OFFORD DARCY
Opeford, Upford, Upperfordia (xi cent.); Ufford,
Ufforde Deneys, Daneys, Danes or Dacy (xiii-xvi
cent.); Offord Dacye alias Daynes (xvii cent.)
The parish lies low, the land in the west along the
banks of the Ouse being liable to floods, but it rises to
about 160 ft. in the east. Its area is 1,854 acres of land
and 12 of land covered by water. The soil is gravel and
clay, and the subsoil clay. The chief crops grown
are wheat, barley, turnips and beans. Among the
place names found are Alcroft, Parloe, Stonyland. (fn. 1)
The village is on the road from St. Neots to Godmanchester, about three miles from the latter place.
It forms almost one continuous village with Offord
Cluny on the east side of the river Ouse. The church
stands on the west side of the village, separated from
the river by the railway line. A little to the southwest of the church is the Manor House, a brick
building with tiled roof. It was built by Richard
Naylor (fn. 2) shortly after he purchased the property in
1606, and is referred to as his 'newly built edifice' in
a settlement of 1608. (fn. 3) The east front was rebuilt in
the 18th century, and the west front has been partly
refaced. The house contains good panelling, staircases and fireplaces. Over the stone fireplace in the
hall are two painted shields of arms of Richard Naylor
impaling the arms of his two wives Elizabeth Lovel
and Katherine Hearne. To the north of the church
are the Rectory House, the Rectory Farm and
the Horseshoe Inn, an interesting timber-framed
house with an overhanging gable to its northern
wing, supported on brackets. On a beam of this
gable is the date 1626. To the south-east of the
village is Manor Farm, a 17th-century house with an
18th-century addition on the south side. It is now
two tenements. Near by is a homestead moat which
probably marks the site of the new grange destroyed
about 1236–7. (fn. 4)
In the south-east angle of the parish is Cottons
Farm, with a second Cottons Farm to the west of it,
close to the southern boundary.
Closes or pastures called Great Cottons (240 a.),
Little Cottons (28 a.) and Hedges were included in
the sale of the manor (q.v.) to Richard Naylor in
1606, as also 3 little almshouses or cottages built
upon the waste and let by the churchwardens of
Offord Darcy for the common benefit of the inhabitants. (fn. 5) Parts of Cottons, held of the king as of his
honour of Huntingdon, were held in 1609 by John
Bellay (fn. 6) (who also held Hedges), in 1618 by William
Hewitt, (fn. 7) and in 1622 by John King. (fn. 8) There are now
two Cotton Farms existing.
Cottons is a name of long continuance in the
parish, first appearing probably as Cotes. Near the
Cottons is Ford's Farm, and about a mile away to the
west, Tithe Farm and Bullens Farm. Another outlying farm is Top Farm, in the north-east of the
parish, with Purlieu Spinney and Barn to the east
of it.
MANORS
In the time of Edward the Confessor
OFFORD (assessed at 3 hides) was held
by Norman. It passed probably to
Waltheof Earl of Huntingdon, and at the time of the
Domesday Survey (1086) the Countess Judith,
Waltheof's widow, held it. (fn. 9) The overlordship
passed with the earldom and honour of Huntingdon,
and was settled for a time on the Morevilles, constables of Scotland. An inquiry was held in 1199 on
behalf of Roland de Galloway, whose wife Ellen was
daughter of Richard de Moreville, whether Richard
had forfeited for his adherence to 'the young king'
Henry, son of Henry II. (fn. 10) Alan, son of Roland and
Ellen, was pardoned a debt regarding this inquiry in
1213. (fn. 11) On the division of the lands of the honour
in 1237, Offord fell to the share of Isabella, wife of
Robert de Brus and sister of Margaret the second
wife of Alan de Galloway. (fn. 12)
The tenant of the manor under the Countess
Judith in 1086 was Hugh, who may have represented
Norman, the pre-Conquest holder. Their descendants seem to have adopted the name of the parish.
