MANOR AND OTHER ESTATES.
Between
its refoundation in 970 and the 990s Ely abbey
acquired three or four estates at SNAILWELL
through purchase, donation, and perhaps
exchange: Between 970 and 975 Wedwine, son of
Ealdstan, sold 240 a. to the abbot, and Hugh and
Aelfric may have sold 75 a. (fn. 52) Between 975 and
981 these properties were granted to Athelstan,
a priest, but on his death they probably reverted
to Ely abbey. (fn. 53) Probably in the 990s, the parents
of Leofsige donated an estate when their son
became an oblate there. (fn. 54) Another estate sold by
Leofman c. 979-92 to Ramsey abbey (Hunts.) (fn. 55)
was probably acquired before 1042 by Ely, which
held all five hides in the mid 11th century. (fn. 56)
Snailwell was leased to Stigand, later archbishop,
by Leofsige, abbot 1029-44, (fn. 57) who perhaps had
the power to alienate the manor because part of
it had been given to Ely by his kin. (fn. 58)
On Stigand's deposition in 1072 King
William retained the manor, but after c. 1072-5
it was granted to Odo, bishop of Bayeux. (fn. 59) Odo
subinfeudated it to Hugh de Port, who became
a tenant-in-chief on Odo's forfeiture in 1083.
Ely abbey made intermittent attempts until the
1130s to recover the manor, (fn. 60) probably abandoning its claim in 1139. From Hugh de Port
the overlordship of Snailwell descended with the
barony of St. John of Basing until 1393-4, when
the manor was held of Isabel, widow of Luke
Poynings. (fn. 61) It is not recorded thereafter.
Before 1095 Hugh de Port gave Snailwell to
his daughter Emma, wife of William de Percy. (fn. 62)
It then descended with the Percy barony to
William's grandson, also called William, whose
daughter and coheir Maud (d. 1203-4) held it
in 1176 with her husband, William, earl of
Warwick (d. 1184). (fn. 63) Her Snailwell estate, by
then a mesne lordship over the manor, presumably reverted to her sister, Agnes, whose grandson, William de Percy, agreed in 1224 that he
held it of William de St. John as 3/4 knight's
fee. (fn. 64) That mesne lordship descended with the
Percy barony, Henry Percy, earl of Northumberland, being recorded as overlord in 1379. (fn. 65)
Aubrey de Capeles, a Suffolk landholder (fl.
1130-50), may have held Snailwell to which his
descendants Hugh and Geoffrey both seem to
have had a right. (fn. 66) After Geoffrey's death c. 1190
on crusade his widow Agatha, (fn. 67) who remarried,
received in 1195 over a third of the vill as dower
from his heir, Aubrey de Capeles. (fn. 68) Aubrey's
kinsman, Walter, in 1208 acquired one carucate
at Snailwell from the bishop of Ely. (fn. 69) Another
kinsman, Hugh de Capeles, who had claimed
land at Snailwell in 1193, had obtained half the
vill which he subinfeudated to Walter of
Snailwell from whose nephew and heir Walter
de Capeles claimed homage. (fn. 70) In 1233 John de
Vaux in right of his wife, Alice, held the manor
of William de Percy, but c. 1235 John and
Walter de Capeles were jointly lords of
Snailwell. (fn. 71) In 1279 the manor was held, perhaps
as dower, by Aubrey de Capeles's kinswoman,
Alice le Blund, possibly a relation of John le
Blund. (fn. 72) In 1282-3 Aubrey de Capeles was the
tenant under Robert de Scales. (fn. 73) By 1284-6
Aubrey held Snailwell of William de Percy. (fn. 74) By
1302-3 Sir Baldwin de Manners held the estate
from Aubrey under William. (fn. 75) In 1316 Aubrey
de Capeles, possibly the son of Aubrey (fl.
1284-6), and Baldwin held the manor, but they
died respectively in 1316 and 1320, both without
male issue. (fn. 76)
Aubrey left as heirs two sisters, Alice and
Maud. (fn. 77) In 1318 Robert de Wateville was given
wardship over a daughter of Aubrey, and in 1346
the whole manor was held by Joan, widow of
William de Wateville. (fn. 78) Possibly Robert married
his ward to his kinsman between 1318 and
1330. (fn. 79) Sir Edmund Hengrave (d. 1379) held the
manor jointly with his wife Joan, (fn. 80) perhaps
daughter of Joan de Wateville. In 1393-4 their
surviving son Thomas Hengrave held Snailwell,
but after his son had died in 1411 he arranged
in 1416 to enfeoff his estates to kinsmen
and neighbours. (fn. 81) Amongst them was Justice
William Paston, who had married Thomas's first
cousin's granddaughter, Agnes. Paston, who
occupied Snailwell from 1428, had purchased
the manor by his death in 1444, (fn. 82) perhaps from
the feoffees of Thomas Hengrave (d. 1419).
