LITTLE STUKELEY
Stiuecle (xi cent.); Stiuecleya Abbatis, Stiuecle
parva, Stiuecle minor (xiii cent.). See also Great
Stukeley.
Little Stukeley is a parish of 1,523 acres lying near
the centre of the county, some three miles north-west
of the county town; it is a narrow strip of land,
bounded mainly by the parishes of Great Stukeley and
Alconbury. The land is highest in the north;
towards the south, near Alconbury brook, the lowlying pasture-land is liable to flood. The soil is stiff
clay and part gravel; subsoil clay. The chief crops
are wheat, barley, roots and beans.
The village lies at the crossing of Ermine Street by
the road to Abbots Ripton. The more important
part of it, including the church, rectory and schools, is
on the north side of Ermine Street along the Abbots
Ripton Road, where there are many picturesque timber
framed, thatched or tiled houses and cottages of the
17th and 18th centuries. The post office at the north-east corner of the crossing is a 17th-century two-story
building with an early 18th-century addition. On the
south side of Ermine Street the houses are more
scattered. Here at the south angle of the crossing is a
house, which was formerly the Swan and Salmon Inn,
a two-storied brick house with tiled roof and a gabled
projection in front. On a chimney-stack on the
north-east side is a panel showing a chained and
collared swan and a shield with initials C. and E. D. for
Christopher and Elizabeth Druell and the date 1676.
Under this is another roughly made panel showing a
pike on metal, probably the arms of Elizabeth [Pickering]. At the Manor Farm, further south, are the
foundations of an earlier house.
A Purbeck marble effigy wearing a chasuble and
alb with feet resting on two couchant rams, apparently
representing Ralf, abbot of Ramsey (d. 1253), was
found by Dr. Philip Nelson used as a mounting stone
at an inn at Little Stukeley. The figure when
complete would measure 7 ft. 6 in. by 2 ft. 3 in. (fn. 1)
MANORS
Land at STUKELEY formed part of
the endowment given to the abbey of
Ramsey in the 10th century by Aylwin,
the founder. (fn. 2) In 1086 the abbey possessed 7 hides here,
with land for 11 ploughs, besides demesne land for two
ploughs; it was then worth £4 10s., having had a value
of £6 in the time of King Edward. (fn. 3) The manor
remained in the possession of the abbey until the
Dissolution. (fn. 4)
At the time of the Domesday Survey (1086) two
knights, Richard and Hugh, held three hides of the
abbot. (fn. 5) Possibly one of these knights was father
of Nicholas, archdeacon of Huntingdon (ob. c. 1110),
the father of Henry of Huntingdon, the historian, who
apparently succeeded his father as archdeacon and
died c. 1155. We know Henry the archdeacon had
houses on the demesne of the abbot and held Stukeley
at fee farm. (fn. 6) He was succeeded by his son Adam, who
held the vill for £8, with two ploughs. (fn. 7) In the time
of Abbot Robert (1180–1200), Adam de Stukeley, with
Aristotle his son, made an agreement with the abbot
to farm Stukeley for £5. (fn. 8) Between 1214 and 1216,
however, the abbot assigned the manor of Stukeley
towards the upkeep of the fabric of the abbey and of
the infirmary. (fn. 9) Nicholas de Stukeley, the son of
Aristotle, however, entered on a suit against the abbot
with the view of establishing some hereditary right to
the manor. (fn. 10) Eventually, in 1228, Nicholas renounced
all claim to this manor and that of Gidding, receiving
30 marks from the abbot. (fn. 11) In 1239 the manor was
leased to Thomas, the abbey's porter, for seven years
at a rent of £20 payable to the master of the works
and the master of the infirmary. The grant excluded
yearly tallage, sheriff's aid and hundred aid with ward
peny and other customs due to the abbot's chamber
from the manor, as from other abbey manors put to
farm. (fn. 12) Notwithstanding the surrender by Nicholas
to the abbey we find that Paulinus de Stukeley was
holding a carucate of land as a manor in Little Stukeley
of the abbot with suit at the abbot's court at
Broughton in 1279 (fn. 13) and that Ralph de Stukeley his
son had lands there in 1308. (fn. 14)
In the 12th and 13th centuries the family of
Lenveyse were, except for the Stukeleys, the chief
tenants of the abbot. Jordan Lenveyse held land
here in 1199 (fn. 15) and in the next century he, or his
namesake, owed suit at the abbot's court at Broughton and service. (fn. 16) In 1279 Ralph Rastel owed similar
service. (fn. 17)
After the Dissolution the manor appears to have
remained some years in the crown, though numerous
life-grants and leases of small parcels of the manor were
made. (fn. 18)
In 1590 the whole manor was granted to Richard
Younge, Edward Rust and George Garth and their
heirs. (fn. 19) Edward Rust held a court here in 1592. (fn. 20)
In 1594 Richard Younge died holding two-thirds of
the manor leaving his son Edmund as heir. (fn. 21) By
1604 the manor had passed to William Buggins (fn. 22)
and in 1625 Elizabeth Buggins was lady of the manor. (fn. 23)
It was held in 1653 by William Buggins (fn. 24) and in 1664
by John Buggins. (fn. 25) The last-named sold the manor
about 1665 to Anne Bigge, widow. (fn. 26) John Bigge held
the property in 1673 (fn. 27) and his son John Bigge left it
at his death in 1748 to his sister Lucy (d. 1748) for life,
with remainder to his friend Sir John Bernard. (fn. 28)
The manor passed before 1767 to his son Sir Robert
Bernard, bart. (fn. 29) who died unmarried in 1789. From
this date it followed the descent of the Bernards'
estate in Brampton (q.v.) and the Duke of Manchester
is the present owner.
