DRAYTON ST. LEONARD
The ancient parish covered 1,288 acres, (fn. 1) but its area
was slightly increased in the 1870's as a consequence
of the Divided Parishes Acts (1876–1882), and was
given in the Census of 1891 as 1,301 acres. (fn. 2) The
increase is to be accounted for by the inclusion in the
parish of Woodmead, the riverside pasture opposite
the village, where there had been for centuries several
small detached parts of the neighbouring parishes of
Newington and Warborough as well as of Benson,
Berrick Salome, (fn. 3) and Ewelme, which presumably
represented early intercommoning arrangements. (fn. 4)
Most of the parish lies in a large bend of the River
Thame which forms the parish boundary for about
2 miles and separates Drayton from Warborough.
Neither the western boundary with Dorchester nor
the northern boundary with Chislehampton is
marked by any distinctive features. About 300 acres
of Drayton, Holcombe Grange, lie on the opposite
side of the river.
Except at Holcombe Grange the underlying Gault
Clay is generally covered with gravel (fn. 5) and the parish
is remarkably flat, the highest point (244 ft.) being on
Primrose Hill south of the river.
Apart from the trees of the village, the riverside,
and Holcombe Grange, the only woodland is the
copse to the north-west of the village and this is
recent: it is not shown on the Tithe Award map of
1841 or the Ordnance Survey map of 1881. (fn. 6) Holcombe Grange is better wooded than the rest of the
parish and its timber is mentioned several times in the
visitations made by the President and Fellows of
Trinity College, Oxford. In 1769 298 elms and ashes
were cut leaving 2,290 trees standing. In 1811 the
timber was reported to be in bad order and arrange
ments were made for the felling of about 900 trees. (fn. 7)
In the 14th century 'le Hurst de Draytone' is mentioned and this is probably the same as the meadow
to the north-east of the village, which in 1841 was
called the Hurst. (fn. 8) This suggests that the meaning
here was not 'wood' but 'bank'.
The meadows along the river are liable to flooding
and the fields of Drayton are traversed by many
small watercourses and ditches the 'scouring' of
which, or rather the failure to do so, was one of the
main concerns of the manorial court in the 17th and
18th centuries. (fn. 9)
Two metalled roads lead out of the village, one
to Stadhampton across Haywards Bridge, the other
west to Dorchester and Burcot. There are also two
unmetalled roads, one leading to Chislehampton, the
other across the river to Warborough and Newington. (fn. 10) The river was formerly crossed by two fords.
The lower of these, by the village, remains unbridged but the other, Haywards, was bridged in 1884
by public subscription. (fn. 11) Before that there seems to
have been a footbridge at this ford, certainly in
1841. (fn. 12) There have been at least two other footbridges. The one that remains, just above Lower
Grange Farm, is a replacement of the bridge marked
at the same place in 1767. (fn. 13) The other, just above the
ford, was built after 1897 and was washed away after
1948. (fn. 14)
The village stands on the right bank of the river
about 2 miles north-east of Dorchester. Its double
name of Drayton St. Leonard first appears in the
Post Office Directory of 1847. (fn. 15) Formerly it had been
called Drayton by Wallingford. The new name, a
natural one to adopt as the church was dedicated to
St. Leonard, has been regularly used since 1847.
The village covers a large area for the number of
its houses. Apart from the eight council houses built
since 1945, (fn. 16) most of Drayton lies between the church
and the river. There are a remarkable number of old
houses. At least fifteen were built in the 16th or 17th
centuries, although in some cases there have been
extensive later alternations and additions. The Hearth
Tax returns of 1665 list 16 houses with 1 to 7 hearths,
5 of them having 5 hearths or more. (fn. 17) Most of the old
cottages are timber-framed buildings with brick
filling, and several are still thatched. The oldest seems
to be the 16th-century Garden Cottage by the river
south-east of Drayton Manor Farm, but its neighbour, Little Garden Cottage, or Back Cottage, is not
much more recent. Other cottages that are particularly worth noting are no. 10 Water Lane, the cottage
in the lane south of the former Rectory, Ford Cottage, White Cottage with its five small dormers which
in 1841 was divided into three, (fn. 18) and a little north of it
a cottage with some herringbone brick infilling. Some,
like Waterside House Cottage, now called Red Tile
Cottage, have old tile roofs. Although timber frame
with brick filling is the commonest type of structure
for the older cottages there are a few in stone. With
the exception of Waterside House and the Old
Rectory all the larger houses in the village are, or
were formerly, farmhouses. The two farms in the
modern village have houses that were greatly extended in the 19th century. But while Drayton
Manor Farm is an enlargement of an old but not
very distinguished building, Drayton House Farm
is an enlargement of a well-proportioned early-18thcentury house of which a chimney stack and a finely
panelled room survive. Between these farmhouses is
a house, now divided in two, which was formerly
called Drayton Farm although it now takes its name,
Guys, from a tenant J. H. Guy, who farmed from it
in the early part of the 20th century. (fn. 19) It is a timberframed brick building on a rubble base. The White
House, also a farmhouse in the mid-19th century, is
stone built and consists of a 17th-century block with
a wing added in the 18th century. Ford Cottage, a
house south of White House which has since disappeared although some of the farm buildings have
survived, and Manor Cottage (formerly Nutts) were
also farmhouses in 1841. Waterside House was in
1841 a private house and consists of a 16th –-17thcentury house with modern additions. Its south wall
is substantially built of stone but the rest of the old
house is timber framed with brick filling. It has fine
stone fireplaces, probably 17th century, on the
ground and first floors. Opposite its main front there
is a large yew tree. The Rectory, now a private house
called 'Furlongs', was built by the Revd. A. J.
