MANORS
In 1086 a manor of THEYDON, assessed at 1 hide
and 40 acres, was held in demesne by Eudo
dapifer. Before the Conquest it had belonged to Ulmar. (fn. 73) Another manor of
Theydon, held in 1066 by Suen, was held in demesne
in 1086 by William son of Constantine. This manor
was assessed at 2 hides and 40 acres. (fn. 74) It is probable
that both these Domesday manors were in Theydon
Garnon. It appears that they continued to have
separate tenants in chief but that during the 12th
century they came to be held by a single tenant in
demesne, whose manor later became known as that of
THEYDON GARNON.
Eudo dapifer died in 1120 and his honor escheated
to the Crown. (fn. 75) Part of it, including Theydon
Garnon, was granted by Henry II soon after his
accession to his chamberlain Warin Fitz Gerold. He
died in about 1159 and was succeeded by his brother
Henry Fitz Gerold (d. 1174 or 1175). Henry's son
and successor, Warin Fitz Gerold, held the honor until
his death in 1216. He was succeeded by his daughter
Margery, who married Baldwin de Rivers. She died
in 1252, leaving as her heir her grandson Baldwin de
Rivers, Earl of Devon, who died without issue in 1262
and was succeeded by his sister Isabel, who married
William de Forz. Isabel died in 1293. One of her
heirs was Warin de Lisle, great-grandson of Henry
Fitz Gerold, brother of Warin Fitz Gerold (d. 1216). (fn. 76)
Warin succeeded to the part of Eudo's honor that had
been held by Isabel and that included Theydon
Garnon, and from this time the part of the manor of
Theydon Garnon held in 1086 by Eudo was held by
the tenants in demesne as of the honor of Lisle, which
came to the Crown in 1368 and was later merged in
the Duchy of Lancaster. (fn. 77) In 1368 the tenant of
Theydon Garnon had suit at the two courts of the
honor, at Walbrook (London) and Arkesden (Essex),
every three weeks. (fn. 78) In 1821 the Duchy still claimed
the right to exclude county coroners from the parish,
on the ground that it was parcel of the Duchy liberties. (fn. 79)
The descent of the tenancy in chief of the manor
held in 1086 by William son of Constantine is not
certain, but it is likely that it passed in the 12th century
to the Munchensy family, who during the same period
became tenants in chief of William son of Constantine's
other manor of Southcote in Stone (Bucks.). (fn. 80) In
1258 the tenant in demesne of the manor of Theydon
Garnon was found to hold 1/3 knight's fee of Denise de
Munchensy, widow of Warin de Munchensy. (fn. 81) This
fee descended to her granddaughter Denise de
Munchensy who died in 1313 leaving as her heir her
cousin Aymer de Valence, Earl of Pembroke. (fn. 82) He
died in 1324, holding 4¾ knights' fees in Theydon,
Leighs, and Latchingdon, for which he was owed
service by William Gernon, and also ½ fee held by 'the
lady of Theydon'. (fn. 83) In 1325 the escheator was directed
to deliver this ½ fee, valued at 60s. a year, and the
4¾ fees, valued at £30, to Aymer's widow, Mary, in
dower. (fn. 84) Aymer's lands were divided among coheirs,
one of whom was Lawrence, Lord de Hastinges (d.
1348), later Earl of Pembroke, and it is evident that
the ½ fee with the 4¾ fees fell to John de Hastinges,
Earl of Pembroke, who died seised of them in 1375. (fn. 85)
In 1435 4½ fees in Theydon Garnon, Leighs and
Latchingdon and also the ½ fee were held, presumably
in dower, by Joan (who died in that year), widow of
William de Beauchamp, Lord Bergavenny, (fn. 86) who had
been one of the heirs of John de Hastinges (d. 1389)
Earl of Pembroke. (fn. 87) These fees passed to Joan's
grandson Edward Neville, Lord Bergavenny, who died
in 1476. (fn. 88)
In 1166 Ralph son of Peter son of Constantine held
2 knights' fees of Henry Fitz Gerold as of the fees late
of Eudo dapifer. (fn. 89) Ralph was probably but not certainly
related to the Domesday tenant William son of
Constantine. In 1200 Ralph son of Peter granted to
Ralph Gernon for life a marsh in Theydon and other
property, to hold for 8s. 4d. at a scutage of 20s. (fn. 90) In
1207 the king confirmed to Gernon the hundred of
Lexden and the gift which Ralph son of Peter made to
him of all his land in Theydon, in exchange for Ralph's
land in Fowlmere (Cambs.). (fn. 91) In 1220 Cecily, widow
of Richard son of Ralph, released to Ralph Gernon all
claim to the property in Theydon which she held in
dower, as Gernon had granted her 1/3 of all her husband's
land in Fowlmere for her dower and also the custody
of the other 2/3 until her sons in Gernon's custody came
of age. (fn. 92) In 1224 the sheriff of Essex was directed to
let Ralph Gernon have his scutage of 2 knights' fees
of the fee late of Warin Fitz Gerold. (fn. 93) In 1235-6
Gernon held of Margery de Rivers 2 knights' fees in
Theydon and elsewhere. (fn. 94) He died in 1247 leaving
his son William as heir. Part of the manor was said to
be held for 1/3 knight's fee of the heirs of Ongar (i.e. the
Rivers family of Stanford Rivers and Chipping Ongar,
q.v.). It is not clear how this tenure had become associated with Theydon Garnon. (fn. 95) In 1212 Gernon had
held 6 fees of the honor of Ongar. (fn. 96) There is apparently
no later evidence of a connexion between Theydon
Garnon and the honor of Ongar than that of 1265 (see
below) when the connexion appears to have been
successfully denied by the tenant of Theydon Garnon.
