COLMWORTH
Colmeworde (xi cent.); Comond, Colmorde
(xiii cent.); Colnworth (xiv cent.); Colmorthe
(xvi cent.).
The parish of Colmworth, which is situated 7 miles
to the north-east of Bedford, has an extent of 2,223
acres, of which 1,004¾ acres are arable land, 823¾
acres grass and 32½ acres woods and plantations. (fn. 1)
The soil of the parish is clay, formerly worked to
the south-west of Nethersted in the old brick-field,
which is still to be seen. The chief crops are wheat,
barley, oats and beans.
The village stands on high ground 231 ft. above
the ordnance datum in the north-east district of the
parish. It is divided into four parts, namely,
Rootham's Green in the south, Chapel End, where
there is a Primitive Methodist chapel built in
1866, Church End, and to the north of these the
City, a nearly houseless locality. The church of
St. Denis is situated in Church End. The old
cottages, which are built of brick (in some cases
plastered or washed over with a thick yellow-coloured distemper) and roofed with either tiles or
thatch, lie chiefly to the north of the church. On
a mound to the south-west opposite the church
stands the Manor Farm, which, although not old in
itself, has traces of a moat round it. In the farmyard
is a square half-timbered pigeon-house plastered over
on the outside and having a tile roof. As is usually
the case, the roof is partly hipped but not carried to
an apex, having instead a small ridge, at either end
of which is a small triangular gable.
A windmill used to stand in the east of the parish,
but is now destroyed.
The hamlet of Channel's End, and a smaller
group of cottages called Duck's Cross, are the only
other portions of the parish, with the exception of
three isolated farms, that are populated.
In a dell to the north-east of the old brick-field
above-mentioned is a moated ruin called Nethersted.
This is on the extreme border of the parish of
Roxton; it is likely, therefore, that it is the remains
of the manor-house of Netherbury.
The following early place-names have been found
in Colmworth (fn. 2) :—Alwinesher, Bruneshamestalle,
Cutossil, Erchebruge, Guthmundescrochet, Hayil
and le Ruding (xiii cent.); Bowelles, le Denlond,
Paynesende (fn. 3) (xiv cent.).
MANORS
In 1086 the COLMWORTH MANOR
was held by Hugh de Beauchamp, (fn. 4) and
the overlordship remained with the
barony of Bedford (q.v.). (fn. 5) In 1265 it passed to
Ela de Beauchamp, co-heir of John, the last feudal
baron, and followed the same descent as that portion
of the barony (q.v.), the last mention of it being found
in 1515. (fn. 6)
Colmworth in 1086 was a 10-hide manor, which
was divided into two parts: 5 hides were held by
Hugh de Beauchamp himself, and were called by the
name of Chainhalle, which has been identified with
Channel's End. (fn. 7) It was held in the time of King
Edward by Aschil, a king's thegn. (fn. 8) No further
mention of it is found as distinct from the other part
of the manor, which was also 5 hides, and was held
in 1086 by Wimund de Taissel, (fn. 9) and in the time of
the Confessor by the same Aschil. (fn. 10) Subsequent
references to the manor of Colmworth, therefore, refer
to both parts of the original manor, which appear to
have coalesced early.
The manor which Wimund de Taissel held in
1086 was possibly held by a descendant, for a
certain 'Roger son of Wimund' held lands in Bedfordshire in 1167. (fn. 11) Early in the next century
Robert de Taisso was witness to a grant of land in
Colmworth, (fn. 12) so that it is possible that the Oyldebœufs, who are the next family to hold the property,
acquired it from Robert. William Oyldebœuf alienated
lands in this parish to Walter, another member of his
family, in 1218–19. (fn. 13) Ralf brother of William de
Oyldebœuf was in possession in 1261. (fn. 14) In 1275–6
Richard de Oyldebœuf was a large landowner in
Colmworth, (fn. 15) who was accused at this date of obstructing a road called Smithewell streete in this vill.
