CHISLEHAMPTON
Since 1932 Chislehampton has been part of the
large civil parish of Stadhampton, (fn. 1) but for the
greater part of its history it has been a small independent parish and township, which contained 939
acres in 1881. (fn. 2) Chislehampton appears not to have
acquired full parochial status until 1763. (fn. 3)
The ancient parish, lying some 5½ miles southeast of Oxford, has no natural boundaries except on
the east where the River Thame divided it from
Stadhampton. Its southern and eastern parts are
low-lying, but northwards the ground rises fairly
steeply from 175 feet at Chislehampton Bridge to
290 feet at Hill Farm in the north-west corner. (fn. 4) The
parish lies mainly on Kimmeridge Clay, with an outcrop of Gault and a small deposit of Plateau Gravel
on the high ground to the north-west. (fn. 5) Leland's
description of the land between Haseley and Chislehampton as 'fruitful of corn and grass, but barren of
wood' could also have been applied to Chislehampton itself in the 16th century. (fn. 6) It ceased to be
quite as true a picture after 1694 when Great Copse
was first planted. (fn. 7) This wood covered 22.1 acres in
1743 and 23 acres in the 20th century. (fn. 8) Until
recently, when some of the trees were cut down, it
was notable for the largest rookery in the British
Isles.
The layout of the roads is much the same as in the
17th and 18th centuries. The principal road runs
southwards from Oxford and crosses the Thame by
Chislehampton Bridge: it is shown as a gated track
on a map of 1628 and the bridge is called Doyley
Bridge. (fn. 9) In 1664 John Doyley was licensed to inclose
part of this road so as to enlarge his mansion provided he made another highway through his lands,
and the new 'Oxford Lane', hedged as far as Gotham
Hill ground, is shown on an estate map of 1743. (fn. 10)
The inhabitants were bound to keep it in repair. (fn. 11)
The road to Abingdon, 'Abingdon Lane', is also
shown on the map of 1628 and in 1743 it was hedged
and gated at both ends.
Chislehampton Bridge is now 178 feet long and
has eight arches and five stone pillars. About 40 feet
to the south there is a subsidiary bridge of one arch,
which spans a small tributary of the Thame. (fn. 12) The
main bridge over the Thame has been of importance
from an early date. In 1444 the 'good men' of
Chislehampton were granted pontage for five years
to be applied by the survey and control of Drew
Barentine and Richard Quatremain. (fn. 13) In 1500 the
bridge was described by John Leland. He wrote that
he rode over three little bridges of wood and then
over a 'great bridge' over the Thame. There were
'five great pillars of stone, upon the which was laid
a timber bridge'. (fn. 14) As the masonry in the north-east
side of the existing bridge seems to date from the
late 16th century the timber structure was probably
replaced by a stone bridge at that date. (fn. 15) Repairs
have been frequent: in 1690, for example, John
Saunders was employed as mason and repaired it
with freestone from Headington Quarry; (fn. 16) in 1702
Richard Darling underbuilt one of the main arches
at a cost of £14; (fn. 17) in 1714 John Saunders was again
employed at a cost of about £18. (fn. 18) Further work was
done at intervals in the following centuries. A John
Saunders executed some substantial repairs in 1762.
He let cramps into the sixth and seventh arches and
rebuilt the west side for a length of 36 feet; (fn. 19) in
1800 work costing over £43 was done; (fn. 20) in 1823
John Turrill, mason, who was regularly employed
until at least 1830, submitted an estimate of over
£70 for repairs; (fn. 21) and in 1849 George Wyatt of
Oxford repaired it at a cost of £234. (fn. 22) The firm of
Richard Wyatt and Son had already been at work on
the bridge in 1821. (fn. 23) 'Extensive repairs' were again
necessary in 1877 when the county surveyor reported
that the masonry was 'in a very critical state'. (fn. 24) In
about 1899 the bridge was widened by some 9 feet
with steel troughing which was shored up with
timber in the middle of the spans in 1938; the stonework was repaired in 1938 and 1941. (fn. 25)
The siting of the village was evidently dictated by
the river crossing: it lies just to the north of it. It
was once probably even more of a riverside village
than it is now for the first element in its name is
derived from the Old English ceosel, cisel meaning
'gravel, shingle', (fn. 26) and its only surviving medieval
building, Camoise Court Farm, stands on gravel
beside the Thame. (fn. 27) The original manor-house and
church, moreover, lay close to the river before they
were rebuilt at a higher level. (fn. 28) The earliest known
form of the name, found in 1147, is 'Chiselentona',
but 'Chislehampton' occurs in the late 12th century.
The colloquial name is 'Chisleton'.
The medieval village was never large and some
early inclosure had perhaps reduced its size by the
17th century. (fn. 29) An estate map of 1628 marks only
the old Doyley mansion and dove-cot, the medieval
church, and three farmhouses. (fn. 30) These were no
doubt the principal houses but there must have been
many more for thirteen householders were listed for
the hearth tax of 1662 of which five were substantial
farmhouses taxed on three or four hearths. (fn. 31) The
green and the pound are shown on the 1628 map at
the junction of Abingdon Lane and Oxford Lane. (fn. 32)
Several of these 17th-century dwellings remain.
They are timber-framed and have red brick fillings.
Many are thatched.
THE DOYLEY ESTATE IN CHISLEHAMPTON IN. 1628.
Map showing early inclosure and the sites of the old church and manor-house. Based on a map of 1628 in the possession of Mr. C. J. Peers, Chislehampton House.
A survey of the Doyley estate in Chislehampton
made in 1746 gives a more detailed picture of the
village. (fn. 33) The manor-house, its outhouses, and its
grounds occupied 10½ acres. There were five farmhouses of which two were newly built. Of the old
farmhouses, Camoise Court Farm and its outbuildings was in very bad repair, and a brick and timber
farmhouse and another stone and thatched one were
in 'midling' repair. There were also twelve cottages
and a good new brick house and malthouse barn,
stable, and close. The last is likely to be the present
Coach and Horses Inn, a picturesque public house
by the bridge, although the interior of the house is
probably earlier than the outside.