William de Offord appears in 1114–30; (fn. 13) Robert de
Upford or Hofford had the advowson of the church,
and his daughter Emma
married William le Daneys
or Dacus, (fn. 14) to whom she
brought the manor and
advowson. William le Daneys
and Emma had two daughters,
Isabella (who married firstly
Richard de Haselbewe, and
secondly Hugh de Kingesdon
or Ringkesdune), and Maud,
who married Robert Grimbald. (fn. 15) Their daughter Isabella Grimbald married
Richard Pauncefot. (fn. 16) William le Daneys, however,
in 1241 granted to John le Daneys, probably his
brother, a knight's fee, being all the lands in Offord
which had formerly belonged to him and Emma his
wife. (fn. 17) John le Daneys seems to have died in the same
year, and the manor was delivered to Philippa, his
widow, who was holding in 1242–3. (fn. 18) John and
Philippa had two daughters, Ella who married
William de Bolevill, and Joan or Juliana who apparently died unmarried in 1245. (fn. 19) On the death of
Ella before 1259 without issue, there was much
litigation as to the ownership of the manor. Brice
le Daneys claimed to be heir as the son of William,
son of William, son of Richard le Daneys, brother of
John le Daneys, father of Ella. (fn. 20) William le Daneys,
probably the father of Brice, claimed in 1261 4 carucates except a virgate in Offord against Robert de
Hereford and Richard Pauncefot and Isabella his wife. (fn. 21)
Robert de Hereford was probably the third husband
of Isabella, daughter of William le Daneys, or possibly
the husband of her daughter. In the same year he
conveyed these 4 carucates less a virgate to William
Daneys. (fn. 22) In 1279 Sir John de Offord and Isabella,
his wife, held the manor and advowson of Robert de
Brus, (fn. 23) Isabella being probably one of the coheirs
of Ella de Bolevill, possibly Isabella formerly the
wife of Richard Pauncefot. In 1306 all the parties
combined in conveying the manor to Walter de
Langton, Bishop of Coventry, and conveyances were
made to him by Robert son of Roger de Hereford,
Roger de Hereford and Isabella widow of Robert de
Hereford. (fn. 24)
Daneys. Sable three Danish axes argent.
The bishop received a grant of free warren in that
year and in 1307, and was holding the manor in
1316. (fn. 25) He had agreed to pay out of the issues of
the manor £24 yearly to Isabella de Hereford. In
1315 she married Peter le Mareschall, when the rentcharge was confirmed with the addition of a yearly
render of 2 robes for Peter worth 20s. each, and
another for Isabella worth 40s. The bishop was
succeeded in 1321 by his nephew, Edmund Peverel,
son of his sister Alice and Sir Robert Peverel. (fn. 26)
Edmund died in 1331, leaving a year-old son John, (fn. 27)
when the king committed the manor during the
minority of the heir to Master John de Offord, one
of the king's clerks, but on the discovery that the
manor was held of the honour of Huntingdon, the
royal mandate was withdrawn and the custody of the
manor was granted by the executors of Eleanor de
Brus to the same Master John de Offord, described
as canon of St. Paul's, rendering a rent to Alice,
daughter of Eleanor and her second husband, Sir
Richard Waleys, and what was due as dower to
Edmund's widow Alice. (fn. 28) In 1340 John de Offord
was reappointed by the crown and obtained a grant
of free warren in the demesne lands of the manor in
1348. (fn. 29) He leased the manor to Thomas Moyne and
Lawrence de Pabenham, and died in 1349. John
Peverel, still a minor, died later in the same year,
leaving a widow Isabella, also a minor, who had
dower rights in the advowson and probably in the
manor. His heir was his sister Margaret, aged
eighteen, the wife of William de la Pole the younger. (fn. 30)
John Peverel had agreed to lease his lands to Sir John
de Lisle of Rougemont and others, and in 1349 to
1355 Lisle released all rights to the Peverel lands to
Margaret and William de la Pole. (fn. 31) John, son of
William and Margaret de la Pole, married Joan, only
child of John Lord Cobham, and a rent of £20 out of
the manor of Offord Darcy formed a part of the marriage settlement in 1362. (fn. 32)
John de la Pole's daughter and heiress Joan,
suo jure Baroness Cobham (d. 1434), and her second
husband, Sir Reynold Braybrooke, were dealing with
the reversion of the manor in 1403. (fn. 33) Joan was married
five times, and after a release of rights in 1424, (fn. 34) a
settlement of the manor had been made in 1428, (fn. 35)