About this time the manor again became divided into
two parts. One portion of it went to the Braybrookes
and the other to the Longuevilles, members of these
two families marrying in all probability two daughters
of Walter de Oyldebœuf. (fn. 16) Sir John Braybrooke and
Joan his wife, 'the heirs of the Weldebœufs,' held a
moiety of the Colmworth property in 1283. (fn. 17) Joan,
seised of the property in 1302, (fn. 18) left it to her son
Gerard de Braybrooke, (fn. 19) who held Colmworth vill in
1316, together with Peter de Saltmers, (fn. 20) who represented the Longueville moiety. By 1324 Gerard's son
and namesake had inherited the property (fn. 21) and was
holding the manor in 1330–1, (fn. 22) and received a grant
of free warren in 1333. (fn. 23) This Gerard ('son of
Gerard') was still holding in 1346 (fn. 24) and 1350, (fn. 25) but
in the same year Sir Gerard de Braybrooke, his son,
had inherited the moiety of the manor. (fn. 26) The lastnamed Sir Gerard died in 1359, (fn. 27) when his wife
Mabel received the issues from the family property. (fn. 28)
It was at his death that the other portion of the
Oyldebœufs' manor became joined again to the Braybrooke property by the marriage of Margaret daughter
and heir of John de Longueville and Margaret, the
other daughter of Walter de Oyldeœuf, with his son
and heir Gerard de Braybrooke. (fn. 29) The latter's son
inherited Colmworth Manor, (fn. 30) but died in 1389.
The Braybrookes continued to hold this property until
the death of Gerard Braybrooke in 1422, (fn. 31) when it
passed to Elizabeth, his daughter and co-heir, who
had married Sir William Beauchamp some time
previous to 1426. (fn. 32) Sir William was created Lord
St. Amand in 1448 in right
of his wife, who was granddaughter of Almaric Lord St.
Amand, and both were seised
of the manor in 1429 (fn. 33) and
1437–8. (fn. 34) He died in
1457, (fn. 35) and his wife Elizabeth married for her second
husband Sir Roger Tocotes, (fn. 36)
who died seised of the manor
in 1492. The manor with
the advowson at this time was
valued at 40 marks. Elizabeth died in 1491, when the
manor passed to her son
Richard Beauchamp Lord St. Amand, (fn. 37) who held it
till his death in 1508. (fn. 38) His heir was then
declared to be Thomas Brooke, son and heir of
his cousin John Lord Cobham, and he held the
manor in 1528. (fn. 39) Thomas Brooke died in 1529,
and was succeeded by his son George Lord Cobham, (fn. 40) who held the manor till 1541. (fn. 41) His son
William Lord Cobham in 1565 alienated the manor
to William Tocke or Tooke, (fn. 42) who transferred it
in 1567 to Sir James Dyer, (fn. 43)
Chief Justice of the Court
of Common Pleas. (fn. 44) By
1603 the latter's grandnephew, (fn. 45) Sir Richard Dyer,
a gentleman of the Privy
Chamber to James I, had
inherited the property, (fn. 46) and
upon his death two years
later (fn. 47) his son, Sir William,
became seised of the manor.
He made a settlement by fine
in 1609 (fn. 48) and died in 1621. (fn. 49)
His heir was his eldest son
Lodowick, (fn. 50) who was created
baronet 8 June 1627 (fn. 51) and made various settlements
in 1653 (fn. 52) and 1659. (fn. 53) By 1667 he had left the
county, having sold his estates to Richard Hillersdon, (fn. 54)
from whom Colmworth passed to Thomas Hillersdon,
who in 1678 was seised of the manor, (fn. 55) and died in
the following year, (fn. 56) when his son William, who was
sheriff for Bedfordshire in 1700, (fn. 57) succeeded him.
In 1725 the manor passed by the marriage of Elizabeth Hillersdon to Dennis Farrer (fn. 58) to the latter's
family. Dennis Farrer, son of Dennis and Elizabeth
Farrer, in 1741 alienated Colmworth Manor by fine
to Francis Astry, D.D. (fn. 59) The family of Astry came
into Bedfordshire in the early 16th century, Dr. Francis
Astry being the last male representative of his line. (fn. 60)
He was in possession in 1743, (fn. 61) and in 1758, together
with Richard Ray, senior, and Richard Ray, junior, he
made a settlement of the Colmworth Manor. According to Lysons the Rays held the manor till 1797,
when it was purchased by the Rev. Leonard Towne. (fn. 62)
In 1834 the trustees of Sarah Eliza Norris, widow,
who was possibly a daughter of Mr. Towne, were
lords of the manor under the latter's will. (fn. 63) By 1847
Mrs. Norris was lady of the manor in her own right,
and still held it in 1854. The lordship of the manor
remains in her family to the present day.
Beauchamp, Lord St. Amand. Gules a fesse between six martlets or in a border argent.
Dyer Sable three goats passant argent with their horns or.
Mention occurs of a COLMWORTH MANOR
held of the Beauchamps of St. Amand in the 15th
century. It was held in 1487 by Agnes Paston, (fn. 64) and
passed to George the son of John Harvey, her first
husband. (fn. 65) The only other mention that we have of
this 'manor' is in 1554, when it was in the possession
of Gerard Harvey. (fn. 66)
A messuage, held by the family of Cham, who were
related to the Oyldebœufs, (fn. 67) has a clear descent for
nearly 100 years in the early history of Colmworth.
