Tidenham including Lancaut: Manors and other estates

MANORS AND OTHER ESTATES.

The large manor of TIDENHAM containing 30 hides was granted by King Edwy in 956 to Wulfgar, Abbot of Bath. After 1052 Bath Abbey leased the manor for life to Archbishop Stigand for 10 marks of gold and 20 pounds of silver and an annual rent of one mark of gold, 6 porpoises and 30,000 herrings. (fn. 1) It passed, apparently on Stigand's deposition in 1070, to William FitzOsbern, Earl of Hereford (d. 1071), and was forfeited to the Crown on the rebellion of William's son Roger in 1075. (fn. 2) While William FitzOsbern held the manor he alienated some parts of it: he granted a yardland with one villanus to his brother Osbern, Bishop of Exeter, two and a half fisheries and one villanus to Walter de Lacy, two fisheries and one villanus to Ralph de Limesi, and ½ hide with the church of Tidenham to Lire Abbey. (fn. 3) In 1086 Walter de Lacy's estate was held by Roger de Lacy and was then described as ½ hide with one villanus and four and a half fisheries, (fn. 4) and Ralph de Limesi's, described as 1½ yardland with one villanus and two fisheries, had passed to William of Eu. (fn. 5) It is possible that the estates of Roger and William adjoined the estates which both men also held at that time in Madgett (fn. 6) and they may have become amalgamated with the Madgett estates and passed into Woolaston parish. Alternatively, however, the two estates and that granted to Osbern may have been represented by some of the small freehold estates held from Tidenham manor by the Prior of Farleigh and others in 1289. (fn. 7)

The manor of Tidenham passed with the honor of Striguil, based on Chepstow castle, to the de Clares, and the manor was held by the lords of Chepstow until the 19th century. Walter de Clare was succeeded c. 1138 by his nephew Gilbert de Clare who was created Earl of Pembroke in that year and died c. 1148, and the manor passed to Gilbert's son Richard (d. 1176). Richard's son Gilbert died a minor c. 1185 when his heir was his sister Isabel who married in 1189 William Marshal, Earl of Pembroke (d. 1219). The manor was then held successively by five sons of William Marshal, William (d. 1231), Richard (d. 1234), Gilbert (d. 1241), Walter (d. Nov. 1245) and Anselm (d. Dec. 1245). (fn. 8) On Anselm's death his estates were partitioned, Tidenham passing to his sister Maud (d. 1248) and then to her son Roger Bigod, Earl of Norfolk (d. 1270). (fn. 9) Roger was succeeded by his nephew Roger who died in 1306 when in accordance with a previous agreement his lands passed to the Crown. (fn. 10)

In 1310 Edward II assigned Roger Bigod's estates to his brothers Thomas de Brotherton and Edmund, and in 1312 created Thomas Earl of Norfolk. In 1323 Thomas granted Tidenham for life to the younger Hugh Despenser (fn. 11) and it reverted to him on Despenser's execution in 1326. After Thomas's death in 1338 the manor was held by his widow Mary (d. c. 1361) (fn. 12) and it passed to their daughter Margaret, Countess of Norfolk, who married secondly Walter de Mauny, Lord Mauny (d. 1372). (fn. 13) In 1372 Margaret leased the manor for 40 years to her daughter Anne and Anne's husband John de Hastinges, Earl of Pembroke (d. 1375), (fn. 14) but Anne surrendered it to her mother in 1376. (fn. 15) Margaret died in 1399 and was succeeded by her grandson Thomas Mowbray, Earl of Norfolk, who died later the same year. Thomas was succeeded by his son Thomas then a minor, who was executed for treason in 1405; (fn. 16) in the same year the Crown granted Tidenham manor for life to John Harpeden, (fn. 17) but by 1414 it had apparently been regained by Thomas's brother and heir John (fn. 18) who held it at his death in 1432. (fn. 19) The manor was assigned in dower to John's widow Catherine, (fn. 20) whose third husband John Beaumont, Viscount Beaumont, was lord of Tidenham in 1453. (fn. 21) By 1468 the manor had passed to Catherine's grandson John Mowbray, Duke of Norfolk, who granted it in that year to William Herbert, Earl of Pembroke, who died in 1469. William was succeeded by his son William (fn. 22) (d. 1491), and the younger William by his daughter Elizabeth who married in 1492 Charles Somerset, later Earl of Worcester. (fn. 23) In 1505 Charles and Elizabeth granted the manor for life to her uncle Walter Herbert (d. 1507). (fn. 24) Charles died in 1526 and was succeeded by his son Henry, who acquired the neighbouring manor of Woolaston, and Tidenham then descended with that manor in the earldom of Worcester and dukedom of Beaufort. (fn. 25) In 1769 the Duke of Beaufort's estate in Tidenham covered 2,355 a. and included Day House. Pill House, Sedbury, Tippets, and Chapel House farms and 770 a. of woodland. (fn. 26) In 1872 the Duke of Beaufort sold Tidenham manor with Woolaston manor to Samuel Stephens Marling of King's Stanley, (fn. 27) and it descended with the Marlings' Sedbury Park estate until 1921. (fn. 28)

