MANORS
In 1066 THEYDON BOIS was held by Hacun as
a manor and as 3½ hides and 80 acres. In
1086 it was held in demesne by Peter de
Valognes. An additional 2 hides and 1½
virgate, previously held by 7 freemen, had by 1086
also been acquired by Peter, who claimed to hold the
property by exchange. He was also tenant in chief of
½ hide and 40 acres, which had formerly belonged to
Ulwin. Peter had it in mortgage by the king's permission. It was held of him by Walter. (fn. 56) The tenancy
in chief of these estates descended in the Valognes
family like North Weald Basset (q.v.) until the death
of Gunnore, whose second husband was Robert Fitz
Walter. Fitz Walter, who died in December 1235,
appears to have held part of the barony of Valognes,
including Theydon Bois, in right of his wife, after her
death. (fn. 57) He also outlived their daughter and heir
Christine, widow of William de Mandeville, Earl of
Essex, and after his death Theydon Bois evidently
passed to Christine, wife of Peter de Maule, one of the
coheirs of Christine de Mandeville. (fn. 58) As the tenant in
chief of the manor Christine de Maule was a party to
its conveyance about 1288-97 to Waltham Abbey (see
below).
In 1166 Osbert son of Ralph de Wetmere held 1
knight's fee in Theydon Bois of Geoffrey de Valognes,
while William de Bosco held 1 fee of the new feoffment. (fn. 59) The subsequent history of the first of these
fees has not been traced, but in 1235-6 a William de
Bosco was holding in Theydon Bois what was variously
described as 1 fee and as ½ fee. (fn. 60) The manor must have
continued in the same family, for in 1248 Hugh de
Bosco released his right in the advowson of Theydon
Bois (see Church) and the manor was later in the possession of a Henry de Bosco, who died holding it. (fn. 61)
Henry was succeeded by John, son of Peter de Tany,
a nephew. John de Tany in or before 1289 enfeoffed
Reynold, Abbot of Waltham, with the manor. (fn. 62) It was
then agreed that Christine de Maule was to receive £5
from the abbey after the death or removal of each
abbot, by way of compensation for the loss of the feudal
incidents due to her as tenant in chief. This transaction
was contrary to the Statute of Mortmain (1279). The
parties evidently realized this after it had been concluded and took steps to secure the abbey's title. It
had been provided by the statute that where land had
been alienated to a religious house the tenant in chief,
if he acted within a year, might occupy the property
concerned. Christine de Maule therefore pleaded the
statute and renounced the agreement with Waltham
Abbey. She next enfeoffed Anthony Bek, Bishop of Durham, and Richard de Cokham, Rector of Lambourne,
Essex, with the manor of Theydon Bois. (fn. 63) In 1297 Bek,
Cokham, and Peter de Tany all released their rights
in the manor to the abbey, and the king confirmed
their grants. (fn. 64) The account in the Waltham Abbey
cartulary from which much of the above has been taken
adds that Christine had excluded her son and heir
William from the manor and assigned it to William's
son Henry, but that in spite of this assignment Henry
was never seised of any service from the manor, in
whose time there were three abbots, Reynold, Robert,
and John (elected 1302, died 1307). Henry assigned
his right in the manor to Agnes de Valence, but this
was void since he was not legally seised. (fn. 65) Some light
is thrown on this statement by the history of the manor
of Gregories (see below). The abbey certainly seems
to have successfully resisted any claims by Henry de
Maule or Agnes de Valence.
