MANORS AND OTHER ESTATES.
Land held by Ulf before the Conquest was held by Robert de
Todeni in 1086 (fn. 76) and was known later as the manor
of SAPPERTON. The manor was held from the
king in chief throughout the Middle Ages. (fn. 77) Robert
de Todeni died in 1088 (fn. 78) and the estate later passed
to his great-grandson William de Albini Brito
(d. 1166). (fn. 79) By 1187 the estate had passed to Alard
le Fleming (fn. 80) who died seised of it in or before 1220
while on crusade, (fn. 81) having been temporarily
dispossessed in 1216, presumably for siding against
King John. (fn. 82) Alard was succeeded by his son Henry
who held Sapperton in 1236. (fn. 83) Henry was shortly
afterwards succeeded by John le Fleming after whose
death the estate passed to his brother Alard le
Fleming (d. by 1263). (fn. 84) Emme le Fleming,
presumably Alard's widow, (fn. 85) later married Henry of
Leigh, (fn. 86) who held part of the fee c. 1285 and was
soon afterwards described as lord of Sapperton. (fn. 87)
Henry was probably dead by 1303 when Emme le
Fleming was regarded as owner of the manor but
evidently held only part as dower. (fn. 88) The remainder
passed to Alard's heirs, his daughters Joan, wife of
Henry Hussey, and Florence, wife of Walter de
Lisle. (fn. 89) Joan died in 1278 or 1279 when her share of
the manor passed to her son, Henry Hussey,
although her husband was still alive. (fn. 90) Walter de
Lisle was said to hold his wife's share of the manor
in 1285 (fn. 91) but that moiety had passed to his son,
William, before Walter's decease in 1309. (fn. 92)
The Hussey moiety, known as Daneway, (fn. 93) was
held by Henry Hussey, Lord Hussey, Joan's son, at
his death in 1332 when it passed to his son, also
Henry. (fn. 94) The younger Henry died in 1349 (fn. 95) and
the estate passed to his widow, Catherine, later wife
of Andrew Peverel. Catherine died in 1375 (fn. 96) when
the estate passed to her son, Henry Hussey (d.
1383), (fn. 97) who had been named as heir by a settlement
made by his father in 1347. (fn. 98) Henry's widow,
Ankaret, held the moiety until her death in 1389
when it passed to her son Henry (fn. 99) (d. 1409), who
was succeeded by his son, also Henry. (fn. 1) The last
named Henry mortgaged his estates in 1439 and
1440 to John Greville (fn. 2) (d. 1444), (fn. 3) who presumably
bought the moiety outright, because in 1480 it was
sold by Greville's granddaughter Margaret and her
husband, Thomas Whittington, to Sir William
Nottingham. (fn. 4)
The de Lisle moiety of the manor was in the
possession of William de Lisle, son of Florence, in
1308 when the boundaries of the respective moieties
of the park were drawn. (fn. 5) William died in 1345 when
the moiety passed to his son Walter (fn. 6) (d. 1352) (fn. 7) who
held the manor jointly with his wife Joan (d. 1375).
After Joan's death the estate passed to her son,
William de Lisle (fn. 8) (d. 1384), who was succeeded by
his son Robert, (fn. 9) the owner in 1402. (fn. 10) Robert de
Lisle presented to the living in 1452 and John de
Lisle in 1454, (fn. 11) and John sold the moiety of the
manor to Sir William Nottingham in 1463. (fn. 12)
The two moieties were thus united by Sir William
Nottingham who also added some smaller holdings
in the parish to the manorial estate. (fn. 13) Nottingham, a
former M.P. for Gloucester and the county, was
appointed Lord Chief Baron of the Exchequer in
1480. (fn. 14) He died in 1483 having put his estate in trust
for the benefit of his widow Elizabeth, (fn. 15) who
married Richard Poole. Richard disputed the terms
of the trust established by Nottingham (fn. 16) and
bought the manor of Sapperton from the trustees
in 1487. He died in 1517 when the manor passed to
Leonard Poole (fn. 17) (d. 1538), Richard's son by an
earlier marriage. (fn. 18) Giles Poole inherited the manor
from his father in 1538 and was knighted in 1547,
from which time he played a prominent part in local
affairs, representing the county in the parliaments
of 1554 and 1571 and occupying the office of high
sheriff of Gloucestershire in 1565. Sir Giles died in
1589 (fn. 19) when the manor passed to his son Sir Henry