Williams in 1862 at a cost of more than £1,200 and
was later enlarged. (fn. 20) There are clear traces of an
earlier building, shown on the Tithe award Map,
but this was not the earlier curate's house, which
stood on the road south of the church. (fn. 21)
The oldest and most interesting secular structure
in the village is the barn which is alternatively called
the Haseley Barn, because it was formerly owned by
the Great Haseley Trustees, and the Tithe Barn,
although there is no evidence, other than its age, to
support such a title. It is a timber-framed, weatherboarded building of six bays with a hipped and tiled
roof which is carried down over aisles on all four
sides. This barn is certainly no later than the 15th
century and may have been built towards the end of
the 14th. There are several groups of fine farm
buildings, some thatched, the most noteworthy being
those of Drayton House Farm, Drayton Manor
Farm and the cart-shed opposite the White House.
In Holcombe Grange there are two outlying farms,
and there were houses on these sites in 1597. In a
survey of that year Lower Grange Farm is called the
site or capital house of Holcombe Grange. (fn. 22) The
present house is a timber-framed brick building on
a base of stone and brick. To the north a very large
stone chimney projects and either side of this there
are fine windows, including one of eighteen lights
under a pent tile overhang. This house, in many
ways the most interesting in the parish, also has a
very good south porch and a 17th-century staircase.
Upper Grange Farm is basically a 17th-century
building, and has a 17th-century panelled hall. Until
it was recently covered there was a dated stone
visible bearing the date 1668.
The topography of the village can first be studied
in the Tithe Award Map of 1841, and thereafter with
the aid of Ordnance Survey maps and the numerous
sale catalogues, it would be possible to trace in detail
most of the changes in the layout of the village.
Before the 19th century it is not possible to do this.
There are occasional mentions of particular houses,
for example Mr. Yates's house called Pawlings,
mentioned in 1574, (fn. 23) which cannot now be identified.
Nor is it possible to identify the fields and lands
mentioned in early deeds and surveys, although the
Tithe Award map gives many names. Among those
which can be traced back are Lower Shilfield Furlong, which is almost certainly the 14th-century
under schulfull, (fn. 24) and Waterslade which occurs in this
form in the 15th century. The village and its fields
were in the 17th and 18th centuries divided into two
Ends: the eastern part was Town End, the western
was Farm End. In the Tithe Award the riverside
meadows above the village are described as Town
End Mead and those below the village were called
Farm End Mead. (fn. 25) In the early 17th century the
'whole farme end of Drayton' was presented for
failure to observe the ancient custom of perambulation (fn. 26) and in 17th- and 18th-century leases lands
and houses are often described as being in Town
End or Farm End. (fn. 27)
There are two public houses in the village, the
'Catherine Wheel' and the 'Three Pigeons'. In 1841
the only licensed house was the 'Catherine Wheel', (fn. 28)
which was then in what is now called Garden Cottage. In 1805 this house was insured as the 'Catherine
Wheel'. (fn. 29) Some time after 1841 the licence and
name were transferred to what in 1841 was the
smithy, and this was probably done by William
Townsend who in 1847–8 was both blacksmith and
licensee of the 'Catherine Wheel'. (fn. 30) The modern
house replaced a group of old cottages of which an
illustration survives. (fn. 31)
Manors.
Drayton was not mentioned by name in
Domesday Book but formed part of the Bishop of
Lincoln's 90-hide estate of Dorchester. (fn. 32) The
bishops subinfeudated part of Drayton, but retained part in demesne. (fn. 33) Throughout the Middle
Ages they treated their DRAYTON demesne as
part of their Dorchester manor. In 1547 Drayton
was surrendered to the crown with other members
of this manor (fn. 34) and a crown survey of the manor in
1551 included 31 yardlands in Drayton. (fn. 35) The estate
remained part of Dorchester manor under the
bishops' successors. (fn. 36) In the 17th century the courts
baron of Dorchester manor were attended by Drayton homagers, (fn. 37) and 18th-century surveys of the
Dorchester manor of the earls of Abingdon included
land in Drayton. (fn. 38) At the end of the 18th century
and in the 19th century the Abingdon estate in Drayton was described as Drayton manor. (fn. 39) It followed
Dorchester's descent and was purchased in 1876 by
Sir John Christopher Willoughby of Baldon. (fn. 40)
Drayton manor was sold again in 1916 (fn. 41) but thereafter manorial rights appear to have lapsed.
