KINGSTON
The parish of Kingston, 7 miles west-south-west of
Cambridge, comprises 1,907 a. It is roughly rectangular in shape, stretching south-westwards from
the Bourn brook which, in general, forms the northern boundary. The Mare Way forms the southern
and Porter's Way much of the western boundary.
It is noticeable, however, that the parish does not
quite reach to Ermine Street. The Bedford—Cambridge railway line passes through the north part of
the parish. (fn. 1) Layer described Kingston as standing
'upon a pretty ascent, but is cold and moist yet not
unfruitful'. (fn. 2) The land rises south-westwards from
80 ft. above sea level by the brook to over 250 ft.
along the Mare Way. Drainage is effected by small
streams flowing north-eastward into the Bourn
brook, creating shallow longitudinal valleys. (fn. 3) The
soil is heavy, lying mostly over boulder clay upon
gault, with a few strains of gravel. The south-west
part of the parish is well wooded. Baldwin St.
George had a deer-park in Kingston in 1269 and
Constantine Mortimer had 100 a. of woodland in
1355. (fn. 4) Kingston wood has remained c. 100 a. in
extent. (fn. 5) About 1790 it contained elm, ash, and oak. (fn. 6)
Apart from closes of old inclosed pasture near the
village, and the water-meadows by the brook, the
north and central parts of the parish are largely
arable land. The amount of pasture increases in the
south. The parish has been mainly agricultural, and
was farmed in three open fields until inclosure in
1815. (fn. 7)
The village stands in the north part of the parish
on a spur between two streams. The church occupies
a commanding position at the north entrance to the
village together with a small cluster of houses. The
rest of the village is centred upon the remnants of
an old green where a road south from the Caxton–
Cambridge road meets the road from Bourn to the
Eversdens. The green, perhaps the earlier market
green, was formerly much larger but has been
eroded by building and the passage of traffic. (fn. 8)
Most of the dwellings are built along the lanes which
radiate from the green. The village includes a
number of timber-framed and plastered houses,
some of the late medieval period, but most dating
from the 17th and 18th centuries. (fn. 9) Since c. 1960 a
number of houses and large bungalows has been
built in the village.
As far as is known, the principal settlement in the
parish has always been on the same site. It is probable,
however, that the site of Kingston Wood Farm,
1¼ mile south-west of the village, has a long history
of occupation. The farm-house dates from the early
16th century but stands by a medieval moat, which
is almost certainly the site of Kingston Wood
manor-house. (fn. 10) It stands ¾ mile from Ermine Street
to which it is connected by a drive. A footpath
provides the only access thence to Kingston village. (fn. 11)
Although Kingston Wood was the principal manor
in Kingston after the Conquest, (fn. 12) the site is noticeably remote from the church, suggesting that its
importance developed after the establishment of the
principal settlement. In 1317 Constantine Mortimer
was granted a papal indult to have mass celebrated
in his chapel because his manor was remote from
the parish church and access was difficult. (fn. 13) The
chapel was recorded c. 1280 and in 1297, a chaplain
holding 20 a. in free alms in 1279, and an oratory
in 1393. (fn. 14) Remains of a chapel were detected at
Kingston Wood manor-house in the mid 18th
century. (fn. 15) It is not certain whether a settlement
developed round the manor-house. In 1720 several
of the closes there bore what appear to have been
family names, suggesting house-sites, and one was
called Cobblers close. (fn. 16)
Kingston appears to have been a flourishing
village in the early 14th century. Fifty-six people
from it were assessed to the tax of 1327, (fn. 17) the third
largest number in the hundred. Only 111 persons,
however, paid poll tax in 1377, (fn. 18) which seems to
indicate that the population of Kingston had fallen
more sharply than that of most other parishes in
Longstowe hundred. The parish contained 42
families in 1563, (fn. 19) but in 1666 there were only
27 tenements, one of the lowest totals in the
hundred. (fn. 20) In 1676 there were 84 conformists and
11 dissenters. (fn. 21) There were said to be 160 inhabitants c. 1793, a large increase having occurred
in the previous 20 years. (fn. 22) Growth continued
steadily from 225 persons in 1801 to 322 in 1871,
apart from a sharp decline to 168 in 1811. Since
1871 the population has declined, the reduction
being particularly severe between 1891 and 1901. (fn. 23)
In 1961 there were 151 inhabitants. (fn. 24) The figure has
probably risen with subsequent development.
Kingston, a rather isolated village, is linked to the
Caxton-Cambridge road by a road which perhaps
once continued north to Caldecote, but has been
diverted slightly to the east. The road which leaves
the Caxton-Cambridge road at the Bourn boundary,
passing through the village centre and continuing
to Eversden, is called Tinker's Lane east of the
green. (fn. 25) Crane's Lane, in existence in 1720, runs
south from the village to join the Mare Way. It
seems once to have been an important route to the
village. (fn. 26)
There was an inn of some sort in Kingston in
1593 when Margaret, wife of Arthur Baker, was
presented 'for suffering divers persons to tipple,
swill, drink, and keep evil rule in their house at
time of divine service to the offence of honest
parishioners'. (fn. 27) The Chequers and the Rose and
Crown public houses appeared in the 19th and early
20th centuries. (fn. 28) The last public house in the village,
however, closed in 1960. (fn. 29)
Manors and Other Estates.