There was a manor-house on Tidenham manor before the Conquest; the services of the Saxon tenants included maintaining the hedge around it. (fn. 29) In 1289 the reeve of the manor accounted for repairs and the fitting of joists to 'the old hall', (fn. 30) and at that period there were fairly extensive farm buildings around the house: they included a great grange, dairy, granary, servants' house, and dovecot, (fn. 31) and a new cattle-shed was built in 1290 and a new grange in 1296. (fn. 32) In 1584 the manor-house was a building called the Court House standing near the church. (fn. 33) If as seems likely it was on the site of Tidenham House it had been alienated from the manor by the early 18th century. (fn. 34)

An estate at Sedbury comprising a house and 130 a. called Barnes farm was sold by Selwyn James in 1797 to William Proctor who sold it immediately afterwards to Maj.-Gen. Sir Henry Cosby. Sir Henry created a park, which he called Barnesville Park, out of part of the estate (fn. 35) and built a house there. He died in 1822 and his trustees sold the Barnesville estate in 1825 to George Ormerod. Ormerod, who renamed the property SEDBURY PARK, added other lands to it, including lands in the south part of Sedbury in 1831 (fn. 36) and the Tutshill Farm estate in 1863. (fn. 37) He died in 1873 and was succeeded by his son Thomas, formerly Archdeacon of Suffolk, who died in 1874, and in the next year Thomas's son, the Revd. G. T. B. Ormerod, sold Sedbury Park and 704 a. to Samuel Marling. (fn. 38) From Samuel, who was created a baronet in 1882 and died in the next year, the Sedbury Park and Tidenham manor estates passed to his son Sir William Henry Marling (d. 1919). Sir William was succeeded by his son Col. Sir Percival Scrope Marling, (fn. 39) who had lived at Sedbury Park since 1899. Sir Percival sold Sedbury Park and the large estate centred on it in 1921; the estate then covered 5,887 a. and included 25 farms in Tidenham, Woolaston, and Hewelsfield. (fn. 40) Some of the farms at Tidenham were bought by the farmers but part of the estate, including Pill House farm, was acquired by William Royse Lysaght of Castleford who was described as one of the chief landowners in Tidenham between 1923 and 1939. (fn. 41) W. R. Lysaght died in 1945 and his Tidenham property was sold by his son Mr. D. R. Lysaght before 1950. (fn. 42) In 1969 most of the farms in Tidenham belonged to the farmers and there was no large landowner apart from the Forestry Commission which owned most of the woodland in the north of the parish.

