MARSTON MORETAINE
Mercstun (x cent.); Merstone (xi cent.); Mershtone (xiv cent.); Merstone Morteyne (xv cent.).
The acreage of this parish is larger than that of
most in Bedfordshire, being 4,290 acres, of which
1,619¼ acres are arable, 2,185½ permanent grass
and 144¼ woods. (fn. 1) The soil and subsoil are clay,
which in the hamlet of Caulcott is employed in the
manufacture of bricks.
The greater part of the parish is well below 200 ft.
and in the extreme east barely rises above 130 ft.
The village of Marston is placed on level ground 136 ft.
above ordnance datum, but in the north-west the
land rises considerably to a ridge over 340 ft. on
which are Pinchgut Farm and Riddises Spinney.
The land is very flat and uninteresting and mostly
given up to pasture, though wheat, barley and beans
are grown. The farms are numerous and often
mark the sites of ancient manors. Among the more
characteristic names are Manor, Moat, Beaucroft,
Marston Park and Hungerhill. The only considerable piece of woodland in the parish is Marston
Thrift, about 12 acres in extent, in the north-west.
The country is watered by a small tributary of the
River Ouse, but the water supply for drinking purposes is a difficult problem. With the exception of
the rectory and Moat Farm belonging to the Duke of
Bedford, which draw a good and plentiful supply
from a spring rising in Lidlington, it is obtained from
surface wells.
The population is scattered, only a small portion
residing in Marston Moretaine itself, the rest being
distributed among the various hamlets. Of these,
Caulcott with its brick kilns, Lower Shelton with its
Methodist chapel, Upper Shelton and part of Wootton
Green lie to the north. On the west are Roxhill and
Wood End, while eastward near Millbrook station on
the Bedford branch of the London and North-Western
railway, which runs through this parish, is the small
group of houses called Marston Pillinge. In the
extreme south of the parish is Heydon Hill, used as a
rifle butt, the range being 800 yds. long.
The Moat Farm, Marston Moretaine
Marston itself is a small modern village, in which
the principal buildings are the church, schools,
Baptist and Wesleyan chapels. It is situated north
of the church along the road from Kempston to
Husborne Crawley. The disturbed state of the
ground to the south of the church suggests the site of
the former village, a theory supported by the fact
that the painting of St. Christopher on the wall of
the north aisle could only be seen immediately upon
entering the church through the south porch, then no
doubt the principal entrance. The churchyard was
enlarged by 25 p. in 1873, and again in 1899 by
2 r. 20 p., which included the site of a moated farm-house to the west of the church. The rectory stands
to the north-west of the church and is of no great
interest, but in the well-wooded grounds are a large
granary and a square pigeon-house, both built of
brick and having tile roofs. Opposite the rectory
grounds on the west side of the Husborne Crawley
road is the ancient manor-house, built of half-timber
and brickwork, entirely surrounded by a deep moat
still holding plenty of water. Accurate measurements
show that this moat is 250 ft. on two sides by 300 ft.
on the other two, the width of the trench, which is
crossed by a foot-bridge, being between 50 ft. and
60 ft. Only the west front of the manor-house,
which is a beautiful specimen of early 16th-century
work, remains. The building was carefully and
substantially restored and the interior modernized
by the Duke of Bedford in 1880, when it was converted into the farm-house of the Moat Farm. This
manor-house had been the residence of the Snagge
family from 1562 to 1712, when Edward Snagge,
lord of the manor, moved to a larger house which
he built on higher ground a mile to the south-west.
This latter house was pulled down by the Duke of
Bedford in 1879. The site may still be traced in a
field on Marston Park Farm.
In a field to the south of the village on the east
side of the Woburn road is a stone connected with a
local tradition of a visit of the Devil. The popular
story is that a former owner of the field in which the
stone is situated was playing at 'jumps,' probably
another name for leap-frog, on the Sabbath, when
the Devil took a leap from the church tower and,
alighting on the stone, jumped with the offending
party into eternity. The incident is perpetuated by
the name of the inn near the stone, which is called
'The Jumps.'
