MANORS.
In 1294 the bishop of London claimed
that his predecessors had exercised rights over
Finchley as a member of Fulham 'time out of
mind'. (fn. 8) Although not mentioned in the Domesday
survey, FINCHLEY manor probably formed part
of the 50 hides in Fulham and elsewhere which
Tyrhtel, bishop of Hereford, granted to Wealdheri,
bishop of London, c. 704. (fn. 9) No evidence supports the
tradition that St. Albans abbey had owned land
'between Barnet and London stone', which was
seized by William I. (fn. 10) Although Finchley was called
a manor in 1374, (fn. 11) it continued to be treated as
part of Fulham until its transfer to the bishop's
lordship of Hornsey in 1491. (fn. 12) About the period
1297-1302 Finchley was said to be held by the
bishop of London of the honor of Stortford for
¼ knight's fee. (fn. 13) Except during the Interregnum,
when the manor was held from 1649 by Sir John
Wollaston (d. 1658), alderman of London, and his
widow Rebecca, (fn. 14) the bishops remained lords until
their rights were vested in the Ecclesiastical Commissioners. (fn. 15) The last manorial rights were extinguished in 1938. (fn. 16)
Demesne estates had been created out of the
woodland by 1298. (fn. 17) In 1318 Lordsfield and Little
Redings, two 20-a. arable clearings on the edge of
Hornsey park, were administered as part of the
Harringay demesne, as was the pannage of Finchley
tenants. (fn. 18) Other demesne estates were High or
Rote Redings, recorded from 1395, mainly in
Hornsey but extending across the Finchley boundary
to Newgate Lane, (fn. 19) Ballards Reding, on the edge
of Finchley wood at the northern end of Ballards
Lane by 1425, (fn. 20) and Bibwell, between Hornsey
park and Bibbesworth, in 1434 'a certain close in
Finchley'. (fn. 21) Apart from the bishop's hunting lodge
within Hornsey park, on the parish boundary, (fn. 22)
there was no grange or other administrative building
in Finchley. (fn. 23)
The demesne was farmed in 1298, exploited
directly in 1318, and leased out again from the 15th
century, (fn. 24) when new demesne estates were created
within Hornsey park, which extended deep into
Finchley. Oxleas, an estate comprising meadow
land and part of the herbage of the park in 1540, had
become there closes by 1576. (fn. 25) The woodland remained in hand until 1645, when it was leased out,
and was progressively grubbed up until in 1820
it consisted of 178 a. of farm-land and 88 a. of
woodland in Finchley and 124 a. of farm-land and
306 a. of woodland, including Great Coldfall
wood (116 a.) in Hornsey. Except Great Coldfall
wood the woodland estate, including Bishop's
wood (92 a.) of which two-thirds lay in Finchley,
was within Hornsey park.
Most of the 113 a. allotted to the bishop at
inclosure was added to the leasehold demesne
estates but one block of 40 a. formed a new demesne
estate which was leased separately. From the 17th
to the mid 19th centuries the bishop's control was
slight and the demesne estates were held on long
and often hereditary leases for lives. Ballards
Reding was sold in 1855 and the inclosure allotment in 1865. During the late 19th century the
Ecclesiastical Commissioners, seeing the potential
value of building land, bought out the remaining
interests of the lessees at considerable expense,
acquiring parts of Oxleas in 1873 and 1878, the
woodlands in 1885, and Bibwell in 1902.
About 1900 the whole of south-eastern Finchley
was in the hands of the commissioners, who let
building plots on either side of the Bishop's Avenue
from 1894. In addition they owned c. 629 a. of
farm- and park-land in Finchley, divided into
Park, Lodge, Spaniards, and Manor farms and
Hampstead and Highgate golf courses. (fn. 26) Over
400 a. of farm-land were leased for building in
1911, the freehold being sold in 1958 and 1959.
In 1977 the Church Commissioners owned the
freeholds of only the convalescent home and no.
