Shipton Moyne: Manors and other estates

MANORS AND OTHER ESTATES.

Ten hides of land held in 1066 by Strang the Dane had passed by 1086 to Matthew de Mortain. (fn. 1) The land apparently escheated to the Crown and was granted by Henry I to Ralph le Moyne to hold by the serjeanty of serving as the king's larderer. (fn. 2) The manor of SHIPTON MOYNE, although in 1463 it was said to be held by knight service (fn. 3) and in the late 16th and early 17th centuries was assessed at 1/40 fee, (fn. 4) continued in fact to be held by the serjeanty, (fn. 5) but the right to exercise the office of larderer was disputed with the holder of other estates. (fn. 6) The lord of the manor unsuccessfully claimed the office in 1910 before the coronation of George V. (fn. 7)

Although the manor was said to be held in the mid 12th century by Richard de Daunfrunt, it presumably passed with the other lands of the serjeanty by 1130 to William le Moyne whose descendants held it until the 15th century. Geoffrey le Moyne held the estate during the reign of Henry II and his nephew Robert le Moyne (fn. 8) was in possession by 1200. (fn. 9) Robert had been succeeded by 1211 by his son Ralph le Moyne. (fn. 10) Ralph (d. by 1238) left a son as his heir. (fn. 11) About 1274 the manor was held by William le Moyne (d. c. 1294) who then granted most of the estate to his son Henry, (fn. 12) although in 1287 Henry of Newburgh was said to hold the manor for life from William. (fn. 13) At his death c. 1315 Henry le Moyne held the manor jointly with his wife Joan, (fn. 14) who was succeeded in 1340 by their son John (fn. 15) (d. by 1349). (fn. 16) In 1353 the manor was held by Henry le Moyne (fn. 17) who was succeeded in 1374 by his son John. (fn. 18) John was dead by 1381 apparently leaving as his heir a minor, (fn. 19) possibly John le Moyne (fl. 1422), (fn. 20) who before 1430 conveyed the manor to John Herring and others. (fn. 21) The estate was later held by John Stourton of Stourton (Wilts.), who was succeeded in 1462 by his son William. (fn. 22) William (d. 1478) left as his heir his son John Stourton, (fn. 23) Lord Stourton, who at his death in 1485 held the manor jointly with his wife Catherine, (fn. 24) later the wife of John Brereton. (fn. 25) Catherine (d. 1494) was succeeded in turn by John Stourton's brothers William (fn. 26) (d. Feb. 1524) and Edward, (fn. 27) who by June 1524 had been succeeded by his son William. (fn. 28)

In 1544 William Stourton, Lord Stourton, sold the estate, which was later known as the manor or manors of Shipton Moyne and Shipton Dovel, to John Hodges (fn. 29) of Malmesbury. Shipton Dovel manor has not been found recorded before 1544, and land in Shipton Dovel belonged to another estate, that of Cirencester Abbey which is discussed below. John Hodges (d. 1562) was succeeded by his son Thomas Hodges, (fn. 30) after whose death in 1576 the manor passed in the direct line to John (fn. 31) (d. 1599), Thomas (fn. 32) (d. 1637), and Thomas. (fn. 33) The younger Thomas was apparently succeeded c. 1675 by his grandson Thomas. (fn. 34) At Thomas's death in 1696 his heir was his son Thomas, a minor, after whose death in 1708 the manor passed in turn to his younger brother Estcourt (fn. 35) and sister Elizabeth. Elizabeth (d. 1724) devised the estate for life to her uncle William Hodges who surrendered it to his son Walter in 1724. Walter Hodges, D.D., provost of Oriel College and vice-chancellor of Oxford University, died in 1757 and the manor passed in turn to his sister Elizabeth (d. 1788), wife of the Revd. William Nowell, (fn. 36) and his great-nephew Walter Parry of Salisbury, who took the name Hodges. Walter sold most of the estate in 1794 to Thomas Estcourt (fn. 37) of Estcourt manor, with which Shipton Moyne manor then passed. (fn. 38)

The manor-house was recorded in 1214. (fn. 39) Its successor, which had 13 hearths in 1672, (fn. 40) stood near the church and was built around three sides of a courtyard; in the early 18th century it was occupied by Edith (d. 1717), widow of Thomas Hodges (d. 1696). (fn. 41) About 1725 a new house was built (fn. 42) on a site further east, away from the village, (fn. 43) and the Revd. William Nowell lived there c. 1775. (fn. 44) After 1794 it ceased to be the home of the lords of the manor and, although apparently standing in 1824, (fn. 45) had been demolished by 1838 when some park-land and out-buildings remained. The latter included Hodges Barn south of the site. (fn. 46) The barn, probably of the early 18th century, had a cruciform plan, the two short arms formed by porches which were carried up to form towers. In the 1930s it was converted into a house with the addition of much architectural detail in the mid-18th-century style. (fn. 47)

