STOCKERSTON
Stockerston is situated in the valley of the Eye
Brook on the Rutland border, about sixteen miles
east-south-east of Leicester. The parish includes,
in the south, the territory of the former hamlet of
Holyoaks which was transferred from Stoke Dry
(Rut.) in 1885. (fn. 1) The total area of the parish is 1,534
a., of which Holyoaks accounts for about 500 a.
Holyoaks was perhaps divided from Stockerston by
the small stream crossing the parish from Holyoaks
Wood to the Eye Brook.
In Holyoaks the valley is occupied by the Corby,
Northamptonshire, and District Water Company's
Eye Brook Reservoir. The ground rises from below
300 ft. near the reservoir and the Eye Brook to over
400 ft. at several points near the parish boundary on
the west; south-west of Stockerston village it exceeds
500 ft. The valley side is dissected by a number of
small streams flowing into the Eye Brook. The soil
is clayey over a clay subsoil. The parish boundary
follows the brook and the centre of the reservoir
on the east, and mainly field boundaries elsewhere;
it is formed by a road for a short distance in the west.
The road from Uppingham in the north-east to
Medbourne in the south-west passes through the
parish, crossing the Eye Brook by a small bridge
north of the village. From near this bridge a second
road leads westwards to Hallaton, and a minor road
northwards to Allexton. The road from Stoke Dry
to Great Easton crosses the Eye Brook by a bridge
south of the village and skirts the reservoir as far as
the parish boundary in the south. The village of
Stockerston is a small group of houses around the
junction of the Uppingham-Medbourne road with
a minor road leading to the church and the hall.
This latter road is continued as a footpath into
Horninghold parish. There are several scattered
houses in the parish, including The Hermitage and
Holyoaks Lodge. The former park of Stockerston
Hall occupied the angle of the Uppingham-Medbourne road, south-west of the village. Woods of
about 130 a. were associated with the hall in the
19th century. (fn. 2) Near the parish boundary on the west
are the large Bolt Wood and Park Wood, and the
smaller Fishpond Spinney, Great Spinney, Little
Merrible Wood, and Holyoaks Wood.
Stockerston Hall is a large two-storied house, Lshaped in plan and built of red brick with stone
dressings, dating from c. 1800; it stands on the site
of an older house said to have been demolished by
1797. (fn. 3) The principal front, which faces south, consists of five bays, the centre bay containing the main
doorway with a Tuscan porch; the remaining bays
have tall blank arcading rising through two stories
in which are set stone-framed windows with large
key-blocks. The low-pitched hipped roof has a stone
parapet and cornice which terminate at each end of
the front in angle quoins. Behind the west end of the
principal block a service wing extends to the north,
forming the other arm of the L. A vertical brickwork
joint between the two portions is an indication of
different phases in the rebuilding of the hall: the
wing, which has tall sash windows and a brick
dentilled eaves course, may be slightly earlier in date.
Evidence of the former building on the site remains
in the brick-vaulted cellars under the main block
where an ovolo-moulded window-opening of 17thcentury date appears to be in situ in a rear stone wall.
Probably much of the dressed stone in the other walls
also came from the old hall.
The low stone-walled outbuilding bordering the
churchyard was in existence in 1797 when it had
a thatched roof and was in a dilapidated condition. (fn. 4)
It probably dates from c. 1700 or earlier. Two tall
brick porches were added late in the 19th century
at the rear of the house. Other work of this period
includes stables and coachhouses on the north side
of the courtyard, an addition to the service wing, the
main staircase, stained glass windows, and Tudorstyle fire-places. South of the hall on the road to
Medbourne are two stone gate piers of c. 1700 but
there does not now appear to be any trace of a formal
approach to the house from this side.
Of the few houses in the village only two, Manor
Farm and a small uninhabited cottage, date from
before 1700. The latter is a detached stone building,
formerly thatched, of one room and a cellar. The
room has a large stone fire-place at one end with
a moulded cornice of c. 1675 and a long side window
with a later wooden frame. It is difficult to explain
the function of a building of such small dimensions
and obvious quality but it may have served as a
lodge or staff cottage in connexion with Stockerston
Hall.