46 the Bishop's Avenue. (fn. 27)
The sub-manor of Finchley or BIBBESWORTH, first called a manor in 1319, (fn. 28) may have
originated in 12th-century subinfeudations by the
bishops. (fn. 29) There is no evidence that it was held for
anything other than rent. (fn. 30) The Finchley family,
which included a canon of St. Paul's, was active
in the early 13th century (fn. 31) and in 1248-9 Richard,
son of Richard of Finchley, granted 80 a. in Finchley
to Michael Tovy, first of the many important
Londoners connected with Bibbesworth. (fn. 32) Tovy,
who already possessed property in Finchley in
1245-6, (fn. 33) acquired another 100 a. in 1248-9 from
Hamon FitzAlan. (fn. 34) He sold the estate, apparently a
manor, in 1252-3 to Adam de Basing, (fn. 35) who made
further purchases in the 1250s. (fn. 36) One grant of 40 a.
by Thomas of London was held of Hernicus the
tailor (fn. 37) but any mesne interest between the bishop
and Bibbesworth soon withered away.
Adam de Basing (d. 1262) was succeeded by his
son Thomas (d. 1275), a minor, and then by his
daughters Avice and Joan, wives respectively of
William de Hadestok (d. 1296) and Henry le
Waleys (d. 1301). (fn. 38) By 1299 Hadestok's daughter
Joan and her husband Adam de Bedyk were in
possession, (fn. 39) although they had earlier lost a suit
against Waleys. (fn. 40) Adam was dead by 1302 (fn. 41) and
his son Henry Bedyk, who also had property in
Hendon and Totteridge, conveyed the manor to
uses in 1319. (fn. 42) Accordingly, after Henry's death in
1335, two-thirds of the estate was held in trust with
reversion to his son Thomas, while Henry's widow
Joan, who married Ernald de Mounteney, had
dower rights in the rest. (fn. 43)
In 1352-3 Sir Thomas Bedyk sold the manor to
Simon Francis, who in 1357 left property in four
counties to his son Thomas. (fn. 44) The latter sold
Finchley manor in 1358-9 to Richard of Piriton
and Richard of Haversham, clerks, (fn. 45) who in 1360
granted it to William Palmer and Richard Rook, (fn. 46)
to whom Sir Thomas Bedyk's mother Joan sold her
dower rights in 1360-1. (fn. 47) Palmer and Rook exercised patronage of the manor chantry in 1361 and
1363 (fn. 48) and Rook, acting for the abbot of Westminster, held courts in 1364 and 1365. (fn. 49) In 1366
Rook conveyed the manor to Richard of Stoke and
others, who in 1386, on behalf of Westminster,
enfeoffed John Flete. From 1392-6 Flete owed suit
of court for the holding once Thomas Bedyk's. (fn. 50)
In 1400 the manor was conveyed by Flete to
trustees (fn. 51) and by 1401 it was held by Drew
Barentyn, in 1412 the richest landowner in Finchley
with property worth £6 13s. 4d. (fn. 52) Barentyn died in
1415 and his nephew Reynold conveyed the manor
by 1418 to Edmund Bibbesworth (d. 1443), who
left it to his wife Godith for life. (fn. 53) In 1448-9 his
son John Bibbesworth sold the manor, then described as six houses, 550 a. of land and woodland,
and rent in Finchley and Hendon, to John Pontrell
and others. (fn. 54)
At about that time the lords of Bibbesworth also
acquired the so-called manor of MARCHES or
NORMANS. In 1397 Sir William March died
seised of 'the manor of Finchley' and 80 a., held of
Philip Pelytot for 1 lb. of pepper a year, and 20 a.,
held of the bishop for rent. March was said to have
been enfeoffed, with others, by William Creswick
and John Berveyr. (fn. 55) The estate may have been a
house, 158 a., and a mill in Finchley and Hendon,
which had been held by Robert Kersebroke in
1313-14 and which Walter Kersebroke granted
to Creswick, Berveyr, and others in 1378. (fn. 56) It may
also have included land which had belonged to
John atte Pole (d. 1361) and which was conveyed by
his trustees to John Barnes, a Londoner like most