A second manor in Drayton, the later HOLCOMBE GRANGE, can be traced back to the
holding of the Burcot family, (fn. 42) who were tenants of
1 knight's fee held of the Bishop of Lincoln in the
12th and 13th centuries. Nicholas son of Bartholomew (fn. 43) held the fee in 1201. A Nicholas de Burcot,
perhaps the same man, held it in 1212 (fn. 44) and either
he or a son was tenant and concerned in transactions
over Drayton land in the 1220's. (fn. 45) Another Nicholas
de Burcot, presumably a descendant, was in possession in 1279, when the fee was described as being in
Drayton, Holcombe, and Clifton. (fn. 46) John de Burcot,
his son, succeeded, but by 1346 the Abbot of Dorchester was returned as tenant of the fee. (fn. 47)
The abbey had been under-tenant of most of the
holding in 1279, when it held 4 virgates in Holcombe
and 2 virgates in Drayton for scutage, and was undertenant of the ½-fee with 3 others who were to pay
scutage to the abbot when it was demanded. (fn. 48) The
abbey still held the estate at the time of the Dissolution, when its property in Holcombe was known as
Holcombe Grange manor. (fn. 49) By 1538 the manor had
been granted to Sir Thomas Pope who used it to
endow his foundation, Trinity College, Oxford. (fn. 50)
Most of the estate remained in the possession of
Trinity College up to recent times. As lords of
Holcombe Grange manor the president and fellows
licensed a gamekeeper in 1808, (fn. 51) and in 1826 their
lessee, Thomas Gilbert White, was described as lord
of the manor. (fn. 52) Later records make no mention of
manorial rights. The farms seem always to have been
leased by the college. (fn. 53)
The most important estate in Drayton apart from
the Abingdon estate was that acquired at the end of
the 14th century by Nicholas Drayton (d. by 1402). (fn. 54)
It was known in the 15th century as DRAYTON
manor. (fn. 55) Nicholas Drayton was either the same as or
a close connexion of Nicholas le Naper of Drayton
who in 1362 acquired the estate of John Sheepwash
in Drayton, Baldon, and Clifton. (fn. 56) The connexion
between Nicholas le Naper of Drayton and Nicholas
Drayton is supported by the association of both with
Sir Hugh Segrave. (fn. 57) Nicholas Drayton's younger son
Nicholas succeeded. (fn. 58) He had a daughter Elizabeth
who married Peter Idle, a minor civil servant. (fn. 59) In
1442 Peter Idle and Elizabeth were granted all the
estates in Drayton that had been possessed by her
father Nicholas. (fn. 60) This estate was augmented by
grants from Sir Richard Drayton, John Delabere,
and others. (fn. 61) In 1473 Peter Idle made a will in which
he directed his trustees to grant his property in
Drayton to his son William and his heirs with reversions to other children of his. (fn. 62) Peter died shortly
afterwards and in 1475 his son William petitioned
Chancery that his father's will be complied with and
that Drayton manor and property be conveyed to
him. (fn. 63) In November 1475 the trustees granted Drayton manor with all lands, &c., in Drayton to William
with reversions according to the will. (fn. 64) William's
step-mother Anne was provided for in Peter's will by
an annuity of 5 marks payable out of the estate at
Drayton and Dorchester, and she was also to have the
use of the parlour, chapel, chambers, and gardens
'within my place at Drayton' until she left them or
married. (fn. 65) She apparently found employment in the
household of Richard, Duke of Gloucester, as Mistress of the Nursery, and it was perhaps in 1479 that
the duke wrote to William Stonor and Humphrey
Forster asking them to see that William Idle and
Elizabeth his sister paid the annuity due to their
stepmother. (fn. 66) Peter Idle had an eldest son Thomas,
to whom his book of Instructions was addressed, but
neither he nor apparently any of his heirs is mentioned in Peter's will. Nevertheless, Thomas's son
Richard claimed, through his grandmother Elizabeth
Idle, all the property in Drayton that had once belonged to Elizabeth's father, Nicholas (II) Drayton. (fn. 67) Apparently this claim was successful, for in
1481 William Idle aided in person by the Duke of
Suffolk used force to eject Richard's mother Alice. (fn. 68)
Alice petitioned the King's Council for redress and
a Privy Seal writ was issued to restore Alice and
Richard to Drayton manor and to see that William
Idle appeared before the Council. (fn. 69) The outcome of
this dispute is unknown, but by 1489 the manor
seems to have been in the hands of Henry Dene of
Drayton. (fn. 70) In 1501 it was conveyed to John Yate of
Charney Basset (Berks.), (fn. 71) and remained with his
family during the 16th century. This estate was not
treated as a separate manor in later records, but as
part of Dorchester manor held in free socage. (fn. 72) In
1530 John Yate settled his Drayton estate on his wife
Alice and younger son Thomas. (fn. 73) Thomas (d. 1565)
was the founder of the Yate family of Lyford
(Berks.). (fn. 74) In the mid-16th century he was one of
the most substantial tenants in Drayton, paying
60s. 6d. rent for his land held of Dorchester manor; (fn. 75)
at his death in 1565 he held 4 yardlands copyhold as
well as about 200 acres, 9 yardlands called Drayton
Farm, freehold, (fn. 76) which was leased to Richard Pawling of Drayton. (fn. 77) Thomas Yate's son Francis succeeded him and seems to have lived in Drayton. (fn. 78)
By 1597, however, Francis's son Thomas had sold the
farm to a Robert Doyley of Hambleden (Bucks.)
and George Lazenby of Drayton. (fn. 79) They divided the
property in 1597. (fn. 80) The Doyley part (4 yardlands)
remained in their hands until the Civil Wars when
it was mortgaged and then sold about 1646. (fn. 81) The
property changed hands several times, but finally,
about 1651, it was purchased by the trustees of the
Haseley Poor Charity. (fn. 82) They continued to lease it
to various tenants (fn. 83) until they sold it after the
Second World War.
Economic and Social History.
Drayton's situation was probably determined by the ford
which must have been a convenient crossing of the
River Thame, especially before the river was bridged
at Dorchester. Its name implies something to do
with communications and may mean 'the tun where
things can be dragged across the river'. (fn. 84) It was
originally a subsidiary settlement of Dorchester and
in Domesday book was treated as part of the Bishop
of Lincoln's Dorchester manor. (fn. 85) Drayton is first
mentioned by name in 1146 as a chapelry of Dorchester. (fn. 86)
The main medieval estate in Drayton belonged to
the Bishop of Lincoln's Dorchester manor. The first
detailed information about it is in a survey made in
the second quarter of the 13th century. The bishop's
manor then included 23 virgates in Drayton that
were held by 18 villeins. Each virgate rendered
5s. 6d. to the bishop in lieu of week-work, the other
services owed being the same as those due from the
Chislehampton virgaters. (fn. 87) In addition to these
services which were general throughout the manor
most virgaters at Drayton had to plough an acre of
land, this service being called grascherch. (fn. 88) This
account may be compared with a mutilated survey of
1279 which shows that the bishop's manor then had
14 villein tenants holding between them 22 virgates. (fn. 89) In the earlier survey 5 villeins held 2 virgates each while in 1279 there were 8 holding 2
virgates each. (fn. 90) The services due from each virgate
in 1279 are described, and there seems to have been
no great change since the earlier, more detailed, survey. Each virgater had to plough 2 acres of the
bishop's demesne and at the critical times of the
year, haymaking and harvest, had to work for 2½
days on the bishop's land at his own expense and 2
days with food provided by the bishop. He had also
to cart hay and corn as long as necessary and when
required had to cart corn to market. No mention is
made of a money rent but this must be a mistake:
the commuted week-works had not been reimposed.
