MANORS.
WARMINSTER belonged to the kings
of England before the Conquest, and was still in the
hands of William I in 1086. (fn. 32) By 1156 it had been
granted to William FitzHamon, (fn. 33) a tenant in
several counties and constable of Salisbury Castle in
the earlier part of the reign of Henry II. (fn. 34) William
held it until 1175, (fn. 35) when it reverted to the Crown,
probably by his death. It was immediately regranted
in fee to Robert Mauduit, (fn. 36) a royal chamberlain
and younger son of a family whose chief estates
were in Buckinghamshire. (fn. 37) He had succeeded
FitzHamon in his constableship of Salisbury, and
it is possible that the estate was regarded as appurtenant to that office. (fn. 38) Robert obtained a renewal
of the grant when Richard I succeeded to the
throne, (fn. 39) but was dead by 1191. (fn. 40) His son and heir
Thomas was a minor, and was in the successive
wardships of Robert de Tregoze (fn. 41) and Hugh de
Bosco (fn. 42) until he came of age by Michaelmas 1204. (fn. 43)
Thomas held Warminster, except for a forfeiture
when he joined John's enemies, (fn. 44) until his death
c. 1244, when he was succeeded by his son William. (fn. 45)
William was dead by 1264, leaving a son Thomas, a
minor, whose wardship was granted to Warin de
Bassingburn, his uncle. (fn. 46) In 1270 Thomas was
given licence to let the manor of Warminster while
he went to the Holy Land with Prince Edward. (fn. 47)
He probably died abroad, for in 1271 the wardship
of his heir Warin was granted to Richard, King of
the Romans. (fn. 48) In 1275 Thomas's widow Joan held
Warminster in dower. (fn. 49) Warin came of age c. 1290
and in 1294 was licensed to let Warminster to Bogo
de Knoville, the last holder of his wardship, for
six years. (fn. 50) At Warin's death in 1300 he was succeeded by his son Thomas, (fn. 51) who came of age in
1308 (fn. 52) and was executed after the battle of Boroughbridge in 1322. (fn. 53) Warminster was immediately
granted to Hugh le Despenser the elder, (fn. 54) but on
the accession of Edward III Thomas's widow
Eleanor was assigned her dower in it, (fn. 55) and the
custody of the remainder granted to John de Kingston during the minority of John, the heir. (fn. 56) John
came of age in 1332, and settled Warminster on
himself and Juliane his wife in the same year. (fn. 57) He
died in 1364 leaving as heir, after the termination
of his widow's estate, his granddaughter Maud,
daughter of his son Thomas who was already dead. (fn. 58)
Maud took the Mauduit inheritance to a Northhamptonshire family, for she married Sir Henry
Greene of Drayton near Kettering. (fn. 59) He was
executed in 1399 and succeeded in turn by his sons
Ralph, who died without issue in 1417, (fn. 60) and John,
who died in 1433. (fn. 61) John's son Henry died in 1467
leaving an only daughter and heir Constance, who
married John Stafford, third son of Humphrey,
Duke of Buckingham. (fn. 62) Stafford was created Earl
of Wiltshire in 1470 and died three years later.
His only son Edward died without issue in 1499,
and after a long dispute his property passed to the
heirs of his maternal grandfather Henry Greene,
who were the descendants of Greene's sisters Isabel
and Margaret. (fn. 63) Of these, Margaret left by her
husband Sir William Huddleston a daughter Elizabeth, who married Sir Thomas Cheney and died
without issue in 1502. (fn. 64) The whole inheritance thus
passed to the issue of Isabel Greene, who had
married Sir Richard Vere. Their son Sir Henry
Vere left four daughters; of these one died without
issue, so that Warminster was divided into thirds
amongst the others. (fn. 65)
Of these three coheirs, Anne married Sir Humphrey Brown of Abbess Roding (Essex), a Justice
of the Common Pleas who died in 1562. Their
only son George died without surviving issue soon
after his father, and this share of Warminster descended to his three half-sisters by his father's second
marriage. (fn. 66) The second coheir Audrey married into
the same family of Browns, and by her husband
John left a son George and a grandson Wistan. (fn. 67)
The third coheir Elizabeth married John Mordaunt
created Baron Mordaunt in 1532, and her share
of Warminster descended to her grandson Lewis,
the 3rd baron. (fn. 68) In the reign of Mary Sir John
Thynne of Longleat attempted to buy the share of
Warminster which belonged to Audrey's issue.