Sir Henry Cosby had begun the creation of the park at Sedbury by the end of 1797 and there was apparently a building on the site of Sedbury Park house by then, (fn. 43) but it may not have been completed until some years later as Sir Henry was living at Tutshill in 1802. (fn. 44) A mansion in the park was sold with the estate in 1825; it was then a square building, probably of three stories, with central bowed projections on the north and west fronts and two narrow service wings extending eastwards. (fn. 45) Soon after 1825 the house was remodelled for George Ormerod by Sir Robert Smirke; (fn. 46) the alterations were probably completed by 1830 when the rating valuation of the house was doubled. (fn. 47) Smirke added classical Bathstone colonnades along the south and west fronts, incorporating on the south a portico leading to the main entrance; he may also have refaced the rest of the house in ashlar; the earlier bow windows disappeared during the alterations. (fn. 48) In or around 1898 considerable alterations were made to the house by Sir William Henry Marling. (fn. 49) Two stories were added above the portico, the chimneys were altered, and the west front was capped by a balustraded parapet, while the interior was given some florid Renaissance decoration. At the same period the north service wing was extended, a classical stable block built to the north-east of the house, and the forecourt enclosed by stone balustrading. Soon after its sale by Sir Percival Marling in 1921 Sedbury Park became a hotel, (fn. 50) but since 1942 it has housed an approved school. (fn. 51)

The estate later known as the manor of WALDINGS was evidently created by a grant from the lord of Tidenham before 1289 when tenants of Walter Walding owed labour-services on the Tidenham manor demesne. (fn. 52) The estate presumably included land at Tidenham granted by Gloucester Abbey to Walter Walding in the early 13th century. (fn. 53) Waldings manor was held from the lords of Tidenham during the 14th century but as a separate ¼ knight's fee of the honor of Striguil; (fn. 54) in 1584, however, it was held from Tidenham manor as 1/16 knight's fee with a cash rent also payable, (fn. 55) and its status as a sub-manor of Tidenham manor was still recognized in 1704. (fn. 56) By 1307 the manor of Waldings had passed to Robert Walding, (fn. 57) and Walter Walding held it in 1363 and 1400. (fn. 58) In 1466 John de Aune granted the manor to Thomas Lewis. (fn. 59) In 1552 Henry Lewis settled the manor on himself with reversion to his son William, (fn. 60) and William Lewis was dealing with it in 1554. (fn. 61) In 1580 it was owned by William Lewis of St. Pierre (Mon.) who acquired the manor of Beachley in that year. (fn. 62) By 1598 the two manors had passed to Henry Lewis (fn. 63) who settled them in 1626 on his son George and George's wife Mary; George held the manors in 1630 and died in 1634 being survived by Mary and his son William, (fn. 64) who died in 1639 while still a minor. William's heir was his younger brother Thomas (fn. 65) who held the manors in 1656. (fn. 66) By 1692 they had passed to George Lewis of Penhow (Mon.), (fn. 67) and in 1704 were owned by John Romsey. (fn. 68) In 1710, however, Thomas Lewis of St. Pierre owned them, (fn. 69) and by 1774 they had passed to Morgan Lewis. Morgan died c. 1785 and the estate, comprising c. 380 a. based on Wibdon Farm and Beachley Farm, evidently representing respectively the manors of Waldings and Beachley, passed to his son Thomas. (fn. 70) By 1786 the manors had been acquired by Samuel Jenkins (fn. 71) who was said to own both c. 1800, (fn. 72) but by 1815 the Wibdon Farm estate belonged to Anthony Hammond (fn. 73) and Francis Hammond owned it in 1843. (fn. 74)

Wibdon Farm standing on the north-west of the main road at Wibdon may be on the site of the manor-house of Waldings manor. It consists of a two-storied range with a higher cross-wing to the south-west. A stone doorway with a four-centred head is visible externally. Although now rough-cast the house shows signs of being structurally timberframed and the lower range may represent a hall block of medieval origin. (fn. 75) Alternatively the manorhouse may have been at HIGH HALL on the opposite side of the road which was described as a capital messuage in 1599 when Henry Lewis, the lord of Waldings manor, leased it with lands to Christopher Shipman; (fn. 76) the Lewises retained ownership of it until 1677 or later. (fn. 77) By 1723 it was owned by Godfrey Harcourt, (fn. 78) presumably the man who was described as a principal inhabitant of Tidenham in 1750. (fn. 79) In 1804 High Hall was put up for sale with a farm of c. 166 a. (fn. 80) and the estate was probably bought then by the owners of Stroat House, to whom it belonged in 1815 and until at least 1843. (fn. 81) It was up for sale in 1898 (fn. 82) and in 1920 it belonged to the Sedbury Park estate. (fn. 83) The house was rebuilt in the late 18th or early 19th century as a stone building of three stories.

