing more is known of the manor for the next
hundred years, but at the close of the 17th century it
was apparently held by the family of Gibson. In
1692 there was a lawsuit between Thomas Gibson,
sen., and others v. Richard Croke concerning rights
of free warren in Little Kimble. It was asserted on
this occasion that Croke was lord of the manor, and
that it had belonged to his father before him. (fn. 37) The
manor here referred to is probably Bulbecks (q.v.),
but the suit would seem to show that the Gibsons
already had some interest in the parish, and in 1696
Thomas Gibson, sen., and his wife Mary, and Thomas
Gibson, jun., and his wife Frances, appear in a
deed concerning tenements in Little Kimble and a
court-leet and view of frankpledge to be held within
the manor of Little Kimble. (fn. 38) Thomas Gibson, jun.,
apparently left no male heirs, and the manor passed
to Mary and Elizabeth Gibson, who held it in 1739. (fn. 39)
Elizabeth apparently married Thomas Hill and held
a moiety of the manor in 1767, (fn. 40) and Mary married
Robert Smith. (fn. 41) They held the manor jointly
in 1771, (fn. 42) but after their death their property was
divided. In 1817 a moiety of the manor was held
by Sir James Fellowes and his wife Elizabeth in her
right. (fn. 43)
In 1086 a sub-tenant named Albert held Little
Kimble of Turstin son of Rolf. (fn. 44) Very shortly after
its acquisition by the Russels and the de Moels, Humphrey le Dun appears as the sub-tenant of a knight's
fee in Little Kimble. Half of this he held in demesne
and half as a mesne lord. (fn. 45) He paid scutage, however,
for the whole fee in 1235. (fn. 46) He died before 1246, (fn. 47)
and left an only daughter Margaret, who was a minor
in the king's wardship. (fn. 48) In 1254 John le Waleys
held Little Kimble, having probably acquired it by
marriage with the heiress of Humphrey le Dun. (fn. 49)
John died between 1283 and 1289, (fn. 50) leaving four
heiresses by his wife Margery and a son John by another
wife. (fn. 51) Little Kimble was divided among the daughters, (fn. 52) so that it seems certain that it was the inheritance of their mother, who may thus be identified as
the daughter of Humphrey le Dun. Of her daughters,
Isabel married Simon de St. Lys, Adam de married John
de Middleton, Lucy married Adam de Kyngesham (or
Kyngesmede), and the fourth daughter married John
du Park. (fn. 53) Adam de Kyngesham appears to have
answered for the whole manor in matters of feudal
incidence. (fn. 54) His wife Lucy, after his death, probably
married Walter de Shobintone, (fn. 55) who also answered
for the whole fee in 1316. (fn. 56) In 1346 the tenants of
the half fee that Humphrey le Dun and John de
Waleys had held in demesne were Simon de St. Lys, a
minor in the king's wardship, Richard du Park, and
John de Middleton, the descendants of the four
heiresses of John le Waleys. (fn. 57) Some years later, however, Nicholas Darches claimed a third of the manor
of Little Kimble from John atte Morhalle and John de
St. Lys, the latter being apparently the heir of Simon
de St. Lys. (fn. 58) The exact claim of Nicholas is not given
in the pleadings, but he recovered seisin of the tenements in question. (fn. 59) The history of the sub-tenants
of Little Kimble cannot be traced from this time,
owing probably to the subdivision of land among the
descendants of the co-heiresses of John le Waleys.
Half a knight's fee called BULBECKS MANOR
in Little Kimble was held by the Bolebec family,
under the mesne lords of the whole fee. (fn. 60) Herbert
de Bolebec granted land in the parish to the abbey of
Missenden in the 12th century, (fn. 61) and after his death
his widow Alice succeeded him as the tenant of the
half fee. (fn. 62) In a charter Gilbert is named as her son
and heir, (fn. 63) but in 1254 another Herbert held the land. (fn. 64)
At his death, which took place before 1266, he held the
manor of Kimble and one carucate of land there, which
passed to Gilbert his brother and heir. (fn. 65) The latter
died before 1298, (fn. 66) leaving a son named Henry. (fn. 67)
In 1346 John de Bolebec and his tenants (fn. 68) held
the manor, and he also confirmed the grants to Missenden made by his ancestors. (fn. 69)
During the 15th century the
Hampdens obtained possession of the manor. Edmund
Hampden, the second son of
Edmund Hampden of Great
Hampden, (fn. 70) forfeited his lands
to Edward IV, amongst them
being a messuage, 60 acres of
land, 6 acres of wood, and
8 acres of meadow in Little
Kimble, but the manor was probably held by the
elder branch of the family, and so was not forfeited
to the Yorkist king. (fn. 71)
Bollebec. Vert a lion argent.