A lace class was started here about eighteen months
ago, and is now held in the school after school
hours.
Part of the parish was inclosed in 1796. (fn. 2)
MANORS
A reference in 969 to the boundary
of the men of Marston (Mercstuninga
gemœre) is the first evidence of the
existence of the village. (fn. 3) At the time of the
Domesday Survey the overlordship of MARSTON
MANOR was with Nigel de Albini, (fn. 4) whose family
became the barons of Cainhoe. Thus the overlordship follows the descent of the barony (fn. 5) (q.v.). In
1086 Erfast was holding in Marston a manor of
8 hides and 1 virgate valued at £7. (fn. 6) The next
tenant of the Albini family that can be found is
Robert de Wotton, who held it in 1282–3, together
with his wife Constance. (fn. 7) This Constance appears
to have married for her second husband John de
Morteyn. (fn. 8) In 1284 the same Constance de Morteyn
held one and a half knights' fees in Marston. (fn. 9) By
1308 John de Morteyn was holding the manor, (fn. 10) and
he was still holding eight years later. (fn. 11) Another John,
probably the son of the last, was seised of it in 1328, (fn. 12)
and continued to hold for nearly twenty years. (fn. 13)
In 1350 his son Edmund was lord of Marston. (fn. 14)
In 1366 Sir John de Morteyn had succeeded
to the property, (fn. 15) upon the death of Edmund in that
year. (fn. 16) The manor was at this date worth £20. (fn. 17)
In 1380–1 Sir John died, (fn. 18) leaving his wife Elizabeth
the profits of the manor. (fn. 19) Previous to his death,
however, he had enfeoffed Sir Thomas Reynes, (fn. 20) but
the latter granted the property to Elizabeth for life, (fn. 21)
with remainder to Sir John de Morteyn with reversion in default to Richard Reynes and the heirs male
of his body. John de Morteyn died without issue. (fn. 22)
Richard Reynes died in 1420, (fn. 23) eight years before
Elizabeth de Morteyn. Upon her death, therefore,
Thomas the son of Richard Reynes, who had died in
1420, inherited the property. (fn. 24) He was succeeded
by his son Thomas, (fn. 25) who was lord of Marston in
1451, (fn. 26) and he again by John Reynes, (fn. 27) whose
daughter Elizabeth married Richard Decons. (fn. 28) The
latter died in 1521, (fn. 29) and Thomas his son inherited
the manor and held it till his death in 1550. (fn. 30) The
manor was then inherited by his son and namesake,
who died ten years later. (fn. 31) By the marriage of
Elizabeth co-heir of Thomas Decons with Thomas
Snagge in 1562 (fn. 32) the property passed into the hands
of the latter's family. (fn. 33) He died seised of it in 1594, (fn. 34)
when his son Sir Thomas inherited the property. (fn. 35)
The latter was M.P. for Bedfordshire in 1586 and
sheriff of the county in 1607. (fn. 36) Sir Thomas held
the manor for thirty-two years, (fn. 37) and on his death in
1626 (fn. 38) it passed to his eldest son Thomas, who died
in 1642. (fn. 39) The latter's eldest son Thomas was then
seised of the manor till 1675. (fn. 40) He was the second
member of the family to be made sheriff of the
county, a post which he held in 1665. (fn. 41) He died in
1675, (fn. 42) and his sons Thomas and Edward successively
inherited. (fn. 43) The latter was succeeded by his only
son Edward in 1715, (fn. 44) who suffered a recovery of
the manor in 1723, (fn. 45) and made good his claim to it in
1737. (fn. 46) He died two years later. (fn. 47) His father had been
Sheriff of Bedfordshire in 1705 and his grandfather
in 1678. (fn. 48) Lysons says that at about this date the
Snagges sold to Sarah Duchess of Marlborough, and
that she left the property to her grandson the Hon.
