GODINGTON
This isolated parish (1,019 a.) is elongated in shape
and projects into Buckinghamshire: the county and
parish boundaries are therefore for the most part the
same. On the north and east the parish is bounded
by the Birne, a tributary of the River Ouse, which
here divides into several parallel streams. (fn. 1) There
have been no recorded changes of boundary. (fn. 2) The
centre of the parish lies on drift gravel, bordered by
Cornbrash in the valley on the north-west and by
the Oxford Clay in the south-east. (fn. 3) The greater part
of it is a bleak almost treeless table-land, mostly
above the 300-foot contour line. The highest point
of 356 feet is reached in the centre of the parish near
Godington Hall. The south-west of the parish is
crossed by the Stratton Audley-Poundon road, from
which a branch, called the Stratton AudleyBuckingham road in 1817, runs north-eastwards to
the village. (fn. 4) The nearest station is the former L.M.S.
one at Marsh Gibbon and Poundon, two miles
distant.
The village, standing about 290 feet up, lies at
the northern end of the parish. (fn. 5) The medieval village was never large and may have declined in numbers in the late Middle Ages. (fn. 6) In 1665 there were
two gentlemen's houses, one of them the Rectory,
which each returned six hearths for the hearth tax.
There were only five other houses listed, and none
had more than two hearths. In the fuller list of 1662
there were nine houses. (fn. 7) During the 18th century
incumbents estimated that there were sixteen houses
in the parish. (fn. 8) In 1951 the village had only twelve
dwellings, some of which were red-brick cottages
dating from the 19th century. (fn. 9) They were spread
out on either side of the road running from Moat
Farm, past the church and the Old Rectory, to
Grange Farm and the new Rectory, half a mile away.
Moat Farm stands a short distance to the north of
the church. It is surrounded by a rectangular moat
of medieval date. (fn. 10) The present farm-house was built
in the 17th century, and the date 1672 with the
initials c B appears on a weather-vane on the roof.
The sash windows were inserted in 1782 by William
Fermor, (fn. 11) whose initials are carved on a date-stone
on the south side. It may have been the house occupied by one Davis in 1738, who had a resident
priest and made the house a centre for the Roman
Catholics of the neighbourhood. (fn. 12) It was later occupied by another yeoman family of well-known
Catholics—the Collingridges.
In 1787 the old Rectory was 'in so ruinous and
decayed a state' that it was rebuilt at a cost of £200
with the help of a loan from Corpus Christi College.
The new house (37 ft. wide by 16 ft. high) was of
brick, and consisted of parlour, kitchen, dairy, brewhouse, three bedrooms, and two garrets. (fn. 13) In 1867 a
new Rectory on a different site was built at a cost of
£1,200 (architect W. Wilkinson of Oxford), (fn. 14) but in
the 1930's it was sold for use as a private house. (fn. 15)
Formerly there were a blacksmith's shop near the
Rectory and a number of mud cottages, which have
been pulled down within living memory. There is
no record of any public house in the village. (fn. 16)
Poodle Farm at the southern end of the parish has
a history going back to the 13th century and stands
on the site of a grange belonging to Missenden
Abbey. (fn. 17) The name is possibly derived from Old
English pol-dæl, 'the stream valley', (fn. 18) and no doubt
refers to the never-failing spring of water which still
supplies the farm. The present house is stone-built
with walls of great thickness, but has been refronted
with blue vitreous bricks said to have been made in
the local brick works. (fn. 19) The house is of two stories
with attic dormers; a west wing was added in the
19th century, possibly in 1822 when the stables were
rebuilt. (fn. 20)
Godington Hall is a well-built house dating from
the early 19th century. (fn. 21) Grange Farm, formerly
Manor Farm, has been rebuilt, but still retains parts
of an earlier 17th-century house.
The only family of note connected with Godington
was the medieval one of the De Camvilles. A 12thcentury charter of Hugh de Camville suggests that
he then lived in the village. It is witnessed by his
wife and brother, by Regnerus the painter and others,
who appear to be members of Hugh's household,
together with the halimot of Godington. (fn. 22) The
parish has, however, been well known for generations as an outpost of Roman Catholicism. (fn. 23) In more
recent times its coverts have been renowned in connexion with the Bicester Hunt. (fn. 24)
Manor.
