NAUNTON

The parish of Naunton lies on the west border of the hundred, 12 miles east of Cheltenham and five miles west of Stow-on-the-Wold, crossed by the River Windrush and the main road from Cheltenham to Stow. The southern part of the parish includes the hamlet of Aylworth, which though forming part of Slaughter hundred in the Middle Ages (fn. 1) was from 1608 considered to be in Bradley hundred, (fn. 2) and the hamlet of Harford. Both had small villages in the early Middle Ages which later shrank to become single farms. The parish, which is irregular in shape, comprised 3,177 a., (fn. 3) of which 33 a. were transferred to Temple Guiting in 1935. (fn. 4)

The River Windrush, which forms the boundary for a short distance on both the east and west sides, runs through the middle of the parish. Above Harford Bridge the course of the river has been straightened, and the old course, which can be traced in the meadows, remains the parish boundary. A stream runs from Aylworth into the river at Lower Harford. The land rises steeply on both sides of the river valley at 500 ft. to a height of 650 ft. in the south and 750 ft. in the north at Summer Hill. The parish, which is mainly on the Great and Inferior Oolite, has fault lines running across the middle of it and along its north and south boundaries. (fn. 5) A number of quarries, some still in use, could be seen in 1962 particularly on the Great Oolite in the north. The lower slopes on each side of the river have long been used mainly for arable farming, and it was there that the open fields lay before inclosure in 1778. (fn. 6) Aylworth and Harford have provided extensive sheep-pastures from the 14th century, and Naunton Downs on the west side of the parish was used always as pasture. The river valley contains alluvial deposits which make good meadows. The parish has little woodland and in the 18th century it was suggested that this fact with the absence of marshland and its situation on the downs accounted for the healthy climate of Naunton, where the death-rate was said to be unusually low. (fn. 7)

The parish has a number of antiquities, including round barrows, Roman burial sites, and RomanoBritish occupation sites. (fn. 8)

The earliest village in the parish is traditionally said to have been at Lower Harford, (fn. 9) on the gravel (fn. 10) beside the ford from which the hamlet derives its name, at the point where Harford Bridge was later built. The tradition is perhaps supported by the name Naunton, suggesting a new settlement. The population of Harford was still relatively high, in proportion to its hidage, in 1086 (fn. 11) compared with the rest of the parish, but before that date Naunton village, almost a mile and a half farther up the river valley from Harford, had probably become the main centre of population. The village, which stretches for about a mile along the river valley, probably began as a more compact settlement in the hollow at the west end of the village where the church stands, a small area of grass perhaps being all that remains of a green around which houses were grouped. A small 16th-century house close to the church is thought to have been the rectory before a new one was built, slightly east of it, in 1694, (fn. 12) and Church House, beside the churchyard, though built in the 18th century, may be the ancient site of the manor. (fn. 13) A group of cottages, called Little Worth, north of the church was built in the 17th and 18th centuries, but tradition associates the cottages with Little Malvern Priory (fn. 14) and they may be on a site built over in the Middle Ages. The village extended, probably at an early date, across the river (where the bridge known as Hurd Bridge is traditionally said to mark the position of an ancient ford), and eastwards along the river valley, perhaps as far as the manor-house.

The village expanded farther east in the 16th and 17th centuries towards the site of the mill at the extreme east end of the village. Three large houses, Cromwell House, Kiftsgate, and Longford House, were built at the east end of the village in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries respectively. During the 19th century the number of houses increased considerably with the rise in population. Cottages were built on the hill, leading up from the west end of the village, which was cut away c. 1850 when the Baptist chapel was rebuilt. (fn. 15) The village extended, in the 18th and 19th centuries, along Dale Street (the name possibly derives from the Dale family which held land in the parish in the 16th century), formerly a track leading south from the west end of the village towards Roundhill Farm. Dale Terrace, leading off Dale Street, was built in 1871 (fn. 16) and at the east end of the village nine council houses were built between 1943 and 1960. (fn. 17) Outside the village, at Naunton Downs and Summer Hill, two post-inclosure farmhouses were built c. 1800.

The settlement at Harford, where seven people were enumerated in 1086 (fn. 18) and two people paid subsidy in 1327, (fn. 19) was largely deserted by 1341 (fn. 20) and by 1381 it was no longer distinguished from Naunton. (fn. 21) In the 16th century Llanthony Priory had a house at Harford (fn. 22) and in the 17th century the only house in the hamlet was Lower Harford Farm. (fn. 23) A farm was built at Upper Harford, about a mile south of Lower Harford, probably in the 18th century (fn. 24) and in the early 20th century it was replaced by two cottages. During the 19th century a few cottages were built at Upper and Lower Harford and at Harford Hill (fn. 25) where the cottages were converted into a farm-house c. 1960. (fn. 26)

The settlement at Aylworth lay in a hollow surrounded by springs, south-west of Naunton village. In 1086 eleven people were mentioned there (fn. 27) and in 1327 three were assessed for subsidy. (fn. 28) By 1341 Aylworth, like Harford, had been partially deserted, (fn. 29) and in 1381 only six people paid poll tax. (fn. 30) By the 17th century Aylworth formed one estate with a single large house (fn. 31) and perhaps a few cottages, as in 1962. Roundhill Farm, which became part of Aylworth (fn. 32) although it may not always have been, was possibly built in the 17th century or earlier and rebuilt in the 18th century; a cottage at Roundhill was built in 1886. (fn. 33)

Forty-six people in all were mentioned in 1086 in Naunton, Harford, and Aylworth; (fn. 34) although the population may have decreased by the 14th century it is also possible that the desertion of the two hamlets resulted in a redistribution rather than a decline of population. Fifty-three people from the whole parish paid poll tax in 1381. (fn. 35) In the late 16th century and early 17th the population almost doubled, from 18 families in 1563 (fn. 36) to 35 in 1650, (fn. 37) and it continued to rise during the 18th century; the number of families had increased to 40 by the late 17th century (fn. 38) and to 44 by 1735. (fn. 39) The population, which was 433 in 1801, rose steadily during the earlier 19th century to 568 in 1851; by 1881 there was a slight decrease and thereafter the population declined rapidly until 1951 when it had dropped to 340. (fn. 40)

