MANORS.
The manor of EALING or
EALINGBURY was presumably the 10 hides
at Ealing granted in 693 × 704 by Ethelred, king
of Mercia, to the bishop of London for the
augmentation of monastic life in London. (fn. 39) Only
in 704 × 709 was the bishop granted 50 hides in
Fulham, (fn. 40) of which Ealing was probably thought
to form part at the time of Domesday Book. (fn. 41)
Ealing and Acton were said to be members of
Fulham in 1294 (fn. 42) and in 1388 the tenants of
Ealing owed 11s. 10d. of the 33s. 4d. common fine
due from Fulham and its members, (fn. 43) although
the issues were accounted for separately. (fn. 44) In
1588 the tenants denied that Ealing had ever been
part of Fulham: while admitting that their courts
were usually held there, they pointed out that
their business and officers were separate, and that
courts were occasionally held at Ealing. (fn. 45) The
tenure of the bishop was interrupted only during
the Interregnum, when the manor was sold in
1647 to Col. Edmund Harvey and belonged from
1654 to 1658 to Alderman Francis Allen, and in
1659-60 to the regicide Sir John Barkstead
(d. 1662), (fn. 46) as Lord Barkstead. (fn. 47)
The bishop farmed the royalties from at least
1749: the farmer, who was also the gamekeeper,
paid partridges and pheasants as part of the
rent. (fn. 48) The 648 a. of demesne in 1840 lay mostly
in the east part of the parish and south of
Uxbridge Road, with the largest block south and
east of Gunnersbury Park; some was interspersed
with other estates and some was included in
Ealing and Gunnersbury parks. (fn. 49)
The manor house was called Ealingbury in
1422, (fn. 50) Ealingbury House in 1813, (fn. 51) and Ealingbury or Gunnersbury Manor House in 1835. (fn. 52)
North-west of the junction of Gunnersbury Lane
and Pope's Lane, (fn. 53) it was said to have been a fine
house with well appointed outbuildings but was
sacked in 1642 and was uninhabitable in 1647. (fn. 54)
Thereafter it was either rebuilt or remodelled: in
1898, despite recent alterations, it was considered
to be substantially of the late 17th century except
the cellars, which were older, and was a large redbrick and tiled house of three storeys, with
pedimented windows, described as the ideal
country house. (fn. 55) Modernized in 1935, (fn. 56) it was
later demolished.
The demesne was already leased in 1381, when
John Eustace was farmer in succession to his
father Robert. (fn. 57) In 1539 the lessee was William
Honyng of London, (fn. 58) servant of Sir Thomas
Wriothesley, Secretary of State, under a lease to
John Langton. Honyng obtained a new lease, (fn. 59)
which included the woods, in 1545. (fn. 60) In 1547 the
bishop granted a 200-year lease of Ealing and
Fulham to Edward, duke of Somerset, on whose
attainder it was forfeited to the Crown. The lease
was granted in 1600 to Simon Willis, who
divided the estate in 1601: he assigned the lands
north of Uxbridge Road, Ealing, to Thomas
Fisher, skinner of London, and the larger
part, including those lands in Ealing south of
Uxbridge Road, to Thomas, later Sir Thomas,
Penruddock. (fn. 61) The Penruddocks' possession was
disputed in 1615 by Thomas, son of Anthony
Mason, a former tenant, (fn. 62) perhaps as beneficiary
under an earlier lease.
The descent of Fisher's share is not known.