The name
implies that Kingston was originally a royal vill. (fn. 30)
In 1066 the royal demesne there consisted of 1 hide
and 3 virgates and, in addition, ten of the king's
sokemen held 2 hides and 1½ virgate. The remaining
land had been granted out. Alfgeat Gaest and other
of Earl Alfgar's men held 2½ hides, a man of
Archbishop Stigand held 3 virgates, and Earl Waltheof's man Almar, Eddeva the fair's man Godinc
Turbert, and a sokeman of the abbot of Ely each
held one virgate. Wulfmaer, Robert FitzWymark's
man, had 9 acres. (fn. 31)
Some consolidation of estates occurred after the
Conquest. The royal demesne remained in the
king's hand in 1086. Roger, earl of Shrewsbury,
held 20 a. which Almar had held of Earl Waltheof, (fn. 32)
Almar's other 10 a. passing to Humphrey de
Andeville who held them of Eudes the sewer,
probably as part of a larger estate centred on Clopton. (fn. 33) Almar of Bourn held Alfgeat's virgate of
Count Alan of Brittany, probably as an outlying
portion of Almar's estate in Bourn. (fn. 34) Two knights
held Godinc's virgate of Hardwin de Scalers. They
were presumably the same two men who held of
Hardwin in Caldecote into which estate that virgate
perhaps was merged. (fn. 35) Robert the bald (calvus)
held Wulfmaer's 9 a., also of Hardwin. (fn. 36) The
remaining land, over 5½ hides, was swept into the
barony of Picot the sheriff. (fn. 37)
The descent of the KINGSTON WOOD manor,
almost certainly representing Picot's estate, followed
that portion of Bourn which passed to the family
of Pecche. It was among the estates sold by Gilbert
Pecche to the king in 1284 and subsequently
settled on Pecche's widow for her life. (fn. 38) Thereafter
the manor was held of the Crown in chief as of the
honor of Peverel or Pecche. (fn. 39)
Ralph de Banks held 5½ hides and 16 a. of Picot
in Kingston in 1086. (fn. 40) In 1130–1 William de Banks
was pardoned danegeld in Cambridgeshire as for
5 hides. (fn. 41) In 1166 Eustace de Banks held 3 fees of
Hamon Pecche in Cambridgeshire. (fn. 42) Eustace died
before 1179 and was succeeded by his son William. (fn. 43)
William died after 1205 and his heir was his son
Eustace. (fn. 44) Eustace was dead by c. 1235 when
Geoffrey de Banks, probably his son, held the
manor. (fn. 45) Geoffrey, who died after 1250, (fn. 46) also held
land in Foxton, which by 1279 had passed with
Kingston to William Mortimer of Attleborough
(Norf.). William's estate at Foxton included land in
Harston and, in 1261, land in Harston had been
held of a Robert Mortimer. (fn. 47) William Mortimer's
father was Robert (d. 1265). (fn. 48) It appears, therefore,
that the Banks estates passed to Robert Mortimer
between 1250 and 1261, perhaps by marriage. (fn. 49)
William Mortimer died in 1297 when his heir
was his son Constantine, then a minor. (fn. 50) Constantine later enfeoffed his elder son Constantine and
Agnes his wife jointly with the manor. (fn. 51) Constantine Mortimer the younger died without issue in
1355, (fn. 52) and Agnes married Sir Thomas Gissing
before 1358. (fn. 53) Agnes was alive in 1371 but predeceased her husband who died in 1382. (fn. 54) The
manor reverted to Constantine Mortimer's younger
brother Robert (d. 1387). In 1396 Kingston was
described as the manor of Margery, widow of Sir
Robert Mortimer. Sir Robert's heirs were his
granddaughters Sibyl, Cecily, and Margery. (fn. 55)
In 1403 a partition of estates was made between
Cecily, widow of Sir John Harling, on the one part,
and her sister Margery and her husband, Sir John
FitzRalph, on the other. Kingston became part of
the portion of Margery. (fn. 56) Before 1458 Elizabeth,
daughter and heir of John FitzRalph, the son of
Margery and John, married Sir Robert Chamberlain and brought him Kingston. Sir Robert was
attainted and executed in 1491, but his son Ralph
succeeded to Kingston in his mother's right. (fn. 57)
Elizabeth Chamberlain was still living in 1496 and
had married Roger Ormeston, when it was agreed
that Ralph should hold Kingston. (fn. 58) Ralph died in
1522, leaving as heir his brother Edward. (fn. 59) Edward
Chamberlain died in 1541 and was succeeded by
his son Ralph. (fn. 60) In 1567 Ralph (d. 1575) settled the
manor on his son, FitzRalph Chamberlain, and
FitzRalph's wife Dorothy. (fn. 61) FitzRalph obtained
Kingston St. George manor in 1569, (fn. 62) thus uniting
the two principal manors.