Soon after this report the Doyley estate was sold
to Charles Peers and a period of building activity
followed: the present Georgian church was built in
1763 by Peers and its churchyard was laid out; (fn. 34) the
old Doyley mansion was pulled down and replaced
by Chislehampton House, and Church Farm, a twostoried house with attics of chequer brick, was probably built. Little change, however, seems to have
taken place in the size of the village: the Census of
1811 recorded 21 houses. (fn. 35) The peak of 28 houses
recorded in 1851 was not reached again until the
mid-20th century. In 1931, the last census to give
figures for Chislehampton alone, there were 27
houses, but there have been additions since. (fn. 36) Early19th-century building included Marylands Farm, a
pleasant building of red brick (now roughcast) with
wide eaves and a slate roof, and the lodge to the
Peers park. In the 20th century six well-designed
brick houses have been put up by Mr. Peers and
Mr. Chaundy of Camoise Court Farm. (fn. 37)
CAMOISE COURT
There are two houses of special architectural
interest: Camoise Court Farm and the manor-house.
Camoise Court Farm is the oldest house in the
village. It lies on the Thame 200 yards west by south
of Chislehampton Bridge, and incorporates part of a
14th-century house that was once the property of
Sir Richard de Louches of Great Milton. (fn. 38) He was
licensed to crenellate his Chislehampton house in
1318. (fn. 39) Later the property passed, as did the Great
Milton lands, to the famous Sir Thomas Camoys and
so acquired its name. The central block of the present farmhouse is the medieval part, (fn. 40) and there are
traces of the medieval moat. The house is built of
coursed rubble on a north and south axis with gables
at each end; it has a square projection at the southeast angle, which is thought to have been the garderobe; its walls are of medieval thickness. At present
there are two stories and attics, but the original
house appears to have consisted of a low groundfloor room and a solar above that was open to the
roof; a possible hall, west of it, perhaps of timber,
has been re-placed. The original wall-plate with
roll-mouldings is visible and there is a deeply splayed
window of 14th-century date about 8 feet from the
ground in the south wall. It is of two trefoiled ogeeheaded lights. A window of the same date and on the
same level but in the east wall was recently covered
up. The chamfered entrance to what seems to have
been a garderobe also remains. The 14th-century
gable above the room contains a cradle roof of three
bays of which the two king-posts and curved braces
with roll-moulding can be seen.
A straight joint on the north front, to the west
of the 14th-century opening (two original jambs
remain), marks the building of two stories and an
attic, probably in the early 17th century, to the west
of the central block. It was built of coursed rubble
to match the old house, but the west side was rebuilt in brick in about 1880. An early-17th-century
brick fireplace was discovered in 1956. In the early
19th century a new entrance to the house was made
—a Doric porch with fluted columns under a flat
roof.
The great house, 'Chisleton' House, is a handsome
red-brick mansion standing in its own park on a
slight eminence overlooking the Thame. It was built,
probably between 1766 and 1768, by Samuel
Dowbiggin of London, a member of the Joiners'
Company. (fn. 41) The designs for the house are dated
1766 and the date 1768 can be seen on the rain-water
heads of cast lead. (fn. 42) Dowbiggin's employer was
Charles Peers, who had bought the estate in 1748. (fn. 43)
The building is rectangular in plan, and has three
stories and a basement. Built of locally made red
brick, (fn. 44) it has an ashlar base, chamfered stone quoins
and a stone entablature with bracketed cornice, and
a hipped roof covered in slates. All the windows have
moulded stone architraves. The west front has a
slightly projecting feature of four Ionic pilasters, a
low parapet and coping and central pediment with
a cartouche of the Peers arms and flanking palms
carved in a stone tympanum. The house is entered
by steps and through an entrance porch with Doric
columns in antis added about 1820. An elevation of
the east front by Dowbiggin shows balustrades and
balls instead of the present plain parapet. That the
architect's design was carried out is proved by an
old water-colour showing the balustrades. The south
front has twin three-sided bays of two stories; the
ground-floor windows were altered in the early 19th
century when the sills were brought down to floor
level.
The interior of the house is interesting: an
entrance hall and top-lit staircase hall are run together as a single unit, an unusual feature for the
period. The staircase, which is of the cantilevered
kind, has delicately turned balusters and handrail
and a particularly elegant curve. (fn. 45) The balustrading
is continued round the hall on the upper floors forming galleries with the rooms opening off them. Some
of the early-18th-century furniture that belonged to
Sir Charles Peers, a one-time Lord Mayor of London
and the father of the builder, (fn. 46) has been preserved.
There is also a collection of armorial china, specially
dispatched from Canton for Sir Charles in 1731. (fn. 47)
From the ground floor of the plain east front
central steps descend to a wide flat terrace with an
orangery to the north. There are the remains of a
small formal landscape garden: on the axis of the
house there is a short avenue of elms, formerly continued on the west side of the house, which is crossed
by another path running from the entrance to the
walled kitchen garden towards a statue at its north
end. The orangery was built in 1790. (fn. 48) It is fivesided with uprights of cast iron and an umbrella roof.
The glass consists of small panes. The lodge in the
park, standing near the bridge, dates from about the
same period or a little later. It has one story and
attics, but the two dormer windows are lunetteshaped. The slate roof has wide eaves. The stables
lie to the north of the house and the kitchen garden,
on the east side near the river, marks the site of the
Doyleys' house. This house may have been built at
the end of the 16th century when the Doyleys lived
in the parish. Sir John Doyley, sheriff in 1585, who
was buried in Stadhampton church in 1623, is the
most likely builder of the house. (fn. 49) An estate map of
1628 shows its east front as a four-gabled building
with a central porte-cochère. (fn. 50) It faces the river, has
an orchard in front and an outer court. Behind the
house is a dove-house and the medieval church.