William Paston's younger brother John received
the rents from Snailwell during the minority of
his younger nephew Edmund, to whom William
had devised it, (fn. 83) but in 1449 the manor passed
to William's elder son, John (d. 1466). (fn. 84)
Snailwell passed to his son, Sir John, lord in
1477, (fn. 85) and it then presumably descended successively to the latter's brother John (d. 1503),
and to that John's son, Sir William (d. 1554);
and finally it passed to his grandson Sir William
(d. 1610), son of Erasmus Paston (d. 1538). (fn. 86) In
1580 Sir William sold it with other properties
to John Thornton of Soham. (fn. 87)
Thornton (d. 1598) was succeeded by his son,
Sir Roger (d. 1630-1), (fn. 88) who left the manor to
his widow, Anne, with remainder jointly to their
eldest son, Roger, and their daughters, Lucy,
Lydia, and Hannah. (fn. 89) In 1641 Roger or his
guardians held most of the manor, and his sister
Lucy controlled a lesser holding. (fn. 90) In 1642-3
Lydia sold her share, c. 220 a., to another
brother Samuel Thornton, (fn. 91) whose royalist sympathies may have forced him to return the land
to Lydia and her husband Isaac Lukyn. (fn. 92) Roger
Thornton held the manor in 1648-50, but in
1654 and 1658 he transferred it to his youngest
brother Isaac. (fn. 93) In 1654 Isaac (kt. 1661) also
purchased Lydia's share, and in 1658 acquired
that of Lucy and her husband Vere Harcourt. (fn. 94)
Sir Isaac Thornton owned the whole manor
from 1658 until his death in 1669, (fn. 95) when it
passed to his son Sir Roger, who sold it in
1674-5 to John Clarke (d. c. 1681) of Bury St.
Edmunds (Suff.). (fn. 96)
Snailwell passed between 1675 and 1681 to
his son, Samuel (cr. Bt. 1698, d. 1719). The
estate passed in turn to his son, Sir Robert
Clarke (d. 1746), M.P. for Cambridgeshire, (fn. 97)
then to Sir Robert's son Sir Samuel, (fn. 98) whose
debts forced him to sell Snailwell in 1758 (fn. 99) to
Thomas Brand, setting aside a settlement of
1757 in favour of his younger brother Robert
Clarke. (fn. 1) Brand died in 1770 and his son Thomas
in 1794. (fn. 2) That Thomas's son Thomas, later
Lord Dacre, sold the manor in 1798 to John
Tharp (d. 1804), of Good Hope, Jamaica. (fn. 3)
Tharp had purchased most of the land in
Chippenham in 1792, and Chippenham and
Snailwell were held together by his descendants
from 1798 until 1996. (fn. 4)
Tharp's eldest son having predeceased him,
in 1804 his grandson John, aged eight, inherited
Snailwell. The estate was inherited as part of the
Chippenham Park Estate by successive members of the Tharp family, and was owned in 1997
by Mr. and Mrs. Crawley. (fn. 5)
Philip de Patmer and John Bernard held one
hide and 100 a. of Alice le Blund in 1279. (fn. 6) Philip
died between 1299 and 1324, when his lands
were settled on his widow Alice's death among
his children, 60 a. at Snailwell for his daughter
Agnes, and 200 a., partly elsewhere, for his sons
Henry and Walter. (fn. 7) On Alice's death in 1339 she
was, however, succeeded by a minor, and the
lord of Snailwell manor probably regained control of the Snailwell land, which in 1379 was
included in the manor. (fn. 8)
The Hospitaller preceptory at Chippenham
was given land at Snailwell between 1184 and
1257. (fn. 9) In 1279 one hide and 46 a. were held from
the preceptor by William de Tuamville. (fn. 10) In
1523 Thomas Cheesewright succeeded William
Cheesewright as owner of Hale manor in
Snailwell, formerly held of the preceptor of
Chippenham, (fn. 11) but by 1650 it had been incorporated into the main manor. (fn. 12)
After 1086 Emma de Port gave one hide at
Snailwell to Whitby abbey (Yorks.), but by 1130
her son Alan de Percy had granted the monks
one hide at Isleham instead. (fn. 13) In 1348 Spinney
priory in Wicken purchased 120 a. of land at
Snailwell, which became Spinney manor farm. (fn. 14)
In 1449 that farm passed to the priory of Ely
when Spinney was annexed to it. (fn. 15) In 1538 Ely
leased Spinney priory to George Carlteon, who
in 1542 acquired Spinney from the Crown. (fn. 16) In
1549 his brother John inherited Spinney lands,
including those at Snailwell, which in 1552 he
left to his wife Joyce and son George, who
immediately sold the land at Snailwell to Henry
Payne. (fn. 17) In 1563 Payne's brother-in-law Henry
Gatward held Spinney manor farm. (fn. 18) In 1580
Martin Warren purchased it from George
Smethe. (fn. 19) By 1676 John Warren bequeathed
Spinney manor farm to his brother Martin,
whose son Martin held it in 1692. (fn. 20) In 1718 the
son's widow left it to the rector of Balsham
(Cambs.), whose widow sold it in 1735 to Sir
Robert Clarke. (fn. 21) In 1806 the rector of Snailwell
stated that Spinney farm had never been a
manor. (fn. 22)
Between 1664 and 1674 Sir Isaac Thornton
and his son Roger occupied a house with 15
hearths, (fn. 23) presumably the manor house sold in
1674-5 to John Clarke. (fn. 24) In 1791 it was
described as of modern design, once the seat of
the Clarkes. (fn. 25) It stood 350 m. south-west of the
rectory with a drive, called the Newmarket walk,
running to the Exning road. (fn. 26) In 1758 on the
ground floor there were a hall, two parlours, a
Venetian room, study, kitchen, and three other
chambers. (fn. 27) In 1780 and 1791 it was rented by
curates, one of whom in 1780 employed four
servants. (fn. 28) John Tharp (d. 1804) had never
intended that the house should be occupied, and
in 1806 the rector expected that it would soon
be pulled down as it was untenanted and had
fallen into a very bad state of disrepair. (fn. 29) In 1821
consideration was given to repairing Snailwell
Hall for a Chippenham tenant of John Tharp, (fn. 30)
but no work was commissioned, and in 1841 it
was occupied by four farm workers' families,
and Newmarket walk led only to the old rect
ory. (fn. 31) The hall was not documented thereafter,
and only a few ruins remained in 1889. (fn. 32)