Manor Farm, which stands on the north side of
the village, is a two-storied ironstone building, Tshaped in plan, dating from the later 17th century.
Two ovolo-moulded mullioned windows, one in the
long granary block that projects from the north side
of the house, date from this period. The main block
was rebuilt at its east end c. 1730 and at the opposite
end early in the 19th century. The 18th-century
building is set on a high plinth and has limestone
windows with raised key-blocks. A large chimney
between it and the rest of the house is probably
another remnant of the 17th-century structure.
The other houses in the village all date from the
18th and 19th centuries and are built of ironstone or
brick with slate roofs. Earthworks and depressions in
the fields to the north of Manor Farm were filled
shortly before 1960; (fn. 5) they may have served at one
time as fishponds. Other earthworks in the field
opposite the farm probably represent the site of
former cottages.
The former hamlet of Holyoaks is now represented only by Holyoaks Lodge which stands isolated on high ground to the west of Eye Brook
Reservoir. It consists of a long ironstone house of
two stories, with a short wing extending to the east. (fn. 6)
This latter wing was rebuilt in the 19th century,
together with the chimney stacks and main slate
roof, but the rest of the house dates from the
middle of the 17th century. One end has a projecting
bake-oven of half-round section.
Stockerston has never been a large village. Only
3 inhabitants were recorded in 1086. (fn. 7) The poll tax
was paid by 53 people in 1377 (fn. 8) and by 47 in 1381. (fn. 9)
There were 16 families in 1563 and 70 communicants
in 1603. In 1670 there were 25 households, and there
were 80 communicants in 1676. (fn. 10) There were about
25 families in the early 18th century. (fn. 11) The population in 1801 was 56. It reached its maximum of 70
in 1891, when the 6 inhabitants of Holyoaks were
included, but fell to 37 by 1931. In 1951 there were
50 inhabitants. (fn. 12)
MANOR.
In 1086 Robert de Buci held 3 carucates
in STOCKERSTON from the Countess Judith. (fn. 13)
By c. 1130 the overlordship of the holding had passed
to the Earl of Leicester, who had inherited more than
one of Judith's Domesday holdings. The immediate
under-tenancy had passed, like that of so many of
de Buci's properties, to Richard Basset. (fn. 14) Stockerston remained part of the property of the earls of
Leicester and Lancaster and the dukes of Lancaster,
and passed to the king in right of the Duchy in
1399. (fn. 15) The Basset family were holding from them
until at least 1361. (fn. 16)
The early history of the tenants in demesne is
obscure. The Sampson family, who held the advowson at the beginning of the 13th century, (fn. 17) probably
also held the manor. By 1258 the demesne tenant
was Henry Murdak, whose claim seems to have
come through the wardship of an heir, perhaps one
of the Sampsons. (fn. 18) In 1268 William and Iseult
Murdak confirmed the manor to Henry, William's
father. (fn. 19) Henry Murdak died before 1279, when his
son William was holding Stockerston. (fn. 20) William was
alive in 1290 but is not mentioned after that date. (fn. 21)
His property passed to his daughter Alice and her
husband Thomas Boyville. (fn. 22) In 1303 Thomas received a grant of free warren in his demesne. (fn. 23)
The manor descended in the Boyville family (fn. 24)
until the death of John Boyville in 1467. Stockerston
passed to his daughter Anne and her husband Henry
Sothill. Their son John died in 1493 and was succeeded by his son Henry (d. 1505). (fn. 25) He left two
daughters, both aged about one, whose custody was
granted to Sir William Pierpont. (fn. 26) Elizabeth married
Sir William Drury of Hawstead (Suff.) and the
manor of Stockerston passed to her, although her
sister Jane, who married Sir John Constable, seems
to have retained some interests in the neighbourhood. (fn. 27) In 1580 Henry Drury, second son and heir
of Sir William and Elizabeth, sold the manor to John
Burton of Braunston (Rut.). (fn. 28) He was succeeded by
his son Thomas, who, created a baronet in 1622, (fn. 29)
supported Charles I (fn. 30) and died in 1655. Stockerston
manor was sold about 1685 by his grandson Sir
Thomas Burton to Sir Charles Duncombe, (fn. 31) in
whose family it descended until 1807-8.