The virgaters were not freemen: they were unable to
arrange the marriage of their daughters or sell their
beasts without the bishop's consent. (fn. 91) The earlier
survey does not mention free tenants, but in 1279
4 tenants, holding 9 virgates between them, claimed
that their ancestors had been free sokemen, serving
the king in war for 40 days, but that the bishops had
withdrawn this service. They owed light boon-dues
and ploughed 2 acres if they had a whole plough.
They carried the bishop's letters for one day at their
own expense and afterwards at the bishop's. They had
also to attend Dorchester hundred court. One of
them, Walter son of Thomas, held 4 virgates and was
evidently a prosperous man with a shepherd and
with under-tenants. (fn. 92) A fifth free tenant held a
messuage and 1½ virgates for 7s. and suit at the
hundred court. (fn. 93) Both surveys mention a cottager
who owed 4s. a year for a fishery in the Thame. (fn. 94)
The estate of the bishop's knight Nicholas de
Burcot was also described. His 7½ virgates were held
by under-tenants. The Abbot of Dorchester was the
most important of these, as in the other villages to
which the De Burcots' fee extended. (fn. 95) The abbot
held Holcombe Grange (4 virgates), and several virgates in Drayton proper. Apart from the abbey the
most noteworthy tenants of Nicholas de Burcot's fee
were Luke le Naper and Robert Sheepwash, the
descendants of whom were prominent among the
tenants of the 14th century. (fn. 96) In 1327, when the total
assessment of Drayton was £4 0s. 10d., 25 people
contributed, ten of whom were assessed at 4s. or
more, including John Sheepwash and Nicholas le
Naper. (fn. 97) The most conspicuous of the taxpayers of
1327 was, however, John le Wise whose assessment
was 15s. He was probably a descendant of that
Richard Wise who appears in both the 13th-century
surveys as a virgater on the bishop's manor. (fn. 98)
Neither 13th-century survey described the
bishop's demesne in Drayton specifically, but it is
clear from the services owed that there must have
been a demesne and that its routine cultivation must
have been by hired labour. (fn. 99) The only known survey
of the demesne of this manor was made in 1348, when
the bishop's Dorchester manor, treated as a unit
throughout the whole hundred, was described. Very
few of the furlongs recorded can now be identified,
but at least 2 were in Drayton, 14 acres in the Hurst,
and 30 acres in Waterslade furlong. (fn. 100)
There is little evidence for the later Middle Ages,
but various surveys, made when Drayton passed out
of ecclesiastical hands, throw light on 16th-century
conditions. In 1536 the abbey's Drayton lands were
held by only 2 or 3 tenants, the largest holding being
in the hands of Richard Molyneux who paid £3 2s.
rent a year. (fn. 101) The abbey held 173 acres in Holcombe
in demesne, and these had clearly been inclosed in
the Middle Ages for sheep-farming. (fn. 102) In 1536 it was
stated that 160 acres there were 'partly grown with
thorns and fursens'. (fn. 103) Holcombe Grange was then
valued at £7 8s. 8d. a year, but after the Dissolution
the king's lessee paid £8 0s. 3d. (fn. 104) In 1597, when it
was in the possession of Trinity College, it was
divided into Upper and Lower Grange farms and
these two farmhouses were the only ones there. (fn. 105)
The bishop's former manor was surveyed in 1551,
when it was held by the Crown. There were 11
customary tenants, 9 of whom held 21 virgates. (fn. 106)
One of the others, Thomas Spyer, seems to have
held little land although his rent, 10s. 10d. was about
the sum due for a virgate. The remaining customary
tenant was Thomas Yate, the size of whose holding is
not given although his rent was 60s. 6d. (fn. 107) The total
rental from the customary tenants was £16 5s. 10d.
plus a 4d. fine paid by the tenant of 4 virgates for
licence to sublet. (fn. 108) Thus the Drayton estate constituted a fair proportion of the total rental of Dorchester manor, which was £76 3s. 10d. plus an increment of 60s. 6d. (fn. 109)
The survey of 1551 listed in detail the timber on
the manor: 424 trees on the Drayton estate; (fn. 110) it also
described the pasture rights: each of the 31 yardlands
was entitled to graze 30 sheep, 2 beasts, and 2 horses. (fn. 111)
The prosperity of the Drayton farmer in the 16th
century is indicated by the returns for the subsidies:
sixteen taxpayers contributed in 1523. (fn. 112) In 1577 the
total contribution was almost as great as that of
Dorchester itself and two farmers paid on £13 and
£19 worth of goods. (fn. 113) Richard Pawling, one of these,
farmed the 13 virgates of the Yates's Drayton farm,
much of it still open-field land. (fn. 114) Shortly after 1565
he had complained that the steward of the queen's
manor, Leonard Parret, who was also a tenant of the
manor, was overcharging the land with sheep and
had so tainted the ground that the previous winter
he, Pawling, had lost 9 sheep. (fn. 115) Pawling added
that Parret as steward was judge in his own cause
and 'yet utterly unlearned in the laws of the realm'. (fn. 116)
Several court books of the Dorchester manor
in Drayton for the 17th and early 18th centuries
have been preserved which reveal a little of the
working and customs of the manor. (fn. 117) Separate orders
were made for the two ends, Farm and Town, of
Drayton, and although most orders were concerning
the scouring of watercourses, there are also regulations about the ringing of hogs and pigs, surcharging
the common, and making mounds in the fields. In
1691 the staking of horses on Broad Green before
Whitsun was prohibited, as was the penning of sheep
on the wheat field after 20 October in 1704. In 1693
the digging of gravel at Church End was prohibited. (fn. 118)
The court books also throw a little light on the
various freeholds in the manor, no doubt deriving
from the estates of Dorchester Abbey and the Yate