In 1584 FitzRalph and Dorothy Chamberlain
made a settlement of Kingston Wood and Kingston
St. George manors. (fn. 63) They continued to hold the
estate at Kingston and FitzRalph was buried in the
graveyard there in 1622. (fn. 64) In 1625 Thomas
Chamberlain conveyed the manors and all lands of
FitzRalph Chamberlain to John Crane, an apothecary of Cambridge. (fn. 65) John Crane died in 1652 (fn. 66)
and the next year the court of Kingston Wood was
held in the name of his widow, Elizabeth. (fn. 67) In
1662 John Crane's son William conveyed the
manors to the executors of Sir Thomas Hatton, Bt.,
of Long Stanton (d. 1658), (fn. 68) whose son and heir
Sir Thomas (d. 1682) (fn. 69) was succeeded in turn by
his sons, Sir Christopher and Sir Thomas, both of
whom died without issue, (fn. 70) and in 1685 the heirs
to Kingston were their six sisters, each of whom
had a sixth of the estate. Between 1685 and 1691
those shares, increased to quarters by the deaths of
two of the sisters unmarried, were consolidated and
conveyed to Sir Christopher Hatton, Bt., as heir
male of Sir Thomas Hatton, and Francis Henry
Lee. Hatton conveyed the manor to Lee, (fn. 71) who in
1691 held a court at Kingston. (fn. 72)
In 1717 Lee's son, also Francis Henry, and his
wife Elizabeth conveyed the manor to Col. Thomas
King, the agent of Edward, Lord Harley, later
earl of Oxford (d. 1741). (fn. 73) In 1739 Philip Yorke,
earl of Hardwicke (d. 1764), purchased the manor
from the earl of Oxford. (fn. 74) It remained in the Yorke
family as part of the Wimpole Hall estate until the
estate was largely dispersed to pay the debts of the
fifth earl. (fn. 75) The earl's Kingston Wood estate,
however, was sold with Wimpole to Thomas
Charles Agar-Robartes, later Viscount Clifden, by
foreclosure c. 1891. (fn. 76) Viscount Clifden was said
to be lord of the manor in 1900. (fn. 77) Before 1903,
however, the manor, shorn of its lands, had come
into the possession of P. A. S. Hickey, a barrister,
who died in 1915. The manor was afterwards held
by Hickey's trustees. (fn. 78) In 1936 Fanny Elizabeth
Spearing and Beatrice Marion Lock were ladies of
the manor. The manorial incidents had been
gradually extinguished and the manor seems to have
fallen into abeyance. (fn. 79)
The manor of KINGSTON ST. GEORGE has
not been found recorded until 1212 when Maud de
Dive was said to hold a fee in Kingston, Hatley,
and Trumpington of the honor of Peverel of Dover. (fn. 80)
The reference to Peverel of Dover is almost certainly
an error for Peverel of Bourn. (fn. 81) Pain Peverel of
Dover had been granted Picot's lands by Henry I. (fn. 82)
Asceline, one of the sisters of William Peverel of
Bourn (d. 1147–8), inherited a third of the barony
of Bourn and married first Geoffrey de Waterville
and secondly Saher de Quincy. Her son, Ralph de
Waterville, died c. 1175, when his heirs were his
sisters Asceline and Maud. Maud, who held a sixth
of the barony, married William de Dive. Their son
Hugh died before his mother, and her heirs were
her granddaughters Maud, wife of Saher de St.
Andrew, Alice, wife of Richard de Mucegros, and
Asceline, wife of Simon de Mucegros. Each sister
had 1/18 of the barony. (fn. 83) In 1279 the manor was said
to be held of the heirs of Mucegros who in turn held
of the fee of the earl of Winchester. (fn. 84) In 1471 and
1485 it was said to be held of the prior of St. John
of Jerusalem in England. (fn. 85) Apparently therefore
the manor was derived from another portion of
Picot's lands, possibly the royal demesne in Kingston which he may have acquired after 1086. No
reference has been found to the king holding land
in Kingston after that date. (fn. 86)
Before 1182 William St. George made a grant in
Kingston to the nuns of Clerkenwell (Mdx.). (fn. 87) About
1235 William St. George held one fee in Hatley and
Kingston of the fee of Maud de Dive. (fn. 88) In 1269
Baldwin St. George had a deer-park in Kingston (fn. 89)
and in 1279 held ¾ fee there of the heirs of Mucegros. (fn. 90) The manor remained in the St. George
family (fn. 91) until 1556 when Francis St. George
conveyed it to Robert Catlyn, serjeant-at-law. (fn. 92)
In 1569 FitzRalph Chamberlain obtained the manor
from Catlyn, thus uniting the manor of Kingston St.
George with Kingston Wood. (fn. 93)
In the 12th century, perhaps before 1159,
Eustace de Banks gave a house, 80 a. of arable, and
9 a. of pasture in Kingston to the priory of St. Mary,
Clerkenwell, when his daughter Avice became a nun
there. Later members of the Banks family added
smaller donations. William St. George also gave ½
virgate to the priory before 1182, and William the
bald (calvus) added another 9 a. (fn. 94) The last donation
possibly represents the 9 a. which Robert the bald
held in Kingston of Hardwin de Scalers in 1086. (fn. 95)
In 1279 the prioress was said to hold 80 a. in
Kingston of William Mortimer and 60 a. of Baldwin
St. George, part of which was rented by the priory, (fn. 96)
whose estate in Kingston, together with land in
Wimpole and Eversden, became known as BEAMONDS manor. (fn. 97) In 1310 the estate comprised
222 a. and was valued at 102s. (fn. 98) It remained with
the priory until its dissolution in 1539, (fn. 99) when it
was occupied by Thomas Chicheley. (fn. 100) In 1548 it
was granted with many other properties to Sir
Thomas Heneage and Lord Willoughby. (fn. 101) Its
subsequent history is unknown, though its probable
location in the south part of the parish may suggest
that it was incorporated into the Kingston Wood
estate. (fn. 102)
In 1279 Geoffrey of Soham held 60 a. in Kingston
in fee of William Mortimer. (fn. 103) Hugh of Soham was
one of the largest contributors in Kingston to the
tax of 1327. (fn. 104) It is said that in 1427–8 the Sohams'
estate came to Thomas Debden, and thus came to be
called DEBDEN'S or DEPDEN'S manor. (fn. 105) In
1441–2 Thomas Debden was presented at the court
of Kingston Wood manor for default of suit of
court. (fn. 106) Inclosures once made by John Debden are
mentioned in the early 16th century. (fn. 107) In 1507 John
Debden conveyed an estate in Kingston to Sir
Richard Cholmely. (fn. 108) In 1593–4 Matthie, son of
John Martin of Barton, held Debden's. (fn. 109) The estate
appears to have been united with Kingston manor
between 1625 and 1661. (fn. 110) In 1662 it was occupied
by Thomas Lawrence and in 1682 by Joseph
Sparkes, (fn. 111) and it may have been the same freehold
estate of 228 a. which Simon Sparkes sold in 1735
to Sir John Astley of Patshall (Staffs.). Astley gave
the estate to Queens' College, Cambridge, in exchange for a college estate at Everleigh (Wilts.), (fn. 112)
and it became known as Library farm because the
issues went to the college library. (fn. 113) The estate was
offered for sale by the college in 1920. (fn. 114) Part was
assimilated into New Barns farm in 1921 and the
remaining 120 a. were sold in 1922 (fn. 115) and again in
1962 as part of Town farm. (fn. 116) The farm-house,
known as Moat House Farm, stands on a medieval
moated site which may have been the site of
Kingston St. George manor. (fn. 117)
Paine's farm probably developed from 112 a.
