MANOR
Two manors of NORTON were entered in Domesday Book. One of them had been held in
1066 by a woman named 'Godid', as ½
hide. After the Conquest she had given it
to the Dean and Chapter of St. Paul's but the gift was
irregular; at least the canons 'could not produce the
king's writ or permission' for its alienation to the
Domesday Commissioners. (fn. 23) There is little doubt that
this was the manor which later became known as
Foliots Hall alias Forest Hall in High Ongar (q.v.).
The other manor of Norton was held in 1086 by
Wimund as tenant of Hamon dapifer. (fn. 24) It had been
held in 1066 by 'Gotil' as a manor and as 1½ hide and
15 acres. It is probable that Gotil and the above Godid
were identical and thus that in 1066 both manors of
Norton were held by the same person.
Hamon dapifer was succeeded (probably before
1100) by his eldest son Hamon, also dapifer, and
Sheriff of Kent. The younger Hamon was alive in
1129, but dead by Michaelmas 1130. He was succeeded by his brother Robert Fitz Hamon, whose
daughter and heir married Robert, Earl of Gloucester,
bastard son of Henry I. (fn. 25) The overlordship of Norton
followed the same descent and ultimately passed with
the earldom of Gloucester to the Clares. Gilbert de
Clare, Earl of Gloucester (d. 1314), was lord in 1311. (fn. 26)
The overlordship subsequently escheated to the Crown
as part of the honor of Gloucester. In 1524 it was
stated that Norton Mandeville was held of the king as
of the honor of Mandeville. (fn. 27) No doubt the similarity
of name had caused the manor to be treated as part of
that honor. In fact, as shown below, the manor and
parish took their name from a family of tenants holding of the honor of Gloucester.
By the end of the 12th century the tenancy of the
manor had passed to the Dammartins. In 1181 Odo
de Dammartin was acting as farmer of the manor of
Forest Hall in High Ongar (q.v.). William de Dammartin (d. 1195) was a tenant in Norton. (fn. 28) He had
succeeded his brother Bartholomew, who died before
1190; they were sons of Manasser de Dammartin. (fn. 29) A
Manasser de Dammartin was benefactor to the abbey
of Missenden (Bucks.) with which the Clares had connexions. (fn. 30)
The heir of William de Dammartin was his daughter
Galiena. After William's death the king gave the wardship of Galiena to William Brewer, who married her to
his brother John (d. 1210). (fn. 31) After John Brewer's
death Galiena married Robert de Burgate. Robert died
some time after Easter 1220, and by 1228 Galiena had
married a third husband, Ernald de Mandeville,
'whose name suggests that he was a descendant of
Ernald de Mandeville, the disinherited son of the 1st
Earl of Essex'. (fn. 32) By her second marriage Galiena had
a son, Peter de Burgate, and a daughter Anastasia de
Burgate who married John le Merk. By her third
marriage she had two sons, John and Hugh de Mandeville. Ernald de Mandeville was still alive in 1251,
when he and Galiena conveyed 80 acres of land in
Norton to William de Frith and Parnel his wife. (fn. 33)
Ernald probably died soon after, for in 1254 Galiena
conveyed the manor of Norton to her son John de
Mandeville, retaining a life interest in it. (fn. 34) By another
deed of about this time John granted back the manor to
Galiena, receiving in return 60 acres in Norton. (fn. 35) In
or before 1258 Galiena granted to John 76 acres of
land and 1 acre of meadow in her vill of Norton. (fn. 36)
This last grant is of great interest because of the detailed
descriptions in it. Forty acres of the land granted lay
in Westfield, next to the land of the Rector of High
Ongar and that of Waleran de Monceux. (fn. 37) There
were 8 acres in a field called la Mora, 15 acres in
another field also called Westfield lying next to the
land of St. Paul's, which Richard Foliot then held,
1 acre called Old Apeltun in the same field, 10 acres
called Kelleveland and 3 acres in Westfield lying between Kelleveland and the land of Galiena which
extended from the land of Richard Foliot to the king's
highway. The acre of meadow lay next to the meadow
of the Rector of High Ongar. The grant reserved to
Galiena a path 1 perch in breadth in the north part
next to the fence of one John which led from the king's
highway called Westrete to the 'bank', for passage and
cartage to her field called Longemad. John was to have
free passage from the church of Norton by the road
leading to Ongar, i.e. in the field called Chirchefeld
near the long fence from the south. The location of
many of the fields named in this charter can be identified
from the map of the parish made in 1740. (fn. 38) Upper
and Lower Westfield lay in the extreme south-west of
the parish, Upper Westfield being the more easterly of
the two. In 1740 their total acreage was 43. La Mora
is probably Moors, a small field lying along the banks
of the Roding, which in 1740 contained 4 acres.
Kelleveland is probably the Kellums Field of 1740, on
the north-west border of the parish adjoining Forest
Hall, then containing 8 acres. Churchfield adjoined
the church to the east. Longmead was in the centre of
the parish on its southern boundary, ¼ mile from the
church.