GOLDINGTON, which before the Norman Conquest had been held by Siward and Siwate,
was held in chief as 7 hides by Richard Puingiant in
1086, while a tenant, William, held it of Richard. (fn. 25)
Until the early 14th century the overlordship of
Godington followed the same descent as Richard
Puingiant's Domesday manor of Middleton Stoney,
of which it was regarded as a dependent member. (fn. 26)
In the mid-12th century Godington appears in the
possession of the De Camville family, who until the
loss of Normandy in King John's reign still held
Canville-les-Deux-Eglises (Seine-Inférieure), from
which they took their name. (fn. 27) Richard de Camville
held 1 knight's fee in Oxfordshire in 1166, (fn. 28) of
which Godington no doubt formed part, for Richard
and his brother Roger granted lands in Godington
to Missenden Abbey (Bucks.) about that time. (fn. 29)
Richard died in 1176. (fn. 30) His eldest son Gerard
married Nichole, daughter and heiress of Richard
de la Hay, hereditary Sheriff of Lincolnshire and
Constable of Lincoln castle, and held these offices
in his wife's right. (fn. 31) He supported Count John
against King Richard and so lost his lands, (fn. 32) and in
1194 had to pay 2,000 marks for their recovery. (fn. 33)
He died about the end of 1214, leaving his son
Richard, the husband of a daughter of Gilbert
Basset, as his heir. (fn. 34) Unlike his mother Nichole,
Richard seems to have sided with the barons in the
civil war, and suffered for his opposition. He recovered some of his confiscated manors early in
1217, but died a few years later. (fn. 35)
His heir was his daughter Idoine, and the right
to arrange for her marriage had been given to
William Longespée, Earl of Salisbury, in 1216. (fn. 36)
The earl's eldest son William married her and
received her inheritance when she came of age in
1226. (fn. 37) He held Godington as ¼ knight's fee in 1243, (fn. 38)
but was killed on crusade in 1250, a year or two before Idoine died. (fn. 39) Her son William succeeded (fn. 40) in
1252, but died in 1257, leaving an infant daughter,
Margaret, as his heiress. (fn. 41) In 1268 her husband
Henry de Lacy, Earl of Lincoln, received his wife's
inheritance. (fn. 42) In 1279 and 1285 he was said to be
holding Godington in chief. (fn. 43) Henry, one of the
most loyal and capable of the earls of Edward I's
reign, died in 1311, leaving his large possessions,
including Godington, (fn. 44) to his only surviving child,
Alice de Lacy, who inherited two earldoms. At his
inquest post mortem Godington was said to be held
of Middleton Stoney of the honor of Pontefract.
Alice married Thomas, later Earl of Lancaster, in
1294, and he was recorded as lord of Godington in
1316. (fn. 45) Thomas was beheaded in 1322 after the
failure of his rebellion against Edward II, and all his
possessions were taken into the king's hands. His
widow Alice never recovered Godington. (fn. 46)
Richard de Camville (d. 1176) appears to have
enfeoffed first his younger brother Roger, and
later, presumably on Roger's death, another brother
Hugh with the manor of Godington. Hugh, who
was in possession about 1160, (fn. 47) was succeeded by
his son Thomas, who about 1206 enfeoffed William
Falconer with a carucate of land in Godington as
1½ knight's fee (fn. 48) and undertook to perform the service due to Gerard de Camville, the chief lord of the
fee. Thomas died in 1235, (fn. 49) and in 1243 Roger de
Witchester held Godington, presumably of Robert
de Camville, Thomas's son. (fn. 50) Robert was of age by
1246, and in 1255 the tenant of the manor, Philip
Lovel, held of Robert, who held of the younger
William Longespée. (fn. 51) There had been another change
of tenants by 1279 when William de Havere held the
principal estate in Godington as 1/6 fee. (fn. 52) Robert de
Camville does not appear as mesne lord of Godington
in 1279 for in that year he surrendered the manor to
the king and queen. (fn. 53) In 1281 Queen Eleanor granted
the manor, 'late of Sir Robert de Camville', to Guy
Ferre, to be held for a nominal rent and the services
due to the chief lord of the fee (fn. 54) —the Earl of
Lincoln. Robert clearly acquiesced in this arrangement, for a few months later he promoted a grant
to Guy Ferre of lands and rents in Godington by
Godfrey and Joan Fitzpeter. (fn. 55) Guy died childless
in 1323 and the manor reverted to the Crown, (fn. 56)
which had already acquired the overlordship by
Thomas of Lancaster's forfeiture.