By a 12th-century extent of the lands of Ramsey
Abbey we find that Josceline de Stukeley held 2 hides
and a virgate in Stukeley. (fn. 30) These lands seem to have
extended into Great Stukeley. Josceline was a
contemporary of Henry [de Stukeley] archdeacon of
Huntingdon (1110–55) (fn. 31) and was probably grandfather
of Josceline, son of Walter de Stukeley, who married
Aline, afterwards the wife of James Wake, (fn. 32) and was
sheriff in 1205. (fn. 33) Walter, son of Josceline de
Stukeley, (fn. 34) appears as steward of the abbey
lands (1214–15). (fn. 35) He died about 1237 in the
time of Abbot Ranulf (1231–53) when Alice his wife
agreed with the abbot for the custody of her three
daughters and 'the little one not yet born. (fn. 36) Walter,
however, left a son Barnabas, probably the little one
then unborn, who was said to be seventeen at the death
of his grandmother, Aline, wife of James Wake, in
1254. (fn. 37) Barnabas died without issue, leaving a widow
Margery who afterwards married Norman Darcy. (fn. 38)
Barnabas's heirs were his three sisters, Joan the wife
of William le Waleys who died without issue in 1281,
Alice who married William le Coynte and died in
1280 leaving a son and heir William le Coynte, and
Mary who married Peter de Boweles (fn. 39) and left a
son John de Boweles. In 1259 William le Waleys
and Joan and William le Coynte and Alice conveyed
their two-thirds of a messuage and 3 carucates of
land in Stukeley to William de Swyneford and Margery
his wife. (fn. 40) William de Swyneford was imprisoned
during the Barons' Wars as one of the king's enemies
and in 1266 his lands in Stukeley were seized by the
sheriff of Huntingdon. (fn. 41) He was succeeded by
John de Swyneford, and he by his son John (then aged
four years) in 1332. (fn. 42) Margaret de Swyneford, wife
of Thomas FitzEustace, possibly a sister of John,
died seised of a ruinous messuage and 240 acres of
land in Stukeley of her own inheritance held of the
Abbot of Ramsey in 1349. She left a daughter Joan and
a kinswoman Eleanor, wife of William de Swyneford,
who had a son Thomas, 15 days old, and daughters
Isabel and Elizabeth. (fn. 43) The Swyneford two-thirds
fell to co-heirs and in 1368 were apparently conveyed
by William Scot de Holbeach of Yaxley, fisher, and
Emma his wife as a moiety of the manor of Great
Stukeley which Thomas FitzEustace and Eleanor his
wife held for the term of the life of Eleanor to
Nicholas de Stukeley, Robert Waryn of Offord and
other Stukeley trustees. (fn. 44) It would seem that
Thomas Fitz Eustace had married Eleanor the kinswoman and one of the heirs of his former wife
Margery Swyneford. Seisin of a portion of the
Swyneford property called 'Swynefordsmanere' in
Great Stukeley was in 1380 given to William Burgate. (fn. 45)
In 1293 John de Boweles, who held the remaining
third part of the manor, conveyed the third of a moiety
of the manor of Stukeley which Margery, widow of
Barnabas de Stukeley, then held in dower, and also a
third of the manor of Stukeley which Norman Darcy
and Margery his wife held as dower, to William son
of Thomas Inge of Dunstable. (fn. 46) William Inge, who
was Chief Justice of the King's Bench, left a son
Fremund, who died childless, (fn. 47) and a daughter Joan,
who married Eudo la Zouche. (fn. 48) This part of the
manor, like the Swyneford portion, fell into the hands
of feoffees in trust for co-heirs.
