Tetbury: Manors and other estates

MANORS AND OTHER ESTATES.

About 775 Offa, king of Mercia, granted land at Doughton to Worcester cathedral. He also granted other lands in Tetbury to the cathedral, (fn. 1) which may have acquired the whole of Tetbury and its hamlets. In 962 Bishop Oswald granted 2½ hides at Elmestree to Ethelm for 3 lives, and in 988 he granted 1½ 'mansae' at Upton for 3 lives to Ethelward. (fn. 2) At the Conquest, however, the 23-hide manor of TETBURY was held by Siward, while Upton was held by Aluric as tenant to King Edward, and in 1086 both estates belonged to Roger d'Ivry. (fn. 3) They had apparently formed part of the estates centred on Beckley (Oxon.) which Roger acquired by gift of Robert Doyley; (fn. 4) Robert had included tithes at Tetbury in his endowment of the chapel of St. George in Oxford castle. (fn. 5) Roger's estates were apparently forfeited to the Crown but it has been suggested that Tetbury passed to his nephew Ascelin Goel, for Ascelin of Tetbury was mentioned c. 1100. (fn. 6)

Later the manor was acquired by the St. Valery family. Reynold de St. Valery held it c. 1148 when he established the monks of Kingswood at Tetbury. (fn. 7) At his death c. 1166 he was succeeded by his son Bernard (d. c. 1191), whose son Thomas (d. 1219) was deprived of his estates before 1197. (fn. 8) Tetbury manor was granted to William de Breuse, (fn. 9) possibly on his marriage to Maud de St. Valery, and was confiscated in 1208 after his quarrel with King John. (fn. 10) Peter FitzHerbert held it by royal grant c. 1212, (fn. 11) but later it was disputed by various heirs and claimants to the lands of William de Breuse, who had died in 1211. Giles de Breuse, bishop of Hereford, William's son, apparently held it before 1215 when it was granted to Hugh Mortimer, who had married William's daughter (fn. 12) Eleanor. (fn. 13) In the course of 1216, however, various grants of the manor were secured by Hugh and by the former lord, Thomas de St. Valery, (fn. 14) who had made his peace with King John after several changes of allegiance. (fn. 15) In 1219 Reynold de Breuse, another son of William, was defending his right to the manor against a claim for dower by Maud de Clare, (fn. 16) and he had apparently secured his title by 1221 when he granted part of the manor to Walter Beauchamp. (fn. 17) John de Breuse, son of William's eldest son William, later acquired most of the residue of the manor including the town, (fn. 18) apparently by a grant of 1226 by which Reynold gave him Bramber (Suss.). (fn. 19) Reynold apparently retained some land at Tetbury, however, for land there provided the marriage portion of his granddaughter Maud Mortimer. (fn. 20)

John de Breuse's estate, which continued to be called the manor of Tetbury, was taken by the Crown at his death in 1232 during the minority of his heir, (fn. 21) but in 1268 it was held by Maud Longespee, (fn. 22) daughter of John's widow Margaret by her marriage to Walter de Clifford. Maud's husband, William Longespee, had died in 1257 and she married secondly John Giffard of Brimpsfield, (fn. 23) who had a grant of free warren in his demesne land at Tetbury in 1281. (fn. 24) In 1285, however, the manor was held by John de Breuse's son William (fn. 25) (d. 1290), whose widow Mary received the manor in 1291 as dower by agreement of his sons William and Richard. (fn. 26) In 1292, however, William and Mary surrendered the manor to Richard in place of Sussex manors of the barony of Bramber which had been settled on Richard. Richard (d. c. 1296) was succeeded at Tetbury by his brother Peter, (fn. 27) who had a grant of free warren in 1301 (fn. 28) and died c. 1312. (fn. 29) Dower rights of Peter's widow Agnes (fn. 30) had appar ently reverted by 1316 to his son Thomas, although he was then still a minor. (fn. 31) In 1334 Thomas settled the manor on himself and his wife Beatrice, (fn. 32) and in 1361 they granted it to their son John on his marriage; (fn. 33) John died without issue in 1367 when the manor reverted to Beatrice, (fn. 34) by then a widow. She was succeeded at her death in 1383 by her son Thomas de Breuse (fn. 35) (d. 1395), whose two infant children died within a few days of him, leaving as heir to the manor his niece Elizabeth, wife of William Heron. (fn. 36) The manor was, however, settled in dower on Thomas's widow Margaret, (fn. 37) who with her second husband William Burchester was said to hold it in 1398 and 1402, (fn. 38) although a Robert Breuse made a grant as lord of Tetbury in 1401. (fn. 39) Margaret, who married thirdly John Berkeley, held the manor at her death in 1444 when the heir was Hugh Cokesey, descendant of a brother of Thomas de Breuse (fl. 1361). (fn. 40)