of the others. (fn. 57) During the minority of Sir William
March's son Thomas the estate was granted to
Thomas Chipstead, who in 1412 was the second
richest landowner in Finchley. (fn. 58) Chipstead still
held it in 1435 but in 1439 trustees sold 'the manor
called Marches', a house, 262 a., and rent in
Finchley and Hendon to John Norman. (fn. 59) From
1442 to 1445 Norman was presented for lands once
Chipstead's but by 1448 some had passed to the
tenants of Bibbesworth and some to John Holtoft. (fn. 60)
By 1453 all were in the hands of John Pontrell,
lord of Bibbesworth. (fn. 61)
Pontrell and his fellow trustees conveyed the
manor and combined estates to William Chester
and others in 1461-2 and by 1464 they were held
by John Plomer or Leynham (d. 1479), who left
them to his widow Margaret and his nephew's
son Richard Fisher. (fn. 62) They sold them almost immediately to William Hastings, Lord Hastings (d.
1483), whose widow Catherine (d. c. 1503) held the
manor during the minority of her son Edward (fn. 63)
and apparently was still in control in 1490. (fn. 64)
Edward, Lord Hastings, held the manor in 1502
and after his death in 1506 it was held by his widow
Mary during the minority of their son George,
who came of age in 1509. George, heavily in debt,
sold the manor in 1527 to Sir William Compton
(d. 1528). (fn. 65) The Crown held it during the minority
of Sir William's son Peter (d. 1539), (fn. 66) whose widow
Anne (d. 1588), later countess of Pembroke, held
it as dower and in 1577 settled it on her son Henry,
Lord Compton (d. 1589), with remainder to Henry's
second son Thomas. (fn. 67) In 1594 Thomas with his
elder brother William, Lord Compton, sold Bibbesworth and Normans to Alexander King, auditor of
the Exchequer. (fn. 68) King died childless in 1618,
leaving Bibbesworth to his widow Elizabeth (d.
1622), (fn. 69) whose executors were to sell it to raise
legacies. (fn. 70)
Edward Allen, a London alderman, bought the
manor in 1622 (fn. 71) and other small properties in
East End. He was succeeded in 1625 (fn. 72) by his son,
later Sir Thomas Allen, who in 1627 married Mary,
daughter of Sir John Weld of Arnolds in Southgate. (fn. 73) In 1674 Sir Thomas settled his extensive
Middlesex estates, including Bibbesworth, in tail
male. On his death in 1681 the estate descended to
his son Edward and on Edward's death childless
in 1692 it passed to Thomas, son of Edward's
brother James (d. 1690). (fn. 74) Thomas (d. 1764)
added to the estate and was succeeded by his son
Edward (d. 1774) (fn. 75) who broke the entail in 1764
and left it in trust for life to his brother Thomas.
Thomas, who until 1774 bore the surname
Greenhalgh, (fn. 76) by will proved 1780 conveyed the
manor in trust for life to his son Thomas, (fn. 77) who
died childless in 1830. The title was then disputed
between the Revd. Edward Cooper, (fn. 78) under the will of
Edward Allen (d. 1774), and descendants of Edward
Allen (d. 1692), (fn. 79) under the will of Thomas Allen
(d. 1780). In 1832 Cooper's title passed to his son
the Revd. Edward Philip Cooper (d. 1864), who
bought out the other claimants (fn. 80) and settled his
Finchley estates on his daughters Edith Cassandra
(d. 1888) and Sophia Mary Leigh (d. 1888), the
wife of Frederick A. H. Fitzgerald. On their deaths
Bibbesworth manor passed to Albert Henry Arden
(d. 1897), son of their father's sister. A. H. Arden
was succeeded by his son Edward Cooper Arden, (fn. 81)
who held the last court in 1936. (fn. 82)
THE BISHOP OF LONDON'S DEMESNE IN FINCHILEY AND HORNSEY c.1788
The Bibbesworth estate remained encumbered in
the 19th century. Churchfield, already divided by
Regent's Park Road, was sold from 1849 (fn. 83) and sales
of other portions continued until 1909, when E. C.