Penruddock's estate descended in his family,
except when sequestrated in the Interregnum, (fn. 63)
until Edward Penruddock devised it to his
brother-in-law Joseph Cage. By will dated 1700,
Joseph left it to his son John Cage, a minor,
whose administrators assigned it in 1717 to
Richard Webb, later of Cavenham (Suff.). (fn. 64) In
1735 the bishop granted three new leases to
Webb, Sir William Halton, Bt. (d. 1754), and
Anne and Mary Brand. (fn. 65) Thereafter the estate
leased out in 1547 was repeatedly divided, until
there were seven separate leases of the demesne in
Ealing by 1840. (fn. 66)
The estate leased in 1735 to Richard Webb
consisted of 285 a. in Fulham and 376 a. in
Ealing, (fn. 67) most of it south of Uxbridge Road. In
1749 the issues were divided into five, two shares
for Richard's brother William, the lessee, and
one share for Richard Long of Cavenham. (fn. 68) The
lease was held by Long from 1756 and his trustees
from 1777, (fn. 69) until in 1798 the estate was divided
between his sons-in-law George Hardinge and
Richard Vachell. (fn. 70) Hardinge assigned his share
by 1806 to Peter Thorne of Ealing, who relinquished lands outside Ealing in 1813 (fn. 71) but
retained the manor house and 245 a., most or all
of which were sold in 1822 to William Booth
(d. 1833) of Brentford, distiller. The bulk was
again sold in 1835 to George Robinson of Kew
(Surr.) (fn. 72) who held episcopal leasehold estates of
276 a. in 1840, (fn. 73) including some from Vachell's
share. Vachell's 365 a. of leasehold, including 125
a. in Ealing, were for sale in 1829: London Style
farm of 96 a. was sold to Samuel Ware, while 29 a.
were sold to William Booth but acquired in 1835
by Robinson, himself lessee of London Style
farm from 1841. (fn. 74) After Robinson's death in
1852 his estate was held by his sons until 1861
when the lease of 331 a. surrounding Gunnersbury Park, including the manor house and
London Style farm, was assigned to Baron Lionel
Nathan de Rothschild, who bought the freehold. (fn. 75)
The land leased in 1739 to Sir William Halton
consisted of 61 a. near Little Ealing, 34 a. north of
Uxbridge Road, 24 a. at Stamford Brook, and
40 a. at Fulham. (fn. 76) It was held by trustees
until 1806, when the lessee was William Halton,
a Canadian, (fn. 77) but was broken up in 1813, when
four separate leases were granted: the largest
estate was Little Ealing farm of 54 a., leased to
Jonathan Knevett. (fn. 78)
In 1739 Anne Brand, widow, and her daughter
Mary Brand of Edwardstone (Suff.) were leased a
mansion house and 101 a., formerly woodland,
on Hanger Hill west of Hanger Lane. The lease
was renewed for John Williams in 1746, for King
Gould in 1754, and in 1761 for William Tanner
of St. Marylebone, who immediately assigned it
to Richard Latham. It was auctioned in 1769 and
renewed in 1775 to Richard Wood, (fn. 79) who held
Hanger House and land west of Hanger Lane in
1777. (fn. 80) The lands formed the nucleus of the
Wood family's large estate on both sides of
Hanger Lane. Richard Wood was dead by 1785,
when his youngest son James was admitted to 6 a.
of copyhold, (fn. 81) and the leasehold estate had passed
by 1790 to Thomas Wood (fn. 82) who was rated on a
new house and c. 240 a., (fn. 83) and by 1811 to William
Wood (d. 1817), who had acquired 100 a. of
copyhold from Jonathan Gurnell in 1787. (fn. 84) The
estate was later held by William's trustees and
from 1844 under the will of Edward Wood
(d. 1844). (fn. 85) From 1838 or earlier the tenant for
life was George Wood (d. 1864), who held 501 a.
in 1840, including 167 a. of leasehold. (fn. 86) The
Woods bought the freehold of the land held by
lease in or after 1854, and the copyhold was
enfranchised in 1862. (fn. 87) In 1899 the Wood estate
included 560 a. east of Hanger Lane, much of it in
Acton parish; Hanger Hill House and 145 a. were
leased to Sir Montague Nelson, tenant from 1874
and chairman of Ealing U.D.C. (fn. 88) George Wood's
son Edward (d. 1904) moved to Shropshire in the
1870s and was succeeded by his son Lt.-Col.
Charles Peevor Boileau Wood (d. 1932), who in
1906 sold most or all of the land to the Prudential
Assurance Co. (fn. 89) Hanger Hill House, a large
three-storeyed building of the 18th century, was
used by Hanger Hill golf club from 1901 and
survived until 1935 or later. (fn. 90)
COLDHALL or WEST EALING manor at
Little Ealing was probably held of Ealing manor.