Most of the manor was in 1245 held of Margery de
Rivers; there was then no mention of the tenure of the
Munchensy family. The demesne of the manor was
said to be worth £4 17s. a year, the rents of assize
£7 19s. 4½d., the customary services 37s. 4d., pasture
and meadow £2 16s. 2d., and a mill 30s. The total
annual value was thus £18 19s. 10½d. (fn. 97)
William Gernon died in 1258 holding part of the
manor of Denise de Munchensy and part of it of
Baldwin de Lisle. His heir was his son Ralph. (fn. 98) Ralph
Gernon was an adherent of Simon de Montfort and
in 1265 his estates were consequently seized by the
Crown. Theydon Garnon was valued at £16 and
John de Rivers, the lord of the honor of Ongar, had
received the Michaelmas rent of £4 9s. 11d. because
Ralph had denied service and did not claim to hold the
manor of him. (fn. 99) Ralph was pardoned in 1267 and in
1271, three years before his death, he subinfeudated the
manor for one knight's fee to his youngest son John,
who was to pay an annual rent of £40 during his
father's lifetime. (fn. 1) Ralph died in 1274. (fn. 2) John, who was
described in 1293 as one of the four nephews and
coheirs of Nicholas Tregoz of Tolleshunt Darcy, the
husband of Eve de Valeynes, (fn. 3) was probably the John
Gernon who died in 1321. (fn. 4) Long before this, however,
he must have alienated the manor, for in 1305 it was
held by Hugh Gernon, apparently the son of William,
who was the heir of the last-named Ralph Gernon. (fn. 5) The
mesne tenancy created by the conveyance of 1271 thus
appears to have been extinguished. In 1309 Hugh
Gernon granted to William Deen the reversion of the
manor, then said to be held for life by William Gernon
and his wife Isabel, of Hugh's inheritance. (fn. 6) In 1311
Deen, then a knight, released to William and Isabel and
the heirs of William his rights in the manor, which
rights had previously been recognized by Hugh
Gernon, son of William. (fn. 7)
In 1320 William Gernon the elder granted to his
son William the reversion of the manor, then held for
life by Richard de Teye, parson of Theydon Garnon;
Ralph, brother of the younger William, was to have
remainder after him. (fn. 8) The elder William died in
1327 and Richard de Teye in 1329. (fn. 9) In 1339 John,
son and heir of Sir John Gernon, brother of the elder
William, released to the younger William his right in
the manor, to which he claimed to have the reversion
after the younger William and his heirs. (fn. 10) In 1340 the
manor was conveyed by John de Goldingham and
others, no doubt feoffees, to William Gernon and his
wife Isabel and the heirs of William, with remainder
to their son Thomas. (fn. 11) William must have died shortly
after, for later in the same year Isabel was a widow. (fn. 12)
In 1345 the manor was conveyed by John Colepepir to
Thomas son of William Gernon and Lucy his wife,
daughter of Maud de Whetynton. Theydon Garnon
was then said to be held by Walter Colepepir as security
for a debt of £100 owing to him. (fn. 13) In 1346 John, son
and heir of Sir John Gernon, again released his rights
in the manor. (fn. 14)
Thomas Gernon was living in 1354 but was apparently dead by 1361, when Lucy Gernon was said
to be one of the lords of whom the manor of Gaynes
Park (see below) was held. (fn. 15) About this time the manor
of Theydon Garnon was evidently acquired by John
Stokes, who presented to the rectory in 1367 and 1368
and was described as lord of the 'town'. (fn. 16) He was
probably identical with John de Stokesby who with
his wife was holding 2 fees in Theydon and elsewhere
when the honor of Lisle was given to the king in 1368. (fn. 17)
He was still alive and living at Theydon Garnon in
1371. (fn. 18) It is possible that he had married Lucy
Gernon and held the manor in her right. By 1375,
however, Lucy had married Thomas Lampet, for in
that year Sir Thomas Colepepir released to Thomas
and Lucy all his interest in the manor for the term of
her life. (fn. 19) Lucy died soon after this, leaving her son
Thomas Gernon still under age. (fn. 20) In 1379, having
presumably attained his majority, Thomas leased the
manor for three years to his stepfather Lampet, at an
annual rent of 35 marks. (fn. 21)
In 1407 Lampet released to Thomas Gernon his
right in the manor, which he held as a feoffee, and next
day directed the delivery of seisin to Gernon and three
others, to the use of Gernon and of Robert Prince who
was said to be the tenant in tail. (fn. 22) Robert was son of
Gilbert Prince and Elizabeth, sister of Thomas
Gernon. (fn. 23) By 1428-9 Gernon was dead and Robert
Prince had been put in possession of the manor. In
that year Prince enfeoffed Thomas Morsted and
Adam May in all the lands which came to him after
the death of his uncle, and the feoffees permitted the
profits to be taken by Elizabeth, widow of William
Massey, one of the feoffees of 1407. (fn. 24) On Prince's
death Morsted as surviving feoffee released his right to
Elizabeth, now the wife of Sir Thomas Cobham, and
she and her husband continued to take the profits. (fn. 25)
Cobham presented to the rectory in 1442. (fn. 26) In 1444,
however, John Prince, nephew of Robert, took proceedings against Morsted as tenant of the freehold by
Robert's feoffment. Morsted allowed him to recover
seisin by default, but the Cobhams remained in possession until Prince tortiously entered the lands. Judgement was given in his favour in 1446, but the verdict
was impugned by the Cobhams. (fn. 27) The matter seems
to have been decided by arbitration in 1448-9, Prince
being confirmed in the manor. (fn. 28) He had held his first
court there in 1447. (fn. 29) In 1467 he and his wife had
licence from the Pope to have a portable altar. (fn. 30) His
will was dated 1470 and he was dead by February
1471. (fn. 31) Under the will his wife Joan should have
inherited the manor absolutely, but a dispute arose
over the will and eventually it was settled by arbitration that Joan should receive 10 marks a year in compensation for her dower and her rights in the manors of
Theydon Garnon and Gregories in Theydon Bois.
