MANORS AND OTHER ESTATES.
Before the
Norman Conquest the manor of RUISLIP was
held by Wlward Wit, a thegn of King Edward, who
also held the manors of Kempton and Kingsbury in
Middlesex and considerable estates elsewhere. By
1086 it had passed to Ernulf of Hesdin (de Hesding), (fn. 10) who c. 1087 granted it to the Abbot and Convent of
the Benedictine Abbey of Bec in Normandy. (fn. 11) Bec enjoyed possession of it until 1211 when King John sequestrated the properties of the abbey. (fn. 12) From 1295, (fn. 13) and particularly after the outbreak of the wars with France in 1337, the English properties of alien priories were frequently sequestrated by the Crown. (fn. 14) The Prior of Ogbourne, as Bec's proctor in England, was permitted to retain the abbey properties only in return for a heavy annual farm. (fn. 15)
The Bec properties were finally confiscated in
1404, and Henry IV granted Ruislip manor, with
reversion to the king and his heirs, jointly to his
third son John, later Duke of Bedford, William de
St. Vaast, Prior of Ogbourne, and Thomas Langley,
Bishop of Durham 1406-37. (fn. 16) The prior shortly
afterwards died, and no successor was appointed. (fn. 17)
Langley exchanged his interest in Ruislip for other
property, (fn. 18) leaving John in sole possession of the
manor. On his death in 1435 the manor reverted to
the Crown, and although Bec petitioned the king for
the restoration of their property, (fn. 19) Henry VI in 1437
leased Ruislip manor, with a plot called Northwood,
for seven years, later extended to a grant for life, to
his chancellor John Somerset. (fn. 20) In 1438 the king
granted the reversion on this estate to the University
of Cambridge. (fn. 21) The University surrendered its
interest in 1441, and the king granted the reversion
to his new foundation, the College of St. Mary and
St. Nicholas, later King's College, Cambridge. (fn. 22)
In 1451, shortly after a Commons petition requesting the dismissal of Somerset, (fn. 23) Ruislip manor
was granted outright to King's College. (fn. 24) In 1461,
however, Henry VI was defeated by Edward of York
and the Lancastrian grants were declared void.
King's College was not included in the list of exemptions; (fn. 25) but in the following year Edward IV granted
Ruislip manor, with Northwood, in free alms to
King's College, (fn. 26) in whose possession it remained
until the break-up of the college estates in the early
20th century. (fn. 27)
In 1086 Ruislip manor was assessed at 30 hides,
and valued at £20. There were 11 hides in demesne. (fn. 28)
Although the bulk of this later consisted of Copse
and Park woods and open-field land south of Ruislip
village, (fn. 29) part of the demesne lay in the north of the
parish and was farmed from a grange at Northwood. (fn. 30)
By 1294, when the area of the demesne, excluding
woodland, was estimated at about 1,000 a., the value
of the manor had increased to £81. (fn. 31) In 1435 its
value was £103. (fn. 32) The demesne contained 1,074 a.
in 1642, (fn. 33) and 1,097 a. in 1745. (fn. 34) After the replacement of the customary acre by statute measurement
in 1750, (fn. 35) the acreage in demesne was assessed at
1,455 a. (fn. 36)
Although Bec normally farmed the manor, leases
of the demesne occur from an early date. Peter
Fountain leased it in 1251 at an annual farm of one
mark. (fn. 37) For a period during the 14th century the
demesne lands at Northwood were leased separately. (fn. 38) After the manor came into the possession of
King's College, however, it was continuously in the
hands of lessees, and the demesne lands, including
the woods, were normally leased in their entirety. (fn. 39)
Roger More, Henry VIII's baker, leased the demesne in 1529 at an annual rent of £69. (fn. 40) More held
some rights in the manor, and was to be presented
each year with a new gown such as the gentlemen
of the college wore. The college reserved the right
to hold courts and the privileges and profits thereof
until 1565 when they were granted, with a lease of
the demesne and woodland, to Robert Christmas. (fn. 41)
A lease to Robert Cecil, Earl of Salisbury, in 1602
included the mansion house and the right to dig
marl. The terms of the farm then included a moneyrent of £46 and a food-rent of 30 qr. of wheat
and 52 qr. of malt, (fn. 42) and this remained substantially
unchanged until 1810 when the money-rent was
increased to £86. (fn. 43) The lease remained in the
Cecil family until 1669 when it was acquired by
Ralph Hawtrey of Eastcote. (fn. 44) The Hawtreys and
their descendants, the Rogerses and Deanes, retained
the farm until it was taken up by the college in the
late 19th century. (fn. 45)
It has been suggested that a Norman motte-andbailey castle occupied the site of the present Manor
Farm. (fn. 46) The theory is, however, based entirely on
topographical evidence, all of which is open to
alternative interpretation. After the transfer of
Ruislip to Bec a small monastic cell was established
there in the 12th century. (fn. 47) The nature of the early
building is uncertain, but during the 13th century
Ruislip became an important administrative centre
for Bec's English properties, (fn. 48) and a manor-house
incorporating a chapel was in existence by 1294. (fn. 49)
Silver plate valued at £17, linen, and furniture are
mentioned in 1324. (fn. 50) An inventory of 1435 indicates
that the building was extensive, containing a hall,
counting-house, prior's chamber, lord's chamber,
forester's chamber, and chapel, together with a
scullery and bakehouse. (fn. 51) The site of this building
was probably a few yards west of the present Manor
Farm where early masonry has been dug up. (fn. 52) In
1613 King's College, with the consent of the lessee
of Ruislip manor, licensed the demolition of the
Friar's Hall, presumably the remains of the earlier
building. (fn. 53) The present Manor Farm is a twostoried, timber-framed building of early-16thcentury date with 18th-century and later alterations. (fn. 54)
A moat completely encircled the site in 1750. (fn. 55) This
was still intact in 1865, but by 1896 the northern
portion had been filled in and the moat had acquired
roughly its present dimensions. (fn. 56) The Manor Farm
is now owned by the local authority, (fn. 57) and is used by
cultural and health organizations.
