GREAT CHALFIELD
There is today no civil parish of Great Chalfield. In
1884 by order of the Local Government Board under
the Divided Parishes Act (1876) the parish of Great
Chalfield, parts of the parish of Bradford, and the parish
of Little Chalfield with Cottles were amalgamated to
form the new civil parish of Atworth (q.v. in Bradford). (fn. 1) The parish of Little Chalfield with Cottles had
existed only for a brief period. In ancient times Cottles
seems to have been part of the parish of Bradford (q.v.)
and the parish of Little Chalfield had had independent
existence (see below, Church). In the returns to the
census of 1801 Cottles alone was described as extraparochial. In 1811 Little Chalfield and Cottles together were said to constitute an extra-parochial place,
and they continued to be so described until 1857, when
they became a civil parish under the Extra-parochial
Places Act (20 Vict. c. 19). The ecclesiastical parish
of Great Chalfield consists of 701 acres. (fn. 2)
Great and Little Chalfield form the southern part of
the civil parish of Atworth. They lie in the Oxford and
Kimeridge Clay region of north and mid-west Wiltshire at a height of between 150 and 200 ft. above sea
level. (fn. 3)
Great Chalfield manor house (see below, Manors)
is 3 miles north-east of Bradford. Little Chalfield is
½ mile west of Great Chalfield. There is a park to the
west of Little Chalfield. Chalfield Brook, which rises in
South Wraxall and flows along the southern border of
the parish of Atworth, passing through both the Chalfields, turns north and finally east. Lenton Farm is
½ mile north of Great Chalfield beyond the northern
arm of the stream.
For about two years during the Civil War the manor
house of Great Chalfield was garrisoned for Parliament. The garrison was an outpost of that at Malmesbury, and consisted of about 200 men, with 100 horses.
Great Chalfield was probably first occupied in July or
August 1644. Soon after (before 5 Sept. 1644) the
Parliamentary troops withdrew to Malmesbury at the
approach of Royalist forces from Bath and Bristol. The
Royalists occupied the manor house for a day or two
but were forced to withdraw in their turn by the approach of Col. Edward Massey. In March 1645 the
presence of the Chalfield garrison was probably an
important cause of the defeat and capture of the Royalist cavalry regiment commanded by Col. Sir James
Long. A few weeks later (probably between 7 and
19 April 1645) Chalfield was besieged by the Royalist
forces under the command of Goring, and in July of
the same year the Chalfield garrison defeated the
Royalist garrison of Lacock, which was surprised while
on a foraging sortie. About this time the Parliamentary
Committee for Wiltshire had its headquarters at
Chalfield. The garrison remained at Chalfield until the
autumn of 1646. Its commander for the first few
months was Capt. Dymock, and from about January
1645, Lt.-Col. Pudsey. The garrison lived mainly on
bread and cheese, bacon, and beer which were obtained
by laying charge upon the surrounding parishes. (fn. 4)
Richard Warner (1763–1857), divine and antiquary, was appointed Rector of Great Chalfield in
1809 by his old schoolfellow and friend Sir Harry
Burrard Neale. He held the living until his death but
it seems unlikely that he was ever resident in the parish.
He was a prolific writer whose publications included
many topographical works, among them Hampshire
Extracted from Domesday, History of the Isle of Wight,
History of Bath, and History of the Abbey of Glastonbury. (fn. 5)
Manors
The manor of GREAT or EAST
CHALFIELD was held in 1086 by Ernulf
de Hesding. (fn. 6) Ernulf held two manors
called Chalfield and it is not clear whether Great
Chalfield was that held before the Conquest by Wallef,
or that held by Godwin. In a charter of 1001 there is
a reference to Aethelwine's landmark at Chalfield. (fn. 7)
Little Chalfield (see below) passed through Ernulf's
daughter Aveline to the FitzAlans, but Great Chalfield evidently descended through another daughter,
Maud, to the earls of Salisbury. (fn. 8) In 1242–3 1 knight's
fee in Chalfield was held by Henry de Percy as of the
honour of Trowbridge. (fn. 9) The subsequent descent of
the overlordship follows that of Trowbridge (q.v.). In
the 15th century the constableship of Trowbridge
castle was said to be appurtenant to the manor and to
have been so time out of mind. How far the claim of
antiquity is reliable may be doubted. It descended with
the overlordship and is last mentioned in 1840 (see
Trowbridge). (fn. 10)
During the 12th century Great Chalfield was
apparently held by a family which derived its name
from the parish. In 1201 Ralph de Torenny released
to William de Percy his claim to ½ knight's fee in
Chalfield, in return for which William surrendered to
Ralph all his claim to the lands which fell to them of the
heritage of Hugh de Scandefeld (Chalfield) their
grandfather and Julia daughter of Hugh. (fn. 11) It seems
likely that Ralph and William were uterine brothers,
the sons of Julia. William may be identical with the
tenant of the name who in 1166 held I knight's fee in
Wiltshire of Humphrey de Bohun. (fn. 12)
Peter de Percy, probably the successor of William,
forfeited his lands in 1216 when King John granted