(d. 1616) (fn. 20) who was twice high sheriff of the county
and its representative at the parliament of 1592. After
Henry's death the manor passed to his son, also
Sir Henry, who was M.P. for Cirencester in three
parliaments and high sheriff in 1632. The younger
Sir Henry died in 1645 when his son Sir William
Poole inherited the manor. Sir William was an
ardent royalist who was possibly granted a
baronetcy (fn. 21) and was certainly fined heavily for his
sympathies before his death in 1651 when most of
his land was mortgaged to Walter Walker and
Gabriel Beck. (fn. 22) Sir William's son, Sir Henry, and
his mortgagees sold part of the manor of Sapperton
in 1661 to Sir Robert Atkyns. (fn. 23)
Sir Robert Atkyns bought the remaining part of
the manor in 1667 and Sapperton became his
chief residence. (fn. 24) Sir Robert was recorder of Bristol
from 1661 to 1682 and a promotor of the Revolution
of 1688; after the Revolution he was appointed Lord
Chief Baron of the Exchequer and also was granted
a warrant to perform the offices of Lord Chancellor
and Lord Keeper which were in commission at that
time. (fn. 25) Atkyns died in 1710 and was succeeded by
his son Sir Robert Atkyns (d. 1711). The younger
Sir Robert was the author of the earliest printed
history of Gloucestershire, published in 1712, and
sat in several parliaments for Cirencester or the
county. He devised the manor of Sapperton to the
Revd. the Hon. Henry Brydges who had married
Sir Robert's niece Annabella. (fn. 26) The manor was sold
in 1730 by Annabella and her son Robert to Allen,
Baron Bathurst of Battlesden (Suss.), (fn. 27) created
Earl Bathurst in 1772. The first Earl Bathurst died
in 1775 when the manor passed to his son Henry
(d. 1794), Lord Chancellor from 1771 to 1778. The
manor descended with the Bathurst peerage to
Henry, son of the 2nd earl, who was Lord President
of the Council 1828-30. Henry died in 1834 when
the manor passed successively to his sons, Henry
George (d. 1866) and William Lennox (d. 1878).
William was a bachelor and the estates and titles
passed to his nephew Allen Alexander Bathurst
(d. 1892), who was succeeded by his son Seymour
Henry (d. 1943). Seymour's grandson, Henry Allen
John, 8th Earl Bathurst, succeeded and owned the
manor in 1971. (fn. 28)
A house was recorded on the demesne at Sapperton in 1262 or 1263 (fn. 29) and on the Hussey moiety of
the manor in 1332. (fn. 30) In the early 18th century a large
Cotswold-style manor-house, probably built in the
earlier part of the previous century, stood north-east
of the church. The three-storeyed north-west front
of the house had six gables, three of which were
shaped, and before it lay a terraced garden with a
summer-house and a number of pillars and gates
with ball finials. The smaller north wing presumably
held the servants' quarters, and the eastern approach
to the house had a battlemented entrance. (fn. 31) In 1672
the house was assessed at 30 hearths. (fn. 32) It was pulled
down in the mid 18th century (fn. 33) when some of the
wood panelling was transferred to the church and
other material used to build Alfred's Hall in
Cirencester Park. (fn. 34) In 1971 traces of the garden
terrace of the manor-house were still visible to the
north of the church.
An estate at Frampton, later called the manor of
FRAMPTON MANSELL, was held by Robert de
Todeni in 1086 and descended with the manor of
Sapperton until at least 1211. (fn. 35) The manor had
apparently been alienated from Sapperton by
1263 (fn. 36) and had perhaps passed to the Maunsell
family on the marriage of the younger Alard le
Fleming to Emme Maunsell. John Maunsell,
possibly her brother, (fn. 37) held a ¼ fee at Frampton
in 1285 (fn. 38) and was succeeded by William Maunsell,
who was in possession of the estate, together with
Over Lypiatt, in 1303. (fn. 39) The manor was not listed
among his possessions at his death c. 1324, (fn. 40) having
been conveyed to his son William in 1306. (fn. 41) William
Maunsell held the fee in 1346. (fn. 42) Some time later the
manor passed from the Maunsells to their kinsmen,
the Whittingtons of Pauntley, possibly by descent (fn. 43)