John Spencer. (fn. 49) The statement is confirmed by the
fact that John, who had become Earl Spencer,
suffered a recovery of the manor in 1779. (fn. 50) The
Spencers continued to hold till 1811, (fn. 51) after which
the manor passed to the Alington family, being
bought from Mr. Julius Alington of Little Barford
in 1873 by the Duke of Bedford. (fn. 52)
Morteyn. Ermine a chief indented gules.
Reynes. Checky or and gules a quarter ermine.
Decons. Or a cheveron gules fretty or between three roses azure with stalks and leaves vert.
Snagge. Argent three pheons sable.
A second property within this parish is that of
WROXHILL or ROXHILL MANOR. In 1086 it
was held of Walter Giffard as 2 hides less half a
virgate, (fn. 53) and the overlordship passed to the Earls of
Oxford (heirs of the Bolebecs) some time in the
14th century, of whom it continued to be held as of
their manor of Whitchurch (co. Bucks.) till the
16th century. (fn. 54)
From a later document it can be seen that the
manor which Hugh de Bolebec held in 1086 (fn. 55) was
ultimately held by three families. (fn. 56) The first of these
appears in 1202–3, when Nigel de Merston was seised
of 1 virgate of land in Marston. (fn. 57) John de Merston
held in 1212–13, (fn. 58) Ralf in 1231–2, (fn. 59) and Richard
his son in 1305–6. (fn. 60) The property was next held by
John de Merston in 1310–11, (fn. 61) and one of the same
name was still seised of it in 1346. (fn. 62)
From 1286 onwards a second interest is found in
this estate. At that date Matilda wife of Richard
de Argentein alienated by fine one quarter of a
knight's fee to John Harmer. (fn. 63) In 1306 John son
of John Harmer owned rents and lands in this
parish, (fn. 64) and in 1346 one of the same name was
holding by knight's service in Wroxhill together with
John de Merston (whose descent has been traced
above), Isabel Weedon (whose family had owned in
Wroxhill certainly since 1233 (fn. 65) ) and Bernard de
Willy, whose name is here mentioned for the first
time. (fn. 66) This fee was in the possession of Bernard
Saunderton in 1428, (fn. 67) who was succeeded by William
Saunderton, who held Wroxhill Manor, here definitely
so called, in 1459. (fn. 68) Before the end of the century
Sir John Catesby was seised of the manor, (fn. 69) and was
succeeded by his son Sir Humphrey Catesby, who
died in 1504. (fn. 70) The manor at this time was worth
more than 10 marks. (fn. 71) Sir Humphrey's younger son
Thomas inherited this manor under his father's will,
but he died in 1530 without male heirs, (fn. 72) and it
passed to Anthony Catesby his elder brother. (fn. 73)
Thomas Catesby was in possession in 1573, (fn. 74) and held
it till his death in 1592, when George his son and
heir inherited the property. (fn. 75) George and Bridget
his wife with Clifton Catesby, doubtless their son,
were holding the manor in 1636, (fn. 76) but about this
time the Catesbys sold their
estates and left the county. (fn. 77)
It is probable that they sold
them to the Playdells. William
Playdell held the manor in
1652, (fn. 78) being described in the
parish books of the time as
'a Londiner.' (fn. 79) By 1728 the
manor had come into the
possession of the family of
Reddall. In this year
Thomas Reddall was seised of
it, (fn. 80) and in 1751 it had passed
to Ambrose Reddall. (fn. 81) By
1800 James Bayly owned the
manor, (fn. 82) and it was still his property ten years later. (fn. 83)
Roxhill Farm is the only trace of its existence at the
present time, and is in the tenancy of Mathew
Folwell Bliss.
Catesby. Argent two leopards sable with golden crowns.
