WOOLLEY
Ulvelai (xi cent.); Wulueleia, Wolfleg, Wlfleg,
Wolle (xiii cent.); Wolley (xvi cent.).
Woolley is about 5 miles north of Grafham station
on the Huntingdon and Kettering branch of the
London Midland and Scottish Railway. It lies
about 6 miles north-west from Huntingdon, and
rather less north-east by north from Kimbolton, and
is bounded by Alconbury on the east, Buckworth on
the north, Ellington on the south, and Barham and
Spaldwick on the west.
A road branching north from the Huntingdon to
Thrapston road runs to the village, which lies in a
hollow, about 80 ft. above Ordnance datum; the land
all round rises, reaching 168 ft. in the north, though
it is liable to floods along the banks of the Woolley
Brook, which runs through the parish.
The area is 1,148 acres, and the soil and subsoil are
clay, producing wheat, barley and beans.
The church stands near the centre of the parish,
with the rectory, on the opposite side of the road, to
the north of it, while the Manor House lies west of the
church. There are some 17th-century almshouses in
poor condition. Woolley Lodge is near the eastern
boundary.
Mikepher Alphrey, (fn. 1) a prince of the Russian imperial line, born in Russia, was appointed rector in
1618, removed under the Commonwealth, and
reinstated at the Restoration, his presentation having
resulted from some connection with Russian trade
on the part of the lord of the manor, John Bedell.
Richard Southgate, the antiquary, was rector from
1754 to 1761.
Manor
In the Domesday Survey, 3 hides of
land in WOOLLEY were entered as held
of the king by Gode or Golde and Uluric
his son, who were thegns of the king. They originally
held an additional half-hide, but in 1086 it was held
by Eustace the Sheriff. (fn. 2) It was presumably reunited
with the main holding, as his successors do not seem
to have held any land in Woolley. Subsequently the
manor formed part of the honour of Gloucester, (fn. 3) but
there is no record of the original grant. It may have
been granted to Robert Fitz Hamon, who held the
honour, and died c. 1109, when his lands passed to
Robert, the illegitimate son of Henry I, on his marriage
with Fitz Hamon's daughter and heir; (fn. 4) or it may have
been given to Robert when he was created Earl of
Gloucester between 1121 and 1123. (fn. 5) It was certainly
held of the honour in 1210, (fn. 6) and Richard de Clare,
Earl of Gloucester, died seised in 1262 of a knight's fee
in Woolley. (fn. 7) The manor continued to be held of his
heirs, the Earls of Gloucester and of Stafford and the
Dukes of Buckingham as of their honour of Gloucester. (fn. 8) Later it was held of the Crown as parcel of the
honour of Clare, which overlordship was recorded as
late as 1613. (fn. 9)
The history of the undertenants of the manor is
difficult to trace, as two families, the Grimbauds and
Maufes, appear as holding half a knight's fee in Woolley
of the honour of Gloucester. As, however, there
seems to have been only one half-fee there, in spite
of the return made at the death of Richard de Clare,
Earl of Gloucester, in 1262, (fn. 10) it must be concluded
that the Grimbauds held it in mesne lordship. They
probably inherited it from William de Houghton
(Hocton), who was a tenant of William, Earl of Gloucester, in 1166. (fn. 11) His granddaughter, Maud de
Houghton, was holding a half, a sixth, and a twelfth
part of a knight's fee of the honour of Gloucester in
1201. (fn. 12) She married, as her first husband, Robert
Grimbaud, (fn. 13) and their son William had succeeded
to these holdings between 1201 and 1212. (fn. 14) It has
been presumed that the half-fee was at Woolley, which
William certainly held, 1210–12, (fn. 15) the other fractions
being in Northamptonshire. William was succeeded
by his son Robert, (fn. 16) whose heir, William, was a minor
in 1265. (fn. 17) Probably the mesne lordship was eliminated at this time, since in 1279 the Grimbauds' subtenants appear to have held it immediately of the
honour of Gloucester. (fn. 18) The mesne lordship was,
however, mentioned at the death of Gilbert de Clare,
Earl of Gloucester, in 1314, when the half-fee was said
to be held by the heirs of Robert Grimbaud; (fn. 19) while
in 1372, at the death of Ralph, Earl of Stafford, and
in 1460, at the death of Humphrey, Duke of Buckingham, the name of Robert Grimbaud reappears. (fn. 20) This
was, however, most probably due only to repetitions
of a former list of tenants of the honour.