Hugh's sister Joyce Beauchamp held the manor at her death in 1473 and it passed to her son John Greville (fn. 41) (d. 1480), whose son Thomas Cokesey (fn. 42) or Greville succeeded to it. At Thomas's death without issue the heirs to the manor were Thomas Howard, earl of Surrey, and Maurice Berkeley, Lord Berkeley, who claimed as descendants of William de Breuse (fl. 1292). At a partition of Thomas Cokesey's estates in 1502 Tetbury manor was allotted to Maurice, (fn. 43) who died in 1506. It then passed to successive Lords Berkeley, his sons Maurice (fn. 44) (d. 1523) and Thomas (fn. 45) (d. 1533), Thomas's son Thomas (d. 1534), (fn. 46) Henry son of the younger Thomas (d. 1613), and Henry's grandson George. (fn. 47) George, Lord Berkeley, and his mother Elizabeth sold the manor in 1633 to trustees for the inhabitants, and it was afterwards held by the town feoffees. (fn. 48)

The manor-house of Tetbury stood on the north side of the town, adjoining the Chipping. In the late 16th century it was leased to John Savage (fn. 49) and the family afterwards bought the freehold. Elizabeth Sheppard, widow, owned it in 1665 when she settled the reversion on her brother Anthony Savage. (fn. 50) Charles Savage leased it to Samuel Denny in 1684, and in 1695 sold it to Nathaniel Body, clothier. The house, known as Hacket or Hicket Court, (fn. 51) later passed to Matthew Sloper who built a new house on the site in 1766–7. An erroneous tradition that the monks of Kingswood had occupied the site while at Tetbury (fn. 52) gave the new house the name of the Priory. It was offered for sale in 1832 after the death of Henry Hall Sloper (fn. 53) and afterwards became the home of the vicar of Tetbury, John Frampton. (fn. 54) In 1949 it was bought by the Gloucestershire county council for an old people's home. (fn. 55) Sloper's large classical mansion is of 7 bays and 3 storeys. Behind it is a complex of 19th-century additions, in which some 17th-century material has been re-used. An out-building includes one wall and a garderobe turret from a medieval building, which was reconstructed in the 17th century and again altered, to form stables, in the 19th. The small size of the ground-floor windows and the placing of the only fireplace at first-floor level suggests that the upper room was the more important, and it may have been the manor courtroom. The buildings at the site of the manor also included a large barn called Hicket Court Barn which was retained by the Body family and the successors to their house, the Ferns in Long Street. (fn. 56)

The estate later called the manor of UPTON originated as the portion settled by William de Breuse (d. 1211) on the marriage of his daughter Bertha to William Beauchamp, lord of Elmley Castle (Worcs.); (fn. 57) in 1221 Reynold de Breuse confirmed a large estate, described as a moiety of Tetbury manor, to William's son Walter (fn. 58) (d. 1235). It passed to Walter's son William (d. 1269) and to William's son (fn. 59) William Beauchamp, earl of Warwick (d. 1298), who sold it to his tenant John de Thorndon. (fn. 60) In 1386 Upton manor was held for life by Edith, widow of a later John de Thorndon, with remainder to Robert of Charlton and his wife Catherine. (fn. 61) In 1442 Alice Thorndon held it in dower. (fn. 62) It was later acquired by John Limerick, whose widow Elizabeth and her husband Henry Ketelby held it in 1499 when John's brother and heir, William Limerick, sold the reversion to Edmund Tame (fn. 63) of Fairford. Edmund (d. 1534) left it to his wife Elizabeth (fn. 64) who died in 1545. (fn. 65) Her son Edmund had died without issue and at a partition made among his three sisters in 1547 Upton manor was assigned to Alice, who married Thomas Verney of Compton Verney (Warws.). (fn. 66) Alice died in 1549 and Thomas in 1557, (fn. 67) and the manor passed to their son Sir Richard Verney (d. 1567) and to Sir Richard's son George (fn. 68) (d. 1574), whose heir Richard was a minor. (fn. 69) In 1597 Richard Verney, the elder, and Richard Verney, the younger, conveyed Upton to George Huntley (fn. 70) of Frocester, later Sir George, who alienated most of the land. (fn. 71) The manor and the small estate remaining (fn. 72) descended with Woodchester (fn. 73) until 1844 when Earl Ducie sold it with Charlton manor and 943 a., lying mainly in Charlton, to R. S. Holford of Westonbirt. (fn. 74) The land was sold by the Westonbirt estate in the mid 1920s (fn. 75) but the trustees of Sir George Holford were still regarded as lords of the two manors in 1939. (fn. 76)

