WADENHOE
Wadenho (xi cent.); Wadenhowe (xii cent.); Waddenhoo, Wandenhœ (xiii–xvii cent.).
The parish of Wadenhoe is bounded on the southeast by the River Nene, near to which the land is lowlying, being only some 80 ft. above the ordnance datum.
The ground rises, however, to the north-west, where it
reaches 258 ft. near Wadenhoe Great Wood. The
surface soil is clay and the subsoil is Oxford clay,
cornbrash and Great Oolite. The parish comprises
1,199 acres. It was inclosed by Act of Parliament
in 1793. (fn. 1)
The village stands on rising ground near to the
River Nene, a little way off the high road from Islip
and Aldwinkle to Oundle. The church is in an
isolated position to the south-west of the village on
high ground overlooking the river. On the opposite
side of the village is the Old Rectory, sold to G. Ward
Hunt and occupied by Capt. W. Ward Hunt, R.N.,
D.S.O., as the rector resides at Pilton, the living of
which he holds with that of Wadenhoe. Wadenhoe
House, the property of G. Ward Hunt, is a 17thcentury building with modern additions standing in
extensive grounds. At a farm-house in the village is a
circular stone dovecote with conical roof and louvred
turret. A reservoir adjoins the Oundle Road and
there were formerly some quarries in the parish,
which are now no longer worked. No railway crosses
the parish, the nearest railway station being at
Thorpe on the London Midland and Scottish Railway.
John Palsgrave, tutor to Henry Fitzroy, natural
son of Henry VIII, was rector here from 1545 to 1554. (fn. 2)
Samuel Parr, the educationist and political writer,
became rector in 1789 by exchange with Dr. Bridges,
but apparently never resided in the parish. (fn. 3)
Manors
In the time of Edward the Confessor,
Burred held freely 2 hides and ½ virgate
of land in Wadenhoe, but after the
Conquest they were granted to the Bishop of Coutances, who was the overlord in 1086. (fn. 4) After the
forfeiture of the bishop's lands under William Rufus,
Wadenhoe must have been granted to King David
of Scotland, as it was included in his fee in the first
half of the 12th century. (fn. 5) A holding of 2½ hides and
1 bovate of land, included among the lands in
Wadenhoe given to the Bishop, should probably
belong to Wold. (fn. 6)
Another holding in Wadenhoe, consisting of 1½
virgates, was in 1086 held of the Abbey of Peterborough, by Roger, (fn. 7) who may be identified as the
ancestor of the Torpel family, since in the early 12th
century Roger Infans held 2 small virgates. (fn. 8) Later
the Torpels do not appear to have held any land in
Wadenhoe, and it is possible that this holding afterwards was accounted a part of Pilton (q.v.).
In 1086, the sub-tenant of the 2 hides and 1
virgate was Aubrey, the ancestor of the Veres. (fn. 9)
His successor, Aubrey de Vere, held the land under
King David, (fn. 10) and the Earls of Oxford claimed the
overlordship until the 15th century, the last mention
being in 1449. (fn. 11) The manor of Wadenhoe is said
to have been held by the
service of half a knight's fee,
sometimes of the Honour of
Winchester, (fn. 12) and at others
in chief. (fn. 13)
Vere, Earl of Oxford. Quarterly gules and or with a molet argent in the quarter.
Lacy, Earl of Lincoln. Or a lion purpure.
The Veres, later in the 12th
century, enfeoffed another
branch of the family with
their land in Wadenhoe. Before
1167, it had been in the possession of Geoffrey de Vere, (fn. 14)
and in 1185 was held by
Henry de Vere. (fn. 15) He, or more
probably his successor of the
same name, was the tenant in
1229, (fn. 16) but before 1236 the manor of Wadenhoe had
been again subinfeudated to John de Lacy, Earl of
Lincoln. (fn. 17) He was succeeded in 1241 by his son
Edmund, who obtained livery of his father's lands by
1249 (fn. 18) and in 1254 granted the manor to Roger de
Quinci, Earl of Winchester,
for life. (fn. 19) On Roger's death
in 1264, (fn. 20) it reverted to the
Lacys and was held in dower
by Edmund's widow Alice. (fn. 21)
Her son Henry, Earl of Lincoln, succeeded, (fn. 22) but on his
death in 1312, the manor
passed to his daughter and heir
Alice, the wife of Thomas,
Earl of Lancaster. (fn. 23) After
Lancaster's execution in 1321,
his widow obtained a grant
of the Lacy manors for life from Edward II, with
remainder to Hugh le Despencer, the younger. (fn. 24)
She afterwards married Ebulo Lestrange, and from
Edward III obtained a grant of Wadenhoe manor to
hold to them and their heirs. (fn. 25) On the death of both
Ebulo and Alice, the manor should have passed to
Ebulo's nephew Roger Lestrange of Knokyn, on whom
it had been settled in 1336, (fn. 26) but in 1337 he had granted
the reversion to Nicholas de Cantilupe for life. (fn. 27)
The latter died seised in 1356 and the manor passed
to Roger's son and heir, another Roger Lestrange. (fn. 28)
His descendants held it till
the death of John Lestrange
in 1477. (fn. 29) It probably then
passed to his daughter and
heiress Joan, the wife of
George Stanley, who presented to the rectory of
Wadenhoe in 1487. (fn. 30) Wadenhoe was presumably sold by
the Stanleys, perhaps after the
death of Joan in 1513, since it
was held in 1532 by Sir William
Blount, Lord Mountjoye. (fn. 31)
His son and successor Charles sold it to Henry VIII
in 1543, (fn. 32) and in 1550 Edward VI granted it to Princess
Elizabeth. (fn. 33) In 1551, however, an exchange was
made with Sir Walter Mildmay. (fn. 34) From the Mildmays, the manor of Wadenhoe passed in 1617 through
Mary, the daughter and heir of Sir Anthony Mildmay,
to the Earls of Westmoreland. (fn. 35) In 1668, Charles,
Earl of Westmoreland, sold it to John Stanyan, (fn. 36) who
sold it sixteen years later to Brooke Bridges. (fn. 37) The
latter died in 1702 and the manor passed to his
great-nephew John Bridges, the historian, who died
unmarried in 1724. (fn. 38)
Lestrange. Gules two leopards argent.
