SHUDY CAMPS

The parish of Shudy Camps, (fn. 1) covering 2, 362 a., (fn. 2) lies 12 miles south-east of Cambridge. At its western end its southern boundary partly follows a brook and its northern one an ancient track leading towards Horseheath, but otherwise the boundaries mainly follow ancient field boundaries. The parish includes on the east the ancient hamlet of Nosterfield, which was originally more closely connected feudally and ecclesiastically with Castle Camps. The ground rises gradually from c. 225 ft. by the western stream to over 375 ft. at Mill Green, and after sinking to 325 ft. in a shallow depression, down which a watercourse flows from Nosterfield End into Horseheath, again reaches 375 ft. at the eastern boundary. The soil lies mainly upon boulder clay, overlying chalk, which is exposed at the western end. The heavy clay was once well wooded. In 1086 one manor included woodland for 12 pigs. (fn. 3) In the 13th century two woods nearly touching, Frakenho wood, held c. 1219 of Ely priory, and Northey wood, lay among the fields west of the village. (fn. 4) Part of Frakenho wood survived in 1586, (fn. 5) and Northey wood still covered c. 26 a. in 1841, when the parish contained c. 56 a. of woodland. (fn. 6) The Dayrells, lords of the manor, later felled much of Northey wood, and by 1936 only 10½ a. remained. (fn. 7) At Nosterfield Hatfield priory owned in 1279 38 a. of wood, called c. 1230 Goodwood, (fn. 8) standing in the south-eastern corner of the parish. It was still wooded in 1618 and covered 31½ a. in 1793, (fn. 9) but had probably been cleared by 1799. (fn. 10)

An Anglo-Saxon cemetery discovered in 1933, south-west of the village near the Castle Camps border, was probably of the early Christian period. It contained 148 burials, including 33 children, in two groups. (fn. 11) In 1086 there were 16 peasants and 6 servi on Robert Gernon's manor, (fn. 12) and in 1279 c. 40 men probably resident held land of the fees in Shudy Camps, and another 45 of the Nosterfield fees. (fn. 13) In 1327 28 people paid the subsidy, (fn. 14) and in 1377 141 adults were assessed to the poll tax. (fn. 15) There were 26 taxpayers in 1524, (fn. 16) and 30 households in the parish in 1563. (fn. 17) The population rose fairly quickly until c. 1600 and more slowly until 1700. (fn. 18) In 1676 there were 141 adults occupying c. 43 houses, (fn. 19) and in 1728 after a decline 200 people in 42 households. (fn. 20) The population rose again from c. 1750 and by 1801 there were 349 inhabitants in 59 families. After reaching a peak of 418 in 1831 numbers declined again, more sharply after 1851 because of emigration, to 322 in 1871. They recovered to 379 in 1891, but fell to 261 in 1921 and 240 in 1951. By 1971 the population had increased slightly to 283. (fn. 21)

Settlement in the parish probably originated in clearings in the woodland. The largest group of dwellings, surrounded by open fields which survived until inclosure c. 1862, lies along the village street towards the centre of the parish, and may not have been the oldest. In 1586 that road was called Newton, and in 1664 Nether, Street. (fn. 22) At its eastern end the houses stand almost entirely on the south side, and at its western end on the north. A smaller settlement, called in 1586 Rowhedge hamlet, apparently stood by Church field (fn. 23) close to the church and Lordship Farm near the southern boundary of the parish, and was probably identical with that later called Church End, where three or four houses survived east of the church in 1841. (fn. 24) The hamlet of Northo to the north-west probably existed by c. 1200, (fn. 25) and nominally survived c. 1800, (fn. 26) but by 1841 what was then called Northway had only two houses, one a gamekeeper's. (fn. 27) No buildings remained by 1950. A settlement by the Horseheath road at Mill Street, by 1664 renamed Mill Green, was recorded by 1493 and styled a hamlet in 1793. (fn. 28) The hamlet of Nosterfield was recorded indirectly in 1086, and directly by c. 1130. (fn. 29) The road there was called the new street in the early 13th century. (fn. 30) For many years the number of dwellings in the parish scarcely increased from c. 40 in the 1660s (fn. 31) being still only 41 in 1811. (fn. 32) The Dayrells are said to have removed several cottages when laying out Shudy Camps park after 1700. (fn. 33) New building brought the number of houses to 73 by 1831, and thenceforth it remained almost constant, varying between 68 and 77, until the 1950s. (fn. 34) In the mid 19th century there were c. 25 houses by the village street. Mill Green had 8 in 1841 and 10 by 1871, and Nosterfield End c. 10 in 1841 and 1871, besides farmsteads in the adjoining fields. There were also 6 dwellings, with up to 50 inhabitants, at Cardinals Green immediately adjoining Horseheath. (fn. 35) The land around the village was then, as in 1975, cultivated mainly from three farm-houses standing by the street and Lordship Farm near the church; further east the farm-houses, probably since the Middle Ages, have stood independently of the larger settlements, within their blocks of ancient inclosures. (fn. 36) Several timber-framed farm-houses such as Carter's Farm, are probably of 17th- or 18th-century origin. Some, such as Mill Green Farm, have been refaced, and have sash windows and classical doorcases. The cottages are mostly 19thcentury. Even after the 1950s there was little new building, except for a few council houses and a group of more expensive houses called Parkway, built in 1972 in the south-west corner of the park. (fn. 37)

The village lay away from main roads, being linked to its neighbours by lanes winding through the fields. Its main street is said to have continued eastward towards Nosterfield until it was diverted north and south when the park was made. (fn. 38) The Cambridge-Haverhill railway line, opened in 1865 and entirely closed in 1967, ran across the centre of the parish. (fn. 39) The main village inn, the Three Horseshoes, established by 1793 in premises previously occupied for brewing, (fn. 40) was closed in 1969. (fn. 41) At Cardinals Green the Chequers inn was recorded from 1841 to c. 1910. (fn. 42) In 1960 the village had no clubs or societies, nor even a recreation ground. (fn. 43)

Some round, flat-topped mounds, up to 15 ft. high, resembling those at Bartlow, survived just south of Shudy Camps Park in the 1870s, but had been removed by 1900. (fn. 44)

Manors and Other Estates.