According to tradition the mansion was partly
destroyed in the Civil War, but in 1665 it was still
a substantial house for which sixteen hearths were
returned for the hearth tax. (fn. 51) An estate map of
Stadhampton of 1741–2 has a drawing of the west
front of the house, (fn. 52) which shows a two-storied
building of eight bays and E-shaped in plan. The
short gabled wings at each end are of one bay, and
there is a central projection of two bays, flanked by
two tall chimneys. A map of 1743 (fn. 53) drawn for Sir
Thomas Doyley depicts a facade with four gables
and a large stable-yard kind of entrance. It shows
formal gardens laid out by the river and Great
Orchard Yard, the outer court of 1628. The house
has two stories and attics and an irregular arrangement of windows. A survey of the estate made about
the same time describes it as 'a very old inconvenient
building part brick, part stone'. (fn. 54) The surveyor added
that the outbuildings were ruinous and that they and
the house would 'scarce pay for pulling down and yet
were not good enough to keep up'. There was a good
new-built double dove-house of brick and a large
walled garden. The coppice called Home Ground
was 'laid out into walks as a pleasure ground' with
ash trees. Part of the house was then occupied by a
farmer. Nothing now remains of this mansion, except
the bricks in the walls of the present kitchen garden.
Because of the strategic importance of its bridge
in the battle for Oxford, Chislehampton was in the
centre of the fighting during much of the Civil War.
The only alternative route across the Thame was at
Wheatley Bridge. By March 1643 both bridges had
been provided with gates and there was no passage
for man or horse 'but on market days and sometimes
in the day time'. (fn. 55) The king's forces made great preparation there to prevent parliamentary forces crossing. (fn. 56) On 13 June 1643 the bridge was said to be
down, though passable on horseback. (fn. 57) But a few
days later Prince Rupert crossed over it with 1,700
men and returned the same way after his victory at
Chalgrove on 18 June. (fn. 58) Shortly afterwards the
bridge was reported to have been broken down by
Royalist forces, which stationed between 60 and 100
men on Chislehampton Hill to command the passage
of the Thame. A watch was constantly kept on the
bridge by a guard of about 40 men of the forces
stationed at Abingdon. (fn. 59)
Manors.
Chislehampton is not mentioned by
name in the Domesday survey, but the greater part
of it is undoubtedly represented by 'Hunesworde'
entered in Dorchester hundred, where 5 hides were
held of the king by William FitzAnsculf. (fn. 60) William's
widespread fief, later known as the honor of Dudley, (fn. 61)
included Handsworth (Staffs.) and a scribal error
must account for the appearance of this place-name
in the Oxfordshire Domesday. (fn. 62) The overlordship
of the fee in CHISLEHAMPTON, which was not
named as a manor until the 15th century, passed
with the honor of Dudley to the Paynel family and
from them to the Somery family. (fn. 63) From 1220 to
about 1270, however, Chislehampton was part of the
dower of Ida Longespee, the widow of Ralph (II)
de Somery (d. 1220). (fn. 64) She married William de
Beauchamp as her second husband (fn. 65) and in 1235
he held the Somerys' knight's fee in Chislehampton
of the honor of Paynel. (fn. 66) After Ida's death in about
1270 (fn. 67) the fee reverted to Roger (I) de Somery, who
died in or before 1273. (fn. 68) The male line of the De
Somerys died out in 1322 on the death of John de
Somery, grandson of Roger (I) de Somery. (fn. 69) John's
widow Lucy de Somery was assigned Chislehampton
and Ditton in Stoke Poges (Bucks.), said to be together worth £4, as dower (fn. 70) and apparently held
them and other estates until her death some time
before 1327. (fn. 71) According to a settlement made in
1323, Joan de Botetourt, the sister and one of the
coheiresses of John de Somery, had been given the
reversion of Chislehampton, (fn. 72) but there is no further
mention of the overlordship, which may have
lapsed. (fn. 73)
At the time of Domesday, the tenant of William
FitzAnsculf in Chislehampton and Stoke Poges was
a certain Walter, (fn. 74) whose descendants took their
name from Stoke. According to a lawsuit in 1207,
a mesne tenancy had been created in Chislehampton
by the time of Henry I, when Hugh de Stokes gave
the fee of Chislehampton to his younger son Alfred. (fn. 75)
The mesne tenancy passed to Hugh's son Richard
de Stokes and to his grandson Robert, who in 1207
tried to obtain the fee in demesne from Alfred's son
Hugh de Chislehampton. (fn. 76) He lost his case, however, for his heirs were mesne tenants at the end of
the 13th century. Richard de Stokes, his son, succeeded him, (fn. 77) but had died by 1254 when his
daughter and heir, Amice, was in the custody of Sir
Humbert Poges. (fn. 78) Sir Humbert's son Robert Poges
is said to have married her before 1269, (fn. 79) and he
was returned in 1273 as the De Somerys' tenant at
Chislehampton. (fn. 80) He was still the mesne tenant in
1322, (fn. 81) but Chislehampton was not mentioned in
his inquisition post mortem in 1330 (fn. 82) and nothing
more is heard of his family there.