It would seem that the various interests in the manor
were united under the name of RAWLYNS MANOR
which in 1386 Thomas Hildegare conveyed to Sir
John Holt, John Warwyk and others. (fn. 49) In 1388
John de Stukeley and Agnes, his wife, conveyed it to
Sir John Holt, Nicholas de Stukeley and others with
warranty against the heirs of Agnes. (fn. 50) For some time
this property seems to have followed the descent
of the manor of Nokes in Great Stukeley (q.v.). In
the early part of the 16th century, however, it appears
to have passed from the chief line of the Stukeley
family and was held by Thomas Stukeley (fn. 51) whose
daughter and heir Anne married George Wynsore.
The Wynsores sold it in 1535 to Edward Montagu (fn. 52)
and henceforth it followed the descent of Hinchingbrook (q.v.) in the family of the Earl of Sandwich.
CHURCH
The Church of ST. MARTIN consists of a chancel (18½ ft. by 17 ft.) with
north chapel (21½ ft. by 8 ft.) and south
chapel (20 ft. by 9 ft.), nave (29¼ ft. by 16 ft.), north
aisle (8 ft. wide), south aisle (9 ft. wide), west
tower (11½ ft. by 11½ ft.), and south porch.
The walls are of rubble largely faced with ashlar,
but parts of the north aisle and chapel are of brick;
the roofs are covered with lead and tiles.
The church mentioned in the Domesday Survey
(1086) was probably of timber, and Henry of Huntingdon (the archdeacon) is recorded to have built (i.e., rebuilt) it in the 12th century. (fn. 53) His building apparently
consisted of a chancel and an aisleless nave; portions
of the latter remain in the north-west, south-west and
south-east responds of the present nave; a large reset
arch between the chancel and the north chapel
probably formed part of the chancel arch; one of the
window heads has been built into the north aisle wall,
and a length of corbel-table has been reset at the top
of the same wall. The walls of the tower and the
south aisle are largely built of 12th-century stones,
and a quantity of loose stones of this date remain in
the north chapel, some of which exhibit the peculiar
local form of six (or more) pallets of varying length
(the longest in the middle) overlapping a roll and
hollow after the fashion of a beak-head. (fn. 54)
That a north arcade and aisle were added to this
church in the 13th century is witnessed by the stones of
this period still remaining in the north arcade. (fn. 55) The
western tower was added towards the end of the 13th
century, and early in the following century the chancel
was rebuilt and widened and a north chapel added.
About the year 1500 the nave with its arcades and
clearstory and the chancel arch were entirely rebuilt,
the south chapel, aisle and porch added, some alterations made in the north chapel and aisle, and large
buttresses added to the tower. Considerable works
were done in the latter half of the 17th century:
the south porch was rebuilt in 1652, the belfry in 1659,
and the north aisle in 1673. The north aisle was
again rebuilt in 1887 when the north chapel was altered
to form a vestry, and the tower was repaired. The
east wall of the early 14th-century chancel was rebuilt
with the old materials in 1910.
The chancel retains an original three-light east
window with original jambs and head but 15th-century
tracery. In the north wall an original arch incorporates on its northern face the stones of a large,
richly ornamented 12th century arch. In the south
wall is a large arch of c. 1500, remains of the inner
jambs of two original windows, and a mutilated piscina.
The arch, c. 1500, is of two orders on semi-octagonal respond shafts with moulded capitals and bases;
above it are some fragments of cusping built in the
form of a lozenge. On the north, a large block of
walling probably contained the rood staircase, and the
upper doorway remains in the north-east angle of the
nave, while the lower doorway is in the north chapel.
The roof is modern.
The nave arcades, c. 1500, are of two bays each, with
chamfered arches resting on octagonal columns with
moulded capitals and bases. The northern arches
consist largely of 13th-century stones re-used, and
above the column is a large stone bracket supported
by a demi-angel. (fn. 56) In the north-west corner a small
part of the 12th-century nave remains.
The south arcade also appears to retain part of the
12th-century nave at its western end, and on the
eastern respond is a semi-octagonal bracket resting on
the recumbent figure of a man with long pointed headdress curled over and ending in a tassel.
The contemporary clearstory has two three-light
windows on each side, and carved corbels of the same
date now support the jacklegs of the modern roof.
The north chapel and north aisle are not structurally separated. The east wall has a modern two-light window and a stone bracket supported by a ram,
evidently a reference to Ramsey Abbey. In the
rebuilt north wall is a plain doorway at the extreme
east end, two modern windows, and some 12th-century
corbel stones reset outside. The west wall has a
modern window. In the south wall of the chapel is a
plain 14th-century recess, perhaps originally a piscina.