Meanwhile, in 1293, Henry, son of the previous
owner Henry de Bosco, had arraigned an assize against
Peter de Tany, alleging unlawful disseisin of the manor
by Tany and others. (fn. 66) Tany's counsel stated that Henry
was illegitimate, having been born while his father was
in deacon's orders. The jurors found that Henry was
indeed illegitimate but on the ground that his parents
had not been married at the time of his birth. The title
to the manor was again challenged in 1313 and on this
occasion a charter of 1308 was produced whereby
Lawrence de Theydon Bois acknowledged that he had
released his right in the manor, which had been of
Henry du Boys his father. (fn. 67)
Theydon Bois was retained by Waltham until the
dissolution of the abbey in 1540. The manor thereupon passed to the Crown and in May 1540 was
granted for life, together with other manors formerly
belonging to the abbey, to Robert Fuller, the last
abbot. (fn. 68) He died later in 1540, (fn. 69) and the manor was
again vested in the Crown until July 1543, when it
was granted for life to John Soda, the king's servant,
presumably that John Soda whose will was proved in
November 1551. (fn. 70) In his will, dated 1545, Soda
described himself as born in Catalonia, but dwelling at
that time in the City of London in the service of the
Lady Mary, the king's daughter. In December 1551
Theydon Bois was granted to Sir Thomas Wroth, one
of the four principal gentlemen of the Privy Chamber,
for which he was to pay 36s. a year in respect of the
knight service due from the manor and also £5 18s. 3½d.
a year at the Court of Augmentations. (fn. 71)
Wroth died in 1573, leaving Theydon Bois to his
son Robert, who held it until his death in 1606. His
son, another Sir Robert, died in 1614. James, son of
the last Sir Robert, was an infant at his father's death,
and died in 1616. (fn. 72) In his will Sir Robert provided
that Theydon Bois and other estates should be vested
in his uncle, brother, and cousin, all named John
Wroth, to be sold as they thought fit to pay off his large
debts. (fn. 73) In 1616 the manor was accordingly conveyed
to Edward Elrington, the owner of the impropriate
rectory and the advowson. (fn. 74)
Elrington died in 1618. His heir was his son,
another Edward. (fn. 75) An Edward Elrington was holding the manor in 1652 but by March 1657 John Smart
and two others were being named as lords. (fn. 76) This confirms Morant's statement that Elrington sold the manor
to John Smart about 1656. (fn. 77) In 1670 Smart bought
out the fee farm rent of £5 18s. 3½d. reserved in the
royal grant of 1551 for a payment of £115 6s. 9d. (fn. 78)
What happened to the other rent of 36s. is not clear.
Since it had been connected with the knight service
due from the manor it may have lapsed with the abolition of feudal tenures.
There is no reference to Theydon Bois in John
Smart's will, which was proved in 1679, (fn. 79) but the
manor seems to have passed to his son John Smart who
must have died shortly afterwards, for Benjamin Smart,
brother of the younger John, in his will proved in
1684, stated that he and his other brother Joseph
acquired the manor under the will of John Smart their
brother. (fn. 80) Benjamin left his moiety to Joseph, who
thus held the whole of the manor, apparently until his
death in 1702. (fn. 81) Joseph's son and successor Benjamin
was still lord of the manor in 1753. (fn. 82) In 1762 the lord
of the manor was John Hopkins, who was dead by
1773, when his trustees Benjamin Bond and William
Jacomb were named as lords. (fn. 83) The manor was held
in 1783 by Elizabeth Bond, widow, and in 1789 by
John Hopkins Dare, then an infant. (fn. 84)
J. H. Dare died in 1805, leaving his estate in trust
for his mother Elizabeth, then wife of John Marmaduke Grafton, and his half-sister Elizabeth Grafton,
who were to take the name and arms of Dare. Grafton
did so in the same year and died in 1810. His widow
died in 1823 and was succeeded by her daughter, the
above Elizabeth, then wife of Robert Westley Hall.
R. W. Hall took the name and arms of Dare and died
in 1836, being survived for some years by his widow.
