WARESLEY
Wedreslei (xi cent.), Wereslai, Werisleg (xii and
xiii cents.), Werisley (xvi cent.).
The parish of Waresley contains 2,031 acres. (fn. 1)
It is well wooded, the chief woods being Waresley
Wood, Weavely Wood and Sand Wood. There is a
deer park in Waresley Park, which is to the west
of the village. The subsoil is Ampthill clay and lower
green-sand, (fn. 2) and the soil a fertile clay growing chiefly
cereals. The village lies on the main road from
Biggleswade to St. Ives, two and a half miles from
Gamlingay station on the London Midland and
Scottish Railway. A skeleton with a small "Roman"
jug in its hand was found in 1740 near Balls Bridge
over Gransden Brook. (fn. 3) Parts of a homestead moat
exist at Vicarage Farm. (fn. 4)
The parish was inclosed under a private Act of
Parliament in 1808. (fn. 5)
Two vicars of Waresley deserve mention: John
Pocklington, D.D., afterwards canon of Peterborough
and of St. George's Chapel, Windsor, was the author
of two works, 'Sunday no Sabbath' and 'Altare
Christianum,' which brought him notoriety. He was
charged with ritualistic practices and condemned in
February 1640–1, by the House of Lords, to be deprived
of his benefices. His books were to be publicly burnt.
He died in 1642. (fn. 6) His successor, Gawen Nash (1605–58), was presented to the vicarage in 1642. He was
ejected in 1646 and suffered imprisonment. (fn. 7)
MANORS
EARL'S MANOR in Waresley may
be identified with the manor held in
the reign of Edward the Confessor by
Robert son of Wimarc. (fn. 8) In 1086 it had passed to the
possession of Swain of Essex, (fn. 9) and subsequently was
held by his successors the
Mandevilles and Bohuns. (fn. 10)
His under-tenant was named
Turold and may be identified
with Turold, the father of
Robert Waste, (fn. 11) both of whom
made grants in Waresley to
the Priory of St. Neots. (fn. 12)
Robert was succeeded by William de Rouen, grandson of
Turold, and Gilbert, another
descendant of Turold, (fn. 13) but
before 1220 the manor seems
to have escheated to Henry de
Bohun, who married Maud, the heiress of William de
Mandeville, Earl of Essex. (fn. 14) He and his descendants
held it in demesne by military service. (fn. 15) In 1303 a
sub-tenant named Thomas de la Sale appears, but he
probably was only a tenant for life. (fn. 16) On the death of
the last Earl of Hereford and Essex in 1372 his heirs
were his two daughters, (fn. 17) who held the manor in 1389, (fn. 18)
but before 1428 it came into the possession of William
Druell or Drewell. (fn. 19) Druell in 1423 also bought
Gaynes Manor (q.v.) and the two manors remained in
the same ownership from that time. William Druell,
probably his son, granted Earl's Manor to the use of
his mother Joan Druell, alias Burne, for life. (fn. 20) She
died seised of it in 1495, and it passed to her grandson,
John Druell. (fn. 21) He died the same year and his heir
was his brother Richard. (fn. 22) The latter settled it on
his wife Grace for life. (fn. 23) On her death in 1510 it
passed to their two daughters, (fn. 24) but the younger,
Joan, died unmarried and the
whole manor came to her sister
Anne, wife of Thomas Peryent. (fn. 25) Anne died in 1546 (fn. 26) and
left four daughters and heirs,
and the Waresley manors came
into the possession of one of
them, Dorothy, wife of George
Burgoyne. (fn. 27) In 1572 they sold
it to Thomas Marsh, (fn. 28) whose
grandson, another Thomas
Marsh, sold it in 1635 to Sir
John Hewett, bart. (fn. 29) The
latter's lands were sequestrated under the Commonwealth, but he compounded for them for £3,000. (fn. 30) On the death
of his grandson, another Sir John Hewett, the
manor of Waresley passed to
his daughter Anne, wife of John
Hagar. (fn. 31) Their son John
Hewett Hagar (fn. 32) sold it in 1765
to John March, (fn. 33) who assigned
it, after 1788, to William Needham. (fn. 34) The latter left it, by
will dated 1804, to the Hon.
Francis Needham, (fn. 35) afterwards
first Earl of Kilmorey. In 1807
Needham apparently settled it.
