St. Mary Colechurch 105/4

Introduction

At the S.E. corner of Bordhaw Lane was a property, probably quite large, but of uncertain size and shape: this is described under 4B below. In the late 13th and early 14th centuries there appears to have been another property, described here as 4A, between 4B to the E. and 3 to the W. 4A was probably only a part of 3 or 4B held separately for a time, but it is not clear which it belonged to.

The property approximately corresponded to nos. 3 and 4 Bird in Hand Court in 1858.

Thirteenth to sixteenth century

4a

In 1271 the tenement of John de Edelmeton (3) lay to the W. of that formerly of Ralph de la Bordhawe (4B), which abutted S. on St. Pancras church and E. on 105/10. In 1288, however, the tenement of Martin Hauteyn lay to the W. of 4B, which was then said to abut E. and S. on 145/16 and St. Pancras church. In 1295 and 1306 4A was said to be late of Martin Hauteyn, mercer. In 1316, however, the W. abutment of 4B was the tenement of Geoffrey de Brandone, who then held 3. Thereafter 3 and 4B seem to have adjoined one another. (fn. 1)

4b

This property belonged in the mid to late 13th century to Randolph or Ralph de Bordhawe. Before 1271 Adam de Clyve, son of Robert le Sumeter, granted several quit-rents and a house in Cheapside and Bordhaw, including £1. 4s. from the house of Randolph de Bordhawe, to Hugh de Rokyngeham, goldsmith. Hugh paid Adam 6 marks (£4) and was to render 4d. socage to the king and 1d. and 1 lb. cumin to the heirs of Thomas Adrian, as chief lords of the fee. Thomas Adrian had held 105/9, from which a rent was also granted; Adam de Benetleya, goldsmith, and his wife Maud, had previously held the quit-rents, but it is not clear whether all the rents and property granted by Adam de Clyve to Hugh had come from the same source originally. Adam de Benetleya quitclaimed in them all to Hugh. In 1271 Hugh de Rokingham granted to John de Frowyk, to whom he was bound to pay £5. 6s. 8d. (8 marks) rent yearly for 3 shops in orfauer London', power to distrain for arrears of that rent in his rents and property in Bordhaw, among which was included £2. 4s. rent (sic) from the house of Ralph de Bordhawe. The £2. 4s. could be a scribal error for £1. 4s., or it could represent 3 rents mentioned in Adam de Clyve's grant, of £1. 4s., 12s., and 8s., though the last two were said there to come from properties other than Ralph de Bordhaw's house. Later in 1271 or 1272 Hugh granted the £1. 4s. rent from the tenement with houses sometime of Ralph de la Bordhawe, in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch, to Adam le Chandeler, citizen. None of Hugh's other rents or properties was included in this grant. The house lay between 105/3 to the W., the grantor's tenement (6) to the N., 105/10 to the E., and the church of St. Pancras to the S. Adam was to pay the 4d. socage and render a clove of gillyflower to Hugh, to whom he also paid 4 marks (£2. 13s. 4d.). By his will proved in 1275 Hugh de Rokyngham provided that if his wife Christina should recover part of the £1. 4s. rent from Adam le Chaundeler by plea of dower, Adam should for her lifetime receive 8s. rent from the house of John Patrik (?105/7). If she did not implead Adam, she was to receive that 8s. rent. (fn. 2)

It is not clear who actually held or occupied the property from which the rent was due at the time of the transactions noted above. In 1283 John Patrik held the tenement (? 4B or 5) to the S. of 6. In 1288 Hamo le Ferrun and his wife Isabel leased to Gilbert de Ufford, potter (pottarius) and his wife Alice, their tenement in Bordhaw, between the tenement of Martin Hauteyn (4A) to the W., the tenement of St. Mary Spital (5) to the N., 145/16 to the E., and St. Pancras church to the S. Gilbert and Alice gave £3 for the lease, and were to hold for 6 years, at £1 rent; expenditure on maintenance was allowed against the rent. They were to be favoured by 40 sterlingas in the purchase if Hamo and Alice sold the property, and apparently by 12 sterlingas (it is uncertain whether this was against the rent or the fine) if they continued as tenants after the property had been sold. In 1295 Isabel widow of Hamo le Ferron, citizen, granted to Roger Brunne, citizen, a tenement in the corner of Bordhaw Lane in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch, to hold in fee for ever, rendering £1 p.a. to her, her heirs and assigns, for which she and they would do the services to the chief lords. Roger also paid her a certain sum. The bounds of the property were given as before, except that 145/16 was also said to lie partly to the S.; probably this represents a greater precision in describing the abutments and not a real change in the property. Roger Brunne held this tenement in la Bordhawe in 1306, when the executors of William de Betton (d. by 1305) granted 18s. 4d. quit-rent from it to Nicholas le Gode, mercer, and his wife Margery. The bounds of the tenement were 105/4A to the W., 145/16 to the E., and 105/5 and the street (Bordhaw Lane) to the N. This quit-rent is not recorded at a later date. (fn. 3)