Another manor within this parish is that of
PILLAGE or PELING. The first mention of it
found is in 1443, when it belonged to Sir John
Cornwall, (fn. 84) who owned Milbrook Manor (q.v.), and
followed the same descent until
the death of Sir Henry Grey
in 1562. (fn. 85) Two years afterwards it passed to Sir Robert
Dudley, (fn. 86) to whom it was
probably sold. (fn. 87) Then for a
period of one hundred years
(1568–1669) the family of
Saunders were seised of the
manor, John holding it in
1568, (fn. 88) Richard in 1635 (fn. 89)
and Sir John his son in
1669. (fn. 90) About this time the
family sold their estates, (fn. 91)
probably to Nathaniel
Ryder, into whose possession
a moiety of the manor had
come by 1701, (fn. 92) and who then conveyed it to
Robert Avenay. (fn. 93) The latter held it in the next
year, (fn. 94) and conveyed it to Michael Arnold, who held
it till 1704. (fn. 95) By 1769 the whole manor had come
into the possession of John Fitz Patrick Earl of
Upper Ossory (in the peerage of Ireland), (fn. 96) who was
M.P. for Bedfordshire in 1767 and afterwards created
Baron Upper Ossory of Ampthill (in the peerage of
the United Kingdom). (fn. 97) The manor appears to have
passed to Lord Ashburnham, from whose devisees it
was purchased in 1843 by the Duke of Bedford, who
holds it at the present time. (fn. 98)
Saunders. Party cheveronwise argent and sable with three elephants' heads razed and countercoloured.
The manor of NETHER SHELTON in this parish
was held in 1562 by Sir Thomas Cheyney. (fn. 99) He
was succeeded in that year by Henry his son and
heir, (fn. 100) who suffered a recovery of it in 1563. (fn. 101) In
that year the manor was conveyed to William Clarke, (fn. 102)
who in 1565 conveyed it to William Bourne. (fn. 103)
John Bourne alienated the manor in 1595 to John
Mathers, (fn. 104) who still held it in 1605. (fn. 105) By 1608 it
was the property of Thomas Barbor alias Grigge, (fn. 106)
who still continued to hold it in 1622. (fn. 107) Within the
next fifty years the Griggs had left the county, (fn. 108) and
by 1743 William Pryor had become seised of the
manor. In this year he conveyed it to Robert
Crichton for £560. (fn. 109) In 1792 it was the property
of John Foster, (fn. 110) who still held it in 1811. (fn. 111)
The manor of MARSTON or MANGEHOO in
this parish appears in the 16th century in the family
of Dyve, (fn. 112) who held it as of the manor of Marston
Moretaine. John Dyve died seised of it in 1537–8, (fn. 113)
and the family continued to hold (fn. 114) until Lewis Dyve
transferred it to Robert Odell in 1553 (fn. 115) in exchange
for Bromham Manor, and five years later Thomas
Odell was in possession. (fn. 116) By 1569, however, it had
been transferred to Henry Edward, (fn. 117) who still held
it in 1588. (fn. 118) In 1613 he died, and his son Henry
inherited it. (fn. 119) There were at this time in the manor
three closes besides one which was called Ashelden
Close and had an area of 20 acres. The former three
closes were held of Thomas Grigge as of his manor
of Shelton in Marston Moretaine, and were worth
20s. per annum. Ashelden Close, which was composed of three smaller closes, was parcel of the manor
of Shelton, and held of the king as of his manor of
East Greenwich, with a value of 3s. 4d. per annum. (fn. 120)
By the middle of the 17th century Mangehoo had
become divided amongst six co-heirs, of whom Thomas
Dier or Devotion held one share, (fn. 121) John Pryor
another (fn. 122) and Thomas Bird another. (fn. 123) In 1657
Alice Rogers was seised of another of such parts. (fn. 124)
Two years later, however, she had acquired the
inheritance of Thomas Bird, (fn. 125) and although she had
not become possessed of the property of all the other
four co-heirs, (fn. 126) yet in this year, 1659, she made good
her claim to the whole manor of Mangehoo. (fn. 127) Nothing
further can be found relating to the history of this
manor after 1782, in which year John Pemberton
suffered a recovery of it. (fn. 128)
Yet another manor is found within this parish,
that of BEANCROFT or BAYNCROFT. There
are only two documents from which material for its
descent can be derived, and both of these are dated
in the 17th century. In 1631 William Gostwick, a
younger son of Sir William Gostwick (fn. 129) (who had held
lands in Marston Moretaine in 1595 (fn. 130) ), inherited
the manor, (fn. 131) and still held it twenty years later. (fn. 132)
Beancrofte Farm, which at the present day marks
the site of this manor, is in the tenancy of James
Cook. Traces of the old manor-house exist in the
large moat which surrounds the present building.