In 1325 Edward II granted the manor to Richard
Damory of Bucknell at fee farm. During the lifetime of Eleanor, Guy Ferre's widow, Richard was
to hold two-thirds of the manor for 10 marks a year.
On Eleanor's death the remaining third would revert
to him, and his farm would be increased by £10. (fn. 57)
Eleanor was still alive in 1330 when Richard died (fn. 58)
leaving his son Richard, who was still a minor, as
his heir. The wardship of the younger Richard was
granted to his mother, and he came of age in 1337. (fn. 59)
In 1347 Richard was permitted to entail the manor
on himself and his male heirs. (fn. 60) The reversion of
Eleanor's dower in Godington seems to have fallen
in by 1354, (fn. 61) but by then Richard was heavily in
debt. (fn. 62) In 1354, when he owed Edward III £2,000,
he surrendered Godington to the king, who regranted it to him for life at the farm of £10 a year. (fn. 63)
In 1373 the farm was made payable to John de
Beverley, who with his wife Amice was granted the
reversion of the manor in the same year. (fn. 64) In 1374
Richard was allowed to let the manor to John for £2
a year; (fn. 65) in 1375 he died without issue and without
known heirs, (fn. 66) and Godington duly reverted to the
De Beverleys.
John de Beverley died in 1380, and Godington
was delivered by the escheator to his widow Amice,
since they had held the manor jointly. (fn. 67) On Amice's
death in 1416 Godington, like Bucknell, passed to
Robert Langford and Walter Dauntesy, John de
Beverley's grandsons. (fn. 68) The manor continued to be
held of the Crown at a farm of £10 a year, and in the
course of the 15th century a number of grants of the
farm were made by successive sovereigns. Richard
Bedford, an auditor of the Exchequer, received a
grant of the farm of Godington for ten years in
1439, and in 1447 he and Edmund Hampden were
granted it for life. (fn. 69) In 1466—the Lancastrian
Hampden having been attainted—Edward IV gave
the farm of Godington to his queen, Elizabeth.
During his brief restoration in 1471, Henry VI
granted it to George, Duke of Clarence, but Elizabeth probably regained it when Edward IV recovered his kingdom. (fn. 70) Richard III seems to have
taken the revenue from Godington for himself, but
Henry VII restored it to Elizabeth in 1486. (fn. 71) Unfortunately this series of grants refers to those who
were responsible for paying the farm as 'Richard
Damory and his heirs', without giving any indication of who were the tenants of the manor. In 1428
William Parkins held the manor, but it was not
known of whom he held it. (fn. 72) Robert Langford and
Walter Dauntesy may well have alienated the manor
as they did Bucknell but with the exception of
Parkins subsequent tenants in the 15th century are
not known.
The Fermor family seems to have acquired its
first possessions in Godington shortly after the Dissolution (see below), and by his death in 1552
William Fermor held Godington manor, (fn. 73) although
his will mentions only his lands in 'Poodle' (fn. 74) (i.e.
