HASLINGFIELD
The parish of Haslingfield (fn. 1) formerly contained
2,573 a., and was bounded on the north and east by
the Bourn brook and the river Cam or Rhee. In 1934
375 a. of Trumpington east of the Rhee were added,
when the rest of that parish was included in Cambridge, (fn. 2) but the history given below relates to the
former area of the parish. Haslingfield's southern
boundary with Barrington descends from the summit
of the White Hill to the Rhee. The western boundary
with Harlton partly follows old watercourses, the
Long and Caldwell brooks. The parish lies partly on
chalk, overlaid at the top of the down with boulder
clay, and partly on gault, with gravel and alluvium
by the streams to the north and east. The ground
slopes sharply down from the hilltop at 215 ft. to
the site of the village on the spring line at its foot,
north of which the land is nearly level. The parish
was predominantly arable, being formerly cultivated in three open fields, inclosed in 1814. The flat
marshy areas along the rivers, such as Lingey Fen
in the north-east corner, were devoted to pasture,
especially for sheep. (fn. 3) By the 1930s much of the hilltop was covered with orchard, (fn. 4) and Chivers, the
jam-makers, owned much land in the parish. (fn. 5) The
down south of the village was being quarried for
clunch by the 13th century, (fn. 6) but the quarry had
been abandoned by 1900. (fn. 7)
The village forms a rough oblong, lying east and
west, its perimeter composed of lanes surrounding
the old closes and linked by narrow lanes to High
Street, which runs eastward from the church. Strips
of grass along parts of the street may represent the
remains of the great green, recorded from the 14th
century, (fn. 8) where grazing was still being regulated in
1761. (fn. 9) From c. 1550 a third of the enclosed area
north of High Street was occupied by the park of
Haslingfield Hall. The 17th century saw much new
building. In 1648 7 people and in 1672 10 others
were presented for building new cottages without
putting enough land to them. (fn. 10) In 1662 49 dwellings
were recorded, in 1674 57. (fn. 11) Several houses outside
the perimeter lanes to the north-east and southwest date from that period. Farmsteads were also
built at the edge of the village, such as River Farm
to the east and to the west Willow Farm and Grove
Farm (fn. 12) demolished in 1965. (fn. 13) By 1800 a ribbon of
farm-houses and cottages had grown up along the
road northward to Barton. (fn. 14) The number of houses
in the village increased from 65 in 1801 to 135 in
1841. Between 1861 and 1921 it fluctuated between
150 and 165, but by 1961 had risen sharply to 289. (fn. 15)
In 1927 15 building plots along the north edge of
the manor park were put up for sale. (fn. 16) In the 1960s
the village was overrun with bungalows and other
speculative building, besides a council estate, and
some old farm-houses were demolished to make way
for them. Street-lighting had been installed along
the main streets by 1969.
Haslingfield has always been one of the most
populous parishes in the hundred. In 1086 81
inhabitants were recorded. (fn. 17) By 1279 there were
c. 140 tenants. (fn. 18) In 1377 271 people paid the poll
tax (fn. 19) and in 1524 70 people the subsidy. (fn. 20) There
were 53 families in 1563, (fn. 21) about 60 c. 1685, (fn. 22) and
about 50 in 1728. (fn. 23) The population rose steeply
from 387 in 1801 to reach 871 by 1871, and though
it declined from 754 in 1881 to 520 in 1901, it
thereafter recovered, reaching 855 in 1961. (fn. 24) Few
inhabitants were then employed in the parish; most
worked in Cambridge, Harston, or Barrington. (fn. 25)
The village lies at the eastern end of the ancient
Mare Way, which descends the slopes of the hill,
past a barrow at Money Hill, to reach a disused
river crossing towards Harston. (fn. 26) No main road
passes through Haslingfield, which is linked only by
by-roads to the neighbouring villages. Among ways
mentioned in early documents are the Overway,
which led along the hillside towards Harlton; (fn. 27)
the Staneway, (fn. 28) probably passing the White Hill
chapel; (fn. 29) a road north to Barton over a bridge built
by 1298; (fn. 30) and the Stulps (later Cambridge) way,
a track along the route of the modern Cantelupe
Road to a ford and a footbridge to Grantchester. (fn. 31)
The road to Harston formerly crossed the Rhee near
Harston mill, but was diverted to its present course
c. 1851. (fn. 32) The Bedford-Cambridge railway line,
opened in 1862, (fn. 33) crossed the north part of the parish,
with Lord's Bridge station at the extreme northwestern corner. The station was closed to goods
traffic in 1965, (fn. 34) and the track had been removed by
1969. In 1971 the former railway line was being
converted for mounting mobile telescope aerials
belonging to the Mullard Radio Astronomy
Observatory, established across the boundary with
Harlton since 1957. (fn. 35)
Haslingfield formerly contained several public
houses, including by 1851 the Marquess of Granby,
where the vestry usually met until the 1870s, and
the Waggon and Horses, (fn. 36) by 1864 the Bushel and
Strike, (fn. 37) from c. 1866 the Jolly Brewers, (fn. 38) and by
1879 the Little Rose. (fn. 39) Only the last two survived in
1969. Both had been recently rebuilt. (fn. 40)
In 1815 a recently established friendly society
had 30 members. (fn. 41) In 1861 the village contained a
coal club, a savings club, and two sick clubs, which
met at the public houses. (fn. 42) A village library existed
by 1880. (fn. 43) A recreation ground, bought with money
bequeathed by Henry Badcock (d. 1921), was
opened in 1925. (fn. 44)
Manors and Other Estates.
Before the
Conquest the kings had held 7 hides at Haslingfield
which yielded £10 by tale, besides a feorm of corn,
beer, and honey, which by 1086 had been converted
into a cash render of £13 8s. 4d. (fn. 45) The subsequent
disposal of the estate is not recorded. It was probably alienated before 1130. (fn. 46)
By 1086 the 1½ hide formerly belonging to Eddeva
the fair and two of her men had come to Count Alan
the Red, lord of Richmond (d. 1089). Robert the
priest held 1 hide of him, perhaps through an
endowment by the count, whose brother and heir,
Alan the Black (d. 1093), (fn. 47) granted 2 hides at
Haslingfield to his brother's foundation, St. Mary's,
York, (fn. 48) which thereafter held the estate of the
honor of Richmond. (fn. 49) By 1235 Roger of Melford
held the 1½ hide of the abbey in socage. (fn. 50) The abbot
recovered the property, thenceforth called MELFORDS manor, from his successor William of
Melford c. 1240. (fn. 51) The abbey had also received the
church and tithes of Haslingfield with ½ hide from
Roger de Somery, and 12 a. from Picot's tenant
Sefrid probably before 1100. (fn. 52) The land is mentioned as the land of the parson or of the church in
deeds of the 1230s. (fn. 53) The two estates remained in
the abbey's possession until its surrender to the
Crown in 1539. (fn. 54) They were distinguished in 1279
and 1328, when the manorial demesne and the glebe
were severally estimated to contain 180 a. and 80 a.,
and 60 a. and 40 a., (fn. 55) but were subsequently confounded. Thus in 1523 John Crake leased all St.
Mary's land in Haslingfield as the parsonage, but
was also to hold the manor court for the abbey's
tenants. (fn. 56) About 1588 the former abbey property
was known as the parsonage land. (fn. 57) Its manor-house,
also called the parsonage house, was in decay in
1523 when Crake was required to rebuild it in 10
years. Monks of St. Mary's studying at Cambridge
would stay there as a refuge from the plague, or for
recreation such as fishing. (fn. 58) The house still stood
c. 1610 and its decayed remains were visible c.