This was confirmed by John Prince son of Joan. He
was to receive £20 at the sealing of this deed, with all
the goods left by Joan at both manors. (fn. 32)
In 1474 the last named John Prince made a conveyance of the manors for the surety of his wife's
jointure and of their children, and in 1482 Theydon
Garnon and Gregories were settled upon John and
Lucy his wife for life. (fn. 33) In 1497 John and Lucy leased
the manor house of Garnons Hall, except the parlour
and three rooms over it at the upper end of the high
dais of the hall, with access thereto through the garden
on the south side, to John Wylkinson of Epping, maltman, for 10 years at an annual rent of £8. (fn. 34) Prince
was living at Waltham Holy Cross at the time of his
death in 1499. In his will, proved in the same year, he
left all his properties to his daughter Elizabeth and her
husband William Sparowe, subject to an annuity of
£15 to be paid to Lucy for her life out of Theydon
Garnon and Gregories. (fn. 35)
Early in 1499, however, shortly before making his
will, Prince had sold to Humphrey Coningsby for 300
marks the reversion upon his death of Theydon Garnon
and Gregories, saving the life interests of Lucy and of
William and Elizabeth Sparowe in certain lands.
Prince had agreed to deliver up his evidences before
Whitsun 1499, but although he was still alive in July
1499, for he then made his will, he had failed to do so
and the bargain remained uncompleted at his death. (fn. 36)
Sparowe refused to surrender the evidences and
Coningsby took the matter to law, claiming £400
damages. In 1500 Sparowe and his wife agreed with
Sir Thomas Tyrell to settle Theydon Garnon and
Gregories and a messuage in Theydon Garnon called
Garnish Mill on themselves and Elizabeth's heirs with
remainder to Tyrell who covenanted to bear the cost
of the actions between the Sparowes and Coningsby. (fn. 37)
In 1501 Sparowe bound himself and his wife in the
sum of £600 to obey an award of arbitration, and to
make no default in an assize of novel disseisin arraigned
by Sir Reynold Bray, one of Coningsby's feoffees. (fn. 38)
In the same year Sparowe died and Elizabeth married
Francis Hampden, who was then named with her as
defendant in the suit. In 1502 he, with Sir John
Hampden and another, entered into reciprocal bonds
with Coningsby to accept arbitration. (fn. 39) The dispute,
however, went on. Francis and Elizabeth evidently
remained in possession of the properties and in 1504
leased to Robert Pecok for nine years at an annual rent
of £7 13s. 4d. what was described as the site of the
manor of Theydon Garnon being the outer court,
without the moat, and all the housing in that court
except the Long House. (fn. 40)
Hugh Oldham, Bishop of Exeter, who was the last
survivor of the feoffees created by Coningsby, died in
1519. It was subsequently claimed that the legal estate
in the manor of Theydon Garnon passed to Oldham's
heir Adam Travers, Archdeacon of Exeter. Travers
seems to have enfeoffed a certain Nowers, but when
Nowers and others brought an action against Francis
and Elizabeth Hampden the plaintiffs claimed to hold
under a previous feoffment. (fn. 41) In 1523 there was a
further appointment of feoffees, and in 1527 Coningsby
entered into another bond of £600 to abide by the
award of three justices of the Common Pleas. A
settlement was at last reached and later in 1527
Coningsby, Nowers, and the other feoffees released
their right in Theydon Garnon and Gregories to
Francis and Elizabeth Hampden and Elizabeth's heirs.