them to Ingram des Preaux. (fn. 13) Peter was probably the
'Sir Piers de Percy' mentioned in the pedigree of the
family in the Tropenell cartulary as the son of 'Sir
Harry de Percy'. (fn. 14) Beatrice, relict of Peter de Percy,
and probably a benefactress to the priory of Farleigh, (fn. 15)
was, according to the Tropenell Cartulary, the daughter
of 'Sir Otys Dynham of Devonshire'. (fn. 16) In 1242–3
1 knight's fee in Chalfield was held by Henry de
Percy. (fn. 17) His successor was William de Percy, to whom
in 1260 the Prior of Farleigh confirmed the grant
made earlier to Beatrice de Percy. (fn. 18) William was
probably identical with the man of the same name who
was involved in a dispute with Walter de Chaudefeld
(see below, Agriculture and Mills). According to the
cartulary William was succeeded by a son Henry. (fn. 19)
In 1316 Roger de Percy held Chalfield. He was a
rebel, and in August 1320 was one of those to whom
pardon was granted for offences against the Despensers. (fn. 20) In spite of the pardon his lands at Chalfield were
in the king's hand from Michaelmas 1320. As Sir
Roger he fought against the king at the Battle of
Boroughbridge. (fn. 21) In 1325 his lands at Great Chalfield
were leased for six years to George de Percy, the tenant
of Little Chalfield. (fn. 22) Sir Roger evidently regained
possession after the fall of Edward II, and in 1327 was
complaining that George de Percy had trespassed on
his property. (fn. 23) Sir Roger's son Sir Henry de Percy
had succeeded before 1338, in which year he presented
to the church of Great Chalfield and settled the manor
upon himself, his wife Eleanor, and their heirs. (fn. 24) There
was one child of their marriage, Beatrice. Sir Henry
married as his second wife Constance, 'bedfellow and
cosyn to Maister Robert Wayville, bisshoppe of Salisbury, born to no land, neither to none armes'. (fn. 25) In
1349 Sir Henry settled the manor upon himself and
Constance and their issue and in default to the right
heirs of Henry; the settlement was repeated in 1354. (fn. 26)
About this time Bishop Wyville was given or claimed
land in Great Chalfield. In 1356 John son of Roger de
Percy released to the bishop any right he might have in
the manor. (fn. 27) In spite of this, according to the Tropenell
Cartulary, Henry de Percy continued to hold the
manor until he went on pilgrimage to Jerusalem, driven
to that step by 'the naughty lyf the said Constance his
second wyf lyved in with the bisshoppe Wayvile and
with others'. (fn. 28) Henry died at Cologne on his way to
Jerusalem and Constance held Great Chalfield by
virtue of the settlements of 1349 and 1354. She married
as her second husband John de Percy or Pershay, lord
of Little Chalfield. The Percys of Little Chalfield
were apparently not related to those of Great Chalfield. (fn. 29) In 1359 the manor of Great Chalfield was
claimed by Beatrice, daughter of Sir Henry by his first
wife. She cited the settlement of 1338 but lost the
action and in 1361 was induced to resign her claims to
her stepmother. (fn. 30) In the same year or earlier Constance de Percy had married, as her third husband,
Sir Philip FitzWarin, and late in 1361 she settled the
manor upon herself and her husband and their heirs,
with remainder to her son Robert, her brother Hugh,
and her right heirs. (fn. 31) According to the cartulary
Robert was the bastard son of Constance by Bishop
Wyville. (fn. 32) Sir Philip FitzWarin and Constance held
the manor in 1366. (fn. 33) As her fourth husband she
married Henry de la Ryvere, and by 1401–2 she was
again a widow. (fn. 34)
By Sir Philip, Constance had two daughters, Isolde,
who married John Rous of Imber, and Joan, who
married Thomas Beaushyn. (fn. 35) In 1416 Constance
settled the reversion of Great Chalfield upon her grandson William Rous, son of Isolde, with remainder to his
brother John Rous, and in default to Thomas Beaushyn
and his wife Joan. (fn. 36) The legal validity of this and the
previous settlement made by Constance was of course
doubtful in view of the entails created by Sir Henry de
Percy in 1349 and 1354.
Constance died between 1417 and 1425 and William
Rous entered upon the manor. (fn. 37) In 1427, however,
it was claimed by Thomas Beverley, son of Beatrice,
daughter of Sir Henry de Percy by her third marriage
to Robert Beverley. (fn. 38) Thomas Beverley based his case
upon the entail of 1354, while the defendants produced
in reply the release by Beatrice in 1361. Beverley
answered that the release had been extorted from his
mother in her nonage under duress. (fn. 39) He died before
the case was decided, but the cause of his son Thomas
was taken up by the Percys of Little Chalfield, who
later put in a claim to the manor on their own account. (fn. 40)
In July 1431 they and the Beverleys mustered 'a
number of men of Salisbury and elsewhere' at their
manor house of Little Chalfield for the purpose of
ejecting William Rous from Great Chalfield, but he
also had mobilized his forces—foresters of Blackmore
and Pewsham. The outcome is not recorded. (fn. 41)
Another claimant to Great Chalfield appears about
this time. In a Chancery suit of the period 1433–43
William Rous stated that at the request of Thomas
Tropenell he had enfeoffed Thomas and Henry Long
and Richard Chok of the manor of Great Chalfield.