family. (fn. 119) In 1641, for example, John Wise died
seized of 3 messuages of the Norreys manor and two
messuages freehold. (fn. 120) The 1665 hearth-tax return
shows that John Wise, assessed on 6 hearths, had
one of the largest farmhouses in the village. In that
year 10 out of 16 householders paid tax on houses
with 6 to 7 hearths. (fn. 121)
Evidence in the 18th century for the Drayton
estate of Dorchester manor is plentiful. It was then
held by tenants of the Earl of Abingdon. (fn. 122) In 1728
the earl had 10 tenants in Drayton, excluding one
holding of 2 acres, and between them they held 729
acres. (fn. 123) The largest holding was that of Henry Wise,
8½ yardlands (171 a.), but there were 3 other tenants
holding 111 acres, 122 acres, and 98 acres respectively. Of the remainder 3 held 40 acres or more, and
3 held less than 30 acres. (fn. 124) This may be compared
with a survey of 1785. (fn. 125) In this the earl's estate in
Drayton only measured 559 acres, the reduction of
170 acres since 1728 apparently being due to the loss
of the lands held then by Henry Wise, whose descendants certainly held about 130 acres freehold in
the 19th century. (fn. 126) In 1785 the earl had 7 tenants in
Drayton. The largest holdings were 151 acres and 131
acres. The two smaller holdings of 1728 (10 a. and
29 a.) remained intact, but the others were amalgamated so that the remaining three holdings were
between 74 and 84 acres. (fn. 127) The total rental for the
earl's land in Drayton was £555, the valuation being
16s. an acre for arable and 35s. an acre for meadow. (fn. 128)
In 1728 the surveyor reported that the land was good
and that the method of husbandry was two crops to
a fallow and that they wanted nothing so much as
rest by being laid down to grass for a season. (fn. 129) The
meadow land was said to be very good and usually
let for 30s. to 40s. an acre. (fn. 130)
Detailed valuation for tithes was made of the
whole parish, apart from Holcombe Grange, in 1799
by Richard Davis of Lewknor. (fn. 131) He reported that
the parish was rated at 44 yardlands, 24 at Town
End, 20 at Farm End, but that the area of each was
about equal, the size of the lands being slightly larger
at Farm End. The course of husbandry was then 3
crops to a fallow, namely wheat, beans, barley,
fallow. The arable of Town End was then divided
into four 'seasons', but retained the same names as
when formerly divided into three 'seasons', the total
measuring 461 field acres. Farm End measured 470
field acres. Davis remarked that the furlongs were
short and estimated the area as 620 statute acres.
The greater part of Drayton meadow was titheable
to Dorchester parish, the other part to Mrs. Ann
Ford, but the afterfeed belonged to Drayton parish.
He measured it as totalling 30 field acres (25 statute)
of which 24 were in Town End Mead. Stint of common was then 1½ cows and 30 sheep to each yardland
but less than half that quantity were then kept. The
Cow Commons were let at Town End for 15s. each,
and at Farm End for 10s. each. The sheep were
chiefly wether flocks. The tenant of the tithes provided two bulls for the use of the parish, one for each
end. The old inclosures contained about 36 acres of
which 16 were arable. His valuation was based on
the following crop acreages: wheat 155, beans 155,
barley 100, oats 55, clover in fallow field 40, and
open-field meadow 25 acres. An average of 120 lambs
was bred, 200 sheep sheared, and 30 cows kept. (fn. 132) A
survey of tithes made in 1812 estimated the common
field as 744 acres and recorded that the holdings of
the four main tenants ranged in size from 100 to 216
acres. (fn. 133) By this time Holcombe Grange was divided
into two farms according to a survey made in 1768,
although in 1750 the estate had been divided into
three farms. (fn. 134) A map and survey of 1767 shows that
Upper Grange farm was 189 acres, Lower Grange
farm 96 acres. (fn. 135) Almost the whole was meadow and
pasture; only 12 acres of Upper Grange farm in 1768
were tillage, although 50 years previously there had
been more. (fn. 136) The stock in 1768 on both farms consisted entirely of fatting sheep and milch cows for
butter. (fn. 137) In 1811 43 cows were milked on the two
farms; the butter made was sent to Wallingford
market. (fn. 138) Generally the Grange seems to have been
leased: in 1680 to Mary Spyer, widow; in 1700 to
Richard Jones, lessee for over 40 years; and in 1777
to George White of Newington. A Mr. White was
still lessee in 1816 and 1826. (fn. 139)
Drayton continued to be farmed by five or six
farmers during the first part of the 19th century. In
1785 there were 21 land proprietors and 20 occupiers
and owner-occupiers in the parish. (fn. 140) The two largest
farms, one of them Holcombe Upper Grange farm,
were each assessed for about a quarter of the total
tax. Six other farms had more moderate assessments
of between £4 and £11. Other inhabitants owned or
occupied premises assessed at under £1. (fn. 141) By 1816
several farmers had taken over other property and
most of the land was in the hands of six farmers. (fn. 142)
By 1832 there were four chief farmers. (fn. 143) In 1841
they had farms of 360 acres (i.e. Upper Grange
farm), 221 acres, 219 acres, and 217 acres. (fn. 144) By 1851
there were only three farmers of consequence:
Henry Betteridge farmed 350 acres and employed 31
labourers, Abraham Dean farmed 250 acres with 19
labourers, and John Smith of Holcombe Grange
farmed 600 acres with 35 labourers. (fn. 145) The main
landowners over this period were the Earl of Abingdon and Trinity College. (fn. 146) In 1844 the Drayton
estate of the Earl of Abingdon comprised some 541
acres. (fn. 147) Over half was held on grants for lives or
leases and brought in only £4 14s. 8d. a year; the
rest was held on a yearly basis, at rents amounting to
£356 18s. Much improvement was anticipated from
inclosure. (fn. 148)
Based on the tithe award and map (1841).