Francis and Elizabeth were to pay 350 marks to
Coningsby, who was to deliver up his evidences. In
1529 Francis and Elizabeth made a conveyance of the
two manors to Thomas Tyrell and others, no doubt in
connexion with the agreement of 1500. (fn. 42) Before the
final settlement of the dispute, in 1525, they had settled
one-third of their lands upon Margery their eldest
daughter and her husband John Shirley. (fn. 43) In 1538
the third part of the manor of Theydon Garnon was
leased to John ap Rice of London for £90 a year. (fn. 44)
Elizabeth Hampden died, a widow, in 1538, leaving
three daughters and coheirs, the above Margery
Shirley, Jane wife of Christopher Carleton, and Ellen,
later wife of John Branch. Shortly after Elizabeth's
death Carleton instituted proceedings in Chancery
which seem to have resulted in the transfer to him of
Gregories manor and a rent of 30s. while Branch was
given Garnish Mill farm and a rent of £10, and
Margery (now Edward Bishop's wife) retained
Theydon Garnon manor. This new arrangement was
confirmed in the Common Pleas in 1544 and it was
then also provided that the common and waste and
Garnons Wood should be divided into three. Presentations to Theydon Garnon rectory, as already
arranged, were to be made in turn, the first vacancy to
be filled by Margery, the second by Carleton, and the
third by Branch. (fn. 45)
Margery Bishop died in 1545, leaving an infant son
Edward. (fn. 46) He evidently died soon after, for on the
death in 1553 of Margery's husband Edward Bishop,
who had held Theydon Garnon for life, the manor
passed to her two sisters. (fn. 47) In 1556 the manor was
allotted to John and Ellen Branch, together with
Margery's turn in the advowson. Jane, formerly wife
of Christopher Carleton (d. c. 1549) and now of Francis
Michell, received two parts of the wood upon the
common and the waste lands. (fn. 48) Further disputes occurred and in 1562 there was another settlement which
confirmed the manor to John and Ellen Branch, settled
the advowson upon them in reversion after the death
of Jane, divided the freehold lands between the sisters
but gave to John and Ellen all Margery's share in the
waste grounds of Garnons Wood. (fn. 49)
Ellen Branch had died in 1567. (fn. 50) John Branch held
the manor for life after her death. In 1568 he married
Ellen Minors, (fn. 51) said elsewhere to be daughter of
William Nicolson. (fn. 52) He was Lord Mayor of London
1580-1 and was knighted in that year. (fn. 53) In 1587 he
settled the reversion of the manor after the deaths of
himself and his wife on his nephew Sir Daniel Dun. (fn. 54)
Branch died soon after this and in 1589 his widow released to Dun her life interest in the manor. (fn. 55) At some
time after this, and before 1672, Garnish Mill farm
was separated from Theydon Garnon manor and
became part of the Suttons estate (see Stapleford
Tawney). (fn. 56) In 1605 George Carleton grandson of
the above Christopher Carleton, sold his rights in
Garnons Wood to Dun for £30. (fn. 57)
Sir Daniel died in 1617. (fn. 58) His sons John (d. 1620)
and Caesar (d. 1636) both predeceased their mother,
Joan Dun, who held the manor in dower until her
death in 1640. (fn. 59) She was succeeded by Daniel Dun,
son of the above Caesar, who in 1652 sold the manor of
Theydon Garnon with the advowson to Robert Abdy
of London for £3,800. (fn. 60) Two years later Abdy
acquired the manor of Albyns in Stapleford Abbots
(q.v.) and Theydon Garnon descended along with
Albyns until 1858 when Sir Thomas Abdy, Bt., conveyed Theydon Garnon to Thomas C. ChisenhaleMarsh of Gaynes Park (fn. 61) (see below) who in 1867
succeeded his father as lord of the manors of Gaynes
Park and Hemnalls (see below). Since 1867 the manors
of Theydon Garnon and Hemnalls have had the same
descent as Gaynes Park. In 1650 Garnish Hall farm
comprised 220 acres and was valued at £176 a year
when leased: this figure included £12 for quit rents. (fn. 62)
In 1840 John R. Hatch Abdy owned a total of 228
acres in the parish. Of this 196 acres formed Garnish
Hall farm, then let to Thomas Mills. (fn. 63)
Some references to the manor house about 1500 have
been given above. In about 1650 it was described as a
timber house with a court and two gardens lying within
a moat, with two drawbridges and containing two
kitchens, two halls, two 'very fair parlours', and several
other rooms and offices. A map of the estate made in
1652 has as an inset a large scale drawing of the south
front of the house. (fn. 64) It shows a timber-framed building
about 90 ft. long with a central entrance flanked by
several gabled wings. Immediately east of the entrance
are a clock turret and a bell hanging in a domed cupola.
The irregular spacing of the windows and general lack
of symmetry suggest that the structure was of medieval
origin with later alterations. The house was surrounded by a square moat with bridges to the south
and west. Beyond this the stream on the south side
and ditches to the north and east may have formed an
outer defence. The map shows several ponds, complete
with their sluices, including those in the strip of woodland south-west of the house. This is still known as
Fiveponds Wood.
The original house with its inner moat disappeared
completely during the next hundred years. In the
middle of the 18th century the present farm-house was
built on the same site, (fn. 65) probably with timber from the
earlier Hall. It is a square structure, partly plastered
and partly weather-boarded, with a symmetrical redbrick front. Internally a considerable amount of 16thor early-17th-century panelling has been reused and
there is a carved overmantel of about 1650. A 16th-century stained glass quarry in the staircase window
has a heart-shaped device and the initials 1. and t. b.
The manor of GAYNES PARK appears to have
originated in the 13th century. Previously it had probably formed part of the manor of Theydon Garnon.
Until about 1400 it was known also as the manor of
Theydon Garnon, and this ambiguity has caused much
confusion in accounts of its history. (fn. 66) In 1274 the king
ordered the escheator to deliver the manor of 'Tayden
Garnet' to John Engaine and his wife Joan daughter
of Joyce de Montfichet, as it had been found that Joyce
held nothing in chief at her death and that the manor
was held of William de Lambourne. (fn. 67) William was
lord of the manor of Lambourne (q.v.). It is probable
from subsequent statements that Gaynes Park was in
fact held as of the capital manor of Theydon Garnon.