Missenden Abbey's former estate). (fn. 75) William Fermor's nephew and heir Thomas succeeded to
Godington, and held the manor, with appurtenances
in Hardwick, of the queen in fee farm, paying the
£10 a year which the successors of Richard Damory
had paid. (fn. 76) Thomas died in 1580 and by the terms
of his will left Godington manor in trust for sixteen
years until his son Richard came of age. (fn. 77) Like
Somerton Godington was held by Richard's eldest
son John and his wife Cicely Compton. John died
before his father, and Cicely and her second husband
Lord Arundell of Wardour continued to hold the
manor in dower. Lord Arundell's estates were
sequestered during the Civil War and he petitioned
to compound for them in 1646. But it was not until
1653 that Godington manor was purchased for
£2,131 from the Treason Trustees by his brotherin-law, Humphrey Weld, for the duration of the
lives of Arundell and his wife. (fn. 78) In 1665, as the house
was being leased by a Mr. Croker, a member of a wellknown local family, it is possible that the estate
was also leased to him. (fn. 79) Henry Fermor (d. 1673)
left lands in Godington to his wife Ursula, (fn. 80) and
from his son Richard (d. 1684) Godington descended
to Henry (d. 1703) and James (d. 1722). When
Rawlinson visited Godington early in the 18th
century he recorded that the lord of the manor was
Sir Edmund Denton, (fn. 81) not James Fermor. The
Dentons of Hillesden (Bucks.) held land in Godington, (fn. 82) but based their claim to the lordship of the
manor with view of frankpledge on their possession
of the manor of Middleton Stoney which they held
until 1712, (fn. 83) although Godington had been separated
from Middleton since 1322. Proof of the reality of
the claim to lordship by the lords of Middleton lies
in the fact that their steward was holding the Godington court leet at Middleton in the 1650's. (fn. 84)
Godington remained in the Fermor family, following the same descent as Somerton until the death of
the last of the direct line, William Fermor, in 1828. (fn. 85)
William left his property to his illegitimate daughter
Maria Ramsay, and after her death it was split up
among her children, who sold Godington to Henry,
2nd Earl of Effingham, in 1857. (fn. 86) The lordship of
the manor descended with the Earldom of Effingham (fn. 87) until 1927, when the estates were sold. (fn. 88)
Manorial rights have now lapsed. (fn. 89)
Lesser Estates.
Missenden Abbey acquired
2 hides, the Poodle estate, in Godington from the
De Camvilles in the 12th century (fn. 90) and held it until
the Dissolution. (fn. 91) By 1541 the estate had been purchased by William Fermor (fn. 92) and it again became
part of the manor. A virgate in Godington was held
by Chetwode Priory (Bucks.) in 1279 (fn. 93) and passed
with the priory's possessions to Notley Abbey
(Bucks.) in 1461. (fn. 94) Notley held it at the Dissolution, (fn. 95) and in 1554 it was held by the Risley family. (fn. 96)
The later history of 2 virgates held by Elstow Abbey
(Beds.) in 1279 (fn. 97) is unrecorded.
Economic History.
Godington was probably
first settled by the Saxons; the place-name is derived
from Gōdan dūn or perhaps Gōdinga dūn, 'the hill of
Goda' or of 'Goda's people'. (fn. 98) In the Domesday
survey the village had land for 7 ploughs and was
worth £5, as it had been at the Conquest. There
were 2 plough-teams with a serf on the demesne,
and 6½ worked by the 16 villeins (villani) and 2
bordars, who made up the recorded working population. (fn. 99) In 1279 William de Havere, tenant of the
manor under the Earl of Lincoln, held 6 virgates in
demesne; the only other free tenants were probably
the Abbess of Elstow and the Prior of Chetwode,
with 3 virgates between them. Holding of William
de Havere were 25 villeins—2 virgaters and 23 halfvirgaters—paying rents of 5s. a year on a virgate, 2
cottars and 6 tenants, who each held a messuage and
a few acres of land for an average rent of 1s. a year. (fn. 100)
This survey of the village does not include the estate
given to Missenden Abbey by Richard de Camville
about the middle of the 12th century; (fn. 101) it lay in the
lower south-western part of the parish called Poodle.