The south chapel and south
aisle, of fine design of c. 1500, are
also not structurally divided. The
east wall has a three-light window
and two stone brackets supported
by demi-angels. The south wall
has two three-light windows, a
doorway with crocketed label, and
a piscina with projecting ogee head
and side recess. The west wall has
a three-light similar to the rest.
Two of the windows contain a few
fragments of original glass. Part of
the 'Old Hundredth' psalm has
been painted on the south wall in
the 17th century.
Plan of Little Stukeley Church.
The west tower is of three
stages; the lower parts of the main
walls are of late 13th-century date
but are flanked at the north-west
and south-west corners by large
double buttresses of c. 1500, and
the tower arch of three chamfered
orders rests upon engaged jamb-shafts of the same
period.
The original west doorway is now blocked, and over
it is a window of c. 1500 but with modern mullions
and tracery. The second stage has a narrow lancet in
the north and south walls, and traces internally of
one in the west wall and an opening on the east. The
belfry was evidently rebuilt in 1659, and is too small
for the lower part of the tower; it has a much
restored two-light window in each face, and is surmounted by an embattled parapet with reset panelling
and running ornament and having small crocketed
pinnacles at the angles, and, on the south side, the
inscription 'R.O, IG, 1659.'
The south porch, rebuilt in 1652, largely of the
material of c. 1500, has a moulded outer archway
resting upon engaged shafts and with moulded caps
and bases, and having a crocketed and finialled label.
The east wall has a two-light window and the west a
single light. The embattled parapet has crocketed
pinnacles at the angles, and is inscribed 'I D, A A,
1652.'
In the north-east corner is a mutilated stoup in a
canopied recess, the basin supported by a carved angel,
and on the west side of the doorway is an early 16thcentury bracket supported by a demi-angel.
The font, c. 1500, has a panelled octagonal bowl on
an octagonal stem and base. (fn. 57)
There are four bells, inscribed:—1, Sancte Thoma.
2, S. Martina. 3, Joseph White and Edward Cocks,
Churchwardens, 1759. 4, Non sono animabvs mortvorvm sed avribvs viventivm, 1607. The first and
second by Newcombe, and the fourth by Richard
Holdfield. The bells were rehung in the old frame in
1891 and the treble has been recast since then, the
section with the inscription being cut out and preserved in the church. The frame has the inscription
'R O, I G, C W, 1659.'
There are monuments: in the chancel, to Douglas
Campbell Murray Stewart and Joseph Campbell
Thomas Owen, both drowned at sea 1888; in north
aisle, to Flora Lucy Stewart, d. 1895; in the south
aisle, to Elizabeth dau. of John Bayley, d. 1796; Sarah
(Kennett) dau. of M. Kennett son of Dr. White Kennett, Bishop of Peterborough, and relict of John Bayley, d. 1801; the Rev. Daniel Bayley, d. 1805; Lucy,
dau. of Mr. Justice Bayley, d. 1821; Lucy, sister of
Mr. Justice Bayley, d. 1823; South African War
tablet. A small brass figure of a civilian, late 16th
century, found under the floor of the north chapel, is
now on the floor of the south aisle.
The registers are as follows:—(i) Baptisms, marriages and burials, 1566 to 1654; (ii) the same,
1655 to 1812, the marriages ending in 1754; (iii)
the official marriage book, 1754 to 1812; the usual
modern books.
The church plate consists of: A silver cup, copied
from the Gatcombe (I. of W.) cup, and with the Birmingham hall-mark for 1924–5; a silver cover paten,
early 17th century, but hall-mark obliterated; plated
cup, paten, standing paten and flagon, inscribed
'Presented to the Parish of Little Stukeley, Hunts,
by the Revd. J. A. Barber, Rector, 11. Octr.
1860.'
ADVOWSON
The Domesday Survey for Little
Stukeley records the existence of a
church there, with a priest. (fn. 58) It
belonged, with the manor, to Ramsey Abbey (q.v.).
Henry the Archdeacon was stated to have caused
the church to be built and dedicated to St.
Martin. (fn. 59)
The advowson descended with the manor after the
Dissolution, presentation to the rectory being made by
the lord of the manor except for occasional grants
made by others for one turn only. (fn. 60) The present
patron is the Duke of Manchester. In 1922 the benefices of Little Stukeley and Abbots Ripton were united
by Order in Council, the patron of Little Stukeley
having one turn to two of the patron of Abbots
Ripton. (fn. 61)
CHARITIES
Town Lands. It appears from an
old manuscript paper in the parish
chest that part of the town land was
anciently vested in feoffees in trust for the parish
church and the maintenance of the poor, but as long
as is known the rents have been appropriated exclusively to the use of the church. The endowment
now consists of the Town Close, land containing
about 9 acres and an allotment of about 7 acres in
the parish of Alconbury the rents of which are carried
to the churchwardens' account.