Alfred, the demesne tenant in Henry I's time, was
followed by 1192 by his son Hugh de Chislehampton, (fn. 83) the defendant in the 1207 case. (fn. 84) In
1235 William de Chislehampton, presumably his
son, was the tenant. (fn. 85) William was possibly succeeded by a Hugh de Chislehampton and his wife
Rose, who occur in 1242, (fn. 86) but Laurence de
Chislehampton was in possession some time before
1271, when he was said to have already granted a
messuage and 2 carucates in Chislehampton to
Dorchester Abbey. (fn. 87) At that time he was heavily in
debt to the Jews, but the king ordered that no
distraint should be made on his estate of Chislehampton (fn. 88) and he was returned as tenant under
Robert Poges in 1279. (fn. 89) He was killed in 1283 (fn. 90) and
his son William de Chislehampton succeeded him
and held the estate until it was bought in 1315 by
Robert de Harewedon. (fn. 91) Harewedon was a Chancery
clerk, closely associated with Hugh Despenser, (fn. 92)
and had already contributed to the tax assessment
of 1306 in Chislehampton. (fn. 93) Later in 1315 he made
a settlement with other members of his family, (fn. 94)
whereby he was to hold the Chislehampton property
for life with remainders to his nephew Robert, son
of Henry de Harewedon and his heirs, and after to
Robert's brother Henry. (fn. 95) Robert de Harewedon
was returned as lord of Chislehampton in 1316, (fn. 96)
but had died by December 1318. (fn. 97) His nephew
Robert evidently succeeded him, for he contributed
to the tax of 1327. (fn. 98) Either Robert or his son,
another Robert de Harewedon, (fn. 99) held the fee in
1346, (fn. 100) but nothing more is heard of it (fn. 101) until 1410,
when a 'Beek', perhaps Richard Beke (d. 1418), who
left money to Chislehampton chapel, bought it from
a certain Hamden. (fn. 102) In 1423 John Beke was described
as 'gentleman, of Chislehampton', (fn. 103) and the same or
a son was returned in 1428 as holding immediately
the lands 'formerly of Robert de Harewedon' by
service of 1 knight's fee. (fn. 104) John Beke married Elizabeth, the sister of Richard Quatremain of Rycote, (fn. 105)
and must have been dead by 1466. His brother-inlaw Richard Quatremain was one of the feoffees, who
in that year settled Chislehampton manor on John
Beke's youngest daughter Sybil and her second
husband Robert Poyntz. (fn. 106) In 1489 Sybil made
another settlement of the manor on herself and her
third husband Robert Restwold for life, with
remainder to her cousin William Danvers, (fn. 107) a grandson of Maud, another sister of Richard Quatremain. (fn. 108)
By 1500 William Danvers had obtained Chislehampton manor (fn. 109) and died in possession in 1504,
leaving it to his wife Anne for life and then to his
third son William. (fn. 110) The widowed Anne did not die
until 1531, (fn. 111) but her son William covenanted 'to
estate' Thomas Doyley of Hambleden (Bucks.) in
Chislehampton manor as early as 1524. (fn. 112) By 1536
the manor seems to have been finally released to the
Doyleys. (fn. 113)
Thomas Doyley died in 1545 (fn. 114) and was succeeded
by his son John, who like his cousin and colleague
Sir John Williams of Thame founded a fortune
in dealings in monastic property. (fn. 115) On his death in
1569, Doyley left Chislehampton to his wife Frances
for life, afterwards to his son Robert, and to his
other heirs male. (fn. 116) Frances was persuaded to demise
the manor for £300 a year to her younger son John,
shortly after he had succeeded to his brother's estates
in 1577, and on her death in 1601 he entered into
full possession, (fn. 117) though various charges on the
manor involved him in a lawsuit with his brother
Henry. (fn. 118) In 1605 John settled the manor after his
death partly on Martha, the wife of his son Cope
Doyley, and partly on his own wife Ursula. (fn. 119) Sir
John died in 1623 (fn. 120) and, though Ursula lived at
Chislehampton until her death in 1635, (fn. 121) their son
Sir Cope Doyley settled it in 1628 as jointure when
his son John married Mary Shirley. (fn. 122) John, a
sheriff and Member of Parliament for Oxfordshire,
succeeded his father in 1633. (fn. 123) His widow held the
manor as dower for a short time after his death in
1660, (fn. 124) but by 1664 it was held by their son John
(d. 1709), (fn. 125) who became a baronet in 1666. Sir John's
son, another Sir John, held it until his death in
1746. (fn. 126) In 1748 his son Sir Thomas Doyley sought
to revive the declining fortunes of the family by
selling Chislehampton to Charles Peers of Olney
(Bucks.), the son of Sir Charles Peers, a former lord
mayor of London. (fn. 127) The Doyleys were also lords of
Camoys manor, the second Chislehampton manor,
and apparently sold it also to Charles Peers. (fn. 128)
Henceforth the combined manors were known as
Chislehampton manor.
The combined manor has remained in the hands
of the Peers family until the present day (1958),
descending from Charles Peers (d. 1781) (fn. 129) to his
elder son Robert (d. 1818) and his grandson Charles,
who died childless in 1853. (fn. 130) The heir was then
John Peers, another grandson of the elder Charles
Peers, being the son of his second son John (d.
1835), for many years incumbent of Stadhampton
and Chislehampton. In 1855 the younger John was
succeeded by his son John Witherington Peers (d.
1876), Vicar of Tetsworth, and he by a son of the
same name, who died unmarried in 1891. This last
was followed by his brother, the Revd. William
Henry Peers, who died in 1921, and he by his son
Sir Charles Reed Peers (d. 1952), (fn. 131) the father of the
present lord of the manor, C. J. Peers, Esq.
In the Middle Ages the estate, later known as
CAMOYS or CHISLEHAMPTON manor, formed
part of a ½ knight's fee held in Chislehampton and
Little Milton of the Bishop of Lincoln's Dorchester
manor. Like the main estate, it was not mentioned
by name in the Domesday survey, but it is likely that
the 2 hides held in 1086 of the bishop's Dorchester
manor by a certain James represents the later fee
and manor. (fn. 132) The overlordship which is last
recorded in 1618 followed the descent of the bishop's
Dorchester manor. (fn. 133)
In the 12th century the Cardunville family were
the bishop's mesne tenants: in 1163 Ernald de
Cardunville gave 1 virgate there to Dorchester
Abbey (fn. 134) and in 1166 he was returned as the tenant
of a ½-fee of the Bishop of Lincoln. (fn. 135) Adam de
Cardunville, presumably his son, held the ½-fee by
1191. (fn. 136) Adam died before 1210 when William de
Boveneye obtained the grant of the wardship and
marriage of his heirs. (fn. 137) William, therefore, was
returned about this time as holding a ½ knight's
fee of the Bishop of Lincoln on behalf of the
Cardunville heir, of which ¼-fee was apparently in
Little Milton. (fn. 138) The estate was clearly the ½-fee
held by James de Cardunville in Chislehampton and
Little Milton in a list of the bishop's knights made
after 1225. (fn. 139) James died soon after, presumably
without heirs, for the estate appears to have escheated to the bishop. In 1225 a certain Alice,
claiming to be the widow of James, brought a plea
of dower against the bishop (fn. 140) for ⅓ of 2 carucates and
appurtenances in Chislehampton and ⅓ of land in
Milton. She lost her case, for the bishop maintained
successfully that she had never been married or
dowered at the church door, but only in James's
house when he was mortally ill. (fn. 141)
There is no further record of the ½-fee either in
Chislehampton or Milton until 1279, when it was
held by Laurence de Louches. (fn. 142) A Laurence de
Louches, the same or his son, held the ½-fee of the
bishop in 1305. (fn. 143) The De Louches family of Chislehampton and Little Milton was closely connected
with the De Louches family holding in Baldon St.
