MANORS AND OTHER ESTATES.
In 1086
Rodborough formed part of Caen Abbey's manor of
Minchinhampton, and the manorial rights over
Rodborough, which was usually described as a member of Minchinhampton but occasionally accounted
a separate manor of RODBOROUGH, (fn. 84) descended
with Minchinhampton (fn. 85) until 1806. In that year
Philip Sheppard sold Rodborough manor, comprising merely the manorial rights and £12 6s. 7d. a year
in quit-rents and quarry rents, to Sir George Paul,
with whose Hill House estate it subsequently descended to Charles Apperly. (fn. 86) Apperly and his
mortgagees sold the manor in 1923 to Capt. George
Gorton of Hillgrove House, Rodborough, from
whom it was bought the following year by G. B.
Philpin of Rodborough Fort, who died in 1932. (fn. 87)
The manorial rights presumably passed to Mr.
Bainbrigge Fletcher who gave Rodborough common
to the National Trust in 1937, thus divesting the
manor of its remaining significance. (fn. 88)
Three small estates, which all claimed manorial
status, were held from the chief manor of Minchinhampton. One of them, later known as the manor of
RODBOROUGH, may have been held by Hawise,
widow of Ellis of Rodborough, who contested ½ yardland with Richard Rufus in 1199. (fn. 89) The estate has
not been found definitely recorded, however, until
c. 1300 when it comprised 1½ yardland and was held
by Thomas of Rodborough by the service of helping
to carry Caen Abbey's treasure to Southampton. (fn. 90)
Thomas of Rodborough died c. 1334 when the chief
messuage and part of the estate was retained in
dower by his widow Joan, the remainder passing to
the Crown during the minority of his heir Hugh, son
of Hugh of Rodborough. (fn. 91) Another Thomas of
Rodborough held the estate by 1359 when he settled
it on his wife Alice and their heirs with remainder to
William of Rodborough, (fn. 92) his brother. Thomas died
in 1367 and William in 1377, possibly in Alice's lifetime; William's daughter Agnes married John
Browning, whose son Richard was heir to the estate
in 1393 (fn. 93) but died a minor in 1400. Richard's heir
was his sister Cecily, also a minor, (fn. 94) who with her
husband Guy Whittington had livery of the estate in
1404. (fn. 95) John Whittington of Pauntley held the
estate at his death in 1525 and was succeeded by his
son Thomas, (fn. 96) who died in 1546, having settled it on
his six daughters, Elizabeth who married Giles Poole
of Sapperton, Anne who married Brian Berkeley,
Joan who married Roger Bodenham, Margaret
who married Thomas Throckmorton, Alice, and
Blanche. (fn. 97) Roger Bodenham died in 1579 and his
interest passed successively to his sons Thomas (fn. 98) (d.
1583) and Roger. (fn. 99) Sir Giles Poole had a conveyance
of two parts of the manor from Thomas Throckmorton in 1581 (fn. 1) and at his death in 1589 was
succeeded by his son Henry. (fn. 2) The Berkeley interest
has not been found recorded after 1578. (fn. 3)
In 1594 Henry Poole and Roger Bodenham, who
were presumably by then in possession of all six
shares, conveyed the site of the manor to Edward
Webb, (fn. 4) and Thomas Webb conveyed it to Michael
Stringer (fn. 5)
c. 1628. The estate, which comprised the
house that became known as Stringer's Court and
c. 50 a. of land, had passed by 1669 to Edward
Stringer (d. 1688 or 1689), who was succeeded by
his brother Richard (d. c. 1709). It then passed to
Richard's son Richard, who was dead by 1726 when
his sisters and heirs Abigail and Anna, with their
respective husbands Joseph Dudbridge, clothier,
and John Messenger, clothier, partitioned the estate.
Joseph Dudbridge, son of Joseph, released his
moiety in 1745 to his mortgagee John Hodges, who
sold it in 1754 to William Shurmur, a naval officer;
Shurmur bought John Messenger's moiety in 1758.