It was recorded from 1377 when John Torngold, alderman of London, died seised of
Coldhall and his daughter Alice was heir. (fn. 91) It
may have been held in 1408 by William and
Agnes Powe, who exchanged it for a pension with
John Spartgrave of Spargrove (Som.), (fn. 92) perhaps
in connexion with his marriage: in 1415 Powe
was executor of Spartgrave, who left the manor to
his wife Agnes, daughter Agnes, and their heirs. (fn. 93)
Presumably it was the younger Agnes who
married Sir Nicholas Stukeley and later one
Montgomery: her son Thomas Montgomery
inherited her copyhold estate and perhaps
Coldhall, (fn. 94) which was sold in 1496 by Henry
Barnes and his wife Anne, with 250 a. and rent, to
Richard Awnsham or Amondesham, alderman of
London, (fn. 95) who had been accumulating land in
Ealing since 1482 or earlier. (fn. 96) Coldhall descended with other manors in Heston until 1643,
when it passed to Robert Awnsham's sisters Jane,
wife of Henry Mildmay, and Margaret, later wife
of Gideon Awnsham. (fn. 97) Their tenure was disturbed by litigation (fn. 98) until in 1667, by authority
of parliament, they sold Coldhall to William
Dennington (d. 1681) of the Inner Temple. (fn. 99)
Each of Dennington's three sisters and coheirs
received some land in Ealing but Coldhall itself
was assigned in 1688 to his sister Anne and her
husband Thomas Watts, mercer of London, (fn. 1)
who in 1701 sold it to John Loving of Place
House. Loving also bought Twyfords in 1708 (fn. 2)
and sold Holly House in 1722 and Coldhall and
Twyfords in 1728 to Charles Lockyer of Ilchester
(Som.), M.P., who had made at least nine other
purchases by 1735. (fn. 3) Lockyer was succeeded in
1752 by his illegitimate son John Lockyer or
Green, (fn. 4) who left the estate in 1762 to his widow
Elizabeth and daughter Elizabeth. The elder
Elizabeth was admitted to the copyhold estate in
1764 (fn. 5) and the younger, who had married Henry
Burgoyne Sharp, to 134 a. of copyhold in 1774: (fn. 6)
the total estate including Coldhall totalled c. 330
a. c. 1774 (fn. 7) and 302 a. in 1817, when some had
been sold. (fn. 8) In 1819, following Sharp's death, the
copyhold estate was held jointly by Francis
Brodrip's trustees and Lockyer Sharp. (fn. 9) Frederick
Sharp was admitted in 1828 and on his death,
trustees were admitted in 1835. (fn. 10) Much had been
sold, perhaps including Coldhall, by 1840, when
the total estate of the executors of Brodrip and
William Sharp was only 174 a. (fn. 11) Coldhall later
belonged to the Meacock family: in 1886 it was
sold by John and William Meacock, (fn. 12) perhaps
already to Blondin (Jean François Gravelet) the
tightrope walker, who renamed the house
Niagara and died there in 1897. (fn. 13) The manor
house, mentioned in 1693, (fn. 14) probably stood
beside the modern Northfield Avenue, Little
Ealing, (fn. 15) near Niagara and Blondin avenues.
GUNNERSBURY manor was held of the
bishop of London in 1378 for fealty, suit of court,
and rents, and included 228 a. land and £1 7s.