The family of Morteyn acquired early the right of
free warren (fn. 133) (1293), and at the beginning of the
next century (1324) they were granted a special
right of holding a market every Tuesday, besides a
yearly fair which was to be held on the vigil, feast
and morrow of the Nativity of St. Mary, (fn. 134) to whom
the parish church is dedicated. There is no trace,
however, of these markets or fairs in this parish
subsequent to the 14th century.
CHURCH
The church of ST. MARY THE
VIRGIN consists of a chancel 37 ft. 2 in.
by 19 ft. 9 in., with north vestry and
south chapel, a nave 64½ ft. by 19½ ft., north aisle
9 ft. 9 in. wide, south aisle 8 ft. 4 in. wide and a
detached tower 15½ ft. square, situated about 70 ft.
away from the north wall of the chancel.
The chancel, vestry and tower date from c. 1340,
but all the rest of the church was rebuilt in the
15th century and the chancel remodelled. This
work was begun by Thomas Reynes, who died in
1451, and continued after his death, the last work
being the north porch, which is an addition not
intended in the original design. The evidence
shows that the south porch was at first the principal
entrance, the old village lying to the south of the
church; but the site of the village having been moved
to the north, as it is at present, the north doorway
became the most used entrance, and a porch was
therefore added to it.
The chancel is built of ironstone rubble with an
embattled parapet and plinth; the walls are of the
14th century, but the east window and all the others
except one on the north belong to the 15th-century
remodelling. The east window has five cinquefoiled
lights, and on its external labels are shields, one bearing a cheveron between three swans, the other checky,
impaling a cheveron between three leopards' heads.
In the north wall, west of the vestry, are two
windows, the first of two lights, part of the 14th-century work, and the other a three-light 15th-century window. The north doorway is of
14th-century date, of two continuous pointed
moulded orders. On the south of the chancel are
two three-light 15th-century windows, and a piscina
recess having a square head over a four-centred arch,
whilst further west are two squints from the south
chapel, and at the south-west a four-centred arch
opening to the chapel. The chancel arch is in two
moulded orders separated by a casement, and springs
from jambs with late 15th-century capitals and
bases; on the north side of the arch is a rood
stair continuing up on to the roof, the doorways
opening towards the nave, on which side also are two
four-centred recesses for the nave altars. On the
gable above is a sanctus bell-cot.
The vestry is an extremely interesting two-story
building, the lower story having a stone rib-vault in
two bays. It has a door to the chancel at the southwest, and to the east of the door a narrow window
giving a view of the altar. In the north wall are a
narrow square-headed window and an arched locker
with a rebate for the door; in the east wall is a
modern two-light window, and near it in the south
wall a piscina. In the south-west angle of the
vestry is a stair turret leading to the upper room,
which has small trefoiled windows on the east and
north, and a fireplace in the north-east angle. On
the south wall are three arched recesses, the responds
between the two eastern ones being cut back, and
in the third is a small rectangular recess with a
round hole in the sill, which is carried down in the
wall through the head of the doorway which opens
to the chancel. In either side of the recess are holes
for the end of a beam, to which a wheel or pulley
was doubtless fastened, for raising and lowering something in the hole. It is a most curious and interesting feature. The chimney shaft of the fireplace is a
modern copy, a very well designed example.
The nave arcades are of five bays, with a narrower
sixth bay at the west, and there are five three-light
clearstory windows on each side. There is a fine
west doorway, now blocked, and over it is a large
five-light window, much restored. The nave roof is
contemporary with the walls, and has remains of
colour in its carved bosses and the figures of angels
at the wall plate.
