MANORS AND OTHER ESTATES.
In 1086 an
estate of 7 hides at Haresfield, held before the
Conquest by two brothers Godric and Edric, was
owned by Durand, sheriff of Gloucester. Another
estate, described as the manors of Haresfield,
Hatherley, and Sandhurst, in Dudstone hundred,
presumably included Harescombe tithing. (fn. 64) Durand's estate evidently passed to his nephew, Walter
of Gloucester, and then to Walter's son, Miles of
Gloucester, (fn. 65) created Earl of Hereford in 1141.
Miles died in 1143 (fn. 66) and the estate passed in turn to
his sons, Roger (d. 1155), Walter, Henry, and
Mahel (fn. 67) (d. 1165). Mahel's English estates were
divided among two of his sisters, Margaret who
married Humphrey de Bohun and Lucy who
married Herbert FitzHerbert. (fn. 68)
The main part of the Haresfield estate, called the
manor of HARESFIELD was included in Margaret's
share, and passed to the de Bohuns, Earls of Hereford. The manor was held as 14½ knights' fees
c. 1212, (fn. 69) and the claim made in the later 14th
century that the de Bohuns held it, with the manors
of Wheatenhurst and Newnham, by service in their
hereditary office of Constable of England was
evidently mistaken. (fn. 70) Margaret's grandson Henry
de Bohun, created Earl of Hereford in 1200, (fn. 71)
held the estate c. 1212. (fn. 72) He died in 1220 and was
succeeded by his son Humphrey (d. 1275). (fn. 73) From
1287 (fn. 74) or earlier Humphrey's son John de Bohun
(d. 1292) held the estate from his nephew Humphrey de Bohun, Earl of Hereford (d. 1298). John
was succeeded by his son Henry who held the manor
in 1309. (fn. 75) The manor later reverted to the main line
and the John de Bohun described as lord of the
manor in 1319 (fn. 76) and 1326 (fn. 77) was presumably John
de Bohun, Earl of Hereford (d. 1336). John's
brother and heir Humphrey held the manor at his
death in 1361. (fn. 78) By 1363 Humphrey's nephew and
heir, also Humphrey, had granted the manor for
life to John de Burley, (fn. 79) who held it in 1368. (fn. 80)
Humphrey died in 1373 (fn. 81) and his coheirs were his
daughters Eleanor who married Thomas of Woodstock (d. 1397), created Earl of Buckingham in 1377,
and Mary who married Henry, Earl of Derby, later
Henry IV. The manor of Haresfield was committed to
Thomas of Woodstock in 1374 in anticipation of his
marriage; (fn. 82) in 1384, however, the Earl of Derby
received the manor as part of Mary's share, (fn. 83) and
in 1419 his son Henry V held the manor. (fn. 84) In 1421,
under a new agreement, the king assigned Haresfield
to Eleanor's daughter Anne. (fn. 85) Anne married
Edmund Stafford, Earl of Stafford, and their son
Humphrey, Duke of Buckingham, held the estate
in 1458. (fn. 86) He died in 1460 and was succeeded by his
grandson Henry, Duke of Buckingham, executed in
1483. Henry's son Edward was restored to his father's
estates and honours in 1485, but was executed in
1521. (fn. 87)
In 1522 the Crown granted Haresfield manor to
Sir William Kingston (d. 1540), (fn. 88) whose son Sir
Anthony received a confirmatory grant in 1550. (fn. 89)
On Sir Anthony's death in 1556 his estates passed
to his niece Frances and her husband Sir Henry
Jerningham (d. 1572). (fn. 90) Frances apparently held
the estate until her death in 1583, (fn. 91) and her son
Henry had succeeded to it by 1591. Henry died in
1619, and his son, also Henry, (fn. 92) sold Haresfield
manor in 1630 to George Minett (fn. 93) (d. 1643). (fn. 94)
George Minett's son, also George, sold the manor in
1645 to William Trye of Hardwicke, (fn. 95) and the
manor then descended with Hardwicke manor until
the sale of Lord Hardwicke's estates in 1808. (fn. 96) At
the sale the Haresfield part was bought by Daniel John Niblett, (fn. 97) who already owned land in
Haresfield. (fn. 98) In 1813 his estates in Haresfield amounted
to over 1,000 a. (fn. 99) He died in 1862, and his son
John Daniel Thomas in 1883, when the estate
passed to John's nephew, Arthur Edward Niblett. (fn. 1)
Arthur Niblett sold the estate c. 1892, to Robert
Ingham Tidswell who died in 1924, when it passed
to his daughter Miss A. Tidswell. In 1947 Miss
Tidswell made the estate over to a relative, Mr. G.