rent from tenants. (fn. 16) The manor may have been
the ½ carucate and 2 marks rent in which Maud,
widow of Lawrence del Brok, claimed dower
against Joan of Somery in the late 13th century. (fn. 17)
In 1347 John of Ceppeham granted two-thirds of
the manor to John de Bray and Joan his wife for
life, with the reversion of the third held in dower
by Maud, widow of Thomas of Gloucester. (fn. 18)
John of Ceppeham was dead by 1364, when his
son John granted the reversion to Geoffrey
Scrope. (fn. 19) Lands including Gunnersbury, late of
John of Northwich, goldsmith, were conveyed in
1373 by feoffees to those of Edward III's mistress
Alice Perrers. (fn. 20) Alice forfeited them but her
husband William of Windsor was granted
Gunnersbury in 1380, to hold to the use of her
and her heirs. (fn. 21) It was held by Thomas Charlton
and Alice his wife, apparently in her right, in
1390, when it was settled in trust, (fn. 22) presumably
to Alice's use. The estate was held by her son
Henry Frowyk in 1422 (fn. 23) and remained with the
Frowyks until the death of another Henry
Frowyk in 1520, when it was allotted to his sister
Elizabeth, wife of the judge Sir John Spelman, (fn. 24)
descending in the Spelman family with Flambards
in Harrow. (fn. 25) It was held by the judge John, later
Sir John, Maynard (d. 1690) by at least 1656 (fn. 26)
and then in turn by his widow Mary, countess of
Suffolk (d. 1721), and his great-grandson John
Hobart, Lord Hobart, later earl of Buckinghamshire (d. 1756). In 1739, after a private Act,
Hobart sold Gunnersbury to Henry Furnese,
M.P. (d. 1756), (fn. 27) whose sister Elizabeth Pearce
sold it in 1761 to Princess Amelia (d. 1786),
daughter of George II. (fn. 28) Lavish entertainments
were given by the princess, (fn. 29) who extended the
estate by purchase and lease to 236 a. but ordered
it to be sold in lots on her death. (fn. 30) The main part,
comprising the house and c. 95 a., was bought by
Col. Gilbert Ironside in 1788, passed to Walter
Stirling in 1792, and was sold by Andrew Stirling
to Henry Crawford in 1794. (fn. 31) Crawford sold it to
Mr. Morley, a floor-cloth manufacturer, by 1800,
when demolition of the house and partition of the
estate were impending. (fn. 32)
The north-east corner of the estate, in the
angle of Pope's Lane and Gunnersbury Avenue,
was bought by Stephen Cosser (d. 1806), who
erected the smaller of the two Gunnersbury
seats, called Gunnersbury House. (fn. 33) On his death
it was bought by Alexander Morrison (d. 1828),
whose widow Jane, countess of Carnwath, sold
it to Thomas Farmer c. 1833. (fn. 34) Trustees of Mrs.
Elizabeth Atkinson (née Farmer) sold it in 1889
to Leopold de Rothschild (d. 1917), (fn. 35) youngest
son of Baron Lionel Nathan de Rothschild
(d. 1879). The bulk of the estate sold c. 1800, 76
a., was bought by Alexander Copeland (d. 1834),
who erected the larger mansion, Gunnersbury
Park. (fn. 36) It had been acquired by Nathan Mayer de
Rothschild by 1836, (fn. 37) passed to his wife Hannah,
who held 109 a. in 1840, (fn. 38) to his son Baron Lionel
Nathan de Rothschild, who bought 331 a. nearby
in 1861 from the bishop of London, (fn. 39) and to the
latter's three sons. Baron Nathaniel Mayer de
Rothschild and Leopold de Rothschild bought
their brother's share in 1894 and Leopold
(d. 1917) became sole owner in 1901. His son
Lionel Nathan sold some land for building (fn. 40) and
in 1925 sold the remaining 199 a. to Ealing and
Acton councils, 186 a. for a park and 13 a. for
housing. (fn. 41)
No manor house was mentioned in 1378 (fn. 42) but
one evidently existed by c. 1464 when Sir
Thomas Frowyk (d. 1506) was born at Gunnersbury. (fn. 43) In 1593 there was an ancient house,
formerly of the Frowyks and conveniently situated near woodland and water, which was leased to
the Corbet family. (fn. 44) It was presumably the
residence of John Maynard until his house was
rebuilt c. 1658 by John Webb (d. 1672), nephew
of Inigo Jones, with assistance from Edward
Marshall (d. 1675). (fn. 45) Webb's was a red-brick
three-storeyed building of seven bays with a
Corinthian portico on the north front, (fn. 46) described in 1736 as a great and ancient fabric
expensive to repair. (fn. 47) The gardens, reputedly
laid out by William Kent for Henry Furnese, (fn. 48)
were improved by Princess Amelia, who erected
the bath-house and chapel. The house had been
demolished by 1807. (fn. 49)
Gunnersbury Park and Gunnersbury House
stand side by side on a terrace, respectively to
west and east. Gunnersbury Park, the larger, was
built in 1811 and rebuilt c. 1836 by Sydney
Smirke (d. 1877): (fn. 50) white and stuccoed, it consists of two-storeyed wings and a three-storeyed
central block with Roman Doric portico.