The request had been made, Rous alleged, because
Tropenell had declared to many notable persons that
he stood so enfeoffed, and said that his honour might not
be saved unless the feoffment was made. William
'knowing that Thomas was a man chief of his council,
having a yearly great fee of him', agreed to do as
Thomas asked on condition that Thomas should
re-enfeoff him at any time that he might require. William
complained that the condition had not been fulfilled. (fn. 42)
When the case was heard, however, the plaintiff failed
to appear and Thomas Tropenell was discharged. The
defendant's case is recorded in the Tropenell Cartulary. (fn. 43)
It is that the feoffment was made on condition that if
Rous had lawful issue the feoffees should make an
estate to him and his heirs, but if not then the property
should pass after his death to Tropenell and his heirs.
According to the cartulary Rous conveyed the manor to
William Darell and others, who then (1438) conveyed
it to Tropenell. (fn. 44)
In 1444–5 Thomas Beverley sued Thomas Tropenell, Henry Long, and Richard Chok for possession of
Great Chalfield, but without success. (fn. 45) In 1447
Thomas Tropenell and his cofeoffees conveyed the
manor to William Rous, who settled it upon himself
and his second wife Isabel and their issue. (fn. 46) The manor
was soon after leased to Thomas Tropenell who
according to the cartulary was tenant of the manor
when Rous died in 1452. (fn. 47) Rous's relict Isabel entered
upon the manor after his death but she was ejected by
Tropenell, to whom in 1454 she gave up her claim in
return for an annuity of £5. (fn. 48) In 1459 Tropenell
compounded for the annuity by a payment of £53. (fn. 49)
Meanwhile, in 1454 Thomas Beverley had made an
entry into the manor, but he withdrew in the same
year and subsequently released his rights to Tropenell
in several deeds. (fn. 50) Beverley again claimed Great Chalfield in 1459, but Tropenell produced these deeds and
won his case. (fn. 51)
Yet another claim to the manor was made at this
time by Joan Beaushyn, as aunt and heir of William
Rous. Joan seized the manor in 1459 but later relinquished her claim to Tropenell. (fn. 52) Soon after this, in
1466, Thomas Beverley again impleaded Tropenell
and this time gained the verdict. Evidently Beverley
then sold his rights to Tropenell, who resumed
possession of Great Chalfield. (fn. 53) Thomas Tropenell
was a direct descendant of William de Percy of Great
Chalfield (fl. 1260). (fn. 54) He was possibly implicated in
Buckingham's conspiracy, for in 1484 he was granted
a pardon for all offences committed by him before
3 November. (fn. 55)
Thomas Tropenell died in 1488 holding the manor
of Great Chalfield of the Duchy of Lancaster as of the
honour of Trowbridge, for the service (as it was said)
of being constable of Trowbridge castle. (fn. 56) He was
succeeded by his son Christopher, who died in 1503,
leaving a son Thomas, a minor. (fn. 57) Part of the manor
was assigned in dower to Anne, relict of Christopher. (fn. 58)
In 1511, while still under age, Thomas Tropenell
married Eleanor, daughter of Sir Thomas Englefield
of Englefield (Berks.). (fn. 59) Thomas made proof of his
age in 1519, and in 1523 granted the manor to Thomas
Englefield, serjeant-at-law, for the performance of his
will. (fn. 60) He died in 1547, having settled Great Chalfield
upon himself, his wife, and their issue, with remainder
to his sisters. (fn. 61) Giles son of Thomas succeeded his
father and died still a minor in 1553. (fn. 62) The manor
passed to his four sisters, Anne wife of John Eyre,
Elizabeth wife of William Charde, Eleanor wife of
Andrew Blakman, and Mary Tropenell. (fn. 63) Mary later
married John Young, and in 1557 she with her sisters
and their husbands conveyed the manor to William
Button and Richard Parkins. (fn. 64) This conveyance was
probably for the purpose of settling it upon John Eyre
and Anne, who in 1563 settled it upon themselves and
the heirs of Anne. (fn. 65) When John died in 1581 he was
succeeded by his son (Sir) William Eyre. (fn. 66) Sir William
died in 1629, shortly after his third marriage, and in the
following year his son Sir John Eyre sold the manor to
Richard Gurney or Gurnard. (fn. 67) Gurney was a London
mercer, an ardent Royalist, and a benefactor of the
Clothworkers' Company and St. Bartholomew's
Hospital, of which corporations he was warden. He
was chosen Lord Mayor of London in 1641 after a
fiercely contested election in which 'each part put
themselves in battle array, and the puritans were overcome with hisses'. (fn. 68) In the same year he was knighted
and a few weeks later made a baronet. He was committed to the Tower by the Parliamentarians and remained there until shortly before his death in 1647. (fn. 69)
He had a son, who predeceased him, and two daughters,
Elizabeth, wife of Sir John Pettus, and Anne, wife of
Thomas Richardson. Meanwhile a life interest in the
manor was retained by Anne third wife and relict of
Sir William Eyre. (fn. 70) Anne was the tenant of the manor
house at the time it was garrisoned in the Civil War.