Lord Kilmorey was still holding in 1808, (fn. 36) but it was sold
by the Needham trustees in
1833. (fn. 37) It was afterwards
bought by Charles Duncombe,
1st Baron Feversham. (fn. 38) He was succeeded at Waresley
by his younger son, the Hon. Octavius Duncombe,
M.P., on whose death in 1879 it passed to his son
Col. Walter Duncombe. (fn. 39) In 1917 it came into the
possession of the latter's sister, Miss E. C.Duncombe,
and the Earl of Feversham is now the owner.
Bohun. Azure a bend argent cotised or between six lions or.
Hewett. Gules a cheveron engrailed between three owls argent.
Duncombe. Party cheveronwise engrailed gules and argent three talbots' heads razed and counter coloured.
GAYNES or ENGEYNES MANOR was held in
the reign of Edward the Confessor by two men named
Magne and Lene. (fn. 40) In 1086 it had been granted to
William son of Ansculf, (fn. 41) and the overlordship was
held by the Paganells and de Somerys till the death
of John de Somery in 1322. (fn. 42) On the partition of his
lands between his sisters it was assigned to Joan,
widow of Thomas Botetourt, (fn. 43) when this overlordship seems to have ceased. There seems, however, to
have been another mesne lordship in the elder branch
of the Engaine family (see Great Staughton), which
appears in 1303 when Richard Engaine held half
a fee in Waresley of John Engaine. John died in
1322 seised of the manor and advowson of Waresley
held in dower by his widow Helen. He was succeeded
by his nephew John son of his brother Nicholas, (fn. 44) who
with his wife Joan settled the manor and advowson in
1339. (fn. 45) On the death of Thomas son of John in 1367
his estates were partitioned among his three sisters
and coheirs, (fn. 46) but this overlordship then appears to
have lapsed.
In 1086 the sub-tenant was Ralph, brother of
Ilger, (fn. 47) probably the ancestor of the family of
Engaine, a younger branch of
which held the manor of the
elder branch as of the honour
of Beauchamp and gave its
name to it. Richard Engaine
of Great Staughton (q.v.) gave
the manor and advowson to
Robert Engaine (fn. 48) (living 1199,
1206 (fn. 49) ), said to be his younger
son. Before 1224 Robert was
succeeded by his son William. (fn. 50)
It was probably this William
who was holding in 1239 and
1243, (fn. 51) but in 1249 Robert his son presented to the
church. (fn. 52) Robert died before 1271, leaving a son under
age whose wardship was in dispute between Ida de
Beauchamp, late the wife of Ralph de Somery, and
Henry Engaine. (fn. 53) This son was probably William
Engaine who was the tenant in 1272 and 1291, (fn. 54) and
in 1301 and 1303 Richard Engaine held of John
Engaine (fn. 55) as mentioned above. In 1316 the manor
had passed to Petronilla Engaine (fn. 56) who was succeeded
between 1322 and 1330 by John Engaine (fn. 57) who presented to the church in 1341 and 1349. (fn. 58) He or his
successor of the same name held the manor in 1351, (fn. 59)
when the reversion was settled on William Engaine,
son of John, and his wife Alice and their heirs. In 1423
Thomas Engaine and his wife Margaret sold it to
William Druell or Drewell, (fn. 60) who also obtained possession of Earl's Manor (q.v.). Joan Druell, alias Burne,
in 1489 settled it, excepting Gayne's Wood, on her
daughter-in-law, Mary, the widow of John Druell, (fn. 61)
but after Mary's death, between 1510 and 1528, (fn. 62) the
two manors followed the same descent.
Engaine. Gules crusilly and a fesse dancetty or.
A small holding of half a hide was in the hands of
Summerled in the reign of Edward the Confessor. (fn. 63)
In 1086 it formed part of the fee of Eustace the Sheriff
and was held of him by an under-tenant named Roger. (fn. 64)
Its latter history does not appear.
No licence to impark appears to have been granted
to the tenants of either manor in Waresley. Underwood to the extent of 21 acres is mentioned in Domesday Book (fn. 65) and the damage done to the woods of both
manors by the afforestation carried out by Henry III
is mentioned in 1300. (fn. 66) In 1206 Robert Engaine
obtained a grant from his tenant Reinfrid de Brueria
of the latter's land called Reddich in Waresley, in
order that he might enclose it, (fn. 67) but the Park is not
apparently mentioned till 1698–9. (fn. 68) The rights of
free warren, a sheep-walk, and free foldage are
mentioned in 1724. (fn. 69)
In 1279 John de Bohun, Earl of Hereford, held a
view of frankpledge in Waresley. (fn. 70) Presumably the
lords of Earl's Manor held it, but it is not mentioned
in the conveyances of the manor until 1724. (fn. 71)
CHURCH
The ancient church which appears to
have been dedicated to ST. ANDREW,
but later was generally spoken of as St.