The above grant was probably the immediate preliminary to another, in 1258, by which John de
Mandeville gave to the Dean and Chapter of St.
Paul's 76 acres of land and 1 acre of meadow in
Norton. (fn. 39) From this time onwards this part of the
inheritance of Galiena de Dammartin presumably
formed part of the manor of Forest Hall in High Ongar.
No evidence has been found to show that John de
Mandeville had any further connexion with the manor.
It was probably soon after 1258 that Galiena granted
the manor of Norton to her daughter Anastasia. (fn. 40)
Anastasia subsequently granted all her land in Westfield in Norton, with a way for carrying, &c., from
Norton Heath by the causeway and with a windmill
and rents outside the parish, to her daughter Galiena
on the marriage of the latter to Gilbert de Theydon. (fn. 41)
Anastasia was still living, in widowhood, in 1285, when
she granted land in Norton to John son of Henry. (fn. 42)
John son of John le Merk (the son or step-son of
Anastasia) was a party to this transaction.
The next step in the descent of the manor is not
quite clear. In 1296 John le Rous of Felsted granted
the manor to John le Rous his father and Agnes, wife
of the latter. (fn. 43) In 1297 Gilbert de Theydon, formerly
husband of Galiena le Merk, granted to John le Rous
and Agnes his wife for life a windmill and 18 acres of
land in Norton Mandeville with 5s. rent from the lands
that Emma la Brune had previously held of Anastasia
le Merk, called 'Craneslond' in Stanford Rivers. (fn. 44)
This property, which Gilbert was holding by the
courtesy of England, was no doubt Galiena's marriage
portion mentioned above. In 1300 Peter son of Robert
de Burgate quitclaimed to John the elder son of John
le Rous a messuage, 1 carucate of land and £4 13s. 4d.
rent in Norton Mandeville. (fn. 45) This Peter may have
been the son of Galiena de Dammartin, but if so he
must have been a very old man. In any case the meaning of this transaction is probably that John le Rous was
securing himself against a possible claimant to the manor.
If Galiena de Dammartin had not granted Norton to
her daughter Anastasia the manor would in the normal
course of succession have passed to her son Peter de
Burgate and his heirs.
John le Rous the father was dead before 2 May 1311.
His elder son John had died before him and his heir
was another son, also named John. In 1311 the wardship of John the last born (post natus) son and heir of
John le Rous was granted by the Earl of Gloucester to
Simon le Wylde and Joan his wife. (fn. 46) John le Rous was
alive in 1328 but dead by 4 April 1332 when a release
of land was executed by his widow Maud. (fn. 47) He left
sons Robert, John, and Nicholas. (fn. 48) Maud le Rous
retained some interest in Norton Mandeville and was
still alive in 1345. (fn. 49) By 1350 the manor had passed to
John le Rous, probably her second son. (fn. 50) This John
le Rous was still alive in 1366 and probably also in
1374. (fn. 51) His son and heir was probably Thomas le
Rous alias Caune, who held Norton Mandeville in
1412. (fn. 52) Thomas was dead by 18 November 1422
when his widow Elizabeth had seisin of the manor for
life. He left sons John, Thomas, and Richard. (fn. 53) It
was provided that the eldest son John Caune should
have the reversion of the manor on condition that he
paid £20 to each of his brothers and of his three sisters.
If he failed to do so the second son Thomas was to have
Norton. (fn. 54)
In 1440 the manor was held by Thomas Rous. (fn. 55)
He was probably the second son mentioned above, and
had assumed the original family name again. (fn. 56) He was
apparently dead by 7 May 1451, leaving a widow
Elizabeth and a son Thomas. (fn. 57) In 1473 Thomas Rous
conveyed Norton Mandeville to his son Richard. (fn. 58) In
1490 Richard Rous sold Norton and Cawnes in North
Weald (q.v.) to Merton College, Oxford, for £493. (fn. 59)
The college retained the property until 1864. From
1800 to 1832 Norton Hall farm, consisting of 264
acres was leased by the college to Capel Cure of Blake
Hall, Bobbingworth (q.v.), who sub-let it to a tenant
farmer, Robert Hadsley. (fn. 60) The farm contained 207
acres of arable and 57 acres of pasture.
In 1847 the college owned 265 acres in Norton
Mandeville, most of which lay around Norton Hall in
the centre and west of the parish. Norton Hall farm
now contained only 164 acres, the rest of the property
being separately leased. (fn. 61) In 1864 the whole property
was sold by the college and became part of the Forest
Hall estate, High Ongar, which was then in the process
of being bought from J. B. Stane by J. L. Newall.
Stane and his father had previously leased Norton Hall
farm. (fn. 62) By 1919 the farm had increased to 421
acres. (fn. 63)
There appears to be no trace of an ancient manor
house. The present Norton Hall farm-house dates from
about 1870-the time when J. L. Newall was building
up and improving the Forest Hall estate. It is of red
brick.