Conveyances were made (fn. 69) but for some reason
never implemented, which gave rise to extended
litigation. (fn. 70) In 1577, however, the manor passed by
sale for the first time since the original grant to the
Mauduit family when all the interested parties
conveyed their shares to George Tuchet, Lord
Audley (d. 1617). (fn. 71) In 1611 he sold Warminster to
Sir Thomas Thynne, (fn. 72) and the manor has since
descended in that family, created Viscounts
Weymouth in 1682, and Marquesses of Bath in
1789. (fn. 73) Most of the property in the town was sold
in lots in 1919, but several farms west of the town
still belong to the Longleat estate in 1962. (fn. 74)
A capital messuage is mentioned in the earliest
known extent of the manor, (fn. 75) and was clearly the
regular dwelling-place of the Mauduit family.
Henry Greene made agreements for its repair in
1386 and 1389, and a new kitchen and chamber
were built in 1390. (fn. 76) It is not known to have been
used by any later lords of the manor, and was
regularly let with the demesne farm. (fn. 77) When the
farm was divided in the 17th century parts described as the old and the new buildings were let
with the two portions. (fn. 78) About 1790 the lessee under
Lord Bath sold the lease of the house to Thomas
Marsh, a timber merchant, who rebuilt it in 1791. (fn. 79)
The plain house, of 3 storeys and attics, has since
been altered by the addition of bay windows to one
side of the front. In 1851 it was held with 30 a. of
land under Lord Bath, and was described as a
gentleman's residence. (fn. 80) In the 20th century it has
been used both as a guest house and as flats, and in
1961 the park round it had been covered with an
estate of small private houses.
Among the properties held freely of the lords of
Warminster were several which were styled manors,
and for which courts are known to have been held.
The manor of BOREHAM or BURTON DELAMERE or BISHOPSTROW (fn. 81) took its suffix from
a family which was seated at Nunney Castle (Som.).
The de la Meres may have acquired the land c.
1200 by the marriage of Nicholas de la Mere with
Grace de Meysey, who was heir to considerable
estates in Wiltshire and Somerset (fn. 82) which apparently included Nunney. (fn. 83) In 1217 Nicholas was given
seisin of his land of Bishopstrow on returning to
the king's service. (fn. 84) He was succeeded by his son
by Grace, Ellis de la Mere; he held the manor by
1227, (fn. 85) and was still living, as was his mother, in
1263. (fn. 86) He was dead by 1271, (fn. 87) and succeeded by his
son Nicholas; (fn. 88) he or another Nicholas still held
it in 1300, when the property was described as
2 carucates of land held at a rent of 3s. (fn. 89) In 1303 it
was said to be 1/5 knight's fee. (fn. 90) By 1330 the manor
had passed to Thomas de la Mere, who then
settled it on himself and his wife Margery. (fn. 91) They
were the parents of Sir John de la Mere (fn. 92) from
whom the manor descended in the same way as
the manor of Fisherton de la Mere to the Paulet
family. (fn. 93) In 1574 John Paulet, Marquess of Winchester, sold Boreham to Thomas Webb of Beckington (Som.), clothier. In 1590 Thomas's son Robert
sold the manor to Alexander Staples of Yate
(Glos.). (fn. 94) His son Richard, who succeeded him in
the same year, (fn. 95) sold parts of the property, (fn. 96) and
by 1656 apparently only retained the demesne
farm. (fn. 97) He left no issue, and Boreham Farm passed
to his nephew Oliver, who in 1663 sold it to Benjamin Gifford of Boreham. (fn. 98) Its subsequent
history is dealt with below. (fn. 99)
The manor house of Boreham stood on the south
side of the road from Warminster to Salisbury just
east of the turning to Bishopstrow. (fn. 1) Between the
house and the Wylye lay fishponds (fn. 2) which survived
in Daniell's time. (fn. 3) In 1821, however, the site was
occupied by three cottages. (fn. 4) Later in the century
the large Victorian house called Boreham Manor
was built on it.