In 1291 the abbey's lands in Godington were
worth £2 8s. 8d. a year, and its stock and crops
£1 10s. 8d. (fn. 102) The labour services owed by the villeins
of the Camville manor had apparently been commuted by the late 13th century: no services are
specified in 1279 when rents probably included payments in lieu of works. In 1323 these payments
came to £4 14s. 6d. a year. (fn. 103) For a comparatively
small parish Godington was fairly prosperous in the
early 14th century, judging by its assessments for
taxation. (fn. 104) In 1327 as many as 23 individuals were
assessed, and it may be noted that in 1316 Missenden's grange of Poodle was the highest contributor. (fn. 105)
At the end of Edward III's reign there were 43
contributors to the poll tax in Godington. (fn. 106)
At the Dissolution Missenden Abbey's estate was
bringing in rents of £2 6s. 8d. a year (fn. 107) and it is probable that much of it was then used for grazing, for
of an estate of 120 acres in Poodle in 1541 all but 20
acres were pasture. (fn. 108) By the end of the 16th century
the whole parish, with the exception of the glebe
lands and a ½-yardland held by Nicholas Jackman,
had been bought by the Fermors, the lords of the
manor. (fn. 109) In 1524 two Jackmans, Robert senior and
junior, had been among Godington's subsidymen,
and another Robert had contributed to the subsidies of 1559 and 1569. But by 1603 these and other
substantial yeoman families, the Allens and the
Lambournes, (fn. 110) had evidently given up their holdings, and in about 1615 Nicholas Jackman sold his
lands to Sir Richard Fermor. (fn. 111)
There had no doubt been a number of small closes
in Godington dating from the Middle Ages; the
acre of land with appurtenant meadow lying between
two houses in Godington and granted by Hugh de
Camville in about 1160 to Regnerus the painter may
have been one, (fn. 112) and an inclosure, 'Garscroft', is
mentioned in about 1208. (fn. 113) But very nearly the whole
of the parish was inclosed in or shortly after 1603 by
agreement between Sir Richard Fermor, James
Benskyn, the rector, and Nicholas Jackman. (fn. 114) By
the early 18th century the Fermors' estate was split
up into five farms each let at over £40 a year, and
three smaller ones let at between £20 and £40 each,
the total annual rents amounting to about £347. (fn. 115)
There were six farms at the beginning of the 19th
century, but rents had more than doubled, having
risen very steeply in the last decade of the 18th
century. (fn. 116) Godington Cow Pasture, nearly 100 acres
in the south-west of the parish, remained uninclosed (fn. 117) until 1817 when the tithes were commuted, (fn. 118) and Magdalen College, which had held
three small meadows in the parish in 1535, (fn. 119) was
awarded 2 acres in lieu of its right to the first crop
of hay from certain lands. (fn. 120)
In the 19th century two of the farms belonged to
the rector: Glebe farm (about 50 acres), 'one of the
most compact glebe farms in the kingdom', (fn. 121) was
in the early part of the century let as a dairy farm; (fn. 122)
the other, consisting of the 130 acres the rector
received at inclosure, was known as Tithe farm. (fn. 123)
In 1918 both these farms were sold to Thomas
Markham of Hall Farm. (fn. 124) In 1956 there were five
farms in the parish. There were 360 acres of arable
and 744 acres of grassland. (fn. 125)
Although the population was probably always
comparatively small, it has considerably declined in
recent years. In 1676 there were 65 adults, and the
population may have been static for most of the 18th
century, when the incumbents constantly returned
16 houses and 100 inhabitants. By 1801 the population
was 99, and it reached a peak of 118 in 1831. Thereafter the number of inhabitants has steadily declined.
It was 57 in 1901 and had fallen to 45 by 1951. (fn. 126)
In 1086 the mill was worth 3s.: (fn. 127) it is mentioned
in 1279, when it was held by William de Havere.
Another is recorded in 1323, worth £1, and on the
estate of Missenden Abbey. It was held of the abbey
by the Prior of Chetwode. (fn. 128) No more is heard of it
and it had evidently fallen into disuse by 1535, when
it was not included in the survey of the abbey's and
priory's possessions. Twyford mill, two miles away
and reached by a footpath, (fn. 129) was commonly used by
the people of Godington until the late 19th century.
Church.