After 1794 Walter Hodges retained HILLIER'S FARM, comprising 418 a., (fn. 48) until 1805 when he sold it to William Tugwell. William (d. 1815) was succeeded by his son Lewin. Part of the farm was sold to the Holfords of Westonbirt in 1833 and Lewin sold the rest to T. G. B. Estcourt in 1846. (fn. 49) The farm-house, Clayfield Farm, is a large symmetrical house of c. 1815 with a simple Regency interior but a more traditional gabled exterior. It passed with the land acquired by the Holfords. (fn. 50) On the break-up of the Westonbirt estate in 1927 the house passed with c. 250 a. to Mrs. R. C. Bainbridge from whom it was bought in 1943 by Mrs. C. M. Clarke, later the wife of Maj. G. A. Gundry, who owned it with 50 a. in 1974. Part of Clayfield farm passed after 1927 to Mrs. E. M. Glasier whose daughter Miss Enid M. Glasier owned it in 1974. (fn. 51)

Two estates, one comprising 10 hides held in 1066 by John, and the other 1 hide held before 1066 by Alwin in socage and later by Rainbert of Flanders, had passed by 1086 to Matthew de Mortain, from whom they were held by Rumbald. (fn. 52) They probably formed the estate of Gilbert son of Rumbald, also known as Gilbert of Shipton, which was held from Shipton Moyne manor as 2 fees in 1200. (fn. 53) The assessment was reduced in 1211 to 1½ fee, (fn. 54) and by 1285 the estate was accounted as 1 fee and was held by another Gilbert of Shipton, (fn. 55) who had 4 yardlands in the parish. (fn. 56) By 1303 the estate had been divided between Walter de la Estcourt and John Beauboys. (fn. 57)

The part held by Walter de la Estcourt, later called ESTCOURT manor, continued to be held from Shipton Moyne manor. (fn. 58) Walter died in 1325 (fn. 59) and his land passed to his widow Margaret (fl. 1338) and then, by 1341, to his son Simon. Simon, who leased the estate to Henry le Moyne in 1359, had been succeeded by 1372 by his son Walter (fn. 60) but property that Simon had held jointly with his wife Joan (fn. 61) was apparently retained by her in 1375. (fn. 62) Walter Simkins of Estcourt, described in 1395 as lord of Estcourt, (fn. 63) presumably held a lease of the estate. Walter Estcourt (fl. 1418) was apparently succeeded by John Estcourt who by 1438 had been succeeded by his son John. (fn. 64) The younger John (d. 1474) left as his heir his son John, (fn. 65) who was alive in 1495. Thomas, son of the last John, (fn. 66) held the manor by 1507 (fn. 67) and by 1530 had been succeeded by his son Edmund. (fn. 68) Edmund Estcourt, who in 1568 made a settlement of the estate, then comprising 430 a., (fn. 69) died in 1569 (fn. 70) and was succeeded by his son Thomas. On Thomas's death in 1599 (fn. 71) the manor passed to his widow Emma. In 1600 she married Sir Henry Blomer of Hatherop (fn. 72) who conveyed the manor c. 1609 to Thomas's son and heir Thomas Estcourt of Lasborough, (fn. 73) who had been knighted in 1607. Sir Thomas, who was granted free warren in 1616, (fn. 74) died in 1624 while returning from parliament in which he had represented the county. (fn. 75) The manor passed to his widow Mary (fn. 76) but was disputed by his nephew and heir Thomas Estcourt, (fn. 77) to whom Mary eventually surrendered the demesne in 1644. (fn. 78) Thomas (d. 1681) was succeeded by his son Walter, after whose death in 1726 (fn. 79) the manor passed to his cousin Thomas Estcourt. (fn. 80) Thomas (d. 1746) was succeeded by his brother Edmund (d. 1758), who devised the manor to a distant kinsman, Thomas Estcourt, second son of Matthew Estcourt of Cam. Edmund's will was contested by his widow Anna Maria and daughter Anne but was upheld in 1760. (fn. 81) Thomas Estcourt, who did not come of age until 1769, (fn. 82) was M.P. for Cricklade (Wilts.). In 1794 he bought Shipton Moyne manor (fn. 83) and owned c. 954 a. in the parish in 1796. (fn. 84)