Lawrence, Wheatley, and Great Milton. (fn. 144) Sir
Richard de Louches, who was one of the lords of
Great Milton, had a grant of free warren in his
demesne lands, including Chislehampton, in 1318. (fn. 145)
In 1322 his estate was in the king's hands because
of his support of the Despensers, but he recovered
it in the same year. (fn. 146) Though his son John succeeded
in 1327 to most of his lands, (fn. 147) Elena de Louches,
Richard's wife, paid a tax on her Chislehampton
land in 1327, (fn. 148) which she presumably held as dower.
By 1346 John had obtained the ¼-fee in Chislehampton formerly held by Laurence de Louches. (fn. 149)
In 1353, designating himself John de Louches of
Milton, he settled the manor after his death on his
son William and William's wife Elizabeth and their
heirs. (fn. 150) Both John and William had died by 1367,
when Elizabeth de Louches, William's daughter,
held his land in Great Milton. (fn. 151) She brought
Chislehampton to the Camoys family by her marriage with Thomas lord Camoys (d. 1421), (fn. 152) and in
1416 her son Sir Richard Camoys put it in trust for
his wife Joan Poynings. (fn. 153) On his death shortly after,
it was released to Joan with remainders to their sons,
John, Ralph, and Hugh. (fn. 154) By 1421 Hugh was the
sole survivor. (fn. 155) He died in 1426, still under age, and
his sisters, Margaret wife of Ralph Radmylde of
Sussex and Eleanor wife of Sir Roger Lewknor of
Trotton (Suss.), were his heirs. (fn. 156)
The Radmylde moiety was held by Ralph
Radmylde, who survived his wife, and on his death
in 1443 (fn. 157) he was succeeded by his son Robert (d.
1457). (fn. 158) Robert's heir was his only son William, then
a minor, and the estate seems to have been put in
trust. (fn. 159) William died without legitimate children in
1499, (fn. 160) when his aunts, Margaret and Isabella
Radmylde, were his heirs. (fn. 161) It is probable, however,
that by this time some arrangement had been made
with the Lewknors, as was the case with other
Radmylde manors, (fn. 162) and that the Radmylde moiety
had been taken over by them.
Sir Roger Lewknor, the husband of the coheir in
1426, died possessed of his moiety of the Camoys
lands in 1478. (fn. 163) His heir was his son Sir Thomas
Lewknor, who was an influential supporter of the
Lancastrians in Sussex. (fn. 164) Before Sir Thomas's
death in 1484 his estates were taken into the king's
hands for high treason, but his son Sir Roger
Lewknor was allowed to hold them during his
father's lifetime. (fn. 165) In 1498 Sir Roger leased for 60
years 'a certain manor or farm called Cames' in
Chislehampton to John Wilmott, a member of the
rising class of Oxfordshire yeomen. (fn. 166) Later Sir
Roger granted the manor to Edmund Dudley for
life and on Dudley's attainder in 1510 the manor
again came into the king's hands. (fn. 167) Sir Roger, however, recovered it, for in 1541–2 he granted the
reversion of certain estates, including the Chislehampton one, to Sir William Barentine of Haseley,
who had married his daughter Jane, widow of Sir
Arthur Poole. (fn. 168) On Sir Roger's death in 1543 his
heirs disputed the arrangement made with Sir
William Barentine and an Act was required to settle
Sir Roger's estates. (fn. 169) Sir William Barentine (d.
1550) secured the Chislehampton property for
himself with remainder to his son Drew. (fn. 170) Drew
Barentine held the manor by 1567, (fn. 171) but it seems to
have come eventually to a descendant of Sir William
Barentine's daughter Mary, who with her sister
Margaret is said ultimately to have succeeded to the
Barentine estates. (fn. 172) Mary had married Anthony
Huddleston of Millom (Cumb.) (fn. 173) and it may be that
the marriage of a Frances Huddleston to Sir Michael
Molyns of Clapcot (Berks.) (fn. 174) accounts for Camoys
manor passing to the Molyns family. In 1615 Sir
Michael died possessed of 'Chislehampton manor'
and a capital messuage called Camoys court (said to
be in Dorchester parish) with appurtenances in
Chislehampton. (fn. 175) His son and heir, significantly
called Barentine, had been succeeded in other lands
by his own son Sir Michael Molyns by 1631. (fn. 176)
From this point the descent of Camoys manor is not
clear, but it eventually came to the Doyleys, who
held the Beke manor in Chislehampton. Sir John
Doyley is said to have purchased a farm in the parish
about 1673–4, (fn. 177) and the Camoys lands were evidently included in the estates sold to Charles Peers
in 1748. (fn. 178)
Other Estates.
The Bishop of Lincoln held
some land in Chislehampton in demesne. His estate
was probably included under his 90-hide Dorchester
estate in Domesday Book, but there is no specific
mention of it until the 13th century when it comprised some 10 virgates let to various tenants. (fn. 179) This
property followed the descent of his Dorchester
manor and was one of the estates surrendered to the
king by Henry Holbeach, Bishop of Lincoln. (fn. 180) It
passed, like other members of the Dorchester manor,
to the Norreys family and later to the Earls of
Abingdon. (fn. 181) In the 18th and early 19th centuries the
Peers family, lords of the other Chislehampton
manor, paid a freehold rent of £5 12s. 8d. to the
earls of Abingdon for the Chislehampton estate. (fn. 182)
When the Abingdon estates were broken up, (fn. 183) they
probably purchased this rent charge.