A road referred to in the 10th century as the 'way of the people of Bourton' (fn. 41) was the ancient road, Buckle Street, (fn. 42) which crossed the north-east corner of the parish, and the minor road leading from Harford Bridge towards Upper Slaughter was, at the same date, called the ridgeway. (fn. 43) The road running across the north of the parish was called Slaughter Way in the 14th century (fn. 44) and apparently was later known as Winchcombe Way; (fn. 45) Sheepwell Lane running from it to the village divided Naunton fields from those of Guiting Power. (fn. 46) Since Harford Bridge is by the site of the ford from which Harford took its name, the Gloucester-Stow road, turnpiked in 1775, (fn. 47) may follow the course of an ancient road, possibly pre-dating Naunton village. The fact that Harford Bridge was made by the 16th century (fn. 48) supports the suggestion that the road (called the Gloucester way in the 16th century) (fn. 49) passed the village on the south side of the river by that time. Before 1778 roads ran from the turnpike road to the village, to Aylworth Farm, and to Guiting Power. (fn. 50) The bridge at the west end of the village was built by the rector, John Hurd, c. 1819, and in 1851 the same rector was responsible for building the bridge at the other end of the village. (fn. 51) The Banbury and Cheltenham Railway was built in 1881 (fn. 52) across the southern part of the parish, with Notgrove station about three miles from Naunton village.

The water supply for the village was drawn from the river and from springs on the high ground above the village; in the late 19th and early 20th century the parish council was much occupied with schemes for improving the water supply, (fn. 53) and pumps could be seen in many parts of the village in 1962. Aylworth had a good supply of water from the several springs on the hills around it. Main water was supplied to Naunton in the early 1950's. Electricity was provided only by private supplies (fn. 54) until 1948 when the main supply was made available. (fn. 55) A main sewage disposal system was introduced in 1962. A small village hall, built on land conveyed in trust for that purpose in 1937, was managed by trustees appointed by the parish council. (fn. 56)

All the buildings in Naunton, except the council houses, are of stone and most have Cotswold stone roofs. A notable feature of the village is the large number of buildings, including the church and many of the cottages, in which ashlar has been used. A considerable amount of rebuilding took place in the 19th century, and in a number of the houses sash or casement windows have replaced stone mullioned windows. Naunton village is unusual because the most dominant building is the large 19th-century Baptist chapel built in a prominent position on a hill.

The Manor House, a large 17th-century farmhouse, was almost entirely rebuilt in the late 19th century though the back of the house retained the 17th-century windows with mullions and transoms. The house is of ashlar, two-storied with dormers and a Cotswold stone roof; the front entrance has a pointed arched porch and the windows at the front have sashes. To the west of the house stands a large dovehouse, reputedly built in the 15th century, of rubble with a stone roof, four gables, and a small central turret which apparently was a lantern. The windows have stone mullions and a continuous dripmould, and the doorway has a four-centred arch. The dovehouse had fallen into disrepair and was restored c. 1949. (fn. 57) The oldest house in the village probably is Cromwell House, at the east end, built c. 1600 of rubble partly roughcast with a stone roof and two gables. It was originally L-shaped on plan. The windows have mullions, dripmoulds, and leaded lights, and the side elevation has a four-centred arched doorway with imposts, keystone, and moulded jambs and arch. There is no apparent foundation for the tradition that Cromwell House was so called because Oliver Cromwell stayed there, but it may have belonged to the Aylworth family, one member of which was an active supporter of Parliament during the Civil War. (fn. 58) The rectory, built in 1694, is a square two-storied house of ashlar with mullioned and transomed windows, and has hipped roofs with dormers.

Aylworth Farm was rebuilt in the late 17th century (fn. 59) and rebuilt again, supposedly on a slightly different site, in the 18th century. (fn. 60) It is threestoried, of ashlar with a Cotswold stone roof and sash windows which, on the south-west side, are in round-headed recesses. One of the large 18th-century barns has a small reset 15th-century window. Lower Harford Farm was also a 16th- or 17th-century house rebuilt in the 18th century, and a vaulted cellar, found during alterations to the house in the mid-20th century, (fn. 61) probably belongs to an earlier building. The house is of ashlar with a Welsh slate roof, two-storied with dormers. The windows at the front have segmental heads, and those at the side of the house, with dripmoulds and mullions, are of an earlier date.

With the exception of the Aylworth family and the rectors, none of the principal landowners lived in the parish until the mid-19th century, a fact which perhaps accounts for the influential position that the rectors enjoyed. Most of the rectors, from the 16th century, were resident (fn. 62) and took an active part in parish affairs, and rectors were responsible, among other things, for building the school and the bridges in the village. The rectory is the largest house in the village and at inclosure the rector received the largest allotment. (fn. 63) Two of the rectors, Ulpian Fulwell(d. 1585) (fn. 64) and Clement Barksdale(d. 1687), (fn. 65) were noted poets and writers. A 19th-century rector, Edward Litton, was a friend of 'Lewis Carroll', who is said to have often visited Naunton Rectory. (fn. 66) The Aylworth family held land and lived in the parish from the 14th century to the 18th. Captain Richard Aylworth (d. 1661) was with the Parliamentary army at the siege of Malmesbury (Wilts.) in 1644, (fn. 67) and took a prominent part in stopping the king's army at Stow. In 1646 he claimed that he had spent a large sum in the service of Parliament (fn. 68) and in 1656 his financial difficulties were said to have ruined his family. (fn. 69) The Hanks family, one of the principal landowners in 1962, also has a long association with the parish. A Nicholas Hanks was living there in 1568, (fn. 70) and members of the family afterwards became lessees and, later, owners of the manor. The only event of national importance which has touched the parish was in 1643 when the Earl of Essex and his army passed through Naunton on the way from Stow to Gloucester. (fn. 71)

Manors and Other Estates.

The manor held by Aylmer in NAUNTON in 1066 was held in 1086 by a nun, Quenild. (fn. 72) It was probably part of Quenild's estate that was sold by the Abbess of Lisieux (Eure) in the 13th century to Little Malvern Priory (fn. 73) which held it of the Crown as a third of a fee. (fn. 74) The monks evidently attached the estate to their other manor in Naunton and there seems to be no further reference to it as a separate manor.