By 1808 the manor had passed into the hands of
two owners-Robert Walker, whose family had
leased land in Stockerston from the Duncombes for
some years, and William Bellairs. (fn. 32) Walker's descendants still owned part of the manor in 1863, (fn. 33) but
by 1877 this share had been inherited by the Revd.
G. C. Fenwicke, lord of the neighbouring manor of
Blaston. (fn. 34) The Fenwicke family remained joint lords
until their share passed to Mrs. Walter, a relative,
who owned it in 1922. (fn. 35) The Revd. G. G. C. Fenwicke's trustees held the manor in 1928. (fn. 36) By 1812
William Bellairs had been succeeded by William
Stevenson, (fn. 37) a relative of the Bellairs family, whose
share descended not to James Bellairs, his second
cousin and heir who took the name and arms of
Stevenson in 1834, but to James's younger brother
George. (fn. 38) It descended in the Bellairs family until
1930, when the whole manor was purchased by Mr.
J. L. J. Whitgreave, who remained the owner of
Stockerston until 1948. (fn. 39) In 1957 the estate was the
property of J. A. F. March Phillips de Lisle. (fn. 40)
LESSER ESTATES.
It is not known whether
Holyoaks was ever a manor, although demesne is
mentioned in Domesday Book. In 1086 the preConquest owner Bardi had been succeeded here, as
on a number of Northamptonshire estates, by the
Bishop of Lincoln from whom an under-tenant
called Rannulf held 3 carucates. (fn. 41) In 1279 the
bishop's tenant was Geoffrey de Holiok, holding
the same amount of land. (fn. 42) The bishop retained
property in the lordship until 1500, but is not known
to have had an interest there after that date. In 1303
Thomas de Nevill held the watermill in Holyoaks
from a man who was probably the bishop's tenant,
and his obligations included an annual payment to
the bishop. (fn. 43) The Nevills were the bishop's tenants in
Stoke Dry. (fn. 44) In 1346 John le Clerk was assessed for
¼ knight's fee in Holyoaks, part of the Bishop of
Lincoln's land, (fn. 45) and the Clerk or Clarke family may
have continued to hold an estate in Holyoaks until
the 15th century. (fn. 46) It seems likely that the bishop's
property in Holyoaks became reduced simply to
rents, like that from the watermill, paid from individual holdings. In 1501 Sir Robert Brudenell purchased 12 a. in Holyoaks from William Hickson,
and noted in his book of purchases that the land
owed 12d. yearly to the bishop. (fn. 47)
About 1500 and probably before, Sir Robert
Brudenell bought a number of small pieces of land
in Holyoaks. (fn. 48) He had sold them again by 1517 when
Everard Digby of Stoke Dry held the lordship. (fn. 49)
The estate remained in the hands of the Digby
family, who also owned the manor of Stoke Dry. (fn. 50)
On the attainder of Sir Everard Digby for complicity in the Gunpowder Plot, the lands were forfeited to the king, but later restored, (fn. 51) though they
were surveyed in May 1652 as royal property. In
June they were recognized as the proper inheritance
of the Digbys, (fn. 52) and formed part of their sequestered
estates. (fn. 53)
Thereafter the estate descended with the manor
of Stoke Dry and was sold in the early 18th century. (fn. 54) It was apparently purchased by John Conduitt, M.P., Master of the Mint, and descended to
his daughter Katherine, Lady Lymington. From her
it passed to Thomas Powys of Lilford (Northants.)
and was exchanged in 1773 (fn. 55) by his heir for other
lands in Northamptonshire with the Earl of Exeter,
whose descendant the Marquess of Exeter still held
it in 1932. (fn. 56)
Bradley Priory received a small grant of land in
Holyoaks in 1392 from Sir Richard le Scrope. (fn. 57) In
1539 the priory's property in the lordship was granted
to Thomas Nevill of Holt. (fn. 58)
The Hospitallers probably held land in Holyoaks
before 1206 as part of an estate in Stoke Dry, where
they also held the advowson. (fn. 59) In 1286 the prior of
the Hospitallers held a view of frankpledge for 12
tenants in Holyoaks. (fn. 60) This property was probably
administered from the preceptory at Dingley
(Northants.). In 1543 it formed part of a grant of
monastic lands to Richard Andrews and Nicholas
Temple, who had granted it by 1547 to Kenelm
Digby. (fn. 61) It subsequently descended with the
principal estate.