It is possible that Joyce had held a part of her land of
the manor of Lambourne, but there is no further
evidence even of this. Joyce had married as her first
husband Sir Gilbert de Greinville, who was the father
of her daughter Joan. After Gilbert's death Joyce
married Richard de Montfichet who in 1253 had
licence to inclose his wood in Theydon with a low
hedge and ditch, so that the king's deer could go in
and out, and to assart a hay called Ruhedon. (fn. 68)
It was no doubt from John Engaine that Gaynes
Park derived its name. In 1287 he and his wife
granted the manor for life to Robert Fitz Walter, to
hold of them at an annual rent of 1d. After his death
it was to be held by Walter, son of Robert and his wife
Joan, who was daughter of John and Joan Engaine,
and her heirs. (fn. 69) In 1294 Robert Fitz Walter, then
about to depart for Gascony, had licence to lease the
manor, said to be held in chief, to Nicholas de Barrington and Eustace de Masshebury for two years. (fn. 70) In
1298 the king confirmed a grant of the manor for life
made by Fitz Walter to Walter de Langton, Bishop of
Coventry, promising that if Robert should die leaving
an heir under age he would take nothing in the manor
as a custody, nor distrain therein for any debts that
Robert might owe to him. (fn. 71) Two years later the bishop
had a grant of free warren in his demesne lands in
Theydon. (fn. 72) Langton, who was Treasurer under
Edward I, was arrested on the accession of Edward II (fn. 73)
but in 1308 the Sheriff of Essex was ordered to value
the corn and other goods in the manor of 'Theydon
Mountfichet' and deliver them to the bishop along
with the manor, after taking security from him for
rendering thereof at the king's will. (fn. 74) In 1309, however, Langton petitioned the king to restore three little
manors, one of which was Theydon Mountfichet, because he had had no restitution of his property other
than the bishopric. (fn. 75) No further reference has been
found to Langton at Theydon, but since he was eventually released from prison and reinstated as Treasurer
it is possible that he recovered the manor and held it
to his death in 1321, at which time, if not before, it
would have reverted to Fitz Walter.
Robert Fitz Walter died in 1326; he had outlived
both his son Walter and Joan, wife of Walter, and the
manor passed under the settlement of 1287 to Adam,
Lord de Welle, son of Joan by her second husband
Adam, Lord de Welle (d. 1311). (fn. 76) An inquisition of
1326, nominally on the death of Joan (d. 1315), found
that the manor contained a capital messuage, a park,
and 100 acres of land held of William Gernon by service of 6s., a pair of gilt spurs, and 1 lb. pepper, 40 acres
of land held of John de Sutton by service of 18d. and
1 lb. cummin, 2 acres held of Richard de Teye by
service of 12d., and 2 acres held of Richard de Stonhurst. (fn. 77) According to a valuation of the manor made
a few weeks later the capital messuage within the park
was ruinous and worth nothing, there was an unsound
(debile) dovecote worth 12d., 110 acres of arable of
which 40 acres were worth in all 13s. 4d. and 70 acres
were worth 11s. 8d. a year, 10 acres of meadow worth
20s. in all, a park with wild beasts, the grass in which
was worth 13s. 6d. a year beyond what was necessary
to feed the beasts, and the underwood 4s.; the rents of
assize of the free tenants were £7 10s. a year and there
were 58 acres of arable called le Fermelond, worth in
all 9s. 8d. The profits of the court were said to be
worth 12d. a year and the total annual value of the
manor was thus £11 4s. 2d. The details of tenure were
repeated, the service due to Richard de Stonhurst
being given as 15d., while each of the tenements held
of Stonhurst and Richard de Teye was said to have a
marl pit. (fn. 78)
Adam de Welle was a minor at the time of these
inquisitions, but later in 1326 he did homage and
received his lands. (fn. 79) In 1333 the keeper of the royal
forests south of the Trent was ordered to cause the
park of Adam de Welle of Theydon, which adjoined
the forest and was taken into the king's hand for defect
of the inclosure, to be replevied until the coming of the
justices of the forest so that it could be sufficiently
inclosed meanwhile. (fn. 80) About the same time Adam
granted to Alma de Furnyvall an annual rent of £26
from his manors of Theydon Garnon (i.e. Gaynes
Park), Hemnalls (see below), and Madells in Epping. (fn. 81)
Adam died in 1345. (fn. 82) Before his death he had granted
Gaynes Park, together with properties in the counties
of Northampton and Lincoln, to his son John and Maud
his wife. (fn. 83) Adam was said to have held the manor of
Thomas Gernon, who was lord of the capital manor of
Theydon Garnon, by service of 7s. and 1 lb. pepper
annually. (fn. 84)
John, Lord de Welles (as the name was subsequently
spelt) died in 1361, holding jointly with his wife the
manor, a messuage, and lands in Theydon Garnon,
Epping and Theydon Bois, said to be held of the Earl
of Stafford, the Abbot of Waltham, Reynold Malyns,
and Lucy Gernon. The jury did not specify of which
of these lords the manor itself was held. John's heir
was his son John, then a child. (fn. 85) In 1362 the king
ordered his escheator not to meddle further with the
properties since they had not been held in chief, but
held by John jointly with Maud his wife, by gift of
his father. (fn. 86) In 1387 Maud granted Gaynes Park,
Hemnalls, and Madells to Sir William de Skipwith
and others, presumably feoffees, (fn. 87) and three days later
they leased the manors to Sir Richard and Sir Stephen
Scrope, Thomas Lampet and Robert Marschall for
their lives. (fn. 88) Maud died in 1388, and was presumably
