MANORS
The manor of NAVESTOCK was acquired in or
before the 11th century by the Dean and
Chapter of St. Paul's. There is a charter
purporting to have been issued by King
Edgar (958-75) but dated 867. (fn. 72) In this the king is
made to say that at the request of Bishop Deorwulf and
Alderman Ealdred he has granted to the church of St.
Paul 15 mansiones of land at Navestock. The first
witness to the charter, Oda the Archbishop, held the
See of Canterbury from 942 to 958. The other witnesses'
names, 25 in number, are consistent with the date 867,
and so also are the names of Deorwulf (who was
Bishop of London) and Ealdred. The formula by
which the king makes the grant at the request of certain
named persons is found occasionally in the 9th century,
but never in the 10th. (fn. 73) It therefore seems probable
that the Navestock charter is based upon a genuine
original of 867 or thereabouts. Perhaps the property
was granted to St. Paul's in 867 and confirmed by
Edgar in 958, and some of the names from the confirmation have crept into the original through careless
transcription. (fn. 74) But in view of its inconsistencies the
charter of 867 cannot be accepted as genuine in its
present form, and must be treated with reserve.
If the canons of St. Paul's had ever held land in
Navestock before the Norman Conquest they had
evidently lost it by 1066. In that year the landowners
included Houard and Ulsi, who held two manors
amounting together to 5 hides less 20 acres, Turstin
the Red, who held a manor of 1 hide and 40 acres,
seven unnamed freemen who held 2 hides between
them, and Gotil, who held a manor of 80 acres. In
1086 Gotil's manor was held by Ralph de Marcy of
Hamon dapifer. All the other estates were held by St.
Paul's. It was stated that the canons claimed the manors
of Houard and Ulsi as of the king's gift, and that they
had seized Turstin's manor. The Domesday Survey
also recorded that a priest held ½ hide and 20 acres in
Navestock but that the hundred court considered this
to be the rightful property of St. Paul's. It is not clear
whether the priests' tenement was included in any of
the other estates mentioned above. In 1086 it was in
the king's hand. (fn. 75) To support their title to the Navestock manor the canons of St. Paul's produced a
charter stating that William I on his coronation day
(25 December 1066) regranted to St. Paul's lands at
Navestock and elsewhere which had belonged to the
cathedral church before but which had been lost. (fn. 76)
This charter must be looked upon as a forgery.
The manor of Navestock, however acquired,
remained in the possession of St. Paul's until the 16th
century, and was annexed to a prebendal stall in the
cathedral. (fn. 77) The manor in Navestock which Ralph
de Marcy held in 1086 was probably merged by him
or one of his immediate heirs with the estate which he
held in Kelvedon Hatch (q.v.). Shortly after 1086 the
canons of St. Paul's accused Ralph of seizing several
lands belonging to their manor of Navestock. The
dispute was not settled until after his death. Before
1120 William son of Ralph made a compromise with
the canons whereby he was to hold all the lands in
Navestock which his father had held at his death on
payment to St. Paul's of 16s. a year. (fn. 78) Ralph de
Marcy's heirs continued to hold this Navestock estate
of St. Paul's until after 1222. (fn. 79) They also held the
manor of Magdalen Laver (q.v.). No certain reference
to their Navestock estate has been found later than
1222, but it is possible that, together with their estate
in Kelvedon Hatch, it became the manor of Myles's
(q.v.) in Kelvedon Hatch.
