HOUGHTON,
So called from its situation, which signifies high town, was a beruite
to the Earl Warren's manor of Rudham, and held of him by Simon,
consisting of a carucate of land, held by 13 socmen, with all their customary dues; one carucate in demean, and one amongst the men,
and 25 socmen in Rudham belonged to this lordship, with one carucate of land and an half, &c.; and in Houtone, one socman had 30
acres; there were under them 3 villains, and 3 bordarers, with one
carucate, and a church, but not endowed. (fn. 1) This part was held by
Ralph—, ancestor of the family of De Caineto, or Cheyney, lord
of Rudham. From the Cheyneys, it came by marriage to the Belets,
and seems to be held under them first by the De Haveltons or Houghtons, and after by the Walpoles.
This ancient family of Walpole take their name from the town of
Walpole in Mershland, in Norfolk, where they were enfeoffed of lands
belonging to the see of Ely. Joceline de Walpole was living at Wal
pole in the reign of Richard I. and in the 1st of King John held the
sixth part of a fee in Wisbeach, with half a knight's fee in Walpole,
Walton, and Hakebeach, with an 100 acres of marsh land in Wisbeach
(paying 10s. rent per annum) of the Bishop of Ely, and 6s. 2d. rent
in salt; and Adam de Walpole paid the same rent in salt for lands,
&c. Ralph, son of Joceline, and Roger his brother, held a virgate and
an half in Walpole, paying 5s. 4d. and 26 combs of salt rent per ann.
to the Bishop; and Adam de Walpole held half a virgate in Walpole,
paying 12s.
Reginaldus de Walpole, who lived in the reign of Henry I. seems
to be lineal ancestor of the present family, father of Richard de Walpole, who married Emma, daughter of Walter de Havelton, or Houton,
son of William de Havelton, (who was lord of this town,) where this
family of Walpole resided after this marriage; and Henry de Houton
had an interest here about the end of Henry the Third's reign, and
held one fee.
From Reginaldus descended Sir John de Walpole, Knt. who in the
14th of Henry III. on the King's sailing into Brittany, had letters of
protection, being in the family or retinue of that King, was, by Isabel
his wife, father of Sir Henry de Walpole, Knt. who held lands in
Houghton, by the service of a quarter of a fee, of the Lord Bardolf,
and that Lord of the Earl Warren, and other lands by the service of
one fee (as said) of Blaminster fee. About the 50th of Henry III. he
was a justice of gaol delivery, and sold lands by deed, sans date, to
John de Spalding, (burgess of Lenn,) in Tyrington, and sealed, as by
his deed appears, with a fess, between two chevrons; the arms of the
present Earl of Orford:—the witnesses were Sir William de Tyrington,
and Sir John de Wygenhale, &c. He married Isabel, daughter of Sir
Peter Fitz Osbert of Somerley town, sister and heir to Sir Roger Fitz
Osbert, and was living in the 14th of Edward I. when a fine was
levied between him and Asceline, daughter of Hugh Lound, or Lovard
of Houghton, by Rudham: (fn. 2) and about the said time lived Ralph Walpole Bishop of Ely, who also bore the said arms.
In the 34th of Edward I. Isabella de Walpole was found to be one
of the cousins and heirs of Roger Fitz-Peter Fitz-Osbert, and John
son of Alice Negoun, was the other; she was afterwards (as it seems)
the wife of Sir Walter Jernegan. Sir Henry de Walpole was his
son: to him and Alice his wife, Mr. Robert de Saham, and others,
trustees, granted two parts of this lordship, with lands in Walpole and
Walton, and all the lands purchased by Sir Henry his father, of Asceline aforesaid, with the third part of this manor in reversion, which
Isabel Jernegan, formerly the wife of Sir Henry his father, held in
dower:—Witnesses, Sir Geff. de Colvile, Sir Walter de Calthorp, Sir
Thomas de Snitterton, and Sir John de Fretton, Knts. dated November 30th, 4° Edward II. Sir Henry died about the 9th of Edward
III. and Henry was his son and heir.
In the 11th of Edward III. William le Gross, parson of the church
of Bentley Parva in Essex, as a trustee, settled this manor on Henry
de Walpole, and Joan his wife, who was (as I take it) daughter of Sir
Oliver le Gross of Crostwick, or Sir John.