or perhaps by purchase from trustees. Robert
Whittington held the manor in 1406. (fn. 44) After 1423
it probably descended once more with the manor of
Over Lypiatt, (fn. 45) but no later record of the lordship
has been found before 1580 when Thomas Wye and
Gillian his wife held courts for Frampton Mansell
manor. (fn. 46) It subsequently remained in the same
ownership as Over Lypiatt (fn. 47) but was retained by
Edward Stephens until 1641 when he sold it to John
Driver of Aston, in Avening. (fn. 48) John died in 1681
when the estate passed to his son John (fn. 49) (d. 1687), (fn. 50)
who devised it to his brother Nathaniel, of Bristol,
provided that Nathaniel paid certain sums to John's
widow and daughter. (fn. 51) Nathaniel sold off most of the
estate in several parcels in 1688 and parted with the
manor-house a few years later, (fn. 52) but the manorial
rights continued to descend with his Aston Farm
estate, (fn. 53) and were retained by the Estcourt family
in the early 19th century. (fn. 54)
The manor-house and the home farm, known as
FRAMPTON FARM, were sold in 1694 by
Nathaniel Driver to Walter Ridler of Chalford who
by will dated 1699 devised them to his nephew,
Nathaniel Ridler. Nathaniel's brother Robert (fn. 55)
succeeded but was dead by 1711 when his sisters
partitioned his estates, Frampton farm going to
Hannah who married John Wade. Hannah and John
were dead by 1746, (fn. 56) and in 1778 their son John
Wade of Pudhill, Woodchester, sold Frampton farm
to Charles Coxe, the younger, of Cirencester
(d. 1783). William Thompson, Coxe's surviving
trustee, and his mortgagees sold the estate to
Thomas Dean of Frenchay, near Bristol, in 1788
when the estate comprised 161 a. Dean sold the
estate in 1797 to Richard Vaughan of Bristol who
settled it on his son Richard. The younger Richard
sold the estate in 1806 to George Wathen of
Painswick who conveyed it to Benjamin Hayward
of West Lavington (Wilts.) the following year. (fn. 57)
Hayward sold it in 1825 to Peter Playne of Box (fn. 58)
(d. 1851) (fn. 59) and, with other parts of the manor, it
formed part of the 490-a. estate based on the Downs
that Peter's son Henry owned at his death in 1886. (fn. 60)
The estate passed to Henry's son Edward Henry
(d. 1891) and then to the latter's sister Elizabeth
Anne Playne (d. 1907), who was succeeded by her
cousin, Mary Pauline Playne (d. 1910). (fn. 61) The
Downs estate was bought, probably before 1914, by
C. E. Clark whose daughter Miss F. Clark was in
possession in 1971. (fn. 62)
A part of the manor estate, which continued to be
called the manor of Frampton Mansell and
comprised a house called Turnebull's and c. 100 a.,
was sold by Nathaniel Driver to Thomas Jayne in
1688. (fn. 63) Jayne was perhaps already in possession of a
smaller estate, acquired by William Jayne in 1626
from Jeremy Jefferies of Westwood. (fn. 64) The portion of
the manor was owned by the same or another
Thomas in 1746, (fn. 65) and it passed to his sons,
Thomas and Henry (d. c. 1765), in succession.
Henry's son Thomas Tyndall Jayne, who was later
ordained, was in possession of the reputed manor in
1778 when it comprised over 300 a., and he sold it to
William Yarnton Mills of Lambeth (Surr.) in 1786.
Mills sold the estate to Henry, Earl Bathurst, in
1812 (fn. 66) and it descended with Sapperton manor.
Another part of Driver's estate was bought in 1688
by William Gegg, a member of a family which had
long been tenants on Frampton Mansell manor. The
estate passed to Henry Gegg (d. by 1764), to Henry's
son William, and before 1775 to William's son
Henry. Henry sold the estate in 1779 to John
Yarnton of London. Yarnton devised it by will
dated 1803 in trust for John Mills who entered the
estate on coming of age in 1821. John died in 1832
when the estate passed to his four sisters Anne
Sarah, Catherine, Mary, and Elizabeth who married
Thomas Freston of Daglingworth; the sisters
conveyed it in 1836 to their father John Mills of
Miserden. (fn. 67) Mills died in 1862, when the major
part of the estate was purchased by Henry Playne
and absorbed in his Downs estate. (fn. 68)
A capital messuage in Frampton with c. 200 a.