B. Heywood, who owned and ran it 1967. (fn. 2)
The lords of the manor presumably had a residence at Haresfield in the mid 12th century when a
park had been made. (fn. 3) John de Bohun had a private
chapel on the manor in 1318. (fn. 4) The gatehouse and
high chamber of the manor-house were referred to
in 1460. (fn. 5) The medieval manor-house was apparently
at the Mount, the moated mound north of the
church; the manor farm-house standing near the
Mount was mentioned in 1624. (fn. 6) A house and estate
called THE MOUNT were owned in the late 17th
century by Lewis Roberts (d. 1679). (fn. 7) His house
was assessed at 8 hearths in 1672, (fn. 8) and in 1680 was
described as 'adjoining to the great old stone house
and shooting towards the moat'. (fn. 9) The house and
estate passed to Robert's daughter Elizabeth who
married Edward Smith of Nibley; Elizabeth as a
widow held the estate c. 1710. (fn. 10) On her death in
1719 she devised it to her nephew Robert Brabant
and her niece Elizabeth, wife of Henry de Chair.
The de Chairs in 1722 conveyed their interest to
Brabant, (fn. 11) who held the estate in 1723. (fn. 12) By 1736
the house and estate had passed to the Earl of
Hardwicke. (fn. 13) Mount Farm, the present house, is of
brick on a stone plinth; it was wholly or partly
rebuilt in 1861 to the design of Francis Niblett. (fn. 14)
When the Niblett family acquired the manor their
residence, Moat Place, became the manor-house. (fn. 15)
In 1552 Sir Anthony Kingston sold the park of
the manor to Richard Andrews. (fn. 16) On Richard's
death in 1555 the estate, known as HARESFIELD
PARK, passed to his son John. (fn. 17) On John's death
after 1566 it passed to his widow Dorothy, and the
reversion to his son Richard, (fn. 18) who was presumably
the Richard Andrews that occupied the estate
c. 1585; (fn. 19) he or another Richard died in 1617 when
he was succeeded by his son John, (fn. 20) who held the
220 a. estate in 1629. In 1630 John and his son
Richard sold 106 a., the northern part of the park
which became included in Hardwicke Park, to
William Trye of Hardwicke; in 1632 they sold most
of the remainder of the estate, the chief house
called THE LODGE, and another house in the park
called the Upper House, to Nathaniel Stephens of
Eastington, who held them in 1648. (fn. 21) By 1705
Stephens's part of the estate was owned by Daniel
Lysons of Hempsted (d. 1736), (fn. 22) and it presumably passed to his son Daniel (d. 1773). In 1775
Daniel Lysons, son of the second Daniel, owned the
estate (fn. 23) and it passed on his death in 1800 to his
brother the Revd. Samuel Lysons (d. 1804). (fn. 24) In
1815 half of the 195 a. estate was owned by the Revd.
Samuel's son, Samuel, and half by Mrs. Lysons,
apparently his widow. (fn. 25) Later Samuel acquired the
whole estate which passed on his death in 1819 to
his brother and fellow antiquary, the Revd. Daniel
Lysons (d. 1834). (fn. 26) By 1838 the estate was owned by
Henry Vizard, and by 1841 it had been acquired by
the Bakers of Hardwicke (fn. 27) whose successor owned
it in 1967. The house, called Parkend Lodge,
evidently occupies the site of a lodge in Haresfield
Park mentioned in 1457; (fn. 28) it is of brick with stone
quoins and it appears to be largely a rebuilding of
1785. (fn. 29)
In the early 13th century Henry de Bohun
granted a part of his manor and several customary
holdings to Richard de Veyne, who granted the
estate soon afterwards to Llanthony Priory. (fn. 30) The
priory's estate was described as a plough-land in
1291, (fn. 31) and its house at Haresfield was mentioned
the year before. (fn. 32) The estate was included in the
grant of the priory's possessions to Arthur Porter
c. 1540, (fn. 33) but in 1543 another grant of the estate was
made to Richard Andrews and Nicholas Temple,
who almost immediately sold the site of the manor
and the demesne, later known as ROWLES FARM,
to Thomas Rowles, (fn. 34) the lessee since 1536. (fn. 35) On
Thomas Rowles's death in 1549, the estate passed to
his son William (fn. 36) (d. c. 1573), and then to William's
son George. (fn. 37) George's son William inherited the
estate in 1594, (fn. 38) and was said to have sold it in 1606
to Richard Carrick of Painswick. (fn. 39) In 1632 John
Gilby died holding Rowles Farm, comprising a
house and 120 a.; his heir was his son Giles. (fn. 40)
Other parts of the Llanthony Priory manor
became known as ADAMS and DOWNES. At the
Dissolution the customary tenants of the manor
included William Adams who held two messuages
and a yardland and John Downe who had a messuage
and ½ yardland. (fn. 41) By 1557 their lands were owned
by Thomas Organs who was licensed to sell them in
that year. (fn. 42) By 1624 the Adams estate, and probably
also Downes, had passed to William Warner, a
clothier of Paganhill, (fn. 43) who held c. 130 a. at Haresfield at his death in 1632. (fn. 44) William's son Thomas
died holding the two estates in 1640. (fn. 45) By 1712 the
Warners' property had passed to the lord of the
chief manor, William Trye of Hardwicke (d. 1717), (fn. 46)
and was presumably the former Llanthony Priory
land he was recorded as holding in 1705. (fn. 47) The estate
passed to his younger son William, who devised it on
his death in 1739 to his brother-in-law, the Revd.