Pipewell Abbey (Northants.) held a small amount
of property in Holyoaks, perhaps granted by Gilbert
de Hauville who gave them a virgate in Stoke Dry
in respect of the dues from which they paid him 2s.
a year in 1235-53. (fn. 62) In 1535 this property was
valued at 2s. (fn. 63) In 1543 it formed part of the grant to
Andrews and Temple and it passed by 1547 to
Kenelm Digby. (fn. 64) Thereafter it descended with the
principal estate.
ECONOMIC HISTORY.
Robert de Buci's 3 carucates at Stockerston supported 4 ploughs before the
Conquest. In 1086 Robert had one plough in demesne, and 2 villeins and a socman had another.
There were 8 a. of meadow, and woodland 5 furlongs by two. The value of the holding had risen
from 7s. before the Conquest to 20s. (fn. 65) There were
still 3 carucates in 1279, when William Murdak held
one in demesne and 1½ in villeinage. William Warde,
whose family held land in Holyoaks, held the other
½ carucate. (fn. 66) In 1284 William Murdak, after a dispute with the Prior of Belvoir, undertook to break
up no more pasture for arable in Stockerston; but it
was agreed that he and the prior should have the
right to make an inclosure for pasture from Easter
to 20 July for their oxen and that by special mutual
permission they could break up some land there
which would cause no damage to the vills of Stockerston and Horninghold. (fn. 67) The 47 poll tax payers of
1381 included 9 tenants at will and their wives and
19 servants. (fn. 68)
The woodland mentioned in 1086 long remained
a conspicuous feature in the parish. At the end of the
17th century, and probably since the inclosure, the
wood remained in the possession of the lord of
the manor. In 1685 the standing timber was valued
at £2,000, with yearly profits from the woods of
£150. (fn. 69) In 1840 there were still 129 a. of woodland, (fn. 70)
and a considerable area of wood remained in 1956.
There were three open fields before the inclosure:
South Field, Bridge Field, and Sweethedge Field. (fn. 71)
The first known inclosure at Stockerston, apart
from the creation of a park in the Middle Ages, took
place between 1580 and 1607 when John Burton
inclosed 47 a., Henry Herrendon 37 a., and the
cottagers of Stockerston 5 a. In the same period John
Dell allowed two farm-houses to decay, and John
Burton robbed one house of its land. (fn. 72) These inclosures account, however, for only about 9 per cent.
of the parish, and it is not known when the complete
inclosure took place. In 1607 John Burton had conveyed several closes of pasture to trustees for the use
of his son Thomas and his wife. (fn. 73) The whole lordship was probably inclosed before 1674, when the
glebe included '2 grounds of very ancient inclosure',
and 27 a. of other inclosed land. (fn. 74)
The conversion to pasture was lasting. In 1801
there were only 6½ a. of arable land, (fn. 75) and in 1840,
out of 973 a., 843 a. were pasture and 129 a. woodland. (fn. 76) At least one rich grazier profited from the
Stockerston pastures in the late 17th century. When
Richard Cranwell's inventory was taken in 1703 he
had goods worth over £1,000; more than 1,000
sheep and lambs in Stockerston and some neighbouring townships, including Hallaton, Bradley,
and Blaston; 70 cattle; and wool worth £116. (fn. 77) In
the late 18th century and for most of the 19th the
lord of the manor owned the whole parish, retaining
some land, often only the hall and park, for his own
use, and letting the rest. In 1685 there had been 31
tenants, and Sir Thomas Burton farmed a few closes
and retained the manor-house, woods, watermill,
and wastes. (fn. 78) In 1780 there were only 12 tenants. (fn. 79)
There have been only 4 or 5 farmers and graziers
in the 19th and 20th centuries, and little nonagricultural employment. (fn. 80)
In 1086 the 3 carucates described under Holyoaks
supported 3 ploughs, 2 in demesne and 1 held by 4
villeins and 2 bordars. There was woodland 4 by
3 furlongs, and the value of the estate was 20s. (fn. 81) In
1279 the bishop's tenant Geoffrey de Holiok held
2 carucates in demesne and 4 tenants held the remaining carucate from him. (fn. 82) Twelve persons were
tenants of the Hospitallers in 1286. (fn. 83)
The village was still in existence in the middle of
the 15th century, and had apparently suffered little
decay before 1445 when its tax quota was cut by
only 15 per cent., the average for Leicestershire. (fn. 84)
In 1517 it was stated that in December 1496 Sir
Robert Brudenell had destroyed 7 messuages, evicting 30 persons, and inclosed and converted 250 a.