At his death in 1777 Shurmur devised the estate to
his mother Mary for life with reversion to his
nephew Driver Wathen, (fn. 6) and Philip Wathen owned
and occupied it in 1804 and 1839. (fn. 7) In 1973 Stringer's
Court belonged to Mr. J. Daniels, whose family had
bought it c. 1918. The house originally comprised a
long, 17th-century, gabled range, the central bay of
which was extended on both sides in the 18th
century. The resulting angles on the south side were
filled in the 19th century, and c. 1920 the house was
extensively refitted. (fn. 8)
Another estate, later called the manor of SPILLMANS COURT, was held from Minchinhampton
manor by the same service as the Rodborough
family's manor. (fn. 9) It comprised 1½ yardland and was
held by Adam Spilman in Henry II's reign and by
Ellis Spilman c. 1200, (fn. 10) later passing to John
Spilman, who was described as Caen Abbey's
serjeant in 1218. (fn. 11) It perhaps belonged to another
John Spilman of Rodborough who went to Paris to
study in 1287. (fn. 12) Adam Spilman apparently held it by
1291 (fn. 13) and he was in possession c. 1300, when he
also held ½ yardland at Seinckley (fn. 14) which Caen
Abbey had granted to John Spilman in 1220, charged
with the maintenance of a lamp in Minchinhampton
church. (fn. 15) Adam was succeeded, apparently before
1316, by his son John. (fn. 16) The estate later passed to
Thomas Spilman (d. by 1397), (fn. 17) and later it
apparently passed in succession to Maud Spilman,
who married Edmund of Rodborough, a benefactor
to Rodborough church, to their daughter Margery,
who married William Payne (fl. 1417), and to
William, son of Margery and William; (fn. 18) William
Payne the younger was recorded as the owner of
Spillmans Court in 1438. (fn. 19) The younger William
was succeeded by his son Thomas, whose son John (fn. 20)
died seised of the estate in 1541. John Payne was
succeeded by his son Giles (fn. 21) (d. 1570), and Giles by
his brother Walter (fn. 22) (d. 1571). During the minority
of Walter's son and heir Richard, Jane, widow of
Giles Payne, and Elizabeth, widow of Walter,
together with their second husbands William
Hampshire and Giles Greville, took the profits of the
estate. (fn. 23) Richard died in 1630, having settled
Spillmans Court on his wife Jane with reversion to
his son Giles. (fn. 24) Giles conveyed the estate in 1650 to
his daughter Anne and her husband George Lloyd,
reserving an annuity and the use of part of the
house. (fn. 25) Spillmans Court was probably the house
that Nathaniel Beard (d. c. 1695) left to his wife
Sarah with reversion to his son Nathaniel. (fn. 26) The
younger Nathaniel owned Spillmans Court, by then
apparently devoid of all manorial pretensions, in
1724, (fn. 27) and by his will dated 1748 left his lands in
Rodborough to be sold for the benefit of his
daughters Elizabeth and Catherine. Catherine had
married William Halliday by 1757, (fn. 28) and it was presumably by her marriage that Spillmans Court had
passed by 1805 to another William Halliday, owner
of the Fromehall Mill estate. (fn. 29) Henry Burgh lived at
the house for a number of years until his death in
1848. (fn. 30) In 1864 it belonged to Lindsey Winterbotham of Stroud who sold it in that year to William
Rollett, a schoolmaster. Rollett's mortgagees sold it
in 1873 to William Foster, a nurseryman. (fn. 31) The
house, which stood on the west side of Rodborough
Hill, was burnt down c. 1900, (fn. 32) and the site was later
built over.
An estate later called the manor of ACHARDS
was probably held by Roger Achard who witnessed a
Rodborough deed in 1218 and by Peter Achard who
was recorded in the late 13th century. (fn. 33) It probably
belonged with the neighbouring manor of Woodchester to the Mautravers family by 1292 when John,
son and heir of John Mautravers, made a grant of
land at Dudbridge, (fn. 34) and c. 1300 the younger John,
who had by then succeeded his father, held the
Achards estate from Caen Abbey by rent and
seasonal works; it was then extended at 2½ yardlands. (fn. 35) Apparently it followed the descent of
Woodchester until the death of John FitzAlan in
1379, although certain evidence is lacking until
1364. (fn. 36) FitzAlan's widow Eleanor, later the wife of
Reynold Cobham, held Achards in dower until her
death in 1405 when it reverted to her grandson John
FitzAlan, (fn. 37) later earl of Arundel (d. 1421). The
whole of Achards was held in dower by Eleanor,
widow of the earl and later the wife of Walter
Hungerford, but from her death in 1455 (fn. 38) it descended with Woodchester until 1559 when Henry, earl
of Arundel, and John Lumley, Lord Lumley, conveyed it to Richard Webb. (fn. 39) Richard died in 1561
leaving it to his infant son Richard. Edward Webb,
possibly the younger son of the elder Richard, (fn. 40) was
dealing with Achards manor in 1591 (fn. 41) and in 1634
Thomas Webb conveyed it to Giles Mason, clothier
(d. 1638), who was succeeded by his son James. (fn. 42)
Later it passed to Philip Wathen who sold Achards
house with a few closes to John Gyde (d. 1729), and
it passed to John's son Thomas and Thomas's son
John. The younger John, a clothier like his father
and grandfather, devised it to his mother Mary, from
whom it passed to her brother Giles Gardner of
Stratford House, Stroud. Giles's sister Sarah owned
it in 1766. (fn. 43) By 1805 it was part of William Halliday's
estate. (fn. 44) In 1973 the house belonged to Mrs. S. D. G.