John Longford (fn. 48) (d. c. 1760). Longford's daughter
Mary married her cousin, the Revd. John Trye
(d. 1766), and in the late 18th century the estate
belonged to their son Charles Brandon Trye of
Leckhampton (d. 1811). (fn. 49) He sold it in 1804 to
Kitty Niblett, mother of Daniel John Niblett, with
whose estates it then descended. (fn. 50)
Another customary holding on the priory's
manor, a messuage and ½ yardland later called
HUNGERFORDS, was held by Margaret Hungerford at the Dissolution. (fn. 51) It was among the lands
granted in 1543 to Richard Andrews and Nicholas
Temple; they sold it in 1544 to John Motley who
died in the same year when it passed to his brother
William Motley. (fn. 52) In 1556 Arthur Motley sold the
land to Richard Adeane, (fn. 53) who sold it in 1562 to
Thomas Bishop. (fn. 54) Hungerfords later passed to
William Linsey, (fn. 55) but by 1591 it was included in the
estates of John Trye of Hardwicke (d. 1591). (fn. 56)
The part of the manor of HARESFIELD
inherited after 1165 by Lucy and her husband
Herbert FitzHerbert presumably passed to their
son Peter (d. 1235). (fn. 57) Peter's son Reynold held the
estate in 1262 (fn. 58) and at his death in 1286 was succeeded
as lord of the manor by his son John. (fn. 59) About 1303
John was succeeded in the estate, assessed as ½
knight's fee, by his son Herbert (fn. 60) who died in 1321.
Eleanor, Herbert's widow, (fn. 61) apparently held the
estate in 1327, (fn. 62) but their son Matthew had succeeded to it by 1346. (fn. 63) Matthew died in 1356 and
the estate, described as a messuage and one plough-land, passed to Edward of St. John to whom Matthew
had sold the reversion. (fn. 64) Edward was recorded as
holding the estate in 1384, (fn. 65) but by 1401 it had
passed to Thomas Brydges who died in 1408. (fn. 66)
Thomas's widow Alice, who married John Browning of Leigh, held the estate until her death in 1414
when it passed to her son Giles Brydges, Lord
Chandos. (fn. 67) Giles was succeeded on his death in
1467 by his son Thomas (fn. 68) (d. 1493). The Giles
Brydges who held the manor in 1498 (fn. 69) was evidently
Thomas's younger brother, and not his son who was
also called Giles, for Margaret, the brother's widow,
held the manor at her death in 1516. It then reverted
to Thomas's grandson John Brydges (fn. 70) who was
created Baron Chandos of Sudeley in 1554 and died
in 1557. (fn. 71) The estate then descended to successive
Lords Chandos: Edmund (d. 1573), (fn. 72) Giles (d.
1594), (fn. 73) William (d. 1602), Grey (d. 1621), (fn. 74) and
George (d. 1655). (fn. 75)
An estate that centred on the house called MOAT
PLACE, the later Haresfield Court, (fn. 76) in the late
17th century, may have been either the estate of
the Brydges family or the Rowles Farm estate. It
was owned by John Rogers who died in 1698,
when he was succeeded by his nephew Richard
Pulton (d. 1701). (fn. 77) Pulton's widow Anne held the
estate until her death in 1724, (fn. 78) and it apparently
passed to her son Samuel (d. 1744), and then
to Samuel's nephew Richard (d. 1758). (fn. 79) In 1764
Richard, son of Richard Pulton, sold Moat Place
and c. 160 a. to Samuel Niblett (fn. 80) (d. 1798), who in
1778 made the estate over to his son John (d. 1794). (fn. 81)
It then passed to John's son Daniel, who bought
the chief manor in 1808. (fn. 82)
The old name of Haresfield Court implies an
ancient site, and massive foundations are said to
have been discovered north of the house in the late
19th century. (fn. 83) The house was presumably that
with 4 hearths occupied in 1672 by John Rogers, (fn. 84)
who rebuilt it apparently in 1676. (fn. 85) The north
part, which is of ashlar and has two gables, stonemullioned windows with dripmoulds, and diagonal
stone chimneys, apparently survives from that
rebuilding. In the mid 19th century, apparently in
1869 when the house was given a 'thorough repair', (fn. 86)
a new ashlar front with a cornice and sash windows
and an oriel window at the south was added to the
east side, and a large west wing in Cotswold style,
designed by Waller & Son, was added by R. I.
