Quedgeley: Manors and other estates

MANORS AND OTHER ESTATES.

It has been suggested (fn. 1) that Quedgeley, which was not mentioned by name in the Domesday survey, was represented by part of the 3 hides that were included in Gloucester Abbey's Standish estate, and were held in 1086 by Durand the sheriff. (fn. 2) Quedgeley may have been included alternatively or partly in Durand's Haresfield estate. (fn. 3) Durand's nephew, Walter of Gloucester, held Quedgeley in 1095, and it passed to Walter's son Miles of Gloucester, Earl of Hereford. In 1165 it was divided between Miles's daughters Margaret, wife of Humphrey de Bohun, who had ²/3of the manor of QUEDGELEY, and Lucy, wife of Herbert FitzHerbert, who had ²/3. (fn. 4) Both Margaret and Lucy granted their parts of the manor to Llanthony Priory, and although Margaret de Bohun later regained possession of her part in exchange for land in South Cerney, she restored it to Llanthony Priory before her death. (fn. 5) The priory retained the manor until the Dissolution.

The manor, held at farm by Arthur Porter in 1535 (fn. 6) under a grant to John Mallet, (fn. 7) was granted in fee to William Dodington in 1565. (fn. 8) William was succeeded in 1600 by his son, Sir William (d. 1638). (fn. 9) Sir William is said to have been succeeded by his son William, who killed his mother with a sword, (fn. 10) but at Quedgeley as in his Hampshire estates Sir William was succeeded by his younger son John (d. by 1647), who was lord of Quedgeley in 1639 and 1640. (fn. 11) John was succeeded by two daughters, of whom Anne (d. 1691) married first Robert Greville, Lord Brooke (d. 1676), and secondly Thomas Hoby. (fn. 12) In 1692 Thomas Hoby sold Quedgeley manor to Henry Chapman, (fn. 13) whose daughter Anne was the owner in the early 18th century. (fn. 14) She married Thomas Whorwood who with his wife Elizabeth was dealing with the manor in 1717, and after his death in 1736 his son Thomas sold Quedgeley manor to John Yate of Arlingham. By 1775 the manor was owned by Robert Gorges Dobyns Yate (fn. 15) (d. 1785), whose son Walter Honeywood Yate (fn. 16) sold the manor with about half the land in 1800 to John Beach of Hardwicke. (fn. 17) John Beach was succeeded in 1821 by his son John; (fn. 18) the younger John or his representatives sold the manor c. 1867 to Col. John Curtis-Hayward, the owner of Woolstrop manor. (fn. 19) The manor-house and farm were sold by John Frederick Curtis-Hayward c. 1903 and passed to several owners before 1939 when the Air Ministry bought them, (fn. 20) but in 1967 the CurtisHayward family still owned the manorial rights.

The manor-house is represented by Manor Farm, which stands on a large moated site east of the Bristol road. There was apparently a house there in the mid 12th century. (fn. 21) The surviving house is a large two-storied building with an H-shaped plan. The southern cross wing dates from the 19th century but the central block and the northern wing have timber-framed walls concealed by brickwork or rough-cast rendering. The northern wing, which appears to have been built in the early 16th century, is the more elaborately finished internally. A groundfloor room has heavily moulded ceiling beams. The upper floor consists of a large room of four bays with richly carved brackets supporting the roof trusses, the formerly open roof being concealed by a later coved ceiling, and two external doorways may have led to a garderobe and an outside stair. The central block is of close-studded framing with a continuous rail at first floor level. (fn. 22) The rail and the fact that the block contains no indications of a medieval open hall suggest that it was built or remodelled as a two-storied structure at a slightly later date than the northern wing; a projection on the west side may have housed the staircase. In 1524 the Prior of Llanthony held his court in the parlour above the hall, (fn. 23) perhaps the upper room in the northern wing. It is also possible that the northern wing represents the manor place recorded in 1538, while the newly built house called the farmer's place, from which the manor place was then distinguished, (fn. 24) may have been the central block with, perhaps, a contemporary south wing. There is no other evidence of more than one house associated with the manor. Arthur Porter is likely to have been living at Manor Farm in 1532, (fn. 25) and he may have been responsible for building the central block. In the 17th and 18th centuries the house was occupied by tenants, (fn. 26) and in 1672 it was the house with 9 hearths of Mr. Clissold. (fn. 27) John Beach built a new cross wing at the southern end of the hall in 1811; (fn. 28) it has a parapeted, stuccoed south front. A dovecot mentioned in the early 17th century (fn. 29) may have been demolished then. The house was occupied by its owners in the late 19th century; (fn. 30) in the First World War it was used first as a cavalry depot and then as a ploughing school, and after the war it became a training centre for ex-servicemen. It was later divided into two dwellings, (fn. 31) and so remained in 1967.