Hunt of Boreatton. Party argent and sable a saltire parted and counter-coloured.
The manor was apparently sold before 1714 to
Sir Edward Ward, Chief Baron of the Exchequer,
whose daughter Jane married
Thomas Hunt of Boreatton,
Shropshire. Their son, Edward
Hunt of Oundle, a merchant,
had a son Thomas, who succeeded to Wadenhoe, but left
no surviving issue.
The manor passed to his
brother Rowland, who married
Frances Welch, and from him
to his son Thomas Welch
Hunt, who with his wife
Caroline Isham was murdered
at Pæstum on their wedding
tour in 1824. Thomas Welch Hunt left Wadenhoe to
his aunt, Mary Hunt (d. unm. 1835), with remainder
to his cousin, Mary Caroline Hunt (d. unm. 1847),
daughter of Rev. Edward Hunt, younger son of
Thomas Hunt of Boreatton, and with ultimate
remainder to Rev. George Hunt (d. 1853), son of
Rowland, son of the last-named Thomas. George
Hunt was succeeded by his son the Right Hon.
George Ward Hunt, Chancellor of the Exchequer and
First Lord of the Admiralty. His son George Eden
Hunt succeeded him in 1877 and died in 1892 leaving
a son George Ward Hunt, captain in the Northamptonshire regiment, who was killed in action in 1915.
His son George Edgar Ward Hunt, born 1911, is the
present owner. (fn. 39)
In 1249, Edmund de Lacy obtained a grant of free
warren (fn. 40) and Ebulo Lestrange and his wife claimed it
in 1330. They also claimed view of frankpledge,
pillory, tumbrel, the assize of bread and ale, and
waifs. (fn. 41) View of frankpledge was held by the lords
of the manor in the 17th century. (fn. 42)
In 1298, Henry, Earl of Lincoln, was granted permission to inclose 30 acres pertaining to the manor
of Wadenhoe, lying within the
Forest of Rockingham, in order
to make a park. (fn. 43)
A water-mill and free fishery
are mentioned in 1356 (fn. 44) and
two mills are referred to in 1656
and again in 1818. (fn. 45)
Church
The church of
ST. GILES consists of chancel
27 ft. by 16 ft. with a modern
vestry on the south side, clearstoried nave 36 ft. 6 in. by 19 ft.,
north and south aisles each
12 ft. 6 in. wide, north porch,
and west tower with saddleback
roof 15 ft. by 14 ft. 6 in.,
all these measurements being
internal.
The tower is all that is left
of a late 12th century church
(c. 1195–1200), the chancel and
nave of which were rebuilt
some time in the next century.
The nave arcades are of this
period, that on the north being
the earlier, but the aisles appear
to have been rebuilt and widened in the 14th century,
when the clearstory was added, the porch erected,
and some alterations made in the tower. The chancel
was recased externally early in the 18th century and
the tower restored, (fn. 46) and in 1901 there was an extensive restoration of the fabric when the floors of the
nave and aisles were lowered to their original level
and the tower was underpinned to a solid foundation. (fn. 47)
The roofs are all modern, those of the nave and aisles
being leaded and the chancel roof tiled. The parapets
throughout are plain.
The ground falls rapidly from west to east and the
chancel stands high above the level of the churchyard:
on the north side there are two steps down to the
porch and five from the porch to the floor of the
church. The chancel has an east window of two
lights with a circle in the head, originally c. 1250,
and there are single lancets in the north and south
walls. The vestry is of brick and is five steps below
the chancel level. The 13th century arch to the
nave is of two chamfered orders, the inner one resting
on moulded corbels supported by grotesque heads.