In 1544 the manor of Navestock and other manors
belonging to St. Paul's were surrendered to the king
in exchange for properties elsewhere. (fn. 80) Navestock
remained in the possession of the Crown for ten years
until in 1554 Queen Mary sold it with the advowson
of the vicarage to Sir Edward Waldegrave, who had
been appointed steward in 1553, for £1,228, to hold
for 1/50 knight's fee. The manor was then occupied by
Richard Greene on a lease granted by St. Paul's in
1526 for 40 years at a rent of £50 a year. (fn. 81)
On the death of Mary Sir Edward Waldegrave, who
had been Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, was
imprisoned in the Tower of London, and he remained
there until his death in 1561. (fn. 82) He left Navestock in
his will to his wife Frances for life, with remainder to
his eldest son Charles. (fn. 83) Frances died holding the
manor in 1599. (fn. 84) Charles Waldegrave succeeded her
and in the same year settled the manor on his son
Edward on the latter's marriage with Eleanor, daughter
of Sir Thomas Lovell. (fn. 85) Edward was knighted in
1607 and created a baronet in 1643 for his services to
the king in the Civil War, when he commanded a
regiment of horse with distinction. (fn. 86) Navestock
descended with the family honours until the 19th
century. In 1686 the 4th baronet was raised to the
peerage as Baron Waldegrave and in 1729 his son was
created Earl Waldegrave. (fn. 87) The original Waldegrave
estate in Navestock was increased during the 17th and
18th centuries by the acquisition of the manors of
Slades, Bois Hall, Loft Hall, and probably other properties in the parish. The 6th Earl Waldegrave (d.
1835) gave the whole estate to his eldest, but illegitimate,
son John J. H. Waldegrave, who in 1840 was holding
some 3,000 acres in Navestock, almost three-quarters
of all the land in the parish. (fn. 88) J. J. H. Waldegrave
married Frances Braham. He died in 1840 and his
widow married his younger, legitimate, brother George
Edward, Earl Waldegrave (d. 1846). Through her
marriages the countess acquired all the Waldegrave
estates in Essex and elsewhere, for in 1876 they were
alienated from the earldom and became her absolute
property. She died in 1879 leaving Navestock to her
fourth husband, Lord Carlingford. On his death in
1898 the manor was sold to James Tabor of Rochford. (fn. 89) In 1919 it passed into the possession of Walter
P. Tyser, who had leased the manor house since 1911.
The estate is now (1955) owned by the Church Commissioners. (fn. 90)
An inventory of 1335 gives interesting details of the
manor house of Navestock. (fn. 91) Adam de Murimuth,
Canon of St. Paul's, to whom the manor was then committed, also received 'under one roof a bakehouse and
dairy, a kitchen with an oven and two cisterns, a hen
house, a hall with buttery and pantry at the west end
of the hall and a chamber at the east with galleries.
And a chamber with store room (celarium) and room
above, roofed with tiles, and belonging to the same
chamber a chapel of plaster of Paris roofed with timber
(tendulis), an old granary with four bays (interfinis)
and an old kiln and a little house for calves outside the
door and a smithy, a sheepfold outside the door, a
windmill.'
The building described in the inventory was possibly on the site of the present Navestock Hall, which
is about 150 yds. south-east of the church. This house,
now a farm, dates from the early 16th century. The
north wing was probably added in the 18th century or
later. The explosion of a German landmine in September 1940 dislodged the external plaster, revealing
the fact that much more of the house was of the original date than had been supposed. (fn. 92)
This is a two-story timber-framed structure with a four-centered door-head on its north side. The timbering has been left
exposed and a Georgian bay on the east side has been
rebuilt with oak timbers from a demolished barn. One
of the lead rainwater heads is inscribed 'E. W. 1757'.
The site of a later manor house, now demolished, is
about 400 yds. north-east of the farm. This was a
mansion built in the first quarter of the 18th century by
Lord Waldegrave (d. 1741). A map of 1726 by
Thomas Browne shows the layout of the garden and
park. (fn. 93) The house faced south-east with a stable-yard
and kitchen gardens on the north-east and formal
gardens with ornamental water on the opposite side.
Behind the house a deer park reached nearly to the
Roding. In the park were two wooded duck decoys.
A double avenue, over a mile long, is shown stretching
across the river to join the Abridge-Ongar road. The
house itself was described later in the century as 'a
good regular brick building'. (fn. 94) A print of the same
date shows the main two-story block to be of nine bays,
the three central windows being surmounted by a pediment. Flanking this are single-story wings with
balustraded parapets, each having three windows. The
principal entrance has a segmental pediment. Probably the revulsion against formality which took place
in the late 18th century led to alterations in the park.