of land into pasture. (fn. 85) In the late 19th century Holyoaks was estimated to contain over 500 a., so that
about half the township was affected by this inclosure. It is not definitely known that Robert
Brudenell purchased land here before 1500, and it
has been suggested that the inclosure might have
been the work of a previous owner, (fn. 86) but this seems
unlikely in view of the fragmentation of the estate.
In and after 1500 Sir Robert made numerous purchases of small pieces of land until he probably
owned all the land in Holyoaks which did not
belong to religious houses. (fn. 87) He may have completed the process of inclosure in Holyoaks. At least
some of the land he bought after 1500 was uninclosed and partly arable: in 1501 he purchased an
acre in Stonyhull Furlong from Robert Irlond of
Loddington, (fn. 88) and in 1500 he had bought the lands
which had belonged to Henry Burrough of Burrough
on the Hill at his death in 1495 and included 2 virgates. (fn. 89) His last known land transaction at Holyoaks
was made in 1507 when he leased 18 a. of land. (fn. 90)
In 1606, when Holyoaks was surveyed, it was
described simply as the Upper and Nether Holliocks,
with two closes of meadow and a small wood. (fn. 91) In
1652 the Upper Holliock was described as a stretch
of pasture in four closes with a two-storied tenement.
The Nether Holliock also had a house on it, and
these two areas, with West Close, were estimated
to contain 495 a., valued at £6 in common years. (fn. 92)
Nichols stated that within living memory there were
three houses in Holyoaks, but by 1796 there was
only one, and the former divisions of the lordship had
been forgotten. (fn. 93) The maximum population of Holyoaks in the 19th century was 11 in 1851. (fn. 94) There
was only one farmer, at Holyoaks Lodge, in 1932. (fn. 95)
There was a watermill in Stockerston in 1086,
rendering 2s. (fn. 96) It descended with the manor, but is
not mentioned after 1685. (fn. 97) There was a mill in
Holyoaks, probably on the Eye Brook, in 1086,
rendering 5s. 4d. (fn. 98) The mill was still in existence in
1303, when it was held by Thomas de Nevill from
Robert son of Nicholas and was charged with a payment of 12d. to the Bishop of Lincoln for the easement of water to it. (fn. 99)
PARISH ADMINISTRATION.
Stockerston had
no workhouse, and in 1802-3 4 adults and 15
children were regularly given out-relief. (fn. 1) In 1835 it
was placed in Uppingham Union. (fn. 2)
In the late 18th century Holyoaks was assessed to
the county rate for Leicestershire, but paid church
and poor rate, and every parish due except highway
rate, with Stoke Dry (Rut.). (fn. 3)
CHURCH.
Stockerston church is first mentioned
in 1220. (fn. 4) The patron was then one Sampson, (fn. 5) and
the Sampson family retained the right of presentation until the mid-13th century. (fn. 6) Thereafter the
advowson descended with the manor. In 1931 it was
transferred to the Archdeacon of Leicester, (fn. 7) and he
was the patron in 1957.