upon her and her last husband, Sir John Harpenden,
kt., for the lives of both, with remainder to her
daughter Joan and her husband, Sir Thomas Brooke,
and her issue. In 1438 (fn. 36) Thomas Brooke and his
wife Joan conveyed the manor and advowson to
William Babthorp, Robert Large, citizen and mercer
of London, William Soper, Esq., John Chirche [or
Church], citizen and mercer of London, and his wife
Isobel, and Thomas Staunton, citizen and mercer of
London, (fn. 37) to whom and the heirs and assigns of John
Chirche, the manor and advowson were released by
Robert Oliver in 1440. (fn. 38) John Chirche presented in
1446, and was dealing with the manor and advowson
with his wife Isobel and Thomas Staunton (who was
Isobel's brother) in 1457–8. (fn. 39) Thomas Staunton died
seised of them in 1478, when his heir was his grandnephew Edmund Chirche, the son of his sister
Isobel's son Richard, aged 22 years. (fn. 40) From Edmund
Chirche, who presented in
1479, the presentations show
that the advowson, and presumably therefore the manor,
had passed to the Sussex
family of the Shelleys before
1485, when John Shelley of
Clapham, Sussex, presented. (fn. 41)
In 1524 John Shelley conveyed
the manor and advowson to
his son William, serjeant-atlaw, and his wife Alice. (fn. 42)
Sir William Shelley, kt., presented in 1533 and 1542, and
as William Shelley, Justice of the King's Bench, was
dealing with land in Offord Darcy with John, his son
and heir, in 1544–5, (fn. 43) and died in 1548. (fn. 44) His son John,
of Michelgrove in Sussex, died in 1551, (fn. 45) leaving as his
heir his son William. The latter in 1576 conveyed the
manor and advowson, free fishing in the water of Offord,
and view of frankpledge to his brother John. (fn. 46) Their
mother, re-married to Sir John Guildford, kt., presented in 1558 and 1571, and probably held the
manor in dower with the advowson. William Shelley,
whose estates were confiscated in 1580, (fn. 47) died childless. (fn. 48) His brother, John Shelley of Michelgrove,
died seised of the manor and advowson in 1592, and
left as his heir a six-year-old
son, another John. (fn. 49) This
boy had barely attained his
majority, although already
married to his wife Jane,
when in 1605 he conveyed
the manor and advowson
to Thomas Boulton and
William Vintner in trust for
its sale, which took place
next year to Richard Naylor,
of Godmanchester, (fn. 50) various
parcels of the manor being
then sold to other purchasers. Richard Naylor
(or Nailour), of the Inner Temple, was the son of
William Naylor of London, Registrar, and one of the
six clerks of the Chancery. (fn. 51) He died in 1616,
leaving a son William, a minor, (fn. 52) who had livery of
the manor in 1622, (fn. 53) and a younger son Richard.
After the death of William in 1643 the manor was
again in the hands of a minor, William's son and heir
Richard, aged 19½, (fn. 54) who with this uncle Richard was
dealing with the manor and advowson in 1646. (fn. 55) In
1678 Richard Naylor conveyed the manor and advowson to Richard Naylor, junior, and to Robert Pullen. (fn. 56)
The presentation was made in 1694 by William
Naylor. Sarah, daughter of William Naylor, married
George Blundell of Brampton and the Naylor estates
passed to their son Francis Blundell, who took the
name of Naylor. As Francis Naylor he made a conveyance of the manor in 1732. (fn. 57) With his wife Mary
and William Naylor, he was dealing with it again in
1756. (fn. 58) In 1773 William Naylor Blundell (late William Naylor) of Offord Darcy, son and heir of Francis
Naylor, deceased, made a conveyance of the manor
and advowson for the purpose of barring entail. (fn. 59)
He presented in 1791 and died at Offord Darcy in
1794. (fn. 60) The next owner of the manor seems to have
been the Rev. Charles Greene of Offord Darcy
(d. 1803), rector of Hemingford Abbots, husband of
Anne, youngest daughter of Francis Blundell alias
Naylor, and the father of Charlotte Matilda Greene,
whose guardian, the Hon. Charlotte Montagu,
another daughter of Francis Blundell, was returned
as lady of the manor in 1806, (fn. 61) and with whom she
was dealing with it in 1807. (fn. 62) Charlotte Matilda
Greene married George Thornhill of Diddington
Hall in 1809. (fn. 63) He presented in 1814 and was succeeded in the manor at his death in 1852 by his
son, another George, who died in 1875, and was
followed by his son Arthur John Thornhill of Diddington (d. 1930), whose nephew Noel Thornhill is
now lord of the manor.