Some time before 1271 Laurence de Chislehampton, lord of Chislehampton, granted 2 carucates and a messuage, practically the whole of his
Chislehampton fee, to the Abbot of Dorchester, who
gave them to Geoffrey de Lewknor. (fn. 184) In 1269
Geoffrey de Lewknor had obtained a confirmation
from Master Moses, a Jew of Oxford, of his right to
a meadow in Chislehampton, (fn. 185) a transaction which
was possibly connected with the debts of Laurence
of Chislehampton to the Jews. (fn. 186) Geoffrey de
Lewknor was still tenant in 1279; (fn. 187) in 1315 John
de Lewknor sold his holding of 7 messuages and 9
virgates to Robert de Harewedon, who was buying
up other property in Chislehampton. (fn. 188) There is no
further reference to the Abbot of Dorchester's overlordship. (fn. 189)
Economic and Social History. (fn. 190)
Chislehampton does not appear as an entity in Domesday
Book. It was apparently partly surveyed under
William FitzAnsculf's fee of 'Hunesworde', (fn. 191) and
the remainder, which was a part of the Bishop of
Lincoln's Dorchester manor, was not surveyed
separately, but was included in the survey of his
59¾-hide demesne. On the FitzAnsculf fee in 1086
there was land for 5 ploughs: there were 2 in
demesne and 8 villani had 1½ between them. There
were 20 acres of meadow and a mill rendering 8s.
The total value was £4, the same as in pre-Conquest
times. (fn. 192)
A survey of the bishop's demesne in his Dorchester
manor, made in the second quarter of the 13th
century, records 10 virgaters at Chislehampton, each
of whom paid 5s. 6d. rent. A virgater owed 3 plough
services and had to cut hay with 1 man for 3 days
until the ninth hour and to gather and cart it until
the task was finished. He had to mow for 3 days with
2 men and for ¼-day with 1 man at his own expense,
and was to be present for 2 of the bishop's autumn
boon-works with all his family and tenants, except
his wife. He had to carry corn with one cart until it
was all carried and take it to Oxford and Wallingford
whence, if the bishop wished, it could be shipped to
London. He was also to carry the bishop's provisions to Oxford, Wallingford, and to all the nearer
episcopal manors, and was to be allowed food when
the bishop was there. When necessary he was to go
to Oxford and Wallingford for the bishop's provisions and to carry corn to Kirtlington cum equo et
sacco suo. He was to carry timber to the bishop's
grange from any place where it could be acquired,
as well as 1½ cartloads of wood, towards the cost of
which he was to give 2d. Whenever the bishop came
on the feast of St. Martin or Hock Day he was to
provide forage, half hay and half straw, for one of
the bishop's horses. He owed merchet, heriot,
leirwite, a fine on his father's death, and aids when
called for by the bishop. (fn. 193)
In 1279 there were still 10 virgaters, but the rent
of a virgate had fallen to 5s. and the services, where
they can be compared, seem to have changed
slightly. Each virgater who had a plough was to
plough 2 acres of the lord's demesne. He had to cut
and carry hay until the task was done; to find 2 men
to mow for 3 days without food and for 2 days with
food provided by the bishop; and to carry hay and
corn until it was all carried. He was not to marry his
daughter, nor to sell his ox or foal, without licence.
He was to carry corn to Fingest (Bucks.), which was
part of Dorchester manor, and to the markets at
Oxford and Wallingford, and either to cart wood or
to pay 4d. (fn. 194)
On the former FitzAnsculf fee Geoffrey de
Lewknor had at this time 2 carucates and 5 tenants,
who held 5 virgates in villeinage and paid 25s. rent
with all customary services, while Laurence de
Chislehampton held 1 messuage, a virgate, and part
of the River Thame by 'Sepwas' weir. Lawrence de
Louches also held part of the river, a messuage, and
1 virgate (the later Camoise farm). (fn. 195)
In 1306 16 persons were taxed in the parish, but
all except one were assessed at the low rate of 2s. and
under. (fn. 196) The 1344 assessment of £3 0s. 3d. was the
fourth highest in the hundred and may be compared
with that of £1 17s. 9d. for Stadhampton, which had
a slightly larger population. (fn. 197)
An account for the period 31 January–10 June
1322 has survived for that part of Chislehampton
which belonged to the Louches fee (i.e. Camoys
manor), then in the king's hand. (fn. 198) The assize rents
and farm of the mill amounted to £1 18s. 2d. and
the stock was sold for nearly £60. The livestock
fetched over £18 and included 5 cart horses, a bull,
and 14 oxen. The grain and bean crops were sold for
£26 4s., while two iron-shod carts realized 20s., two
dung carts 5s., and two ploughs with their equipment 10s. The fish in the stewpond were valued at
£4. A century later (1443) this estate was worth
£5 6s. 8d. a year and included 80 acres of arable
valued at 4d. an acre, 10 acres of meadow at 1s. 4d.,
and 60 of land at 6d. an acre. The free tenants paid
6s. 8d. a year and the assize rents amounted to
£1 2s. 8d. (fn. 199) In 1422 the rents of the other chief estate
in Chislehampton, the Beke manor, (fn. 200) amounted to
£7 5s. 10d.; crops of wheat, rye, barley and pulse
were grown, and some wheat and barley was sold at
Oxford and Watlington. The sale of stock produced
£10 15s. 3d. and included 9 oxen, cows, calves, pigs,
hens, and a boar. (fn. 201)
There was some engrossment of holdings during
the early Tudor period. In 1517 William Cottesmore
held two farms, one called le pasture of Chessyllyngton, as trustee of John Wilmott, whose father seems
to have combined them. (fn. 202) A further indication of the
increasing concentration of wealth is the small number of nine contributors to the subsidy of 1524 and
the amalgamation of virgates in the Dorchester
manor: in 1551 four copyholders held its 10 virgates. (fn. 203)
At this date the rents of this estate amounted to
£5 9s. 8d. or about 11s. a virgate. With each yardland went the right to pasture 30 sheep, 2 beasts,
and 4 horses, a total of 360 animals. There were 203
trees recorded. (fn. 204)
The earliest map of Chislehampton, dated 1638,
shows that the Doyley lands (i.e. the former FitzAnsculf lands) that lay to the north of Abingdon
Lane and comprised 507 acres in Chislehampton
and 149 in Chippinghurst were inclosed. (fn. 205) In 1694
Sir John Doyley altered some of the inclosed fields
so as to make two new closes of 46 acres together
and a coppice of 13 acres. (fn. 206) The southern part of the
parish, comprising the Camoys lands, was inclosed
very possibly after they had been acquired by the
Doyleys about the 1670's when Stadhampton was
inclosed. (fn. 207) John Doyley is said, about 1673, to have
divided a common meadow with a fence, to have
diverted the ancient way to it, and to have taken its
first mowth, which the Shirley family claimed to have
enjoyed for 100 years as an appurtenance of a yardland in Toot Baldon. (fn. 208) The proposal made by Charles
Peers in 1743 that local inquiry should be made as
to whether 'Sheephouse Leaze' had ever formed
part of the common field suggests also that inclosure
was of a comparatively recent date. It was supposed
presumably that there were old men alive who would
remember the layout of the pre-inclosure fields. (fn. 209)
In 1746 when Thomas Browne made his survey
the whole of Chislehampton, together with part of
Chippinghurst in Cuddesdon, formed a compact
estate 'all entirely together and within a hedge'. It
comprised 1,027 acres, its gross annual value was
£1,284 (£1,149 7s. net), and its estimated worth
£29,000. (fn. 210) There were 9 tenants of more than 40
acres; the remaining 2 held less than 10 acres apiece.