The manor of ST. CATHERINE'S, also called
St. Catherine End or Little Manor, seems to have
originated in an estate in Ruislip parish held of the
manor of Harmondsworth. A charter of c. 1087, confirming Ernulf of Hesdin's gift to the Abbey of Bec
of the whole of Ruislip manor, excluded one hide
held at this date by the Abbey of the Holy Trinity,
or St. Catherine's, at Rouen. (fn. 58) This land probably
passed to the abbey with the manor of Harmondsworth (fn. 59) which had been granted to Holy Trinity in
1069. (fn. 60)
Subsequently St. Catherine's manor seems to have
passed as a sub-manor of Harmondsworth. In 1391
the Abbey of Holy Trinity had licence to sell all its
English possessions. (fn. 61) St. Catherine's manor, as a
parcel of Harmondsworth, was acquired by William
of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester, and formed
part of the endowment of Winchester College. (fn. 62) The
college retained the Harmondsworth properties until
1543 when they were surrendered, in exchange for
other lands, to Henry VIII. (fn. 63) Four years later, in
1547, the manor and lordship of Harmondsworth,
including the woods called Westwood and Lowyshill
in Ruislip parish, were granted to William, later
Lord Paget, (fn. 64) and the Ruislip estate then descended
with the other Paget properties. (fn. 65)
St. Catherine's manor was included in a list of
Harmondsworth properties in 1588. It was then
referred to as the manor of Ruislip, and was valued
at 100 marks, exclusive of woodland. (fn. 66) In 1603
William, Lord Paget, sold the manor of Ruislip,
with Westwood and Lowyshill, to Henry and
Catherine Clarke. (fn. 67) The instrument describes the
property as formerly held by Winchester College,
and must refer to St. Catherine's manor since the
Pagets never held the capital manor of Ruislip and
the Southcote estate in Ruislip parish had passed to
Clarke in 1597. (fn. 68)
During the early 17th century the descent of the
manor is obscure. By 1680 it was in the hands of one
John Reeves, (fn. 69) who may have held it as early as
1654. (fn. 70) The estate seems to have passed with that of
Southcote, first to Reeves's widow and then c. 1700
to Robert Seymour. (fn. 71) In 1719 Henry Seymour of
Hanford (Dors.) sold an estate called the manor of
Ruislip, or Catherine-end, to John Child, the
London banker. The property then passed to Child's
son Christopher who devised it to his four nieces.
One of these, Sarah Mico, married John Lewin
who purchased the other three moieties in 1768
and was sole lord of the manor at the inclosure
of the following year. (fn. 72) In 1800 the property was
in moieties between Sarah Lewin and William
Sheppard, husband of Susanna, the daughter and
co-heir of John Lewin. (fn. 73) The manor remained in the
hands of the Sheppards and the Cox family of
Uxbridge until it was broken up later in the 19th
century.
St. Catherine's manor lay in the west of the parish
between Bury Street, Ducks Hill Road, and the
parish boundary. Until the 1769 inclosure, however,
precise details of its extent are lacking. The Abbey
of Holy Trinity was involved in a dispute over land
in Ruislip as early as 1238. (fn. 74) By 1587 the area of the
manor seems to have been approximately 300 a.,
including 160 a. of commons. There were then nine
free and fifteen copyhold tenants. (fn. 75) An undated
document of c. 1740 lists twenty free and eighteen
copyhold tenants. (fn. 76) By 1769 St. Catherine's manor
included more than 400 a., but by this date it had been
merged with the Southcote estate (fn. 77) and their respective areas are uncertain. Included in the composite manor were 150 a. of woodland in and around
the present Mad Bess Wood and some 200 a. of
commons called West Wood. (fn. 78) The manor boundaries are shown on a map of the 1804 inclosures. (fn. 79)
Ducks Hill Road and the parish boundary mark the
eastern and western limits of the manor. The northern
boundary runs just north of the present Mad Bess
Wood, and the southern follows a line extended from
Clack Bridge due east to Bury Street.