The manor of NAUNTON held by Turstan in 1066 was held in 1086 by Osbern son of Richard, whose under-tenant was Roger Doyly. (fn. 75) The manor passed, with the rest of Osbern's land, by marriage to the Mortimer family of Richards Castle (Herefs.) in the early 13th century, (fn. 76) and presumably in the early 14th century it passed to Richard Talbot (d. 1328), whose wife Joan was daughter and heir of Hugh Mortimer. (fn. 77) Richard's grandson, John Talbot, died seised of the manor in 1374 (fn. 78) and was succeeded in turn by his sons, Richard (d. 1382) and John (d. 1388), and his daughter Elizabeth, wife of Sir Warin l'Arcedekne; (fn. 79) on her death in 1407 the estates were divided between her daughters, (fn. 80) and no further evidence has been found of the overlordship of Naunton manor. Members of the Doyly family continued as under-tenants during the 12th and early 13th centuries, Ralph Doyly holding the manor in the mid-12th century, Hugh Doyly towards the end of the century, (fn. 81) and Roger Doyly c. 1211. (fn. 82) In 1235 the manor was held as half a fee by Baldwin, (fn. 83) perhaps the same as the Baldwin of Harford who was lord of Harford. Little Malvern Priory had acquired the manor by 1287 (fn. 84) and retained it until the Dissolution (fn. 85) when the priory held it in chief.

In 1544 the manor was granted to Richard Andrews, (fn. 86) who in the same year sold it to John Dale (d. 1547), (fn. 87) the lessee from 1530. (fn. 88) It passed to John Dale's brother Thomas in 1548, (fn. 89) and in 1551 he granted it to Thomas Dale the younger. (fn. 90) The manor may have reverted to John Dale's wife, Margaret, who had married Edward Baskerville in 1547, (fn. 91) for Sir Thomas Baskerville died seised of it in 1572. (fn. 92) In 1591 the manor passed to John Talbot, who married Eleanor, daughter and heir of Thomas Baskerville, (fn. 93) and he sold it to Giles Venfield and others (fn. 94) before 1608, when Venfield and John Collett were lords of the manor. (fn. 95)

Collett's half of the manor passed to his brother Henry in 1642 (fn. 96) and afterwards to Anthony Collett (d. 1719), then to Anthony's brother Henry (d. 1731), (fn. 97) and then to William Moore (fn. 98) (d. 1768), whose wife Elizabeth was Henry Collett's daughter. After the death of Moore's second wife c. 1795 the estate passed to Hill Dawe, an illegitimate son of William Moore, (fn. 99) and William Dawe was the owner from c. 1807 to 1826. (fn. 100) It was probably this estate, with the reputed manor, centred on the Manor House with the large dovecot, (fn. 101) which William Hanks purchased from James Clark in 1857. (fn. 102) In 1962 it was owned by Mr. G. Hanks, the great-grandson of William Hanks.

Giles Venfield's moiety of the manor passed to his son Thomas in 1612, (fn. 103) and by 1650 it had been sold to William Rogers. (fn. 104) In 1720 John Rogers sold to John Snell of Guiting Grange, (fn. 105) and the estate, called Naunton farm and later Church farm, (fn. 106) remained part of the Guiting Grange estate until the 20th century. It was owned successively by John Snell's son, Powell (d. 1767), Powell's son, also Powell, the Revd. Reginald Winniat (fn. 107) and, from 1848, by John Waddingham and later by his son John (fn. 108) and John's daughter Margaret. Most of the land, which by 1936 was no longer part of the Guiting Grange estate, (fn. 109) became attached to the house, formerly the Naunton Inn, (fn. 110) which was then called Church Farm, and in 1962 there was little land belonging to the former site of the Venfield moiety of the manor, then called Church House.

The land in Aylworth held as a manor by Alvin in 1066 was, by 1086, divided into two estates, held by Gilbert son of Turold and William Goizenboded; (fn. 111) neither part seems to have been separately called a manor before the 14th century. Gilbert's holding, which became attached to his manor of Rendcomb, passed with the rest of his estate to the Earl of Gloucester in the mid-12th century and descended with the earldom until it became extinct in 1347. (fn. 112) Aylworth then passed by marriage to Ralph, Earl of Stafford, and descended with that earldom until 1444 when Humphrey, Earl of Stafford and Duke of Buckingham, was attainted and his lands passed to the Crown. (fn. 113) In the 16th century the overlordship of Aylworth seems to have passed successively to the lords of Rendcomb manor, John Tame, his son Edmund, (d. 1544), Edmund's wife Katherine, and his sister Margaret, wife of Sir Humphrey Stafford. (fn. 114) The association with Rendcomb manor persisted until the 17th century, (fn. 115) but by 1640 Edward Aylworth was said to hold in chief. (fn. 116)

The tenant of the manor in 1086 was Walter, (fn. 117) and from the 12th century to the late 13th the mesne tenants were members of the Delamare family, who were lords of Rendcomb also. (fn. 118) Towards the end of the 12th century William Delamare granted his land in Aylworth to Llanthony Priory (fn. 119) whose estate, called the manor of AYLWORTH from the mid14th century, (fn. 120) passed to the Crown at the Dissolution. (fn. 121) Land in Harford also belonging to the priory was treated as part of Aylworth manor. (fn. 122) Small grants of land in Harford were made to the priory in 1395 and 1411, (fn. 123) but in 1538 Llanthony Priory's estate was said to include only one messuage in Harford. (fn. 124) In 1564 the manor of Aylworth was granted to Vincent and Richard Calmudy, (fn. 125) who in the same year sold it to Anthony Aylworth (fn. 126) whose family were holding land in Aylworth by the early 14th century. (fn. 127)

By 1566 Anthony Aylworth also owned the estate in Aylworth (fn. 128) that was held by St. Oswald's Priory, Gloucester, from the mid-13th century. (fn. 129) The estate, probably deriving from the land held by William Goizenboded in 1086, (fn. 130) was in the 16th century called the manor of AYLWORTH or ROSE COURT. (fn. 131) It passed to the Crown at the Dissolution (fn. 132) and was granted in 1543 to Richard Andrews and Nicholas Temple, who sold it to John Stafford in the same year. (fn. 133) After the manor had passed to Anthony Aylworth (d. 1566) the two parts of Aylworth were treated as one manor. It passed successively to Richard Aylworth (fn. 134) (d. 1578), Richard's son Edward (d. 1640), Edward's son Bray (fn. 135) (d. 1640), Bray's son Richard (d. 1661), and Richard's son Joshua, (fn. 136) after whose death in 1718 the manor was sold to John Herring of London. (fn. 137) The manor then passed successively to Herring's sister, Mary Blagg of Gunthorpe (Notts.) in 1742, to her son Henry, and in 1764 to Henry's six children jointly. (fn. 138) In 1801 it was purchased by Thomas Vernon Dolphin of Eyford and in 1803 passed to his son Vernon Dolphin. (fn. 139) In 1854 it was sold (fn. 140) to John Waddingham of Guiting Grange and was subsequently owned by his son John, and then in turn by John's daughters, Margaret Waddingham (fn. 141) and Mrs. Richardson, (fn. 142) who sold it in 1936 to Mr. A. G. Walker. The estate was sold by Mr. Walker in 1959 to Mr. G. E. Mavroleon, (fn. 143) the owner in 1962. (fn. 144)