The manor of BEACHLEY was held by John ap Adam in 1294 when he had a grant of a market and fair and free warren from the Earl of Norfolk, lord of Tidenham manor. (fn. 84) John died in 1310 and in 1312 the wardship of his heir Thomas was in dispute between the Crown, which while in possession of Tidenham manor had sold the wardship to Ralph Monthermer, Constable of Chepstow castle, and Miles of Rodborough and his wife Maud, who claimed it by virtue of her lordship of a portion of the honor of Striguil; the ap Adam demesne estate in Tidenham was then described as a mill and 119 a. of land held as ⅓ knight's fee. (fn. 85) The dispute was evidently resolved in favour of the Crown for in 1584 and 1704 Beachley manor was a sub-manor held by fealty from Tidenham manor. (fn. 86) In the 16th and 17th centuries the manor was often referred to as the Barony of Beachley (fn. 87) apparently a reference to the status of baron which John ap Adam claimed in right of his wife Elizabeth de Gurnay. Thomas ap Adam came of age c. 1324 and by 1343 Beachley manor had passed to his son Robert; Robert may have been succeeded by his brothers Hamon and John who like him apparently died without surviving issue. Robert's sister Alice married Thomlyn Huntley and their son John ap Thomlyn Huntley held Beachley manor in 1425. (fn. 88) John ap Thomlyn was lord of the manor in 1448 and he or another John ap Thomlyn in 1499. Margaret, one of the daughters and heiresses of John ap Thomlyn, married Edmund ap Gwylym ap Hopkin, and their son William Edmunds was lord of Beachley in 1535. (fn. 89) In 1575 Thomas Williams alias Edmunds sold the manor to John Symings, (fn. 90) a London physician, who sold it in 1580 to William Lewis. (fn. 91) As related above Beachley manor then descended in the Lewis family until c. 1786 when it was acquired by Samuel Jenkins and he or another Samuel retained the manor and the Beachley Farm estate in 1815. (fn. 92) Before 1843 it passed to James Jenkins of Chepstow who died in 1847, (fn. 93) and by 1854 the estate had passed to his hephew Robert Castle Jenkins (fn. 94) (d. 1892); in 1894 it belonged to Richard Palmer Jenkins who died in 1899. (fn. 95) By 1902 the estate had apparently passed to Mrs. J. M. Curre, who was described as a principal landowner at Beachley until 1914. (fn. 96) Much of the land of the estate was acquired in the First World War for the shipyard and was later taken over by the Army Apprentices College, Beachley Farm becoming the residence of the commandant. (fn. 97)

The ancient manor-house of Beachley manor was evidently at Badams Court in Sedbury which was recorded in the possession of John ap Thomlyn in 1448. The name is evidently a corruption of ap Adam and the family had presumably occupied a house there for a time in the 13th and 14th centuries, but from 1448 the premises were granted on long leases by the lords of the manor; between c. 1540 and 1638 the lessees were members of the Hopkins family. (fn. 98) The Badams Court property still belonged to the manor in 1785 but in 1800 it was owned by the trustees of Charles Williams of Tidenham House; they sold it in that year to Sir Henry Cosby (fn. 99) and it descended with the Sedbury Park estate until 1921. (fn. 100) There was probably no longer a habitable house there by 1676 (fn. 101) and the premises included only a few closes of land in 1785, (fn. 102) but there was a house on the present site by 1843. (fn. 103) That house, which is basically of stone, was evidently remodelled later in the 19th century when it was given the rustic adornments of barley-sugar chimneys, gables with barge-boards, and mock timber-framing. It is probable that the ancient manor-house occupied another site just to the south-east in the field which was called Old Badams Court in 1843, (fn. 104) and it was presumably there that ruins and traces of a moat were observed c. 1860. (fn. 105)