Lands in Charlton, later called the manor of CHARLTON, passed to Maud, daughter of William de Breuse (d. 1230), son of Reynold. She married in 1247 Roger Mortimer of Wigmore, who died in 1282 (fn. 77) holding 6 yardlands in Charlton which passed to his son Edmund (fn. 78) and grandson Roger, earl of March. After the earl's forfeiture and execution the Charlton estate was granted in 1346 to Richard Barnard, (fn. 79) but the earl's grandson Roger, who was restored to his title and estates, held it at his death in 1360. (fn. 80) Edward III granted the wardship of the younger Roger's heir to his daughter Isabel who transferrred it to Roger's widow Philippe, who did not, however, enjoy the profits until 1368. (fn. 81) After Philippe's death in 1382 (fn. 82) Charlton descended with the Mortimers' Bisley manor until 1548. (fn. 83) In 1574 the Crown granted it to Drew Drury and Edmund Downing, (fn. 84) but John Seed had a lease of part of it from the Crown in 1567 (fn. 85) and he bought the freehold of the manor before 1588. (fn. 86) By 1606 it belonged to George Huntley (fn. 87) of Boxwell (d. 1624), whose son Matthew succeeded (fn. 88) and sold the manor to Robert Ducie in 1629. (fn. 89) It then descended with Upton manor. (fn. 90) Charlton Court Farm at the site of the manor was bought from the Westonbirt estate in 1926 by the tenant E. I. Witchell, whose family retained it with c. 300 a. in 1974. (fn. 91) The modest 17thcentury house was extended and refitted in the earlier 19th century. The farm buildings include a barn of the late 16th or early 17th century, and in the garden of the 19th-century Charlton House, which adjoins and is part of the same property, are a circular dovecot and another building which incorporates the tracery of a 14th-century window.

Eleanor de Breuse, who as mentioned above married Hugh Mortimer, received an estate in Charlton as her marriage portion. She became a recluse at Iffley (Oxon.), (fn. 92) and in or before 1234 granted her estate to Godstow Abbey, (fn. 93) which retained it until the Dissolution. (fn. 94) The estate, comprising two houses and c. 200 a. of land, passed to Anthony Stratford (d. 1609), whose son Thomas (fn. 95) sold it in or before 1620 to Robert Spirt; (fn. 96) the later descent has not been traced.

Two estates were known as the manor of DOUGHTON in the Middle Ages. In 1285 Roger of Doughton held ¹/5 fee (fn. 97) which had perhaps belonged to the Roger of Doughton recorded in the 1220s. (fn. 98) In 1328 Agnes, widow of Peter de Breuse, held a third of a house and plough-land for the life of John of Doughton by grant of John of Stonor, who impleaded her for waste. (fn. 99) The estate presumably passed to John of Stonor's son John, and the latter's son Edmund (fn. 100) held lands in Doughton at his death in 1382. Edmund's son John (fn. 101) died a minor in 1383 and was succeeded by his brother Ralph (fn. 102) (d. 1394). (fn. 103) Nicholas Monkton had a grant during the minority of Ralph's son Gilbert, (fn. 104) who died in 1396. Gilbert's heir was his brother Thomas, also a minor, who probably had livery in 1415 (fn. 105) and died in 1430. Thomas's son Thomas apparently succeeded, and his son William (fn. 106) held Doughton manor at his death in 1494, leaving his son and heir John, a minor. (fn. 107) Another estate called the manor of Doughton belonged to Edmund, duke of York, at his death in 1402 and passed to his son Edward (fn. 108) (d. 1415). Edward's nephew, Richard, duke of York, (fn. 109) also became owner of Charlton manor, with which the Doughton estate descended until at least 1588. (fn. 110) The destination of the two Doughton estates is obscure but Nicholas Damory was regarded as lord of Doughton in 1608. (fn. 111)