It is suggested that the manor of Herfortin given by Denebeorht, Bishop of Worcester, to the see of Worcester in 822 was HARFORD manor; (fn. 145) a grant of 963 by Oswald, Bishop of Worcester, to his thegn Ethelnoth of land in Harford (fn. 146) may support the theory. In 1066 the manor was held by Alfer and in 1086 by Gilbert son of Turold, (fn. 147) from whom it passed, with Aylworth, to the Earls of Gloucester and, after 1347, to the Earls of Stafford. (fn. 148) In the mid-13th century the manor was held by Baldwin of Harford, who alienated half the manor to the Templars, and his heirs held of the honor of Gloucester in 1328. (fn. 149) By 1359 it was held by Thomas of Rodborough (d. 1367) and seems to have been attached to Rodborough manor. (fn. 150) It is unlikely that there were any real manorial rights associated with the small estate in Harford which Thomas of Rodborough held and it was not often called a manor. The estate passed in 1392 to the great-nephew and heir of Thomas of Rodborough, Richard Browning, (fn. 151) who died in 1400, when it passed to his sister Cecily (fn. 152) and afterwards to her husband Guy Whittington of Pauntley (d. 1441). (fn. 153) John Whittington, Guy's grandson or great-grandson, died seised of the manor in 1525 when it passed to his son Thomas (fn. 154) (d. 1546). John Whittington, possibly Thomas's stepbrother, was dealing with the manor in 1588, (fn. 155) and in 1640 Edmund Whittington, perhaps the greatgrandson of Alexander, another step-brother of John Whittington, sold the manor to Henry and John Collett and John Taylor. (fn. 156)

In the 18th century, under the name of Upper Harford farm, Harford manor belonged to the owners of the Collett moiety of Naunton manor. (fn. 157) In 1857 Upper Harford was sold, (fn. 158) probably to John Waddingham, who owned it in 1869, (fn. 159) and in 1936 it was sold with Roundhill farm (fn. 160) to Mr. A. G. Walker, becoming part of the Aylworth estate. By the early 20th century a ruined house and a few cottages were the only indications of the possible site of the manor at Harford. (fn. 161)

Eynsham Abbey, to which Ralph Doyly had given the tithes of his demesne in Naunton by the mid12th century, was granted a small estate there in the late 12th century by Hugh Doyly. (fn. 162) The abbey was receiving rent from the land, describing as a messuage and yardland, up to 1465, and it was probably included with the abbey's land in Wick Rissington in 1535. (fn. 163)

By 1185 the Templars had half a hide in Naunton, given to them by Roger Doyly, (fn. 164) and during the 13th century they acquired half the hamlet of Harford from Baldwin of Harford. (fn. 165) The land became attached to the manor of Temple Guiting with which it passed to Hugh Despenser and, in 1328, to Pancius de Controne, (fn. 166) who sold it to William de Clinton, Earl of Huntingdon, before 1354. (fn. 167) The estate was granted in the late 15th century to John Huddleston of Sudeley, (fn. 168) whose wife sold it in 1517 to the Bishop of Winchester, (fn. 169) from whom Corpus Christi College, Oxford, received it in 1518. (fn. 170) Land in Naunton held of the College in 1612 by Giles Venfield (fn. 171) may later have been sold, but the estate in Harford, including c. 250 a., which in the 17th century was divided into two farms, (fn. 172) called by the 18th century Lower Harford and Harford Hill, (fn. 173) was retained by Corpus Christi College until 1958. In that year both farms were bought by the lessee, Mr. S. J. Clifford, who sold Harford Hill Farm a few years later. (fn. 174)

St. Oswald's Priory, Gloucester, had been granted an estate in Naunton (possibly part of the land held by Quenild in 1086) (fn. 175) by 1316, when the prior was said to be one of the lords of Naunton. (fn. 176) The estate was leased by John Dale from 1532 (fn. 177) and it may have been the farm said to have been called Bale Farm (fn. 178) and later Roundhill Farm. It was granted in 1543 to Richard Andrews and Nicholas Temple, (fn. 179) who sold it in the same year to John Stratford, (fn. 180) and afterwards it passed to the Aylworth family, (fn. 181) becoming part of the Aylworth estate until the mid-18th century. (fn. 182) In 1796 Roundhill was owned by members of a family called Ruck and was sold in or before 1826 to John Bullock (fn. 183) whose family owned it until 1880, (fn. 184) when it was bought by John Waddingham and became part of the Aylworth estate again. (fn. 185)

Economic History.

The larger of the two estates in Naunton, which had decreased in value from £8 to £5 in 1086, had five demesne ploughs and five shared by seven villani. The smaller estate had a smaller demesne with two ploughs and no servi and eight villani with four and a half ploughs. The five hides in Aylworth, where there was possibly more land to a plough and fewer tenants than at Naunton, had three demesne ploughs (the estate of one hide being all demesne), and two ploughs shared by three villani. Harford, though including only one hide, was of the same value as the estate of four hides in Aylworth, and, with two demesne ploughs and two held by four villani and one bordar, had proportionately a considerably higher number of ploughs and tenants than the rest of the parish. (fn. 186)

There seems to be no evidence of the amount of land kept in demesne in Naunton by Little Malvern Priory, and in 1535 almost the whole value of the priory's estate there came from assized rents and rents of tenants at will. (fn. 187) St. Oswald's Priory in 1291 had two carucates in demesne in Aylworth and Aston Blank, (fn. 188) and in the 16th century probably most of the priory's estate in Aylworth was demesne land. Llanthony Priory's estate included one carucate in demesne in 1279, (fn. 189) and demesne pasture was presumably increased especially after the mid-14th century when some land in Aylworth and Harford ceased to be cultivated. (fn. 190) In the 15th century and early 16th, when Aylworth manor with the arable demesne was leased, the pasture seems to have been kept for the priory's sheep. (fn. 191) In 1535 the arable land held by Llanthony Priory was valued at 36s. and the pasture at £7 16s. (fn. 192) The three yardlands attached to Harford manor in the 14th century (fn. 193) were probably all held in demesne.