In 1086 2 hides at Camps which Lepsi had held in 1066 under Earl Harold were held by Turstin of Robert Gernon. (fn. 45) The overlordship of that estate, later the main Shudy Camps manor, passed with Gernon's other lands after 1118 to William de Munfitchet, with whose barony it descended in the male line until his great-grandson Richard de Munfitchet died in 1267. (fn. 46) When Richard's estates were divided among his coheirs in 1274 the lordship over Shudy Camps was assigned to his sister Margery's granddaughter Alice Bolbec and her husband Walter of Huntercombe (d. 1313). (fn. 47) By c. 1300, however, it had been transferred to the descendants of Richard's other sister Philippa, who had married Hugh de Plaiz (d. 1244). (fn. 48) Joan, widow of Philippa's grandson Giles de Plaiz, received it as part of her dower in 1302. (fn. 49) In 1346 the manor was held of Giles's grandson Richard (fn. 50) (d. 1360), whose son John's daughter and heir Margaret (d. 1391) married Sir John Howard (d. 1438). Their granddaughter and eventual heir Elizabeth Howard married John, earl of Oxford (d. 1462), (fn. 51) and the overlordship thereafter descended with Castle Camps manor, to which the owners of Hanchetts manor and other estates in Shudy Camps owed quit-rents from the 15th century to the 18th. (fn. 52)

By 1166 the manor was held under the Munfitchets by Geoffrey of Camps, (fn. 53) who with his son William claimed Nosterfield manor in 1179 and died, probably after 1182. (fn. 54) His other son Geoffrey died under Richard I, (fn. 55) whereupon the estate mostly passed to Gillian, the elder Geoffrey's daughter. (fn. 56) Gillian married William of Knapwell, by whom she had a son Samson, (fn. 57) commonly called Samson Burre (fl. 1202–20). (fn. 58) In 1220 Gillian and Samson were sued for ½ fee at Shudy Camps by Thomas de Capeles, who claimed as grandson of Gillian's sister Margery, (fn. 59) and possibly obtained a partition, for in 1236 and 1242 the fee was said to be held by William Burre, son of Samson, and his parceners. (fn. 60) William was probably alive in 1257 (fn. 61) but dead by 1263 when the manor was held by Walter son of Samson Burre and Henry Hanchach, (fn. 62) who had succeeded his father Thomas in 1250, (fn. 63) and perhaps held the Capeles share.

By 1279 Henry Hanchach (d. after 1286) held the bulk of the manor, including 160 a. of demesne, as 1 knight's fee, while Walter Burre held ½ knight's fee with only 40 a. in demesne under Henry. (fn. 64) Walter was probably dead by 1300. Of his land part went to Waltham abbey, (fn. 65) the rest being split among villagers. In 1346 fractions of a fee were held of Richard de Plaiz by four groups of people. (fn. 66) Henry Hanchach's son William held the main manor, later called HANCHETTS, in 1302 and owned Walter's 40 a. at his death in 1310. His son and heir Thomas, then aged 15, (fn. 67) held Hanchetts in 1316 and 1346, (fn. 68) and in 1365 settled land there then held by Agnes, widow of John Hanchach. (fn. 69) The descent of Hanchetts then becomes uncertain. In 1396 John Dowesdale was said to hold it, (fn. 70) and John Hanchach held ¼ fee in 1428 (fn. 71) and 1450. (fn. 72) In 1514 James, son and heir of John Hanchach, released the estate to feoffees, (fn. 73) perhaps for Sir Richard Cholmeley, who held Hanchetts at his death in 1522. He entailed it on his brother Roger, (fn. 74) a Yorkshire landowner, knighted in 1535, (fn. 75) who died in 1538. Sir Roger's son and heir Richard, knighted in 1544, (fn. 76) sold Hanchetts in 1546 to John Bentley, of a local yeoman family, (fn. 77) who died in 1594. (fn. 78) His son John was succeeded in 1597 by his eldest son George (fn. 79) (d. 1635). George's son and heir George (fn. 80) died c. 1665 (fn. 81) and in 1666 his son John Bentley and widow Mary were dealing with the estate. (fn. 82) John may have held part in 1684. (fn. 83) By 1700 Hanchetts was owned by Sir Marmaduke Dayrell, (fn. 84) whose elder brother Sir Francis (d. 1675) had devised an interest in Shudy Camps manor to him. (fn. 85) Sir Marmaduke was succeeded in 1730 by his son Francis (fn. 86) (d. 1760). Passing over his eldest son Brownlow (d. 1773), who became insane, Francis left his Shudy Camps estate to his son Marmaduke (fn. 87) (d. 1790), in whose time and that of his son Marmaduke (d. 1821) (fn. 88) the manorial rights of the other surviving manors were bought in. The last Marmaduke's eldest son Capt. Francis Dayrell died without issue in 1845 and was succeeded by his brother the Revd. Thomas Dayrell (fn. 89) (d. 1866). Of Thomas's sons the two eldest, Marmaduke Francis and Charles Lionel, died without issue in 1877 and 1890 respectively. Their next brother, the Revd. Richard Dayrell, (fn. 90) offered the debt-burdened estate for sale in 1898. It was bought by Arthur Gee, who took the name of Maitland (fn. 91) and died in 1903, whereupon it was again sold. (fn. 92) In 1904 Canon F. F. S. M. Thornton bought over 300 a. including the house and park, which after his death in 1938 were sold again in 1939, when the estate was broken up. (fn. 93) About 1905 another 160 a. of former Dayrell land had been acquired by G. F. Thornton, who sold them with c. 420 a. of other land in 1936. (fn. 94)

The site of the chief messuage of Hanchetts manor, recorded in 1279, (fn. 95) was empty in 1310. (fn. 96) It apparently lay in 1586 near Holm Mead field, (fn. 97) perhaps where the modern Lordship Farm stands. An inclosure further east, named Eldbury and by 1891 Elbrow, (fn. 98) may represent an earlier site. Shudy Camps Park, the seat of the Dayrells, was built by Sir Marmaduke Dayrell c. 1702, (fn. 99) and consists of a long narrow front range, later remodelled and heightened, and an irregular block at the back, reconstructed in the mid 19th century in Tudor style, with offices and stables to the south. By 1800 it was surrounded by a park covering in 1841 102 a., (fn. 100) whose creation during the 18th century had led to many lawsuits with other landowners. (fn. 101) From the late 1860s the Dayrells usually let the house or left it empty. (fn. 102) The house and park were requisitioned during the Second World War and bought in 1949 by Mr. D. T. Wellstead, (fn. 103) who still owned them in 1975.