The rectory was valued at 1½ mark in 1217, 3
marks in 1254, and 7½ marks in 1291, (fn. 8) at which
figure it remained for most of the Middle Ages. (fn. 9)
In 1535 it was valued at £13 net, (fn. 10) in 1650 at £30, (fn. 11)
and in 1831 at £184. (fn. 12) The net value in 1928 was
£250 (fn. 13) and in 1951-2 £196. (fn. 14) The tithes were commuted in 1840 for £206, of which £6 was estimated
to be the glebe tithe and the rest was paid in equal
sums by the two principal landowners. There were
then 37 a. of glebe. (fn. 15) In 1863 there were 32 a., (fn. 16) but
more was purchased during the later 19th century. (fn. 17)
There were only 8 a. in 1928. (fn. 18)
Stockerston has apparently had a resident minister
for only short periods. In 1531 the rector was nonresident, (fn. 19) but in 1607 it was stated that he resided. (fn. 20)
By 1708 he was again non-resident, (fn. 21) and throughout
the 18th and 19th centuries the rectors seem to have
constantly lived elsewhere. Although curates were
put in to serve the living they seem never to have
lived in the parish. One reason was the lack of suitable
accommodation. There was a parsonage house, consisting of hall, parlour, kitchen, and four chambers,
at the end of the 17th century, (fn. 22) but in 1795 it was
said that the parsonage needed to be repaired. (fn. 23) In
1832 Archdeacon Bonney reported that the glebehouse was old and in any case only a cottage, and
could never be made fit for a minister to live in.
The curate then lived at Uppingham, (fn. 24) and in 1842
at Stoke Dry. (fn. 25) In 1846 it was stated that a parsonage
was to be built for the rector, (fn. 26) but this was apparently not done.
There were two chantries in the church. One was
founded, and a priest appointed, in 1468 and was
attached to the hospital founded at the same time
by the executors of John Boyville. This chantry was
dedicated to the Virgin. (fn. 27) Nothing is known of its
fate after the Dissolution. In 1567 an inquiry into
former chantries in the county produced a statement
that William Wharton, who was mentioned in 1535
as the chantry priest, was not such but a chaplain to
the poor. No further information was offered about
lands attached to the former hospital. (fn. 28) The other
chantry was personally supported by Thomas Waldron in 1535 and had one priest who was paid £5
a year. (fn. 29) It is not known when it was dissolved, but
it was stated in 1547 that Thomas Waldron had
dissolved a chantry at Stockerston: it seems more
likely that he had simply ceased to support it. (fn. 30)
The church of ST. PETER stands close to the
hall. It is built of ironstone and limestone, and
consists of clerestoried nave, north and south aisles,
chancel, and embattled west tower. The earliest
features in the church, the north and south nave
arcades, each of two bays, date from the later 13th
century. The south arcade, which has tall pointed
arches, is the earlier and has a re-tooled east respond
with nail-head decoration on its capital. Both the
responds and the central octagonal pier are of limestone. The lower north arcade is of ironstone and has
an octagonal pier and responds on high worn bases.
The irregular bases of both arcades may include
masonry from an earlier and aisleless church.
During the late 15th and early 16th centuries the
church was largely reconstructed by John Boyville
(d. 1467) (fn. 31) and his heirs. Both aisles were rebuilt and
a clerestory was added to the nave. At the same time
an aisleless bay was added at the west end of the
nave with a tower beyond it; both are built of ironstone ashlar with limestone dressings. The tower
rises in three buttressed stages to an embattled
parapet below which is a continuous quatrefoil
frieze. On each face are three-light belfry windows
with Perpendicular tracery and there is a similar
west window in the lowest stage. The plinth, with
two moulded offsets, embraces both the tower, with
its angle buttresses, and the west end of the nave. The
tall narrow tower arch and the chancel arch both have
wave mouldings towards the nave. Four of the clerestory windows and two low windows in the chancel
are square-headed and of two lights; otherwise the
Perpendicular windows throughout the church are
identical, each having three cinquefoiled lights
under a four-centred arched head. The rubble walling of the chancel antedates the 15th-century
fenestration. A chamfered string course above the
arcade in the north aisle belongs to the earlier aisle
roof and there is also the outline of the former
steeply-pitched nave roof above the chancel arch.
In the north-east corner of the south aisle is a polygonal stair turret, built of large blocks of finelyjointed stone ashlar, which originally led to a rood
loft. Its doorway has a four-centred head and above
it is a shallow niche for an image; it now contains
a funerary helmet, probably of the 16th century.
The former rood loft was carried at its south end by
a stone corbel supported on a short octagonal pier
above the capital of the east respond of the nave
arcade. Both corbel and pier have decorative carving
of c. 1500. The stair turret projects externally in the
angle between aisle and chancel where it has a high
moulded plinth and an embattled cornice. A small
doorway in the south aisle has a scratch dial on one
of its external jambs.