succeeded by her son John. (fn. 89) In the same year he was
summoned to take his place in Parliament as Lord de
Welles, and reproved for his previous excuses. (fn. 90) On
his death in 1421 he was succeeded by his grandson
Lionel de Welles, whose father Eudo had predeceased
him. (fn. 91)
Lionel, Lord de Welles, married first (1417) Joan
Waterton and secondly (1447) Margaret, widow of
John Beaufort, Duke of Somerset. (fn. 92) In 1447 he
settled his Essex manors upon himself and Margaret
for their lives, and in his will, dated 1457, he left the
properties after Margaret's death to John de Welles,
his son by her, and his heirs male and then to his own
right heirs. (fn. 93) Lionel was killed at the battle of Towton
in 1461. He was subsequently said to have held Gaynes
Park of the hundred of Ongar. (fn. 94) His heir was Sir
Richard de Welles, his son by his first wife, who had
married Joan, daughter of Robert (d. 1452), Lord
Willoughby de Eresby, and had been summoned to
Parliament from 1464 in right of his wife as Lord
Willoughby. (fn. 95) Lionel de Welles was included in the
Act of attainder passed in 1461, (fn. 96) and in 1462 the king
granted the reversion of Gaynes Park, Hemnalls, and
Madells after the death of Lionel's widow Margaret
to Thomas Colt and his heirs male. (fn. 97) The grant was
repeated in 1464, (fn. 98) but in that year Richard de Welles,
Lord Willoughly, had a grant of all his father's goods, (fn. 99)
and in 1468 he obtained a full restitution of blood and
honours as Lord Welles. (fn. 1) The three Essex manors
continued in Margaret's possession. (fn. 2) In 1469 Richard
was taken prisoner as a Lancastrian and executed. His
son Sir Robert de Welles was captured soon after and
was also executed, and in 1475 an Act of attainder was
passed against them both. (fn. 3) In that year the reversion
to Gaynes Park after Margaret's death was granted to
Richard, Duke of York, the king's son. (fn. 4) Hemnalls and
Madells were not mentioned in this grant. Margaret
died in 1482. (fn. 5) In April 1485 Richard III granted
Gaynes Park, valued at £26 13s. 4d. a year, to Sir
John Pykeryng and his son Hugh and Hugh's heirs
male for good service against the rebels, to hold by
knight service and an annual rent of 40s. There was
again no reference to Hemnalls and Madells. (fn. 6)
After the accession of Henry VII John, son of the
above Lionel, Lord de Welles, and Margaret his second
wife, obtained restitution of the family estates. (fn. 7) In
1487 he was created Viscount Welles and in the same
year married Cecily daughter of Edward IV. (fn. 8) In
1491 the estates were settled upon him and his wife
and their heirs by Act of Parliament. (fn. 9) He died in
1499, his two daughters having died in infancy. (fn. 10)
Another Act of Parliament in 1503 provided for the
disposal of his estates after Cecily's death. Gaynes
Park, Hemnalls, and Madells were to pass to the king
for ten years, and then to William, Lord Willoughby,
and his heirs for his purparty as one of the heirs of
Lionel, Lord Welles. (fn. 11) Cecily died in 1507, holding
the manor of Gaynes Park of the manor of Theydon
Garnon by fealty, a rent of 6s., and 1 lb. pepper.
Gaynes Park was then said to contain 3 messuages,
200 acres of land, 40 acres of meadow, 350 acres of
pasture, 250 acres of wood, and £10 16s. 6¼d. rent in
Theydon Garnon and 6 acres of meadow in Theydon
Bois, valued at a total of £14 14s. 3d. (fn. 12)
In April 1508 Lord Willoughby sold Gaynes Park,
Hemnalls, and Madells to William Fitzwilliam,
alderman of London, at the same time covenanting that
he would prosecute the manors out of the king's hands
and that he would acquit the king of the interest which
he had in them under the Act of 1503. In default he
was to allow Fitzwilliam a rebate of 50 marks for each
year that the properties remained in the king's hands.
In June 1508 the parties agreed that Fitzwilliam should
undertake these proceedings in return for an abatement
of 460 marks in the purchase money. (fn. 13) In September
1508 the king released his interest in the properties to
Lord Willoughby and licensed him to enter upon them
without proof of age. (fn. 14) The conveyance to Fitzwilliam
presumably became effective at once.
Sir William Fitzwilliam died in 1534 and was succeeded by Sir William his eldest son. (fn. 15) In 1543
Gaynes Park, Hemnalls, and Madells, together with
Marshalls in North Weald (q.v.) were settled on Anne,
daughter of Sir William Sidney, at her marriage with
Sir William Fitzwilliam's son, another William. (fn. 16)
This William succeeded his father in 1576 (fn. 17) and in
1596 settled his Essex estates on his wife for life with
remainder to his younger son John and his heirs
male. (fn. 18) Sir William died in 1599, (fn. 19) and his wife in
1602. (fn. 20)
The last named Sir William Fitzwilliam had held
the office of vice-treasurer and treasurer at wars in
Ireland from 1559 to 1573, and as such had incurred
debts to the queen amounting to £3,964. In 1572 he
was pardoned £1,000, but by his death only £1,185
of the residue had been paid. (fn. 21) After his widow's
death their elder son William became responsible for
the debt and this led to a dispute over the ownership
of Gaynes Park. By the settlement of 1596 William's
younger brother John was heir to Gaynes Park but in
1602, soon after Lady Fitzwilliam's death, William
seized some of the furnishings and other goods at
Gaynes Park and challenged John's title to the manor,
going so far as to mortgage the estate to the queen,
presumably as a means of repaying the debt to her.
William and John brought countercharges against each
other for wrongful entry into Gaynes Park and the dispute was finally brought before the Court of Exchequer.