Some small freeholders held land in Naunton parish in the 13th century. (fn. 194) In 1260 the tenants of the Mortimer manor were holding 14 yardlands, (fn. 195) and in 1535 the rents of free tenants and tenants at will of the same manor amounted to £4 15s. 6d. (fn. 196) Of ten landholders who paid subsidy in 1327 in Naunton township two paid respectively 10s. and 6s. and the others less than 2s. (fn. 197) The estate of St. Oswald's Priory in Naunton had at one time six tenants each holding a messuage and yardland, (fn. 198) and, in 1536, one free tenement. (fn. 199) By 1568 the same estate included four tenants. (fn. 200) Tenants of the priory in Aylworth and Aston Blank paid 77s. rent in 1291; a lay fee from which the priory received 6 marks may have been entirely in Aston Blank. (fn. 201) There seems to be no evidence of tenants on St. Oswald's Priory's land in Aylworth in 1536, apart from the farmer of the manor. (fn. 202) Llanthony Priory's estate in Aylworth included free and customary tenants in the 12th century, (fn. 203) and in 1291 tenants' rents amounted to 20s. (fn. 204) Customary tenants evidently owed heriots (fn. 205) and bedrips, though a tenement where labour service had been commuted for money payment by the 14th century may have been typical of the other customary holdings. (fn. 206) The number of tenants at Aylworth had decreased by the mid-14th century (fn. 207) but there were still some freeholders, as well as the farmer of the demesne, towards the end of the century. (fn. 208) In 1540 Llanthony Priory's estate apparently included only one tenant. (fn. 209) In the Templars' estate, where there was at least one tenant holding a yardland in 1185, (fn. 210) 14 yardlands were held by tenants in 1260. (fn. 211) The estate included four yardlands in the early 14th century (fn. 212) and at least one free tenant in 1507. (fn. 213)

Although no direct evidence has been found of separate open fields for Aylworth and Harford it is probable that both places had their own fields at one time. The names Upper and Lower Aylworth field, used in the 17th century to describe in closures of c. 600 a., (fn. 214) suggest a former open field divided into two parts, with perhaps common pasture on Aylworth Downs. Aylworth and especially Harford supported a large number of ploughs in 1086, (fn. 215) and up to 1220 when they were said to include seven and five ploughs respectively, (fn. 216) but by 1341 both places had been largely deserted and allowed to go out of cultivation. (fn. 217) By that time it was presumably no longer economic to cultivate the infertile uplands that formed the greater part of Aylworth and Harford and it is probable that the 14th and 15th centuries saw an extensive change from arable to sheep farming in those places.

Some land remained arable in Harford in the 14th century (fn. 218) and in Aylworth in the 16th, (fn. 219) but sheep farming was important on Llanthony Priory's estate by the mid-14th century when the prior's shepherd was paid an annual stipend by the farmer of part of the demesne. (fn. 220) In 1385 the Prior of Llanthony claimed 200 a. of pasture from John Aylworth, (fn. 221) and in the 16th century the Aylworth family had 600 sheep at Aylworth. (fn. 222) In 1535 pasture was much the most valuable part of Llanthony Priory's estate. (fn. 223) The increase in pasture was probably accompanied by inclosure by Llanthony Priory and St. Oswald's Priory. The Templars' land in Harford was also probably inclosed by the 16th century and though there was still common pasture in Harford in 1545 (fn. 224) and in Aylworth in 1538, (fn. 225) by the late 16th century probably both places were wholly inclosed.

Most of the land in Naunton manor remained arable during the Middle Ages, although sheep farming was generally important in the parish by the 16th century. Nearly half the rector's tithes in 1535 came from wool (fn. 226) and in the early 17th century there were four shepherds in Naunton. (fn. 227) The common fields of Naunton lay north and south of the village, stretching from the common pasture land called Naunton Downs on the west, to Harford on the east and including most of the parish north of the village. The land around Summer Hill in the north also provided common pasture and the land beside the river was meadow. A hedge divided the land into an East and West field in the 16th century and, probably, earlier. The two fields were later distinguished as the Upper and Lower fields and in the early 16th century they seem to have been subdivided into the east and west Upper and Lower End fields. Both fields were divided into furlongs and, if the rector's glebe was typical, land was held in scattered pieces of one or often half a field acre, with c. 30 field acres to a yardland. (fn. 228) Fifty sheeppastures to a yardland was the usual stint in the 17th century. (fn. 229) At inclosure in 1778 more than half the parish was included in the open fields. (fn. 230)

In 1608 five people in Naunton and Harford, including a yeoman and three husbandmen, probably had large farms. (fn. 231) In the mid-17th century Edward Aylworth's land in Naunton included a number of tenants. (fn. 232) By the late 17th century the manor was divided among freeholders, (fn. 233) and it is unlikely that any copyhold tenure persisted. Of nine people holding land in the open fields of Naunton in the late 17th century, three seem to have had large farms. (fn. 234) Harford in the 17th century included two farms of c. 200 a. and one smaller one. (fn. 235) Aylworth apparently formed one large farm in the early 17th century (fn. 236) though later Roundhill was farmed separately. (fn. 237) During the 17th and 18th centuries the number of landholders probably increased and just before inclosure in 1778 some 20 people were holding land in the parish. In Naunton itself there was one large farm and another six substantial holdings, with about eight smaller holdings. Harford was still divided into three farms at that time and Aylworth included one farm of c. 600 a., another of 200 a., and two small farms. (fn. 238)

In 1778 all the remaining open land in Naunton, including 1,699 a. of arable and pasture, was inclosed. The two fields, then called the Upper and Lower End fields, were of almost equal size, the Upper field being slightly larger, and Naunton Downs included c. 150 a. Fourteen landholders received allotments, the largest being that of the rector who received 496 a. in lieu of glebe and tithe; two other people received allotments of more than 200 a., three between 100 a and 200 a., and eight less than 50 a. The land was allotted, on the whole, in scattered pieces, though most of the larger estates included about half their land in single large allotments, and the inclosure award also provided for some exchange of land to consolidate estates. (fn. 239) During the 19th century the number and size of the farms underwent little change, and in the late 19th century the number of substantial farms was about eight, with some 20 small holdings. (fn. 240) Although during the 19th century several farms were bought by the owners of the Guiting Grange estate, they continued to be farmed separately. By 1962 Aylworth, Upper Harford, and Roundhill were farmed as one estate of 1,100 a., (fn. 241) Manor Farm was c. 500 a., (fn. 242) and four other farms were more than 200 a.