The Wetstaff Brook was dammed to form the sheet of
water known as the Lady's Pond and the straight
avenue was abolished. (fn. 95) In 1811 the house was taken
down and the materials sold. (fn. 96) Later in the 19th
century Frances, Countess Waldegrave often visited
the site and built herself a summer-house there. (fn. 97)
After her death in 1879 her fourth husband, Lord
Carlingford, erected a memorial on the same spot.
This stone is still standing and bears a long inscription,
now partly illegible, and a portrait medallion of the
Countess. South-west of the mansion site a system of
trenches with two small square islands (fn. 98) indicates the
remains of the ornamental pond in the formal garden.
In the later 19th century the owners of the estate
lived at Dudbrook which lies in the north-east corner
of the parish. A house was already in existence here
before the demolition of Navestock Hall, (fn. 99) but it
appears to have been rebuilt or much enlarged at
various subsequent dates. The style is mostly of the
early and mid-19th century, and there is a tower-like
feature in the centre with four finials at the angles.
For nearly 30 years it was the home of Mr. Walter
Tyser, who also made additions to the building. In
1951 it was bought by the East Ham County Borough
Council for use as a home for old people. (fn. 1)
The manor of BOIS HALL took its name from the
family of Boys alias de Bosco. In 1298 John de Bosco
and his wife Christine held a small estate in Navestock. (fn. 2) This John was dead by 1317. (fn. 3) In 1393 Sir
Richard Sutton conveyed to John Boys and others,
with remainder to Boys's heirs, extensive properties in
Essex including the manor of Navestock [sic]. (fn. 4) This
manor was probably that which later became known
as Bois Hall. John Boys was no doubt identical with
the man of that name who succeeded the Suttons in
the manor of Langenhoe. (fn. 5) He also had property in
Tolleshunt d'Arcy where he was buried in 1419. (fn. 6)
Before his death, however, Bois Hall had passed out of
his possession. In 1412 it was held by Edmund Prior, (fn. 7)
and it remained in his family for over a century. In
1507 Andrew Prior died holding the manor of the
Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's, and was succeeded by
his son John, then a minor. (fn. 8) John Prior still held the
manor in 1527 (fn. 9) but soon after that date it passed to
Constance, wife of Lawrence Claydon, with reversion
to Alice, wife of John Prest. John Prest died in
1546 leaving a son William by a former marriage and
a daughter Frances, heiress to her mother Alice. In
1547 Alice married, as her third husband, Richard
Blackwall. (fn. 10) She died in 1561 and was succeeded by
her daughter Frances, now the wife of William Bradborne. (fn. 11) In 1564 Frances and William conveyed the
manor to William Tusser and Charles Belfield, who
sold it in the following year to John Greene. (fn. 12) Bois
Hall remained in the hands of the Greenes for almost
two centuries. John Greene was succeeded by his son
Thomas and he by his son John Greene II (d. 1653),
a judge of the sheriff's court in London and serjeant-at-law. The latter was succeeded by John Greene III,
who became Recorder of London in 1659 and died
in the same year. His son John Greene IV (d. 1725),
serjeant-at-law, was succeeded by his son John Greene
V, who died in 1752 leaving Bois Hall to his cousin
Dr. Maurice Greene, organist of St. Paul's Cathedral
and a composer of some eminence. (fn. 13) After Dr. Greene's
death in 1755 the manor was bought by Earl Waldegrave (d. 1763) and was merged with the main manor
of Navestock. (fn. 14) From 1654 the Bois Hall estate
included Loft Hall (see below). In 1840 Bois Hall
farm, then including Slades (see below), comprised
480 acres and was occupied by a tenant farmer, Litchfield Tabrum. (fn. 15) This was not the first time that
the two places had been united, for the Greenes
of Bois Hall had also held Slades between 1604 and
1637.