There is no documentary evidence for the existence of a manor-house in St. Catherine's manor.
Little Manor Farm, standing to the west of Bury
Street about half-a-mile north of Ruislip village,
appears to incorporate part of the roof of a singlestoried medieval hall between two gabled crosswings. (fn. 80) It is not possible, however, to identify the
building definitely as belonging to St. Catherine's
manor.
The relationship of the manor or freehold estate of
SOUTHCOTE to the parishes of Harmondsworth
and Ruislip and to the manor of St. Catherine's is
complex. Southcote manor appears to have evolved
out of the holdings of the Southcote family who held
land in Ruislip and Harmondsworth from at least the
13th century. (fn. 81) The land held initially by the Southcotes can be identified with the messuage attaching
to their hereditary office of forester of Harmondsworth, (fn. 82) whose land is mentioned in 1230. (fn. 83) In 1248
Roger de Southcote and Avice his wife held three
virgates in the capital manor of Ruislip. (fn. 84) A rental of
Richard II's time refers to a tenement in Ruislip
parish held of the lord of Harmondsworth, attaching
to which were 80 a. at Eastcote held of the Prior of
Ogbourne and 80 a. held of John Shorediche. The
holder in serjeanty of this tenement was to be
woodward of the lord of Harmondsworth. (fn. 85) In 1390
Richard Palmer, forester of Harmondsworth, did
fealty for a tenement in Ruislip said formerly to have
been held by Roger, son of Roger de Southcote, and
in Edward III's time in farm by Alice Perrers and
two clerks, Thomas Spigurnel and Adam de
Hertingdon. (fn. 86)
In the late 13th century Roger de Southcote, son
of Roger and Avice, had received 16 a. of land lying
in Sipson in Harmondsworth from Roger de Cruce
of Sipson, (fn. 87) and further property from William de
la Logge, (fn. 88) William's widow, (fn. 89) and others. (fn. 90) Hence
by 1300 there were Southcote holdings in both
Harmondsworth and Ruislip parishes. Roger de
Southcote's son, Robert, acquired in 1310 three
houses and three carucates of land from Henry
Spigurnel, lying not only in Southcote and Harmondsworth, but also in Stanwell, Harrow, Hillingdon, Uxbridge, Ickenham, and Ruislip. (fn. 91) Elizabeth,
Robert de Southcote's widow, was holding land
described as her manor of Ruislip in 1338, (fn. 92) but in
1341 their son, John de Southcote, sold the reversion
on the whole property to William and Isabel Pycot.
The property, held at this date by Elias de Saunford
for the life of his wife Elizabeth, consisted of two
houses and four carucates and 49 a. of land situated
in Harmondsworth, Sipson, Southcote by Colnbrook, Ruislip, and elsewhere in Middlesex and
Buckinghamshire. (fn. 93) This same property passed from
Pycot some time before 1349, as in that year it was
quitclaimed to Thomas de Colle and John de Padbury by Denise, widow of John Durant. (fn. 94)
In 1342 Elias and Elizabeth de Saunford also
quitclaimed to William and Isabel their rights in
property called the manors of Southcote and Ruislip
which had been held by both John de Southcote
and his mother. (fn. 95) The instrument implies a distinction between the Harmondsworth properties, called
Southcote, and those lands lying in Ruislip. The
manors called Southcote and Ruislip passed in 1348
from William Pycot's widow and her second husband, Edmund Blackwater, to Thomas de Colle and
John de Padbury. (fn. 96) In 1349, therefore, Padbury and
Colle held two different properties which together
appear to have formed the manor of Southcote by
Colnbrook which lies in Harmondsworth.