In 1310 Roger de Eure, citizen and ironmonger, granted to Geoffrey de Brandone, owner of 3, a plot that appears to have been part of 4A or 4B: it lay between 3 on the W., Bordhaw Lane on the N., the tenement of Roger de Brunne and 145/16 on the E., and 145/16 and the church of St. Pancras on the S. Despite this, in 1316 Roger Brounne, citizen and ironmonger, granted his tenement in Bordhaw Lane, between 3 on the W., 5 on the N., 145/16 on the E. and 145/16 and the church of St. Pancras on the S., to William Danyel de Seint Auban, citizen and chandler, (uncturarius), and his wife Joan, rendering a rose and the services to the chief lords. The discrepancy between these two descriptions may have been resolved by the agreement made in 1319-20 between William of St. Albans, chandler (candellar'), and Alice, widow of Geoffrey de Brandon, by which William agreed to build a new house, partly on land belonging to him and partly on land belonging to Thomas de Brandon, son of Geoffrey (see 3). After the rebuilding the property was divided horizontally, with the ground floor remaining to William and the upper part to Thomas. In 1345 3 was still said to abut E. on 145/16 and S. on the church. William of St. Albans, chandler (candellar'), had died in 1336 or 1337, leaving property in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch (including 17, q.v.) to his wife Joan. By a deed of 1344, enrolled in 1347, she granted the property in Bordhaw Lane near the Conduit, between 3 to the W., 5 to the N., 145/16 to the E., and the church of St. Pancras to the S., to William de Hathfeld, citizen and chandler (candelarius). (fn. 4)

4 (combining 4A and 4B)

William de Hathfeld also held 7 and 9A in Bordhaw Lane, and 5 on lease from St. Mary Spital. He also once held 6, but had apparently ceased to do so by 1367. By his will of 1368, proved in 1369, he left the house in Bordhaw Lane in which he had lived, probably meaning 4, to his wife Emma for life, with remainder to his son Stephen and his heirs. All the properties, however, came to his daughters Margaret, who married Matthew Langryche, citizen and fishmonger, and Marion, who married John Hockeley, citizen and chandler. In 1378 they divided their inheritance: John Hockeley and Marion were to have the house in which William Hatfeld had lived (probably 4), and the remaining lease of 5, while Matthew Langryche and Margaret were to have 7 and 9A. In 1397 Mariota Hokkele, daughter and heir of William de Hatfeld and widow of John Hukkelee, held the tenement to the E. of 3. Marion or Mariota Hokkele appears to be identical with Mary, daughter of William of St. Albans, late citizen and chandler, who held 4 in 1398, with her husband Robert Lodenwyk, citizen and chandler. They granted it to John Grove, armourer, William Westwode, chandler, both citizens, Sir William Marchall, and Sir John Spark, both chaplains, who evidently granted it back to them shortly afterwards. It was said to lie between 3 to the W., Bordhaw Lane and 6 to the N., 145/16 to the E. and St. Pancras church to the S. (fn. 5)

Robert Lodewyk died in 1407 and his widow Mary or Marion in the same year. By her will, proved in 1408, she left 4 and the remaining term in 5, held of St. Mary Spital, and once held by John Hokkele, to Sir Robert Brome, rector of St. John Walbrook, Walter Colshill, citizen and grocer, John Brokhole and John Trenchemer, citizens and chandlers, to be sold. One third of the proceeds was to go to her sister Margaret Langriche. Later in 1408 Brome and his co-feoffees sold 4 and the remaining term in 5 (held on a 40-year lease from 1402) to Richard Wodecok, Robert Merston, Thomas Bemond, citizens and salters, and Sir Richard Eustace, clerk. By a codicil or amendment to his will of 1415, Richard Wodecok left 4 and 5, which he said had been acquired by himself, Merston, Bemond, and Eustace with his money and to his use, to his daughter Joan, and her issue, with remainder to the master of St. Thomas of Acre to keep several obits. Nevertheless in 1422 Thomas Beaumond, as the only surviving feoffee of the grant by Brome, Colshill, Brokhole, and Trenchemere, granted 4 to Henry Barton, skinner, citizen and alderman. Some time after this 5 probably disappeared as a separate entity, having been held with 4 for some time: St. Mary Spital might have conceded it to the owner of 4, or simply have allowed their rights to lapse. From this time on, therefore, the property described as 4 is assumed to incorporate that formerly identified as 5. (fn. 6)

Fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, 4 and 5

Robert Colwill held the tenement, once of Richard Wodecok, to the E. of 3 in 1428, probably as Henry Barton's tenant or feoffee. By his will of 1434, proved 1436, Henry Barton left to the master, wardens, and members of the fraternity of Corpus Christi (subsequently the Skinners' Company) his tenement in Westchepe near the Great Conduit, opposite the church of St. Thomas of Acre, which he had bought from Thomas Beaumond, citizen and salter, as above. He also left them other properties in London, charged together with the maintenance of almshouses in Wood Street in the parish of St. Alphage and obits in the charnel chapel of St. Paul's and Guildhall chapel. (fn. 7)