of copyhold land in Kingston. James Kemp
surrendered the estate in 1769, (fn. 118) and in 1815
Simeon Sell was allotted 61 a. in Kingston, (fn. 119)
apparently of the same estate. Simeon Leete Sell
(d. c. 1859) devised it to his nephew, Tempest Sell
(d. 1864), whose son Simeon Wortham Sell was
admitted tenant in 1867. (fn. 120) The farm was sold in
1906 (fn. 121) probably to Henry Dalton Nash Wortham for
whom it was enfranchised in 1907. (fn. 122) Roger Howard
owned the farm in 1933. (fn. 123)
In 1815 Jackey Leete and David Royston were
each allotted c. 60 a. in Kingston. Royston's land
had previously belonged to one estate called
Sparkes's and another called Palmer's. (fn. 124) The latter
was perhaps the land surrendered by Thomas
Palmer in 1766. (fn. 125) Small portions of one or other of
those estates had belonged to the Jellings family
in the mid 17th century and part had been held by
Hannah Dalton in 1745. (fn. 126) Royston's estate had
apparently been acquired by 1819 by Leete who in
1822 also obtained a small amount of land allotted
to M. G. Wragg in 1815. (fn. 127) Leete died c. 1837 when
his estate, called Kingston farm, was inherited by
his son Alfred. (fn. 128) It was offered for sale in 1848. (fn. 129)
In 1871 William Male of Madingley took possession
of the farm under the will of his brother Richard
Male. The farm-house, Southsea House near the
green, bears the date 1850. John Male was admitted
to the estate in 1881 and in 1892 his trustees and
mortgagees conveyed part of it to Henry Collwood. (fn. 130)
In 1900 N. H. Johnston occupied Southsea House, (fn. 131)
and in 1928 land in Kingston, then held by Weston
Johnston, was freed from manorial incidents. (fn. 132)
Weston Johnston, farmer, occupied Southsea House
in 1933. (fn. 133)
Economic History.
In 1066 Kingston was
assessed as 8⅓ hides, and the land was occupied by
c. 21 people. There was estimated to be arable
sufficient to employ c. 10½ plough-teams in 1086,
and the land appears to have been fully utilized. (fn. 134)
Of the two largest estates, the king's included a
villanus, 4 bordars, and a servus, (fn. 135) while that which
Ralph de Banks held of Picot, by far the largest
in the vill, employing 7½ plough-teams, included
9 villani, 2 bordars, 5 cottars, and 4 servi, with
livestock comprising 2 head of cattle, 40 sheep,
44 pigs, 3 horses, and 2 asses. (fn. 136)
In 1279 Kingston was divided into two manors,
the larger held by William Mortimer. In his demesne
William had 284 a. of arable, 12 a. of meadow,
5 a. of pasture, and 50 a. of wood. His 15 free tenants
held c. 300 a., the largest tenements belonging to
Clerkenwell Priory and Geoffrey of Soham, both
having over 60 a. The free tenements were held
mostly for rent or in free alms, but Geoffrey of
Soham, Thomas Brock, and Robert Madingley
owed a few days' ploughing in addition to their rent.
There were further under-tenancies on some of the
larger of those estates. There were 30 villeins on
William's manor: 13 had half-yardlands of 15 a.,
7 had 10-a. holdings, and the rest had miscellaneous
portions. The half-yardlanders owed 2 week-works
and ploughed on Fridays, with reaping boons at
harvest time, when they also had to find additional
workers. They were also obliged to produce a
workman at William's manor of Foxton in the first
week of August. The holders of 10-a. estates owed
similar services. The remaining villeins paid rent in
commutation for most of their works, though many
still owed boon-works or ploughing. Several men
bore the name Woodward, possibly indicating their
duties. The 10 cottars held tenements of various
sizes at rent, only one owing any labour dues.
Baldwin St. George had 140 a. of arable, 8 a. of
meadow, 7½ a. of pasture, and 20 a. of wood in his
demesne. His free tenants, principally Clerkenwell
Priory, held 106 a. at rent. He had 7 villeins, each
having 10 a., and heavily burdened with customary
dues. They performed 5 week-works in August and
4 in the remainder of the year. (fn. 137)
Between 1279 and 1355 the amount of arable
demesne decreased slightly on Kingston Wood
manor, while the amounts of demesne meadow and
pasture increased. The lord's wood doubled in
size from 50 a. to 100 a. The total demesne increased
by c. 30 a., and the villeins' labour-services seem to
have been commuted for a money rent. (fn. 138) In 1340
it was claimed that the village could not pay the
ninth because one carucate of the Clerkenwell
estate lay frisca et inculta, and because the
villagers were so oppressed by various royal imposts
that they were unable to cultivate their lands. (fn. 139)
In the early 16th century the Chamberlain
family was consolidating and enlarging its demesne
estate, and built Kingston Wood manor-house.
Ralph Chamberlain was accused of inclosing
common land, which he claimed was his own, and
had taken advantage of the Statute of Labourers to
obtain the services of the son of one of Anne St.