There were formerly two rainwater heads on the
front of Bois Hall house bearing the date 1687 with
the arms and crest of Greene. (fn. 16) If the present house
is of this date considerable alterations must have taken
place late in the 18th or early in the 19th century. It
has a formal brick front of two stories with a moulded
string and cornice. There are five sash windows to the
first floor, three of them being grouped in a slightly
projecting central bay. The porch has Doric columns
and a dentil cornice. The front is flanked by screen
walls and approached by a straight drive. A kitchen
at the back of the house was demolished in 1948 and
repairs to the roof in 1953 resulted in the removal of
the dormer windows and the two inscribed rainwater
heads. (fn. 17)
Bois Hall is now (1954) owned by the Church Commissioners and occupied by Mr. T. E. Bere, who farms
the land here and at Beacon Hill. (fn. 18)
The manor of LOFT HALL probably derived its
name from the family of Isabel atte Lofte who held
land in Navestock about 1350. (fn. 19) The first reference
that has been found to the manor itself was the grant
of a rent issuing from it in 1483. (fn. 20) In 1507 Thomas
Intilsham conveyed the manor to John Sedley, member
of a well-known Kent family, who was auditor to the
Exchequer under Henry VII and Henry VIII. (fn. 21) The
manor was held by the Sedleys for a century and a
half. (fn. 22) John Sedley was succeeded after 1514 by his
son William, Sheriff of Kent in 1547, and he by his
son John, Sheriff of Kent 1566, who died in 1581
leaving William Sedley his son and heir. (fn. 23) In 1611
William Sedley was created a baronet, and the manor
descended with the baronetcy until 1654, when Sir
William Sedley, 4th Bt., sold it to John Greene III of
Bois Hall. (fn. 24) From that time Loft Hall descended along
with Bois Hall and passed after the death of Dr.
Maurice Greene in 1755 with Bois Hall into the
Waldegrave estate of Navestock. In 1840 Loft Hall
farm comprised 223 acres and was let to a tenant
farmer, C. Pratt. (fn. 25) The Pratt family remained tenants
until 1921.
The present farm-house of Loft Hall was evidently
rebuilt in red brick in the 19th century. The remains
of a moat lie to the north of it.
The manor of SLADES appears to have belonged
to Sir Humphrey Starkey who was Chief Baron of the
Exchequer in 1483 and died in 1486. His widow
Elizabeth died in 1496 holding it as life tenant with
remainder to Sir Humphrey's heirs. (fn. 26) The heirs were
his four daughters. One of these, Emma, had married
Henry Torrell (d. 1481), another landowner in Navestock, and her son Humphrey Torrell, aged 17 in
1496, inherited Slades as heir to his mother's purparty. (fn. 27) In 1503 Humphrey made a settlement of the
manor in connexion with the marriage of his son
Henry with Anne, daughter of William Mordaunt.
The marriage took place in 1513 and Henry died in
1526. (fn. 28) He was succeeded by his son Humphrey,
who died in 1544 leaving an infant daughter Anne,
later wife of Henry son of Sir Thomas Joscelin. (fn. 29)
Anne died in 1589 and Slades passed to her son Sir
Thomas Joscelin. (fn. 30) In 1604 Sir Thomas sold the
manor to Thomas Greene of Bois Hall and his brother
Robert. (fn. 31) In 1637 Robert Greene sold Slades to
Henry Alexander and John Howe. (fn. 32) It afterwards
belonged to the Howlands of Stone Hall in Little
Canfield and was later purchased by the Waldegraves.
In 1768 Slades belonged to Lord Waldegrave but
was no longer styled a manor. (fn. 33) It remained part
of the Waldegrave estate (see above, Manor of Navestock) and in 1840 was part of Bois Hall farm (see
above).
The medieval manor house of Slades is thought to
have stood at the head of a small valley about 600 yds.
west of Beacon Hill Farm. The site is marked by a
group of earthworks, now much overgrown. On the
west is a circular moat enclosing a mound about 65 ft.
in diameter at the base. This may be of greater age
than the site of the house itself, which is indicated by
two arms of a large rectangular moat. Tudor bricks
have been found in this enclosure. Outside the northwest arm and separated from it by a steep bank in
which there was formerly a sluice are two rectangular
fishponds. (fn. 34) In the 19th century part of the site was
occupied by cottages but these have now disappeared.
Slades Farm, formerly known as 'Little Slades', stood
about ¼ mile to the west. The buildings were damaged
by bombs during the Second World War and have now
been demolished. (fn. 35)