She apparently died before 1649 for in that year the
daughters of Sir Richard Gurney sold the manor to
Thomas Hanham junior of Wimborne Minster
(Dors.), the purchase money being handed over in
accordance with the will of Sir Richard to his relict
Elizabeth. (fn. 71) Hanham died without issue in the following year (1650) and the manor passed to his nephew
William Hanham, created a baronet in 1667. (fn. 72) Sir
William died in 1671, leaving Great Chalfield to his
relict Elizabeth for life. She, with her son Sir John
and his wife Jane, must have sold the manor before
1678 to John Hall of Bradford, who presented to the
church in that year. (fn. 73) In 1705 John Sartain leased the
manor from him. (fn. 74) Great Chalfield passed like Hall's
Manor in Bradford (q.v.) to Evelyn, 1st Duke of
Kingston, who in 1726 leased it with the demesnes and
water mill to Mary Willis and Thomas Hunt at
£244 a year. (fn. 75) In 1763 it was let at the same rent to
Widow Hunt and her son Henry. (fn. 76) Evelyn, 2nd Duke
of Kingston, sold the manor in 1769 to Robert Neale of
Corsham. (fn. 77) Robert died in 1776 and was succeeded by
his granddaughter Grace Elizabeth, wife of Sir Harry
Burrard, who assumed the additional surname of Neale
on his marriage. (fn. 78) Sir Harry died in 1840, without
issue, and the manor was sold by his relict to Sir George
Burrard, who died in 1856. In 1878, shortly before
her death, Sir George's relict sold it to George Pargiter
Fuller of Neston, in whose family it has since remained. (fn. 79)
In 1943 the manor house of Great Chalfield, with
9 acres of land and an endowment fund, was given to
the National Trust by Major R. F. Fuller, who also
signed covenants guaranteeing the amenities of a further
340 acres. (fn. 80)
In 1769 there was a rent of 5s. 9d. called 'Sheriffs
Torn' payable out of the manor of Great Chalfield at
Michaelmas to Zachary Shrapnel. (fn. 81)
Great Chalfield Manor House was built by Thomas
Tropenell in c. 1480, on the site of a ruined fortified
house. Of the earlier building all that remains are the
bases of the east and north curtain walls, the lower part
of a circular tower at the north-east angle, and traces of
a half round tower to the west near the bridge. Within
the curtain at the north-east corner is the parish church
of Great Chalfield. Tropenell's house was considerably altered about 1550; among the alterations was
probably that of the long west wing for use as stables
and servants' quarters. By 1837 a quadrangle of
domestic offices had disappeared and other parts were
in ruins, and in 1840 the building was adapted as a
farmhouse. Between 1905 and 1912 the house was
thoroughly restored under the supervision of (Sir)
Harold Brakspear. The work included the rebuilding
of the solar, the reconstruction of a 16th-century stone
chimney-piece from original fragments recovered from
a rockery, and the insertion of a staircase in the east
wing. The principal front and entrance are on the
north and are approached by a bridge over a moat and
by a gateway at the northern end of the west wing.
The front remains much as it originally was, with the
hall in the centre, two projecting gabled wings with
oriel windows, and, on the inner side of each, lesser
gables, the western forming the porch. The south
front, which originally had a southward extension, has
been partly reconstructed to the original pattern, including a timber-framed portion on the west. On the apexes
of the gables are carved the figures of armed knights.