In 1218–19 Robert le Cham quitclaimed to Simon
le Cham lands in this parish. (fn. 68) This grant may have
been a portion of the family lands in Colmworth.
Simon le Cham granted land to St. Neots for the
upkeep of a light before the body of St. Neot—a
grant which was made also by Odo, another member
of the family, and his daughter Sabina. (fn. 69) In 1240
we find Simon's lands to be the property of Reginald
le Cham, (fn. 70) and fifty years later they were in the hands
of John Cham. (fn. 71) Between 1290 and 1301 Richard
Cham held it, (fn. 72) in which year it was the property
of Simon his son. (fn. 73) The history of this property is
lost after this date.
Bushmead Priory held lands in Colmworth from
the 13th century. In 1240–1 the prior acquired
lands by fine in this parish, (fn. 74) which were granted to
Sir William Gascoigne in 1537–8. (fn. 75) Previous to its
dissolution the priory owed 5d. rent to Lord Cobham
for land in Colmworth (fn. 76) and 20d. to the Abbot of
Thorney. The latter sum must have been for 120 acres
of land and 2 acres of meadow which appear in 1330
as belonging to Nicholas de Eton, held partly of
Gerard de Braybrooke and partly of the Abbot of
Thorney by service of 5s. a year. (fn. 77)
CHURCH
The church of ST. DENIS consists
of a chancel 30½ ft. long by 18 ft. 3 in.,
north vestry 12½ ft. by 9 ft., a nave
54 ft. by 24 ft., and a west tower 12 ft. 7 in. by
12 ft. 3 in.
It is all of one date and design, the only variation
being that the chancel is built of cobble stones, while
the nave, tower and south porch are faced with
freestone. The date is c. 1430, and, though small,
it is of a scale and dignity rarely to be seen in a
country church. The details are very simple. The
east window has a depressed two-centred arch, under
which are five cinquefoiled lights with tracery, and
on each side of it are buttresses. The other windows
in the church are all of one type, of three cinquefoiled lights with tracery, and a label with a deep
double chamfered reveal; there are three in the
chancel, one in the north wall and two in the south.
In the north wall is a doorway to the vestry with
a four-centred head and label and in the south
wall a priest's doorway; the piscina has a restored
cinquefoiled head, under which are two drains, a quite
exceptional number for the date, and perhaps older
work re-used. The sill of the south-east window is
carried down to serve as a seat.
The chancel roof is of simple character, and,
though restored, contains a good deal of old timber.
The tall and narrow chancel arch is in two
orders, the outer hollow, the inner plain chamfered,
and the latter rests on a moulded capital.
The nave has on the north and south three
pointed windows like those of the chancel, and the
north and south doors are of two continuous hollow-chamfered orders, separated by a casement.
In the north-east angle of the nave is the roodloft staircase, of which both doors remain, and
higher still is a third doorway, partly blocked by the
roof. On the south of the chancel arch is a trefoiled squint, whilst near it in the south wall is a
trefoiled piscina.
The roof, which is modern, retains the foliate
bosses, carved braces and figures of the 15th-century
roof. The figures under the braces, ten in all, are
generally difficult to identify, having lost their
emblems, and on the middle of each bay are
figures of angels wearing mantles over their folded
wings, and holding shields with emblems of the
Passion.
The porch is embattled, and was intended to be
vaulted, but only the northern springers were ever
built, the idea being given up, and the porch finished
with a wooden roof only. It is high, but there is
no sign of the existence of a parvise; in the east and
west walls are two-light pointed windows with
tracery in the heads.
The vestry has an east window of two cinquefoiled lights, and in the south wall is a piscina with
a locker above it and two squints, now blocked by
the monument of Sir William Dyer.
The tower, which opens into the nave by a
tall, narrow arch of three chamfered orders, is in
four stages, with a stair at the north-east, and has a
plinth and an embattled parapet with a cornice and
shields. On these are several simple charges: a
bend, a cheveron, a cross, a saltire engrailed and
a fret, or perhaps six voided lozenges; above the
tower rises an octagonal spire, divided by bands into
three stages, lighted by spire lights. The west
doorway is like those in the nave, and the west
window is also similar to those of the chancel and
nave, but with differently moulded jambs; the third
stage of the tower is lighted on each side by a
pointed window containing a single trefoiled ogee-headed light. On each side of the belfry stage are
two windows of two trefoiled lights with tracery
under a pointed head and label. At the angles are
diagonal buttresses, which terminate a little way
below the parapet.