Nicholas Damory's manor of Doughton passed with Westonbirt to John Pearce, whose daughter Anne and her husband Edward Althorne sold it to Richard Talboys in 1628. (fn. 112) Richard's title was complicated, however, by Nicholas Damory's recent enfranchisement of the tenants' lands and by transactions under which Lady Constance Sidney claimed the manor, conveying her interest to Philip Sheppard and Sir Thomas Estcourt. (fn. 113) Richard apparently secured his title and he settled the manor-house, some of the land, and the reversion of the rest on the marriage of his son Benjamin in 1659. Richard died in 1663 and Benjamin in 1688, when he was succeeded by his son Richard. In 1728 Richard made over the manor to his daughter Alice in return for an annuity, (fn. 114) but she died the following year leaving it back to Richard. Thomas Talboys, apparently Richard's nephew, (fn. 115) owned the manor in 1760; (fn. 116) he devised it to a kinsman Thomas Talboys who was succeeded before 1802 by his eldest son Thomas. The last Thomas sold Doughton manor in 1819 to John Paul Paul, owner of the neighbouring Highgrove estate. (fn. 117) John (d. 1828) was succeeded by his son Walter Matthews Paul, (fn. 118) whose combined estate amounted to c. 650 a. in 1838. (fn. 119) He sold it in 1860 to Col. E. J. Strachey, from whom Hamilton Yatman bought it in 1864. Yatman sold it in 1894 to A. C. Mitchell, (fn. 120) who was succeeded by his son Col. F. A. Mitchell (d. 1955). (fn. 121) In the early 1960s the Mitchell family sold the manor-house with 120 a. to Maj. R. W. Ingall who farmed it, together with a larger acreage held on lease, in 1974. (fn. 122)

Doughton Manor House, which may occupy the site of the hall and farm buildings mentioned in 1328, (fn. 123) was built by Richard Talboys and was apparently completed by 1641. It is a substantial house on a conventional H-shaped plan with near symmetrical elevations. It has been little altered since the 17th century and retains original panelling and fireplaces, one with the arms of Talboys and Abarrow, (fn. 124) into which family Richard married in 1632. (fn. 125) The house was occupied by tenant farmers after 1819, while the owners of the estate lived at Highgrove, (fn. 126) but Col. Mitchell restored it as his home in 1933. (fn. 127) A barn standing west of the house probably dates from the 16th century. Highgrove, on the opposite side of the main road, was built by John Paul Paul between 1796 and 1798 (fn. 128) on an estate which had belonged to his maternal grandfather Robert Clark. (fn. 129) It was a large block, 5 bays by 3 and 3 storeys high. The principal fronts, to the north and south, were emphasized by shallow pilasters to the upper floors. (fn. 130) It was so severely damaged by fire in 1893 as to prompt the sale of the estate by Hamilton Yatman, and the new owner (fn. 131) rebuilt the south and east sides, added extensive new kitchens and offices, and redesigned the interior. In the mid 20th century a number of 18th-century fireplaces were inserted. In 1974 Highgrove belonged to Mr. Maurice MacMilllan, M.P.

