MELCHBOURNE
Melceburne (xi cent.).
Melchbourne, a parish of 2,637½ acres, lies 12 miles
north of Bedford. It is well wooded in the south,
there being some 300 acres of woods and plantations;
the remaining area is arable land and permanent grass
in almost equal proportions. (fn. 1) The soil is strong clay,
and the chief crops produced are wheat, beans and
peas. Melchbourne village, once a place of some
importance, lies in a cul-de-sac leading from the road
that runs between Knotting and Dean. It is very
small, consisting of a few ancient stone and thatched
cottages grouped round the church, with one or two
larger houses. The Cottage, now unoccupied, stands
in well-wooded grounds, and was formerly the dower
house of the St. John family. (fn. 2) The vicarage, a
modern building, is opposite. About half a mile
east of the village is Woodleys, the residence of
Mr. Townley, also a modern house, with wood mills
adjacent.
There was at one time in Melchbourne a preceptory of the Knights of Jerusalem. Its site can still
be traced to the south of the Cottage, and it is thus
described by Leland, writing in the 16th century:—
'Here is a right fair place of square stone standing
much upon pillared vaulte of stone, and there be
goodly gardens orchards and ponds and a parke
thereby.' (fn. 3) The Knights Hospitallers had the right to
hold a weekly market on Friday, and an annual fair on
the vigil, feast and morrow of St. Mary Magdalene. (fn. 4)
The site of the old market cross is at the junction of
the lane from the village with the road to Knotting.
Melchbourne is the seat of Lord St. John of
Bletsoe, whose house stands in a fine park of 400 acres,
of which the grounds are well wooded and include
two ornamental lakes. Melchbourne House was
originally built by Sir William Weston, the last Prior
of the Hospitallers. (fn. 5) The present house, built on the
remains of the earlier one, is a large red-and-yellow
brick building with stone dressings; the lead rainwater heads are dated 1741. The interior presents
no special features; the principal staircase is of stone,
with light iron balustrade, and has a domed plaster
ceiling.
Place-names (still in use) in the parish are:—
Penn Wood, Wimsells, Three Cornered Wimsells.
Melchbourne can boast that John Warren, the
rector of the parish in 1643, was one of the ten
Bedfordshire clergymen who refused to sign the
Solemn League and Covenant, preferring to suffer
ejection. (fn. 6)
MANOR
The Bishop of Coutances held MELCHBOURNE MANOR in 1086. It was
then assessed at 10 hides, and was worth
£8. In the time of the Confessor, Burret held it,
when there were six sokemen there. (fn. 7) After the death
of the Bishop of Coutances his property reverted to
the Crown. It passed some time in the 12th century
to Alicia de Clermont, who gave the manor and church
of Melchbourne to the Knights of St. John of Jerusalem. (fn. 8) In 1199 the manor was confirmed by King John (fn. 9)
to the Hospitallers, in whose hands it remained until
the Dissolution. (fn. 10) Edward VI in 1549 granted
Melchbourne Manor to the Earl of Bedford. (fn. 11) Dugdale states that on the refounding of the Order of
St. John of Jerusalem, in Mary's reign, this manor
again formed part of the endowment. (fn. 12) However
this may be, the Earls of Bedford continued to hold
Melchbourne (fn. 13) until 1608, when Edward Earl of
Bedford conveyed it to Oliver St. John. (fn. 14) The manor
has remained in the hands of the St. John family
down to the present day, (fn. 15) Lord St. John of Bletsoe
being the present lord of the
manor.
In 1338 the Knights Hospitallers owned in Melchbourne 633 acres of arable
land, 60½ acres of meadow,
several pasture worth 40s. and
common pasture worth 20s.
They had two windmills
worth 40s. and a dovecote
worth the rather unusually
high amount of 10s. There
were 26 customary tenants on
the land. The total profits
and rents of the manor amounted to £79 9s. 0½d. (fn. 16)
A grant of free warren to the knights by Henry III
was confirmed by Edward I in 1279–80. (fn. 17) In
1292–3 a licence that sounds curiously modern
was given to the prior—namely, to lay an underground conduit for water in Melchbourne, and to take
up the road to repair the pipes when necessary. (fn. 18)
In 1345 a certain John le Barkere protested against
the manorial right by which the Prior of the Knights
Hospitallers claimed 3 gallons of beer from everyone
who brewed and sold. John had not given the beer,
and the prior had seized his horse. The protest,
however, was ineffectual, and the prior's right to
distrain in cases of default was confirmed. (fn. 19) Two
windmills are mentioned in the 14th-century extent
of the lands of the Hospitallers. (fn. 20) There were also
two mills in the parish in 1594. (fn. 21) Courts leet and
baron and a free fishery were parcel of the manor in
1755. (fn. 22)
The Hospitallers. Gules a cross argent.
CHURCH
The church of ST. MARY MAGDALEN consists of a chancel, nave, north
and south aisles and west tower. With
the exception of part of the tower, it was rebuilt
in 1779 in classic style. The windows have round
heads and plain unmoulded architraves, and the
columns and arcades of the nave are in the Roman
Doric style, as is also the south porch. The belfry
windows of the tower are the only signs of the former
Gothic church, and of these there are two on each
side, each consisting of two lights with tracery under a
pointed head. In the south aisle is a brass inscription
to Richard Paveley, who died 1377, and Joan his wife.
There are four bells: the first by Islip Edmunds,
London, 1764; the second by Thomas Russell, 1716;
the third of 1626, inscribed 'Non verbo sed voce
resonabo domini laudes'; and tenor, inscribed 'Feare
God & obey the Prince 1601,' bearing a shield with
three bells.
The plate was presented in 1788 by Emma Maria
Elizabeth, Lady St. John, and consists of a silver-gilt
flagon, bowl, two plates and a cup with a paten lid.
The registers previous to 1812 are in three books.
The first has baptisms and burials 1706 to 1790
and marriages 1706 to 1754; the second marriages
1755 to 1812; and the third baptisms and burials
1790 to 1812.
ADVOWSON
The church of Melchbourne was
given with the manor to the Hospital
of St. John of Jerusalem by Alice
de Clermont. (fn. 23) In 1176 Bartholomew Bishop of
Exeter, arbitrating in virtue of a mandate of Alexander III in a dispute between the Hospitallers and
the convent of Thorney, decided that the former
should retain Melchbourne Church, paying, however,
a rent of 10s. to the prior and convent. (fn. 24) From that
time the right of patronage has followed the same
descent as the manor. In 1329 the prior and brethren
made fine to the king for having obtained land in
Riseley without licence for the maintenance of 'the
chaplain who celebrates divine service daily in the
chapel of Melchebourne.' (fn. 25) Licence for the appropriation in mortmain of the church of Melchbourne
was obtained by the prior in 1378. (fn. 26) The value of
the rectory in 1535 was £5 10s. 6d. (fn. 27) The present
patron is Lord St. John of Bletsoe.