It is likely that there was a church at
Godington at least by about 1160, when Hugh de
Camville and his wife Christina held the manor and
probably lived in the parish. A charter of this date
is witnessed by the halimot and Humphrey the
clerk, who was perhaps the parish priest. (fn. 130)
The earliest evidence about the advowson comes
from a case of 1221 between Thomas de Camville,
lord of the manor, and the Abbess of Elstow (Beds.),
a rich Benedictine nunnery. It was agreed that
Thomas's mother Christina had presented the last
rector, but the abbess claimed that after his mother's
death Thomas had granted the church to her convent in free alms, and she produced his charter and
a confirmation by St. Hugh, Bishop of Lincoln
(1186–1200). Thomas denied the gift and said that
neither the charter nor the seal was his. (fn. 131) Next year,
however, Thomas de Camville quitclaimed the
advowson to the abbess and was received with his
heirs into the abbey's prayers. (fn. 132)
Elstow held the advowson until its dissolution in
1539. (fn. 133) Thereafter, the Crown was patron (fn. 134) until
1608, when it granted the advowson, with that of
four other churches, to Sir Henry Fowkes, (fn. 135) who at
once sold it for £320 to Corpus Christi College,
Oxford. (fn. 136) In 1928 (fn. 137) the rectory was annexed to the
vicarage of Stratton Audley, in the patronage of
Christ Church, and the two colleges have since presented in turn. (fn. 138)
The church was valued at only £2 in 1254, (fn. 139) but
by 1291 it had risen in value to £4 6s. 8d., (fn. 140) and by
1535 to £7 18s. 10d. net. (fn. 141) Eighteenth-century valuations vary: in the early years it was worth 'near
£200', (fn. 142) but in 1787 the gross value of the living,
before the deduction of £16 land tax, was about
£150. This consisted of £71 for the rent of about 50
acres of glebe and £79 from the lease of tithes and
Easter offerings. By 1814 the glebe was let for £250
and the tithes for £415. (fn. 143) In that year the rector
complained that since there was no resident curate
or bailiff the farmers were withholding part of their
tithes. (fn. 144) In 1817 the tithes were commuted for 124
acres of land, plus 7 acres in lieu of common for
4 cows. (fn. 145) The scattered strips of glebe in the open
fields had been exchanged for about 50 acres near
the parsonage as early as about 1603. (fn. 146) Although the
rector later became dissatisfied with the exchange,
his efforts to recover his old glebe were unsuccessful.
The value of the rectory declined in the course of
the 19th century and in 1867 was valued at £361. (fn. 147)
In 1918 all the land was sold. (fn. 148)
One of Godington's earliest rectors was a prominent civil servant, Eustace de Fauconberg, who
became rector before 1200. (fn. 149) He had had a vicar,
William de Esseburn, but when Eustace became
Bishop of London in 1221, William was collated to
the rectory, thus uniting it with the vicarage. (fn. 150) In
the later 13th century the living was usually held by
university graduates; (fn. 151) some rectors stayed for many
years, but in the later middle ages the church, on
account of its poverty, no doubt, was frequently exchanged. Between 1400 and 1420, for instance, it was
exchanged at least eight times, sometimes for neighbouring livings, such as Westbury (Bucks.), sometimes for distant ones, such as Butterwick (Lincs.).
The main evidence about the rectors in the early 16th
century comes from a visitation of about 1517. It was
then reported that the rector was living in the parish
and keeping a woman and a girl in his house. (fn. 152)
Almost no records of the post-Reformation church
survive before the late 17th century: even the parish
register does not begin until then. After Corpus
Christi College had acquired the advowson, it presented its own Fellows or scholars. Of one, John
Kerswell (1643–68), (fn. 153) it may be noted that he was
resident (fn. 154) and was buried in the church. (fn. 155) Another,
Theodore Fletcher (1673–1706), was the last resident rector for 150 years. He too, with many of his
family, was buried in the church.
Eighteenth-century rectors were rather more distinguished, but were non-resident. William Buckeridge (1707–14) was the author of a pamphlet
attacking occasional conformity; (fn. 156) William Tilly
(1714–40) was well known for his sermons and was
also Rector of Albury; (fn. 157) Francis Ayscough (1741–
63), said to be of Bangorian principles, (fn. 158) held many
offices including those of Dean of Bristol and tutor
to George III and his brother; (fn. 159) and Timothy Neve
(1763–98), also rector of Middleton Stoney, where
he lived, was a noted theologian. (fn. 160)
During this time the parish was served by a curate.