The James family acquired considerable estates at Tidenham. Thomas James, a wealthy merchant who was twice mayor of Bristol, (fn. 106) was granted the rectory of Tidenham by the Crown in 1607, (fn. 107) and in 1614 he also held a freehold estate of 40 a. from Waldings manor. (fn. 108) Thomas died in 1619 and the estate descended to his son Alexander, also a Bristol merchant and later mayor of the city, (fn. 109) who acquired other lands in Tidenham during the 1620s and 1630s. (fn. 110) They included a 90-a. estate with a mansion at Churchend and a farm-house called Hanley's bought from William Batherne in 1620; (fn. 111) the mansion was presumably the one that Richard Batherne bought from William Philpot c. 1560 and was perhaps on the site of Philpots Court. (fn. 112) Alexander James died in 1680 and his estate evidently passed to his son Thomas (d. 1685), and to Thomas's son Alexander (d. 1713). (fn. 113) The younger Alexander was said c. 1710 to have a good house near the church and a good estate. (fn. 114) The house was evidently TIDENHAM HOUSE which by the 1760s was owned, with an estate that also included Hanley farm, Tump farm at Sedbury, and a farm at Lancaut, by William Jones. (fn. 115) Jones went bankrupt while trading as a wine-merchant in 1766, (fn. 116) and at that time or later his mortgagee Richard Williams secured possession of the Tidenham House estate by virtue of the large arrears of interest due on the mortgage. The estate passed to Richard's son Charles Williams who in 1777 made an agreement with William Jone's wife Frances by which she was to surrender her life-interest in the estate after William's death in return for an annuity. (fn. 117) Charles Williams was succeeded c. 1797 by Thomas Williams (d. 1806), (fn. 118) and in 1815 the estate was held by Mrs. Harriet Williams, presumably Thomas's widow. (fn. 119) Thomas's daughter Frances Susannah (d. 1831) married the Revd. Charles Henry Morgan (fn. 120) who with John Buckle and others held the estate in 1843, apparently under a settlement relating to Morgan and his wife and Buckle and his wife Temperance Maria; the estate then covered c. 380 a. in Tidenham parish and included Tidenham House, Wallhope Farm and Philpots Court. (fn. 121) The estate had passed by 1863 to Charles's son Thomas Henry Morgan (fn. 122) (d. 1884), and by 1889 to Henry Francis Morgan (d. 1933); (fn. 123) most of the estate then passed to Henry's daughter, Creina Cecilia Burder, and on her death in 1962 to her daughter Mary Burder. (fn. 124) Thomas Williams was the chief proprietor at Lancaut c. 1803 (fn. 125) and presumably held the farm there that had belonged to William Jones in the 1760s. In 1815 Mrs. Harriet Williams owned c. 120 a. based on the farm-house on the north of the road in the peninsula, (fn. 126) and the Lancaut estate descended with the Tidenham House estate, passing on Mrs. Burder's death in 1962 to her son Mr. C. H. Burder. Tidenham House itself passed into a different ownership after Henry Morgan's death in 1933. (fn. 127) It is a twostory stone house dating mainly from the later 19th century although on the west it may incorporate part of a building of slightly earlier date; the house was gutted by fire in 1968. (fn. 128)

Another branch of the James family owned an estate based on STROAT FARM. It apparently originated in the house and land at Stroat which Richard Darling owned in 1614. (fn. 129) Richard Darling of Stroat and his son Anthony were mentioned in 1630, (fn. 130) and Anthony was presumably the man who died c. 1656 leaving a house and lands at Stroat to his widow Susanna. (fn. 131) Susanna married secondly Francis James (d. 1684) who may also have inherited lands in the parish from his father, Alexander James (d. 1680). (fn. 132) From Francis the estate passed to successive sons Charles (d. 1735), (fn. 133) Charles (d. 1768), and Selwyn James (d. 1803). (fn. 134) Selwyn's son Charles (d. 1812) may have succeeded but in 1815 Stroat Farm and the estate were held by Selwyn's widow Anne who died in 1829. They passed to Selwyn's daughter Susan who married Sir Alexander Wilson; she owned Stroat Farm and 270 a. in 1843. (fn. 135) In 1969 the house with c. 200 a. was owned and farmed by Messrs. G. & T. Reeks. (fn. 136) The north-eastern end of Stroat Farm is a square gabled block of two stories and attics dating from the mid 17th century, probably from before 1662 when Susanna Darling was assessed for tax on 6 hearths. (fn. 137) It is probably of timber-framed construction, later faced with stone and rough-cast, and has an original doorway in its back wall and three chimneys with diagonally-set shafts. Internally there is a contemporary staircase with a dog-gate. The low south-west range, which is of one and a half stories, may be part of an earlier house.