Plan of Wadenhoe Church.
The north arcade (c. 1250) consists of three pointed
arches on piers composed of four attached shafts with
moulded capitals and bases, a half-round respond
at the east end, and a corbel at the west. The pellet
ornament occurs in the capitals of the respond and
of the first pier, and small rosettes in that of the
second pier. The piers stand on large plinths. The
south arcade may be as late as 1280–90 and differs
from the other in that the shafts have a fillet on the
face and there is a half-octagonal respond at each
end. The capitals also vary, those of the east respond
and second pier having rather bold conventional stiff
up-turned foliage of large veined leaves and round
stems. The plinths have claw corners.
The windows of the north aisle are all of 14th
century date, that at the east end being of three
trefoiled lights with modern reticulated tracery, the
others of two lights with quatrefoil in the head. On
each side of the east window is a moulded corbel
for a statue. In the south aisle the east window is of
three tall trefoiled lights, with slight piercings,
c. 1280, and near it, in the usual position, is a pointed
piscina with fluted bowl and inner trefoil arch on
plain corbels. The other windows are later and of
two cinquefoiled lights. Both doorways have continuous moulded head and jambs, and there is a
pseudo-Gothic plaster ribbed ceiling to the porch.
At the west end of the south aisle is a stone wallbench. The clearstory windows are square-headed
and of two trefoiled lights.
Wadenhoe Church Font
The tower is of three stages with later diagonal
angle buttresses and new tiled roof. On the north
side in the lower stage is a wall arcade of three arches,
the outer semi-circular, the middle one pointed,
springing from shafts and responds with moulded
bases and capitals with conventional foliage. The
west window is a single lancet (restored) and in the
stage above is a small blocked round-headed opening.
There is also a small lancet on the south side in the
middle stage. The bell-chamber windows vary, those
on the east and west being of two round-headed lights
within a semi-circular enclosing arch, the tympanum
pierced with a small vesica-shaped opening; (fn. 48) on the
south two lancets; and on the north a restored late
14th-century square-headed window of two lights.
There is a vice in the north-west angle. The 13th
century arch to the nave is of two chamfered orders,
the inner resting on half-octagonal responds with
moulded capitals and bases.
The beautiful 13th century font consists of a circular bowl moulded round the lower edge and ornamented at the top with lunettes of foliage, below each
joint of which are rosettes, dogtooth and masks in
relief set vertically on the face of the cylinder. The
font has been reset on an octagonal stone step.
The early 18th century oak pulpit was re-arranged
at the restoration. The seating is modern, but in
the aisles are some carved and traceried bench ends,
perhaps of 16th century date. There is a brass plate
in the floor of the nave to John Andrewe (d. 1629),
and in the chancel a mural monument to Brooke
Bridges (d. 1702). (fn. 49)
There are three bells in the tower, the first cast
by Tobie Norris, of Stamford, in 1603; the second
a mediæval bell inscribed 'Ave Maria gratia plena
Dominus tecum'; the tenor dated 1607. The
tenor alone is rung, the others being cracked. (fn. 50)
The plate consists of a silver cup and cover
paten of 1755, a flagon of 1776, and a silver dish
with the mark of Jacques Cottin, of Paris, c. 1726,
inscribed 'To the Pious Memory of ye Revd. Mr.
Nat. Bridges who was 33 years Rectr. of this
Church 1747.' (fn. 51)
The registers before 1812 are as follows: (i) all
entries 1559–1648, and births 1654–81; (ii) baptisms 1695–1812, marriages 1695–1754, burials
1683–1812; (iii) marriages 1754–1812. The second
volume contains entries of penances between 1719
and 1763.
There are some good 17th century tombs and
headstones in the churchyard, and on one of the
buttresses on the south side are three scratch dials. (fn. 52)
Advowson
The advowson of the rectory
of Wadenhoe has been held with
the manor throughout its history. (fn. 53) The first recorded presentation was made
by Henry de Vere in 1227. (fn. 54) In 1307 the King
granted licence to Henry, Earl of Lincoln, to
alienate in mortmain the advowson of the church
in substitution for that of Wivelingham, which he
had granted to the scholars of a newly-founded
house in the University of Oxford. (fn. 55) It does not
appear, however, that the licence was ever used.
The benefice was in 1925 united to Pilton (q.v.).
A pension of 10s. a year was payable in 1291 from the
rectory of Wadenhoe to the Prior of Colne, Essex. (fn. 56)
The grant was probably made by one of the Veres.
Charity
Francis Hilditch gave £30 to the poor
and this sum was invested in 1789 in
£39 8s. 8d. Consols now with the
Official Trustees of Charitable Funds and producing
19s. 8d. annually in dividends. The income is
applied by the Rector to the widows of Wadenhoe.