Shelley. Sable a fesse engrailed between three whelk shells or
Naylor. Or a pale between two lions sable.
Between 1017 and 1034 Ædric Bishop of Dorchester
gave the Abbot of Ramsey lands in Offord as an
atonement, it was said, for cracking a bell while a boy
at school at Ramsey Abbey, (fn. 64) which subsequently
became known apparently as BROUGHTONS
MANOR. In 1086 the abbey held 4 hides in
Offord. (fn. 65) Much of Ædric's endowment was lost and
in the early part of the 12th century half a hide in
Offord was recovered from Walter But, (fn. 66) and a little
later Abbot Walter (1133–60) without the assent of
the monastery granted to Robert son of Hugh de
Worcester 5 hides in Offord. (fn. 67) This appears later as
4 hides which were held of the barony of Ramsey by
foreign service and a rent of 20s. (fn. 68) Apparently this
property came to Ralf de Worcester, who agreed
in 1194 to convey 3 hides to William le Daneys, (fn. 69)
said to be his uncle. (fn. 70) Ralf probably died soon after,
and the conveyance was made by Hugh, his son, in
1199. (fn. 71) The Worcesters retained, however, some
lands held by them under the Daneys, as in 1218
William le Daneys made a grant to Ralph de Bray for
his homage and service of all the land belonging to
Ralf de Worcester in Offord which was of the fee of
the Abbey of Ramsey, and in 1236 Ralf de Bray
claimed against Ralf de Worcester 2 carucates of
land less 20 acres and ½ virgate in Offord. (fn. 72) After
the death of Ralf de Bray a suit was brought in
1236–7 by his daughter and heir, Maud de Bray,
against the son of William le Daneys, (fn. 73) John, whom
she charged with carrying off or destroying property
to the value of 100 marks belonging to the estate at
Offord which she had inherited from her father, and
of which John le Daneys had the custody. John le
Daneys claimed that it had escheated to himself at
the death of Ralf who, he said, held for life only.
Maud claimed that it was hers, as her father had died
in seisin, having done homage to William, father of
John le Daneys, under charter which it was commanded should be fetched from its safe keeping in the
abbey of Lavendon. The list of assets damaged or
removed includes a new grange with 12 posts and
2 granaries, a new windmill, a fishpond stocked with
fish, a solarium for manor-house with porch, chambers,
presses, windows, tables, wardrobes, etc., indicating
an establishment of considerable extent, with buildings which he may have transported to a site preferred
by him for his own occupation in the original Daneys
part of the fee. (fn. 74)
Maud de Bray seems to have married William de
Ardern, who demised a messuage and 2 carucates in
Offord Darcy to Master Roger de Ravelingham, and in
1271 Ravelingham conveyed that or a like holding there
to William son of Ralf de Worcester and Alice his
wife. (fn. 75) In 1279 William de Broughton was holding
a manor, with a common fishery, in Offord Darcy
of the Abbot of Ramsey, (fn. 76) and in 1286 Maud, widow
of William de Ardern, brought an action against
William de Broughton and Alice his wife as to two
parts of a messuage and 2 carucates of land which they
had received from Roger de Ravelingham. (fn. 77) The
matter seems to have been settled by Roger confirming
the two parts to William and Alice (fn. 78) and William and
Alice granting the remaining third part to Maud,
evidently as dower. (fn. 79) The manor appears to have
passed to the Warrens. Robert Warren was described
as of Offord in 1364 and 1375–6 he and his wife
Katherine, described as of Offord, settled lands
in Graffham. (fn. 80) In 1378–9 Broughtons manor
in Offord Darcy was conveyed by Thomas Eston
and Margaret his wife to Robert Warren possibly
as a settlement. (fn. 81) It probably passed ultimately, like
the Warrens' other property in Offord Darcy, to
the Shelleys.