The family of Maufe held the manor of Woolley
in demesne in the later 12th century. In 1181, the
tenant was Simon Maufe, from whom Robert de
Grafham claimed it, but apparently unsuccessfully. (fn. 21)
Maufe may have been identical with the lord of Woodford Manor, Northants, who died before 1196, (fn. 22) but
if so, Woolley appears to have been given to a younger
son, and the two manors followed different descents.
Between 1210–1212, another Simon Maufe held a halffee of the honour of Gloucester, which was probably
the Woolley half-fee, (fn. 23) and in 1242 Oliver Maufe was
the tenant there. (fn. 24) He was apparently succeeded by
another Simon, who before 1248 married Brunna, a
daughter and co-heir of Ralph de St. Sampson. (fn. 25) Their
daughter and heir Joan married Alan de Chartres, (fn. 26)
who presented to the church of Woolley in 1273, (fn. 27) and
in 1279 was returned as holding the manor of the Earl
of Gloucester for the service due from half a knight's
fee and suit at his court at Royston. This suit,
however, was said to be wrongfully exacted, since
it had been alienated at the time of the return of
Edward I to England. (fn. 28) Chartres held two carucates
of land in demesne, and also a windmill. (fn. 29) His son
and heir Roger succeeded before 1306, (fn. 30) and he and
his wife Christian were holding the manor jointly in
1335. (fn. 31) He died before May 1346, and the following
year Christian presented to the church. (fn. 32) Their
heir was probably their son Peter, on whom and his
wife Elizabeth they had settled the manor of Grafton
Underwood, Northants, in 1335. (fn. 33) Peter either
predeceased his mother or only survived her a short
time, since in 1352 the manor of Woolley was held
by Richard Fitz With and his wife Elizabeth for the
term of her life, she probably being the widow of Peter
de Chartres. (fn. 34) Elizabeth was still holding the manor
in 1374, but had died before 1384. (fn. 35) In the meantime,
the reversion of the manor had been sold by John de
Chartres in 1352 to Sir William le Moyne, knt., of
Great Ravely, (fn. 36) and two years
later le Moyne granted it to
John Stukeley, Nicholas his
son, another Nicholas Stukeley
and Gilbert Stukeley, with
remainders to John's sons,
Nicholas, John and Hugh, in
tail male. (fn. 37) The wife of
Nicholas, the son of John
Stukeley, (fn. 38) was Juliana, the
daughter of Sir William le
Moyne. (fn. 39) John Stukeley, the
son of Nicholas, was the tenant
in 1384, (fn. 40) and he and his
wife Agnes, together with his
son John and other feoffees, obtained a quitclaim
of the manor in 1388 from Andrew Brown and
his wife Katherine and her heirs, (fn. 41) but it does
not appear what right she had in the manor. The
elder John Stukeley contracted a debt with the
prior of the London Charterhouse in 1396 which
had not been paid at the time of his death, which
occurred about 1407. In consequence, the manor
of Woolley, with other manors and lands, was given
to the prior in 1408 for the recovery of the debt. (fn. 42)
A year earlier an inquiry was ordered by the king
touching the bondmen and tenants in bondage in
the manor of Woolley, who had leagued together
to refuse John Stukeley custom and service. (fn. 43) This
was presumably the son and successor of the debtor,
and the order was repeated in 1420. (fn. 44) He had
granted the manor in 1410 to certain feoffees. (fn. 45) Before
1428, Sir Nicholas Stukeley and other feoffees granted
it to John, Lord Tiptoft, (fn. 46) and his wife Joyce. Tiptoft
died in 1443, (fn. 47) leaving his son John, a minor, as his heir.