Inside the house are many 15th- and 16th-century
features, including the original main timbers of the hall
bearing the Tropenell motto, stone groined ceilings
with the Tropenell arms, and panelling, chimney-pieces
and decorated plaster-work dating from the mid-16th
century. (fn. 82)
The manor of LITTLE or WEST CHALFIELD
was held in 1086 by Ernulf de Hesding. Before the
Conquest it had been held either by Wallef or by
Godwin. (fn. 83) In 1242–3 the manor was held by William
'de Chaudefeld' of Viel Engaine. (fn. 84) It seems likely that
Ernulf de Hesding conveyed the manor to a contemporary named Urse, and that it passed subsequently to
Reynold FitzUrse (one of the murderers of Becket)
and on the failure of his direct heirs to Viel Engaine,
who was the descendant of Reynold's sister Margaret. (fn. 85)
The overlordship of Little Chalfield passed from Viel
Engaine at his death in 1248 to his son Henry, who
between that time and 1272 gave it to the priory of
Worspring (Som.) whose founder had been William
de Courtenay, the last direct descendant of Reynold
FitzUrse. (fn. 86) The overlordship was recognized as
belonging to Worspring at least as late as 1428, but in
1477 was said to belong to the Abbess of Shaftesbury. (fn. 87)
The William de Chaudefeld who was tenant of
Little Chalfield in 1242–3 was probably the descendant of Walter de Chaudefeld who was a tenant in the
hundred of Bradford in 1198. (fn. 88) Walter de Chaudefeld, or a namesake, was in 1166 the tenant in Northamptonshire of Reynold FitzUrse. (fn. 89) In 1272 the
tenant of Little Chalfield was William de Chaudefeld. (fn. 90)
In 1285 another Walter de Chaudefeld was in possession, and a Walter de Chaudefeld presented in 1308 to
the 'chapel of Chalfield'. (fn. 91)
The next tenant of the manor was George de Percy,
who held it in right of his wife Margaret, who was
probably the heiress of Walter de Chaudefeld. (fn. 92) George
held the manor in 1318. (fn. 93) He was a retainer of
Edmund of Woodstock, Earl of Kent, and shared the
earl's downfall in 1330. George was attainted and the
manor seised into the king's hand. (fn. 94) Little Chalfield
was, however, restored to him in the same year. (fn. 95)
George de Percy was alive in 1344 (fn. 96) but dead in 1348,
when an inquisition was held to decide whether his
relict Margaret should be permitted to assign land and
rent to support a chantry chaplain in the church of
Little Chalfield. (fn. 97) At this time Margaret held 9 acres
of land and 2s. rent of Henry de Percy (lord of Great
Chalfield) by knight service, and the said Henry held
the same property of the lords of Trowbridge by service
of the ward of a tower there for forty days in time of
war. It is possible that this tenure by castle-guard may
be connected with the later claim of the lords of Great
Chalfield to the office of constable of Trowbridge castle
(see above). In 1359 the lord of Little Chalfield was
John de Percy, who married Constance de Percy of
Great Chalfield. John may have been the son of
George, son of the above George de Percy. (fn. 98) In 1362
the Prior of Worspring presented to the church of
Little Chalfield by reason of the minority of John, son
of Thomas de Percy. (fn. 99) This Thomas de Percy was
probably the son of George de Percy the elder. A John
de Percy presented to the church in 1388. (fn. 100) Alice de
Percy, daughter of John de Percy, (fn. 101) was the last of her
line. She married first Richard Phillipps, alias Rous,
the illegitimate son of John Rous, which John was the
husband of Isolde, daughter of Sir Philip FitzWarin
and Constance his wife. (fn. 102) As her second husband Alice
married John Bourne, who in 1428 held immediately
of the Prior of Worspring certain lands and tenements
in Chalfield, formerly of George Percy, for the service
of ½ knight's fee. (fn. 103) John Bourne's heir was his son John,
who died in 1477. Two years before his death John
Bourne the younger had settled Little Chalfield on his
wife Margaret and their heirs and the direct heirs of
John. (fn. 104) The heir of John was his sister Gille, wife of
Edward Cadell. In 1481 Gille and Edward recognized that the manor should be held for life by William
Walrond and his wife Margery (doubtless the relict of
John Bourne) who conceded the remainder to Gille
and Edward. (fn. 105)
Gille and Edward Cadell seem to have been succeeded by John Savery, for in a Chancery suit of the
late 15th or early 16th century Avyse and Anne Savery
stated that their father John Savery had been seised of
the manor of Chalfield and that on his death it had
descended to them. (fn. 106) Avyse and Anne divided the estate
between them; certain tenements in Chalfield and elsewhere, together with the chapel of St. Blaise in Chalfield passed to Anne, who married Thomas Bamfield
and in 1545 conveyed her property to Thomas
Horton. (fn. 107) Avyse as her share took the manor of Little
Chalfield and the advowson of the chapel of St. John
the Baptist. She married John Westbury and in 1536
settled the manor upon her son William Westbury. (fn. 108)
In 1584 the manor was conveyed by William Westbury, Joan his wife, and John his son to Richard or Rice
Phillipps, and in the same year Phillipps conveyed it to
(Sir) William Eyre of Great Chalfield. (fn. 109) In 1614 Sir
William apparently settled Little Chalfield on Robert
Eyre—his son by his second marriage to Elizabeth,
daughter of John Jackman, Alderman of London. (fn. 110)
In 1630, after Sir William's death his eldest son Sir
John confirmed this settlement. (fn. 111)
Robert Eyre was a Royalist and his estates were
sequestered in 1644 for his delinquency in pressing
soldiers into the king's service. He submitted in 1645
and took the National Covenant, and in the following
year was allowed to compound for his estates. (fn. 112) He
died in 1651, (fn. 113) and seems to have been succeeded by
John Eyre, probably his son, who held Little Chalfield
in 1651 and 1670. (fn. 114) From John the manor passed to
Robert Eyre, probably his brother, who in 1675 conveyed it to Francis Hall and John Hill. Hall and Hill
may have been trustees for Sir Edward Baynton, to
whom (according to a note inserted in the Tropenell
cartulary in 1695) Little Chalfield was sold about this
time. In 1699 Thomas Baynton, younger son of Sir
Edward, leased the manor for 60 years to John Foster
and George Hatton. (fn. 115) In 1701 Baynton and his wife
mortgaged the manor to Robina Woodfine and Daniel
Germaine for £1,500. (fn. 116) Robina afterwards transferred
her interest to Daniel and in June of the same year the
manor was conveyed to Daniel. (fn. 117) The next mention of
the manor that has been traced is in 1795, when it was
conveyed by Thomas Lulham, Benjamin Harrison, and
Sarah his wife to William Gill. (fn. 118) The exact meaning
of the conveyances of 1675 and after is not clear.