The estate of Waltham abbey (Essex), later SHARDELOWES manor, was mainly derived from the Camps family's manor. In 1226 the abbey appropriated the church, given it by Gillian of Camps, and held the 20 a. of glebe in 1279. (fn. 104) Gillian's son Moses, a clerk, gave the abbey 20 a. given him by his mother, (fn. 105) and by 1300 the abbey also had 11 a. owned c. 1290 by Walter Burre. (fn. 106) In 1279 it held 107 a., including 30 a. held of Henry Hanchach, 16 a. held of Sir William Mortimer, and 34 a. given by Walter Burre and his father. (fn. 107) The abbey in 1346 held fractions of the Hanchach fee, (fn. 108) which it exchanged in 1350 for two Essex manors with Sir John Shardelowe. (fn. 109) When Sir John died in 1359 his heir was his elder brother Edmund's son John, but he had already in 1354 conveyed his Shudy Camps lands to feoffees including his brother Sir Thomas, (fn. 110) who was still dealing with them in 1373 but had died by 1383. (fn. 111) The younger John died, having survived his son Thomas, in 1391, (fn. 112) whereupon his feoffees conveyed that estate in 1392 to his family foundation, St. Martin's college in Thompson church (Norf.). (fn. 113) The college retained the estate until its surrender to the Crown in 1540. (fn. 114) In 1541 its former lands were granted to Sir Edmund Knyvett, (fn. 115) who immediately sold Shardelowes, said to include 300 a. of arable in Shudy Camps and Horseheath, to John Aleyn. (fn. 116)

In 1547 Aleyn sold the estate to the brothers John and Barnaby Mynott, half to each. (fn. 117) Barnaby settled his half, subsequently called SHARDELOWES MYNOTTS, on his son Edward in 1584 and died in 1599. (fn. 118) Edward (d. 1602) was succeeded by his son John, aged 11, (fn. 119) who died in 1630. His heir was his son Barnaby, but John's and Edward's widows held five-ninths of the estate as dower. (fn. 120) Barnaby probably died in 1680. (fn. 121) By 1682 his half had come to James Mynott, (fn. 122) who in 1702 released that and 90 a. more to Bridget, widow of James Reynolds (d. 1690). (fn. 123) Later it was acquired by Robert Bridge of Nosterfield End farm, who had continual lawsuits with the Dayrells, especially over sporting rights. (fn. 124) Bridge died in 1756, leaving that estate to his younger son Robert (d. 1770), who devised his lands to his daughter Elizabeth Sarah. In 1778 she married Edward Hussey, (fn. 125) whereupon the manor was settled on them. (fn. 126) In 1791 they sold it to one Rich, who resold it in 1801 to Marmaduke Dayrell (d. 1821). (fn. 127)

The other half, later called SHARDELOWES ALINGTONS, passed with c. 240 a., from John Mynott (d. 1589) to his son William, (fn. 128) who sold it in 1592 to John Disbrowe. (fn. 129) The latter died in 1610, having settled it on his second son Joseph, (fn. 130) who sold it after c. 1618 to Ambrose Andrews of Horseheath (d. 1625). Andrews's son and heir Ambrose (fn. 131) with Barnaby Mynott (d. 1680) released it in 1640 to William, later Lord Alington (d. 1648), (fn. 132) with whose Horseheath estate it descended for a time. In 1722 it passed, under a settlement of 1692, to Charles Seymour, duke of Somerset (fn. 133) (d. 1748), whose father had married Lord Alington's daughter Elizabeth. (fn. 134) The duke settled those Cambridgeshire lands in 1732 upon his daughters, and Shardelowes was assigned in 1762 to Charlotte (d. 1805), wife of Heneage Finch, earl of Aylesford (d. 1777). (fn. 135) Their son Heneage arranged to sell the estate in 1812, and 145 a. with the manorial rights were bought by Marmaduke Dayrell (d. 1821). (fn. 136) Shardelowes farmhouse, belonging to that half-manor, is timberframed and plastered, with two gables facing south and a bulky central chimney-stack, and may date from before 1600.

By 1279, and perhaps by 1219, the prior of Ely held a manor at the hamlet called Northo, said to have been given long before by the eponymous, but probably legendary, lady Shudda. (fn. 137) By 1279 the whole fee, c. 90 a., had been granted at rent to sixteen free tenants. (fn. 138) The nominal manor was transferred in 1541 to the newly founded dean and chapter of Ely, (fn. 139) of whom John Bentley held a 34-acre farm in free socage in 1590. (fn. 140) Another part was by 1762 attached to Shardelowes Alingtons, with which 40 a. were sold in 1812. (fn. 141)

Much land between Northo and Shardelowes farm, amounting to 282 a. in 1841, belonged to Carbonells manor, later Cardinals farm, whose manor-house stood in a tongue of Horseheath projecting into Shudy Camps, and which from c. 1500 was included in the Horseheath estate. At inclosure in 1862 68 a. were allotted for its Shudy Camps open-field land to Stanlake Batson. (fn. 142)

The land of the estates treated above lay in the west and centre of the parish. Nosterfield to the east had probably lain outside Robert Gernon's manor. In 1086 Norman of Nosterfield held ½ hide at Camps of Aubrey de Vere (d. c. 1112), (fn. 143) and from the 12th century the Nosterfield fees were held of the earls of Oxford as mesne lords under the honor of Richmond. (fn. 144) Between 1128 and 1135 Henry I granted to Aubrey de Vere (d. 1141) land at Nosterfield formerly held by Geoffrey son of Alan under Richard Fitz Wimar, steward of that honor, (fn. 145) to which the Veres still in 1371 owed a £2 quit-rent. (fn. 146) The Vere lands there were gradually alienated. Probably in the 1190s the earl of Oxford gave a manor there to his sister Alice on her marriage c. 1195 to Geoffrey de Say. (fn. 147) On Geoffrey's death in 1214 that manor passed to their son, another Geoffrey, born by 1197, (fn. 148) who died between 1265 and 1271. (fn. 149) He had previously granted it in marriage to his daughter Maud, wife of Geoffrey de Crek, with whom Maud held 1 carucate there in 1272. (fn. 150) In 1279 as a widow she held 190 a. there in demesne. (fn. 151) By 1282 the estate has passed to Geoffrey's younger son, Robert de Say, a clerk (d. after 1302), who in 1288 granted the reversion of 1 carucate there to Robert de Tiptoft for the latter's younger son Pain, (fn. 152) killed in 1314. Pain's minor son John held land at Nosterfield in 1325 and possibly in 1347. (fn. 153) In 1451 Thomas Tulyet conveyed SAYSBEREWICK manor, perhaps the same estate, with 112 a. partly in Castle and Shudy Camps, to Richard Bonyfaunt. (fn. 154) In 1511 Nicholas, son of Roger Bonyfaunt (d. 1494), sold that manor to Sir Richard Cholmeley, (fn. 155) whose nephew Sir Richard in 1546 sold a manor called JAKS, including a close called Says and held of the honor of Richmond, with 270 a. to Thomas Higham (d. 1561). Higham left Jaks with 180 a. of arable (fn. 156) to his widow Alice for life, with remainder to his son Robert, who eventually obtained Jaks, despite disputes with Alice's second husband Robert Baker between 1579 and 1593. (fn. 157) Jaks was sold in 1678 to Richard Reynolds, who owned it with 153 a. in 1702 and possibly in 1721. (fn. 158) Later it was absorbed into the farm belonging to the Bridge family, which had held land south of Nosterfield End of Castle Camps manor since the 16th century. (fn. 159) Robert Bridge (d. 1756) left it to his younger son Robert (d. 1770). (fn. 160) By 1806 it belonged to Thomas Bridge Little (d. 1835), son of Robert's elder brother John. In 1841 Thomas's nephew John Bridge owned the whole, as Nosterfield End farm of 220 a. (fn. 161) He died c. 1864 and his brother Capt. R. O. Bridge sold the land in 1874. (fn. 162) By 1891 it belonged to Daniel Gurteen of Haverhill. (fn. 163)