The estate later known as the manor of NEWPORT or PORTWAY seems to have originated in
property held in Warminster by junior members of
the Mauduit family. In the earlier 13th century
William Mauduit granted an estate to his younger
son Warin with remainder to another son William. (fn. 5)
Warin apparently left no issue, for c. 1293 William
Mauduit held estates in Warminster which his
brothers Warin and John had formerly held. (fn. 6)
Thomas, son of William Mauduit, held land there in
1322; (fn. 7) it was perhaps his son, another William,
described as of Newport, who granted all the corn
growing on his lands in Warminster to the lord of
Warminster in 1339. (fn. 8) This William was succeeded
by his son John, who in 1356 granted his lands to
Thomas Mauduit, lord of Warminster, for Thomas's life; (fn. 9) they included at least one house in
Newport. (fn. 10) It is fairly certain that this was the same
property which in the early 15th century had descended to Alice, daughter and heir of another
William Mauduit. (fn. 11) She married John Laffull and
left an only daughter and heir Maud, who married
William Mohun. They left three daughters and
coheirs, (fn. 12) and the manor was divided in thirds for
over a century.
One daughter Alice married William Barrell;
their son William (fn. 13) had a son Robert, who was
dealing with the Warminster property in 1474, (fn. 14)
but is said to have sold his share of it c. 1480 to the
Poole family (fn. 15) of Sapperton (Glos.). (fn. 16) It descended
in this family to Sir Giles Poole who in 1565 sold
it to John Poole of Stanton St. Bernard. Three
years later John Poole sold his third share of the
manor to Richard Middlecott of Bishopstrow,
clothier. (fn. 17)
Another coheir of Alice Mauduit, Eleanor,
married John Wolley. She apparently left two
coheirs, Maud Jakes and Agnes Nowers, who in
1499 sold their share of the manor to John Gilbert
of Steeple Ashton. (fn. 18) In 1515 Gilbert sold it to
William Bird, Vicar of Bradford, and Thomas
Horton. (fn. 19) This was no doubt to endow Bird's
chantry in Bradford church, but in 1540 he was
attainted of high treason and his property forfeited
to the Crown. (fn. 20) In 1546 it was granted to Sir Thomas
Moyle, (fn. 21) who two years later sold the lands in
Warminster to John Wysse, the purchaser in 1550
of the manor of Smallbrook. (fn. 22) Wysse died in 1554, (fn. 23)
and in 1559 his son Thomas sold his share of the
manor to Richard Middlecott. (fn. 24)
The third of Alice Mauduit's coheirs, Agnes,
married Thomas Blanchard of Cutteridge in North
Bradley, and her share descended in the same
way as Cutteridge manor to Richard Kirton, who
held it by 1481 and still in 1497. (fn. 25) Another Richard
Kirton died seised of it in 1558, (fn. 26) and in 1565
Christopher Kirton of Cheddar (Som.) sold it to
Richard Middlecott. (fn. 27) The whole manor of Newport was thus reunited in his hands, and remained
in his family for 250 years. In 1820 Edward
Middlecott sold all his lands in Warminster,
amounting to about 500 a., to Lord Bath. (fn. 28)
Portway House was built by Edward Middlecott
in the early 18th century; a panel bearing his
initials is dated 1722. It is of three stories and
basement and built of ashlar Bath stone. The front
is of seven bays, the centre one slightly projecting
and with its windows enriched with fluted pilasters
at the two upper stories. In the 19th century the
main entrance was moved to a newly-erected two-story wing on the south side, and a large bay
window replaced it in the centre of the east front
A similar two-story wing on the north side was
added in the present century. The house has a fine
staircase, and several panelled rooms. In front of it
the low garden wall carries elaborate wrought
iron railings with central gateway, contemporary
with the house. In 1963 they were under repair
following much discussion about whether it was
possible to preserve them because of their bad
state.