Arable farming may have increased at Aylworth during the 17th century: in 1686 Aylworth Farm included 350 a. arable and 125 a. pasture, (fn. 243) and in the late 18th century it was mostly arable land. (fn. 244) At Harford farming was mixed arable and pasture in the 17th and 18th centuries. (fn. 245) The parish was said to be mainly arable in the late 17th century, (fn. 246) but after inclosure there may have been an increase in sheep farming again and in 1801 less than half the parish was returned as sown. (fn. 247) During the 19th century sheep-and-corn farming continued, with a predominance of arable land on most of the farms. In 1936 when the Aylworth estate was sold only a small part of it was under cultivation, (fn. 248) but by 1962 more than half the land was arable and the rest was used for sheep and cattle. On the other farms also farming was mixed, with beef and dairy cattle replacing sheep to some extent.

Quarries at Harford may have been in use by the late 13th century when one of the principal masons employed by the Crown was a Walter of Harford, (fn. 249) and the property of Corpus Christi College at Harford included a quarry in 1541. (fn. 250) By the 17th century quarries were in use in Naunton manor also, (fn. 251) but it was possibly not until the 19th century that quarrying became an important source of employment in the parish. (fn. 252) The most extensive quarrying was carried out in the north-east part of the parish, at Huntsman's Quarries, and smaller quarries in various parts of the parish were in use in the 19th century, (fn. 253) especially for providing stone slates for roofing. Although there were still builders and slaters in Naunton in the early 20th century several of the quarries had closed. (fn. 254) Brockhill Quarry, on the east side of the parish, was in use until the 1950's, and in 1962 Huntsman's Quarry and the building company associated with it were an important source of employment in the parish. (fn. 255)

There was a butcher in the parish in the 16th century, (fn. 256) and in 1608 two tailors, a carpenter, and a smith were working in Naunton; 18 people were employed as servants at that date, but the figure apparently includes agricultural labourers working on the Aylworth estate. (fn. 257) The parish had tailors in the mid-17th century (fn. 258) and in 1779, (fn. 259) a shoemaker in 1735, (fn. 260) and a cordwainer in the late 18th century. (fn. 261) There were smiths in Naunton during the 17th century (fn. 262) and, probably continuously, until the first half of the 20th century. (fn. 263) In 1811 26 families were occupied in trade, manufacture, or industry, compared with 63 families employed in agriculture. (fn. 264) Towards the end of the 19th century Naunton had 2 carpenters, a wheelwright, a bootmaker, 3 bakers, 2 butchers, and 2 shops. (fn. 265) There was no inn in the parish (fn. 266) until the early 19th century when the Naunton Inn was built on the turnpike road to Stow. By 1910 it had become a farm-house, (fn. 267) and another inn in the village, opened by 1870, (fn. 268) was the only one in 1962. A cider-press, said to have been in use for c. 150 years, could be seen there in 1962, although it had not been used since 1940. In 1962 there were two shops, a bakery, and a petrol station in the village. The greater part of the population worked on the land or in quarrying in 1962, but several worked outside the parish. The village had several residents who had retired there from other parts of the country.

Mills.

The mill in Naunton belonging to the estate of Quenild in 1086, when it was valued at 5s., (fn. 269) may have passed to either Little Malvern or St. Oswald's Priory. In 1590 Naunton manor included at least one mill; (fn. 270) Naunton Mill, at the east end of the village, built in the 17th century, probably on the site of the earlier mill, was presumably one of the two mills belonging to John Charles of Naunton in 1788. (fn. 271) By 1867 it belonged to William Hanks (fn. 272) and members of that family held the mill, which included a bakery in the late 19th century, until the 1930's when it was sold (fn. 273) and ceased to be used as a mill. The range of buildings was apparently built in the 18th century, and the mill machinery, still almost intact in 1962, was made largely of wood in the late 19th century, though some parts were probably earlier.

It is suggested that a track called Mill Way in 743 ran from the north boundary of Notgrove to a mill at Lower Harford, and there was a mill below Lower Harford in 963. (fn. 274) It was probably the mill that belonged to the estate of Gilbert son of Turold in 1086, when it was worth 5s., (fn. 275) but no later evidence of Harford Mill has been found.

Local Government.

In 1286 view of frankpledge was claimed by the Abbot of Fecamp in Naunton and Aylworth as part of Salmonsbury hundred, by the Templars in their land in Naunton and Harford, and by the Earl of Gloucester in Aylworth and Harford. (fn. 276) The hamlet of Aylworth, which attended the court at Rendcomb of the Earls of Gloucester (fn. 277) and, subsequently, of the Earls of Stafford, until the 16th century, (fn. 278) had by the early 17th century apparently become part of Bradley hundred. In the late 16th century Naunton and Aylworth each had a constable and tithingman, (fn. 279) but there seems to be no evidence that Harford was a separate tithing at that time.

Little Malvern Priory and Llanthony Priory held courts in Naunton (fn. 280) and Aylworth, (fn. 281) but no court rolls are known to have survived for any of the manors in the parish. Naunton manor court had ceased to function long before the mid-18th century. (fn. 282)

Churchwardens' accounts survive from 1776; a vestry minute book for the years 1540 to 1776 was apparently lost in the late 19th century. (fn. 283) Expenditure on poor-relief increased fivefold between 1776 and 1803, when parish expenditure in lawsuits was high. In that year 34 people received regular relief and 10 occasional relief, (fn. 284) and although there was a decrease in the numbers relieved in 1813, expenditure had increased. From 1813 expenditure fell. (fn. 285) Naunton became part of the Stow-on-theWold Poor Law Union in 1835, and of the Stowon-the-Wold Rural Sanitary District in 1872, being transferred in 1935 to the newly formed North Cotswold Rural District. (fn. 286) The parish council, formed in 1894, (fn. 287) met regularly in 1962.

