MANORS.
Three fees called 'Ticheham' are included in the Survey of 1086. (fn. 53) The largest of these,
assessed at 9½ hides, was held by three knights and
an Englishman from Roger de Montgomery, Earl
of Shrewsbury, lord of the adjoining manors of
Colham and Hillingdon. (fn. 54) In the Confessor's time
this estate had been divided into three holdings:
Tochi, a housecarl, then held 2 hides, Alwin, a man
of Ulsi son of Manni, had one hide and 3 virgates,
and two sokemen, men of Wulfweard, held 2 hides
and one virgate. All were free to sell their land. After
the Conquest, however, these three holdings were
apparently consolidated and the estate associated,
perhaps for administrative purposes only, (fn. 55) with
Earl Roger's manor of Colham in which it was said
to lie (iacet modo in) in 1086.
A second holding called 'Ticheham', assessed at
3½ hides, was held in 1086 by two Englishmen from
Geoffrey de Mandeville. In King Edward's time
this holding had also been divided into two estates,
one of 2½ hides held by a man of Earl Leofwine and
the remaining hide by a man of Ansgar the Staller.
Ansgar's man could not sell without his lord's permission; the other man was free to do so.
The smallest of the 'Ticheham' fees, assessed in
1086 at 2 hides, was then held by Robert Fafiton. In
the Confessor's time it had been held by Ælmer, a
man of Wlward 'White', who was free to sell it.
The later history of the Domesday holdings is
obscure, but Earl Roger's Domesday fee of 'Ticheham' almost certainly formed the nucleus of the later
manor of ICKENHAM. To this was probably
joined part of the 3½-hide Mandeville holding, since
later in the Middle Ages lords of Ickenham owed
suit to the honor courts of both Wallingford and
Mandeville. (fn. 56) On Earl Roger's death in 1094 his fief,
presumably including 'Ticheham', passed to his son
Robert de Bellême. Robert retained the property
until 1102 when, following his abortive rebellion
against Henry I, his lands were confiscated. The
descent of 'Ticheham' then probably followed that
of Colham (fn. 57) until the seizure of the honor of Wallingford by Henry, Duke of the Normans. After becoming king as Henry II in 1154, Henry seems to have
granted out the manors of the honor. By 1196 Ickenham had apparently passed to Ralph de Harpenden, (fn. 58)
members of whose family still held the estate of the
honor of Wallingford at the end of the 13th century. (fn. 59)
In the early 14th century Ickenham was apparently
acquired by the Brok or Brook family, since in 1334
William del Brok, lord of the manors of Hillingdon
and Cowley Hall, (fn. 60) conveyed Ickenham to John
Charlton, a London merchant and a considerable
landowner in west Middlesex. (fn. 61) Between 1332 and
1348 Charlton also acquired Cowley Hall and Hillingdon. (fn. 62) On Charlton's death Ickenham descended
to his daughter Juette who had married Nicholas
Shorediche. (fn. 63) The estate then descended in the
Shorediche family until the early 19th century. (fn. 64)
Michael Shorediche, who was lord of the manor in
1800, (fn. 65) apparently mortgaged most of his property
while at university, (fn. 66) and by 1812 Ickenham, prob
ably as the result of foreclosure on a mortgage debt,
has passed to George Robinson. (fn. 67) In an attempt to
repair his fortunes Michael Shorediche married a
West Indian heiress in 1813, (fn. 68) but by the time their
grandson, Edward Ricaut Shorediche, came to
Ickenham from Antigua in 1859 to see whether any
of the family property could be recovered the manor
had again changed hands and it was too late to take
legal action. (fn. 69) In fact George Robinson's will had
been disputed. In the end all his property was sold
under a Chancery order of 1857. At the sale, held in
1859, Ickenham was bought by Thomas Truesdale
Clarke and subsequently merged with his manor of
Swakeley's. (fn. 70)
Little is known of the extent of the manorial
property. In 1334 the Ickenham demesne amounted
to over 80 a., (fn. 71) to which 20 a. were added a few years
later. (fn. 72) Subsequently much of this seems to have
been granted away. In 1751 Robert Shorediche held
land in Further Field, Bleak Hill, and Home Field. (fn. 73)
In 1841 all that remained of the manorial demesne
was a strip of land along the Hillingdon boundary
near the manor-house. (fn. 74)