In the 7th of Richard II. Henry de Walpole, and Edmund his son
were witnessess to a deed, and Henry was found to be cousin and
heir of Sir John le Gross, Knt. and as such released all his right in his
manors; and in the 3d of Henry IV. Henry, son of Sir Henry de
Walpole, held one fee of the dutchy of Lancaster, and one quarter of
a fee of the Lord Bardolf. In 1407, Ao. 9, Henry IV. he was living,
and styled Henry de Walpole, senior, Esq. and died about the 20th of
Henry VI.
In the 10th of Henry VI. Henry de Walpole, his son, and Margaret his wife, were possessed of 10 marks rent issuing out of the manor
of Hales-hall in Lodne; she was daughter of Sir John Harsike, Knt,
of Southacre, and by the name of Henry Walpole, Esq. of Houghton,
made his will on the feast of the Invention of the Holy Cross in 1442;
"Gives to Catherine his daughter 40l. towards her marriage, and the
said sum to Alice his daughter, out of the profits of the manor of
Houghton; to Martin his son, under age, 4 marks per ann. for life,
and to have all the lands which Catherine his father's sister had of
the gift of his father Henry, deceased. Appoints Henry his son,
Edmund Percy, William Marchale, Esqrs. his executors, to hold the
manor of Houghton, to perform his will, and after the performance
of it, to Henry his son in tail-male, remainder to John his son; to
Henry his son, his manor in Walpole, with the appertenances, and
to John his son the manor of Istede in Suffolk." (fn. 3) He had three
other sons, William Martin, and Thomas, and was buried according
to his will in the church of St. Martin, of Houghtou, by his wife; and
his will was proved June 27, 1442. Henry, his eldest son, in the 34th
of Henry VI. settled his manor of Walpole on trustees. He married,
as I take it, an Etchingham, who bore, azure, fretty, argent; which
arms, impaled by Walpole, were painted on the screens of this church,
next to those of Walpole and Harsike. It is probable that he died
without issue, his brother or son, John de Walpole, Esq. granting, in
the 21st of Edward IV. to William his brother, the manor of Istede
in Weybrede, Suffolk; and in the 9th of Henry VII. an inquisition was
awarded into this county, and that of Suffolk, on the death of John
Walpole, Esq. who was found to have died seized of this manor, held
of the manor of Wirmegey by knight's service; and Thomas was his
son and heir, by Elizabeth his wife, daughter of Robert Shawe, Esq.
of Derby.
Thomas Walpole, Gent. son and heir of John Walpole, Esq. late of
Houghton, deceased, gives, in the 12th of Henry VII. to Thomas Allen
of Walpole, a messuage with 15 acres of land, also 7 acres, and a
salt-work, with all the grain belonging lately to his father, John Walpole, Esq. lying between the land of the chantry of St. Mary, which
his father had of the gift of John Walpole, late of London, son of
Martin Walpole, late of Walpole, and the land of Robert Brandon,
late of Newton, Esq. Thomas Hunston, Gent. and Philip Sutton. Esq.
He married Joan, daughter of William Cobb of Sandringham, Esq.
by whom he had John, his eldest son, who died before him without
issue; Edward, and Henry.
By the name of Thomas Walpole of Lynne Bishop, Esq. he made
his will, May 24, 1512, wherein he gives, "to his son Henry all his
purchased lands (his manor of Howeton to remain 10 years in his
feoffees hands, to perform his will) and his manor of Weybrede, 5
years after the decease of his wife; his executors to receive the
profits of his lands, tenements, &c. in Walpole, 4 years and an half,
for the making of his tumbe, and for making the north ylde of
the parish church of Howeton, and that done, the said lands,
tenements, &c. in Walpole, to be delivered to the brodirhode of the
Holy Trinity in Lynne-Bishop, to the intent that the alderman and
skyvens of the said gylde shall find and pay yerly 8 marks to the
wages of an abil prest to synge mess perpetually for his soul, and
the sowl of Jone his wyfe, in the chapel of our Lady, in the chapel
of St. Nicholas in Lynne. And more, I will that the said preste shall
be at commons and lodging in the college of the Holy Trinity so
that he be ordered by the statutes of the place, and to have 6s.