Thomas Baynton was the legal father of Rachel
Baynton, who inherited the wide estates of John Hall
of Bradford, her actual father (see Hall's Manor in
Bradford). As shown above John Hall had acquired
Great Chalfield before 1678 and he may have had an
interest also in Little Chalfield. If Little Chalfield,
like Great Chalfield, passed to Rachel (who married
William Pierrepoint, son and heir of the 1st Duke of
Kingston) then the absence of later references to Little
Chalfield is probably due to the merging of the two
manors. In this case the parties to the conveyance of
1795 may have been trustees.
The estate known as MOXHAMS is of ancient
origin. In 1236 Henry son of William conveyed to
Thomas Cusin and Juliana his wife lands in 'Mockesham'. (fn. 119) Henry de Mochesam occurs as a witness in a
deed probably of the time of Henry III or Edward I. (fn. 120)
Adam de Mockesham, who died in 1277, had held in
Moxham 62 acres arable, 5 acres meadow, 2/3 acre
pasture and 5½ acres wood. (fn. 121) John de Mockesham held
land in East Chalfield about 1300. (fn. 122) John de Mokesham was a juror at Bradford in 1342. (fn. 123) John of
Moxham and Robert his son occur in 1460 in deeds
concerning Atworth Cottles. (fn. 124) Christopher Moxham,
who died in 1596, held a messuage called Moxham in
the parish of Chalfield and various appurtenant lards. (fn. 125)
This estate was then held of Lady Sharington, and in
1610–11 when the inquisition on Christopher's death
was made, it was held of Sir Anthony Mildmay and
Grace his wife as of the manor of Woodrow (in Melksham, q.v.). Christopher left a relict, Joan, who
enjoyed all the issues of the estate for six years after his
death, and thereafter ⅓ of the issues up to the time of the
inquisition. Christopher's heir was his son John. The
estate apparently remained in the Moxham family until
the end of the 18th century, if not later. In 1692–3
a messuage, 40 acres arable, 5 acres meadow, and 5 acres
pasture in Moxhams and Great Chalfield were the
subject of a conveyance by Christopher Moxham and
Anne his wife and James Moxham and Thomasine his
wife. (fn. 126) In 1720 it was deposed that the parish of Great
Chalfield consisted of three estates: Great Chalfield
Farm, Farmer Moxham's estate, and Bowood, all of
which owed tithes. (fn. 127) In the following year James
Moxham, Christopher Moxham, and Susan his wife
conveyed the estate to John Moxham. (fn. 128) James Moxham, described as a sugar refiner of London, held
Moxham's farm in 1783. (fn. 129)
In and before 1302 Robert de Lyntonesford held
lands in Great Chalfield, by exchange with William de
Percy, and by conveyance of Mary Lunewode and
John de la Ford. (fn. 130) Robert de Lyntonesford in 1302
conveyed to Walter Selyman and Edith his wife part
of the above lands. (fn. 131) John de Lyntonesford about this
time gave all his land in 'Lyntesforde juxta Chaldefeld
Percy' to Walter and Edith Selyman. (fn. 132) Thus apparently was created the estate now known as LENTON
FARM due north of Great Chalfield. In 1385 land
in Lynsford, West Chalfield, and East Chalfield,
probably but not certainly the same estate as the foregoing, (fn. 133) was leased by John, son and heir of John
Aunger, to Constance FitzWaryn of Great Chalfield
for the term of her life. (fn. 134) In the same year John
granted the reversion of the property to John Grenyng
of Holt, to whom this was confirmed by John Aunger
in 1405 and by Constance in 1410. (fn. 135) John Grenyng
and his wife Joan were in possession of the estate in
1426. (fn. 136) In 1433 Grenyng conveyed it to William
Rous, lord of Great Chalfield, with which manor it
descended thereafter. (fn. 137) In 1726 the Duke of Kingston
let the farm, then alternatively called The Dairy,
together with some pastures to Thomas Miles for
seven years at £115 a year. (fn. 138) From 1755 Lenton or
Dairy Farm with two closes were let to Henry Miles
for fourteen years at the same rent. (fn. 139)
Much valuable information about the manors in this
parish is to be found in the Tropenell cartulary, a rubricated parchment volume kept in Great Chalfield house. (fn. 140)
Churches
The advowson of the church of Great
Chalfield has always been annexed to
the manor. The first recorded institutions took place in 1316, when it was called a chapel. (fn. 141)
In 1913 it was transferred by the late Mr. G. P.