Thomas Hampden of Great Hampden died seised of
the manor at the close of the 15th century. He was
succeeded by his son (fn. 72) and grandson, both named
John; the latter left two daughters, and Little Kimble
passed to Barbara the second. (fn. 73) She married first
Edmund Smith, by whom she had a daughter
Anne, (fn. 74) the wife of William Paulet. (fn. 75) Philippa,
the widow of the second John Hampden, married,
as her second husband, Sir Thomas Smyth, and in
1554 they quit-claimed the manor of Little Kimble
to William Paulet and his wife. (fn. 76) Elizabeth Paulet,
their only daughter and heiress, married Oliver St.
John. (fn. 77) The manor was sold by St. John in 1609
to Robert Waller, (fn. 78) who again sold it to Edward Serjeant for £1,850. (fn. 79) The manor changed hands again
in 1626, when Richard Serjeant is said to have sold it,
under the name of 'Bulbecks Manor,' to Richard
Brasey of Thame, co. Oxon. (fn. 80) The latter in his will,
proved in 1647, left the yearly revenue from lands
and wood and tenements in Little Kimble to his wife
for her life. After her death they were to pass to
Richard Croke, the son of Anne, the daughter of the testator, for life, and to descend to his children. (fn. 81) Richard
Croke and his son, another Richard, both held the
manor, (fn. 82) which descended on the death of the latter
to his daughter Charlotte. She married William
Ledwell, (fn. 83) and they held the manor of Little Kimble
in 1758. (fn. 84) The property passed on his death to
his heir-at-law,—Ledwell of Cowley, co. Oxon. (fn. 85) In
1792 William Bridges Ledwell, his son, held the
manor, (fn. 86) and sold it to Scrope Bernard, afterwards Sir Scrope Bernard Morland, bart. (fn. 87) The
manor was presumably bought at the same time
as Great Kimble by Sir George Russell, bart., and is
now in the hands of the trustees of Mr. Henry Frankland-Russell-Astley, a minor. (fn. 88)
In 1254 John le Waleys and Herbert de Bolebec
held the view of frankpledge in their manors. (fn. 89)
In 1617 James I granted to Edward Brudenell the
right to hold a view of frankpledge twice a year in
Stoke Mandeville, Ellesborough, and Little Kimble, (fn. 90)
but in the 18th century a court leet and view were
claimed by the Gibsons. (fn. 91)
Church
The church of ALL SAINTS is a
small structure consisting of a chancel
18 ft. 6 in. by 14 ft., a nave 38 ft. 9 in.
by 15 ft. 4 in., and north and south porches, the latter
of which is used as a vestry. Until the middle of
the 13th century the church consisted of a chancel
narrower than the present one, and a nave of the same
size as that now existing, but at this date the present
chancel arch was inserted unsymmetrically and the
chancel widened by rebuilding the south wall. It is
thus probable that the nave walls and the western half
at least of the north wall of the chancel are of
13th-century date or earlier.
The chancel has also been lengthened, but this may
have been done at a later date than the 13th century.
At the beginning and middle of the 14th century
windows were inserted in the walls of nave and
chancel, and the porches were added, while in modern
times the south and east walls of the chancel have
been either rebuilt or modernized and the stone
bell-cot on the west gable of the nave has been
added.
The east window of the chancel is modern, of three
lights and early 14th-century detail. In the north
wall of the chancel are two windows. The first, of
two lights and early 14th-century date, is curiously
crude in worl manship. The lights are trefoiled and
have a rough cusped circle over them, while the
whole head of the window including the label, a very
flat roll, is worked out of one thin stone or flag.
The second window, probably of the same date as the
first, is a plain uncusped chamfered lancet set low in
the wall without an external rebate, the lower part of
which has been fitted with a shutter, the hinges
remaining. The only window on the south of the
chancel is a single-light modern window of 14th-century detail. The chancel arch is two-centred and of
two chamfered orders with half-octagonal responds
and moulded capitals and bases, and is set to the south
of the axis of the nave.
The north wall of the nave contains two windows
east of the north porch of the same date and detail as
the two-light window on the north of the chancel,
but their heads are not worked in single stones. The
north door is either quite modern or completely
restored, and is of two continuous moulded orders with
a label of 14th-century detail. West of the door is a
small plain lancet of doubtful date. In the south wall
are two-light windows in corresponding positions
to those on the north, but of late 14th-century date,
with square heads and cinquefoiled lights with curious
cusped flowing tracery. Below the sill of the easternmost of these windows is a small piscina with an
uncusped two-centred head moulded with a filleted
bowtell and hollows. The south door is of the same
detail as the north and of 14th-century date. To
the west is a window of two uncusped lights under a
square head of simple and late detail. The west
window of the nave is of early 14th-century date and
has three cinquefoiled lights with quatrefoils over.