Precise details of the result have not been found, but
John certainly gained possession of the Essex estates. (fn. 22)
In 1609 John Fitzwilliam entailed Gaynes Park
upon himself, with remainder to his executor for ten
years after his death for such purposes as should be
declared in his will, or if he left no such declaration,
then to the use of Sir Richard Wingfield, son of his
father's sister Christiana. At the end of the ten-year
period the property was to pass to Sir Richard and his
heirs male, with reversion to Nicholas, second son of
Sir John Byron of Newstead (Notts.) by his wife
Margaret, sister of John. In the deed of settlement
John mentioned the dispute with his brother and also
the support which he had received from Sir Richard
Wingfield. (fn. 23) In the following year John Fitzwilliam
made a new settlement in which he repeated the above
provisions, altering only some later remainders. (fn. 24)
Fitzwilliam died without issue in 1612. (fn. 25) In his
will he confirmed the settlement of 1610, with the
additional clause that if Sir Richard Wingfield or whoever should then be next in tail would undertake to pay
his debts and legacies then he should have immediate
possession of the properties. (fn. 26) Wingfield took advantage
of this clause, taking a lease from the executors for the
ten years, and settled the manor upon himself and his
wife and their heirs male, with remainder to the above
Nicholas Byron. (fn. 27) Wingfield was created Viscount
Powerscourt in 1618 and died without issue in 1634,
having outlived his wife. (fn. 28)
Gaynes Park passed to Sir Nicholas Byron. In 1637
he agreed with John and Margaret Harrison that the
manor should be settled in trust for the use of Harrison
but that if Byron paid £4,400 at any time within the
next seven years the manor was thereafter to be held
for his use. In addition Byron was to pay £800, to
settle a quarter of the manor of South Stoke (Lincs.)
on Harrison and to release to Harrison two annuities
charged upon Gaynes Park for the lives of Byron, his
wife and their eldest son William. (fn. 29) A month after
this agreement Byron mortgaged the estate for £300
to John Fountaine. (fn. 30) In 1639 he raised a further
mortgage of £200 from Fountaine and in 1642 pledged
an annuity of £20 out of the estate to secure payment
of £300 to Anne Beverley. (fn. 31) He died in 1648, leaving
Gaynes Park to his widow Sophia for life, with successive remainders to his sons William and Ernestus. (fn. 32)
In 1657, after the death of Sophia and William,
Ernestus Byron sold the estate to William Turner for
£3,000. (fn. 33)
The next known owner of Gaynes Park was the
Earl of Anglesey (d. 1686), who was holding it in
1662. (fn. 34) It is possible that Turner was acting on his
behalf in the above conveyance. The manor apparently descended with the earldom of Anglesey until
1761. (fn. 35) It then passed to Arthur, son of the 6th earl,
who was held to have succeeded to the family's title
of Viscount Valentia although he failed to secure
recognition as Earl of Anglesey. (fn. 36) In a 17th-century
document the total rents from the Gaynes Park estates
(including Hemnalls) were stated to be £251. (fn. 37)
Valentia retained Gaynes Park until about 1792. (fn. 38)
He sold it to Sir Thomas Coxhead, who died in 1811
leaving it to William Coxhead Marsh, described as the
natural son of Sarah Marsh late of Ashwell (Herts.). (fn. 39)
Marsh had been living at Gaynes Park from about
1806. (fn. 40) From 1811 Gaynes Park descended in the
Marsh (later Chisenhale-Marsh) family. The present
owner is Mr. Hugo Chisenhale-Marsh. (fn. 41) In 1840
W. C. Marsh owned 718 acres in Theydon Garnon,
of which 497 acres were in his own occupation. (fn. 42) He
also owned 18 acres in Theydon Mount. (fn. 43) In 1873
Thomas Coxhead Chisenhale-Marsh owned a total of
1,361 acres in Essex, with an estimated gross rental of
£2,357. (fn. 44) Part of the increase, but not all of it, is
accounted for by the acquisition of the manor of
Theydon Garnon (see above) in 1858.
In the 17th century Gaynes Park Hall was described
as a well-built brick house with gardens, orchards,
yards, stables, and outhouses, enclosed with brick walls
and fish ponds, and it was said to have cost £8,000 to
build. (fn. 45) This house existed in 1696 but had been
demolished by about 1740. (fn. 46) By 1777 a new house
had been built about ¼ mile farther north. (fn. 47) This was
usually known as Park Hall. A print of 1818 shows a
long white front of two stories having a central bay
flanked by Venetian windows. (fn. 48) After the middle of
the 19th century Thomas Coxhead Chisenhale-Marsh
incorporated this building in a large stone mansion of
Kentish rag which he completed in 1870. (fn. 49) The house
is in Tudor style with a pierced parapet and many
gables.