Careless. It dates from the early 18th century and
retains its original entrance front on the east, but in
the 19th century the house was enlarged and altered
to be approached from the west. An 18th-century
summer-house survives.
The HILL HOUSE estate in Rodborough had its
origin in 1651 when John Stephens of Over Lypiatt
bought the freehold of a house and 51 a. which he
held by copy from Minchinhampton manor. The
estate passed to his son Thomas who conveyed it in
1697 to his own second son John. John sold it in 1703
to James Barnfield, clothier, whose widow Lydia
sold it in 1711 to Samuel Tanner, a carrier. (fn. 45) Samuel
sold the estate, then known as the Hill Living, in
1721 to Richard Cambridge of Pudhill, Woodchester
(d. 1756), and Richard's widow Mary sold it in 1757
to Onesiphorus Paul, (fn. 46) the successful Woodchester
clothier. Onesiphorus, who built a mansion called
Hill House there, was made a baronet in 1762 and
was succeeded on his death in 1774 by his son Sir
Onesiphorus Paul. (fn. 47) The son took the additional
forename of George in 1780 when he began his distinguished career in the spheres of county administration and prison reform, (fn. 48) preoccupations which
did not preclude him from taking an active part in
the affairs of Rodborough parish. (fn. 49) At his death in
1820 Sir George devised the Hill House estate and
the manor of Rodborough, which he had purchased
in 1806, to his nephew Robert Snow, who changed
his name to Robert Snow Paul (fn. 50) and in 1847 conveyed the estate to his kinsman Sir John Dean Paul.
Sir John, who had been created a baronet in 1821,
the original Paul baronetcy having expired on Sir
George's death, died in 1852 and was succeeded by
his son and namesake, who sold the estate in 1854 to
Thomas Marling. In the following year Marling sold
the 141-a. estate to Lord John Russell, who sold it in
1870 to William Cowle of Stroud. It returned to the
Paul family in the following year when Cowle sold it
to trustees for Edward John Dean Paul, who later
succeeded to the family baronetcy. E. J. D. Paul was
living at the house, which had been renamed
Rodborough Manor, in 1884, (fn. 51) and he sold it in 1889
to Sir William Marling of King's Stanley, who conveyed it to his son Samuel Stanley Marling in 1898.
The house was gutted by fire in 1906 and remained a
ruin in 1917 when sold by S. S. Marling to Charles
Apperly, whose financial difficulties led to a bank
taking possession. The bank sold it in 1922 to E. Lee
Godfrey (fn. 52) who rebuilt the house; just before the
Second World War it was divided into two houses (fn. 53)
and remained as such in 1973.
Onesiphorus Paul's original house, which comprised a tall square block, was considerably altered
and extended by his son. Lower wings were added
on the east and west, probably the work carried out
under Anthony Keck in 1784, (fn. 54) and in the early 19th
century a colonnaded porch was added to the centre
of the south front; there were probably also additions to complete the symmetry of the west elevation. (fn. 55) The fire of 1906 was evidently a very destructive one and the subsequent rebuilding created a
much smaller house although incorporating some of
the old materials, including a mid-18th-century
fireplace and a blazon of the Paul arms which had
occupied the pediment above the south front. (fn. 56)
A house called the WOODHOUSE, with an estate
of c. 60 a., belonged to John Freame of Woodchester
in 1610 when he sold it to William Chapman,
clothier, and in 1637 Henry Chapman sold the estate
to Edward Pinfold. In 1640 Edward, then of
Longfords Mill, Minchinhampton, settled the estate
on the marriage of one of his sons, John Pinfold, later
of Stinchcombe. John sold it in 1665 to Giles
Pinfold, clothier, who was apparently the same Giles
who settled it on his own marriage in 1683. (fn. 57) The
Woodhouse estate appears to have been included in
the lands in Rodborough that John Pinfold of
Salmon's Mill, Painswick, (d. 1764 or 1765), devised
to a kinsman John Pinfold, whose son, another John,
owned the estate in 1806. (fn. 58) The last John died in
1834, leaving the estate to his brother Joseph (d.
1845), and then to Joseph's children, of whom the
survivors, Edward Joseph and Frederick, sold the
Woodhouse in 1853 to Joseph Partridge, (fn. 59) a dyer.
After Joseph's death in 1860 the estate was held by
his widow Mary Ann until her death in 1873, and in
1875 their son Joseph Arthur Partridge, a brassfounder living in Birmingham, took up an option
under his father's will to buy the estate from the
trustees. (fn. 60) The trustee for the liquidation of J. A.
Partridge's estate offered the Woodhouse estate for
sale in 1880, and it was apparently bought then by
the tenant of the house, James Smith, (fn. 61) whose
trustees put it up for sale in 1912, after his death. (fn. 62)
In 1973 the house, a mid-19th-century building with
some re-used 18th-century fittings, was a Simon
Community home.