Gunnersbury House was built by 1806 and
altered by W. F. Pocock between 1837 and
1850: (fn. 51) an ornate two-storeyed stuccoed house
with semicircular terminal bays, it has housed
Gunnersbury Park museum since 1929. (fn. 52) The
gardens, much admired in the 19th century, (fn. 53)
contain several ponds and extensive sports
grounds. In 1977 the orangery, reputedly by
Smirke, (fn. 54) was derelict and the bath-house had
been demolished. The Temple, an 18th-century
Roman Doric structure, was restored in 1975. (fn. 55)
PITSHANGER manor was described as a free
tenement in 1423, when it was held of Ealing
manor for rent, relief, and aid. (fn. 56) The demesne
consisted of c. 140 a. stretching northward from
Hanger Hill to the Brent. (fn. 57) Members of the
Putelshanger or Pitshanger family occurred
from 1229 and in 1293-4 Robert of Pitshanger
fraudulently claimed woodland at Ealing from
the bishop. (fn. 58) The manor was held by William,
son of Thomas Bray, in 1423 (fn. 59) and descended in
the Bray family to Catherine Welby (née Bray)
in 1508, (fn. 60) perhaps the Catherine on whom
Pitshanger was settled jointly with her husband
John Hall in 1537, with remainder to her son
Thomas Webb. (fn. 61) It descended to her son George
Hall and was held in 1553 by Edward Bayshe, (fn. 62)
who conveyed it in 1563 to Gilbert Gerard, later
Sir Gilbert Gerard, Master of the Rolls, and
Gilbert Sherrington, (fn. 63) apparently to Gerard's
use. Pitshanger belonged to Thomas Stevens in
1575, passed to his son Henry in 1579, (fn. 64) and was
conveyed by Uriah and Anne Babington in 1596
to Arthur, later Sir Arthur, Atye, (fn. 65) who held the
manor, 3 houses, with gardens and barns, and
331 a. in Ealing at his death in 1605. (fn. 66) Atye's son
Robert was succeeded in 1612 by his daughter
Eleanor, a minor. (fn. 67) The manor was held by
Richard Lee of Kingston from 1620 or earlier
until 1663, (fn. 68) when he left it to Thomas and
Margaret Edwards. It descended to Thomas
Edwards (1699-1757), critic, whose nephew sold
it to King Gould (d. 1756). Charles Gould
(1726-1806), Judge Advocate General and from
1792 Sir Charles Morgan, Bt., sold it and Botelers
farm to Thomas Gurnell, who settled it in 1780
on his son Jonathan and prospective daughterin-law Susannah Swinden, (fn. 69) whose second
husband was Admiral Peyton. Her daughter
Mary Anne, wife of Henry Armstrong, held 429
a. until her death in 1858. (fn. 70) In 1862 the estate
belonged to C. P. Millard. (fn. 71)
The manor house, usually called Pitshanger
farmhouse, stood near the centre of the modern
Meadvale Road. A plain house of brick and tile, it
was demolished in 1908. (fn. 72) The so-called Pitzhanger Manor House, Ealing Green, in 1979 the
public library, stands on former copyhold land of
Ealing manor. (fn. 73) The latter house, consisting of a
three-storeyed central block with two-storeyed
wings, was built c. 1770 for Thomas Gurnell by
George Dance the younger and sold in 1799 by
Susannah Peyton to John, later Sir John, Soane
(1753-1837), architect, who largely rebuilt it in
1801-2. It belonged to Eric Mackay, Lord Reay
(d. 1847), from 1832 (fn. 74) and was inhabited by the
daughter of Spencer Perceval from 1844 until
1900, (fn. 75) when it was sold to Ealing U.D.C. Soane
retained only the south wing of Dance's house,
rebuilding the central block and replacing the
north wing by sham ruins. Although modest in
size, his villa is designed on a grandiose scale.