Another part of the former Say fee, c. 90 a., there and at West Wickham, was sold in 1296 by Robert de Say to William of Berardshay. (fn. 164) In 1279 William already held 53 a. at Nosterfield, including 24 a. held of Hatfield priory which had acquired that land from the prior of Ely, and 12 a. which Alice de Say had c. 1220 given to the nuns of Castle Hedingham (Essex) for their clothing. (fn. 165) About 1375 Geoffrey Hunden settled on Joan, widow of Adam Gatesbury, for her life 110 a. at Shudy Camps and West Wickham, (fn. 166) probably the estate called Barsy's, held c. 1450 of the Veres by the heirs of Richard Gatesbury (fl. 1347). (fn. 167) In 1534 Richard Braughing sold, perhaps to Philip Parys, manors there called BERARDSHEYS and TUYS with c. 220 a., (fn. 168) from which presumably derived the Barsey farm covering c. 170 a. in the north-east corner of the parish owned in 1721 by James Reynolds, (fn. 169) serjeant-at-law, later chief baron of the Exchequer (d. 1739). (fn. 170) Reynolds devised the reversion to his nephew, also a judge, Sir James Reynolds of Olmstead Green (fn. 171) (d. 1747), who left the farm in reversion to his sister Isabella's son James Hatley. (fn. 172) James was presumably succeeded after c. 1770 by John Hatley (d. c. 1791) (fn. 173) and his Shudy Camps lands belonged in the 1820s to Capt. John Hatley who was succeeded c. 1830 by George Frere and James Hatley Frere (d. 1866), grandsons of James Hatley's sister Susanna. (fn. 174) In 1841 J. H. Frere owned Barsey farm of c. 130 a., while George had c. 170 a. further west, later Lower House farm. (fn. 175) George died in 1854. His son Bartle John Laurie Frere (d. 1893) (fn. 176) owned his part c. 1862, and had also bought Grange farm, c. 57 a. (fn. 177) By 1888 he also possessed Barsey farm. (fn. 178) Much of his property was acquired by Daniel Gurteen (d. 1894), a Haverhill clothing manufacturer. By 1891 Gurteen had also acquired Priory farm from the Dayrells, besides Nosterfield End farm and Carter's farm, c. 160 a. in the west part of the parish owned in 1841 and 1863 by Rebecca Carter. By 1900 the western part of his property belonged to Jabez Gurteen (d. 1924) of Halstead, while the eastern part, including Priory farm, was owned between 1903 and 1916 by W. B. Gurteen and in 1945 by D. M. Gurteen. (fn. 179) Mill Green farm had apparently belonged in 1721 to Richard Reynolds, (fn. 180) who had succeeded his father Richard in 1702 and died c. 1763 leaving his lands to his nephew James Raymond (d. c. 1785). The latter's son and successor, the Revd. John Raymond, had died by 1840, and John's son Henry A. Raymond by 1845. Henry's widow Anna (fn. 181) occupied the 250 a. estate in 1862. James Raymond (d. 1876) left it to Raymond Inglis. (fn. 182) By 1879 it belonged to Lt.-Gen. William Inglis (d. 1888), whose widow owned it until the 1910s. (fn. 183)

The other substantial estate at Nosterfield, later NOSTERFIELD PRIORS, derived from the gift of 1 carucate there, apparently by Robert de Vere (d. 1221), to Hatfield Broadoak priory (Essex). (fn. 184) His son and heir Hugh attempted to recover the land c. 1232, but confirmed it in free alms to the priory in 1235. (fn. 185) Having acquired over 35 a. from other donors, (fn. 186) the priory had in 1279 198 a., half the Nosterfield demesne. (fn. 187) Upon its surrender in 1536 (fn. 188) the king granted the estate in 1538 to Charles Brandon, duke of Suffolk, who within a month had sold it to the London goldsmith Robert Trapps and his son Nicholas (fn. 189) (d. 1544). After Robert's death in 1560 (fn. 190) the lands were divided in 1565 between Nicholas's daughters and coheirs, Nosterfield Priors being assigned to Mary (b. 1542) who married Giles Paulet, a younger son of William, marquess of Winchester. (fn. 191) Giles (d. 1579) was succeeded by his son William then aged 15, (fn. 192) who died in 1638, having settled that manor on his younger son Giles, who still held it in 1656. (fn. 193) It probably reverted to Giles's elder brother William or William's son Bernard (d. c. 1700) (fn. 194) for in 1704 it was settled on Edward Leigh, later Lord Leigh (d. 1738), and his wife Mary, whose mother Elizabeth Holbeach was Bernard's daughter and heir. It descended in turn to the Leighs' son Thomas, Lord Leigh (d. 1749), and grandson Edward, Lord Leigh, (fn. 195) who still owned it in 1764. (fn. 196) From 1767 the priory farm was briefly included in Lord Montfort's Horseheath estate, (fn. 197) and by 1779 had been sold to Marmaduke Dayrell (d. 1790). (fn. 198)

In 1166 William de Miniac held ¹/8 knight's fee of the earl of Oxford. (fn. 199) Geoffrey de Miniac, who held it by 1209, (fn. 200) gave 9 a. c. 1220 to the Hospitallers of Shingay. Geoffrey's son William (fl. 1247) gave other land to Waltham abbey. William's son John held 107 a. in Nosterfield of the Veres in 1279, and died after c. 1300. (fn. 201) It may have been that fee which was held of the Veres by William le Harper of Horseheath c. 1333, by Thomas at Fen in 1346, by William Walkelate as ¹/8 fee in 1360, by Thomas Messager in 1371, and John Hunt in 1401. (fn. 202) Between 1279 and 1429 20 a. in Shudy Camps and Horseheath held in chief by rent belonged successively to the Pantfield, Coleman, and Warner families. (fn. 203) Land east of Nosterfield End amounting to 63 a. in 1841 was then included in Queens' College's estate at Helions Bumpstead. (fn. 204) It had been sold by 1920. (fn. 205)

Economic History.