There is a fine monument in the chancel to the
memory of Sir William Dyer, kt., who died in
1621, at the age of thirty-six, and his wife Catharine,
daughter and co-heir of John Doyley of Merton, Oxfordshire. It was put up in 1641 by his widow and is
of alabaster and black marble, with a canopy having a
central arched panel, containing heraldry flanked by
scrolls carried by three Corinthian columns. Under it
lie, at two levels, the alabaster effigies of Sir William
and his wife, both excellent pieces of sculpture, and
below on the panelled base, between figures of Faith,
Hope and Charity, are four sons and three daughters,
standing, their attitudes very effectively varied, their
treatment and that of the three symbolic figures
being very far removed from the dull, mechanical
journeyman's work so often found at the time. At
Lady Dyer's feet is a figure of Henry, her grandson,
only son of Sir Lodowick Dyer, who died in infancy
22 September 1637. At the back are two large
shields: Dyer quarterly impaling Doyley of twenty-three quarterings, and the Doyley coat. Over the
columns are three shields showing marriages of the
children: Dyer impaling Lozengy argent and gules,
Gery impaling Dyer, and on a lozenge Dyer impaling Doyley.
In the south wall is inserted a Purbeck slab with
the indent of a shield and a copper plate inscribed:
'Hic sub pede jacet Alianora Braybrook quond[am]
ux' Gerardi Braybrook militis et filia ac heres Almarici
de Sancto Amando que obiit in vigilia nat' d[omini]
anno domini M°CCC°LXXX°IX° cuj' a[nimae] [pro]piciet' deus
Amen.'
In the chancel floor is also a slab to the Rev.
Wilfrid Sharpe, rector, 1675. The original wrought-iron scutcheons and drop-handles remain in the
vestry door and the south door of the nave, and in
the north-west window of the chancel is a little
original glass with an archangel and part of a
canopy. There is also part of a canopy in the
north-east window of the nave.
The octagonal font is 15th-century work of
simple design, with plain shields and flowers
alternately under the bowl; the altar table is
Jacobean, fitted with a drawer beneath.
There are four bells: the first two by Richard
Chandler, 1704, the third and fourth by Joseph
Knight, 1635.
The plate is modern.
The registers previous to 1812 are in three books,
of which the first contains baptisms and burials
1735 to 1807, marriages 1735 to 1754; the second
marriages only, 1754 to 1806; and the third all
entries in a printed book up to 1812.
ADVOWSON
From 1276, in which year Isabella de Longueville quitclaimed it
to Gerard Braybrooke, the advowson
of Colmworth follows the descent of the Braybrooke
moiety of Colmworth Manor (q.v.). (fn. 78) In 1290 the
church was valued at £8 13s. 4d., (fn. 79) and the rectory
in 1537 was worth £18 10s. 6d. (fn. 80) In 1605 it was
valued at £18. (fn. 81)
In 1667, however, when Sir Lewis Dyer sold
the manor to Richard Hillersdon, (fn. 82) the advowson
still remained in the Dyer family for another life,
William Dyer, probably a nephew of Sir Lewis, (fn. 83)
holding it in 1675. (fn. 84) Three years later it was
again following the descent of the manor till 1741 (fn. 85)
(q.v.), when it remained in the Hillersdon family,
it being the property of Dennis Farrer Hillersdon
till 1786. (fn. 86) In 1790 the advowson was sold by the
Hillersdons to John Hele (fn. 87) ; but, though Lysons
says that he still held in 1811, (fn. 88) in 1804 William
Bruert presented, (fn. 89) and in 1810 Willmer Mackett
Willett and others. By 1834 the patronage was in
the hands of the Rev. Robert Wade-Gery, (fn. 90) in
whose family it remained till 1868, when it became
the possession of the Rev. Hunter Bird Allen, whose
executors hold the advowson at the present day.
It is of interest to note that the rector of Colmworth in 1412 was Robert Braybrooke, who held
the unusual degree at that period of B.C.L. (fn. 91)
CHARITIES
The Poor and Church Land, the
origin of which is unknown, consists
of 2 a. 2 r. of land and four cottages,
producing £16 a year. The net income, after payment of £3 for church expenses, is applied in the
distribution of coal.
In 1840 the Rev. Robert Hele Selby Hele, by
will proved in the P.C.C. 10 April, bequeathed
£304 1s. 8d. consols, the dividends being applicable
in the maintenance of Sunday school and towards a
day or evening school for poor children. In 1906
the income, amounting to £7 12s., was carried to
the general account of the school. The stock is held
by the official trustees.