George's customary tenants against the man's
will. (fn. 140) Ralph also had the lease of the Clerkenwell
estate in Kingston. (fn. 141)
During the 16th century the Chamberlains also
acquired several tenements once held by their
tenants, (fn. 142) in addition to buying Kingston St.
George manor and later the Debden estate. (fn. 143) Much
of the land thus engrossed was soon inclosed. In
1279 William Mortimer had held 4 a. of pasture in
severalty. (fn. 144) References to closes are common by the
16th century. (fn. 145) John Debden was alleged, like
Ralph Chamberlain, to have inclosed common
land. (fn. 146) In 1666 155 a. of pasture inclosed in a
quickset hedge were leased by the lord of the manor. (fn. 147)
In 1720 there were 590 a. of inclosed pasture in the
south part of the parish, surrounding Kingston
Wood manor-house and a farm-house called
Paine's Home (later Kingston Pastures Farm). (fn. 148)
About 1735 the Queens' College estate included
44 a. of inclosed pasture. (fn. 149) About half the parish
appears to have been inclosed before 1810. (fn. 150)
It had probably been traditionally divided into
two fields. High field and Low field, recorded in
1615, were probably the only open fields, (fn. 151) but it
was stated in 1666 that a three-course rotation
system had previously been employed. In that year
the manor court ordered a re-arrangement into
three: East, Middle, and West fields. (fn. 152) Shortly
before the inclosure in 1815 there were four fields:
West field in the south-west, Middle field in the
south-east, Low field in the north-east, and a small
area called Caldecote Brook field in the northwest. (fn. 153)
Although the parish was predominantly arable, it
also supported livestock, and there are references
to sheep and cattle from the time of Domesday. (fn. 154)
In 1489 Robert Ward complained that John
Marshall had seized 46 steers and 120 sheep belonging to him in Kingston. (fn. 155) An alternative name for
the Clerkenwell estate was Beamonds Leese, (fn. 156)
suggesting that it included much pasture land. The
farms of inclosed pasture in the 17th century have
already been mentioned. (fn. 157)
In 1615 the rector was allowed to graze 5 cows and
40 sheep on the commons for his 40-a. holding, (fn. 158)
considerably more than he would have been allowed
for a similar estate after 1653. In that year the manor
court stinted each tenant to 6 sheep for every 20 a.
of commonable land and 6 for a commonable
cottage, the lord's shepherd receiving a supplementary allowance of ten. At the same time the
village herd was reduced by one-third to the rate of
6 beasts for 80 a. and 2 for a cottage. (fn. 159) In 1656 it was
decreed that the lord's flock should not exceed 250
sheep. (fn. 160) About 1793 it was estimated that there were
450 sheep at Kingston. The animals had not been
so severely affected by the rot as those in neighbouring parishes. (fn. 161)
The remaining open-field land in Kingston was
inclosed by an Act of Parliament of 1810 in spite of
the opposition of several landowners led by Queens'
College. They objected to the details of the proposed
allotments rather than to the principle of inclosure. (fn. 162)
Allotments were made to 16 landowners by the
award of 1815. The rector received 306 a., the earl
of Hardwicke 257 a., Queens' College 113 a., and
Benet Clear, Jackey Leete, David Royston, and
Simeon Sell c. 60 a. each. Most of the other allotments were smaller than 10 a., often representing
outlying parts of estates in other parishes. (fn. 163) The
earl's estate dominated the parish, and he and the
rector owned almost all the land south of the village. (fn. 164) The trend towards larger holdings continued
when the Leete and Royston estates were merged. (fn. 165)
Inclosure caused a sharp rise in land values. The
Queens' College estate, leased in 1735 for £80 a year
and valued in 1805 at £95 a year, was let in 1812 as an
inclosed farm at £200. (fn. 166)
In 1834 the earl of Hardwicke was leasing c.
950 a., over half the parish, in three farms. (fn. 167) One of
them, Town farm, had apparently developed from
that part of the earl's property, c. 250 a., which lay
outside the old inclosures of the Kingston Wood
estate. The copyhold land had been purchased by
the earl in 1807 from Michael Gifford Wragg, (fn. 168)
who had bought part from Laurence Banyer in 1787
and part from the Revd. Richard Which who had
been admitted tenant at the manor court in 1770. (fn. 169)
Kingston Pastures farm was part of the old inclosed
estate belonging to the earl of Oxford in 1720. (fn. 170)
The pattern of landholding changed as estates
were amalgamated during the 19th century, and
redivided at the turn of the century. The dispersal
of the Hardwicke estate is described elsewhere. (fn. 171)
Kingston Pastures farm remained with the Wimpole
Hall estate, although it was offered for sale in 1920,
when Kingston Wood farm, comprising 280 a.,
was sold. (fn. 172) Town farm may not have passed with
the other Hardwicke properties to Viscount Clifden
in 1891 (fn. 173) and was not included in the sale of the
Wimpole estate in 1920. (fn. 174) It was owned by Philip
Hagger in 1933, (fn. 175) and offered for sale after his death
in 1962, when it included 120 a. which had been
part of Library farm. (fn. 176)
Agriculture remained the predominant occupation
of the parish. In 1831 65 of the 74 families in
Kingston were engaged in farming. The largest
number of adult males were labourers; there were
only two occupiers who were not employers of
labour. (fn. 177) In 1869 there were a blacksmith and a
wheelwright, and in 1879 a thatcher and hurdlemaker also. (fn. 178) By the mid 19th century the village
was probably at its most populous. The agricultural
depression and later mechanization of farming led
to a steady decline. (fn. 179) At the same time the earl of
Hardwicke's estate was dispersed between 1882 and
1920. (fn. 180) Farming continued to be mixed, with arable
tending to predominate in the north and pasture
in the south. (fn. 181) Early in the 20th century soft-fruit
growing was introduced on Paine's farm north-east of
the village. (fn. 182) Kingston in 1967 comprised a number
of medium-sized farms, the occupiers employing
little labour. As a result most of the inhabitants,
apart from the farmers, either worked in Cambridge
or elsewhere, or lived in Kingston in retirement. (fn. 183)
In 1306 Constantine Mortimer was granted a
weekly market at Kingston on Tuesdays and two
yearly fairs there, one held on 19–21 July and the
other on 17–19 October. (fn. 184) No further references
have been found to the market or the fairs, although
the incumbent was called rector of Kingston Market
in 1465. (fn. 185)
William Mortimer had a windmill in Kingston
in 1279. (fn. 186) No further reference to a mill is known
until 1584 when a windmill was mentioned in an
extent of the manor in a final concord. (fn. 187) It was not
subsequently recorded.