The north aisle has an east window of three cinquefoiled lights, to the south of which is an image
bracket and, in the south wall, a very small piscina;
the adjacent window in the north wall is similar, and
near it is a recess with traces of colour decoration,
and an inscription on the sill of which 'anno regni
regis Henrici septimi' is still legible, whilst there is
a small moulded image bracket to the east of it. The
recess doubtless held a group of sculpture, perhaps of
alabaster. The north doorway is richly moulded,
with a square head and a four-centred arch, and to
the west of it is a window similar to that in the east
wall; on the east side of the doorway is a four-light
cinquefoiled window with tracery under a square
head and jambs moulded like the others, and in the
west wall is one of the same type but of two lights.
The north porch, which, as already noted, was built
some years later than the aisle and has a plinth of
different section, is finished with an embattled parapet
with crocketed pinnacles and has a three-light east
window.
The windows and doorway of the south aisle are
like those opposite, but on the labels of the doorway
are two shields, the one of Reynes, the other of
Broughton; in the arch spandrels are two more
shields, a cheveron between three leopards' heads
for Frowyke, and three running greyhounds for
Mauleverer. The porch is contemporary with the
aisle. In the south-east angle of the south chapel is
an image corbel, and between the first two windows
of the south aisle are two aumbries and a moulded
image niche, whilst there is another small square
recess to the west of the doorway. There is a sundial
cut on one of the buttresses to the east of the porch.
The tower is a fine massive building, with diagonal
buttresses and a stairway in the thickness of the wall
at the north-west angle; the ground stage has a stone
rib vault with a bellway, and is entered from the west
and lighted by three high-set and narrow windows
with flat sills. In the second stage is a large pointed
opening, unmoulded and without a rebate for a door,
on the south side, looking towards the church, and
perhaps originally reached by an outer stair. There
are three trefoiled windows in this stage, and a wooden
windlass for the bells. The top story is embattled
and has a two-light window on each side; these have
now lost their mullions. The date of the tower
appears to be about the middle of the 14th century.
The 15th-century font stands in one of the bays
of the north arcade and has an octagonal panelled
bowl on a modern stem. In the north aisle, and
commanded by the south doorway, is a painting of
St. Christopher, a further evidence that the south door
was at first the principal entrance to the church:
over the chancel arch is a much defaced Doom, and
to the south of the east window of the chancel are
other traces of painting. There are a few fragments
of old glass in the east window of the north aisle.
Part of the rood screen, consisting of four lower
panels, with restored paintings of David, Isaiah,
Daniel and Hosea, separates the chancel from the
nave. At the west end of the chapel is a second
screen, and some linen and tracery panels are worked
into the pews; these date from c. 1500, and the door
between the chancel and aisle is of the same period.
In the floor to the north of the communion table
are the brasses of Thomas Reynes, 1451, and his
wife Elizabeth, with their nine children. There are
two shields: (1) the cheveron and leopards' heads of
Frowyke, and (2) the quarterly coat of Reynes,
showing Reynes quartered with Frowyke, the hounds
of Mauleverer and a chief indented. To the
south of the communion table is the brass of Walter
Papley, rector, 1420, and near it that of Mary
Leutton, late wife of Thomas Reynes, 1506, with two
shields: (1) Checky a canton ermine, impaling a
cheveron between three molets, and (2) A bend
impaling checky a canton. There are several floorslabs to the Snagge family; Thomas and his wife Anna
1642 and 1657, with the arms of Snagge, quartering
Decons and Reynes; Thomas, 1687; Edward,
1715; and on the chancel wall a monument to
Thomas Snagge, 1698, with Snagge impaling Nicholls.
In the chapel are an altar tomb, c. 1520, without
brasses and heraldry, and a late 16th-century alabaster
tomb, with recumbent effigies of Serjeant Thomas
Snagge and Elizabeth Decons his wife under a canopy
supported by Ionic columns; on the wall behind
are carved figures in low relief of five sons and two
daughters, and on the base are (1) the arms of Snagge;
(2) Decons and Reynes quarterly; and (3) the same
coats impaled. On the north wall of the chapel is
painted the quarterly coat as above, impaling a second
quarterly coat; (1) Rotheram; (2) Snagge; (3) a
bend sinister between three martlets; (4) a mailed
arm and fist holding a javelin.