The Haseley Trust and the Betteridge and Wise
families owned smaller areas of 60 to 120 acres in
Drayton. (fn. 149) Shortly after inclosure in 1861 Henry
Betteridge purchased the Wise estate thus bringing
to an end their long history as landholders in Drayton. (fn. 150) It also marked a significant stage in the growth
of one of the main estates in 19th-century Drayton.
In 1875, when the Abingdon Estate was finally
offered for sale, Henry Betteridge farmed 260 acres
as tenant (fn. 151) as well as having extensive freehold
which when offered for sale in 1901 totalled 372
acres. (fn. 152)
The parish to the north of the river remained
open-field land up to the second half of the 19th
century. At the time of the tithe award in 1841 two-thirds (825 a.) of the parish was arable and just
under a third, much of it incorporated in Upper and
Lower Grange farms, was meadow and pasture. (fn. 153)
There were 7 acres of orchards and ozier beds and
37 acres of common. There were then seven fields; (fn. 154)
one of which, East Field, had been mentioned in the
17th century, (fn. 155) while West Field was the old Town
End division. The meadow land along the Thame
was divided into lots; Woodford Mead, as it was
called, was shared by the neighbouring parishes of
Ewelme, Benson, and Berrick, and Dorchester had
lots farther east. (fn. 156) The common was distributed
throughout the parish, but in 1841 it was said to be
privately owned by the Earl of Abingdon. (fn. 157)
In 1861 the whole parish was finally inclosed. As
lord of the manor the Earl of Abingdon received just
under 1½ acres, equivalent to 1/16 of the waste. He
also received the largest allotment of about 578 acres.
Three allottees received between 80 and 120 acres;
the six others received only one or two acres. (fn. 158)
No precise information about Drayton's population is available before the 19th century. In 1676 an
adult population of 128 was recorded by the Compton Census; in 1811 and 1851 there were 287 and
327 persons. After 1861 the population underwent
the decline usually found in Oxfordshire parishes,
and by 1901 there were 241 inhabitants. (fn. 159) This
trend continued in the early 20th century, but by
1951 numbers had risen from the 219 recorded in
1931 (fn. 160) , to 314 persons. (fn. 161)
No parish records have survived apart from some
churchwardens' accounts for 1641–81. (fn. 162) The only
information that has been found about parish government concerns expenditure on the poor. The poor
rate trebled over the years 1776 to 1803, rising
from £70 to £220, but the rate in 1803 was still
slightly below the county average of 4s. 8d. (fn. 163) In 1803
there were 12 adults and 18 children who were permanently maintained by the rates; 23 persons re
ceived occasional relief. (fn. 164) By 1835 expenditure on the
poor had reached £342. (fn. 165)
Drayton's main business is and always has been
agriculture, the cultivation of the plain it shares with
Dorchester. In 1914 over 24 per cent. of the crops
were wheat and 21 per cent. barley. (fn. 166) The soil was
said to be easily worked but incapable of withstanding drought. (fn. 167) Sheep were a good counter-balance
to this type of soil, and there were 60 sheep and over
per 100 acres in 1909 and over 40 sheep per 100 acres
in 1914. (fn. 168) Permanent pasture over the whole parish
was under 30 per cent. (fn. 169) Most of it was in Holcombe: in 1931 253 acres of Upper Grange farm
were pasture. (fn. 170) In 1959 this farm (275 a.) was still
mostly laid down to pasture. (fn. 171) Drayton north of the
river was farmed in two units: one consisting of the
Henry Betteridge estate together with the Haseley
Trust land was a large-scale market garden, farmed
from Drayton House farm, the other, Drayton
Manor farm, was part of a larger farm, 1,200 acres,
belonging to Mr. S. J. Farrant, and was reminiscent
of the medieval history of the parish in that it
stretched well beyond the bounds of Drayton parish
into Burcot and Dorchester, and mainly concentrated on arable farming. (fn. 172)
Church.
Drayton church is first mentioned in
1146 as a chapel in a list of the possessions of Dorchester Abbey. (fn. 173) It was probably one of the chapels
appropriated to the abbey which in 1445 were served
by its canons, and this is likely to have been the
normal arrangement. (fn. 174) The chapelry was in Dorchester peculiar. (fn. 175)
After the Dissolution the rectory and 'advowson' of
Drayton were granted to the Dean and Chapter of
Christ Church, Oxford, (fn. 176) and they still hold the gift
of the living, which was a perpetual curacy until
1870, when the tithes were made over to the incumbent. In the late 16th century the curate of Drayton
seems generally also to have served Clifton Hampden (fn. 177) and since 1950 Drayton has been held in plurality with Stadhampton and Chislehampton.