Local Government.
In 1279 William
Mortimer and Baldwin St. George each held view
of frankpledge at Kingston once a year in the
presence of the king's bailiff. They also had the
assize of ale. (fn. 188) Though the two manors were united
in the Chamberlain family in the 16th century, (fn. 189)
the courts of Kingston Wood and Kingston St.
George were held separately as late as 1653. (fn. 190)
Court rolls survive from 1400 to 1709, with gaps,
and the manor books continue until 1936, by which
time most of the manorial incidents had been
extinguished. (fn. 191)
Although there was a constable in 1659, (fn. 192) no
record of an election by the manor court to the
office before 1720 has been found. (fn. 193) In 1537–8 aletasters were elected. (fn. 194) The court was very active in
the later 17th century. Numerous orders were made
concerning the husbandry of the parish, and the
open fields were re-arranged in 1666. The following
year two field-reeves and a hayward were appointed. (fn. 195) In 1723 a fieldward, a hayward, and a
pinder were elected. (fn. 196) Although manorial business
became increasingly a matter of admissions and
surrenders of tenants, presentations concerning
encroachment on the manorial wastes were made in
1789 and 1798. (fn. 197) Courts continued to be held at
infrequent intervals in the 19th century, most of the
routine business being conducted out of court. The
last recorded meeting of the court baron appears
to have been in 1880. (fn. 198)
Overseers' accounts survive for the period 1656–
1826, though they are very brief indeed by the end
of the period, and churchwardens' accounts for
1817–36. The former show that the overseers'
disbursements increased steadily over the years. (fn. 199) In
1655 six town houses belonging to the parish, with
small parcels of land attached to them, were let
for sums varying between £1 and 3s. 4d. annually.
Two of the occupants were widows, suggesting that
the tenements were used partly as an indirect form
of poor-relief and partly as a source of parish
revenue. (fn. 200) In 1837 twelve tenements in six town
houses were occupied rent-free. Two of the occupiers claimed their dwellings as their own property,
but that was disputed by the parish. (fn. 201) Kingston spent
£33 on poor-relief in 1776 and an average of £73 in
1783–5. By 1803 the expense had almost doubled
to £135, and 16 people were on relief. (fn. 202) The parish
was included in 1835 in the Caxton and Arrington
poor law union, (fn. 203) and in 1934 was transferred from
the Caxton and Arrington R.D. to the South
Cambridgeshire R.D. (fn. 204)
Between 1896 and 1935 the parish meeting
elected yearly 4 constables and 2 overseers, and
latterly an assistant overseer also. (fn. 205)
Church.
Kingston probably had a church before
1092, for Picot the sheriff granted two-thirds of the
tithes of his knights in Kingston to the canons of
St. Giles, Cambridge, later Barnwell Priory. (fn. 206) The
living is a rectory, held since 1907 in plurality with
the vicarage of Bourn. (fn. 207) The advowson was annexed
by 1299 to Kingston Wood manor, (fn. 208) with which it
descended until the 1380s. In 1360 Sir Robert
Mortimer granted to Sir Thomas Walkfare the
reversion of Kingston rectory, which would come to
Robert on the death of Thomas Gissing and Agnes
his wife. (fn. 209) In 1373 Gissing conveyed the advowson
with the manor to Sir Robert Swillington. (fn. 210) In 1390
the patron was John Borle, perhaps by Robert
Mortimer's gift. (fn. 211) In 1399 Borle and his wife
conveyed the advowson to Thomas and Walter
Cotton and others, (fn. 212) perhaps as feoffees for Spinney
Priory, for which a licence to acquire and appropriate the church was sought in 1400. (fn. 213) The
appropriation was evidently not completed, and
in 1408 the Cottons conveyed the advowson to
William Somersham, Henry Thomestone, and
others, (fn. 214) perhaps for the benefit of Gonville Hall, of
which Somersham was master by 1410 and Thomestone a fellow. (fn. 215) In 1416, however, the advowson
was conveyed back to the Cottons, whose feoffees
granted it to a group who were probably the
feoffees of William Derby, archdeacon of Bedford
(d. 1438). (fn. 216) In 1442 Derby was commemorated at
King's College as the donor of Kingston church,
but in 1445 his nephew John Derby conveyed the
advowson to John Langton, chancellor of the
university, who granted it to Henry VI. (fn. 217) The
king granted it, with a licence to appropriate, to
Barnwell Priory, (fn. 218) but in 1457 the prior gave back
the advowson of the unappropriated church to the
king, who granted it to King's College. (fn. 219)
In the same year Robert Wodelarke, provost of
King's, ceded the patronage to two other members
of the college who then presented Wodelarke to
Kingston, and the college resisted a claim to the
advowson by Robert Chamberlain, lord of Kingston
Wood manor. (fn. 220) Thereafter the patronage remained
with the college, although in 1480 it was ceded for
one turn to Thomas Clyff. (fn. 221) The advowson,
however, was erroneously mentioned as belonging
to the manor of Kingston Wood for some time
following. (fn. 222) The queen presented in 1580 for
unknown reasons. (fn. 223) The college transferred the
advowson to the bishop of Ely in 1926. (fn. 224)
In 1217 the rectory was taxed at 6 marks, which
had increased to 8 marks in 1251 and 16 marks in
1291. (fn. 225) In 1400 the value was said to be £10, (fn. 226) but
in 1445 it was assessed as 12 marks only. (fn. 227) In 1458
the local clergy estimated that the living was worth
£20. (fn. 228) It was valued at £11 15s. 4d. in 1536, (fn. 229) and
at £80 in 1650. (fn. 230) In 1646 the Committee for
Plundered Ministers ordered the incumbent to pay
a fifth of the proceeds to the ejected minister's
wife. (fn. 231)
In 1360 one acre of land in Kingston had been
conveyed with the advowson. It was described as
glebe in 1408. By 1445 that acre had been either
exchanged for, or converted into, a toft and a croft. (fn. 232)
In 1615 the glebe comprised 40 a. with a house.