The manor of WARMINSTER SCUDAMORE
probably originated in a conveyance of over 100 a.
of land from Nicholas Malemayns to Walter Scudamore, lord of Upton Scudamore in 1312. (fn. 29) In succeeding years several conveyances of small estates
in Warminster were made to Walter's two successors, (fn. 30) and the estate was referred to as a manor in
1372. (fn. 31) It descended in the same way as Upton
Scudamore (fn. 32) to Walter, Lord Hungerford, who
added to it a considerable estate bought of Peter
Morgan in 1537 and 1538. (fn. 33) Still in the same way
as Upton this manor passed from the Hungerfords
to Sir Stephen Fox, who in 1687 sold it to Thomas,
Viscount Weymouth. (fn. 34) Lord Weymouth sold the
demesne farm of the manor in the same year to
Edward Halliday, a dyer, who had held it on lease
from the Hungerfords since 1664. (fn. 35) From Halliday
a considerable property descended for several
generations to John Edmund Halliday who died in
1913.
If the Hallidays lived on the site of the manor
in the 19th century, the manor house lay on the
north side of East Street. The house called Yard
House is a plain building of stone, partly of the late
18th century with a large addition of the mid-19th.
There was however a strong tradition that the manor
house of the Hungerfords lay near the junction of
Common Close and High Street. Daniell had heard
that it was on the site of Bartlett's brewery in the
High Street. (fn. 36)
In 1298 John le Squire conveyed to Gilbert
Francis a half-virgate of land (fn. 37) held under the
lords of Warminster by a rent of 8d. (fn. 38) Francis conveyed this property to John de Kingston in 1317, (fn. 39)
and it probably formed part of the estate later
known as the manor of KINGSTON'S. By 1329
Kingston held a considerably larger property, described as two carucates of land in Warminster,
which was then settled on him and his son Thomas. (fn. 40)
This descended in the same way as the manor of
Little Sutton to Chidiock Paulet, (fn. 41) who apparently
sold it to William Clevelode of Warminster, clothier.
At his death in 1558 Clevelode left his freehold
property to William, son of William Bird, citizen
and mercer of London, (fn. 42) who in 1577 mortgaged it
under the name Kingston's. (fn. 43) Soon afterwards he
sold the estate to Edward Horton of Westwood. (fn. 44)
Horton died in 1603, and Kingston's was sold by
his trustees to Edward Scutt of Warminster in
1609. (fn. 45) Its descent from this time is probably the
same as the manor of Cheyneys. (fn. 46)
In 1268 the Prior of the Hospital of St. John at
Wilton recovered arrears of a rent of a qr. of wheat
and a qr. of rye which was payable to him out of
lands at Warminster held by Humphrey of Bradley. (fn. 47) These lands were probably the same as the
five virgates held by William of Bradley early in the
13th century. (fn. 48) They can more certainly be identified with the property known in the 15th century
as the manor of CHEYNEYS, for in 1465 the same
rent was payable out of it to St. John's Hospital. (fn. 49)
They had probably passed from the Bradleys to
the Cheyneys by 1300, for then Walter de Cheyney
held a carucate of land of the lords of Warminster
by the rent of 10s. (fn. 50) John Cheyney, mentioned in
1356, (fn. 51) but dead by c. 1363, (fn. 52) must also have held
this property. By 1364 some property which had
belonged to him was held by Thomas Hungerford. (fn. 53)
Thomas was a free tenant under the lord of Warminster c. 1360–70 (fn. 54) and at his death in 1397 he
held property at Henford's Marsh. (fn. 55) The manor
of Cheyneys Court was certainly held by Thomas's
son Walter, who settled it on his son Robert in
1421. (fn. 56) It cannot, therefore, have formed part of the
property which Robert's son Robert derived from
his marriage to the heir of William, Lord Moleyns;
yet on the partition of the Hungerford estates after
the death of Margaret, Lady Hungerford and
Botreaux, in 1479, Cheyneys was separated from
the other Hungerford property in the district, and
instead went to Mary, daughter and heir of Sir
Thomas Hungerford (d. 1469) with a group of
properties which had formed part of the Moleyns
inheritance. (fn. 57) Mary Hungerford married Edward,
Lord Hastings (d. 1506). In 1538 their son George,
Earl of Huntingdon, (fn. 58) conveyed Cheyneys to William Dauntsey, alderman of London, who was
apparently acting on behalf of Stephen Agard, (fn. 59)
of a family seated at Broughton (Northants.). (fn. 60)
Stephen's son Ambrose Agard sold Cheyneys to
Robert Manley in 1609, (fn. 61) who in the following year
sold it to Edward Scutt of Warminster. (fn. 62) Scutt's
daughter Joan married Ralph Hastings; (fn. 63) in 1647
they sold the manor to William Gifford (fn. 64) of Boreham and thereafter it descended in the same way