The largest farm was that of Henry Swell, an 'extraordinary good tenant', who occupied 192 acres (later
233) and whose farmhouse was 'new built all of
stone and tiled'. Camoise Court farm, with 188 acres
in the south of the parish, was leased to Jonathan
Betteridge, 'a slovenly bad husband'. The buildings
were in a bad state, two of the barns needed to be
pulled down, and £200 was the estimated cost of the
necessary repairs. Another tenant farmed 86 acres,
lived in part of Chislehampton Hall, as the great
house was called, and occupied a stable, cowhouse,
and hogyard there. There were twelve cottages, a
dove-house well stocked with pigeons and let for
£5 a year, and a kiln which provided bricks for the
estate from clay dug in the neighbouring ground.
There were 635 acres of pasture, 86 of meadow, and
258 of arable. (fn. 211) The preponderance of grass probably continued throughout the century, for the
amount of good grass under dairy at Chislehampton
was the chief comment made by Arthur Young. (fn. 212)
The meadow and pasture was leased in 1748 for
between £1 10s. and £1 17s. 6d. an acre, the arable
for between 17s. 6d. and £1 an acre. (fn. 213) Some farms
were entirely pasture and only Camoise Court had
appreciably more arable than grazing land. (fn. 214) This
farm also carried a large amount of livestock, and in
1776 there were 136 beasts, including 18 cows, 38
ewes and lambs, 24 wethers, 3 rams, and 20 hogs. (fn. 215)
It had probably recovered from its former neglected
state, for in 1774 the lessee, Paul Smith, had agreed
to repair the house and barns, being allowed rough
timber for the purpose. In 1776 it was leased to
Thomas Cooper at an increased rent. The tenant
was to pay £5 for every acre of grass ploughed without the lord's consent and to permit entry on the
Lady Day before the expiration of the lease for the
ploughing up as a regular summer fallow of a
quarter of the arable land. He had also to bring back
every year from Shillingford for the lord three
wagon loads of coal, each of 1¼ cauldrons, at his own
expense. (fn. 216)
There were only 30 acres of woodland in the 18th
century, (fn. 217) but it was of considerable value. Most of
it lay in the Great Coppice which John Doyley had
made in 1694. In 1746 this coppice consisted of 22
acres well planted with ash stems and laid out as a
pleasure ground, the underwood being worth about
£150. (fn. 218) Contemporary plans show that it was
divided into 32 plots with intervening walks. These
were cut in intervals between 1748 and 1764, either
for the lord's use, or for sale. As many as 500 poles
might be cut from a single plot and sold for 6d. to
2s. each. (fn. 219) There were also two much smaller coppices and a number of other trees. (fn. 220) When cutting
hedges the tenants had to preserve all oak, ash, and
elm trees. (fn. 221) Browne valued the timber on the estate
at £1,000, but two years later (1748) another surveyor considered it to be worth £2,316. (fn. 222)
In 1703 the fishing rights in the Thame from
Wickham's Weir in Cuddesdon parish (fn. 223) to the hedge
dividing the parish from Drayton field, a distance
of over 2 miles, passed with the manor. (fn. 224) Browne
noted that the fishery was said to be worth £10 a
year, but declared that on account of the weirs the
expenses on such large estates were always greater
than the profits. (fn. 225) In 1781 the fishery was leased to
William Wigginton for £9 a year, the lord and his
friends having liberty to fish. The lord was to be
supplied with eels of a good size at 7d. a pound, and
other fish at market price. (fn. 226)
Between 1795 and 1817 the Court of Sewers made
assessments on 48 acres of meadow, valued at either
35s. or 40s. an acre, which were liable to floods. The
court ordered the erection of a sluice near the weir,
and in 1800 the new gates were found to be of a
proper width and the masons were completing their
work. At this time, too, the river bed was cleansed
throughout the parish. (fn. 227)
As in the county generally, the trend during the
19th century was towards the formation of larger
farms. In 1886 there were five, two of which, Marylands and Camoise Court, contained more than 300
acres each. The total acreage of the estate was 897
and the gross estimated rental £1,649 5s. 7d. (fn. 228) The
chief crops were wheat, barley, oats, and beans, but
much of the land was pasture. (fn. 229) On that account the
severe drought of 1893 was a serious matter, for the
tenants had no grass for cattle grazing and none to
mow for the winter feed. (fn. 230) In 1927 the estate was
still in the possession of a single owner. There were
four tenant farmers, three of whom farmed more
than 100 acres each. The principal tenant farmed
Church, Lower, and Hill farms, totalling 302 acres. (fn. 231)
The income from the estate was £1,396. (fn. 232) In 1959
the process of amalgamation had been carried still
further and the parish was farmed by Mr. Peers and
two other farmers.
Chislehampton, despite its greater area, has
always been less populous than neighbouring Stadhampton. The 1524 subsidy roll listed only 9 persons there, as against 24 in Stadhampton, (fn. 233) and in
1676 there were 53 adults, compared with 85 in the
other parish. (fn. 234) There is no accurate assessment of
population until 1801 when the Census recorded
128 inhabitants. Numbers rose during the early
19th century to a peak of 153 in 1841, but thereafter
declined to 85 in 1901. This trend has been reversed
during the 20th century and the number of inhabitants rose from 136 in 1931 to 153 in 1951. (fn. 235)
Church.