The manor of ELMESTREE was granted in the 12th century to Fontevrault Abbey by Reynold de St. Valery and his son Bernard. (fn. 132) About 1220 the nuns made an agreement with the patrons of Tetbury church over the right to have an oratory in the manor. (fn. 133) In 1341 the manor was held by Maud de Burgh, countess of Ulster, (fn. 134) presumably one of successive custodians to hold it during the French wars. In 1413 the Crown granted it to John Phillips who was empowered to treat with the abbess for its purchase. (fn. 135) John died seised of it in 1415 and his widow Alice (fn. 136) retained it in 1430 when the reversion was settled on John Attwood and his heirs. (fn. 137) By 1464 the manor was in the hands of Edward IV who granted it to the college of Westbury-on-Trym. (fn. 138) After the Dissolution the Crown granted it in 1544 to Sir Ralph Sadler, later Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (fn. 139) (d. 1587). The manor passed to his son Thomas, (fn. 140) whose son Ralph had succeeded by 1608 and sold the manor in 1640 to James Tooke. (fn. 141) It passed to John Tooke (d. 1662), and John's widow Ursula (fn. 142) and James Tooke sold it in 1685 to Thomas Deacon, a London silk-mercer, (fn. 143) who by will dated 1723 left it to his son Thomas. The younger Thomas was succeeded by his sisters Mary and Esther, and in 1737 Elmestree manor with 556 a. of land was assigned to Mary who released to her sister her right in lands at Siddington. (fn. 144) Mary Deacon (d. 1769) devised the manor to her cousin Robert Jenner, professor of civil law at Oxford. (fn. 145) By 1803 it had been acquired by Thomas Brookes (fn. 146) (d. 1812), and it passed to William Brookes (d. 1825); (fn. 147) in 1838 the manor with an estate of 518 a. was held by trustees for William Brookes, a minor, (fn. 148) who retained it in 1856. (fn. 149) It was acquired before 1870 by Francis Henry, later a Lieutenant-Colonel, who died c. 1933. (fn. 150) In 1974 Mr. D. Wilson, whose father had bought it in 1947, owned and farmed the 300-a. estate. (fn. 151)

Elmestree House comprises a modest 17thcentury house, to the east of which a substantial Tudor-style house was built by William Brookes in 1844. (fn. 152) Col. Henry built a connecting wing between the two buildings in 1884 and made further large additions on the north-west in 1900. (fn. 153) The house has an early-19th-century stable block, and on the south and east sides are the remnants of 19th-century pleasure-gardens with terraces and a small lake.

The monks of Kingswood Abbey, who were established at Tetbury by Reynold de St. Valery for a year or two during the unsettled period in their history in the 1140s, retained a grange there. (fn. 154) They also acquired land at Charlton shortly before 1233 by grants from Adam of Charlton and Henry de Ribbeford, (fn. 155) and in 1291 they had 3 plough-lands in the parish. (fn. 156) The Tetbury lands were among those that the abbey granted to the Florentine merchant, Bernard Aringi, in 1318 for life and to his executors for a further period of 10 years. (fn. 157) After the Dissolution the abbey's estate south of the town, known as THE GRANGE, was granted in 1544 to Richard Andrews and George Lisle who had licence to convey it to John Moody shortly afterwards; (fn. 158) the Charlton property was included in the grant of Charlton manor by the Crown in 1574. (fn. 159) By 1605 the Grange was in possession of Richard Gastrell (d. 1629), who was succeeded by his grandson John Gastrell, (fn. 160) and it passed to John's son Samuel (d. 1674). Samuel was succeeded by his son John, (fn. 161) but in 1687 Thomas Howard, earl of Berkshire, was apparently in possession of the estate. In that year the earl released his right in the Gastrells' seat and burying-place in the parish church to Gilbert Gastrell, (fn. 162) who apparently held the estate at his death in 1732. (fn. 163) It passed soon afterwards to Thomas Fisher (d. 1750) (fn. 164) and William Fisher owned it in the 1770s. (fn. 165) William Fisher died c. 1819, having devised the estate to a great-nephew, who died before him, with remainders to his great-nieces Ann Wilmot, Maria Wickham, and Sarah Byam. (fn. 166) Ann Byam owned the Grange in 1838 (fn. 167) and Samuel Byam in 1857. (fn. 168) From 1926 the house was the home of Col. J. E. and Lady Helena Gibbs, and it was owned in 1974 by Mr. O. C. S. Lamb. (fn. 169)

The Grange is probably where the monks of Kingswood were settled in the 1140s; an old disused churchyard at or very near the site was mentioned in 1248. (fn. 170) The house incorporates a 14th-century chapel (fn. 171) which had been converted to other uses by the late 18th century (fn. 172) and later was altered and made into a dairy. (fn. 173) The wing of the house which adjoins the chapel may be partly of the 16th century; in the 17th century, perhaps c. 1665, (fn. 174) it became the kitchens and service wing of a larger house with central hall and parlour range. A porch was added to the south, principal front in 1734. (fn. 175) The house appears to have been little altered until its purchase in the 1920s by the Gibbses who carried out extensive restoration work, (fn. 176) moved some interior features, made a new principal entrance on the north, and incorporated some out-buildings as kitchens.