Fuller to his son Major R. F- Fuller, who is still the
patron. (fn. 142) It was called a church for the first time in
1349, and thereafter continues to be so called. (fn. 143) In
1428 it was one of the churches exempted from taxation as having fewer than 10 parishioners. (fn. 144) The
rectory was valued at £5. 17s. in 1535. (fn. 145)
In a terrier of 1671 it was stated that there was no
house belonging to the parsonage, and that the minister
occupied a chamber in the manor house. It was added
that 'antiant men have reported that they have heard
from other antiant men that were before them, that
said there was a parsonage house which stood on a
ground near the manor house, called Parsonage Close,
alias Penclose'. (fn. 146) There were no glebe lands at that
time, though upon the report of old men long since
dead there had been such. It seems probable that the
oral tradition connecting Parsonage Close with the
church of Great Chalfield was false, and that the close
had actually belonged to the chapel of Little Chalfield
(see below). The jurors of 1671 also reported that
Mr. Bradshaw, the previous incumbent, had had his
diet, the keeping of a horse, and £16 per annum out
of the manor of Great Chalfield in lieu of tithes. (fn. 147)
They said that the then rector (John Wilton) had
received an annual composition of £32 from the
owners of the manor in lieu of tithes, together with the
keeping of a horse. The rector also had £5 a year in
tithes from Moxhams Farm and 10s. from 'a ground
lying within the same parish called Bowood'. (fn. 148) In 1705
the tithe amounted to slightly less: £32 from the tenant
of the manor (John Sartain, holding of John Hall) and
£4 from Christopher Moxham. (fn. 149) In 1731 the tithe
arising from the manor was compounded at £36. (fn. 150) In
1783 the rector received in composition for his tithes
£50 from the manor, £3. 10s. from lands belonging to
John Blagden of Gray's Inn, and in the occupation of
John Reynolds, and 19s. from Bowood field. He also
had tithe of hay, wool, and lambs for lands belonging to
James Moxham of London, sugar refiner. The rectory
had been augmented by £200 from Queen Anne's
Bounty and £200 from the late Robert Neale of
Corsham, producing in all £8 a year interest. (fn. 151)
Christopher Tropenell (d. 1503) left to the church
of Great Chalfield 'a pair of vestments, a chaleys, a
masboke, a portes, a procescyonall, a suplus and awterclothes there to belonging'. (fn. 152)
In the 14th and 15th centuries Little Chalfield was
a separate parish, although like Great Chalfield a small
and poor one. The 'chapel of Chalfield' to which
Walter de Chaudefeld presented in 1308 must have
been the manorial chapel of Little Chalfield, and in
1362 at the next recorded institution it was styled a
church. (fn. 153) In 1348 Margaret, relict of George de
Percy, was licensed to alienate in mortmain 33½ acres
mead and 5s. rent in Little Chalfield to a chaplain who
was to celebrate daily in the chapel of St. John the
Baptist, Little Chalfield, for her good estate, for her soul
when she was dead, and for the soul of her late husband. (fn. 154) In 1418 Little Chalfield (like Great Chalfield)
was a parish whose church was exempt from tax
because it had fewer than 10 inhabitants. (fn. 155) The advowson of Little Chalfield descended with the manor.
The last recorded institution was made in 1537 by
William Button by grant of Hawise (Avyse) de Westbury, widow. (fn. 156) This and the previous two institutions
were to a 'chapel', and it is clear that by this time Little
Chalfield had hardly any inhabitants. (fn. 157) That the
church had ceased to fulfil parochial functions is clear
from the fact that it came within the purview of the
Chantry Survey of 1549. In that year it was described
as 'a free chapel', ½ mile distant from the parish church,
and it was found that the profits arising from the tithes
from the farm of the manor had been demised to
William Westbury (lord of the manor) by the incumbent of the chapel, William Thynne. (fn. 158) According to
another chantry certificate of the same year the chapel
of Chalfield was valued at 40s., and was said to be in
the possession of (Sir) John Thynne by letters patent of
the king. (fn. 159) John Thynne (not William) was the name
of the incumbent instituted in 1537. (fn. 160) As mentioned
above the advowson of the chapel had been allotted to
Avyse Westbury as her share of the property of her
father John Savery. The demise of the tithes to Avyse's
son William Westbury was possibly accompanied, or
was certainly followed by the acquisition by the lord
of the manor of the glebe land belonging to the chapel.
In 1614 the free chapel of West Chalfield and all
tithes and glebe were apurtenant to the manor. (fn. 161) In
1630 the manor included the free chapel, tithes, and a
close called Parsonage Close pertaining to the chapel. (fn. 162)
The chapel is mentioned in conveyances of the manor
up to 1701. (fn. 163) There is now no trace of it.