In the mid 12th century Roger Little confirmed grants by his mother, Margaret Mautravers, to Llanthony Priory of lands in Quedgeley. (fn. 32) As at Moreton Valence, the Littles' estate may have passed to the Pontlarges. (fn. 33) Walter de Pontlarge had land in Quedgeley at an unknown date, (fn. 34) and Robert de Pontlarge at his death in or before 1246 held the manor of WOOLSTROP in chief. Although Robert's heir was said to be his brother Ralph, after William de Pontlarge who had been outlawed, (fn. 35) it was William who granted Woolstrop to William de Valence before 1252. (fn. 36) Although in 1276 William de Pontlarge was said to have withdrawn the suit of court owed for his 3 yardlands in Woolstrop, (fn. 37) William de Valence evidently retained Woolstrop along with Moreton Valence manor, for Gilbert Talbot (d. 1418), the successor of William de Valence, was said to have held Woolstrop manor. (fn. 38) By the later 13th century, however, Woolstrop had been subinfeudated to the Walsh family. In 1303 William, son and heir of William Walsh, referred to the custom in the time of his ancestors, lords of Woolstrop. (fn. 39) In or before 1329 William Walsh of Woolstrop died holding not only Netheridge, as mentioned below, but also a plough-land in Woolstrop, said to be held in chief, for which he owed a rent which had been owed by Robert de Pontlarge and later by William de Pontlarge, (fn. 40) and in 1396 Giles Walsh held ¹/8 fee in Woolstrop of Richard Talbot. (fn. 41) Woolstrop evidently descended with Netheridge in the Walsh family until the 15th or 16th century; it was settled by James Walsh (d. before 1498) on himself and his wife Cecily, who by 1509 had married David Jones. (fn. 42)

The manor in 1597 was said to have been recovered from a Mr. Welsh, and was the subject of a suit by Richard Atkyns, who claimed that Thomas Kenn had failed to perform a contract to convey it to him. (fn. 43) Atkyns was unsuccessful for in 1670 George, Kenn apparently Thomas's grandson, sold Woolstrop manor to William Hayward (fn. 44) (d. 1696). Hayward's son William died in 1709 and his wife Margaret (d. 1742) held the manor in 1713. Their son Thomas took possession in 1732 (fn. 45) and died in 1781. The estate then passed in turn to two of Thomas Hayward's sons, Charles (fn. 46) (d. 1803) and William, who assumed the additional surname Winstone. William Hayward Winstone was succeeded in 1818 by his daughter, Albinia Frances, who had married the Revd. John Adey Curtis. She later assumed the name Curtis-Hayward and died in 1860. (fn. 47) Their son, Col. John Curtis-Hayward, owned the estate until his death in 1874, when it passed to his son John Frederick Curtis-Hayward (d. 1923), and then to Reginald Curtis-Hayward, nephew of the previous owner. He sold it in 1939 to the Quedgeley Estate Co., (fn. 48) and in 1967 Glevum Estates Ltd. was the owner.

The moated site west of the church in the grounds of Quedgeley House is presumably that of Woolstrop manor, but no part of a house survives there. In 1672 William Hayward had a house with 11 hearths in Woolstrop, (fn. 49) and in the early 18th century his son was said to have a 'pleasant seat' at Woolstrop. (fn. 50) In the late 18th century a new house was built to the north-west. Woolstrop House, (fn. 51) later called Quedgeley House, is a square, two-storied building of ashlar with a slate roof. It had a porch, later demolished, beneath a triangular pediment on the north front, a platband at floor-level, wide eaves to its hipped roof, and a large two-story bay in the middle of the south front. About 1820 the house was enlarged (fn. 52) by the addition on the west side of a three-storied stuccoed extension. In the mid 20th century it was converted into 12 flats.