UPTON HOUSE, on the north side of Upton hamlet, occupies the site of a house belonging to Nathaniel Cripps, a Quaker magistrate, in the 1650s. (fn. 177) He later built up a considerable estate, adding in particular a farm in Charlton and, in 1683, Lowfield farm. He died in 1686 or 1687 and devised the estate to his son Henry, who had been succeeded by 1696 by his son Nathaniel. Nathaniel held it until at least 1735, and his son Nathaniel (fn. 178) had probably succeeded by 1752 when a large new house was built. (fn. 179) The younger Nathaniel left the estate to his brother, Samuel Cripps of Bristol (d. 1771), who was succeeded by his nephew Thomas Cripps (d. 1803). The estate then passed to Thomas's brother John (d. 1818) (fn. 180) and in 1820 it comprised Upton House, Lowfield Farm, and 296 a. (fn. 181) John's trustees sold it in 1823 to J. W. Biederman (d. 1831), who devised it to his sister Louisa Seymour, but Biederman's estate became the subject of a Chancery suit and Maurice Maskelyne took possession of Upton House in 1842, although his title was not fully established until 1856. Maskelyne devised it at his death in 1859 to his wife Sarah, who sold it (fn. 182) before 1870 to Maj.Gen. Sir Archibald Little, (fn. 183) who was succeeded by Maj. A. C. Little (fn. 184) (d. 1934). The house passed to Maj. Little's daughter Charlotte and her husband, Maj.-Gen. G. P. St. Clair (d. 1956), whose son Mr. M. St. Clair (fn. 185) owned it in 1974.

A small portion of the 17th-century house is incorporated on the north side of the substantial Upton House built in 1752. (fn. 186) The house has a double pile plan and a principal east front of 7 bays with central pediment supported on Ionic pilasters. Inside there is a two-storey entrance hall, richly decorated in wood and plaster, and a staircase and subsidiary rooms of comparable quality. Alterations in the later 19th century included the creation of a new entrance hall on the west in 1892 and the addition of a large new block to increase the service and bedroom accommodation. (fn. 187)

The estate called UPTON GROVE, on the opposite side of the road to Upton House, was formed by Samuel Saunders, a Tetbury mercer, by purchases in 1680 and 1686. He died in the latter year and was succeeded by his son Samuel, also a mercer, who added a further 86 a. in 1732 and was succeeded at his death in 1746 by his son Samuel. The third Samuel (d. c. 1787) devised the estate to his nephew Thomas Saunders (d. 1819), who was succeeded by his son Samuel Albin Saunders. Samuel sold the estate, comprising 226 a., to R. S. Holford of Westonbirt in 1849. (fn. 188) It remained part of the Westonbirt estate until c. 1920, and c. 1950 it was bought by Maj. J. E. B. Pope, who owned and farmed c. 700 a. in 1974. (fn. 189) Upton Grove house was built by the first Samuel Saunders, (fn. 190) and the 17thcentury house was later doubled in size by the addition of a new range on the south with a symmetrical front and an open porch in Gothic style. Initials in the new range (fn. 191) appear to connect it with Samuel Albin Saunders but as the house was described as 'a neat Gothic villa' in 1807 (fn. 192) the new work was presumably part of the rebuilding and alteration carried out by Thomas Saunders c. 1790. (fn. 193) A large new range, housing service rooms and servants' quarters, was added on the south-east in the late 19th century and further extended early in the 20th. There was some reduction in size in the early 1970s.

John de Breuse granted 10 burgages in Tetbury town to the nuns of Acornbury Priory (Herefs.) c. 1230, and the priory retained the estate until the Dissolution. (fn. 194)