The manor of HEMNALLS seems to have comprised the north-west corner of the ancient parish of
Theydon Garnon. The modern Hemnall Street in
Epping, which runs parallel with High Street to the
south-east, was formerly just within the boundary of
Theydon Garnon. The name probably derives from
the family of Henry de Emhal' (c. 1248) and Roger de
Hemenhal (c. 1254) who may have come from
Hempnall (Norf.). (fn. 50)
Hemnalls is first referred to as a manor in about
1340, when Adam de Welle granted a rent which
issued partly from it (see Gaynes Park, above). At
the inquisition made after Adam's death in 1345
Hemnalls was described as a tenement in Theydon
Garnon and Theydon Bois, held of John Fitz Walter
by service of 26s. a year. The jurors did not know
whether it was held by knight service or by socage. (fn. 51) It
was referred to again as a manor in 1387 and was
always subsequently so termed. (fn. 52) In 1461 it was said
to be a member of Gaynes Park (fn. 53) but in 1507 and 1612
to be held of the manor of Hubbards Hall in Harlow
at a rent of 26s. (fn. 54)
From about 1340 to 1811 the tenancy in demesne
descended with the manor of Gaynes Park, except for
two brief periods when that manor appears to have
been granted separately (1475 and 1485). On the
death in 1811 of Sir Thomas Coxhead Hemnalls
passed under his will to his widow Deborah for life,
with remainder to Thomas Coxhead Marsh of Union
Wharf, Wapping (Mdx.), who was also the natural
son of Sarah Marsh of Ashwell (Herts.). (fn. 55) T. C.
Marsh died, apparently without children, in 1847, and
Hemnalls passed under the terms of Sir Thomas Coxhead's will to W. C. Marsh of Gaynes Park. (fn. 56) T. C.
Marsh appears to have spent his later life in Paris,
where he had a hotel. (fn. 57) He owned no land in the
parish of Theydon Garnon in 1840, (fn. 58) so that by that
time, if not earlier, his interest in Hemnalls consisted
only of the manorial rights, if any. Since 1847 Hemnalls
has once again descended along with Gaynes Park.
The site of the ancient manor house is not known.
COOPERSALE HOUSE was formerly the seat of
the Archer family and subsequently one of the residences of the Archer-Houblon family. Although never
styled a manor it was the centre of one of the largest
estates in Theydon Garnon.
References to the Archers are found very early in
the history of Theydon Garnon, but the first of them
to become important was Henry Archer who on his
death in 1616 held a capital messuage of the manor of
Hemnalls. (fn. 59) His successor was his son Sir John Archer
(d. 1682), a justice of the Common Pleas. John Archer,
son and heir of Sir John, died without issue in 1707,
leaving the estate to William Eyre of Gray's Inn on
condition that he should adopt the name of Archer and
marry Eleanor Wrottesly, John Archer's niece. Eleanor
died without issue and William Eyre (now William
Eyre Archer) later married Susanna, daughter of Sir
John Newton, Bt. Their son John Archer succeeded
to the estate in 1739 although he had no connexion by
blood with the original family of Archer. (fn. 60) He died in
1800, leaving as his heir his daughter Susanna, who
in 1770 had married Jacob Houblon (d. 1783) of
Hallingbury Place. (fn. 61) She went to live at Coopersale
at her father's death. The house had been unoccupied
since her mother's death in 1776. (fn. 62) In 1819 Susanna
adopted the name of Mrs. Houblon Newton. (fn. 63) She
died in 1837, the estate passing to her grandson John
Archer-Houblon. (fn. 64) In 1838-40 he owned 703 acres in
Theydon Garnon and 18 acres in Theydon Mount. (fn. 65)
He was also owner of 82 acres in Theydon Bois when
the tithes of that parish were commuted in 1850. (fn. 66)
After 1837 the Coopersale estate descended along
with Hallingbury Place in the Archer-Houblon
family. Coopersale House was successively the residence of Mrs. Mary Anne Archer-Houblon (d. 1865),
widow of John Archer Houblon (d. 1831), Miss
Harriet Archer-Houblon (d. 1896), and Mrs. Eyre. (fn. 67)
It then remained for some years unoccupied. (fn. 68) The
contents of the mansion were sold in 1908, and the
whole Coopersale estate in 1914. (fn. 69) Coopersale House
was then bought for a religious order which occupied
it during the First World War. In 1920 it was sold to
Mr. E. Camps. From 1936 to about 1944 it belonged
to Mr. Dudley Ward who sold it to Countess Howe.
It was bought in 1946 by Major Jocelyn Hambro,
who is the present owner. (fn. 70)
In 1920 the house was a large three-storied mansion,
roughly L-shaped on plan. (fn. 71) It contained fittings dating
from the early 17th century but the structure itself had
been altered and enlarged at subsequent periods. The
north-east wing, which had mullioned and transomed
windows, was probably built about 1670-80. The
principal block had a Georgian front of nine bays and
a modillion eaves cornice with a central pediment.
The sash windows and other details were of the 18th
and early 19th centuries, but some older carved
chimney-pieces had been preserved internally. At the
back of the house two grotesque brackets of the 17th
century had been incorporated in a Georgian doorcase. The ground-floor room on the left of the entrance
hall was of two stories and may have represented the
great hall of the original house. At a later date it was
used as a chapel and had a painted ceiling thought to
represent William III casting out popery. Two semicircular bays on the south front were probably part of
the improvements made by Mrs. Susannah Houblon
Newton after 1800. (fn. 72) At some period panelling and
a carved overmantel were removed to Hallingbury
Place. (fn. 73)
Immediately after 1920 the house was greatly
reduced in size. The second story of the principal
block was removed and most of the north-east wing
demolished. The sash windows were replaced by
mullioned and transomed casements of 17th-century
design. Panelling and carved chimney-pieces from the
demolished rooms were reused and the principal staircase was reconstructed with balustrades from the northeast wing. (fn. 74) In recent years some of the panelling has
been taken out and three of the 17th-century chimneypieces are missing.
A gateway north of the house has a four-centred
brick arch of the 17th century. The lake below the
house on the south is probably the work of John Archer
between 1739 and 1776.