Padbury inherited Colle's interest, and in 1364
sold the manor of Southcote by Colnbrook to Odo
Purchace, a London draper. The conveyance is
dated from Ruislip, and the two grants of the Southcotes' lands, by Denise Durant and by the Blackwaters, are given as the source of the manor of
Southcote by Colnbrook. (fn. 97) In the same year Purchace disposed of the manor to John atte Mulle, John
Lessy, Vicar of Drayton, and William de Grendon,
another clerk. (fn. 98) In 1375 Purchace's daughter,
Christine, and her husband, Walter Aubrey, bought
back the manor from two Londoners, John de
Hilingford and Stephen de Kendale, to whom Lessy
and Grendon had sold it. (fn. 99) At some time before 1375
what appear to be the Southcote lands in Ruislip
had passed to Adam de Hertingdon and Thomas
Spigurnel, (fn. 1) who were said in 1390 to have been
holding jointly with Alice Perrers, Edward III's
favourite. (fn. 2) By 1378 the Ruislip property had been
divided between Alice Perrers and William Smith
(or Southcote) of Ruislip. Alice's moiety was described as the manor of Southcote in Ruislip, and
included the site of the manor, with a ruinous building on it, and 112 a. of land. This she held from
several lords, including the priors of Harmondsworth
and Ogbourne. (fn. 3)
After the confiscation of the Perrers properties in
1378, Southcote manor was leased to Peter Petrewogh, (fn. 4) who held it until 1379 when the forfeited
properties were regranted to William of Windsor
whom Alice had married. (fn. 5) The manor was then said
to include lands in Ruislip, Harrow, Stanwell, and
Colnbrook. (fn. 6) In 1400 part of the property was sold
by John Kirkham of London to Thomas Arthington. (fn. 7) What appears to have been the remainder of
the manor came into Arthington's hands in 1407
when William Smith quitclaimed to him all the lands
and rents that had been the property of Robert and
Richard Southcote, and of John, William's father. (fn. 8)
Margery Southcote, however, had an interest in
the manor of Southcote in 1446 when she transferred it to Nicholas Bolnehull. (fn. 9)
There still seems to have been a division within
the manor. In 1454 William Chamber, a Yorkshire
gentleman, granted to William Morton all the lands
in Ruislip belonging to him as cousin and heir of
Thomas Arthington. (fn. 10) Morton acquired further
property, described as Southcote manor and the
lands belonging thereto in Ruislip, from Robert
Manfeld and Thomas Redehough in 1458. (fn. 11) A
Southcote rental of Henry VI's time called it the
manor of Ruislip, (fn. 12) and a Harmondsworth rental of
1549 includes the manor of Southcote in Ruislip,
held of Harmondsworth manor. (fn. 13) It seems that
Southcote manor is here confused with the Ruislip
manor of St. Catherine's which had been granted
to William Paget, together with Harmondsworth
manor, in 1547. (fn. 14) In 1597 Richard Vincent, John
Coggs, and Richard Melham conveyed Southcote
manor to Henry Clarke, (fn. 15) who purchased the manor
of St. Catherine's from Lord Paget in 1603. (fn. 16)
Subsequently the Southcote and St. Catherine's
estates seem to have passed together, although details of the descent during the early 17th century
are obscure. By 1680 John Reeves was holding 135 a.
in Ruislip, including 90 a. of coppice at Southcote. (fn. 17)
Some at least of this land he held as early as 1654. (fn. 18)
On his death the property passed to his widow, and,
about 1700, to Robert Seymour. (fn. 19) In 1719 Henry
Seymour sold a capital messuage in an estate called
Southcote to John Child who at the same time
purchased the manor of St. Catherine End. (fn. 20) The
descent of Southcote then followed that of St.
Catherine's. (fn. 21)
There seems to have been a manor-house of
Southcote in the 14th century. Whether or not the
ruined building standing on the manor site in 1378
was the manor-house is uncertain. (fn. 22) Buildings on a
moated site covering almost an acre are shown on
a map of 1806 immediately north of Southcote Farm
between Bury Street and the parish boundary. (fn. 23)
Later 19th-century maps show no buildings. (fn. 24) The
moat still existed in 1937, (fn. 25) but had been filled in by
1962.
In 1685 ten acres at Ducks Hill in Ruislip parish
were said to belong to the manor of Bucknalls (More)
in Hertfordshire. (fn. 26) This seems to represent the remainder of land at Northwood which in 1428 had
been seized by the lord of the manor of More in
exercise of a leet jurisdiction granting the right to
confiscate felons' goods. (fn. 27) The estate then consisted
of three messuages belonging to Guy atte Hill, and
a messuage with 12 a. called Whiteslands which were
Guy's and had formerly belonged to William White. (fn. 28)
In 1520 the estate was referred to as a messuage,
formerly two messuages, called Guy atte Hilles and
Whytts in Ruislip parish; (fn. 29) and in 1601 as Gyett
Hills in Ruislip. (fn. 30) In 1695 Ralph Hawtrey of Eastcote sold an estate called Gyetts Hills, consisting of
approximately 90 a., to Sir Bartholomew Shower. (fn. 31)
Nothing further is known of the property, although
its name apparently survived in that of Gatehill
Farm, Northwood, in the north-east corner of the
parish. By 1937 the farm-house was said to be
mainly of brick. (fn. 32)