The land was occupied by Thomas Graystock, a
local landowner. (fn. 233) At inclosure in 1815 the rector
was allotted 32 a. for his glebe and 266 a. for his
tithes. (fn. 234) The estate lay in two places (fn. 235) and became
divided into Rectory farm (220 a.) in the centre and
south of the parish, and New Barns farm in the
north. The rector derived a gross income of £87
from his farms in 1896. Both were sold in 1912 to
Robert Ingle. (fn. 236) The building known as the Old
Rectory is medieval in origin, and may represent
the toft belonging to the incumbent in 1445. It
was secularized in 1931, (fn. 237) since when the rector has
lived at Bourn vicarage. (fn. 238)
Barnwell Priory's share of the tithes, which Picot
the sheriff had granted before 1092 to the canons
of St. Giles, Cambridge, as two-thirds of the tithes
of his knights in Kingston, (fn. 239) was represented in 1251
by a fixed payment of £2 (fn. 240) which was expressly
excluded from the priory's grant of the rectory to the
king in 1457. (fn. 241) It was recorded as belonging to the
priory at the Dissolution. (fn. 242)
The rectors have often been absentees. Thomas
Alblaster, rector from before 1357 until 1374, was
resident in the diocese of Coventry and Lichfield
in which he held a prebend. (fn. 243) In 1378 John Podington was accused of neglecting his duties. (fn. 244) Most
subsequent rectors had connexions with Cambridge
University. Thomas Stafford (alias Haldenham)
seems to have been a notable pluralist. At his death
in 1457 he held at least two other livings besides
Kingston and had been rector of several other
churches during his tenure of Kingston. (fn. 245) After
the advowson came into the possession of King's
College, one of the fellows was usually presented.
The practice encouraged non-residence, although
most rectors resigned their fellowships shortly after
presentation. Giles Ayre, presented in 1538, was
a chaplain to Henry VIII and later became dean of
Chichester. He was said to be a distinguished
preacher. (fn. 246) He employed a curate for Kingston in
1543. (fn. 247) In 1562 divine service was said to be conducted 'but rarely, hardly once a month'. (fn. 248) There
were curates at intervals throughout the 16th
century. (fn. 249) One of the more eminent rectors of the
period was Dr. Fogge Newton, provost of King's
and rector 1602–12. (fn. 250) Although a curate is recorded
during his incumbency, he was himself buried at
Kingston, (fn. 251) as were several of his successors,
suggesting that they had been at least occasionally
resident. (fn. 252)
Many people from Kingston of puritan sympathies petitioned against Bishop Wren in 1638. (fn. 253)
In 1644 Cuthbert Pearson was ejected on the
grounds that he had observed ceremonies, preached
in support of the king, and had not officiated for
20 weeks, so that on some Sundays there were
no services. (fn. 254) Philip Johnson, one of the Interregnum
incumbents, was said to be 'a man very insufficient
for the ministry'. (fn. 255) Only minor improvements,
however, were ordered after the visitation of 1678,
including the removal of the town plough from the
church. (fn. 256) Rectors thereafter seem generally to have
resided. (fn. 257) In 1728 two services were held each
Sunday, Holy Communion was celebrated thrice
a year, and there were 10 or 12 communicants. (fn. 258) In
1825, when the cure was served by a curate, there
was one service on Sundays, alternately morning
and afternoon. Holy Communion was celebrated
four times a year with 8 or more communicants. (fn. 259)
In 1873, when the rector was resident, there were
two services each Sunday and 12 people received
communion four times a year. (fn. 260)
In 1815 2½ a. of freehold land in Kingston were
allotted to the churchwardens. (fn. 261) The land was let
for £5 10s. a year in 1837 (fn. 262) and £4 a year in 1952,
the income being devoted to church repairs. (fn. 263)
The parish church of ALL SAINTS AND ST.
ANDREW has a chancel, aisled and clerestoried nave
with south porch, and west tower. Nothing remains
visible of an 11th-century church, and the earliest
surviving fabric suggests an extensive rebuilding
in the 13th century when there was a chancel and an
aisled nave. The tower may have been of the same
period, and the south porch was built a short time
later. In 1488 the bishop of Ely granted an indulgence for the repair of the church, which had
been severely damaged by fire, and of the belltower, which had also been blown down. The
subsequent rebuilding incorporated, wherever possible, the surviving walls, re-using some windows
and providing many that were new. The nave
arcades were completely rebuilt and were carried
up to a clerestory which supported a roof of flatter
pitch than there had been before. The chancel arch
contained a rood-screen and the wall above it a
painting of the Crucifixion with carved figures,
presumably of the Virgin and St. John, forming
part of the composition.