Their son and successor, Robert Westley Hall Dare, in
1853 obtained a private Act of Parliament authorizing
the sale of parts of his estate, in order that he might
settle in Ireland, his wife's country. (fn. 85) Theydon Bois,
however, remained in the family. R. W. H. Dare died
in 1866 and was succeeded by his son Robert Westley
Hall Dare who in 1901 sold Theydon Bois to Gerald
Buxton. Buxton was succeeded on his death in 1928
by his son Lt.-Col. Edward North Buxton. (fn. 86) In
1850-1 the Hall Dare estate included 781 acres in
Theydon Bois and 47 acres in Loughton. (fn. 87)
The Elrington family was settled at Birch Hall in
Theydon Bois before they acquired the manor in 1616
(see above) and from that date Birch Hall was the
manor house. In 1633 Edward Elrington sold
Theydon Hall, which must previously have been the
manor house, to Frances Muscott, by the name of the
site of the manor of Theydon Bois. (fn. 88) This conveyance
was accompanied by litigation, as Thomas Smith
claimed that Elrington had concluded a bargain with
him. (fn. 89) In 1644 Frances Muscott settled Theydon
Hall upon her daughter Charity, wife of George
Duncombe. (fn. 90) The estate was subsequently owned by
George Meggott, certainly by 1680 when he claimed
tithe from certain properties in the parish. (fn. 91) His son
Robert Meggott married Anne daughter of Gervase
Elwes. Their son John, born in 1714, was heir to his
uncle Sir Hervey Elwes and took the name and arms
of Elwes in 1751, succeeding to Sir Hervey's estates
on his death in 1763. (fn. 92) Both Sir Hervey and John
Elwes were notorious misers. John disposed in his will
(dated 1786) of property worth about £500,000. He
had inherited property in London about the Haymarket and built Portland Place, Portman Square, and
much of Marylebone. He died in 1789 and was succeeded by his grand-nephew John Timms, who took
the name and arms of Hervey-Elwes in 1793. (fn. 93) The
descendants of John Hervey-Elwes owned Theydon
Hall until 1919. (fn. 94) The property has since been
broken up. The house is now owned by Mr. Gordon
Norton and the farm-yard by Mr. Webster of Parsonage
Farm. (fn. 95)
In 1850 the Theydon Hall estate consisted of 425
acres in Theydon Bois. (fn. 96) It also included 149 acres
in Theydon Garnon when the tithes of that parish
were commuted in 1840. (fn. 97) The owner of the estate
also owned part of the tithes on his property. (fn. 98)
The front range of the present Theydon Hall was
rebuilt or added during the last quarter of the 18th
century. It consists of a main two-story block of yellow
brick flanked by single-story wings. The round-headed
doorway has fluted pilasters and a good semicircular
lead fanlight. To the left of the doorway the frontage
breaks forward to form a two-story bay. The marble
fireplaces, cornices, and doorcases of the principal
rooms have ornament of the Adam type. The style is
reminiscent of the great building schemes which were
being carried out in London at this period and this
part of the house may well be the work of John Elwes.
At the back is a timber-framed structure which is
thought to be the earlier house. It appears to date from
the second half of the 17th century. It is now derelict.
The former manor house of Birch Hall lay between
Birch Hall Farm and the present mansion. By the end
of the 18th century it had been demolished and in
1848 the site was known as 'Old House Ground'. (fn. 99)
The present house is of red brick. It was built in 1892. (fn. 1)
The two lodges and several of the cottages in Coppice
Row appear to be of the same period.
The manor of GREGORIES occupied the northeast corner of the parish and probably took its name
from Gregory son of Ralph who held ¼ knight's fee in
Theydon of the barony of Valognes in 1235-6. (fn. 2) This
Gregory may be identical with the Gregory de
Theydon who was a verderer of the Forest of Essex in
1250. (fn. 3) The manor was originally known as that of
Theydon Bois, without anything to distinguish it in
name from the capital manor. On one occasion during
the 15th century it was actually found necessary to
show that the two manors were distinct. (fn. 4)
A document drawn up in a 15th-century lawsuit
traces the history of the manor from Amy, wife of
Henry Boys, who alienated a tenement and lands in
Theydon Bois to her son Harry. He conveyed to
Stephen Morice, who in turn conveyed to Gilbert son
of Gregory de Theydon. (fn. 5) The difficulty in accepting
this descent is that the property could not have been
held by Gregory, from whom the manor was probably
named. Perhaps, however, the tenement referred to
in the 15th-century descent was added to an earlier
holding which was already in the possession of Gregory
in 1235-6. In 1591 an estate that was probably the
manor of Gregories was said to be held of the manor of
Theydon Bois by knight service. (fn. 6) This and the other
evidence strongly suggests that Gregories was originally part of the capital manor of Theydon Bois.