which Walter Bliss held at his death in 1563 had
evidently been severed from the ancient manor, for
Walter's son and heir, Thomas, (fn. 69) was recorded as
joint lord of Frampton Mansell with John Throckmorton in 1581 (fn. 70) and in 1608. (fn. 71) Thomas Bliss was
succeeded by his son Giles (fl. 1627), (fn. 72) and at the
death of the same or another Giles the estate passed
to his four daughters. In 1685 Thomas Rawlins, son
of one of the daughters, bought out the other heirs,
and Rawlins's estate had passed to his son, the
Revd. Thomas Rawlins of Painswick, by 1735. In
1741 the Revd. Thomas conveyed the estate to his
sister Mary Yarnton who conveyed it to her son
Thomas the following year. Thomas Yarnton
(d. 1748) was succeeded by his brother William who
bought other land in the parish from the Cooke and
Hancox families in 1773. William Yarnton died in
1794 when he devised the estate to his brother John
for life with remainder to the heirs of his sister Mary,
the wife of William Tuckwell. John died in 1803
when the estate passed to William Tuckwell, Mary's
grandson, who sold the estate in 1814 to Benjamin
Hayward, (fn. 73) and it passed into the Downs estate in
1825. (fn. 74)
Lower Manor Farm, by the railway viaduct, which
was called Manor House in the late 19th century, (fn. 75)
and the Manor, on the west side of the main village
of Frampton, apparently represent the chief
houses of the Driver and Bliss estates, but, since both
became merged in the Downs estate, it is not
possible to distinguish them. The original house at
Lower Manor Farm possibly dates from the 16th
century and forms a wing to the present house; it is a
small rubble two-storey range with a large gable
in which there is a dovecot. The house was greatly
enlarged in the later 17th century by the addition
of a north-east front of five bays and a short east
wing. The additions are in classical style with a
heavily moulded cornice and mullioned and
transomed windows, which lost their leaded
lights in the 1950s. (fn. 76) Among the out-buildings is a
small 18th-century barn which was possibly once
used as a cottage. The Manor dates from the 17th
century and is a two-storey, L-shaped building, to
which a porch was later added. The house was
heavily restored during the 20th century and in the
early part of the century served as the village post
office. (fn. 77)
The manor of HAILEY in the south-east part of
the parish was possibly held by William of Hailey
who was recorded in 1327. (fn. 78) No record of the early
history of the manor has been found before 1517
when it was held by Richard Poole, lord of Sapperton, (fn. 79) having possibly been connected with the
Hussey moiety of Sapperton. (fn. 80) The manor descended with Sapperton until 1667 when it was
bought by Walter Walker, the mortgagee of the
Poole estates. (fn. 81) In 1677 the manor was bought by
Sir Robert Atkyns, the younger, from Sir George
Walker. (fn. 82) The manor was later sold to John
Coxe, rector of Rodmarton, who conveyed it to his
brother Charles Coxe of Nether Lypiatt (d. 1728).
Charles devised the estate to his grandson, also
Charles Coxe (fl. 1793), (fn. 83) whose aunt Catherine
(d. 1792), later the wife of Thomas Shellard, rector
of Rendcomb, (fn. 84) also seems to have held a share
in the estate, which amounted to c. 200 a. (fn. 85) Charles
Coxe, who presumably had acquired Catherine's
share at her death, was succeeded by his son
Charles Westley Coxe, and the manor passed with
estates in Rodmarton until 1910 when Lord
Biddulph sold it to Earl Bathurst. (fn. 86) The estate was
centred on a two-storey 18th-century farm-house to
which a wing was added at the eastern end in the
19th century.
In 1241 William the franklin of Frampton
granted a ½ hide of land to Cirencester Abbey. (fn. 87) At
the dissolution of the abbey in 1539 its land at
Frampton Mansell comprised a yardland (fn. 88) which
descended with the manor of Througham to
Walter Compton, (fn. 89) who conveyed it in 1550 to
Walter Bliss (fn. 90) (d. 1563). (fn. 91) The estate, comprising a
messuage described as a barn and 32 a. of land, was
conveyed by Walter's son, Thomas Bliss, to John
Cooke of Oakridge in 1571. (fn. 92) Margaret, the wife of
Hugh Cooke, died seised of the estate in 1624 when
her son William was heir. (fn. 93) A William Cooke was
letting lands in Frampton Mansell in 1654 (fn. 94) and
William Cooke of Bisley (d. 1701 or 1702) left his
estate to his sisters Margery and Edith for life and
the reversion to his cousin John Cooke. In 1722
John's estate was a messuage and 31 a. In 1773
William Cooke of Avenis, the son of John, sold the
estate to William Yarnton, (fn. 95) and it descended with
the other estates owned by Yarnton to form part of
the Downs estate. (fn. 96) The house called the Grange
near Whitehall bridge, recorded in 1828 and
destroyed later in the century, probably during the
building of the railway, (fn. 97) was possibly the chief
house of the estate.
A pasture called Hargrove and an acre of land
called Gloveacre, held by services which included a
pair of gloves, belonged to Caen Abbey, which had a
confirmatory grant from Henry le Fleming in
1225. (fn. 98)