8d. of the said college yerly; and if the said alderman and skyvens,
or successours, refuse to perform the same, &c. I will the said lands,
&c. to be sold by my executor Jeff. Cobbe my brother-in-law, and
my son Henry Walpole." (fn. 4) This was proved April 7, 1513. He
was found to die January 24, following, Edward his son being then
aged 30.
Edward Walpole, Esq. his eldest son, married Lucy, daughter of
Sir Terry Robsert, sister of Sir John Robsert of Sedestrand, and heir
to Amy, first wife to Sir Robert Dudley, the great Earl of Leicester
in Queen Elizabeth's time, daughter and heir of Sir John Robsart; of
whom see in Sedestern.
Edward was buried January 1, 1558, and Lucy, February 1, 1559,
at Houghton.
John Walpole, son and heir of Edward and Lucy, married Catherine, daughter and heir of William Calybut of Coxford, Gent. and was
buried in Houghton church, March 29, 1588, and Catherine September 25, 1612, and left Edward Walpole, Esq. his son and heir, who was
attainted for treasonable practices at Rome, and died abroad without
issue, being, as some say, a Romish priest. Calybut Walpole, Esq.
was his twin-brother and heir, who, by Elizabeth, daughter and coheir
of Edmund Bacon of Hesset in Suffolk, Esq. had several children.
To this Calybut, John Walpole, Esq. his father, by his will, dated,
February 28th, in the 30th of Elizabeth, gives the manor of Sedesterne,
with that of Bircham Newton, after the decease of the Right Honourable Robert Earl of Leicester, with his foldcourse and lands, which
he had of Roger Townsend, Esq. in Bircham Magna, and all the
sheep going on the same; Catherine his wife to have all his lands in
Walpole and Walton, to her and her heirs, towards the preferment of
his daughter's marriage, and to hold the manor of Houghton for life. (fn. 5)
Edward, his eldest son and heir, (as above,) was indicted in the King's
Bench for supposed treason, (in the 30th of Elizabeth, March 10,)
done at Rome; and on May 26, 39th of Elizabeth, again indicted.
After this, on August 3, in the said year, the Queen granted to —
Hussey and — Goodman, the forfeited lands of Edward, and they
grant them, September 27th following, to Calybut his brother.
Robert Walpole, Esq. son and heir of Calybut, married Susan,
daughter of Sir Edward Barkham of Southacre, Knt. and died in 1663,
and Susan in 1622, and buried at Houghton.
Sir Edward Walpole, Knight of the Bath, succeeded him as son
and heir; and, by Susan his wife, daughter and coheir of Sir Robert
Crane, Bart. of Chilton in Suffolk, left at his death, in 1667, Robert
Walpole, Esq. his son and heir; who took to wife Mary, only daughter and heir of Sir Jeffrey Burwell, Knt. of Rougham in Suffolk, by
whom he had Robert Walpole, Esq. (fn. 6) his 3d son, and heir to his father,
the greatest statesmen of the age, prime minister to King George I.
and King George II. Chancellor of the Exchequer, Knight of the
Bath, first commissioner of the Treasury, and created Earl and Viscount of Orford, February 8th, 1742.
In the year 1722, he began the foundation of a most noble hall, or
palace, of free stone, which he finished and furnished in a most elegant
taste, and sumptuous manner; the foundation stone was thus inscribed:
— HIC ME POSUIT
Fundamen ut essem domûs in agro natali extruendæ, Robertus Ille
Walpole, quem nulla nesciet posteritas, die 24. mensis Maii, A. D.
1722, faxit Deus, ut postquam maturus ævi Dominus diu lætatus fuerit
absoluta, incolumem tueantur incolumes ad summum omnium diem, et
nati natorum, et qui nascentur ab illis.