Three hides in Offord which in the time of the Confessor had been held by Aluin the sheriff were entered
in the Domesday Survey (1086) among the lands of
Eustace the sheriff, under whom they were held by
Odo, their value having fallen from 40s. to 12s. (fn. 82) These
three hides were probably what were later known as the
manor of MOYNES or PABENHAMS and formed the
third of two parts of a knight's fee in Offord, entered
in 1242–3 as held by William le Moyne of the barony
of Lovetoft, (fn. 83) which barony in 1166 represented what
was left of the fee of Eustace in Hunts. William le
Moyne's Offord property must have been included
in the three-quarters of a fee in Graffham, Offord,
Hemingford Turbervill and Thirning held by Beringar
le Moyne of the honour of
Lovetoft. The honour of
Lovetoft was acquired before
1261–2 by Richard de Clare,
Earl of Gloucester and Hertford, from Nigel de Amundeville, one of the Lovetoft
co-heirs who had held in
chief. (fn. 84) The overlordship
descended to the Earls of
Stafford and Dukes of
Buckingham. (fn. 85)
Stafford. Or a cheveron gules.
The William le Moyne
entered in 1242–3 may have been the William le
Moyne who with his son William made a grant of
lands in Offord to Sawtrey Abbey which was confirmed by Reginald le Moyne, (fn. 86) probably the Reginald
le Moyne who in 1231–2 levied a fine of 12 acres in
Offord with Elena, daughter of William le Daneys. (fn. 87)
William le Moyne of Offord, bailiff of the hundred,
is mentioned in an inquisition concerning the county
boundary in 1244. (fn. 88)
Robert grandson of William le Moyne, son of
William, to whom Robert de Wyvill and his wife
Katherine conveyed a messuage and a hide of land in
1261, (fn. 89) is entered in 1279 as holding a manor and
garden and 156 acres of arable land in Offord by
homage and foreign service. (fn. 90) In 1294–5 Robert le
Moyne conveyed to Andrew le Moyne, apparently his
brother, one-third of a messuage and 1 carucate of
land in Offord Darcy, which Joan, widow of Robert
le Moyne the elder, and probably mother of Robert
and Andrew, held in dower. (fn. 91) In 1302 Robert and
Andrew le Moyne put in a claim to a messuage and
two parts of a carucate of land in Offord Darcy which
William de Lutlington conveyed to Richard de Sutho
and Agnes his wife. (fn. 92) Richard de Sutho was dealing
with land in Offord Darcy in 1314, (fn. 93) but before 1360
Sir Laurence de Pabenham or Pavenham had an
interest there (fn. 94) and in 1363 he was owing rent
there. (fn. 95)
Sir Laurence Pabenham
died in 1398 seised of a
manor in Offord Darcy
described as held of the Earl
of Stafford, and leaving a
nine-year-old son and heir
John. (fn. 96) A manor called
'Pebenhams' in Offord Darcy
and Cluny was held in 1418
at his death by Sir Thomas
Aylesbury, kt., the second
husband of Katherine,
daughter of Laurence de
Pabenham. (fn. 97) The half-fee
in Offord Daneys which the Offords had held
then passed into the possession of the Warrens
and was in 1428 in the hands of Edmund Waryn
or Warren, (fn. 98) who appears as of Offord Darcy in
a grant of 1438. (fn. 99) Either this Edmund Warren
or a descendant, in 1472–3 was holding, with
his wife Margaret, a manor of Offord Darcy,
which he then conveyed to Thomas Hunt and
others. (fn. 100) This must have been the manor of Pabenhams alias Moynes Manor in Offord Darcy and Cluny
held by Thomas Hunt, gent., and his wife Alice, and
sold by them in 1522 to William Shelley, serjeant-atlaw, (fn. 101) owner of the principal manor, with which it was
henceforth held.
Pabenham. Barry argent and azure a bend gules charged with three molets or.