Ickenham manor-house stands about ¾ mile southeast of the church at the end of a lane leading off
Long Lane. The building, begun in the early 16th
century, was originally L-shaped and of closestudded timber framing. It has been partly refaced
with brick and two gabled brick wings were added in
the late 17th or early 18th century. There are some
internal features of the original date and a 17thcentury staircase. A moat formerly surrounded the
house and there is a large outer moat, now incomplete, to the west of it. The house, previously known
as Manor Farm, had been divided into two dwellings
by 1968. (fn. 75)
The early history of the estate later known as
SWAKELEYS manor is obscure. The nucleus of
the medieval estate was probably Robert Fafiton's
2-hide Domesday fee of 'Ticheham', (fn. 76) but land in
Speraskescroft and Layfield, held in the late 12th
century by William de Tikeham, may have been distinct from this holding and, if so, was probably
consolidated with it during the 12th century. (fn. 77) In the
early 13th century the estate seems to have passed
to John de Trumpinton whose son, also called John,
still held it about 1260. (fn. 78) By 1329, however, part of
this land had apparently been acquired by Robert
Swalcliffe of Swalcliffe (Oxon.). (fn. 79) Four years later
Robert and his wife conveyed their lands to William
le Gauger of London, (fn. 80) but the family name Swalcliffe, later contracted to Swakeleys, continued to
attach to the estate. (fn. 81) Swakeleys changed hands at
least once more before 1350 when Boniface Lapyn
released the former Swalcliffe estate to John
Charlton, (fn. 82) whose father, also called John, had held
Ickenham manor since 1334. (fn. 83) Swakeleys then
descended in the Charlton family until the forfeiture
of Sir Richard Charlton following his death at
Bosworth in 1485. (fn. 84) In 1486 Henry VII granted the
reversion on an estate including Swakeleys manor
to Sir Thomas Bourchier, subject to the life interest
of Elizabeth, Richard Charlton's widow. (fn. 85) In 1510
Bourchier granted his reversionary interest in Swakeleys to Sir John Pecche and John Sharpe. (fn. 86) Sharpe
died, and in 1521 Pecche transferred his interest to
Henry Courtenay, Earl of Devon. (fn. 87) Ten years later
Courtenay alienated the manor to Ralph Pexall and
his wife Anne. (fn. 88) On Pexall's death in 1537 (fn. 89) the
manor passed to his son Sir Richard Pexall (fn. 90) who
died in 1571 leaving four daughters among whom
the property was apparently divided. Most of the
estate eventually came into the possession of Pexall
Brocas, son of Sir Richard's daughter Anne. Pexall
married Margery, daughter of Sir Thomas Shirley
of Westmeston (Suss.), (fn. 91) and some time before his
death in 1583 (fn. 92) he and his wife made over ten of the
twelve parts of the manor to Sir Thomas Shirley. (fn. 93)
By 1595 Shirley had sold Swakeleys to John
Bromley, (fn. 94) who in 1606 sold it to John Bingley. (fn. 95)
Two years later Bingley sold the manor to Edmund
Brabazon. (fn. 96) This conveyance seems to have been
invalid since Swakeleys was still in Bingley's possession in 1616. (fn. 97) In 1629 he sold Swakeleys to Edmund
Wright, a London alderman and later lord mayor. (fn. 98)
On Wright's death in 1643 the manor passed to his
daughter Catherine, wife of Sir James Harrington. (fn. 99)
Harrington was one of the judges of Charles I and
after the Restoration was forced to leave the country. (fn. 1)
In 1665 he or his representative attempted to sell
Swakeleys to John Morris and Robert Clayton, (fn. 2) but
the sale seems to have been invalid. By September
1665, when Pepys went to Swakeleys, (fn. 3) the house and
manor were in the possession of Sir Robert Vyner, a
London financier and later lord mayor. Sir Robert
died in 1688 and the manor passed to his nephew
Thomas Vyner, (fn. 4) whose son Robert inherited it in
1707. (fn. 5) In 1741 Robert sold Swakeleys to Sarah
Lethieullier, a Huguenot widow, and Benjamin
Lethieullier, her brother-in-law, who were to hold it
in trust for Sarah's son Benjamin, then a minor. (fn. 6)
Benjamin the younger came of age in 1750 (fn. 7) and in
the following year sold the estate to the Revd.
Thomas Clarke, Rector of Ickenham. (fn. 8) Members of
the Clarke family held Swakeleys for over a century.