1730. (fn. 59)
Two other religious houses had land in Haslingfield. Christine de Somery and her sons granted to
the nunnery of Stratford at Bow an estate that was
confirmed to it by King Stephen after 1139. (fn. 60) The
estate was said in 1279 to have been the gift of the
Mandeville earls of Essex, former lords of the
Somery fee, (fn. 61) of whose successors the priory held
in free alms ½ knight's fee, (fn. 62) later called MINCHINS
manor, (fn. 63) until its dissolution in 1536. (fn. 64) In 1539 the
manor was granted to Sir Ralph Sadleir, Secretary
of State, who returned it to the Crown in 1547. (fn. 65)
The nuns of St. Mary's, Clerkenwell, held one hide,
given in the 12th century by William St. George
as his sister Aubrey's dowry, and confirmed to them
by his overlord Robert of Beach. (fn. 66) The grant was
possibly made before 1161, when Adam de Somery
was excused a fifth of his scutage under a royal writ
for the nuns. (fn. 67) In 1279, however, their land was said
to be held of Baldwin St. George, and was held of
the priory in fee farm by Eustace of Aldfield, (fn. 68) to
whose family the prioress had granted it before 1248
for 22s. a year. (fn. 69)
Haslingfield contained in 1086 two substantial
lay fees, later united to form the manor of SCALES.
Picot the sheriff had by 1086 combined the former
property of 10 sokemen and others, including three
men of King Edward, into a manor of 4¾ hides, held
under him by Sefrid. (fn. 70) The manor passed with the
barony of Bourn to William Peverel (fn. 71) who included
it in the portion of his sister Alice on her marriage
c. 1130–5 to Hamon Pecche. Hamon in turn gave it
to Baldwin of Rochester who had married his
daughter Maud. (fn. 72) She survived her husband and
held the manor in 1185. (fn. 73) Her heir, her son Ralph,
died probably in 1236, (fn. 74) and was succeeded by his
son William of Rochester (d. 1249), whose heir was
his brother Peter, a clerk, rector of Rivenhall
(Essex). (fn. 75) Peter, having no legitimate sons, (fn. 76)
arranged that his lands should pass to his younger
brother Henry's daughter Alice and her husband
Robert Scales (d. 1250), (fn. 77) on whom he had already
before 1240 settled land at Haslingfield. (fn. 78) When
Peter died in 1255, he was accordingly succeeded by
Alice's son, Robert Scales (fn. 79) (d. c. 1266), through
whose son Robert, Lord Scales (d. 1305), the manor
descended to the Lords Scales, (fn. 80) who united it with
that formerly held by the Somery family.
In 1086 Geoffrey de Mandeville held 5 hides; he
had succeeded Ansgar the Staller, and his tenant
Roger de Somery had succeeded Ansgar's man
Sigar. (fn. 81) Roger's successor, Roger (II), was recorded
between 1105 and 1130, (fn. 82) and his heir Adam
between 1141 and 1166. (fn. 83) By 1161 the Mandeville
lordship had probably lapsed, for Adam de Somery
was paying scutage direct to the king. (fn. 84) He was
succeeded by Roger (III), who died c. 1190, (fn. 85)
leaving as his heir Miles, probably his son, a minor
in the ward of Count John. (fn. 86) Miles was of age by
1199, (fn. 87) and, dying in 1229, (fn. 88) was succeeded by his
son Roger (IV), who died childless in 1236. Roger's
brother and heir Stephen (fn. 89) died, also childless, in
1239, (fn. 90) when Haslingfield was included in the dower
of his widow Joan, who before 1241 married
Godfrey of Crowcombe (d. c. 1246) (fn. 91) and before
1253 Ebles des Monts (d. 1268), (fn. 92) both stewards of
the household to Henry III. (fn. 93) When Joan herself
died in 1282, Haslingfield and her other dower lands
were divided in four among the descendants of
Stephen's four sisters and coheirs. (fn. 94) Maud, the
eldest sister, had by Geoffrey of Bacheworth (d.
before 1235) (fn. 95) a son Roger, who had livery of a
quarter of the Haslingfield manor in 1285, and died
before 1294. (fn. 96) His son John died in 1294, leaving
as his heir a son Roger, (fn. 97) an idiot, whose lands
remained in the king's hands until he died in 1308,
when his younger brother Richard reclaimed them. (fn. 98)
In 1309 Richard sold his quarter to Matthew
Osgodby, (fn. 99) whose widow Catherine held it in 1316 (fn. 100)
and, with her second husband Thomas Thodham,
in 1327, when Matthew's heir Robert Osgodby sold
the reversion to Hugh Turvill of Normanton
(Lincs.). (fn. 101) In 1343 Hugh sold the property to
Robert, 3rd Lord Scales (d. 1369). (fn. 102) The second of
Stephen de Somery's sisters, Amabel, married
Arnold de Monteny (d. 1252); (fn. 103) their son Robert had
livery of his purparty in 1283, (fn. 104) and well before he
died c. 1287 transferred his interest to his son
Arnold (d. after 1321), (fn. 105) who in 1317 sold it to Henry
le Mount. (fn. 106) In 1334 Henry sold the reversion after
his and his wife's death to Robert, 3rd Lord Scales. (fn. 107)
The share of Ela de Somery, the next of Stephen's
sisters, descended to John, son of Hubert de
Munchensy, (fn. 108) who had livery in 1282 and in 1283
granted it to his kinsman William de Munchensy of
Edwardstone (Suff.). (fn. 109) Because William was in 1286
condemned for murder to go on Crusade, his lands
were in the king's hands until he was pardoned in
1297. (fn. 110) By 1305 he had sold his quarter to Robert,
1st Lord Scales (d. 1305), and his wife Isabel. (fn. 111)
The youngest Somery coheir Muriel married
Thomas Picot (d. 1255) of Ratcliffe-on-Soar and
Kingston-on-Soar (Notts.), (fn. 112) whose son Peter had
livery in 1283. (fn. 113) Peter died in 1286 and his son and
heir John about April 1294. (fn. 114) John's son John died
in July 1294, when his heir was Peter's son Peter
(d. 1313), his uncle (fn. 115) who by 1305 had also sold his
share to Lord Scales. (fn. 116)
The united manors descended in the male line to
Thomas, Lord Scales, killed in 1460. His daughter
and heir Elizabeth married Anthony Wydville,
later Earl Rivers, and died without issue in 1473. (fn. 117)
Her husband, however, held the Scales estates until
his execution in 1483, upon which Richard III
granted them, including Haslingfield, to John
Howard, duke of Norfolk (d. 1485). Howard's greatgrandfather, Robert Howard, had married Margaret,
elder daughter of Robert, Lord Scales (d. 1369). (fn. 118)
In 1486 the Scales lands were divided between the
right heirs, (fn. 119) the Lancastrian John de Vere, earl of
Oxford, heir general to Margaret, (fn. 120) and Sir William
Tyndall, son of Thomas (d. 1448), son of William
Tyndall (d. 1426) and Alana, daughter of Sir Simon
Felbrigge (d. 1442), son of Sir Roger Felbrigge and
Elizabeth, Margaret's sister. (fn. 121) Haslingfield fell in
Tyndall's share. He died in 1498, and his son and
successor John (fn. 122) in 1538. (fn. 123) John's son Thomas sold
Scales manor first in 1540 to William Bowyer,
alderman of London, (fn. 124) and then in 1541 to Dr.
Thomas Wendy, physician to Henry VIII, (fn. 125) who
set himself to acquire the remaining manors. In
1546 he obtained from the Crown, in exchange for
an annuity on the Percy estates, Melfords manor
and the rectory, then subject to the lease to Crake. (fn. 126)
In 1549 Wendy bought the confiscated lands of the
Haslingfield chantries, (fn. 127) and in 1550 Minchins
manor. (fn. 128) His widow bought the remainder of the
lease of Melfords from Clement Chicheley of
Wimpole (fn. 129) to whom Crake had bequeathed it in
1541. (fn. 130) The Wendy family thereafter possessed the
bulk of the parish.