CHURCH
The Church of ST. PETER consists
of a chancel (30 ft. by 13¾ ft.), nave
(52 ft. by 16¼ ft.), north aisle (9½ ft.
wide), south aisle (14¾ ft. wide), west tower (10 ft. by
10 ft.) and south porch. The walls are of rubble
with stone dressings, and the roofs are covered with
tiles and slates. The church is not mentioned in the
Domesday Survey (1086), but by 1130 a small church
consisting of a chancel, nave of two bays and north
aisle existed here, and shortly afterwards this was
lengthened by the addition of a western bay. The
chancel was rebuilt soon after 1265, and about 1300 a
south aisle with its arcade and a south porch were
added. At the end of the 14th century the western
tower and spire were erected, and a hundred
years later the north aisle was rebuilt and a
clearstory added to the nave. The spire was rebuilt
in 1860. (fn. 102)
The late 13th-century chancel has a three-light east
window of c. 1500, on each side of which is a 13thcentury carved head. The north wall has an original
single-light and a two-light window of c. 1500. The
south wall has two windows similar to those on the
north, an original doorway and an original double
piscina with a trefoiled head and a smaller trefoiled
opening above it. In the south-west window are
fragments of 15th-century glass. The chancel arch,
c. 1500, is two centred and rests on semi-octagonal
attached shafts with moulded caps and bases; under
it is the tracery head of a 14th-century screen.
The nave has a north arcade of three bays, the two
eastern of c. 1130, having semi-circular arches of one
order, with a roll moulding on the side next the nave,
resting on square piers with angle shafts having small
cushion caps, and similar responds. The western
bay is slightly later and the angle-shafts of the responds
have no caps; at the extreme east end is a small
modern archway.
The south arcade, c. 1300, is also of three bays with
two-centred arches of two chamfered orders, resting
on columns composed of four filleted shafts with
moulded caps and bases, and similar responds.
The late 15th century-clearstory has three twolight windows on the north and four on the south.
The roof is modern, but the jacklegs rest on stone
corbels, some of which appear to be of c. 1500. The
level of the earlier roof may be seen at the north-west
and south-west corners, outside.
The late 15th-century north aisle has a three-light
east window with a four-centred head; the north
wall has three similar two-lights and a doorway; and
the west wall a similar two-light. In the south-east
corner, east of the arcade, is a 12th-century roundheaded recess which has been pierced with a modern
opening into the nave.
The south aisle, c. 1300, has an original three-light
east window but with a modern head; the south wall
has three similar two-lights and a doorway. In the
splay of the south-east window is a reset 13th-century
angle piscina with marble shaft; the sill of the window
forms two graduated seats.
The west wall has a two-light window. Under the
modern parapet is a 14th-century string-course with
ball flowers and a running stem.
The roof is modern, but the jacklegs rest on 15thcentury carved corbels.
The late 14th-century tower has a two-centred
tower arch of two moulded orders on semi-circular
attached shafts with moulded caps and bases. There
is no west doorway but a three-light west window.
In the next stage the north, south and west walls have
a small quatrefoil, and the belfry windows are twolights. The tower has clasping buttresses up to the
belfry level, and is finished with an embattled parapet,
behind which rises an octagonal spire with rolls at the
angles and two tiers of spire lights, the lower on the
cardinal faces. The spire was badly rebuilt in
1860. (fn. 103)
The 14th-century south porch has an outer archway of two chamfered orders dying on to simple
responds. There is a two-light window in each of the
side walls, that on the east being formed of a
single stone. The gable is surmounted by a fine
original cross.
The font is modern.
There are three bells, inscribed (1) Christopher
Gray made me, I.G.R.P. 1676; (2) Merorem mestis
letis sic leta sonabo, 1618; (3) Cum cano busta
mori cum pvlpita vivere disce, 1620. The letters
on the second bell are partly Lombardic and
partly ordinary capitals. The third bell is by
William Haulsey. (fn. 104)
There is a 17th-century table in the north aisle,
with simple turned legs, and a 17th-century chest
in the south aisle.