On Turstin's 2 hides at Shudy Camps land for 2 plough-teams was kept in demesne in 1086, and there were 6 servi to help work it. The 8 villani had 4 teams between them, and there were 8 bordars. The value of the estate had doubled to £4 since 1066. (fn. 206) By 1279, on the manors representing that estate, c. 575 a. altogether, the lords' demesnes covered 212 a., including 200 a. of arable; Waltham abbey had 107 a., and the earl of Oxford 40 a. in demesne. Another 36 free tenements on the Hanchach and Burre fees, including only one over 11 a., amounted together to only 113 a., and 16 freeholders held the 90 a. of Northo hamlet. Apart from 4 cottagers owing harvest-boons, Henry Hanchach had only 2 customary tenants, one owing 9 harvest-boons for 3 a., the other 32 for 8 a., besides rents in kind. Walter Burre's 1 villein with 3½ a. owed 11 such boons, as did 3 cottagers. The Nosterfield fees had larger demesnes and slightly more customary land. Of 930 a. there the Say demesne accounted for 202 a., Hatfield priory's for 198 a., and John de Miniac's for 107 a. Maud de Crek's 2 half-yardlanders with 15 a. each had formerly rendered 1 work a week from Michaelmas to Whitsun and 2 thenceforth to Lammas, besides ploughing 4½ a. and reaping 8 a. in harvest. On the priory manor 3 half-yardlands of 16 a. owed exactly double those works. Compared with 94 a. in Nosterfield held in villeinage c. 275 a. were held freely. Six freeholders with over 25 a. each held together 240 a. out of 415 a. of freehold in the whole parish. (fn. 207)

By the 13th century the open-field land in the west part of the parish was different in character from Nosterfield, where land brought under cultivation by assarting ancient woodland was in modern times divided among inclosures held in severalty. (fn. 208) The 500 a. of open field, which showed in the 1790s no sign of ridge and furrow, (fn. 209) lay in three main blocks of 208 a., 125 a., and 188 a. Furthest west was Stanefield, recorded c. 1200, (fn. 210) and divided by 1586 (fn. 211) into Further Stone field, of c. 115 a. in 1841, and Hither Stone field of 84 a. to the south. The latter adjoined to the east Manages (originally Manhedge), used as pasture by 1586. (fn. 212) The land of Northo hamlet, north-east of those fields and Northey wood, covering c. 145 a. in 1841, was probably inclosed early, being at least partly several in 1303. (fn. 213) Great Northway close of 20 a. was copyhold of Nosterfield manor in 1661. (fn. 214) By 1722 the area was entirely inclosed, and c. 1770 was mostly included in Carbonells farm based in Horseheath. (fn. 215) Land called Stockings c. 1200 lay north-east of the common, suggesting that woodland had recently been cleared there. (fn. 216) From the 17th century the land there, covering in 1841 100 a., was called Carnells, (fn. 217) later Carnolds, field. Of Burnard, (fn. 218) later Burne, field to the east, still a common field in 1699, (fn. 219) only 25 a., entirely in severalty, were left by 1770. Further south across the village street three smaller fields surrounded a block of ancient inclosures called since 1200 Frakenho, (fn. 220) where some demesne wood of Hanchetts manor remained in 1586 and 1618. (fn. 221) In 1841 that block covered 36 a. Around it lay Frakenho field (fn. 222) (later Plumtree shot), Whitehill field, and Townsend field, (fn. 223) (together 60 a.) and further east Holm Mead, (fn. 224) later Home Meadow, field (45 a. in 1841) and Church field, so named by 1219 (fn. 225) (61 a.). Among the open fields lay several permanent inclosures, such as Withy croft near Northey wood, and in 1841 c. 27 a. of the fields themselves were permanently under grass. The strip south of the later park, c. 50 a. in 1841, was probably already kept in severalty in the 13th century. (fn. 226) The northern part of the park had by 1770 absorbed Mill field, still a common field in 1664. (fn. 227)

From Shardelowes farm and Mill Green eastwards the land was, probably from the 13th century, permanently inclosed into small fields. A 5-a. plot near Nosterfield End was granted c. 1210 with all its hedges and ditches. Some closes there, however, were apparently divided in ownership. (fn. 228) About 1586 hedged crofts and closes, some of 5 a. or more, lay around Nosterfield End. One field to the north-east, Dunsey field, (fn. 229) was divided among different owners c. 1590 and in 1657. (fn. 230) Further north Barsey farm's 150 a. in the parish was likewise entirely inclosed in 1721. (fn. 231) In 1841 c. 1,130 a. in the east part of the parish were mostly divided among six farms: Shardelowes (98 a.), Grange (35 a.), and Mill Green farms (220 a.) lay along the road to Horseheath; further east, around Nosterfield End, lay Priory farm (240 a.) and John Bridge's farm (223 a.), and to the north Barsey farm (131 a.). (fn. 232)

About 200 a. of the parish were said to lie uncultivated in 1340. (fn. 233) On both the open fields and the inclosed farms the traditional triennial rotation, including a fallow, was still observed in the 1790s. (fn. 234) One man was growing saffron in 1545. (fn. 235) Later, wheat was probably grown in increasing quantities. In 1801 of 787 a. out of 1,100 a. of arable cultivated, 230 a. were sown with wheat, 225 a. with barley, 210 a. with rye, and 112 a. with peas and beans. Potatoes were grown on 1 a., turnips and rape seeds on 8 a. (fn. 236) In 1531 John Grant left his widow 6 milkcattle and had cows going with herds in neighbouring parishes; (fn. 237) in 1560 John Wakefield left 36 sheep, besides lambs, and 3 cattle. (fn. 238) In 1347 Shudy Camps had contributed 46½ stone to a levy of wool, 14 stone of which came from the owners of five manors, while 40 other contributions ranged from 4 lb. to 2 stone. (fn. 239) In the 16th century the sheep-owners paid the shepherd of the common flock in proportion to the number they sent to it. (fn. 240) Hanchetts manor then included the right to keep 200 sheep on the common fields. (fn. 241) Shardelowes also enjoyed free common and chase throughout the vill, excluding the lord's several closes and meadows; the right was granted in 1303, when Waltham abbey had a sheep-fold for the rectory and another for the land once Walter Burre's. (fn. 242) At inclosure the Dayrells were entitled to 4 sheepwalks for 40 sheep each. (fn. 243) In 1794 there were 460 Norfolk sheep in the parish, (fn. 244) which in 1841 contained, besides the 102-a. park, c. 550 a. of grass, including c. 275 a. in the inclosed eastern part, compared with 1,699 a. of arable. (fn. 245)