Chislehampton church in the Middle
Ages was a chapelry of Dorchester and probably had
the same original status as the five other chapels,
including Stadhampton, confirmed to Dorchester
in the papal bull of 1146. Little is known, however,
of the early history of the church and as in the postReformation period Chislehampton was regarded
as a chapelry of Stadhampton, it has been found
convenient to combine its history with that of
Stadhampton. (fn. 236)
The present church at Chislehampton, dedicated
to ST. KATHERINE, is a small 18th-century structure of stone, built by Charles Peers, the lord of the
manor. It is a single rectangular room without
structural division between nave and chancel, but
the importance of the altar is emphasized by a recess
in the east wall. The exterior is ornamented by
carved stone urns and at the west end there is a
clock-turret surmounted by a weather-vane pierced
with the name of St. Katherine. There are three
large round-headed windows on the south side, but
none on the north or at the ends. Samuel Dowbiggin,
the London architect who built Chislehampton
House, may possibly have been employed to design
the church. (fn. 237) The new building replaced a medieval
chapel dedicated to St. Mary, which was first
mentioned in 1146 and was situated by the river,
close to the old manor-house. (fn. 238) Seventeenth-century
presentments (1623–1706) record that the chapel
was in a good state of repair, (fn. 239) but in 1763 when
Peers petitioned the peculiar court of Dorchester for
permission to pull it down he described it as being
in 'so ruinous and decayed a condition that the
inhabitants cannot assemble for worship without
manifest hazard (to) their lives.' (fn. 240) The new church
was erected out of the old materials about 200 yards
west of the original church and had a churchyard
attached; previously burials had taken place at
Stadhampton. (fn. 241) It was consecrated by the Bishop
of Oxford in 1763. (fn. 242)
The 18th-century church.
In 1846 this 18th-century church was characteristically described by J. H. Parker, a Gothic
revivalist, as being in spite of its neat and trim
appearance 'a sad instance of departure from all the
proprieties of church architecture'. Its bell-turret
was said to be 'such as is usually placed on stables'. (fn. 243)
The church was renovated in 1882 and in 1894 the
bell-turret was restored and the roof raised at a cost
of £165, (fn. 244) but these restorations did not destroy its
character and it remains one of the few complete
Georgian churches in the county. The interior has
preserved its Georgian woodwork, high box pews,
western gallery, altar rails, and carved altar-piece
with the Lord's prayer, the Creed, and the Decalogue. The altar rails are returned westwards on
either side, with seats for children behind. It is
not known whether they were intended for use by
communicants. (fn. 245) The elaborately carved pulpit is
Jacobean and must have come from the old church,
but it is reached by a Georgian staircase and has the
18th-century reading-desk and clerk's seat below it.
The font is contemporary with the church building
and a space on the opposite side of the aisle has been
left where the christening party might stand. (fn. 246)
In 1952 an appeal was made for £3,000 to restore
the church and verses in aid of the appeal were composed by John Betjeman. By 1954 the extensive
repairs advised by the architect, Oswald Brakspear,
were completed. All the windows were releaded and
one of the angleposts of the bell-turret was renewed.
The exterior and interior plaster was renewed and
the whole redecorated. The clock face which carries
the date 1762 was painted light blue and gold by
John Piper. The rafters of the roof, exposed in the
19th century, were again concealed by a coved
plaster ceiling. (fn. 247) Concealed electric lighting was
inserted in the pews in 1956, (fn. 248) but the church is
still lit mainly by candle light: there are three hanging brass candelabra, of which one is dated 1899,
and wall brackets given by Sir Charles Peers some
time after 1908. (fn. 249)
There are a number of memorials to the Peers
family. They include one to Charles Peers, Esq.
(d. 1781), the builder of the church, and to his three
wives, two of whom were buried in the family vault
in the church. The arms and crest of Peers are
depicted on the monument. There are tablets to
Robert Peers (d. 1818), son and heir of Charles and
Katherine Peers; to Charles Peers, D.C.L. (d. 1853),
heir of Robert; to John Witherington Peers (d. 1876),
for 34 years Vicar of Tetsworth; to John Witherington Peers, who died at Wendover in 1891; and one
designed by Frederick Etchells to Sir Charles Reed
Peers (d. 1952), surveyor of Westminster Abbey,
and his wife (d. 1953). (fn. 250) Sir Charles was buried in
the Islip Chapel, Westminster Abbey, and his wife
in Chislehampton churchyard.
A tablet commemorates those who died in the two
world wars. The only stained glass in the church is
the Peers arms and crest, executed by Kaye &
Pemberton in 1953 for the patron and lord of the
manor, Mr. Charles Peers.
The church is notable for its fine service of silvergilt comprising a pair of chalices with paten covers,
a pair of enormous tankard flagons, an almsplate,
and a small salver, all with inscriptions surrounding
coats of arms. On the drum of each flagon is engraved
the arms of Peers surmounted by a crest; the inscription on one denoting that it was the gift of the French
church, and on the other of the Dutch church in
London, to Sir Charles Peers in 1716. Both flagons
are also inscribed to the effect that they were presented by the son and surviving family of the late
Sir Charles Peers to St. Katherine's Church on
Easter Day, 1767, and the names of all these descendants living at that date are inscribed on the base of
each vessel. The rest of the plate was given by
Katherine Peers, the wife of Charles Peers (d. 1781).
It is dated 1749 and must have been given to the old
church soon after the family's arrival in the parish. (fn. 251)
The registers date from 1763. Previously entries
for Chislehampton were made in the Stadhampton
register (1556–1762), (fn. 252) of which John Bilstone made
two copies for the new Chislehampton church. (fn. 253)
There are two bells, neither of great antiquity.
The old church also had two bells in 1553. (fn. 254)
The churchyard is entered by a contemporary
stone gateway. (fn. 255)
Nonconformity.
See under Stadhampton,
below, p. 91.
Schools.
See under Stadhampton, below, p. 92.
Charities.
None known.