Dr. Wendy, dying in 1560, devised Haslingfield
to his second wife Margaret (d. 1570) for her life,
with remainder to his brother John's son Thomas
of all except the rectory; the rectory was to go to
Caius College, which was to grant it to his heirs in
fee-farm at £10 a year. (fn. 131) Margaret soon married
William Worthington, who accordingly received
Elizabeth I when she slept at Haslingfield Hall on
her way to Cambridge in 1564. (fn. 132) Thomas Wendy
the younger inherited Haslingfield in 1570, whereupon Caius granted him the rectory. He never paid
the rent for 38 years, and in 1609 Caius released its
rights for a rent-charge of 20 marks on Wendy's
Barrington lands. (fn. 133) On Thomas's death in 1612 he
was succeeded by his eldest son William, (fn. 134) who was
knighted in 1618 (fn. 135) and died in 1623 without surviving male issue. Sir William's heir was his brother
Francis's son Thomas (born 1615), (fn. 136) but William's
widow Blanche held the estates until she died in
1629. (fn. 137) Sir Thomas Wendy, knighted at the
Restoration, (fn. 138) was something of a virtuoso. He
assembled at Haslingfield Hall a collection of
medals, optic glasses, and other rarities, besides a
considerable library which his executors gave to
Balliol College, and brought home from his travels a
Danish savant, Simon Ertman, who helped to found
the parish school. Sir Thomas also died childless,
in 1673, having settled most of his estates, including
Haslingfield, on his nephew Thomas Stewart, son
of his sister Susan and Thomas Stewart of Barton
Mills (Suff.). (fn. 139)
In 1674 Stewart married Lucy Hatton, daughter of
a London alderman, in order to pay his debts with
her dowry, and included Haslingfield in her
jointure. He discovered too late that she was nearly
imbecile, and he had drunk himself to death by 1688.
By 1692 his widow was married to a Mr. Smith
(d. c. 1706). (fn. 140) She became a lunatic in 1702, but
nevertheless held Haslingfield until she died in
1728, (fn. 141) when, all Susan Wendy's descendants being
already dead, (fn. 142) Haslingfield passed under Sir
Thomas Wendy's will to Sir Roger Burgoyne, Bt.,
of Sutton (Beds.), descended from Thomas Wendy
(d. 1612). (fn. 143) In 1733 Sir Roger sold the estate to
Baltzar Lyell, (fn. 144) an East India merchant of a Scottish
family settled in Sweden. He died in 1740, leaving
his estates for life to his widow Elizabeth, a former
servant whom he had married. (fn. 145) She died c. 1752,
and had by 1756 been succeeded by her brother-inlaw Abraham's son, Henry Lyell, of Bourn Hall,
who had sold his lands in Sweden and emigrated to
England c. 1740. (fn. 146) When Henry Lyell died in 1803
Haslingfield passed to his daughter Catherine's son,
George West, Earl de la Warr (d. 1869), (fn. 147) in whose
family it descended until its sale in 1900 to John
Chivers, the jam manufacturer, who split up the
estate, selling several of the farms the same year. (fn. 148) In
1910 the lordship of the manor was sold to S. R.
Ginn, formerly its steward, on whose death in
1934 his family vested it in D. B. Ginn, a solicitor. (fn. 149)
Haslingfield Hall stands in a moated enclosure
which may have been the centre of Scales manor.
The Lords Scales perhaps resided there occasionally,
and obtained permission from the abbot of St.
Mary's, the appropriator, c. 1240, and from the
bishop of Ely in 1348 and 1351 to establish an
oratory in their manor-house. (fn. 150) A new house was
probably begun by Dr. Wendy. An elaborate
chimney-piece with classical details, later removed
to Bourn Hall, bears the date 1555. Haslingfield
Hall formerly consisted of a central hall flanked by
two projecting turrets, with east and west wings
possibly extending backwards. Sir Thomas Wendy
added a third storey, refaced the south front and the
sides in brick, and built behind the hall an ornate
staircase, also re-erected at Bourn Hall. He also
probably enclosed the garden south-east of the
house with the surviving brick walls, articulated with
pilasters and broken by a rusticated gateway. (fn. 151)
The house was uninhabited after 1714, and partly
ruinous in 1726. (fn. 152) Apart from its east end, converted
into a farm-house, it was demolished between 1814
and 1819. Much of the material was used to construct Cantelupe Farm, to which also two barns,
one of the 16th, one of the 17th century, were
removed from Haslingfield Hall's outer enclosure.
The circular 17th-century brick pigeon-house,
however, remained on its original site. (fn. 153)
The other large estate in Haslingfield was that of
Queens' College, sometimes called STERNES
manor after the family of that name, ancestors of
the novelist Lawrence Sterne. Part of the estate,
amounting to a hide, had before 1200 belonged to
Richard Pellam, whose daughter Agnes married first
William of Widiford (d. before 1209) and afterwards
Ellis of Haswell. William and Agnes, though
they held the land in trust for their son Richard
Pellam, alienated part of it to under-tenants, from
whom the younger Richard attempted to recover it
in 1227 without success. He retained only overlordship over Ellis, (fn. 154) who subsequently gave the
land to Anglesey Priory, which was buying other
land in Haslingfield at the time. (fn. 155) In 1353 the priory
conveyed its property by an exchange to William
Sterne (fn. 156) (d. c. 1354), (fn. 157) son of Walter (d. c. 1317). (fn. 158)
whose father William (d. c. 1294) (fn. 159) was the son of
Walter Sterne (fl. c. 1250) (fn. 160) and had held c. 90 a.
in 1279. (fn. 161) The younger William's son Robert died
c. 1378, leaving his son Walter as the ward of Lord
Scales. (fn. 162) Walter (d. after 1421) removed to Stapleford
c. 1413, (fn. 163) though junior branches of the family
remained at Haslingfield. Robert Sterne, probably
Walter's eldest son, married a Norfolk heiress, and
dying before 1444 (fn. 164) was followed by his son Robert
(d. 1459), (fn. 165) who was succeeded by his sons, Thomas
(d. s.p. 1461), and Henry, who died under age in
1469. (fn. 166) Henry's son Henry came of age c. 1492, (fn. 167)
and in 1495 sold his land at Haslingfield to Queens'
College. (fn. 168) His son Thomas refused to accept the
title of the college, which in 1520 bought off his
claims for 100 marks. (fn. 169)
Queens' also acquired the lands of the Prisots, a
family recorded at Haslingfield since the 1350s. (fn. 170)
John Prisot (d. 1392) left 20 a. to his son John (II), (fn. 171)
who dying c. 1427 left c. 42 a. to his son John (III), (fn. 172)
a lawyer, who had by 1440 bought c. 27 a. more. (fn. 173)
Subsequently he acquired most of the land amassed
by Thomas Roun, 26 a. in 1441–2, (fn. 174) 40 a. in 1453. (fn. 175)
Prisot became Chief Justice of the Common Pleas
in 1449 and died in 1461. (fn. 176) His widow Margaret
sold his Haslingfield property to feoffees acting for
Queens' in 1475. (fn. 177) The college's two farms in the
village, covering c. 320 a., retained the names of
Prisots and Sternes until inclosure. (fn. 178) Sternes
included the site of Anglesey Priory's former
manor-house, known as Anglesey's or Ansey's
until the 16th century. (fn. 179) Michaelhouse too bought
many small properties in Haslingfield between 1477
and 1485. (fn. 180) In 1492 it owned 34 a., (fn. 181) which passed
on its incorporation with Trinity to that college,
which in 1588 owned 57 a. (fn. 182) At inclosure Queens'
was allotted 385 a. and Trinity 41 a. (fn. 183) Both colleges
sold their farms between 1945 and 1950. (fn. 184)
Economic History.
Before the Conquest
Haslingfield contained some eight sokemen, most
of whom could dispose of their land as they chose.
By 1086 its peasantry had been depressed in status:
29 villani and 50 bordars and cottars had 10½ ploughteams between them, enough to cultivate half the
21 plough-lands in the vill. The demesnes were
understocked, having only 8 ploughs. The yearly
yield of the manors had not been greatly increased
since 1066. (fn. 185) In 1279 the demesnes still included
almost half the cultivated area. That of the Somery
manor amounted to c. 210 a. of arable, (fn. 186) that of the
Scales manor probably to 420 a. At least 558 a. were
held by free tenants for rent, including 96 a. not
assignable to any manor, but only 314 a. were held in
villeinage. The majority of tenants had small
holdings of 10 a. or less. Only a few substantial
families, such as those of Sterne, Young, and Serle,
held 20 a. or more. There was some uniformity in
the services owed from villein land. The largest
unfree holdings owed 144 regular works, probably
equivalent to three each week for 48 weeks, those
of medium size two a week and the smallest one a
week, except on the Somery manor where they
rendered two a week. The works were valued for
possible commutation in about the same proportions of 3, 2, and 1. (fn. 187) Special services, such as
harvest-works, not specified in the Hundred Rolls,
included on the Somery manor ploughings worth 4d.
and carrying services worth 1½d. (fn. 188) On Melfords
manor villeins rendered harvest-boons, mowing and
reaping, and binding and carrying the corn. (fn. 189)
The size of the villein holdings varied, however,
between manor and manor, though their burdens
were equal. On the Somery manor they were of
20 a., 10 a., and 5 a. respectively; on Minchins
manor of 15 a., 9 a., and 1 a.; and on Scales manor of
only 10 a., 5 a., and 1½ a. On Melfords manor all but
28 a. of the tenants' land was enfranchised by 1279,
and two of the wealthier villeins on the Somery
manor had also had their works permanently
commuted for many years. (fn. 190) Despite the small
proportion of heavily burdened villein land, some
demesnes were in hand c. 1300. In 1296–7 the royal
keepers were cultivating two-thirds of William de
Munchensy's purparty and sold only 6 works. The
servants then included a ploughman and a shepherd. (fn. 191)
Until 1331 corn was being transported from the
Melfords demesne to St. Mary's Abbey. (fn. 192) By 1340
the area under the plough was receding: 200 a. were
then lying waste. (fn. 193) An agreement of 1484 over the
tithes implies that much land had been out of
arable cultivation beyond the memory of man, while
other land had been abandoned more recently. (fn. 194)
By the 15th century the manors were being farmed.