By the 16th century the parish was already dominated by a few prosperous yeomen. Of the property assessed for tax in 1524 9 men had £99 between them, while 17 others had only £18. The three wealthiest inhabitants, Robert Higham, William Mynott, and John Grant or Bryant, had together £65. (fn. 246) Grant (d. 1531) left £160 in legacies and land in four parishes, (fn. 247) and in 1586 his grandson John Bryant (d. 1605) held c. 60 a. copyhold of Castle Camps manor in Shudy Camps. (fn. 248) In that year one Nosterfield property included 62 a. of closes. (fn. 249) In the early 18th century the Dayrells bought much land from such local families as the Bryants, Mynotts, Challises, and Lindsells, (fn. 250) and emerged as the largest landowners in the parish, owning in 1841 c. 820 a. besides the park. Their land was divided among three substantial tenants. The Horseheath estate had 275 a., the Raymonds 251 a., John Bridge 243 a., George Frere 171 a., J. H. Frere 131 a., and Rebecca Carter 162 a. Of 124 a. owned by ten others, three men had together 102 a. Some 512 a. then remained in open fields. (fn. 251) Inclosure was effected, as at Castle Camps and Bartlow, under an order of 1858. Of 588 a. allotted in Shudy Camps, including 75 a. of old inclosures, Thomas Dayrell received 322 a., B. J. L. Frere 167 a., and four others between 4 a. and 88 a. No allotments were made to any smallholders. (fn. 252) The sale of Shardelowes and Priory farms c. 1891 reduced the Dayrell estate to c. 530 a. (fn. 253) and further sales had cut it to 145 a. besides the park by 1939. (fn. 254) By the 1890s most of the other farms belonged to the Gurteens of Haverhill, (fn. 255) although Street, Carter's, and Lower House farms were acquired by G. F. Thornton. (fn. 256) Except on the Dayrell estate, most properties had been let to single tenants; in 1841 there were 11 farms of over 100 a., covering 1,486 a., and in 1871 8, covering 1,190 a. (fn. 257) There were still 4 substantial farms in the west part of the parish, 4 in the centre, and 3 at the east end in the 20th century, when some were owned by their occupiers. (fn. 258) In 1905 there were 1,843 a. of arable and 450 a. of grass. (fn. 259)

Emigration reduced the number of farm-labourers living in the parish from 103 c. 1830 to c. 70 in 1851, about the number for whom there was employment. (fn. 260) In the 1860s the women did 'slop-work', making up garments for the Gurteen clothing-works at Haverhill. (fn. 261) About 1900 4½ a. of the Shudy Camps estate were let as allotments. (fn. 262) There was little non-agricultural work. In 1831 67 families depended on farming and only 7 on crafts and trade, (fn. 263) and from c. 1850 the only artisans recorded were two shoemakers, a carpenter, and a blacksmith. (fn. 264) Of two or three village shops only one was open in 1975. A chicken-hatchery was started after 1949 in buildings in the park, employing 20 people and producing ¾ million chicks a year. It closed after 1969. (fn. 265)

Thurstan's mill at Nosterfield, recorded c. 1220, was probably still there in 1324. (fn. 266) In 1279 a windmill had lately been built on Samson of Frakenho's land, held of the Hanchach fee. (fn. 267) Another mill gave its name to Mill field and Mill Street, later Mill Green. (fn. 268) The Dayrell estate included a windmill, in use until after 1880, standing just west of Lordship farm-house, with which it was usually let. (fn. 269) By 1903 a post-mill and steam-mill, temporarily let separately from the farm, were working there, as was the steam-mill from 1908 to c. 1920. (fn. 270) The stump of the post-mill survived in 1939. (fn. 271)

Local Government.

In 1235 the prior of Hatfield agreed that his tenants at Nosterfield should attend the earl of Oxford's view of frankpledge at Castle Camps once a year, although the prior was to take any penalties laid on them. (fn. 272) After 1558 men from Nosterfield were still attending a view of frankpledge held for their hamlet by the Veres and their successors, (fn. 273) mainly concerned with drains and watercourses. (fn. 274) By 1592 business other than tenurial had become purely formal, and only the payment of a common fine, itself ceasing by 1625, remained as a relic of the former dependence. (fn. 275)

In 1299 the abbot of Waltham successfully alleged that he and his predecessors had enjoyed view of frankpledge with the assize of bread and of ale at Shudy Camps as at Babraham. (fn. 276) In 18th-century conveyances view of frankpledge and other royalties were occasionally ascribed to Nosterfield Priors manor, (fn. 277) but the court was described as a court baron, (fn. 278) as was that held c. 1590 for Shardelowes Alingtons. (fn. 279) Court books almost entirely concerned with copyhold transfers survive for Nosterfield for 1656–1925 and Shardelowes Alingtons for 1666– 1885, (fn. 280) as did some for Shardelowes Mynotts in 1808. (fn. 281) A parish constable was mentioned in 1620; (fn. 282) pinders were still appointed in 1795 and 1824. (fn. 283)

Between 1776 and c. 1785 the cost of poor-relief doubled from £71 to £152. In 1803 23 people (fn. 284) and c. 1813 over 30 were on permanent relief. Expenditure on the poor fell from £652 c. 1813 (fn. 285) to between £350 and £475 in the years up to 1830, (fn. 286) after which it again rose to over £500. (fn. 287) Unemployed labourers were then being apportioned among the farmers, while special allowances were given for large families. (fn. 288) In 1835 the parish was incorporated into the Linton poor-law union, (fn. 289) was transferred with the Linton R.D. in 1934 to the South Cambridgeshire R.D., (fn. 290) and in 1974 was included in South Cambridgeshire.

Church.