For many years in the middle of the century Stephen
Richardson held the office for a salary of £35 a year. (fn. 161)
Although for at least part of the time he was also
curate of Stoke Lyne, he lived in Godington, held
services there twice on Sundays, when he preached
one sermon, (fn. 162) and administered the sacrament three
times or more a year. When in 1739 the Roman
Catholicism of the parish was causing concern, he
assured the bishop that he took 'as particular care
of the parish of Godington as any curate in your
diocese'. (fn. 163) In 1812 the poor state of the Rectory,
recently rebuilt, (fn. 164) was given as a reason for his nonresidence by the rector, H. J. Beaver (1798–1815). (fn. 165)
To make it 'barely convenient', he said, would cost
at least £1,500. The situation was 'low and wet in
the extreme' and among other disadvantages, although two horses could stand in the stable, only
one could lie down. His other reasons throw an
equally interesting light on the social position of the
clergy: there was no society within eight or nine
miles; the roads were too bad for travelling; and as
the farmers were Roman Catholics, there would not
be 'that ease and freedom of communication' with
them which was desirable. (fn. 166)
Beaver's poor opinion of the parish was reciprocated. In 1814 the churchwarden presented that the
church was not well served and the children not
catechized. (fn. 167) He also wrote to the bishop asking for
a resident minister, who would 'instruct the lower
class men in their duty' and hold two services on
Sunday. (fn. 168) The parishioners of Godington fared no
better under Beaver's successor Joseph Hollis (1815–
26), Vicar of Chesterton. He did not reside and
would not enlarge the Rectory for a curate. 'There is
hardly a parish in your Lordship's diocese where the
presence of a curate is so little wanted', (fn. 169) he wrote.
The congregation seldom exceeded twenty, and the
whole Protestant population amounted to fifty-one. (fn. 170)
Its smallness accounted for there being only one
churchwarden, and its humble and illiterate character is demonstrated by the fact that Thomas Turner,
who was warden from 1745 to 1790, made his mark
each year on the presentments. (fn. 171)
During most of the 19th century the parish was
served by the curates, the William Perkinses, father
and son, who came over from Twyford (Bucks.).
Services were held regularly, but only once on Sundays in winter. (fn. 172) By 1854 the congregation had
reached its peak of about forty. (fn. 173) On the death of the
rector, Thomas Haverfield (1826–66), who had lived
at his London cure, it was decided to get a resident
rector. One urgent reason for this was the need to
have someone to superintend the education of the
children. (fn. 174) Consequently a new Rectory was built, (fn. 175)
but since the living was combined in 1928 with
Stratton Audley the rector has lived there.
The church of HOLY TRINITY is a small
Georgian building with seating for only 50 persons.
It consists of a rectangular body without structural
division between nave and chancel, and has a small
western tower and a south porch. The original
rectangular casement windows were converted into
lancets in the 19th century.