Tidswell in 1893. (fn. 87)
Another branch of the Rogers family held an
estate based on OAKEY FARM in the west of the
parish. William Rogers, who was the great-uncle of
John Rogers of Moat Place (d. 1698), (fn. 88) and his
sons William and Richard received the estate from
the lord of the chief manor in 1606 to hold by copy;
it then comprised a messuage and yardland and
other lands. In 1637 William Rogers, who had
evidently acquired the freehold, settled the estate
on the marriage of his son William. (fn. 89) William the
elder died c. 1650 and William the younger in 1662.
The estate then passed to the younger William's
son also William (d. 1690), (fn. 90) who was apparently
succeeded by his brother John (d. 1721). (fn. 91) In 1775
the estate was held by Edward Rogers, (fn. 92) and by
1779 by Messrs. Bearcroft and Jones who had
married his daughters. (fn. 93) By 1815 the estate, then
171 a., was owned by James De Visme (d. c. 1841). (fn. 94)
In 1920 it was owned by a Mrs. Goodman, (fn. 95) and
in 1967 it was sold by Mr. B. E. Thomas to Mr.
D. J. Watts. (fn. 96) Oakey Farm comprises a central
block and two wings projecting towards the east.
The north wing, which contains two massive
cruck-trusses, partly smoke-blackened, apparently
represents the original house, to which the two
other parts were added in the 16th century; a
stone chimney and fireplace in the south wing and
a stone fireplace with carved spandrels in the north
of the central block appear to survive from a rebuilding of 1583. The south and central parts were
probably timber-framed but have been faced in
brick and stucco. A porch with columns on the
west front and the staircase were probably made at a
further remodelling in 1794. (fn. 97)
An estate and the house later called CHESTNUT
FARM were owned in 1775 by George Savage. (fn. 98)
By 1803 they had been acquired by Sir Thomas
Crawley-Boevey, Bt. (fn. 99) (d. 1818). In 1841 his son
Sir Thomas (d. 1847) owned 113 a. in Haresfield. (fn. 1)
The estate was later bought by the Chandler family
who farmed it from 1856, (fn. 2) and in 1911 George
Chandler sold it to Robert Tidswell of Haresfield
Court. (fn. 3) The house, built in the 18th century, is of
brick on a stone plinth with stone quoins and a
moulded stone cornice; the Tudor-style windows
and doorway were presumably added in the 19th
century.
About 1160 Walter of Hereford, lord of Haresfield
manor, granted six yardlands in Haresfield to
Gloucester Abbey in place of land in Herefordshire
given earlier by his brother Roger; four yardlands
were apparently in the Harescombe tithing of
Haresfield, the other two lay beside the Bristol
road. (fn. 4) The two yardlands were evidently the land
called BEAUREPAIR, formerly of Godebert of
Haresfield, which the abbey granted to William of
the Park (fn. 5) of Park manor in Hardwicke in the early
13th century. Beaurepair, variously described as a
furlong or 30 a., then descended with Park manor;
Aumary Butler (d. 1397) and the Kennes, his
successors to a part of the manor, were recorded as
holding it from Gloucester Abbey. No record of the
estate has been found after the death of Robert
Kenne in 1453. (fn. 6)
The great tithes of Haresfield, which belonged to
Llanthony Priory, were leased in 1535 to Thomas
Rowles (fn. 7) whose family continued to farm them until
the early 17th century. (fn. 8) In 1606 the Crown granted
the tithes to Lawrence Baskerville and William
Blake, who granted them in the next year to Edward
Abdye. Later Abdye and others granted them to
John Lloyd and John Wayte, (fn. 9) and in 1615 John
Lloyd sold them to John Hammonds. (fn. 10) In 1679
another John Hammonds settled the tithes on the
marriage of his daughter Katherine and Thomas
Webb, (fn. 11) who held them c. 1703. (fn. 12) Although George
Webb had an interest in the tithes in 1739, (fn. 13)
they passed to Thomas Webb's son, also Thomas,
whose daughters sold them in 1762 to Lord Hardwicke. (fn. 14) The tithes then descended with the chief
manor, and at inclosure in the early 19th century
Daniel John Niblett received c. 230 a. for the great
tithes of Haresfield and Parkend tithings; the great
tithes of Harescombe tithing had other owners. (fn. 15)