In 1526 the curate's annual stipend, paid by Dorchester Abbey, was £5 6s. 8d. (fn. 178) and in 1826 this remained the certain annual sum paid by the dean and
chapter to the curate. (fn. 179) In the early 18th century
this payment seems to have been made up to £16 a
year (fn. 180) and later to £20. By 1778 the dean and
chapter also paid the curate a further £10 a year
under the terms of Dr. South's will. (fn. 181) The living was
augmented by the Governors of Queen Anne's
Bounty in 1747 and 1758 by £200 (fn. 182) so that, in 1778
the curate's annual income was £47, (fn. 183) including fees
which amounted then as in 1826 to about £1. (fn. 184) In
1801 an estate of 23 acres at Tetsworth was purchased for £900. (fn. 185) It yielded varying sums, £29 in
1803, £40 in 1804, £26 in 1831, until in 1876 it was
exchanged for £64 16s. rectorial tithes. (fn. 186) In 1826
the Governors of Queen Anne's Bounty further augmented the living by a grant of £600 which, together
with £200 given by the dean and chapter and a
similar sum given by the curate himself, yielded an
annual income that raised the value of the living in
1831 to just under £90. (fn. 187) In 1865 there was a
further augmentation obtained 'not without difficulty'. (fn. 188)
In 1535 Drayton chapel was valued at £11 a year (fn. 189)
and this remained the valuation of the parsonage
until at least the beginning of the 18th century. In
the 17th century the lessee of the tithes paid
£7 6s. 8d. of this in cash, the remainder in kind and
although the annual cash payment increased at times
in the 19th century to as much as £50 the terms of
the render in kind remained unchanged. (fn. 190) Apart
from this payment the lessee of the parsonage after
1631 also paid the curate's stipend. This may have
been the case earlier and certainly in 1553 he was
required to provide bread, wine, and wax for the
celebrant and to find 'sufficient and honest mansmeate and horsemeate to every preacher coming
thither'. The rectory consisted of tithes great and
small from the parish north of the river, and an
annual rent of 10s. This rent can be traced back to
1552, when the dean and chapter had a dispute with
Edmund Ashfield over the first crop from 7½ acres of
the lotte meades which they claimed should belong to
Drayton rectory. It was agreed that Ashfield should
have the crop but should pay the dean and chapter
10s. a year or two loads of hay. (fn. 191) Thus in 1553 and in
1855 the rectory included this annual payment. In
1799 the rectory was valued at £285 2s. 4d. (fn. 192) and the
valuations of 1824 and 1834 were almost the same. (fn. 193)
In 1840 it was £340. (fn. 194)
In 1552 the rectory was leased to Richard Pawling
and it remained in the Pawling family until the early
18th century. (fn. 195) At the end of the 18th century it was
held by Edward Tawney and in 1820 by Richard
Tawney of Willoughby (Warw.). In 1840 the tithes
were commuted and apportionment was altered after
the inclosure award of 1861. From the 16th century
the tithes of Holcombe Grange were held by the
freeholders, Trinity College, Oxford.
Until the 19th century curates seem generally to
have been non-resident, although it is probable that
John Dunt who was curate from 1625 to 1675 lived
in the minister's cottage mentioned in 1641. (fn. 196) This
cottage may have been the same as the 'parson house,
next the churchyard', mentioned in 1778 as having
been in the possession of the parish officers who put
the poor in it. (fn. 197) During the 18th century the church
was served for two or three years at a time by
students of Christ Church who travelled out on Sundays and therefore had no need of a residence. The
most famous of these was Phineas Pett, curate from
1787–90. In 1784 the dean and chapter bought a
small cottage for the curate's use on Sundays. (fn. 198) In
1814 the curate again resided, and this cottage was
enlarged in 1830 in a makeshift manner at a cost of
£325. (fn. 199) In 1858 A. J. Williams, the curate in whose
incumbency the extensive restoration of the church
was carried out, appealed to the dean and chapter for
funds to build a new parsonage house on an acre of
land given by the Earl of Abingdon. (fn. 200) This house was
built in 1862 at a cost of over £1,200 and was enlarged in 1872. (fn. 201) As the church has been held in plurality with Stadhampton since 1950 the Rectory has
been sold.
In 1778 the curate reported to the dean and
chapter that the churchyard was let for 30s. a year
which was claimed by the churchwardens for the
repair of the church. (fn. 202) According to him no one had
been buried in the churchyard until about 40 years
previously: parishioners were buried in Dorchester.
This may not be strictly true because there are some
grave-stones in the churchyard dated before 1738,
but it is not unlikely that at an earlier time Drayton
had no burial ground of its own. The same curate
also reported that some land had been let for the
repair of the church and this was probably the 2 acres
held by the churchwardens in 1841. In the early 17th
century there seems to have been an old custom of
perambulation or procession about which we know
because of failures to observe it. (fn. 203)
The church, dedicated to ST. LEONARD, (fn. 204) is a
small stone building, comprising a chancel, nave,
and north chapel, with a wooden south porch and a
wooden belfry standing at the west end of the nave.
The now partly roughcast roof is covered with tiles
and the upper walls of the belfry with wooden
shingles.
The earliest part of the church is the nave with
several 12th-century features, including the doorways in the north and south walls and the traces at
the eastern end of the nave in both the north and
south walls of windows that have been blocked. In
the 13th century the west and north-west windows
of the nave were made and the small side chapel
added at the north-east end. The chapel has a fine,
plain, round Early English pier and two unequal
openings in the nave wall. A slightly pointed arch
leads to the chancel which seems, judging from the
position of the windows, originally to have been
lower than the nave, a feature destroyed in the 19thcentury restoration. (fn. 205)
The tower is a fine timber structure probably
earlier than the 16th century: the church certainly
had three bells in 1552. (fn. 206) The belfry is separated
from the nave by 18th-century oak panelling.
In the 16th century the south-west window of the
chancel and the south-east window of the nave were
altered to admit more light. In 1629 the church and
tower were reported to be out of repair and subsequently a certain Simon Broadwater was repeatedly
presented for not having carried out repairs. (fn. 207) Towards the end of that century the condition of the
fabric seems to have been fairly good, (fn. 208) but in 1721
the roof and windows were 'a little out of repair', (fn. 209)
and although there are no detailed descriptions of or
reports on the condition of the church during the
18th century, it seems likely that the succession of
non-resident curates paid insufficient attention to it.
In 1817 the chancel was reported to be out of repair,
in 1823 the roof, in 1828 two of the three bells were
cracked (fn. 210) and by 1859 the whole of the church was in
very bad condition. (fn. 211) The windows of the chancel
had had their tracery removed to simplify glazing,
the roof was in a bad state and the plaster ceiling was
ready to fall. As a result of a report made in that year
by Edward Bruton the restoration was undertaken in
1859 by G. E. Street and was completed at a cost of
£600. (fn. 212) The chancel was partially rebuilt. Its 'common brick floor' was raised. The plaster ceiling was
removed and the present high-pitched roof made in
place of the old roof, the line of which can still be
seen over the chancel arch. The extra weight of this
roof and the increased height of the east wall made
the angle buttresses at the east end necessary. The
tracery of the east window was inserted from new
designs, only the mullions being original, and the
south-west window was completely renewed. In the
nave the ceiling and a western gallery were removed.