as the remainder of the Gifford property. (fn. 65)
The manor of FURNAX or AVENEL'S FEE
was not held of the lords of Warminster and so must
have been granted away from the Crown before
the capital manor was. In 1130 the sheriff accounted
for the issues of land in Warminster which had
belonged to Robert Malet. (fn. 66) It evidently descended
in the same way as his barony of Curry Mallet
(Som.) to William Malet (d. c. 1216) and then
with a moiety of the barony to William's daughter
Mabel, who married as her first husband Nicholas
Avenel. (fn. 67) In 1242–3 her second husband, Hugh de
Vivon, was overlord of this manor, which was held
of him by the service of enclosing one perch of his
park at Curry Mallet. (fn. 68) The overlordship evidently
descended with the 1/8 of the barony which passed to
the Beauchamps of Hatch Beauchamp (Som.), for in
1343 Avenel's Fee was held of John, Lord Beauchamp. (fn. 69) No further mention of their overlordship has been noted, and in 1401–2 Furnax was
held of the Duchy of Lancaster. (fn. 70) This tenure still
continued in the 17th century. (fn. 71)
The earliest known tenant under the Malets
was perhaps Robert de Pirou, who, it was said late
in the 12th century, had received land in Warminster and the church there by gift of Henry 1. (fn. 72)
Robert was steward to the Earl Ferrers early in the
reign of Henry II, (fn. 73) and a tenant under him in
Derbyshire. (fn. 74) He was still living in 1172, (fn. 75) but probably died soon after, leaving a son William. (fn. 76)
William was probably father of Ralph FitzWilliam,
who gave the church of Warminster to Wells Cathedral, (fn. 77) and also of Robert FitzWilliam, mentioned
as a former tenant in a lawsuit of 1243. (fn. 78) Robert
left three daughters and coheirs. His Warminster
property passed to the husband of one of these,
Nicholas Avenel, (fn. 79) who held it in 1242–3. (fn. 80) His
relationship to the Nicholas Avenel, who married
Mabel Malet and was dead by November 1223, is
not clear. (fn. 81) The second Nicholas Avenel died c.
1246, (fn. 82) and was succeeded by his son William who
died without issue in 1253. His heir was Matthew
de Furneaux, (fn. 83) who was descended from another
coheir of Robert FitzWilliam, who had married
Henry de Furneaux. (fn. 84) This Matthew was dead by
1284–5, (fn. 85) and was succeeded by another Matthew.
By 1297 the second Matthew had conveyed his
Warminster property to his son Simon, (fn. 86) and in
1308 this conveyance was confirmed with remainders to three of Simon's brothers. (fn. 87) Simon died in
1358 leaving as heir his daughter Elizabeth, the
wife of John Blount. (fn. 88) She in turn left an only
daughter and heir Alice, wife of Sir Richard Stury,
who held this manor in 1412, (fn. 89) but died childless
in 1414. Alice's property was divided up between
the descendants of her four great-aunts, the daughters of the last Sir Matthew de Furneaux, Simon's
younger brothers having left no issue.
The Warminster property was allotted to the
descendants of the youngest of these daughters,
Margaret, who had married Sir John Beaupré. Their
daughter Isabel married John Longland (fn. 90) and left
three daughters and coheirs. Of these the eldest,
Margaret, married Sir Leonard Hackluyt, and left
a daughter who married into the Stapleton family
of Shropshire and had a son Leonard. The third,
Anne, married John Farwaye and left two daughters, one of whom married Thomas Berkeley. At
the division of the Furneaux property in 1421,
Warminster was divided between Leonard Stapleton, who received 2/3, and Thomas Berkeley, who
received ⅓. (fn. 91)
Leonard Stapleton died without issue, and his
widow Joyce sued his feoffees for a life estate in the
lands in Warminster which had been promised her. (fn. 92)
Stapleton's estates, however, went to the heirs of
a certain John Stapleton, perhaps his brother,
whose lands in Shropshire were the subject of a
lawsuit in 1470. (fn. 93) The Warminster property was
evidently divided between two of the coheirs of
John Stapleton, for in 1483 William Ruynon quitclaimed all the lands in Warminster which he had
by feoffment of Leonard Stapleton to George
Booth and Katharine his wife, John Leighton, and
Robert Cressett and Christine his wife. (fn. 94) Of these,
Leighton was the son of Elizabeth, one of John
Stapleton's coheirs. Elizabeth's sister Margaret
had married a Cressett of Upton Cressett (Salop.),
and left two daughters, one of whom married
Robert Cressett and the other Robert Mountfort. (fn. 95)
Mountfort's daughter and heir married George
Booth of Dunham Massey, (Cheshire). (fn. 96) Thus of
Stapleton's 2/3 of Furnax, ⅓ had passed to John Leighton and 1/6 each to Robert Cressett and George
Booth.