On Scales manor, some customary tenants, such as
Richard Bowde in 1383, had their lands enfranchised
in the 14th century. (fn. 195) Lord Scales's farmer was
indicted as a rebel in 1381, (fn. 196) and c. 1390 the manor
was being farmed for the £40 given as its traditional
value in 1589. (fn. 197) In the 1490s its bailiff was collecting
c. £8 in assized rents and £14 11s. 10d. rent from its
customary tenants. The demesne was then farmed
for £20, and the manor yielded £38 net a year. (fn. 198)
Melfords manor had long been farmed in 1480 when
its homage declared that by custom the farmer
should take over the demesne in May, but should not
begin paying rent until the following Michaelmas. (fn. 199)
In 1520 it was leased for 60 years. (fn. 200) The Minchins
demesne was leased in 1430, (fn. 201) and for 40 years in
1534 to Robert Coxall, (fn. 202) whose family held it for
three generations. (fn. 203) Some of the wealthier freeholders also leased their land. In 1398 Walter Sterne
leased all his land to the vicar for 6 years. (fn. 204) In 1488
Henry Sterne leased Sternes manor. (fn. 205) The Prisot
lands were probably in hand when inherited in
1427, (fn. 206) but at their sale to Queens' c. 1475 their
income of £10 10s. arose mainly from rents. (fn. 207)
By the 13th century Haslingfield was being
cultivated on a three-field rotation, although the
term field was then and later frequently applied in
deeds to groups of furlongs within the main fields. (fn. 208)
Down field, by 1520 called Chapel field after the
White Hill chapel, covered the hillside south of the
village, and included the 'red clay' on the summit. (fn. 209)
Rowlowe field (fn. 210) lay immediately north of the village;
its westernmost part across the Barton road was
latterly called Caldwell (later Caudle) field. (fn. 211) The
northernmost field by the Bourn brook was called
Dawland field. (fn. 212) By 1773 the fields were known
respectively as Hill, Middle, and Low fields, and at
inclosure as High, Middle, and Low fields. (fn. 213) The
meadows lay along the river banks, being called
Southmead south of the village (fn. 214) and Langholm
north of it as far as Lingey fen. (fn. 215) Other land along
the Barton road, mostly west of it, was kept as
common pasture. It was possibly called Aldefeld or
Alfeld (later Offal End) Green, (fn. 216) and at inclosure
was known as the Cow and Sheep Hill Common. (fn. 217)
During the mid 16th century butchers from Cambridge were accused of fattening their stock on
Haslingfield's commons. In 1551 the stint of cattle
was fixed at 3 cows to each 'plough-land' of 20 a.,
which also entitled its owner to keep 2 on his several
pasture. (fn. 218) The stint was reduced from 4 to 3 in 1648,
when cottagers were allowed 3 cows each. (fn. 219) The
stints were again regulated in 1761, when cottagers
could run 4 sheep on the common, while landholders
enjoyed one sheep-gate for each 2 a. (fn. 220)
Sheep-farming had long been important in
Haslingfield: 224 sheep were recorded there in
1086. (fn. 221) In 1185 the Rochester manor was capable
of supporting 240 sheep. (fn. 222) The village supplied
almost 29 stone to a levy of wool in 1340. (fn. 223) In 1736
Baltzar Lyell alleged that the Queens' College
tenants had taken advantage of his predecessor
Mrs. Smith's imbecility to establish a separate
fold for their sheep c. 1706, infringing the lord of
the manor's rights. (fn. 224) In 1761 937 sheep-gates were
being exercised. (fn. 225) Eight shepherds were still working
in Haslingfield in 1841. (fn. 226)
Before 1560 Dr. Wendy had inclosed certain
lands obtained by exchange with his tenants, (fn. 227) which
may be identical with the fields containing over 60 a.,
lying just north of the manor-house park in the
Middle field, which were not allotted in the inclosure award. (fn. 228) By the mid 17th century Sir
Thomas Wendy had bought many of the lesser
freehold and copyhold properties. (fn. 229) Only 67 a. of
copyhold land were left at inclosure. (fn. 230) Another 37 a.
in the north-west corner of the parish were inclosed
by the lord shortly after 1800. (fn. 231) The only substantial
properties left outside the Wendy lands were the
college and charity estates. On the former the
colleges followed their usual policy of long leases
at low rents, often to successive generations of the
same family. Thus between 1558 and 1593 Queens'
leased Prisot's farm to the heirs of William Godfrey
who had farmed Sternes c. 1517. (fn. 232) Robert Hardy
and his descendants farmed the Trinity land
between 1588 and 1661. (fn. 233) By the late 17th century
the college farms were sometimes sublet at a considerable profit. About 1690 a sub-lessee of Sternes
was paying c. £30 a year to a head-tenant who had
himself obtained a 22-year lease at c. £7 a year for a
fine of only £80. (fn. 234) By 1777 Queens' College
received a higher proportion of the gross rent: £63
out of £84 for Sterne's and £49 out of £60 for
Prisot's. (fn. 235)
An inclosure Act was obtained in 1810, the
transfer of lands completed by 1814, and the award
made in 1815. (fn. 236) The largest allotment went to Lord
de la Warr, who received 1,498 a. to add to his 246 a.
of old inclosures, amounting in all to 70 per cent of
the parish. Queens' College's two lessees received
385 a., Trinity 41 a., and Skelman's charity 74 a.
Eight other owners, including Pembroke College
and Christ's Hospital, had 102 a. between them,
but only two of them were allotted over 20 a.
Sixteen smallholders shared 57 a. (fn. 237) The de la Warr
estate was subsequently divided into some 10 farms.
The largest of them was the newly established
Cantelupe farm, north-east of the village, with 417 a.
From the 1830s to the 1880s the Wallis family
occupied over half the estate, including Manor,
Willow, and River farms. (fn. 238) William Coxall, of an
ancient local family, and his descendants held
Trinity farm until the 1880s. (fn. 239) In 1851 there were
c. 20 farms in the village: five, containing 200 a. or
more, covered over 1,730 a. and three of over 100 a.
another 375 a. ; 2,450 a. were then under cultivation,
including c. 380 a. of grassland. The farms provided
employment for 117 labourers out of over 150 living
in the village. (fn. 240) Coprolites were dug in Haslingfield
between the 1860s and 1880s. (fn. 241) The village suffered
severe distress after the 1870s. The parish council
devoted much effort to reducing the assessment to
rates of agricultural land, seeking to transfer the
burden to the public houses, the coprolite diggings,
the railway, and the tithes. (fn. 242) The rent of Charity
farm had to be reduced from £150 to £110 in 1887
and £60 in 1896. (fn. 243) Wages had fallen to 12s. a week
by 1880, and, after the market for coprolites
collapsed c. 1884, to 6s. or 9s. by 1888. The vicar
vainly appealed to the Charity Commission in 1880
and 1888 for money from the united charities'
educational funds to assist the many poor and sick
villagers who continually applied to him. (fn. 244) In 1889
the labourers were agitating for the charity lands to
be used for allotments and formed a branch of the
Rural Labourers' League for that purpose. (fn. 245) There
was again unemployment in the parish c. 1922. (fn. 246)
Haslingfield still contained about eight farms in the
1930s, but in 1937 the three farms belonging to
Chivers were being managed together. (fn. 247)
In 1086 Picot owned a mill. (fn. 248) Before 1170 Robert
of Beach granted to Clerkenwell Priory the reversion
of half a mill standing on his land. (fn. 249) Its site may be
indicated by the mill marsh mentioned in 1266 and
the mill bridge recorded in 1337, (fn. 250) both probably
adjacent to the northernmost field. A water-mill, the
way to which was close to the village, was recorded
in 1317 and 1455. (fn. 251) In 1560 Dr. Wendy bequeathed
the lease of his mill in Haslingfield, possibly the
mill which his grandson Thomas devised in 1626 as
Haslingfield mill in Hauxton. (fn. 252) It may have stood
east of the village, where the boundary of Hauxton
crosses the Rhee and runs along a dry channel. (fn. 253) In
1328 a windmill stood on top of the down towards
Barrington, where St. Mary's chapel was later
built. (fn. 254)
Local Government.