The latter was created Earl of Worcester in 1449, but,
being a strong Yorkist, was attainted and beheaded
in 1470, (fn. 48) during the brief return of Henry VI to
the throne. It is said that he was captured in the
forest near Woolley, because he sent a peasant to
make a purchase, and the messenger was suspected
and followed when he presented a coin of too great
value for such a man to possess. (fn. 49) His son and heir
Edward, a boy of three at the time of his father's
death, (fn. 50) was restored on the return of Edward IV to the
throne in the following year, but he died unmarried
in 1485. (fn. 51) His heirs were his aunts, Philippa, widow
of Thomas, Lord Ros of Hamlake (beheaded 1464),
and wife of Edward Grimston; Joan, widow of Sir
Edmund Ingaldesthorp; and Joyce, wife of Sir Edmund
Sutton or Dudley. (fn. 52) No assignment of the manor
of Woolley took place, and Joan Ingaldesthorp died
seised of a third part of it in 1494. (fn. 53) From her share,
she left by will an annuity of 26s. to William Sawston,
to keep an obit. (fn. 54) Her heirs were the four daughters
and one grandson of her daughter Isabel, who had
married John Neville, Marquis Montagu. (fn. 55) Philippa's
inheritance passed to her son Edmund, Lord Ros, who
in 1492 had been found incapable of managing his
own affairs, and his property was, under an Act of
Parliament, vested in Sir Thomas Lovell, who had
married as his second wife Isabel, one of Edmund's
sisters. (fn. 56) Edmund died unmarried in 1508, and it
is uncertain whether Isabel survived him. (fn. 57) It seems
clear, however, that before this (fn. 58) Lovell, who had
been Speaker of the House of Commons and had had
a successful career in the royal service, being created
Knight of the Garter in 1503, (fn. 59) acquired the different
parts of the manor of Woolley, besides his wife's
share and thus held the whole manor. He had no
children, and at his death in 1524 his heirs were the
daughters of his brother, Sir
Robert Lovell, but he left
the manor of Woolley and
much other property to his
nephew Francis Lovell and
his heirs male. (fn. 60)
Stukeley. Sable a fesse argent with three molets sable thereon.
Bedell. Gules a cheveron engrailed between three scallops argent.
Sir Francis Lovell, kt., and
his wife, Elizabeth, were dealing with the manor in 1541, (fn. 61)
and in 1559 it was in the
hands of his son Sir Thomas
Lovell, kt., (fn. 62) against whom
chancery proceedings were instituted by certain copyholders of the manor in
1564, (fn. 63) and who in 1563 settled it and the advowson
on the marriage of his son and heir Thomas with
Alice, daughter of Dame Brigit Huddleston, widow. (fn. 64)
Thomas inherited in 1567 (fn. 65) on the death of his father
and with Francis, his son and heir, was dealing with
the manor and advowson (fn. 66) in 1598, and conveyed
them in 1603 to Sir John Bedell, kt. (fn. 67) Sir John
left them by will, dated 1612, to his second son
John, by whom he was succeeded, on his death in
1613. (fn. 68) John was holding in 1624, (fn. 69) and was apparently succeeded by Edward Bedell, who presented
to the church in 1668 and 1670. (fn. 70) In 1701 the manor
was in the hands of John Bedell, (fn. 71) who presented in
1707. Before 1713 it must have been transferred
to William Peacock, who held a court in that year (fn. 72) and
died in 1720. He was succeeded by Joseph Peacock,
who died in 1734, (fn. 73) and in that year and in 1746 the
presentation was made by William Peacock. (fn. 74) Either
he, or a son of the same name, and his wife Mary
were dealing with the manor and advowson in 1771 (fn. 75)
and 1782. (fn. 76) In 1803 they were conveyed by William
Peacock and his wife Anne to Samuel Pepys Cockerell
and Charles Cockerell, (fn. 77) and were still in the same
family in 1860, when John Cockerell
presented. The presentation was
made in 1868 by Andrew Pepys
Cockerell, who was still lord in
1890, but had been replaced before
1894 by James Padgett, who died in
1897. George Padgett succeeded
him and was holding in 1903, (fn. 78) but
he sold the estate in 1904, and
Emerson Muschamp Bainbridge was
lord of the manor in 1906. The
property again changed hands and
belonged to Mr. Albert Andrew in
1914. He died before 1928, and
his trustees are the present owners.