The only relic of the medieval church is the
circular font. The old building was considered 'very
indifferent' by Rawlinson; (fn. 176) it had already been reported 'out of repair' in the late 17th century; (fn. 177) in
1757 the chancel screen among other things needed
rebuilding, (fn. 178) and by 1790 the church was in danger
of falling down. (fn. 179) In 1792 a new one was built at the
expense of William Fermor, the Roman Catholic
lord of the manor, who employed a co-religionist as
builder. (fn. 180)
In the 19th century the roof caused trouble (fn. 181) and
around 1850 the rector, T. T. Haverfield, planned
to rebuild the church in a 12th-century style, but
was unable to raise the money. (fn. 182) He did, however,
in 1852 install pointed windows in the chancel in
place of the 'old shabby ones', a new pulpit, open
seats, and an altar at a cost of about £100. (fn. 183) The
church was restored and the south porch added in
1905. (fn. 184)
When the church was rebuilt, some of the monumental inscriptions from the old church were transferred to it. These include stone slabs to James
Benskyn, rector (d. 1643); to the family of Theodore
Fletcher, rector (d. 1706); to Frances Busby,
daughter of Charles Busby, gent. (fn. 185) (d. 1679, aged 4);
and an interesting inscription, formerly in the chancel
but now on the floor of the tower, to George Sargeante of Brill (d. 1668), a surveyor 'known in most
parts of England, Ireland and Wales'. Those to
Ralph Coker (d. 1648), son of John Coker of Bicester, John Kerswell, rector (d. 1668), and Charles
Howse (d. 1705), have not survived. (fn. 186)
At the Reformation the church possessed two sets
of vestments, two copes, a silver-gilt chalice, and a
brass cross. There was a light supported by lands
worth 1s. 6d. a year. (fn. 187) In 1955 the church owned a
silver chalice and paten cover of 1674. The former
was inscribed: 'enlarged for the use of the church of
Godington by Mr. Mew, late Rector, 1674.' (fn. 188)
In the 16th century there were three bells and a
sanctus bell. Rawlinson noted 'three new bells'. One
of these, cast in 1717, was in use in 1955, (fn. 189) and the
other two were sold to help rebuild the church in
1792. (fn. 190) The sanctus bell is of 1793.
The register of baptisms and burials dates from
1672, that of marriages from 1679.
There are many Roman Catholic gravestones in
the churchyard. (fn. 191)
Roman Catholicism.
For several centuries
after the Reformation this parish was an important
Roman Catholic stronghold. During the Elizabethan
persecution four local farmers, one a Paxton, were
accused in 1583 of sheltering priests; (fn. 192) members of
their families were later fined for their religious beliefs. The gentry were also recusants: in the early
part of the 17th century the Godbeheres and Halls, (fn. 193)
and towards the end the Busbys, who were originally a Bicester family. (fn. 194) The persistence of the old
faith was encouraged by the fact that the manor was
owned by the Fermors of Somerton and Tusmore. (fn. 195)
Sixteen papists were returned in 1676 and fifteen in
1706, the largest Catholic family at that time being
the Paxtons. (fn. 196) The community grew throughout the
18th century. In 1739 the rector, writing to his
bishop for advice about his 'Popish parish', said 'the
distemper grows and requires a pretty rough
remedy'. (fn. 197) A list of a few years later shows that there
were 40 Papists and 36 Protestants: there were two
branches of Paxtons, and the large Davis family had
15 members. (fn. 198) At this time a priest named Whitcraft lived in the parish and held Sunday services, (fn. 199)
but in 1759 the Papists were said to go to church at
Tusmore. (fn. 200)
At the beginning of the 19th century there was
still a large congregation, consisting of five farming
families: the labourers were Protestants. (fn. 201) By 1834,
owing perhaps to the disappearance of the Fermors,
the numbers had decreased, though the two chief
families of the parish were still Roman Catholic. (fn. 202)
As late as 1840 there were still Roman Catholic
members of the important yeoman family of Collingridge which had been established in Godington and
adjoining parishes for several centuries. (fn. 203) In 1854
there was one Roman Catholic family (fn. 204) and by 1866
none. (fn. 205)
It is said that mass used to be said at Moat Farm,
where a branch of the Collingridge family lived.
The chapel in the roof, served in the 18th and 19th
centuries by a priest from Hethe, was only dismantled in about 1900. (fn. 206)
Schools.
In 1744, when the number of Roman
Catholics was causing concern, the curate said that
not more than four or five Protestant families could
read or write and all were very neglectful of the
education of their children. (fn. 207) Soon after, a small
school was started and the schoolmaster received
£3 or £4 a year from the rector and the Fermors,
lords of the manor. (fn. 208) By 1800 it had been found unnecessary, as there was a good school at Twyford
(Bucks.). (fn. 209) There has been no day school in the
parish since. In 1854 there was a Sunday school with
about ten pupils. (fn. 210) In 1871 Godington children went
to school at Stratton Audley, (fn. 211) but from about 1929
the juniors went to Fringford and the seniors to
Bicester. (fn. 212)
Charities.
None known.