Shudy Camps had a church by c. 1200, but the rights to tithe of its incumbent did not cover the whole parish. When the earls of Oxford gave a carucate at Nosterfield to Hatfield priory they also apparently gave the tithe due from it, for the priory enjoyed a portion worth 8 marks in 1254 and 1291. (fn. 291) In 1259 it bought out a claim to 1 mark a year from those tithes which the Veres had previously granted to St. Nicholas's abbey, Angers (Maine-et-Loire). (fn. 292) The priors and their successors at Nosterfield Priors took for themselves the tithes not only of their demesne but also of the copyholds held of them. (fn. 293) The rectors of Castle Camps and Horseheath received tithe from land in Shudy Camps, in 1841 from c. 30 a. each, while 15 a. on the boundary tithed to Withersfield (Suff.). (fn. 294) By the 18th century Barsey farm's 142 a., also in Nosterfield, was exempt from tithes by prescription. (fn. 295) Shudy Camps church may originally have received tithe mainly from the land of its founders and patrons. About 1215 their heiress, Gillian of Camps, gave the church to Waltham abbey. (fn. 296) In 1219, after William of Knapwell, probably Gillian's stepson, had claimed to present, she bought out his claims for the abbey, (fn. 297) which in 1225 appropriated the church. The bishop ordained a vicarage, to which the abbey was to present. (fn. 298) Waltham abbey retained the rectory, with the glebe, tithes of corn and hay, and advowson, until its dissolution in 1540. (fn. 299) In 1534 it had granted one turn to present, exercised in 1538, to its lessee Sir Giles Alington, (fn. 300) who in 1543 purchased the rectory and advowson from two men who had just acquired them from the Crown. (fn. 301) In 1546 Alington sold them to Sir Thomas Darcy, who returned them to the Crown, to be included the same year in the endowment of Trinity College, Cambridge. (fn. 302) The college retained the impropriate rectory, with a glebe of 5 a. in 1663 and 4 a. in 1841, (fn. 303) until 1912. It sold the advowson then to Canon F. F. M. S. Thornton, and the glebe soon after. (fn. 304) Canon Thornton died in 1938, leaving the advowson to the bishop of Ely, patron in 1975. (fn. 305)

Under the ordination of 1225 the vicar was to have the offerings and small tithes, a suitable house, and the crops grown on 4 a. of the glebe, half wheat, half oats. (fn. 306) He retained those rights in the 17th century. By 1740 his crops had been commuted for £4 a year from the rectory. He also claimed two pensions of 5s. a year from Priory and Shardelowes Mynotts farms, in lieu of all tithes. (fn. 307) His only glebe was a 1-acre close surrounding his house, south of the church. (fn. 308) About 1780 the tithes were mostly taken by composition but c. 1795 were mostly collected in kind. (fn. 309) They were commuted in 1841. Of 2,472 a. in the parish only 1,936 a. were tithable by the impropriator and vicar, to whom £295 8s. and £175 12s. respectively of tithe-rent-charge were allotted. (fn. 310) In 1887 the vicar had 2 a. of glebe by his house. (fn. 311) The house, in decay in 1600 (fn. 312) and supposedly rebuilt by John Sparrow, vicar 1601–49, (fn. 313) had only three hearths in the 1660s, (fn. 314) and in 1783 was reckoned a mere cottage. (fn. 315) About 1836 it was repaired so as to be habitable for a bachelor. (fn. 316) Later, probably by 1873, it was rebuilt in grey brick with a grant from Queen Anne's Bounty. (fn. 317) It was sold in 1969 to the Quakers, who renamed it Glebe House and used it as a training centre for adolescents. A new and smaller vicarage-house was built north of the church. (fn. 318)

The rectory was worth 20 marks in 1217. (fn. 319) The vicar had only £9 gross in 1535 (fn. 320) and £25 in 1650. (fn. 321) By 1728 his income was £70, but c. 1778 only £63. (fn. 322) It stood at £146 c. 1830, (fn. 323) and had not apparently risen by 1851, (fn. 324) despite the tithe commutation and a gift of £200 from Queen Anne's Bounty in 1838 to match £600 given by the Revd. Charles and Mrs. Perry, relatives of the then vicar. (fn. 325) It rose to £170 net in 1873. (fn. 326)

About 1230 Sir William of Knapwell with the consent of the diocesan and the abbot of Waltham established a chapel in the parish, probably at his house. (fn. 327) By 1486 there was a guild of St. Catherine, (fn. 328) whose probable guildhall was sold for the Crown in 1571. (fn. 329)

In 1264 the rebels from the Isle of Ely captured the vicar and made him pay £2 ransom. (fn. 330) In 1462 the bishop rejected Waltham abbey's nominee and appointed Mr. John Petyt, who held the cure until 1497, (fn. 331) but had three successors within two years. (fn. 332) In the early 16th century the vicars occasionally employed curates. (fn. 333) John Sturges, vicar from 1538, ran after his parishioners' wives, and failed in 1550 to preach more than twice a year. His successor in 1561 was equally remiss in preaching. (fn. 334)

In 1578 Trinity College began to name its past fellows or students to the living, but few would stay there long, seven successive vicars resigning between 1578 and 1590. (fn. 335) John Sparrow, presented in 1601, was in 1638 using a catechism of which Bishop Wren disapproved, (fn. 336) and retained the cure until his death in 1649, assisted in his old age by a curate. (fn. 337) His successor, John Wignold or Martin, not a Trinity man, was described as a preaching minister in 1650, (fn. 338) but retained the vicarage, having been ordained in 1661, until he died in 1685. (fn. 339) Thereafter it was again occupied by Trinity men, and from 1742 by ex-fellows. (fn. 340) Abraham Okes, vicar 1711–42, held it in plurality with Haverhill from 1718 to 1723 and thereafter with Withersfield rectory, (fn. 341) where he lived. In 1728 he employed a neighbouring vicar as his curate. There was then only one Sunday service, and communions, with c. 15 attending regularly, were held four times a year. (fn. 342) Between 1752 and 1792 there were eleven changes of incumbent. Some vicars lived at Cambridge and employed curates, (fn. 343) as did John Hailstone, vicar 1798–1818, and Woodwardian Professor of Geology (d. 1847). Adam Sidgwick, the next professor, also succeeded him as vicar in 1824. (fn. 344) The curates between 1776 and 1825 usually held only one Sunday service, alternately in the morning and afternoon, and communion thrice yearly. Only 8 or 9 attended communion in 1807, c. 25 in 1825. (fn. 345) The next vicar John Hailstone (d. 1871) came to reside in 1834, started a Sunday school, and held two Sunday services, (fn. 346) as did his successor George Perry, vicar 1838–58. In 1851 Perry had an average attendance of 140, besides 60 Sunday-school children, (fn. 347) and although resident employed a curate. (fn. 348) William Joy, vicar 1863–98, had 282 church-goers including 34 communicants in 1873, when he held monthly communions. (fn. 349) By 1897 church-going was declining. (fn. 350) After Joy died, aged 80, in 1898, clergymen became reluctant to hold the living, mainly because it was poor. They resigned after three or four years, or withdrew even before induction. (fn. 351) The vicarage was vacant from 1911 to 1913, (fn. 352) the next vicar resigned in 1916, and in 1919 Canon Thornton, the patron, himself had to take on the incumbency. (fn. 353) After his death the living was held from 1939 by the rector of Bartlow, who retained it after moving to Castle Camps rectory, with which Shudy Camps vicarage was held from 1945, the parishes remaining separate. (fn. 354)