Thomas Clarke died in 1796 and was succeeded by
his son Thomas Truesdale Clarke. Thomas Truesdale's son, another Thomas Truesdale, succeeded in
1840 (fn. 9) and bought the manor of Ickenham in 1859. (fn. 10)
He died in 1890 and was succeeded by his son William Capel Clarke, who had married Clara Thornhill
and had added his wife's name to his own. William
Capel Clarke-Thornhill died in 1898 (fn. 11) and in 1922
his son Thomas Bryan Clarke-Thornhill sold most
of the Swakeleys estate to agents for development as
a residential suburb. (fn. 12) In 1927 the agents sold the
remaining undeveloped land and the manorial rights
to David Pool, who was then owner of the old Ickenham manor-house. (fn. 13) At this time the manorial rights
still included rights over what had been the manorial
waste at Ickenham Green and Marsh. David Pool
died in 1956 and in 1957 his executors vested the
manor or lordship of Ickenham in the borough of
Uxbridge. (fn. 14)
The extent of Swakeleys in the Middle Ages is
unknown: from the 14th century the manor included
much land outside the parish. In 1531 it was said to
comprise more than 1,000 a. and in 1608 over 2,000
a. (fn. 15) At inclosure in 1780 Thomas Clarke held 368 a.
in Ickenham. (fn. 16) A park is mentioned in 1453 (fn. 17) and
again in 1517. (fn. 18) This presumably was that surrounding Swakeleys manor-house. An inventory (fn. 19) of the
goods of Sir Thomas Charlton (d. 1465) includes
details of what is almost certainly the medieval
manor-house. At this date the dwelling contained
nineteen rooms and a chapel, as well as stables and
outbuildings. Nothing further is known of Swakeleys
manor-house until 1616 when John Bingley had a
dispute with William Cragg, who was then living in
the house as a tenant. Bingley had reserved for his
own use the great chamber known as the king's
chamber with an adjoining inner chamber, the kitchen, buttery, hall, great parlour, and a room required for dressing meat, as well as stabling for his
horses. (fn. 20) Most of these rooms are identifiable in the
inventory of c. 1465.
The present mansion was built by Sir Edmund
Wright between 1629 and 1638, (fn. 21) presumably on the
same site as the medieval dwelling. It was altered by
Sir James Harrington and again by the Clarkes at
the end of the 18th century. (fn. 22) From 1894 the house
was rented to tenants, (fn. 23) and in 1923 it was sold to
estate agents. To prevent it from being demolished
it was bought by H. J. Talbot in 1924 and then resold to the Foreign Office Sports Association. (fn. 24)
During the Second World War it was occupied by
the Army and after 1945 stood derelict. The London
Postal Region Sports Club obtained the house in
1955 as a sports pavilion and social centre, while the
grounds were used as playing fields. (fn. 25) The house as
it stands today is substantially that erected by Sir
Edmund Wright between 1629 and 1638. It has been
little altered and remains one of the most notable
mansions of its period in Middlesex. The building
has an H-shaped plan and is of two stories and attics.
The walls are of brick with dressings mostly of plaster
to simulate stone; a few of the windows and doorsurrounds, however, are of black marble. There are
central entrances on both east and west fronts, the
latter masked by a projecting porch of two stories.
Both in its plan and in its unconventional use of
classical detail, the house is typically Jacobean in
character. External features include two-storied bay
windows at both ends of the two cross-wings, a
continuous entablature to each story with pediments
above the windows, and curvilinear attic gables with
crowning pediments. The roof line is further broken
by tall clustered chimneys and, on the two principal
fronts, by central niches with shell heads and flanking volutes. Internally two carved newels with shaped
finials have been preserved from the original staircase and some of the panelling is of the same date.
The hall screen, which has three round arches,
columns painted to simulate marble, a central broken
pediment, and carvings of lions and cherubs, is said
to have been inserted by Sir James Harrington between 1643 and 1665. He may also have been responsible for the fine ornamental ceiling in the saloon on
the first floor. Murals above the staircase representing scenes from the Aeneid are attributed to Robert
Streater (1624-80). Other internal fittings are of
the later 17th and 18th centuries. Alterations by the
Clarkes in the late 18th century include two groundfloor windows on the south front. Immediately north
of the house is a stable court enclosed by low buildings of the 17th century and later; the north range
has been converted into three cottages and the east
range includes an 18th-century orangery. A square
brick dovecote with an ice-house below it, which
formerly stood north of the courtyard, (fn. 26) was demolished in the early 1960s. The interior was partially restored in 1955 and the outside and roof were
restored in 1961. (fn. 27)