STROAT HOUSE and an estate were owned by Somerset Jones, Vicar of Tidenham (d. 1769); after his death it was held by his widow who married his successor in the vicarage William Seys, who lived at Stroat House until his death in 1802. (fn. 138) The estate passed to Anne, daughter of Somerset Jones, and her husband Charles James of London who died in 1818. (fn. 139) In 1843 the estate, which then included 226 a., was owned by Mary Webb. (fn. 140) Stroat House, a three-storied house faced in rough-cast with stone dressings, dates from the earlier 18th century. It has an ornate road front, divided into three bays by rusticated pilasters, with a modillion cornice, and stone quoins to the angles and window openings. The central doorway is surmounted by a fan-light and a pedimented hood on shaped brackets; above it the windows to both floors are roundheaded, but elsewhere the windows are paired sashes, all retaining their wide glazing-bars. The staircase, the staircase window, and an archway in the hall are of the original date. The garden front of the house was remodelled c. 1961. The pedimented stone gateway to the forecourt, contemporary with the house, was moved when the road was widened. (fn. 141)

An estate at Wibdon was in the possession of the Madocke family for a long period. (fn. 142) John Madocke of Wibdon died in 1587 and his son Edmund was dealing with lands there in 1599. (fn. 143) Edmund died in 1626 and his grandson John Madocke owned lands in Wibdon in 1630; John died in 1643 and was succeeded by his son Edmund. Edmund was succeeded on his death in 1693 by his son John, (fn. 144) who was said to have a handsome house and a good estate at Wibdon c. 1710; (fn. 145) John died in 1730. By c. 1775 the Madocke's estate had passed to William Sheldon and the house was in ruins. (fn. 146)

An estate based on TUTSHILL HOUSE (fn. 147) (later called Tutshill Farm) was owned in 1655 by William Huggett who had inherited it from his mother Welthian, one of the sisters and coheirs of John Hopkins. In that year William Huggett settled the house and c. 60 a. on the marriage of his son William, and the younger William settled part of the estate on the marriage of his son, also William, in 1682. (fn. 148) The third William Huggett settled Tutshill House and lands on his son William in 1719 but in 1721 father and son sold the house and lands to Mary Davis who received another part of the estate by a grant from William Huggett the son in 1727. (fn. 149) By 1747 the Tutshill House estate had passed to Francis Davis (fn. 150) who retained it in 1765 when it covered 177 a.; (fn. 151) it had passed by 1775 to James Davis of Chepstow. (fn. 152) The estate later descended to Mary Davis who in 1808 married Lieut.-Gen. Daniel Burr; on Mary's death in 1836 it passed to her second son James Henry Scudamore Burr, later Vicar of Tidenham. (fn. 153) James died in 1852 and his widow Jane, who married secondly the Revd. Francis Lewis and lived at Dennel Hill, held the estate until 1862 when her son Henry came of age. Henry Burr sold the estate in 1868 to George Ormerod; (fn. 154) it had been sold by the Sedbury Park estate by 1920. (fn. 155) The house, which stands on the west side of the road leading from the Tutshill crossroads towards Sedbury, (fn. 156) was ruinous in 1747. (fn. 157) The eastern range, which is of rough-cast stone, may date from a rebuilding soon after 1747, although an extra story was added later and an addition made on the west in the early 19th century.