A Gilbert de Theydon was holding lands in Essex
in 1291 (fn. 7) and in 1299 the homage and service of Gilbert
de Theydon from his tenement in Theydon Bois were
conveyed with the manor of Hertingfordbury (Herts.)
by Henry de Maule to Agnes de Valence. (fn. 8) This conveyance is probably that mentioned in the Waltham
Abbey cartulary as being without legal force (see
above). Gilbert de Theydon was dead by 1299. (fn. 9)
His heir was his son Gilbert, then a minor. Agnes de
Valence claimed the right of wardship and seized the
estates of Gilbert. (fn. 10) Before January 1301, however,
Walter de Huntyngfeld appears to have acquired the
custody of the lands, and to have forfeited it to the king
for his default before the justices of the Bench against
Henry de Enefeld who vouched him to warranty
against Rose, Gilbert's widow. (fn. 11) Agnes de Valence
died in 1308. The inquisition taken after her death
makes no mention of any rights in Theydon Bois. (fn. 12)
Later in the Middle Ages Waltham Abbey appears to
have been exercising rights of overlordship over
Gregories. (fn. 13)
In 1323 Gilbert son of Gilbert de Theydon, for a
consideration of 40 marks, conveyed to William de
Clyf, clerk, the manor of Theydon Bois (i.e. Gregories)
and 60 acres of land in Theydon Garnon and Epping
Heath, of which property one-third was in reversion
only, it being held by Thomas de Chetingdon of
London and his wife Joan, in dower. (fn. 14) In 1324 there
is the note of a final concord (which may not actually
have been levied) by which William de Clyf conveyed
the same property to Robert Spynay and his heirs. (fn. 15)
In 1326 the property, apparently without any part then
in reversion, was conveyed by Richard de Clyf to
Alice Spynay, to hold for her life with successive
remainders to her son William and his heirs, and then
to James, his brother, and his heirs. (fn. 16)
In 1340 John de Goldingham and three others, presumably feoffees, conveyed the manors of Theydon
Garnon (q.v.) and Theydon Bois (i.e. Gregories) to
William Gernon and Isabel his wife, with remainder
to their son Thomas and his heirs. The fine is endorsed
with the claim of Gilbert, son and heir of Gilbert de
Theydon. (fn. 17) From 1340 until the death of Elizabeth
Hampden in 1538 the manor of Gregories descended
along with that of Theydon Garnon.
By a fine levied in 1345 John Colepepir granted
Gregories to Walter Colepepir for life with remainder
to Thomas son of William Gernon, Lucy his wife, and
Thomas's heirs. On this occasion Alice Spynay put in
her claim. (fn. 18) It will be seen that this fine differed in
detail from that concerning Theydon Garnon levied
at the same time. In 1450-1 Simon Wythiale alleged
that one Tylby, a clerk, had enfeoffed John Wythiale,
citizen and goldsmith of London, and his heirs of the
manor of Gregories and that Simon Wythiale his son,
entering the property after his father's death, had been
disseised by John Prince. Prince, however, won the
case, the jury finding that Wythiale had not been so disseised. (fn. 19) About 20 years later John son of the above
John Prince was defendant in a suit brought by William
Floure, which was apparently an echo of the above. In
1472 Floure granted to Richard, Duke of Gloucester,
and two others the manor of Gregories, which he
claimed to have held jointly with John Kilpek, also
a goldsmith of London, by feoffment of Thomas
Wythiale, another goldsmith. (fn. 20) Floure entered the
lands and when Prince re-entered upon them brought
an action against him and John Jenyn, the farmer of
the manor. The evidence suggests that an attorney had
delivered seisin of the manor to Thomas Averry by
virtue of an alleged feoffment from Floure to Richard,
Duke of Gloucester, Averry, Thomas Wythiale, and
another. Averry was a violent man and three times
attacked Prince, once actually within Theydon Garnon
church. Prince finally appealed to the mother of the
Duke of Gloucester (who was also the mother of the
king) and she wrote to the duke, whose men had
participated in these assaults. It was then agreed that
the matter should be submitted to arbitration. The
details of the settlement have not been discovered, but
they were clearly in Prince's favour. (fn. 21) It was during
this dispute that the documents proving the separate
identities of the manors of Theydon Bois and Theydon
Bois alias Gregories and setting out the early descent
of Gregories were drawn up.