By his lady Catherine, daughter of John Shorter, Esq. of Bybrook
in Kent, (son and heir of Sir John Shorter, Knt. Lord Mayor of London) who died in August 1737, and was buried at Houghton, he had
Robert, his son and heir, created Lord Walpole of Walpole, in 1723,
and was Knight of the Bath 1725, and Earl of Orford on his father's
death, who married Margaret, daughter, and heir of Samuel Rolle,
Esq. of Heanton in Devonshire, by whom he had Robert, the present
Earl, one of the lords of the King's bed-chamber, lord lieutenant of
the county of Norfolk.
The arms of this Earl is, Or, on a fess, between two chevrons sable,
three cross crosslets of the first;—the crest, on a wreath, the bust of a
man side-faced, couped proper, with a long cap, gules, on it a Catherine-wheel, or; which was the crest of the Robsarts:—supporters,
an antelope, and a buck argent, attired, proper, gorged, with collars
checquer, or and azure, each with a chain fixed to it, and hoofs, or.
It is to be observed, that this account of the family is taken chiefly
from ancient records, and for a larger account, Mr. Collins, on the
Peerage, may be consulted.
The tenths, 6l.—Deducted 10s.—Lete fee to the lord of the hundred was 2s.
The Church of Houghton is a regular pile, having a nave, a north
and south isle covered with lead, and a chancel with tile, with a
steeple; dedicated to St. Martin, and was appropriated to the priory
of Coxford, who had a manse and 30 acres, valued at 15 marks, the
vicarage, at 5 marks—Peter-pence 16d.
At the west end of the nave is a monument, raised about a foot from
the pavement, in form of a coffin; on the lid or cover, which is an
entire piece of gray marble, is carved a curious antique figure of a
prior, or abbot, in his robes, his hands spread on his breast, above
them a cross, his head shaven, a dæmon couchant at his feet. It appears to have been made in the reign of Edward I. in memory of a
prior of Coxford, from whence, as tradition reports, it was brought
here, after its dissolution.
Near to this, on a marble gravestone, with a plate of brass,
Orate p. aia.----Pyckard de Howeton, qui obt. xvii. Die Januar.
Ao. Dni. m.vc.xo.
On the pannels of the screen, between the nave and chancel, are the
arms of Walpole, impaling Harsike;—or, on a fess, between two che
vronells, three cross crosslets sable, Walpole; and, or, a chief indented
sable, Harsike: also Walpole impaling, azure, fretty argent, Echingham.
At the east end of the south isle lie several marble gravestones; viz.
Walpole, in a lozenge, and,
M. S.—Catherina, filia natu maxima præhonorabilis Roberti Walpole
et Dominæ Cather. uxoris, nata 30, Maii 1703, denata 11, Oct. 1722.
—Edwardus Walpole Armiger, filius natu maximus Roberti et Mariæ,
sepultus est, 3°. Febr. 1697 Ætat. 22°. with the arms of Walpole.
Mary Turner born April 28th 1693, buried January 21, 1694; and
Mary Turner born July 19, 1696; both daughters of Sir Charles Turner Knt. and Mary his wife.
Hic jacet Robertus Walpole Armig; juxta Susannam uxorem, filiam
Edv. Barkham de Southacre in com. Norf. Militis, quæ obt. Ao. Dni.
1622; natus fuit 23 Sept. Ao, Dni. 1593, denatus fuit festo Sancti Philippi et Jacobi A.D. 1663, with the arms of Walpole, impaling argent
three pallets gules, and a chevron over all, or, Barkham.
In the chancel lie several marble gravestones:
Maria uxor Robti. Walpole Armiger; quam filiam habuit unicam
Galfridus Burwell, Miles, de Rougham, in agro Suffolc. Annos nata ad
octo et quinquaginta mortem, obt. 14 Martii 1711. With the arms of
Walpole, and in an escotheon of prentence;—or, a chevron ermin, between three burdock leaves proper, Burwell.—Robertus Walpole Armig;
filius natu maximus. Edw. militis Balnei et Susannœ, hic sepultus est
decimo octavo die Nov. Ao. Dni. 1700, Ætat. suæ Quinquagesimo. Ex
decem quos genuit filiis, superfuerunt Robertus, Horatio, Galfridus; ex
filiabus septem, Maria, Dorothea et Susanna.—With the arms of Walpole and Burwell.