Church.

There seems to be no evidence for the tradition that the earliest church in the parish was at Lower Harford. (fn. 288) The church at Naunton was probably built by the mid-12th century when there was a dispute about the tithes of Naunton between the Abbot of Eynsham (Oxon.) and Alan of Slaughter, priest; (fn. 289) the building includes some 12th-century work. (fn. 290) The earliest known documentary reference to the church is of 1260, when the cure was served by a rector. In that year the tithes were confirmed by the Bishop of Worcester to Little Malvern Priory, (fn. 291) to which also the advowson was granted by the Abbess of Lisieux during the 13th century. (fn. 292) In 1281 the prior granted the advowson and the tithes to the bishop for an annual pension of 8s. (fn. 293) In 1286 the living was held by the chaplain of the mortuary chapel of Worcester Cathedral (fn. 294) and the following year, during the absence of the chaplain, the bishop annexed the church to the mortuary chapel. (fn. 295) A vicar was apparently officiating in 1291 (fn. 296) but a vicarage was not endowed. The next chaplain of the mortuary chapel, given administration of Naunton church in 1292, (fn. 297) seems to have assumed the revenue without presentation (fn. 298) and a dispute arose when in 1301, duringa vacancy of the bishopric, the Prior of Little Malvern tried to present. (fn. 299) Thereafter the association with the chapel ceased, the church retained its original status as a rectory, and the bishop retained the patronage. (fn. 300) No later evidence of the 8s. pension has been found. In 1962 the benefice was still a rectory. The bishops of Worcester retained the patronage until 1852 when it was transferred to the Bishop of Gloucester, (fn. 301) who was the patron in 1962. (fn. 302)

The church was valued at £6 13s. 4d. in 1291 when the vicar's portion was £4 6s. 8d. and Little Malvern Priory's portion was 8s. (fn. 303) By 1535 the value had increased to £15 (fn. 304) and it continued to rise, to £90 in 1650 (fn. 305) and £140 in 1750. (fn. 306) In 1535 the rector had all the tithes, which were valued at £14 19s. 7d. (fn. 307) Until inclosure in 1778 all the land in the parish was subject to tithe. (fn. 308) A messuage and half a yardland which belonged to the rector in the late 13th century (fn. 309) may have been the glebe, which in 1535 included 35½ a. of arable and 1 a. of meadow. (fn. 310) In 1584 and during the 17th and 18th centuries the glebe consisted of two yardlands with 100 sheepcommons and 8 cow-commons and a house, (fn. 311) rebuilt in 1694. (fn. 312) At inclosure the rector received 53 a. for his glebe and 443 a. for tithe from the land inclosed and from c. 1,000 a. of old inclosures. (fn. 313) In 1841 the tithes still payable from 563 a. of old inclosures were commuted for a corn-rent. (fn. 314) During the 19th century and early 20th the rector's estate was one of the largest in the parish and the rectory was valued at c. £450. Most of the rectory estate was sold between 1935 and 1939 (fn. 315) and in 1961 the glebe amounted to 40 a. (fn. 316) The rectory house (fn. 317) was sold in the mid-20th century, since when there has been no residence in the parish.

In 1303 the Crown presented to the rectory a man who was not even in minor orders, and the following year this rector was licensed to go to Rome with the Archbishop of York (fn. 318) and to study for seven years, during which he was to receive the order of subdeacon. (fn. 319) The next rector, a subdeacon when he was instituted, was given leave of absence to serve the Bishop of Bath and Wells, (fn. 320) and the rector in 1317 was chaplain to Aymer of Valence and a pluralist. (fn. 321) His successor, a clerk of the Bishop of Worcester, did not receive priest's orders for two years after his institution. (fn. 322) John Whittington, whose tenure of the rectory for 13 years in the late 14th century (fn. 323) seems to have been longer than most, was probably a member of the family that held Harford manor. (fn. 324) In the late 15th century and early 16th, when there were curates at Naunton, the rectors probably did not reside. (fn. 325) One of the 14th-century and two of the 15th-century rectors were graduates. (fn. 326)

In 1551 the rector was not resident but the curate was said to be satisfactory. (fn. 327) The rector instituted in 1559 was deprived of the living two years later. (fn. 328) In 1570 Ulpian Fulwell, the poet, became rector and, though he was a pluralist, he seems to have lived at Naunton. (fn. 329) His successor Joseph Hanxman, a graduate and preacher, (fn. 330) rector for 46 years, also lived at Naunton, and the lessee of the rectory estate at this time was called Hanxman. (fn. 331) Thomas Freeman, who became rector in 1632, was related to a family of that name holding land in Naunton. (fn. 332) He was ejected from his living in 1651 but continued to live in the parish, probably carrying on a private ministry, and was buried at Naunton in 1660. (fn. 333) Two ministers served the cure during the Interregnum and one of them was ejected in 1660 when Clement Barksdale became rector. (fn. 334) A royalist and a noted preacher, scholar, and poet, Barksdale held two other benefices in 1660, but he lived at Naunton and died there in 1687. (fn. 335)

The glebe house was rebuilt in 1694 (fn. 336) and during the 18th and 19th centuries the rectors continued to live at Naunton, serving the cure themselves, often with the assistance of a curate. (fn. 337) Between 1764 and 1860 two men, Anselm Jones and John Hurd, held the rectory, for 43 and 53 years respectively. (fn. 338) Edward Litton, a noted theological writer, was rector in the late 19th century. (fn. 339) From the 16th century Naunton appears to have been unusually well served by its rectors, and it is perhaps surprising that by the mid-19th century the congregation of the parish church was apparently very much smaller than that of the Baptist chapel. (fn. 340) In the mid20th century the rectory was vacant for 10 years, being served by a retired priest and then by the Vicar of Guiting Power, who in 1962 was instituted to the rectory. (fn. 341)

Several small benefactions by unknown donors for the repair of the church amounted to c. 5 a. in the 17th century, (fn. 342) and an estate in Harford, about which there had been a dispute settled in Chancery in the late 17th century, produced 8s. in 1736. (fn. 343) By the early 19th century 2 a. allotted at inclosure were let for 30s.; the 5 a. and the 8s. had been lost by that time. (fn. 344) In 1953 1 a., called Church Bell Rope Land, produced 15s. which was used for maintaining the bells. (fn. 345)