The remaining descent of all these shares derived
from Stapleton can be quickly dealt with. In 1511
George Booth's son, Sir William Booth, sold his
1/6 to John FitzJames, later Lord Chief Justice,
who used it to endow the grammar school which
he helped to found in the Abbey of Bruton (Som.)
in 1519. (fn. 97) Although it passed to the Crown at the
Dissolution, this part of Furnax was regranted to
the school at Bruton refounded by Edward VI in
1550. In 1516 Thomas Cressett, son of Robert,
and Sir Thomas Leighton both sold their shares to
Richard Fox, Bishop of Winchester, who used
them for the endowment of Corpus Christi College,
Oxford, which he founded. (fn. 98)
The ⅓ of Furnax which passed to Thomas
Berkeley descended to John Berkeley, who left it
at his death in 1479 to endow a chantry in the church
of Tickenham (Som.), and specifically ordered
the exclusion of his sister and heir, Cecily Ashe. (fn. 99)
In spite of this Cecily brought a successful action
against his feoffees and obtained the whole of the
estate. (fn. 1) Furnax descended in the Ashe family to
her great-great-grandson, John Ashe of Tickenham, (fn. 2) who apparently left three daughters and
coheirs. One of these, Jane, married William
Bassett of Uley (Glos.), and her 1/9 of the manor
passed to her son Edward. (fn. 3) Edward's widow Isabel
joined with her second husband in conveying it to
Simon Sloper of Warminster. (fn. 4) The names or marriages of the other coheirs of John Ashe are not
certainly known. (fn. 5) One may have married or been
mother of William Rosseter, grocer of London, who
in 1572 sold a share of Furnax to William Fry alias
Gysse of Combe St. Nicholas (Som.). In the following year Fry sold it to Thomas Fry of North
Petherton (Som.) who in 1589 sold it to Corpus
Christi College. (fn. 6) The third of the Ashe coheirs
may have married or been mother of Michael
Godwin of Longbridge Deverill who in 1595 sold
a share of Furnax to Edmund Ludlow of Hill
Deverill. (fn. 7)
By 1638 then, Furnax was divided among four
lords in various proportions; in that year the school
and the college brought proceedings against Simon
Sloper and Henry Ludlow, because, as was
alleged, they were using their nearness to the
property to deprive the larger but more distant
owners of their profits. A decree in chancery
ordered the division of the manor, and Sloper and
Ludlow were allotted land in proportion to their
shares but no part of the manorial rights. (fn. 8) The
rest of the manor remained in the undivided lordship of the college and the school in the proportion
5½ to 1½ until 1883, when a partition was authorized by the Charity Commissioners; (fn. 9) the college
retained some property in Warminster until the
1920's, when the last lots were sold. (fn. 10)
There was a capital messuage belonging to the
manor in the 14th century, (fn. 11) but in the 16th
century the demesnes were let without a house. (fn. 12)
In 1638 the tenant of the demesne farm held under
the lords two houses at the east end of the Market
place on the south side, (fn. 13) and this site is still remembered traditionally as the site of the manor
house. (fn. 14)
The manor of SMALLBROOK was held by
Mainard before the Conquest, and in 1086 by
Aubrey the chamberlain. (fn. 15) In the 12th century this
manor was held of the honor of Gloucester, (fn. 16) and
the overlordship descended with the honor to
Richard de Clare. At his death in 1314 the honor
was divided between two sisters and coheirs, (fn. 17) and
Smallbrook passed to Eleanor, whose husband,
Hugh de Audley, died in 1347. (fn. 18) His daughter
Margaret married Ralph, Earl of Stafford, (fn. 19) and
the overlordship descended with that title to
Humphrey, Earl of Stafford, who was created Duke
of Buckingham and died in 1460, and thence to
Edward, Duke of Buckingham, who was executed
in 1521. (fn. 20) It remained in the Crown until 1585,
when it was granted to Anthony Collins and others, (fn. 21)