There are two brasses (1) fixed on the wall of the
south aisle, to Sir Lawrence Pabenham, 1400, and
Elizabeth (Engeyne) 1377 and Joan (Dawbeney),
consisting of the upper parts of a knight and two
wives, with inscription plate; the matrix (with fulllength indents) remained in the tower until comparatively recent years; (2) on floor of nave, Dr. William
Taylard, Rector, 1532, kneeling figure of an ecclesiastic in academic costume, and indent of inscription
plate, shield, etc. (fn. 105) Outside the porch is the indent of
an inscription plate. (fn. 106) Fixed against the north wall is a
stone slab, c. 1370, with figures of a civilian and wife
in low relief, their feet resting on dragons. It
originally lay on an altar tomb under an arch in the
south wall.
In the churchyard is a rough stone trough (5¾ ft. by
3¼ ft.) of uncertain origin.
There are the following monuments: In the
chancel, to the Rev. Jeremiah Jackson, rector, d. 1828,
and Frances his wife, d. 1809; the Rev. W. Thornhill,
rector, d. 1872; the Rev. Henry L'Estrange Ewen,
rector, d. 1889; and floor slabs to the Rev. William
Deane, rector, d. 1722; Mary, daughter of Francis
and Mary Naylour, d. 1723; Marie, wife of the Rev.
William Deane, d. 1749; Sarah, daughter of the
Rev. George Naylour, rector, d. 1778; Jane, relict
of Willie Jackson, d. 1844, and Mary Anne, her
daughter, d. 1835. In nave, John Ford, d. 1892. In
north aisle, floor slab to Thomas Walker, d. 1847.
In south aisle, to Richard Naylour, d. 1616, and two
wives Elizabeth (Lovell) and Katherine (Herne);
Mrs. Sarah Priestley, daughter of William Naylour,
d. 1727; and a War Memorial Window (1918).
In tower, floor slab to William Naylour Blundell,
d. 1794.
The registers are as follows: (i) Baptisms and
burials, 11 Nov. 1697 to 25 Dec. 1774, and marriages,
— 1698 to 27 Jan. 1751–2; (fn. 107) (ii) baptisms and burials,
22 Jan. 1775 to 20 Dec. 1812; (iii) the official marriage book, 31 March 1755 to 16 Oct. 1611.
The church plate consists of: A small silver
cup inscribed 'FOR THE TOWNE OF OFORDE
DAERSSY. 1569.' No date letter. A silver coverpaten which fits the cup but is apparently of later
date. No marks.
ADVOWSON
The advowson was possibly granted
by Eustace the sheriff to the Priory
of Huntingdon when he founded that
priory in the 11th century. Before the end of the
12th century it had been acquired by Robert de
Offord (fn. 108) and a vicarage was ordained probably before
the prior of Huntingdon parted with it. (fn. 109) In 1199
there was a dispute between the prior and William le
Daneys, who had married Robert de Offord's daughter. (fn. 110) The matter terminated by the prior conveying the church in 1200 to William le Daneys. (fn. 111) From
this date the advowson has been held by the lords of
the chief manor of Offord Darcy (q.v.).
The church was valued c. 1291 (fn. 112) and in 1428 (fn. 113) at
£5 6s. 8d. yearly after deduction of a pension of
50s. to the Priory of Huntingdon. The rectory,
valued at £18 3s. 8d. yearly in 1535, (fn. 114) was in 1568
the subject of proceedings in the Court of Requests
(John Monson of Offord Darcy v. James Wynne, gent.,
of Whitchurch, co. Salop). (fn. 115)
CHARITIES
The following charities comprise
the Consolidated Charities and are
now regulated by a scheme of the
Charity Commissioners dated 14 November 1913:—
(1) The charity of John Bowyer founded by will
proved at Peterborough on 6 June 1867 the endowment
of which consists of £319 3s. 2½ per cent. Consols
with the Official Trustees producing £7 19s. 4d. yearly
in dividends.
(2) The charity known as The Blacksmith's Shop.
This consists of the blacksmith shop in Offord Darcy,
with the site and appurtenances, and is let for £2 12s.
a year.
(3) The charity known as The Offord Cluny
Common Money. The endowment of this charity
consists of a sum of £25 6s. Consols in the High
Court of Justice producing 12s. 6d. annually in
dividends.
(4) Thompson's Close. This charity consists of a
rentcharge of 6s. 8d. per annum issuing out of Thompson's Close in Offord Darcy till 1927 in the occupation
of the Rev. J. Oliver. (fn. 116)