Thomas Estcourt was succeeded in 1818 by his son Thomas Grimston Estcourt, who in 1824 took the additional surname Bucknall and was M.P. for Devizes 1805-26, and later for Oxford University. T. G. B. Estcourt, who owned c. 1,440 a. in the parish in 1838, (fn. 85) was succeeded in 1853 by his son Thomas Henry Sutton who in 1839 had taken his mother's surname of Sotheron, to which in 1855 he added his paternal name. T. H. S. SotheronEstcourt, M.P. in turn for Marlborough, Devizes, and North Wilts., was Home Secretary for a few months in 1859. (fn. 86) At his death in 1876 the estate passed to his younger brother Edmund Hiley Bucknall Estcourt, rector of Eckington (Derb.) (d. 1894), whose son George Thomas John Sotheron-Estcourt, M.P. for North Wilts. 1874-85, was created Baron Estcourt in 1903. Lord Estcourt was succeeded in 1915 by his distant cousin, the Revd. Edmund Walter Estcourt, rector of Shipton Moyne, who took the name Sotheron-Estcourt. In 1919 he made over his estates to his eldest son Capt. Thomas Edmund Sotheron-Estcourt, M.P. for Pontefract 1931-5, (fn. 87) who was succeeded in 1958 by his son Thomas Desmond George SotheronEstcourt who owned the estate in 1974. (fn. 88)

The Estcourts' manor-house in the north-east part of the parish was mentioned in 1359. (fn. 89) Thomas Estcourt's house, which had 13 hearths in 1672, (fn. 90) was built around a central courtyard and had a separate service range. The large gateway was flanked by towers. (fn. 91) The house, occupied c. 1760 by Matthew Estcourt (fn. 92) and later by his son Thomas, (fn. 93) was pulled down in or soon after 1776 (fn. 94) and a new house was built. The building, which was later extended, (fn. 95) was demolished in 1963 but stables bearing the date 1781 remain. (fn. 96)

John Beauboys who held the other part of the knight's fee in 1303 (fn. 97) was succeeded between 1332 and 1342 by his widow Isabel. (fn. 98) In 1352 she released the lands to their daughter Isabel who married in turn Warin FitzWarin (fl. 1357) and William of Speckington (fl. 1374). In 1399 Isabel farmed her land in Shipton Moyne to her son and eventual heir John Beauboys (fl. 1419). John's property passed to his wife Eleanor, (fn. 99) who held it in 1429, (fn. 100) and then to his daughter Alice, (fn. 101) who by 1414 had married John Estcourt of Estcourt manor, (fn. 102) thereby leading to the reunion of the property with the other part of the fee.

Forty-three acres of land at Hillcourt in the west part of the parish were held in the later Middle Ages by the owners of Shipton Moyne manor from the Estcourt and Beauboys families. (fn. 103) In 1599 Thomas Hodges granted HILLCOURT FARM to his younger brother John who settled it in 1641 on his nephew George Hodges. George's son John (fn. 104) had inherited the property by 1677 (fn. 105) and was dead by 1720 when the estate of 210 a. was settled on the marriage of his daughter Christian to Henry Adey of Dursley. It was divided later between three of their sons, whose descendants sold the farm, then including 160 a., to R. S. Holford in 1846; Holford shortly afterwards sold most of it to T. G. B. Estcourt. (fn. 106) The small 17thcentury farm-house, assessed on 6 hearths in 1672, (fn. 107) has been much altered in succeeding centuries. It was retained by R. S. Holford after 1846 (fn. 108) and in 1974 comprised two cottages.

An estate of 2 hides held by Wluin in 1066 was later held by Ralph de Limesi, but by 1086 it had passed to William of Eu whose tenant was Hugh. (fn. 109) The estate has not been traced later.

In the mid 13th century Cirencester Abbey acquired rents totalling 35s. 2d. in Shipton Moyne, together with rents in Westonbirt, from Roger of Dunville, (fn. 110) a tenant of the earldom of Chester. The rents were assessed at ¼ fee in 1285. (fn. 111) In the early 14th century the abbey acquired other property, including 2 yardlands earlier held by Gilbert of Shipton in Shipton Dovel. (fn. 112) Rents from property held with Shipton Moyne manor were later paid to the abbey. (fn. 113) After the Dissolution the Crown retained the abbey's land, called the manor of Shipton Moyne, until 1575 when after two transactions it was acquired by Thomas Estcourt of Estcourt. (fn. 114) It was presumably the unnamed manor which Thomas held at his death in 1599. (fn. 115)

The tenement in Shipton Moyne held from St. Mary's Abbey, Winchester, in 1216 (fn. 116) was presumably that which produced a rent of 40s. in 1260 (fn. 117) and was later called Oaksey's Place. (fn. 118) The abbey retained the rent until the Dissolution. (fn. 119) In 1238 Godstow Abbey (Oxon.) received a rent of 1 mark from a manor called Shipton (fn. 120) which may have been in Shipton Moyne, but the rent has not been traced.