A general restoration of the church was undertaken in 1887 by G. C. Fenwicke, joint lord of the
manor. (fn. 32) External work in that year probably included the provision of new roofs and guttering and
repairs to the parapets and buttresses.
During the late-15th-century reconstruction of
the church stained glass was evidently inserted in
many of the windows. Much of this, including that
in the east chancel window and in two windows in
the south aisle, disappeared between 1747 and the
end of the 18th century. (fn. 33) More was destroyed
during repairs in 1851 and later. (fn. 34) The glass which
survives is mostly in the north aisle where the east
window contains the figure of a mitred bishop and
fragments of a Crucifixion. In a north window are
two kneeling figures, a woman bearing the quartered
arms of Boyville and Murdak impaling Sothill and
a man bearing the arms of Sothill on his surcoat;
a head of Christ is in the central light. The window
opposite the south door contains the figure of St.
Christopher and those of Thomas Restwold and his
wife Margaret.
The pews in the church were described at the end
of the 18th century as 'old and open' except for one
in the south aisle. (fn. 35) In the north aisle at this time
there were bench-ends and a screen carved with the
arms of Boyville and Restwold quarterly. (fn. 36) The old
pews were removed during the restoration of the
1880's but ancient bench-ends now lying in the nave
are carved with heraldic devices which include the
arms of Boyville impaling Murdak and of Boyville
and Murdak quarterly. A broken octagonal font bowl
of c. 1400 lies in the north aisle.
An incised grave slab set upright against the west
wall of the nave is of 13th-century date. A recess near
the south-east corner of the south aisle contains the
effigy of a knight of c. 1400. Another very worn
effigy, probably of the 14th century, and an alabaster
slab with the figure of a priest remain in the north
aisle. Brasses from this aisle were set in the north
wall of the nave during the restoration of the 1880's;
they represent John (d. 1467) and Elizabeth Boyville, and John (d. 1493) and Elizabeth Sothill. (fn. 37)
Floor slabs include one of marble and alabaster with
a full-length figure of Elizabeth Havers (d. 1633),
and one to John Abrahams and his daughter (d.
1761). The south aisle contains memorials to various
lords of the manor from the early 18th to the early
19th century, most of them members of the Walker
family. The west end of the aisle is occupied by
a large altar tomb of the same family, below which
is their vault.
There are three bells: (i) 1630, bearing the name
of Thomas Burton, lord of the manor; (ii) 1842, by
John Taylor of Loughborough; (iii) 1634. (fn. 38) New
bells were set in the tower in 1467 by John Boyville. (fn. 39)
There were four bells in 1626. (fn. 40) The plate includes
a silver cup of 1669 with a modern paten. (fn. 41) The
registers begin in 1574; the only major gap is from
1641 to 1653.
The hermitage or chapel of Mirabel was in the
patronage of the lords of the manor of Stockerston
from at least 1220. (fn. 42) It is last mentioned in 1382
when the king presented to the 'chantry' of Mirabel
in Stockerston while the heir of John Boyville was
a minor. (fn. 43) The site of the hermitage was probably
in the woodland to the south of the village. The
names of Little Merrible Wood and Great Merrible
Wood (the latter in Great Easton parish) survive,
and a house on the Stockerston-Medbourne road
is called The Hermitage, although this is probably
a modern name. Nichols quotes Throsby as suggesting that the possible site of the hermitage was a 'lone
and dreary place', actually in Great Easton, called
Mirabel Hole. (fn. 44) A small area of woodland further
east in Holyoaks was called 'le Holliock Merrybell'
in 1606 and may also indicate the site. (fn. 45)
NONCONFORMITY.
None known.
SCHOOLS.
In 1832 it was reported that there were
no schools in Stockerston, but that the children were
sometimes taught the catechism in Lent. (fn. 46) In 1833
there was a Sunday school, to which the rector gave
£1 a year and where 8-10 children were taught. (fn. 47)
In 1888 there was an infants' school, (fn. 48) but there has
never been a village school for older children.
CHARITIES.
None known.