In 1545 Thomas Bamfield, husband of Anne, the
other daughter and coheir of John Savery, conveyed
to Thomas Horton the advowson of the free chapel of
St. Blaise, Chalfield. (fn. 164) No other mention of this chapel
has been found but it is possible that it was identical
with the chantry set up in 1348 (see above).
In 1656 an order was approved to sever the chapel
of Holt from the parish of Bradford and to unite with
it the parishes of Great and Little Chalfield and
Staverton. (fn. 165) At the same time it was proposed to unite
the chapels of Atworth and Wrazall in Bradford with
the parishes of Monkton Farleigh, Cottles' House, and
Moxham's House. (fn. 166) The Restoration put an end to
this and other projected reforms of local administration, and to the present day the ecclesiastical parish of
Great Chalfield has remained the same, although the
small value of the rectory and the absence of a glebe
house have meant that there has been no resident rector
at Great Chalfield for many years. (fn. 167)
The chapel of Little Chalfield had probably been
pulled down before the church terrier of Great Chalfield was drawn up in 1674, for it must have been
mentioned in the terrier had it survived. So completely
had the memory of it disappeared that in the censuses
of the early 19th century Little Chalfield and Cottles
(see under Bradford) were classed as extra-parochial. (fn. 168)
The church of ALL SAINTS, Great Chalfield,
is small, consisting of chancel, nave, south chapel,
vestry, and west porch. It dates from the early 14th
century, when it consisted only of chancel and nave.
Of the original building only part of the nave remains.
The chancel was rebuilt about 1480, no doubt by
Thomas Tropenell. At the same time the west end
porch, bell-cote, and south chapel were built. The
eastward extension of the south chapel, flanking the
chancel and now used as a vestry, was added in 1775
by Robert Neale, (fn. 169) and at the same time the chancel
was lined with ashlar and reroofed. The bell-cote has
two-light traceried openings on each face and is
crowned by a short crocketed octagonal spire. There
are traces of painting on the splays of the north window,
and in the walls of the chapel traces of six panels
representing the life of St. Katherine. There is a
description of these written in 1760 before they were
disfigured and whitewashed over. The screen to the
vestry is probably late 15th century and is said to have
been brought from Goodnestone (Kent). The oak
panelled pulpit dates from the late 17th century. The
oak chancel screen, the seating, and the organ case,
which is richly painted and gilded in medieval style,
are modern.
No plate was entered for Great Chalfield in the
returns of 1553. A chalice and paten cover (both hallmarked 1680) were presented by John Hall of Bradford
(d. 1711). (fn. 170) An alms dish was purchased in 1922 with
money subscribed by the parishioners. (fn. 171)
A book recording births and deaths in the Eyre
family from 1545 is kept in the manor house; from
1605 to 1812 it continues as a parish register. Complete registers from 1813 are kept in the parish chest
at the church. (fn. 172)
There were two bells in the church in 1553. The
present single bell was cast in 1627. (fn. 173)
Nonconformity
There are no Nonconformist chapels at Great Chalfield, nor is there any indication
that there ever have been. John Eyre in a letter dated
at West Chalfield in 1670 complained of the activities
of sectaries in his area, (fn. 174) but no Nonconformists were
returned for the parish of Great Chalfield in 1676. (fn. 175)
Agriculture and Mills
For February and March 1322
there is an account of the profits
of Great Chalfield, then in the
king's hand owing to the rebellion
of Roger de Percy. In these weeks a foal, 4 bullocks,
30 two-year-old sheep (hogastri), 12 pigs, 7 piglets,
2 qr. of wheat, 5 qr. of barley, and 10 qr. of oats were
sold, and 30 acres sown with wheat and one with oats.
The price of an acre of wheat was 3s. and of oats
1s. 10d. (fn. 176)
In the Domesday entry for the manor of Chalfield
which had formerly belonged to Wallef it is stated that
there was half a mill there worth 18d. (fn. 177) Probably the
two Chalfields shared a mill lying on the stream which
runs through them. The mill was again mentioned in
1280–1 when there was a dispute concerning it between the lords of Great and Little Chalfield. Walter
de Chaudefeld, lord of Little Chalfield, complained that
William de Percy had made a pond which caused the
site of Walter's mill to be flooded and also rendered
impassable a pathway by which Walter was accustomed
to carry hay from a meadow near the pond. The jurors
found that both litigants were in the wrong, for although
the pathway was submerged it was not impassable, nor
was the mill flooded. (fn. 178) A miller of Chalfield is mentioned in 1439 (fn. 179) and 1501–2 (fn. 180) . A corn mill was in use
at Great Chalfield while the Parliamentary garrison
was in occupation in 1645. (fn. 181) In a plan of the manor
house and its environs made in 1834 a corn mill is
marked to the east of the house. By 1900 this mill had
been replaced by cottages. (fn. 182)