Arden sold most of the remaining land for building. (fn. 84) William Gamage bought the house with
29 a. at about that time and sold it in 1919 to the
convent of Marie Auxiliatrice, which still owned
it in 1977. (fn. 85) The Express Dairy bought Sheephouse or College farm in 1909. The farm-house
and a small part of the land were conveyed to the
Department of Transport in 1974, after most of the
surrounding fields had been sold for building. (fn. 86)
In 1376 Richard of Stoke and others leased
Bibbesworth manor to Lawrence of Allerthorpe (fn. 87)
and in 1502 Edward, Lord Hastings, leased it to
Sir Thomas Frowyk, whom he made steward and
bailiff. (fn. 88) After Frowyk's death in 1506 the lease
was held by his widow Elizabeth, who by 1508
had married Thomas Jakes. (fn. 89) In 1515 Elizabeth
surrendered the lease to Lord Hastings (fn. 90) and in
1530, during the minority of Peter Compton, the
manor was leased by the Crown to Sir William
Brereton, (fn. 91) who sold some of the land. (fn. 92) After
Brereton's execution in 1536 his widow Elizabeth,
who resumed her former husband's name of Savage,
petitioned Cromwell for Bibbesworth, (fn. 93) which in
1537 was leased to her 'cousin' Urian Brereton,
still the lessee in 1547-8. (fn. 94) The manor was never
again leased in its entirely.
Bibbesworth manor-house stood at the centre of
the estate, south of East End Road and between
Church End and East End. The manor-house,
mentioned in 1335, (fn. 95) existed by 1253 and may have
been the house of Michael Tovy where two people
were burnt to death in 1245-6. (fn. 96) The house was
probably rebuilt or extended by the Bibbesworth
or Hastings families. In the early 16th century it
was the 'great place of Bibbesworth' and in 1502
it comprised a chief messuage, orchard, and building
within the moat and a great barn and long stable
outside the moat. (fn. 97) It was the largest house in the
parish in 1664, being assessed at nineteen hearths, (fn. 98)
and by 1692, when it figured in a dispute between
two Elizabeth Allens, respective widows of Edward
and James, it apparently already had the distinctive fishponds on the northern side of East
End Road and extensive pleasure gardens. (fn. 99)
After the Allens ceased to live in Finchley,
Bibbesworth manor-house was leased as a boys'
school to William Fanning (1819-37) and Dr.
Henry Worsley (1838-57). (fn. 1) Miss Lucy Worsley
was in occupation in 1859 and Miss H. Legeyt,
who ran it as a girls' school, in 1862. (fn. 2) In 1863
it was leased with 23 a. to George Plucknett, a
magistrate who often heard cases in the hall of the
house. (fn. 3) Between 1882 and 1887 the lease passed to
William Pearce Jones, who surrendered it c. 1906. (fn. 4)
The existing house was built for Thomas Allen
c. 1723 north of the earlier seat. (fn. 5) It is a large plain
building, seven bays by three and with three storeys
above a basement. The interior, which has an
unusual plan with four internal chimney stacks,
retains the original oak staircase and much panelling. (fn. 6) Later fittings include fire-places and panelling
of the late 18th century and many features in the
18th-century style but probably of c. 1900, at
about which time a billiards room was added to
the north-west. Since 1919 a chapel and classrooms
have been built on the north-west and an attic has
been added to the old part. An Ionic garden
temple was removed to Surrey c. 1970. (fn. 7)