In 1279 Joan de
Somery was holding for life on her manor the same
liberties, mainly unspecified, as Henry III had
granted to her second husband Godfrey of Crowcombe on his own estates; (fn. 255) the abbot of St. Mary's,
York, claimed view of frankpledge and the assize of
bread and ale by prescription on the land he had
recovered from the Melfords. Those liberties were
formally forfeited to the Crown in 1299, because
their ownership had changed hands without licence. (fn. 256)
The prioress of Stratford enjoyed, under charters of
Stephen, Henry II, and Henry III, liberties including
infangthief, her men's amercements, and felons' chattels, besides view of frankpledge by prescription. (fn. 257)
On Melfords, Minchins, and Scales manors
separate courts, exercising leet jurisdiction, were
held until the 16th century, though latterly rather
infrequently. (fn. 258) In 1523 the lessee of Melfords was
required by his lease to hold a court once a year to
keep order among the tenants. (fn. 259) On Scales manor,
owing to the negligence of the lord's officers, courts
were seldom held, in hindrance of the common weal
(res publica) of the village. In 1532 the tenants agreed,
in return for land granted to the township, that the
lord might distrain for fines without awaiting
presentation by the homage. (fn. 260) A reeve was still being
elected for Scales manor in 1550, when Dr. Wendy
brought together the three manorial courts, (fn. 261) which
continued to make orders regulating cultivation and
common rights until 1761. (fn. 262) The court elected four
field-reeves and a hayward to enforce them, besides
two constables. (fn. 263) In 1589 the churchwardens were
joined with the 'chief of the town' in controlling the
mowing of the common balks. (fn. 264) By 1612 they were
renting the quarry south of the town. (fn. 265) They may
have obtained from it material for road-making, as
was done in the 19th century, after it had been
allotted to the parish for that purpose at inclosure. (fn. 266)
A gravel-pit there had been closed by 1896, (fn. 267) and in
1964 was being used as a refuse tip. (fn. 268)
Expenditure on the poor stood at £85 in 1776. In
1803 52 people were relieved, at a cost of £230,
besides £100 spent on removals. (fn. 269) Expenditure
reached a peak of £775 in 1814, with 28 persons on
relief, but only £250 was spent the next year on 24
persons, (fn. 270) and less than £200 a year over the
following 10 years. (fn. 271) Poor-relief c. 1830 went mostly
to the sick, the aged, and children. The parish itself
employed no paupers. (fn. 272) In 1836 Haslingfield was
included in the Chesterton poor law union. (fn. 273) The
vestry, however, still attempted to manage the local
poor. In 1845 it arranged for surplus labourers to be
allotted among the farmers according to the rates
that they paid, (fn. 274) and in the 1840s it was raising
money to assist emigrants. (fn. 275) In 1848 it engaged a
policeman for 6 months as an experiment, (fn. 276) and in
1853 during an epidemic promoted vaccination and
elected a temporary board of health. (fn. 277) A parish
council was first elected to replace the vestry in
1901. (fn. 278) Haslingfield remained in the Chesterton R.D.
in 1969.
Church.
Probably before 1100 Roger de Somery
gave the church of Haslingfield to St. Mary's Abbey,
York, (fn. 279) which vindicated its title to the advowson
against Miles de Somery in 1206, (fn. 280) and thenceforth
held it until the Dissolution. Picot, however, had
granted two-thirds of the tithes of his demesne to
Barnwell Priory. (fn. 281) The portion, later converted into
a pension varying between £1 and 2 marks, (fn. 282) was not
extinguished until 1546. (fn. 283) By the 1230s the church
had been appropriated to St. Mary's, and a vicarage
established, (fn. 284) whose patronage remained with the
abbey and was in 1546 granted with the rectory
estate to Dr. Wendy. (fn. 285) The advowson descended
with the manor until 1688, (fn. 286) and probably until
1728, (fn. 287) and passed with it to the Lyells. (fn. 288) The
patrons sometimes disposed of turns: in 1714 and
1719 vicars were presented by Dr. Kemp Harward, (fn. 289) and in 1746 by John Perkins, probably then
vicar of Thriplow, who put in his kinsman Timothy
Perkins. (fn. 290) In 1765 the advowson was bought by
John Michell (d. 1766) of Bayfield (Norf.). (fn. 291) He
was succeeded by his son Charles Michell (d. 1841)
of Forcett Hall (Yorks. N.R.), whose grandson and
heir John Michell (d. 1896) (fn. 292) sold it in 1884. It was
bought by G. C. Clements, then vicar, (fn. 293) whose
representatives in 1898 sold it to Mrs. H. E. Davies,
wife of his successor, A. V. Davies. In 1931 she left
it to her husband (d. 1939) whose son J. R. A. Davies
sold it to the Ely Diocesan Board of Patronage in
1940. (fn. 294)
In 1291 the vicar was receiving £4 6s. 8d. (fn. 295) The
abbey took almost all the tithes, mortuaries, and
similar dues. Under the ordination of his benefice
the vicar had only the altarage, the tithe on flax and
hemp, and 3 marks out of the tithe on corn. From
that meagre income he was required to repair the
chancel and pay a pension of 20s. to the abbey's
Suffolk cell of Rumburgh. In 1484, after a lawsuit,
the abbey conceded to the vicar as an augmentation
of his benefice all offerings and mortuaries, all the
small tithes, and the tithe on hay and other tithable
produce from all land that had been out of cultivation time out of mind, with one mark more in cash. (fn. 296)
In 1536 the vicarage was worth £8 10s. 7d. a year. (fn. 297)
It had no glebe apart from a close of 3 a. adjoining
the vicar's house given in 1362. (fn. 298) In 1638 it was worth
£28 a year, including 33s. 4d. received from the
impropriator. (fn. 299) Sir Thomas Wendy allowed Matthew
Scrivener, vicar 1667–88, besides 20 marks due
under an old composition, £36 13s. 8d. instead of
the small tithes due from Wendy's property. In his
will of 1673 he also bequeathed to Scrivener, so
long as he remained vicar, another £40 a year out of
the rectory, making a total augmentation of £90 a
year. The rectory itself was settled with Sir Thomas's
other lands on his sister Susan Stewart's descendants, and, if their line failed, on Sir Roger Burgoyne upon trust to settle the impropriation, both
glebe and tithes, upon the vicars in perpetuity. (fn. 300) All
branches of the Stewart family were extinct by 1728
when Thomas Stewart's widow, Mrs. Smith, whose
jointure included the rectory, died. (fn. 301) The vicar's
income was expected to increase from £80 to £240
when the great tithes fell in. (fn. 302) Sir Roger Burgoyne
conveyed the rectory to the vicar in 1731. John
Barnwell, then vicar (1719–46), sued him to recover
the parsonage house and extensive glebe implied
in the lease of 1523 and mentioned in old deeds
which Barnwell had abstracted from Haslingfield
Hall, but the glebe had long since been confounded
with the other Wendy property. (fn. 303) Barnwell dropped
his suit in 1739 (fn. 304) after an agreement by which the
great tithes were apparently divided equally between
the patron as impropriator and the vicar. (fn. 305) The
impropriator's share passed with the advowson,
perhaps until 1940. (fn. 306) About 1951 it was owned by the