The church of ST. ANDREW, built of ashlar with a Cotswold stone roof, comprises chancel and nave undivided by a chancel arch, short north aisle, north vestry, west tower, and south porch. The church was probably built in the 12th century and before 1878 the south door retained a rounded arch with toothed mouldings of that date. (fn. 346) A corbel head reset over the east window of the vestry is thought to be of the 12th century, and a Saxon cross found under the nave during the rebuilding in 1878 (fn. 347) was reset in the north-west wall of the nave. The masonry used to block a window at the south-east end of the nave bears markings possibly of the 12th century. The eastern of the north windows of the aisle, square-headed of three lights with tracery, was built c. 1400. The west tower, embattled and pinnacled, of three stages with carved heads and gargoyles, was built in the 15th century. The west windows of the tower and aisle, of three lights with hoods and corbel heads, are of the same period. In the 16th century some windows in the church contained painted glass, including representations of the apostles and other saints, (fn. 348) fragments of which were still visible in the late 18th century. (fn. 349) The east end of the aisle was a Lady Chapel, used in the 16th century as a burial place by the Aylworth family. (fn. 350)

In the 16th century the church was largely rebuilt, the new work including the chancel, the nave, and the north aisle. The north aisle does not reach to the west end of the nave, on which it opens through two wide flat arches supported on an octagonal pillar with concave sides. The roof of the nave was lowered and the weathering of the former roof can be seen on the east side of the tower. In 1962 some of the timbers appeared to survive from the 16th century. The round-headed windows of the aisle, nave, and chancel are probably of the same period.

In 1878 the south porch was rebuilt and a new east window was inserted in the chancel. In 1899 the church was restored and the floor level altered. (fn. 351)

The stone pulpit attached to the south wall of the nave is of c. 1500; (fn. 352) the octagonal bowl of the font is 15th-century. (fn. 353) A scratch-dial can be seen on the south wall of the tower, (fn. 354) and it is said that two more were visible on the south wall of the nave; (fn. 355) two sundials on the south and west walls of the tower were placed there by the rector in 1743. (fn. 356)

Three small 17th-century memorial brasses commemorate Clement Barksdale and members of his family. On the north wall of the chancel is a marble wall tablet to Ambrose Oldys (d. 1710), of Harford. A table of charitable gifts to the parish is on the north wall of the nave. In the early 19th century there was a tomb for members of the Aylworth family, (fn. 357) of which no later evidence has been found.

One of the bells is dated 1684 and the other two are of 1775. (fn. 358) A new organ was installed, in what was formerly the Lady Chapel, in 1912. (fn. 359) The church plate includes a 17th-century credence paten, and a chalice, paten cover, and salver of the 18th century. (fn. 360) The registers begin in 1540 and are virtually complete.

Nonconformity.

In 1676 there were said to be six nonconformists in Naunton (fn. 361) and by 1735 the number had increased to 11; six were described as Presbyterians, three as Anabaptists, and two as Sabbatarians. (fn. 362) A Seventh Day Baptist began to preach in Naunton in 1737, (fn. 363) and a few years later the Baptist community there was being served from Bourton-on-the-Water Baptist church. (fn. 364) Private houses were used for worship until 1797 when a Baptist chapel was built at Naunton, (fn. 365) in the main village street. In 1800 the Baptists at Naunton had had their own pastor for about two years and in 1812 their independence of Bourton-on-the-Water was recognized; (fn. 366) the community was later united with Stow Baptist church, but by 1821 was independent again. (fn. 367) In 1827 Lower Guiting chapel was united with Naunton chapel. (fn. 368)

By the mid-19th century when the number of members was 69 (fn. 369) the chapel was too small for the increasing congregation, and a new chapel, on the same site, was built in 1850. The work, which involved lowering the hill on which the chapel stands, was financed largely by the Baptist community at Naunton, (fn. 370) and the chapel, a large building of stone with a Welsh slate roof and lit by tall round-headed windows, had seating accommondation for c. 300, a lecture room, and two vestries. In 1851 when two services were held the average congregation was said to be 260, with 30 attending the Sunday school. (fn. 371) The chapel, which had a burial ground before 1850, (fn. 372) was in 1855 registered for marriages (fn. 373) and in 1861 the premises adjacent to the chapel were bought as a house for the minister. (fn. 374) The chapel was reseated and the schoolroom enlarged in 1903. (fn. 375) There were 31 members in the mid-20th century, (fn. 376) and in 1962, when the chapel still had a resident minister and regular services, the congregation was c. 15. (fn. 377)

In 1830, 1841, and 1846 private houses were being used as places of worship by a nonconformist community which was probably Methodist. (fn. 378) In 1851 the Wesleyan minister of Chipping Norton was in charge of a congregation of c. 20 at Naunton meeting in a building not used solely as a chapel but known as Naunton Hill Wesleyan Chapel. (fn. 379) No evidence of later Methodist meetings in Naunton has been found.

Schools.

In the early 18th century a church school for poor children was supported by voluntary subscription, (fn. 380) and in 1746 Thomas Freeman gave 30s. annually from his estate in Naunton for a teacher, to be appointed by the rector and churchwardens, to teach poor children to read. Before the end of the 18th century Freeman's charity had been lost. (fn. 381)

While John Hurd was rector a school was housed in some of the rectory buildings (fn. 382) and in 1864 the rector gave part of the glebe land for the erection of Naunton National school, (fn. 383) a large stone building with a stone roof and gables standing on the main village street, opposite the Baptist chapel. The school, supported mainly by voluntary contributions in 1864, received a grant from 1866. The average attendance in that year was 36. (fn. 384)

A British school was held in the Baptist chapel from 1860; it had an average attendance of 25 in 1870. (fn. 385)

In 1873 the National and British schools were replaced by a board school, (fn. 386) held in the building of the former National school, which, however, remained church property. (fn. 387) In 1905, when the attendance had risen to c. 77, a separate infants' department was formed. (fn. 388) In 1962, when the older children attended schools at Bourton-on-the-Water and Northleach, the number of pupils was c. 35. (fn. 389)

Charities.

No eleemosynary charities are known.

Footnotes

Annotations