In 1248 William, son of John de
Brampton, and his wife Agnes and
her sister Clemence granted 16 acres
of land in Woolley to Richard, Master of the Hospital
of St. Mary, Stonely, to hold in frankalmoin, except
for the forinsec service due from the land. (fn. 79)
At the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the Priory
of Stonely held 12s. annual rent in Woolley. (fn. 80)
Court-leet and view of frankpledge in Woolley,
held by Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester, with
his manor of Southoe, and delivered in dower to his
widow Joan in 1307, (fn. 81) descended with the honour of
Gloucester. (fn. 82) Court-leet in Great Grantesden and
Woolley was held in 1398 by Roger de Mortimer, (fn. 83)
and through his heirs, the Earls of March and Dukes of
York, passed to the Crown. (fn. 84) View of frankpledge was
conveyed with the manor to Sir John Bedell in 1603.
Church
The church of ST. MARY consists of
a chancel (22 ft. by 16 ft.), nave (41½ ft.
by 16 ft.), north transept (6 ft. by 11½ ft.),
south transept (9 ft. by 11¾ ft.), north aisle (15½ ft.
by 6¼ ft.), south aisle (15¼ ft. by 5¾ ft.), and west
tower (9 ft. by 8½ ft.). The walls are of rubble with
stone dressings and the roofs are covered with tiles
and lead.
The church is not mentioned in the Domesday
Survey (1086); but numerous 12th-century stones
built into the walls bear evidence to a church here
at that time. The chancel, nave, transepts and aisles
were built c. 1300, and the nave was lengthened and
the tower and spire built at the end of the 14th
century. At some uncertain date the north transept
was pulled down and rebuilt as an extension of the
aisle. The roofs were largely renewed in the 17th
century. The chancel was restored in 1857, and again
repaired in 1863. The south transept and south aisle
were rebuilt in 1907; the north aisle thoroughly
restored in 1914; the columns of the nave arcades
underpinned in 1931; and the tower and spire restored
in 1932. The features, except where otherwise stated,
are for the body of the church of c. 1300, and for the
tower of late 14th-century date.
Plan of Woolley Church
The chancel, c. 1300, has on the north and south
an internal wall-arcade of three two-centred arches
carried on detached circular shafts with moulded
capitals and bases. The east window has three pointed
lights under a two-centred head. The north wall has
two two-light windows with quatrefoils in their heads.
The south wall has a lancet window and a 14thcentury square-headed two-light window. A piscina
has been formed of a stone mortar with lugs fixed
on a low pier of re-used stones set diagonally. The
chancel arch is two-centred of two chamfered orders,
the lower order resting on moulded corbels.
The nave has an arcade of two bays on each side,
both having two-centred arches of two chamfered
orders resting on octagonal columns and semicircular
attached shafts to the responds, all having moulded
capitals and bases. The eastern arch on the north
side is much distorted. The western extension has
in the south wall a 17th-century square-headed twolight window. The roof is mostly modern, but incorporates some beams and jack-legs of 16th and 17th
century date.
The late 14th-century north transept has in the
north wall a 14th-century three-light window with a
four-centred head; and a square recess. The arch
to the aisle springs from the column of the nave
arcade, and is two-centred and of two chamfered
orders.
The rebuilt south transept has in the south wall a
two-light window with a modern head; (fn. 85) a small
14th-century trefoiled window; (fn. 86) and a 14th-century
piscina with segmental head and quatrefoil basin.
The arch to the aisle is similar to that of the north
transept.
The north aisle has a north doorway with a twocentred arch of two continuous hollow-chamfered
orders; and a plain lancet window in the west wall.