An estate called CHASE FARM originated in a sale allotment of 279 a. on the west of Tidenham Chase which was bought by James Nerot at inclosure in 1815; (fn. 158) he sold it in 1818 to Alexander Trotter. The estate was heavily mortgaged and the interest was in arrears by 1842 when Henry Churchyard acquired the rights of the other mortgagees, and in the next year he bought the fee simple from Henry Trotter, Alexander's trustee. By 1870 the estate had passed to Mary Ann Churchyard who acquired other lands to the east of Chase farm from the Duke of Beaufort in that year. In 1892 she sold her estate, then 432 a., to the Marlings, (fn. 159) who retained it until 1921; the house, which became known as Chase House, was leased separately while the estate was farmed from a smaller stone house built near-by by Sir William Marling in 1894. (fn. 160) The smaller house and 180 a. were owned by Mr. W. P. Johnson in 1969. (fn. 161) Chase House, which was then standing empty, is a two-story building of stone faced in rough-cast built by James Nerot shortly before 1818. (fn. 162)

The Webley family held lands in Tidenham from 1656 or earlier, and by the mid 18th century Walter Webley owned a house at Sedbury called THE MEAD. Walter was apparently the man who died in 1763, and in 1770 his son William Webley (d. 1779) owned the Mead and an estate of c. 290 a. In 1771 William mortgaged the estate to James Grimston, Viscount Grimston, whose son, also James, initiated proceedings for the recovery of arrears on the mortgage in 1778 and obtained a foreclosure against William's widow Ann and son William Henry in 1788. James sold the estate in 1804 to William Lewis (fn. 163) who retained the greater part of the estate, based on Tump Farm, in 1815. (fn. 164) In 1843 Lewis's former estate was held by trustees under the will of Dorothy Clowes, (fn. 165) and in 1920 it was part of the Sedbury Park estate. (fn. 166) The Mead, with the remainder of the estate, was owned in 1815 by William Bolton (fn. 167) and in 1843 by William Powell; (fn. 168) it also appears to have belonged to the Sedbury Park estate for a period in the early 20th century. (fn. 169) In 1969 it was owned with a farm of c. 90 a. by Mr. J. M. Bradley. (fn. 170) The house was rebuilt by William Webley shortly before 1770. (fn. 171) It is a large rectangular stone building of three stories and five bays; the front is surmounted by a parapet with balustraded panels and the central doorway has a fan-light under a segmental hood and is approached by a flight of steps.

The rectory of Tidenham was leased by Sheen Priory (fn. 172) in 1537 to Francis Shakerley who sub-let it soon afterwards to John Horner; Horner retained it in 1548, but in 1561 Shakerley was attempting to regain the rectory from him, some doubt having occurred as to the term of years in Horner's lease. (fn. 173) A lease of the rectory was later granted to William Gough of Nass, Lydney, who left a moiety of the premises to his son William and daughter Mary by his will proved 1599. (fn. 174) Later the rectory reverted to the Crown which granted it in fee to Thomas James in 1607. (fn. 175) The rectory, which in 1704 was said to comprise the corn tithes and part of the hay tithes, (fn. 176) then descended with James's estate at Tidenham, and c. 1710 it was estimated to be worth £80 a year to Alexander James. (fn. 177) Ownership of the rectory later became divided between three of the estates whose descent is traced above. The greater portion, described as the tithes of corn, grain, and hay of the tithings of Wibdon and Stroat and the tithes of corn and grain from Sedbury and Beachley tithings except those of the Beachley manor estate, were retained by the owners of the Tidenham House estate; by 1770 (fn. 178) the tithes of corn and grain from Churchend and Bishton tithings belonged to William Webley's Mead estate and later descended with the portion of that estate retained by William Lewis; and by the early 19th century the Jenkins family owned the tithes of corn and grain arising from its Beachley manor estate. In 1815 the allotments made to the owners of the rectory at the inclosure of Tidenham Chase and other lands were 15 a. to Harriet Williams, 8 a. to William Lewis, and 6 a. to Samuel Jenkins, (fn. 179) and the corn-rents which were awarded in 1843 instead of the rectorial tithes from the remainder of the parish were £303 14s. to trustees for the Morgans and Buckles, £175 to the trustees of Dorothy Clowes, and £35 to Robert Castle Jenkins. Subsequently the Duke of Beaufort was found to be entitled to the tithes from 56 a. land in Wibdon and Stroat for which he was awarded a corn-rent of £11 7s. 7d. in 1844. (fn. 180)