Revd. W. F. Buttle. (fn. 307) About 1830 the vicar's net
income was £581. (fn. 308) The tithes were commuted for a
rent-charge in 1842, the vicar receiving £651 and
the lay rector £272 a year. (fn. 309) The vicar then owned
4 a. of glebe. His gross income was £719 in 1873, (fn. 310)
but fell to £460 in 1896. (fn. 311)
The vicarage, in decay in 1554, (fn. 312) was in repair by
1638, when it was described as a convenient tiled
mansion with a barn. (fn. 313) The small house was rebuilt
by Timothy Perkins c. 1761 and later enlarged in
Victorian Gothic style, in brick. (fn. 314)
In the Middle Ages the parish contained several
chantries. By the 1260s land was being given to the
parishioners to support a chaplain saying mass at
St. Mary's altar in the church. (fn. 315) In the 15th century
the estate was called the land of the 'old service of
St. Mary in the church' (fn. 316) to distinguish it from that
of St. Mary 'in the chapel'. (fn. 317) The chapel, which
stood in the north-east part of the churchyard, (fn. 318)
was founded c. 1344, when Robert, Lord Scales
(d. 1369), gave 50 a. to support a chantry in it for
the guild of the Assumption founded in 1343. (fn. 319)
The advowson of the chantry descended with Scales
manor. (fn. 320) The aldermen and brethren of the guild
c. 1390 had to supplement the rent to meet their
chaplain's salary. (fn. 321) In 1546 the guild owned 86 a. in
Haslingfield, yielding £5 8s. in rent, and paid the
chaplain 65s. 4d. Its lands were then divided in lots
of 8–9 a. among 12 men, probably its brethren. (fn. 322)
Later, until the 19th century, the chapel was used
as a schoolroom. (fn. 323) A guild of the Nativity supported
a mass at an altar in the church on which by 1520 an
image of the Nativity stood. Possibly it was identical
with the 'old service'. In 1392 the guild was licensed
to acquire 20 a. to maintain masses and other pious
works, in memory of men some of whom had died
40 years before. (fn. 324) In 1546 it owned 74 a. yielding
£4 6s. 2d. and paid its priest 64s. 7d. (fn. 325) A third guild,
of the Trinity, established by 1403 and still surviving
in 1527, also held some land and maintained a light. (fn. 326)
Another light for the sepulchre had by 1425 a
bailiff to administer bequests for it. (fn. 327) Distinct from
those parochial foundations was the chapel of St.
Mary on the White Hill (in monte albo), which stood
on the summit of the down by the Barrington road. (fn. 328)
Until the Reformation pilgrimages were made to the
Virgin's image there at Easter, and one of the lords
Scales was believed, c. 1600, to have dedicated his
chains there in thanksgiving for a miraculous
deliverance from captivity. (fn. 329) It could have been
Thomas, Lord Scales, captured at the battle of Patay
in 1429. (fn. 330) The chapel is first recorded in documents
in 1432, (fn. 331) and a seal of Pope Martin V found nearby
in 1885 (fn. 332) also suggests that it was founded c. 1430.
In 1488 Bishop Alcock issued an indulgence for its
repair. (fn. 333) The neighbouring furlong was still said to
lie 'by the chapel door' in the late 16th century, (fn. 334)
and though no remains survived in 1969 the site was
marked by the name Chapel Bush. (fn. 335)
An almost continuous series of vicars can be
established from the mid 13th century. Two
chaplains, possibly the chantry priests, were also
dwelling at Haslingfield in 1378 and 1406. (fn. 336) From
the 1440s several vicars had Cambridge degrees.
Two, William Spalding, vicar c. 1448 and later
Dean of the Arches, and Richard Laverok, vicar
c. 1457 to 1473, served as officials in the diocese of
Ely. Both were pluralists, as were their successors
Robert Adam, 1473–85, and Richard Arrington,
1485–1521. (fn. 337) From the 16th century, the vicars
were normally Cambridge graduates. (fn. 338) Griffith
Tryghern, D.C.L., vicar c. 1554 to 1564, was found
in 1560 incapable of preaching, and only read the
Book of Homilies. (fn. 339) His successor Michael Calvert,
1564–73, also held Barrington and employed a
curate who succeeded him at Haslingfield. (fn. 340) The
patron Thomas Wendy (d. 1612) (fn. 341) had puritanical
inclinations, and those whom he presented included
John Smith, forced to resign as vicar in 1599 for
refusing to observe ceremonies required by the
Prayer Book. (fn. 342) James Greenwood, vicar 1618–39,
was accused in 1624 of not wearing a surplice. (fn. 343)
His successor, Griffith Hatley, was ejected in 1646. (fn. 344)
In 1650 Thomas Wendy (d. 1673) was taking the
profits of the vicarage and paying Mr. Quarles, an
intruded fellow of Peterhouse, a salary for serving
the cure, (fn. 345) but in 1656 he presented Henry Chamberlain, an ejected fellow of Oriel, (fn. 346) and in 1666
Matthew Scrivener, an apologist for Anglicanism. (fn. 347)
After 1700 the vicars employed curates, who included, 1711–13, the mystical writer and non-juror,
William Law. (fn. 348) John Barnwell, 1719–46, who also
held Trumpington, was licensed not to reside
because he lived in Cambridge. (fn. 349) In 1728 he was
paying £20 a year to a fellow of Trinity serving as
curate, who held two services on Sundays. (fn. 350) His
successor Timothy Perkins, vicar 1746–88, resided
regularly, (fn. 351) but the next vicar again served through
curates, (fn. 352) and Stephen Allen, 1800–47, who had
ruined himself in his youth by extravagance and an
elopement, lived at his wealthier living of St.
Margaret's, King's Lynn. (fn. 353) He employed as curate
William Clark, who served under him and his
absentee successor from 1806 to 1860. (fn. 354) In his last
years Clark was assisted by C. F. Mackenzie, later a
missionary bishop in Central Africa. (fn. 355) Clark
ministered diligently, notwithstanding difficulties
with a dissenting churchwarden over rates for church
repairs. (fn. 356) There were few communicants in 1807,
but 28 in 1825 and 50 in 1836. (fn. 357) In 1851 there were
up to 400 church-goers, (fn. 358) and 700 in 1873 when
besides from two to four services a week communion
was held 16 times a year. (fn. 359) Later vicars had long
incumbencies, G. C. Clements, who restored the
church, from 1863 to 1898, A. V. Davies from 1898
to 1940. G. E. Davis, vicar 1940–58, (fn. 360) compiled a
history of the parish. (fn. 361)
The church of ALL SAINTS is mostly built of
clunch ashlar and field stones, and has a chancel with
organ chamber, aisled and clerestoried nave with
north and south porches, and west tower. Only
loose stonework and parts of the chancel walls
survive from the 12th-century church. (fn. 362) About 1300
the chancel was refenestrated: glass from one
window, moved to the vestry, bears the arms of
Scales and Burnel. (fn. 363) The nave was built over an
apparently long period in the 13th and 14th centuries, starting with the chancel arch, followed by
the north aisle and porch and then the south aisle and
porch. The Scales family, whose arms together with
those of Ufford (fn. 364) are on the north aisle roof, presumably bore part at least of the cost.
The rebuilt church was reconsecrated in 1352, (fn. 365)
but it was not until the tower was finished later in
the century that the medieval church was structurally complete. The screen and some surviving
seating in the nave were put in in the 15th century.