This restoration destroyed many features of interest. Apart from those already mentioned, the
eastern gable of the nave apparently had a sanctus
bell turret on which was a sundial, and the roof of
the chancel had an overhanging barge at the east
end. (fn. 213) A high wooden pulpit was replaced by a stone
one which was itself replaced in 1898 by the present
brightly coloured wooden one, designed by the
Wareham Guild. (fn. 214) The seating was completely
altered; the new seating was said to be modelled on
an old seat still existing in the church. It was intended that the restoration should have been even
more drastic, for it was proposed to replace the
wooden bell tower with a stone structure thus providing more seating space. Fortunately nothing came
of this proposal although it was revived later.
Alterations were, however, made to the tower in
1884 when Bruton reported that it was in need of
repair. (fn. 215) It was strengthened, its walls were covered
with shingles, and a clock was inserted. (fn. 216)
In 1930 the chancel floor, raised in 1859 so that
there were two steps from the nave into the chancel,
was lowered by volunteer labour to its present position of one step at the chancel arch and a second at
the altar. At the same time the altar which had been
placed against the east wall in 1859 was moved forward into the chancel; the chancel rails were also
moved and the choir stalls were rearranged; (fn. 217) the
sacristy was built in 1932 also by volunteer labour
and in accordance with the plans of Mr. Geoffrey
Webb. (fn. 218)
Electric light was installed in about 1934. (fn. 219)
The only medieval glass is in the north chancel
window, which is a restoration of a window believed to represent St. Leonard. It has been stated
that this window was only discovered in the restoration, but the glass was certainly known in 1846.
There is now no trace of the arms mentioned by Lee
in 1574. (fn. 220) Windows designed by Bucknall and
Comper were placed in the east window and in the
south-east window of the nave in 1894. (fn. 221)
There are memorial tablets to Abraham Deane
(d. 1809), William Deane (d. 1846), J. H. R. Mate
(d. 1928), H. S. Milford (d. 1952), and to Aston
Swindale, M.D. (d. 1952). On the exterior of the
south wall of the church there are four 19th-century
memorials to members of the Deane and Jackson
families.
Apart from the former sundial on the east gable of
the nave there are five scratch dials on the south-east
wall of the nave and one on the left of the south door
which must antedate the porch.
There were three bells in 1552. (fn. 222) They were recast
in 1884 and another three added. The oldest bell is
the former tenor of c. 1470 and inscribed Sancta
Katerina ora pro nobis. The predecessors of the two
other bells were dated 1603 and 1635. (fn. 223)
The Elizabethan chalice and paten cover are dated
1575. There is also a large silver paten (hall-marked
1694) and a pewter flagon. (fn. 224) At the Reformation the
church possessed two chalices with patens 'parcell
gylte', two corporal cases, two candlesticks, and a
number of vestments and altar clothes. (fn. 225)
The registers begin in 1568 and there is a Churchwardens' account book for 1641–81. (fn. 226)
Nonconformity.
There is no certain record
of Roman Catholicism. (fn. 227)
After the restoration there was a group of under
ten nonconformists in the parish. From 1663 until
1686 there was a steady stream of presentments for
non-attendance at church, (fn. 228) and six nonconformists
were recorded in 1676 in the Compton Census. (fn. 229)
Their leader was evidently William Lovegrove, tobacco merchant. He was presented in 1678 for holding a conventicle at his house once every month, and
although in 1680 he denied this he was again presented in 1681 for the same offence. (fn. 230)
In 1808 the incumbent reported that there were in
Drayton 'a few Methodists visited once a fortnight
by a teacher from Oxford at the house of a small
farmer in the village', and by 1816 Drayton was on
the Oxford Methodist circuit. (fn. 231) In 1834 there were
said to be only two families of dissenters. (fn. 232) By 1851
there was a Methodist chapel, said to have been built
in 1814; (fn. 233) although it only had about twelve members, almost the whole of the 'labouring population'
went to some evening services there. (fn. 234) In 1879 the
present (1958) Methodist chapel was built on land
that had belonged to a Drayton grocer and baker.
He was one of the four local trustees, the others
being labourers. (fn. 235) In 1906 the chapel, which is on
the Thame and Watlington circuit, was registered
for marriages. (fn. 236)
Schools.
The first record of any school in Drayton is in 1808, when there was a dame school with
6 children and a day school where 25 children were
taught reading, the Testament, the Catechism and
sewing. (fn. 237) In 1810 two Sunday schools were started
with 21 boys and 16 girls and five years later 29
children were being educated in three day schools. (fn. 238)
Nevertheless, in 1818 it was reported that there were
no schools in Drayton although the poorer classes
were 'desirous of the means of education'. (fn. 239)
By 1833 the Wesleyans had a Sunday school with
46 children, held in their chapel. There was also a
day school with 20 boys and girls, which was supported by their parents. (fn. 240) The Vicar and other
voluntary subscribers were supporting this school in
1854 when there were 35 pupils. (fn. 241)
The National School was built next to the Rectory
in 1855. (fn. 242) The Poor Law Guardians gave the land
and premises to Drayton's minister, churchwardens
and overseers in 1858 in trust for the education of
'the labouring, manufacturing and other poorer
classes in Drayton'. (fn. 243) The school had an average
attendance of about 40 children until 1906. (fn. 244) In 1925
it became a junior school for children under the age
of 11 and the seniors bicycled to Dorchester. There
was an attendance of 28 in 1943, but in 1947 the
school was closed and the juniors have since gone to
school at Benson and the seniors to Dorchester. (fn. 245)
Charity.
Mary Spyer by will, in 1697, left a rent
charge of £5 on her estate in Huntercombe for
the apprenticing of a boy or girl from this parish.
The Charity Commissioners in about 1823 reported
that for the last 16 or 17 years no application had
been made for benefit from this charity, though the
owners of the estate did not deny liability to pay the
money. (fn. 246) The charity was later lost. (fn. 247)