but no further mention of it has been found. From
the 14th century it was regularly described as the
profits of a court leet at Smallbrook. (fn. 22)
Smallbrook was probably among the five fees
held of the honor of Gloucester by Roger Waspail
in 1166, (fn. 23) and by another Roger Waspail in the
early 13th century. (fn. 24) In 1233 this Roger was
succeeded by another Roger (fn. 25) who held in 1242–3. (fn. 26)
By this time it had, however, been long subinfeudated by these Waspails to another branch of the
same family. The first known tenant of Smallbrook
was Osbert Waspail (fn. 27) who was succeeded, probably
by 1194, (fn. 28) by his son also called Osbert. This second
Osbert left a daughter Cecily, who died under age,
leaving Smallbrook disputed between Robert
Waspail and Henry Waspail, which Henry apparently held Hill Deverill under Roger Waspail. (fn. 29) The
outcome of the suit was in Henry's favour, but in
1232 he acknowledged that Robert held the manor
of Smallbrook of him by the service of two knights
and suit at his court of Deverill. (fn. 30) Smallbrook was
thus held by Robert of Henry of Roger of the honor
of Gloucester, but these intermediate overlordships
are not mentioned after 1242–3, (fn. 31) and the Waspails
who held it held directly of the honor.
Robert Waspail's heir was his brother Godfrey, (fn. 32)
who had succeeded him by 1242–3. (fn. 33) He in turn
was succeeded by William Waspail, who was dead
by 1268, when his widow claimed dower in Smallbrook. (fn. 34) His son and heir was no doubt the William
Waspail who held the manor at the end of the 13th
century, (fn. 35) and whose son John had apparently
succeeded him by c. 1318. (fn. 36) This John was apparently succeeded by another John, (fn. 37) who died
in 1361 leaving a son and heir William. (fn. 38) By this
time the family was principally seated at Hartley
Wespall (Hants), (fn. 39) and Smallbrook descended in
the same way as that manor to William's grandson
John Waspail who died in 1448 having settled his
property on Hugh Pakenham, son of his wife by
her first husband John Pakenham. (fn. 40) In 1460 Pakenham sold Smallbrook to Thomas Rogers of Bradford,
serjeant-at-law, (fn. 41) who died in possession in 1478. (fn. 42)
It descended in the same way as Rogers's manor
of Bradford to his great grandson Anthony Rogers, (fn. 43)
who in 1550 sold it to John Wysse, citizen and
founder of London, (fn. 44) and owner of a share of the
manor of Portway. (fn. 45) After Wysse's death his son
Thomas sold the manor in 1559 in two parts; the
manor house and demesne lands to John Bennett
and the remainder to Richard Middlecott of
Bishopstrow, clothier. (fn. 46) The manor descended in
the same way as Portway in the Middlecott family,
and was probably sold with their estate to the
Thynnes in 1820. (fn. 47)
John Bennett, the purchaser of the demesne
farm, died in 1584, leaving a son and heir, John,
aged 13. (fn. 48) This younger John was probably the
father of Francis, who held the estate and died in
1667, leaving a son John. (fn. 49) It was probably a grandson of this John, also called John, who married
Susan Halliday in 1696 and died in 1744. (fn. 50) Their
son John married Ann Temple in 1723, and died
in 1734 leaving a son John. (fn. 51) By 1769 the estate
was heavily encumbered by mortgages and about
250 a. had to be conveyed to trustees to sell for
paying off the debts. Most of this was sold and at
the inclosure in 1784 the estate was reduced to a
few fields near the manor house. (fn. 52) It was then held
by yet another John, on whom it had been settled
in 1767. (fn. 53) His only son Edward died unmarried in
1826 and the estate was divided between his three
sisters. (fn. 54)
The manor house of Smallbrook stood in front
of the present Smallbrook Farm, where an elaborate pair of gate pillars may still be seen in 1962. It
was demolished in the 19th century. (fn. 55)