The pulpit, formerly incorporated in an 18thcentury double-decker, (fn. 366) has open-work Gothic
tracery on a trumpet stem. The chancel, which the
vicar could hardly afford to maintain, was already
in bad condition in 1406, when Archbishop Arundel
ordered the profits of the benefice to be sequestrated
to repair its roof. (fn. 367) It was again said to be in decay
c. 1560. (fn. 368) Sir William Wendy restored it c. 1619,
installing a new wagon-roof painted with patterns
and emblems, (fn. 369) renewed by G. C. Clements, vicar
1863–96. (fn. 370) Wendy may also have rebuilt the east
wall of the chancel, in which a 'debased' 17thcentury window survived until 1870, and reconstructed and lowered the nave roof. (fn. 371) The chancel
contains several 17th-century monuments of the
Wendy family, including that erected in 1619 by
Sir William to his father Thomas, a recess flanked
by pillars in marble and alabaster, within which the
effigies of Thomas, in academic robes, and his son,
in armour, kneel facing their wives; and that of Sir
Thomas Wendy, K.B., whose statue stands in a
classical niche, wearing his robes of the Bath. An
altar-tomb to Dr. Wendy formerly stood north of
the altar, (fn. 372) but was mislaid when the church was
restored by the architect William Fawcett in 1875–
9, when the remains of the medieval rood-screen
were also removed. (fn. 373) Fawcett again rebuilt the east
wall, modelling its window on those in the south
aisle, reroofed the nave, and added a vestry. The
tower, found to be insecure in 1892, was repaired in
1898–1900. (fn. 374)
The font is 14th-century and has a 17th-century
wooden cover. In 1552 there were three bells. (fn. 375) Five
bells were recast in 1816, two of them retaining their
earlier dates, and one was again recast in 1960. (fn. 376) The
plate includes a cup of 1847, a cup and paten of 1853,
and a paten of 1871.
The maintenance of the church fabric was one of
the objects of Skelman's and Wendy's charities. (fn. 377)
In 1966 £31 was received for that purpose. (fn. 378) From
an unknown date the rent of land called Clock Holt,
for which 1 a. was allotted at inclosure, (fn. 379) was
devoted to winding and repairing the church clock. (fn. 380)
In 1861 the money, some 30s. a year, was being
used to pay the sexton's wages, though the clock
was not working. In 1864 the Holt was incorporated
in the united charities estate, but from the 1880s to
1928 it was occupied rent-free by the sexton for
winding the clock. In 1939 the church surrendered
its rent, then £3, to the Haslingfield charities. (fn. 381) The
income from £30 capital that was paid by 1843
under the will of Robert Barber, dated 1825, for
a prize for repeating the catechism (fn. 382) was still being
distributed in 1966. (fn. 383)
Nonconformity.
There were two nonconformists in 1675, (fn. 384) and four dissenters were
recorded in 1676. (fn. 385) In 1682 six people were presented
as schismatics, and one woman for absence from
church, (fn. 386) and in 1686 four people were presented
for the latter offence. (fn. 387) There were said to be three
families of Independents in 1728. (fn. 388) Robert Robinson,
who became pastor of the Stone Yard Baptist
chapel, Cambridge, in 1761, (fn. 389) gave occasional
lectures in Haslingfield to congregations of c. 100. (fn. 390)
Two families of dissenters and several followers of
John Berridge were recorded in 1783, (fn. 391) and buildings were registered for Protestant dissenting
worship in 1811, 1822, and 1823. (fn. 392) In 1825 it was
reported that teachers occasionally came to the
parish, but that the numbers attending the parish
church had certainly not declined. (fn. 393) There were
further registrations in 1829, (fn. 394) 1831, 1836, and
1837. (fn. 395)
The Providence chapel was built in 1836. It was
used by Independents and Baptists in 1851, when
there was accommodation for 150 and a congregation of 100. (fn. 396) The chapel was still held jointly
by Independents and Baptists in 1855 (fn. 397) and it was
presumably the subordinate station, recorded until
1873, of the Independent church at Barrington. (fn. 398)
From 1852 Primitive Methodists from Cambridge held open-air meetings at Haslingfield, and
preaching was apparently continuous after 1861.
They were unable to build or hire a meeting-place
until in 1867 Moses Mason of Haslingfield gave a
site and offered to build a chapel. (fn. 399) The chapel was
built in 1868, (fn. 400) and in 1871 it shared a minister with
Harlton. (fn. 401) In 1873 it was said that c. 50 people used
it, (fn. 402) and in 1897 that about one-fifth of the inhabitants were Chapel. (fn. 403) In 1929 some dissenting parents
liked their children to be taught the catechism. (fn. 404) The
chapel stands in High Street. It was registered
for marriage in 1936, (fn. 405) when it became part of the
Cambridge circuit, on the union of the Wesleyan
and Primitive Methodists there. (fn. 406) It had 18 members
in 1969. (fn. 407)
Education.
A schoolmaster was recorded in
1601, 1607, 1610, and 1618. (fn. 408) Although William
Skelman's will, (fn. 409) dated 1494, made no provision for
education, in 1640 the Commissioners of Charitable
Uses decreed that £6 should be paid yearly to the
curate or another to teach all the children of
Haslingfield, including ten free of charge. (fn. 410) Simon
Ertman, by his will dated 1658, gave £400, settled
in the form of £20 rent-charge by Sir Thomas
Wendy's will proved in 1674, for the maintenance of
a schoolmaster. His gift appears to have been used
always for education, although his will allowed for
other charitable uses. (fn. 411) The Skelman and Ertman
charities were at first used to support different
schools, (fn. 412) but by 1798 only one school was recorded. (fn. 413)
In 1806 £16 from Ertman's gift and apparently £6
from Skelman's charity were used for education, (fn. 414)
and in 1818 there were three schools, each with 30
children: a Sunday school, the school endowed by
Simon Ertman, and a school preparatory to it. (fn. 415)
The mistress of the last received £10 a year from
Skelman's charity. (fn. 416)
The school endowed by Simon Ertman was
united with the National Society in 1828. (fn. 417) A
teacher's house flanked by separate schoolrooms
for boys and girls was built c. 1830, (fn. 418) as a National
day- and Sunday school, with the aid of more than
£200 from the curate and £70 from the National
Society. (fn. 419) The site belonged to Earl de la Warr. (fn. 420)
In 1833 17 boys and 26 girls attended the Sunday
school, (fn. 421) and there were about 80 pupils at the dayschool in 1837, of whom 20 were 'pay scholars' from
neighbouring places, and nearly two-thirds were
girls. School fees were charged on a graduated scale,
and no one was excluded on grounds of religious
dissent. (fn. 422) Financial support from Ertman's charity
was constant: £20 in both 1833 (fn. 423) and 1861. (fn. 424) That
from Skelman's charity fluctuated: £20 in 1833, (fn. 425)
reduced to £15 in 1834, (fn. 426) rising to £26 in 1861. (fn. 427)
Until the 19th century an infants' school was held
in the former chapel of the chantry of the Assumption. (fn. 428) Apparently a new infants' school was
established by voluntary subscription in 1833, when
19 boys and 10 girls were taught at their parents'
expense. (fn. 429) In 1837 the school taught children until
they were five, and received c. £10 a year from the
vicar, which he claimed from Skelman's charity. (fn. 430)
The payment of £10 still continued in 1861. (fn. 431) By a
Charity Commission Scheme of 1864 four-sevenths
of the net income of the combined charities (fn. 432) was
allotted to the parochial and infants' schools.
Children under 16 of all poor inhabitants were
eligible for a place, and one-sixth of the schools'
income could be spent on industrial training at
the girls' school. The children were allowed religious instruction other than Anglican and might
attend dissenting places of worship, although
provision was made for diocesan inspection of the
schools. (fn. 433)
In 1867 none of the three teachers was certificated,
and the schoolmaster acted as church clerk, attending funerals and marriages during school hours. (fn. 434)
School fees were 1d. or 2d., (fn. 435) and the school had not
been cleaned for five years. The infants' school,
built on glebe land, was separate from the other
school buildings. (fn. 436)
In 1875 a Scheme of the Endowed Schools
Commission established a non-denominational
governing body, and allotted to the school foursevenths of the ordinary income of the Haslingfield
charities and six-sevenths of the income from
coprolite digging. Up to £75 a year could be spent
on the general purposes of the school, and £10 on
the repair of the buildings. The governors were to
make 'proper regulations' for religious instruction.