On the division of Elizabeth Hampden's estate
Gregories passed to Christopher Carleton in right of
his wife Jane. He died in 1549 or 1550 and Jane later
married Francis Michell. (fn. 22) In 1591 it was presented
at the manor court of Theydon Bois that Jane Michell
had died holding 200 acres of the manor by knight
service. This was almost certainly Gregories. Her
heir was found to be John Carleton, a son by her first
husband. The jury added that part of the land, the
exact quantity being unknown, had been conveyed to
the use of Francis Michell. (fn. 23) In 1638 Gregories was
held by George Carleton and was settled upon him
and his wife Olive for their lives with remainder to Sir
Ralph Freeman, who paid £1,000 to Alexander
Carleton. (fn. 24) In May 1643 Freeman convenanted to
stand seised of the manor of Gregories for life, with
remainder to his youngest son George. George
Carleton may have been dead by this time; he was
certainly dead by April 1644, when his will was
proved. (fn. 25) In 1649 the settlement of 1643 was revoked
and the property, subject apparently to the life interest
of Olive, now the wife of John Rivers, was sold to
Fulk Wormlayton of Wapping (Mdx.) distiller, and
William Hiccocks of Southwark, brewer, for £1,690.
It was agreed between Wormlayton and Hiccocks that
each should enjoy half the property with no right of
survivorship and that within 30 days after the death of
Olive Rivers the property should be divided between
them according to the disposition of four arbitrators.
It was further covenanted that neither party should
attempt to buy out Olive's life interest. (fn. 26) In 1650 John
and Olive Rivers leased to Wormlayton for Olive's life
and for £240 certain rooms, including the hall, the
great parlour with the larders or butteries adjoining,
two cellars, and three chambers, part of the house called
Gregories, with other buildings and about 200 acres
at an annual rent of £60. In 1652, presumably on the
death of Olive Rivers, the property was divided,
Wormlayton taking the lands included in his lease and
Hiccocks the remainder, together with the manorial
rights.
Fulk Wormlayton was dead by 1676 and was succeeded by his son John (d. ante Sept. 1680) (fn. 27) and grandson of the same name who in 1727 sold the property to
Jacob Houblon of Bobbingworth for £3,000. During
the lives of the two John Wormlaytons mortgages
were often raised on the property. In 1735 the
property was settled upon the marriage of Jacob
Houblon with Mary Cotton, becoming subsequently
absorbed in the Coopersale estate in Theydon Garnon
(q.v.). (fn. 28)
The other half of Gregories, including the manorial
rights, descended from William Hiccocks (d. 1674)
to his grandson of the same name. (fn. 29) In 1709 it was
conveyed by a John Hiccocks to John Hyett, who died
in 1719 leaving it to his grandson John, son of his
deceased son Thomas. (fn. 30) In his will John Hyett the
elder provided that the manor should be charged with
an annuity for apprenticing poor boys. (fn. 31) The manor
was still held by the Hyetts in 1759, when Elizabeth
Hyett was party to a conveyance, but by 1777 it was
apparently owned by the Crewe family. (fn. 32) In 1783 it
was sold by John Crewe of Bolesworth Castle (Chesh.)
to John Tysoe Read of London, banker, whose assigns
sold it in 1785 to Daniel Giles of London. (fn. 33) Giles
died in 1800 and was succeeded by his son, Daniel
Giles of Youngsbury (Herts.). (fn. 34) In 1849 the manor
was owned by Lady Louisa Giles Puller of Youngsbury. (fn. 35) It had presumably descended with the manor
of North Weald (q.v.). In 1850 Lady Puller's estate
consisted of 159 acres in Theydon Bois, then occupied
by Thomas Mills. (fn. 36)
About 600 yds. east of the end of Gregories Lane
is a rectangular moat which probably represents the
site of the medieval manor house of Gregories. A
field beyond the end of the lane was known in 1848 as
'Gregory's Garden'. (fn. 37) The present farm of Great
Gregories was in existence in 1848 but the farm-house
appears to have been rebuilt early in the 20th century.
A farm in Gregories Lane was known in the 19th
century as Little Gregories. (fn. 38)