The rebuilt south aisle has a south doorway with a
two-centred arch of two continuous chamfered orders;
and a lancet window.
The buttresses at the angles of the chancel have been
much restored; those on the north side are modern.
The buttresses of the transepts and aisles, except the
angle buttresses of the north aisle, are all modern;
previous to 1907 and 1914 respectively these walls,
which were very ruinous, were held up by brick props.
The parapet of the north aisle is also modern.
The late 14th-century west tower has a two-centred
tower arch of two orders, the outer moulded and the
inner chamfered; the latter rests on moulded corbels.
The west doorway has a two-centred arch of two
continuous moulded orders. The west window is of
two-lights with a pointed head, much restored;
and in the stage above is a small single-light window.
The belfry windows are two-lights with two-centred
heads. The tower has diagonal buttresses at the northwest and south-west angles which only rise to the level
of the belfry, and is surmounted by an embattled
parapet with large gargoyles; from behind the parapet rises an octagonal spire having two tiers of
spire lights, the lower of two-lights and the upper of
single-lights, and all on the cardinal faces. The top
of the spire is 86 ft. above the ground. The stairs
are in the north-east corner, and reach only to the
stage below the belfry.
The 15th-century font has an octagonal panelled
bowl with a deeply splayed under edge, and a modern
stem and base. It has a plain 17th-century cover.
There is one bell, inscribed: Thomas Norris made
me 1634. In 1552 there were three bells in the steeple
and the sanctus bell; (fn. 87) the three bells remained as late
as 1748, (fn. 88) and the frame still contains the pits for them.
The screen under the tower arch is formed of
17th-century panelling. In the churchyard is the 14thcentury base of a churchyard cross; (fn. 89) it is square
below and octagonal above, with bold angle stops.
Built into the south wall of the nave are some 12thcentury archstones; in the east wall of the chancel is a
broken grotesque figure. Against the west wall of the
south aisle is a large slab with a partly defaced marginal
inscription in Lombardic letters: 'xtiane de
c . . . . . . . e amen.' (fn. 90) Lying in the north aisle
is an early 14th-century stone coffin and lid with
ornamental cross at head and foot; another coffin is
in the south aisle.
There are the following monuments: in the nave,
floor slabs to Mrs. Frances Peacock, d. 1726; and the
Rev. Joseph Weedon, Rector, d. 1746, and Rebecca
(Garner) his first wife, d. 1738; in the south transept,
to William Peacock, d. 1720; and Joseph Peacock,
d. 1734; in the south aisle, to John Peacock, d. 1732;
and Hector Percival Gammons, killed in the Great
War, 1917; and loose in north aisle, to Ann daughter
of Thomas and Ann Bales, d. 1712.
The registers are as follows: (i) baptisms, marriages and burials 1 May 1576 to 8 December 1706;
(ii) the same, — 1706 to — 1715; (iii) the same,
1 June 1729 to 27 September 1812; the marriages
end 20 November 1753; (iv) marriages 31 July 1754
to 30 November 1812.
The church plate consists of a silver cup with a
band of Elizabethan ornament, hall-marked for 1577–8;
a silver cover paten for the same, inscribed 'woley
Wb' hall-marked as cup; a pewter plate engraved
with the arms of Lord St. John of Bletsoe impaling
Crawley, the back marked with a rose, a crowned X,
and a rose and crown, early 18th century.
Advowson
The advowson has descended since
the 13th century with the manor, (fn. 91)
and the trustees of the late Mr.
Albert Andrew are the present patrons. The Lord
Chancellor presented in 1904, and the Bishop of Ely
in 1909, because, owing to the poverty of the living,
the patron was unable to find an incumbent. The
living has been vacant since 1912.
The church was valued at £5 yearly in 1291 and
1428. (fn. 92) In 1535 the rectory was worth £9 19s. 6d.
yearly. (fn. 93)
Charity
Church Lands.—This land consists
of an inclosure called Woolley Church
Land, containing about 2 acres. The
land is let at a yearly rent, which is carried to the
churchwardens' account and applied towards the
repair of the church.