In 1874–5 £867 from the proceeds of coprolites
was spent on a new schoolroom, adjacent to the
existing building, and the site was enlarged. In
1880 the new building was used as a mixed schoolroom, while the infants used the former girls'
schoolroom; subjects taught included grammar,
geography, mapping, surveying, English history,
algebra, Euclid, scripture history, and general
information, especially that which would be useful
for those emigrating to the colonies. The 1875
Scheme provided for an upper department and for
exhibitions for higher education, but by 1880
accumulated higher education income was £437 10s.,
since the upper department had not been formed and
no exhibitions had been awarded, parents being
unable to supplement them. School fees were
reduced in the same year. (fn. 437) Earl de la Warr conveyed
the site and the schoolmaster's garden to the vicar
in 1881, (fn. 438) and in the following year £550 from the
proceeds of coprolites was spent on a new teacher's
house. (fn. 439)
An annual government grant was received after
1875. (fn. 440) In 1880 the school received £85 from
endowment, c. £75 in grant, and c. £71 10s. in fees. (fn. 441)
Average attendance declined from 130 in 1881 (fn. 442)
to 75 in 1893, when school fees were no longer
paid. (fn. 443) There was a successful evening school in
1873, (fn. 444) and an evening school in receipt of a
government grant was recorded between 1898 and
1901. (fn. 445)
The Scheme of 1875 was altered by a Scheme of
1899. (fn. 446) Regulations made in 1903 opened competition for secondary and higher education exhibitions, financed by the Haslingfield United Charities, (fn. 447)
to children from Harlton, Comberton, Barton,
Grantchester, Trumpington, Hauxton, Harston,
and Barrington, though preference was given to
those from Haslingfield. In 1906 a Charity Commission Order established the Haslingfield United
Educational Foundation as a separate charity
endowed with the school buildings, teacher's house,
garden, and site, and £4,823 stock. Accumulated
income amounted to £638 in 1926 when the
educational foundation was the richest in the
administrative county. In 1927 a Board of Education
Scheme repealed the provisions for exhibitions, and
nearly £2,000 from the sale of stock and from
accumulated income was spent on extending the
school buildings in 1928–9. (fn. 448)
Church of England religious instruction was given
until c. 1902. In 1906 there was no denominational
teaching, (fn. 449) but Church of England instruction was
restored c. 1924, and continued five years later.
In 1929 senior children from Harlton and Little
Eversden attended the school, (fn. 450) and average
attendance was 90 in 1938. (fn. 451) The school became a
Controlled Non-Denominational School in 1951, (fn. 452)
and in 1966 the united educational foundation
received c. £250 income, (fn. 453) spent mainly in grants
for the recreation ground, school prizes, furniture,
and a swimming-pool. (fn. 454) In 1970 there were 127
children, including those from Harlton, and
children over 11 attended Comberton village
college. (fn. 455)
There was a girls' boarding-school kept by Mrs.
John Watson c. 1864. (fn. 456)
Charities for the Poor.
The separate
histories of the two most important endowed
charities, Skelman's and Wendy's, are here outlined
until 1861, and are followed by a history of the
charities as combined and reorganized by various
Schemes after 1863. (fn. 457) By his will dated 1494 William
Skelman gave 11 a. of land to augment the salary
of the priest in the chantry of the Assumption, and a
messuage and croft in Haslingfield to find a priest
for the chantry of the Nativity. He also gave 20s. a
year for his obit, any surplus to be spent on bread,
cheese, and drink, and on the church. Apparently
any further income from his estate was to be spent on
the church and other charitable objects, such as the
payment of taxes and subsidies. Further he gave £20
as a parish stock for times of great need. (fn. 458) In 1549
Dr. Thomas Wendy bought the confiscated lands of
the Haslingfield chantries and the rent left for the
obit, (fn. 459) and by his will proved in 1560 he left 20s. a
year from the town house to the poor. (fn. 460) The charity
land was the subject of litigation in 1563, (fn. 461) and in
1640 it was decreed that the 20s. from Skelman's
obit should be distributed among the poor and that
the stock of £20 should be maintained. A finding in
1691 that the feoffees had misused c. £70 gave rise
to a decree in 1692 that £20 still in their hands
should be set aside in accordance with Skelman's
will. In 1766 the charity estate comprised a messuage
called the town house and 81 a. in Haslingfield. The
rent was £32 in 1783, (fn. 462) and £40 in 1806, (fn. 463) the
income being divided between education (fn. 464) and alms
for the poor. (fn. 465) At inclosure in 1815 (fn. 466) the charity was
allotted 74 a. in the south-east corner of the parish,
later known as Charity farm.
In 1834 £32 of the annual rent of £80 was
distributed among the settled poor, whether resident
or not and without reference to the receipt of relief,
and £20 was held in a savings bank in accordance
with Skelman's will in 1837, when the use of part of
the charity's income for education, (fn. 467) in accordance
with the wishes of Earl de la Warr, the curate,
and some of the trustees, was opposed by many
of the inhabitants, including others of the trustees.
Sir Thomas Wendy, by will proved in 1674, gave
a rent-charge of £10 a year for charitable uses at the
discretion of the lord of the manor of Scales and the
vicar of Haslingfield, half to be spent on the repair
of Haslingfield church. (fn. 468) A decree of 1675 transferred this rent-charge and Ertman's gift (fn. 469) to land
in the parish of Wendy. The charity was administered with Ertman's educational charity, and in the
late 17th century there was evidently some abuse: a
decree of c. 1693 provided for the investment or
application of £73 10s. that had been misused and
£21 in hand, but the endowments were not increased. The rent-charge was payable, according to
the decree of 1675, without deduction of tax, but
until 1829 it was progressively reduced by land tax
to £8. (fn. 470) In 1806 (fn. 471) and 1825 (fn. 472) £4 from Wendy's
charity was paid to the poor, and in 1837 £10 was
distributed every second year in coal or sometimes in
bread and pork, and £5 a year was spent on church
repairs.
In 1861 £5 from Wendy's charity with occasional
additions from Skelman's was distributed in coal to
all but the wealthier inhabitants. From Skelman's
£36 was spent on education (fn. 473) and £99 was subject
to what was called an indiscriminate distribution,
though it was on a graduated scale, of doles 'which
in fact amounts to sowing the seeds of pauperism'.
In 1862 the town house in the centre of the village
was sold and replaced by the new house called
Charity Farm in the south-east corner of the parish.
A Charity Commission Scheme of 1864 established one body of trustees for Skelman's, Ertman's,
Wendy's, and the Clock Holt charities, (fn. 474) and the
charity schools. Proceeds from the sale of timber or
minerals were to be treated as capital. One-seventh of
the net annual income was to be spent on the church,
two-sevenths on the adult poor, and four-sevenths
on the schools. (fn. 475)
Coprolites were first excavated on Charity farm
in 1869. In 1870 the farm was let for £150 a year,
with an additional rent for every acre of coprolites
excavated, and by 1873 £1,837 had been received
from coprolites. Earl de la Warr thought that the
increased income from coprolites necessitated a new
Scheme, and in 1872 he put pressure on the trustees
to apply for one. In 1875 an Endowed Schools
Commission Scheme gave the management of the
property to the newly constituted governors of the
schools, who were to pay to the trustees appointed
under the Scheme of 1864 one-seventh of the whole
income for the church, and two-sevenths of the
income exclusive of that from coprolites for the poor,
education receiving six-sevenths of the income from
coprolites and four-sevenths of the remainder. The
Endowed Schools Commission encouraged the
diversion to education of the poor's share of
coprolite income, and there was apparently general
dissatisfaction in the parish about the Scheme.
By 1880 £6,161 had been received from coprolites and gravel, of which £1,534 10s. had been spent
and the remainder invested in stock. Of the total
annual income of £329, £47 went to the church, £52
to the poor, and £230 to education. There was no
trace of the £20 held in 1837 as a parish stock under
Skelman's will. Income from coprolites ceased in
1887.
The rent of Charity farm had declined to £60 by
1896, when a Charity Commission Order established
the church charity and the poor charity as separate
charities without dividing the endowments of the
combined charities, which possessed £5,386 10s.
stock in 1898. In 1899 the combined charities were
officially named the Haslingfield United Charities.
The rent of Charity farm had increased to £100 by
1919, and it was sold for £1,800 c. 1922. In 1884 the
governors of the Haslingfield charities bought a
cottage at the south-east corner of the school site
with proceeds of coprolites. (fn. 476) The rent, £5 10s. in
1896, was treated as income of the united charities
until 1926, when it was decided that the rent belonged to the church charity and the cottage itself
to the united charities. The rent was £16 in 1966.
The poor charity distributed £30 in 1965–6, and
in 1966 it received £28 from the total net income of
the united charities of £186. (fn. 477)