Receipts and repairs on the 'livelihood' of Henry Barton were recorded from 1491. Thomas Marlow was tenant from 1491 (March) until 1494 (May), at £1. 6s. 8d. yearly. Repairs costing £1. 12s. 7d., and including mason's work, stone for the kitchen chimney, 1000 bricks and 40 Flanders tiles, were carried out in 1492-3. The house was empty in 1494-5 and for half of 1495-6; Robert Hyll paid the rent for the rest of 1495-6. He was followed by John Hill from 1497 to 1501, and he by John Rest, grocer, from 1501 to 1511. During this time small repairs were carried out in most years, with carpenter's work on a window, wall, and pentices in 1498-9, costing £1. 11s. 2d., and what was probably a major re-roofing, costing £3. 16s. 8d. for labour and materials, in 1507-8. Robert Byndles or Byndlose paid the rent from 1511 to 1515, and Robert Downe, ironmonger, from 1515 to 1550. Paving and other work was done in 1518-20, and in 1525-6 work costing £4. 3s. 3d., and including shoring and work on groundsills, plates, and principals was necessary. The privies were cleansed in 1531-2 and 1538-9, 4 tons of ordure being removed on the first occasion and 12 tons on the second. Robert Downe's rent was raised to £1. 10s. in 1536-7, perhaps under a new lease, but the company continued to repair until 1539-40. Thereafter no repairs are recorded. (fn. 8)

In 1546 and 1548 the Skinners' Company held lands by the grant of Henry Barton, worth in all £36. 5s. 4d., of which a tenement in the parish of St. Mary Colechurch, held by Robert Downe at £1. 10s. rent, formed part. The whole endowment was charged with obits and the maintenance of 12 poor householders in Wood Street. This property does not appear to have passed to the Crown, but was sold by the Skinners' Company to Robert Downe at the end of 1549. On his death in 1556 Downe held 3 (q.v.), 4, described as a tenement with shops in 'Brodehaw-alley', late granted to him by the Skinners, and another tenement, probably 6 (q.v.). He left all these to his wife Margery for life, with remainder to his daughter Anne and her husband Richard Chamberleyen and their heirs. (fn. 9)

Later sixteenth and seventeenth centuries: 4-6

Richard Chamberlaine (d. 1566) left 3 (q.v.) and 4-6, which seems to have consisted of a messuage and a toft or parcel of waste ground, as in 1556, to his son Robert Chamberlaine, charged with the payment of £10 p.a. to each of his 7 brothers and sisters. In 1576 Robert sold 3 and 4-6 to William Chapman, citizen and ironmonger, probably identical with Robert Downe's servant of that name, who may in fact have been in occupation of all or part of 3-6 since 1558 or earlier. Chapman left all the properties to his younger son Robert in 1580. After this it is not clear who owned or occupied the property. In the tithe assessment of 1638 Mr. Hewes and Mr. May, each with a house worth £8 p.a., and Mrs. Lutterford, the valuation of whose house is omitted, seem to have been inhabitants in Bordhaw Alley, and most probably of 4. The absence of much information for this and several of the surrounding properties, however, means that this conclusion is only tentative. By the later 17th century 3 and 4-6 were in separate ownership. The freehold of 4-6 belonged then to William Legatt, who granted a long lease to Edmund Grice before 1665. It seems likely that part of 4-6 was the house with 2 hearths occupied by Edmund Grice in 1662-3. Some or all of several other single-hearth dwellings near to 3 may also have been part of 4-6. In 1662-3 John Wheeler, John Crooke, William Steevens, and William Champion occupied such houses. Grice sub-let his tenement to Thomas Fletcher for 16 years from 1665 at £24 p.a. Fletcher probably occupied 3B, however. Early in 1666 Grice occupied a house with 3 hearths, and Robert Pond, John Wheeler, Thomas Penn, and William Campion, pauper, occupied houses, apparently nearby, with one hearth each. They may only have been tenants at will, and only Grice is named in the list of persons whose houses were burnt in the Great Fire. (fn. 10)

In 1668 Grice assigned his lease from Legatt to Fletcher who offered to rebuild for a lease in his name at £10 rent. The terms agreed were for a lease to Fletcher of 61 years from 1668, for a rent of £15 payable from Michaelmas 1669. The greater part of the plot was surveyed for Fletcher in December 1668; together with a small foundation surveyed for Fletcher in 1670, it consisted of the whole property to the E. of Bordhaw Lane (rendered as Board Hall Lane, Buthallane, and Burde in hand Alley) between Joseph Richardson's tenement (8A) to the N. and St. Pancras church to the S. The N. wall of the church was said to have been Fletcher's party wall before the Fire. A difference between Legatt and Richardson, touching new building in Bothall Lane in Cheapside, was reported in 1669. (fn. 11)