The church of ST. MARY, so called from c. 1200, (fn. 355) consists of a chancel, nave with south porch, and west tower, and is built of field stones with ashlar dressings, much patched in brick and covered with ivy and peeling 19th-century cement. Fragments of 12th-century carvings have been re-used in the walls, and the south doorway of the chancel is probably 13th-century. That of the nave, perhaps 14th-century, retains the original door under modern boarding, and the porch has medieval roof-beams. The three-storey tower, its upper portion mostly rebuilt in brick though including the earlier belfry windows, has a 14th-century west window, in whose spandrels are carved much-worn figures of the Virgin and Child and of a knight. The nave was apparently widened to the south in the 15th century, leaving the chancel off-centre. Its three-light windows, the western pair renewed, have complicated tracery. The chancel and chancel arch date from later in that century, as do the three-light windows under depressed arches. The plain nave roof is probably of c. 1500. In 1496 money was left for building 'the new house of the church'. (fn. 356)

William Dowsing destroyed 7 superstitious pictures in 1644. (fn. 357) The impropriators and their farmers usually neglected to repair the chancel from the 16th century, (fn. 358) and by 1665 its south windows were blocked up, no window being visible there in 1742 or later. (fn. 359) In 1703 Sir Marmaduke Dayrell renewed the interior of the chancel, installing a new partition, pulpit, and desk and repairing its ceiling. (fn. 360) Then or later its exterior walling was mostly renewed, except for the ashlar, in brick. About 1774 Marmaduke Dayrell installed in the chancel elaborate monuments by Thomas Carter, with urns, obelisks, pilasters, cherubs, and garlands, to his parents Francis and Elizabeth, and a tablet to his brother Brownlow. (fn. 361) From that period the church was usually in decent repair. (fn. 362) In the 19th century Mrs. Dayrell removed the screen without consulting the vicar or parishioners. (fn. 363) A gallery at the west end was still there in 1873, (fn. 364) but restoration began in 1870 and, after ceasing for lack of funds in 1879, was completed in 1895 with Pertwee and Hast as architects. (fn. 365)

The plate included two chalices c. 1275, (fn. 366) and two, one silver, one double gilt, in 1552. (fn. 367) Dr. James Johnson, chancellor of Ely, gave in 1713 a silver cup and cover, (fn. 368) which the church still possessed in 1960. (fn. 369)

In 1531 John Grant left £20 to make a new bell. (fn. 370) The tower contained four bells in 1552, (fn. 371) five in 1742 and later: (fn. 372) they are one each of 1621 and 1699, two of 1719 by John Thornton of Sudbury, and one of 1840 by Thomas Mears of London. (fn. 373) In 1975 they were unfit to be rung. The registers are continuous from 1558, but between 1681 and 1767 many entries are missing. (fn. 374)

Nonconformity.

In 1581 a yeoman who did not come to church was believed to adhere to the heretical Family of Love, then established at Balsham. (fn. 375) One family was said to include three Quakers in 1669, (fn. 376) and there were eleven nonconformists in 1676. (fn. 377) In 1679 ten people were presented for not coming to church. (fn. 378) In 1706 John Scotcher was licensed to keep a Quaker meetinghouse at Shardelowes manor, his home. (fn. 379) By 1728 the only dissenting family was of Presbyterians. (fn. 380) One such family worshipped at Linton in 1783, (fn. 381) for there was not, then or later, any meeting-house in the parish, and the 40 or so dissenters recorded in the late 19th century attended chapels elsewhere. (fn. 382)

Education.

John Wignold, vicar 1649–85, is said to have taught a school, (fn. 383) but there was none in the parish in the 18th century. (fn. 384) In 1818 a parish school had 20–25 pupils and a Sunday school was held fortnightly. The poor were willing to have their children taught, but usually then as in the 1860s sent them out to work. Both schools had ceased by 1825, (fn. 385) but in 1826 the vicar and principal inhabitants started a new Sunday school, in a building west of the church, which by 1833 had c. 66 pupils. (fn. 386) By 1846 it was linked with the National Society, and a day-school had over 50 pupils. The cost, £40 a year, was met by subscriptions. (fn. 387) In 1867 the average attendance was c. 20. The vicar had lately started a night-school for adults, but dropped it owing to low attendances. (fn. 388) In 1871 there were 35 pupils paying school-pence on the books of the National school, then managed by the vicar, and in 1877 44 older children and 32 infants. (fn. 389) A Government building grant in 1876 (fn. 390) was used to rebuild the schoolroom to accommodate 64. Attendance gradually declined from 60 in the 1880s (fn. 391) to 39 by 1901. By 1907 there was also accommodation for 27 infants. (fn. 392) Numbers fell further from 40 in 1914 to 20 in 1927 following re-organization in 1921 into junior mixed and infants' sections and the removal of the older children to Castle Camps school; by 1930 attendance was 15. (fn. 393) In 1960 there were only 15 pupils, and in 1962 the school was closed and the building demolished. (fn. 394)

Charities for the Poor.

An alms-house mentioned in 1666 (fn. 395) has not been traced later. In 1699 it was found that 9 a. had been held since time immemorial for the poor, (fn. 396) of which 1 a., called the king's acre and owned by the township in 1586, (fn. 397) had perhaps originally been meant to help pay royal taxes. The rest, 8 a. of pasture called the Manages, had according to local tradition been given by a lady. (fn. 398) An order of 1699 directed that the rents were to be spent on the poor and the Manages were to remain permanently under grass. (fn. 399) In 1728 the land yielded £4 10s. for the poor, in 1783 £4. (fn. 400) In 1822 the local sheep-owners would no longer occupy the Manages at the old rent, £8, and it was let as fenced allotments to poor persons, 21 of whom occupied it in 1828. In 1830, after lawsuits over rights of way provoked by the occupiers against a neighbouring landowner, a Chancery decree approved the change to arable, and directed that the income from rents be divided among the poor in doles not exceeding 10s. each, any surplus being used for coal, food, or clothing. In 1837 the money was given out indiscriminately to 112 persons. (fn. 401) In 1863 the rent was £19 a year. (fn. 402) The Manages, with adjoining land allotted at inclosure for the king's acre, were let for £10 in 1917 and £16 in 1964 to local farmers. About 1970 the income was given in food vouchers. In 1972 the land was sold to its occupant for £1,870, which was invested to yield £93 a year, distributed in 1974 to five married couples and five single or widowed people. (fn. 403)

Footnotes