H. I. Horatio Walpole Armig; filius natu minor Edv. Walpole,
Balnei militis, qui obt. Quinquagenarius, 17 Oct. A. D. 1717, with
Walpole impaling, quarterly, ermine and azure, a cross or, Osborn
Hic situs est Edv. Walpole, Balnei Miles, Robi. Walpole, armig.
filius, qui Susannam, Robti. Crane, Baronetti de Chilton, in agro Suff.
filiam connubio sibi junxit, major quadraginta quinq. annos, 18 die
Martii, 1667, morte piâ illustravit.
Cætera si quæras narrabit fama superstes.
Walpole, and in an escotheon of pretence,—argent, a fess between
three cross croslets fitchée, gules, Crane.
Domina Susanna a latere Edv. Walpole, Balnei Militis, hic conditur,
quœ, obt. 7, Julii Ao. Dom. 1667, Ætat. 35.
The church was a rectory, the ancient valor 15 marks. In the 3d
of Edward I. the jury find that Harvey Belet (of whom see in Rudham)
gave it to Coxford priory; Hervey lived in the reign of King John,
and gave them also lands, or a manor here, which belonged to that
of Rudham; and in 1428, the prior was taxed for his temporalities in
rent, land, and a mill, at 65s. 3d.
The rectory was appropriated to the aforesaid priory, with 30 acres,
and a vicarage was settled, the present valor of which is 5l.
The priory of Castleacre had a portion of tithe, valued at 36s per
annum, and an agreement was made between the prior and convent of
Castleacre, and that of Coxford, whereby the prior of Castleacre let to
farm, to the prior of Coxford, two parts of the tithes of the demeans
of Baldwin de Rosey, and William de Kailli, here, at the aforesaid
rent; (fn. 7) William Rufus of Northampton, quitclaimed to the monks of
Castleacre all his tenement, which he held of them, late John de
Cailli's, which he held of them, on their paying him 18 marks:—
witness, Herebert, prior of St. Edmund.
In 1612, the pension of 36s. was paid to the Earl of Northampton.
William, the third Earl Warren and Surry, before the year 1146,
confirmed to the monks of Castleacre, the tithe of Wachelin de Rosei,
granted by him; and Baldwin de Rosei confirmed the grant of his
ancestors, by an agreement made before Walter Bishop of Norwich;
Adam, the prior, and the convent, let for ever, to the prior and convent of Cokesford, two parts of the tithes of the demeans, of Baldwin
de Rosey, of Hugh, son of Richard, and William de Kaylly, in this
village, for 36s. per annum, who all appear by this to have had estates
in the same. John, the first Bishop of Norwich, confirmed the grant
of Rosey.
Vicars.
1311, Ralph de Faldone instituted vicar, presented by the prior and
convent of Coxford, and nominated by the Bishop of Norwich.
1311, Henry de Swafham. Ditto.
1345, Stephen Attewood. Ditto.
1355, Richard Smith. Ditto.
1361, Thomas Lyvet. Ditto.
1397, John Cok, by the prior and convent.
1422, Hugh Wynhous, by the Bishop and convent.
1462, Richard Reymer, by the Bishop, a lapse.
Robert Bradfield.
1483, Richard Randolf, by the prior, &c.
1502, John Wilkinson, by the Bishop and convent.
1511, John Smith.
1517, John Mathew, prior of Cokesford, by the Bishop, a lapse.
1522, John Heyde, by the prior and convent.
1554, William Lyon, by Thomas Duke of Norfolk.
John Head.
1565, Edmund Denny. Ditto.
1568, Richard Brasell. Ditto.
1578, Nicholas Baldwyn, by William Dix, and William Cantrell,
Esq.
1581, Vincent Man. Ditto.
1714, Robert Betts, on the cession of Thomas Carter, by Robert
Walpole, Esq.
1723 Francis Clerk, by the King.
1724, George Jacomb, by Robert Walpole, Esq.
1731, Thomas Deresley by Sir Robert Walpole.