The centre block, of Portland stone and brick, is
of three bays and two storeys, fronted by
monumental Ionic pillars topped by statues of
Coade stone. (fn. 76) The house was adapted as a
library by extending Dance's wing westward,
and by additions on the north side which were
replaced by the modern wing in 1938. (fn. 77)
The manor of BOSTON, BURSTON, or
BORDESTON was conterminous with the
township of New Brentford. In 1157 the abbot of
Westminster held 3 hides in Brentford, Hanwell,
and nearby. (fn. 78) By 1179 the vill had been subinfeudated to Ralph Brito, (fn. 79) whose son Robert
had granted it by 1194 to Geoffrey Blund. (fn. 80) After
1216 he granted a quitrent from it to his son-inlaw Henry, son of Rainier, who later held Boston.
By 1294 it was held by the prioress of St. Helen's,
Bishopsgate, as tenant of Westminster, which
claimed Boston as part of its liberty (fn. 81) and was
sued by the nuns for distraining the plough
animals of their tenants. (fn. 82) In 1535 the sacrist of
Westminster still received an annual rent from
Brentford. (fn. 83) The lordship was retained by the
priory until its surrender in 1538, when Boston
passed to the Crown and became part of the new
honor of Hampton Court. (fn. 84) The manor had been
leased for 80 years in 1534 to John Rollesley,
presumably a kinsman of the prioress Mary
Rollesley. His lease was confirmed in 1542 (fn. 85) and
the residue of his term was granted to Jerome
Hawley, a clerk of the Petty Bag, in 1567. (fn. 86)
Boston was granted in 1547 to Edward
Seymour, duke of Somerset, but reverted to the
Crown on his forfeiture and was granted in 1572
to Robert Dudley, earl of Leicester, who immediately conveyed it to Sir Thomas Gresham
(1519?-79), founder of the Royal Exchange and
lord of Osterley. On Gresham's death Boston was
held in turn by his widow Anne (d. 1596) and Sir
William Reade (d. 1621), her son by a former
husband. In 1606 Reade settled it on his bride
Mary Goldsmith, (fn. 87) who later married Sir Edward
Spencer of Althorp (Northants.), a Royalist
during the Civil War. (fn. 88) Having bought out the
claims of Reade's heirs, (fn. 89) Mary left Boston in
1658 to her kinsman John Goldsmith (d. 1670), (fn. 90)
whose trustee sold it in 1670 to James Clitherow
(d. 1682). Boston descended in the Clitherow
family until 1923, when the estate was sold by the
trustees of the late Col. E. J. Stracey-Clitherow.
Most of the land was built over, but Brentford
U.D. bought Boston House and 20 a. as a park,
opened in 1924. (fn. 91)
The Boston demesne consisted of 230 a. in
1712, (fn. 92) and the lords also held copyhold land in
Ealing between Boston Manor and Windmill
roads, amounting to 62 a. in 1659 and 80 a. in
1840. (fn. 93) Ralph Brito lived in a house by St.
Lawrence's church, (fn. 94) but the site of a manor
house mentioned in 1377 and 1584 was not
recorded. (fn. 95) The existing Boston House in Boston
Manor Road was erected by Mary Reade in
1622-3 in a curve of the river Brent and, after a
fire, was extensively repaired by James Clitherow
c. 1671. (fn. 96) A three-storeyed red-brick house, with
three gables on the longer sides and two on the
shorter, it has a large Jacobean stone porch and
contains three ornate plaster ceilings and an
elaborate fireplace. (fn. 97) It also contained a collection of paintings, dispersed in 1922. (fn. 98) The house
was restored in 1960 and since 1963 has been
leased to the National Institute of Housework. (fn. 99)