There are five bells, all alphabet bells of 1610, by
Hugh Watts of Leicester.
The plate consists of a cup with date letter 1614
having a cover paten, and another of the same date
without cover, a large foot paten presented in 1806
and an electro-plated flagon.
There are five books of registers previous to 1812,
containing (1) all entries 1653 to 1669 and burials
and marriages to 1690; (2) all entries 1703 to 1751;
(3) baptisms and marriages 1752 to 1812; (4)
marriages 1754 to 1785, and (5) marriages 1785 to
1812.
ADVOWSON
The descent of the advowson
follows that of the manor of Marston
(q.v.) from the time of Walter and
Robert de Wotton through the families of Morteyn,
Reynes, Decons and Snagge till 1682. In that year
it was the property of John Rotherham, (fn. 135) who had
married Agnes daughter of Thomas Snagge. (fn. 136) This
was probably only a life interest, however, as by 1708
the advowson was again in the hands of the Snagges, (fn. 137)
until in 1746 George Stead, goldsmith, had acquired
it. (fn. 138) In 1795 it was the property of St. John's
College, (fn. 139) Cambridge, in whose possession it remains
at the present day.
John Hermer, who was a joint feoffee with Bernard
de Willey in the manor of Wroxhill (fn. 140) (q.v.), was
seised in 1286–7 of 'the advowson of the church of
Wroxhill.' (fn. 141) This church was probably a chapel of
ease to Marston parish church, for in 1460 we find
that William Saunderton, lord of the manor, released
to the parson of the church all claim against him concerning finding a private chaplain for three days a
week in the chapel of St. Lawrence the Martyr near
the site of the said manor. (fn. 142) Lysons also mentions
the chapel as having once existed; but it had ceased
to be used by his day. (fn. 143)
CHARITIES
The Charity Estates, the particulars
of the acquisition of which are unknown, are regulated by a scheme of
the Charity Commissioners of 7 June 1904. They
comprise:—
The Caulcott Charity Land, consisting of
4 a. 1 r. 24 p. at Wootton and 3 a. 1 r. 15 p. in the
parish, rental value £11.
The Apprenticing Charity, consisting of 15 acres
at Caulcott, a messuage and 3 roods at Upper Shelton
and £218 4s. 6d. consols, income £40 or thereabouts.
The Widows' Land, consisting of 3 a. 2 r. at
Caulcott and £403 1s. 5d. consols, income £15 10s.
Charity of Rev. Maurice Farrell, will, 30 January
1888, trust fund £100 consols, income £2 10s.
The several sums of stock are held by the official
trustees, arising, with the exception of the last-mentioned, from sales of land.
By the scheme above referred to, varying previous
schemes, the income of these charities, after applying
one-half of the Apprenticing Charity in apprenticing
and the other half of the same charity in the maintenance of exhibitions, not exceeding £10 yearly,
tenable at a secondary school, is made applicable in
subscriptions in aid of any dispensary, hospital or
convalescent home, provision of nurses, cost of outfit,
and in the supply of clothes and other necessaries to an
amount not exceeding £15 in any year.
The official trustees also hold a sum of £33 12s. 6d.
consols, arising from commutation of rent-charge of
£1 secured upon the Magpie Hall Farm, the property
of the Duke of Bedford, the income of which is
distributed to the poor of Marston Pillinge.
The official trustees also hold £125 5s. 2d. consols,
the share of this parish in the charity of John Bryan
(will, 1655), the income of which, amounting to
£3 2s. 8d., is distributed in bread amongst the poorest
people.
In 1835 William Howe by his will, proved in the
P.C.C., bequeathed £200, the income to be distributed in Christmas week amongst honest and industrious poor at Lower Shelton. The legacy is represented by £211 5s. 7d. consols, with the official
trustees, the annual dividends of which, amounting
to £5 5s. 8d., are duly applied.
The Wesleyan Methodist chapel, comprised in
indenture of 1819, is regulated by a scheme of the
Charity Commissioners, 1871.