In 1219 Nicholas Avenell had an estate in NETHERIDGE, which Robert Avenell gave to Hugh of Kingsholm. By 1255 Hugh had given it to Adam de Valence; it was held from Llanthony Priory. (fn. 53) The same estate was held by William Walsh of Dinham (Mon.) at his death in 1274 or 1275 (fn. 54) and from Llanthony Priory by another William Walsh at his death in or before 1329, when it amounted to one yardland. The second William's son and heir Andrew (fn. 55) acquired land in Woolstrop from Thomas Berkeley in 1335. (fn. 56) In 1360 Giles Walsh succeeded his father Andrew in one plough-land in Netheridge; he was himself succeeded in 1419 by his son James, who had three yardlands in 1431. A later James Walsh, son of William, was succeeded before 1498 by his son William; William died in 1524 and his son Anthony did homage for Netheridge the same year. Another James Walsh had three yardlands in Quedgeley before 1550, when they were held by his son William Walsh. (fn. 57) Before 1579, however, Christopher Walsh alleged that he was the son and heir of Anthony, who had held Netheridge manor and 80 a. of land in Quedgeley. (fn. 58) Christopher made a settlement of the manor in 1572, (fn. 59) and had been succeeded by Arnold Walsh by 1584. (fn. 60) Arnold sold Netheridge manor to Jasper Selwyn in 1605, (fn. 61) and by 1630 the 80 a. of the estate was held by five tenants, of whom Robert Bishop (d. 1634) had 50 a., as freeholders of Quedgeley manor. (fn. 62) Netheridge farm was afterwards owned with Quedgeley manor, but before 1800 it passed to John Beach, and by 1821 was owned by William Beach, (fn. 63) the owner in 1841. (fn. 64) In 1846 Beach sold Netheridge with 85 a. to Samuel Lysons, whose successors, Mrs. Gertrude Savery Lysons and the Revd. D. G. Lysons, sold the estate in 1899 to Maj. J. D. Birchall of Upton St. Leonards; Birchall's representatives sold Netheridge with 120 a. in 1943 to Gloucester Corporation, (fn. 65) which between 1955 and 1963 built on part of the land a large sewage-pumping station and treatment plant. (fn. 66)

The site of Netheridge Farm is apparently ancient; the surviving house is of brick on a rectangular plan under a double-ridged roof. The southern half has some timber framing visible inside, and may have been built in the 17th century, with the northern half added in the early 19th century. The house has been considerably altered and modernized.

The rectory of Quedgeley, including all the tithes, except a part belonging to the church of Whaddon, belonged to Llanthony Priory until the Dissolution. (fn. 67) It was leased to William Dodington in 1569 (fn. 68) and by 1603 was owned with the manor. (fn. 69) The rectory estate passed to Robert Greville, Lord Brooke, through his marriage with Anne Dodington, but whereas Anne's second husband sold the manor the rectory passed to Charles Montagu, Duke of Manchester, who had married Dodington Greville, Lord Brooke's daughter. (fn. 70) The Dukes of Manchester owned the rectory until shortly before 1775 (fn. 71) when it belonged to the Revd. Mr. Ganey. By 1780 it had passed to the Revd. J. Fletcher, from whose son it passed c. 1818 to Mrs. Curtis-Hayward. (fn. 72) In 1840 the tithes were commuted for a corn-rent; a small part of the tithes then belonged to Thomas Lediard. (fn. 73) A rent of £12 from the rectory which the Crown retained was granted in 1650 to Matthew Packer of Quedgeley, who in 1655 assigned it to William Osborne who in turn assigned it the same year to Giles Gardner. (fn. 74) In 1667 £12 from the rectory was part of Queen Catherine's jointure, (fn. 75) but by 1775 had been united with the rectory estate. (fn. 76)