WORTHIES
By far the most eminent of Stondon's worthies was
William Byrd (1543-1623), the musician, who lived for the last 30 years
of his life at Stondon Place. (fn. 49) The
history of his residence there is one of frequent bickering with his neighbours.
Sir John Hende (d. 1418), lord of the manor of
Stondon, was Mayor of London in 1391 and 1404. (fn. 50)
His two sons, both named John, were sheriffs of Essex,
the elder in 1443 and 1447 and the younger in 1456. (fn. 51)
Walter Wrytell, son-in-law of the elder John Hende,
was sheriff in 1469 and 1471. (fn. 52) Sir Edward Belknap
(d. 1521), a later lord of the manor, accompanied
Henry VIII to the French war in 1513 and was
knighted at Tournai. In 1520 he was one of the special
commissioners responsible for preparing the Field of
Cloth of Gold and received a letter from Wolsey
instructing him to ensure that the cardinal's tent was
pitched in a dry place. (fn. 53) Rainold Hollingsworth (d.
1573), a wealthy resident of Stondon, was one of the
royal commissioners for dealing with church goods
under Edward VI. His brass is in the parish church. (fn. 54)
Sir Nathaniel Rich (d. 1636), another lord of the
manor, was a Member of Parliament, Merchant
Adventurer of London, and a Puritan who promoted
colonial enterprises in America. (fn. 55) His nephew and
successor Col. Nathaniel Rich (d. 1701) fought for
Parliament in the Civil War. He was a close friend of
Cromwell but eventually quarrelled with him and was
deprived of his command. (fn. 56) Nathaniel Ward (1578-
1652), Rector of Stondon 1623-33, was deprived of
the living by Laud for nonconformity. He subsequently emigrated to New England and helped to draft
the 1641 Code of Laws for the colony of Massachusetts.
He returned to England in 1647 and spent the last four
years of his life as Rector of Shenfield. (fn. 57)
The Puritan connexion in Stondon represented by
the Riches and Nathaniel Ward is an interesting
parallel to the Roman Catholic connexion. Byrd was
a Roman Catholic and so also was William Shelley
(d. 1597), lord of the manor of Stondon, whose religion led him to plot against Elizabeth I and to imprisonment in the Tower. (fn. 58) William was the grandson of
Sir William Shelley (d. 1548), a justice of the Common Pleas and son-in-law of Sir Edward Belknap. (fn. 59)
Sir John Hende and Sir Nathaniel Rich represent a
connexion with London trade which was shared by
several other men of less individual distinction. These
include Andrew Bridham (d. 1442) of Stondon and
St. Michael's, Cornhill, John Wheler (d. 1521), and
George Webb (d. 1579). (fn. 60) Richard Hall (d. 1541),
citizen and ironmonger of London, lived for a number
of years in Stondon and left legacies for some of its
people. (fn. 61) John Carre (d. 1570), whose brass is in the
parish church, became a member of the Ironmongers'
Company under the sponsorship of Hall, whose brother
John was his godfather. (fn. 62) Henry Giles, nephew of
Carre, was his apprentice and duly joined him in the
company. (fn. 63) He inherited a large sum of money under
Carre's will and used some of it to found the almshouses
in Stondon. (fn. 64)
John Oldham, rector from 1791 until his death in
1841, had studied law before entering the church. He
was for many years a county magistrate and was nicknamed 'Chief Justice Oldham'. (fn. 65) He is said to have
designed the impressive rectory built about 1800.
Altogether he made a lasting impression in this part of
Essex during his long incumbency.
From 1849 to 1936 the rectory was held in succession by E. J. Reeve (d. 1893) and his son Canon
E. H. L. Reeve (d. 1936). Both were good friends to
the parish and E. H. L. Reeve became its historian. (fn. 66)