In the late 16th or early 17th century the east
window was rebuilt and framed texts were painted
on the spandrels of the nave arcades. Restorations
were carried out in 1894–5, 1930, (fn. 264) and 1962, (fn. 265) and
the wall-paintings were restored by E. W. Tristram
in 1928. There is a memorial tablet in the chancel
to Dr. Fogge Newton, rector 1602–12. (fn. 266)
In 1552 there were three great bells at Kingston. (fn. 267)
There were in 1967 three bells: (i) T. Newman of
Cambridge, 1722; (ii) John Rufford of Toddington
(Beds.), c. 1350, inscribed 'Ave Maria' in Gothic
capitals; (iii) Joseph Eayre of St. Neots, 1727; and
also a sanctus bell dated 1845. (fn. 268) In 1552 there was a
chalice with a paten of silver, two copes, and four
other vestments. (fn. 269) In 1970 the plate included a cup
and paten of 1570, a paten of 1891, and an undated
silver-gilt cup. The registers of burials begin in
1654, of marriages in 1659, and of baptisms in 1674.
Nonconformity.
In 1664 eleven parishioners
were presented for absenting themselves from
church for one month, and another had not brought
his child to be baptized. (fn. 270) There were 11 dissenters
in 1676. (fn. 271) A house was licensed for worship by
protestants, possibly Quakers, in 1707. (fn. 272) There were
20 dissenters, mostly Independents, in 1728, (fn. 273) and
nine families of protestant dissenters in 1755. (fn. 274) In
1807 many dissenters from the parish attended a
meeting-house in Eversden. (fn. 275) A licence was granted
for protestant worship in a dwelling-house in 1811. (fn. 276)
A Congregational meeting-house, erected c.
1839, (fn. 277) was probably the building licensed for
protestant worship in 1841. (fn. 278) The chapel had 150
sittings and the evening service was attended by
100 people in 1851. (fn. 279) Kingston chapel was closely
linked with that at Great Eversden. (fn. 280) The two
chapels together had 26 members in 1933 (fn. 281) and
14 in 1954. (fn. 282) The Kingston chapel was still in use
in 1967 and had six members. (fn. 283)
Education.
In 1579 Henry Morton of Kingston
was excommunicated and forbidden to teach until
he had obtained a licence. (fn. 284) Francis Todd by will
dated 1702 gave a rent-charge of £13 for teaching
children to read, write, cast accounts, and know the
catechism: £10 for a schoolmaster, £2 for the
minister to catechize the children, 13s. 4d. for books,
and 6s. 8d. for rewards to the children. By 1837 all
the money was paid to the schoolmaster, who was
appointed by the rector. (fn. 285) By 1819 a schoolroom
and house for the master had been built by subscription. (fn. 286) In 1830 the curate, aided by private
subscription, built a new school-house on the waste
at the edge of the green. (fn. 287)
In 1819 between 15 and 25 children were taught
free of charge and 15 others from neighbouring
villages at their parents' expense. In 1835 18 boys
and 22 girls attended the school, some of whom
paid. There was also a Sunday school attended by
between 24 and 33 children in 1819, and by 15 boys
and 20 girls who were instructed free in 1835. (fn. 288)
By 1847 the charity day-school and the Sunday school
seem to have been amalgamated as one school
teaching 40 children on week-days and Sundays. (fn. 289)
In 1867–8 the same number of children were
paying weekly fees of 1d. (fn. 290) There were 44 pupils
in 1871. (fn. 291)
In 1876 a new school and teacher's house were
built on part of the garden of the old school, at the
expense of the ratepaying occupiers and the
landowners. The school became undenominational,
though affiliated to the British and Foreign Schools
Society. The rector ceased to appoint the master.
In 1903 the lord of the manor, P. A. S. Hickey,
successfully claimed the land and school buildings
as his private property, and agreed to lease the
school to the parish at a nominal rent on condition
that he should choose the managers and that the
chairman should be the rector. The school then
ceased to be a British school and became a Church
of England school until it was transferred to the
county council in 1920. (fn. 292)
The school was maintained by the Todd charity,
school pence, and, from 1880, by annual parliamentary grants. (fn. 293) The Todd charity was regulated
by a Scheme of 1905, which directed the money
to be spent on prizes, the school library, and
exhibitions. (fn. 294) Average attendance was 42 in 1880, (fn. 295)
32 in 1899, (fn. 296) 24 in 1919, (fn. 297) and 9 in 1938. (fn. 298) The
school was closed in 1960 and the few children of
primary age subsequently went to school in Bourn. (fn. 299)
In 1967 the school building was used as a kindergarten in the mornings and occasionally as a hall
in the evenings. (fn. 300)
Charities for the Poor.
In 1697 £9 11s. 4d.,
being four years' interest upon £40, was distributed
to 13 poor people in sums varying from 7s. to
£1 4s. The origin of the capital is unknown. The
interest continued to be distributed at irregular
intervals until c. 1708, by which date the principal
appears to have been used to purchase land yielding
an annual rent of c. £2. (fn. 301) What was presumably the
same charity produced c. 1787 an annual income
of £2 7s.; the land lay in the open fields of Bourn,
and was replaced by 9 a. at the inclosure of Bourn
in 1820. (fn. 302) In 1837 the annual rent of £7 12s. was
distributed to the poor in small sums in May. (fn. 303) Part
of the land was sold for the railway line from
Bedford to Cambridge. In 1952 the income from
rent and interest was £6 15s., of which £4 8s. was
distributed at Christmas to 88 people in gifts of
1s. (fn. 304) In 1966 the trustees decided to discontinue the
Christmas distribution, and to allow the annual
income (c. £10) to accumulate until a case of real
need arose. (fn. 305)