The font has a large round tub-shaped bowl probably
of 12th-century date.
The porches are both of the 14th century,
though considerably restored, and have outer archways continuously moulded in two orders with a
hollow between.
The seating of the church is modern, but a pulpit
and reading desk have been worked up out of 17thcentury carved panels. On the walls of the nave are
the remains of a series of interesting 14th-century
paintings. On the west wall are traces of figure
subjects, now quite defaced. On the north wall,
beginning from the west, is a figure of Christ, some
4 ft. high, remarkably well drawn in a dull red line.
Above and to the right of this is part of a judgement scene with souls in torment. Near the north
door is a life-size figure much defaced and partly
obscured by a wall tablet. Between the two easternmost of the windows on this side is a large figure of
St. George, with the remains of a scroll bearing his
name below, represented in mail, with shield, sword,
and lance. The splays of these two windows are also
decorated with paintings. In the east splay of the
easternmost window is a drawing of St. Francis
preaching to the birds, while the remains of various
male and female figures are visible in the other splays.
On the south wall is a cowled figure holding a book
(about three-quarters life-size) and a smaller painting
of two angels laying a saint, perhaps St. Katherine, in a
tomb. In the chancel floor are set some very fine late
13th-century tiles, with subjects from the mediaeval
romances: a king on his throne, a man giving a
book to a woman, a knight charging, a knight
cleaving the helm of his adversary, and a lady holding
a squirrel.
There are a few fragments of old glass in the windows, the quartered arms of France and England being
in the north-east window of the nave.
The modern stone gable bell-cot contains two bells
re-cast from older ones by James Warner and Sons in
1875.
The church plate consists of a covered cup of 1570
of the usual Elizabethan pattern, a salver hall-marked
for 1827, and a pewter flagon.
The first book of the registers contains baptisms
from 1675 to 1735, burials from 1658 to 1712, and
marriages from 1657 to 1702. The second book
contains baptisms from 1726 to 1782, burials from
1726 to 1780, and marriages from 1727 to 1775,
with further notes of banns to 1783. A third book
has baptisms between 1783 and 1812 and burials
between 1784 and 1811, while a fourth book contains
marriages from 1786 to 1812.
Advowson
The church of All Saints (fn. 92) in
Little Kimble was given to the
abbey of St. Albans by Humphrey
de Kimble early in the 13th century. (fn. 93) His charter
was confirmed by Alice de Bolebec, (fn. 94) who died before
1254. (fn. 95) No vicarage seems ever to have been
ordained, and in the valuation of churches made in
1535 Henry Champyn appears as rector of Little
Kimble. (fn. 96) Henry VIII granted the advowson of the
rectory to John Cokk and Sir Michael Dormer, (fn. 97) the
latter of whom already held the lands in the parish
that had belonged to St. Albans. (fn. 98) Afterwards the
advowson appears to have been recovered by the lord
of the manor. Lipscomb (fn. 99) mentions a presentation
by Edward Serjeant in 1620, but the advowson is
not mentioned in the numerous sales of the manor in
the 17th century. The Crokes, however, presented
twice to the rectory, Richard in 1661 and Martha
Croke (widow) in 1665. (fn. 100) In 1689 Elizabeth
Chapman presented (fn. 101) and the advowson was held by
the family of Chapman for many years. (fn. 102) William
Chapman in 1788 (fn. 103) and Samuel Chapman in 1810
held the living on their own presentation. (fn. 104) The
rectory of Little Kimble is now consolidated with
the vicarage of Great Kimble and the right of presentation has since the consolidation been held by the
Earl of Buckinghamshire.
In 1327 Walter de Shobinton and his wife Lucy
alienated a messuage, mill, and pond, together with
land and rent in Little Kimble and Aston Ivinghoe, to
a chaplain to celebrate divine service in the church
of Little Kimble for the souls of Walter and Lucy,
their ancestors and successors. (fn. 105)
A chantry in Little Kimble is mentioned in a grant
by Queen Elizabeth, but there is no certificate of its
dissolution under Edward VI. (fn. 106) There is in the
parish a dissenting chapel, which serves for all
denominations.
Charities
Under the Inclosure Act, 1803,
an allotment containing 1 a. 2 r. 26 p.
was awarded for the use of the poor
in respect of a right of cutting firewood on certain
hills. The land produces about £3 a year, which is
applied in the distribution of two to three hundred
weights of coal to about twenty recipients.