James the Great, stood at the east end of the village. (fn. 72)
It was destroyed by a storm in 1724, and in 1728 was
rebuilt 'in humble imitation of the Chapel at Pembroke College; it had only one small bell, without a
wheel.' (fn. 73)
This church was pulled down and a new church
built on another site in 1856, but the ancient churchyard is still used as a burial ground. In the churchyard is a modern stone cross, inscribed:—
The Church of St. James the Great
which was destroyed by a tempest A.D. 1724,
and rebuilt A.D. 1728,
was replaced by a new Church
erected in the centre of the village, A.D. 1856.
This brass marks its former site.
At the foot of the cross lies a loose stone, now
broken, inscribed as below in impossible Latin:—
E Idus Sept. A.D. MDCCXXIV
Tempìm D. Jacobi Waresliensis
Horribili Tempestatis us Euer Sum:
Uotiuis piorum Hominum Donis
Procurante Ejusdem Uicario Xtophoro Selbyam,
Ædinio Tho. Paine Iñstauratum
Revdo admodum in [Chris]to Patre Ricardo
Lincoln Episcopo Sacro obeunte munia
Deo O. M. Dicatum est
A.D. MDCCXXVIII
Letatus sum in his quae dicta sunt mihi
In Domum M O M N I Ibimus.
The present church of ST. JAMES consists of a
chancel with vestry and organ chamber on the north,
nave with north aisle and a large mortuary chapel on
the south, and a tower and spire at the west end of
the north aisle. The walls are of stone and the roof
is covered with slate; the spire being of timber covered
with oak shingles.
There are three bells inscribed: (1) Taylor Founder
Loboro 1857, (2) Taylor Founder Loboro A.D. 1857,
(3) Taylor Founder Loboro late of St. Neots 1857.
There are monuments: in the nave to Edward G.
Duncombe, d. 1851, Henry C. Duncombe, d. 1903,
Blanche E. C. Duncombe, d. 1917, and Walter H. O.
Duncombe, d. 1917; and Lady E. Caroline Duncombe, d. 1911.
In the north aisle to Thomas Marshe, d. 1624;
Elizabeth (Kimpton), wife of Thomas Marshe, d.
1632; Philladelphia (Johnson), wife of John Byng,
d. 1685; William Needham, d. 1806; Ann, wife of
General Needham, d. 1816; Francis Needham Offley,
killed at the battle of Salamanca, 1812; the Rev.
Thomas Jackson, Vicar, d. 1815; and two others;
in the vestry, to the Rev. Christopher Wilson, Vicar,
d. 1848.
The registers are as follows: (i) Baptisms, 19 Nov.
1647–18 Oct. 1781; marriages, 28 March 1664–30 Sept. 1750; burials, 20 March 1663–23 Dec.
1781; (ii) baptisms and burials, 19 July 1782–25 Dec. 1812; (iii) marriages, 10 June 1754–30 Nov. 1812.
The church plate consists of: A silver cup
inscribed '✠ Waresley Church, Anno Dni. 1857'
and hall-marked for 1856–7; a silver paten similarly
inscribed and with the same hall-mark; a silver
flagon engraved 'Glory be to God on high,' and
inscribed similarly to the others, but hall-marked for
1857–8; a large pewter flagon unmarked.
ADVOWSON
The church and priest of Waresley
are mentioned in Domesday Book
(1086) and were attached to the land
of William son of Ansculf. (fn. 74) The advowson was held
by the tenants in demesne of Gaynes manor till 1351. (fn. 75)
Turold, the Domesday tenant of Earl's manor, however, granted the tithes of his land in Waresley to the
Priory of St. Neots, (fn. 76) and this presumably led to a
claim to the advowson being made by Prior Geoffrey,
but the prior relinquished his claim in 1199 to Robert
Engaine. (fn. 77) In 1351 John Engaine alienated the
advowson to Mary, Countess of Pembroke, (fn. 78) who in
the following year obtained a licence to grant it in
mortmain to Valence Marie Hall, now Pembroke
College, Cambridge, and for the Warden and scholars
to impropriate the church. (fn. 79) The College is still the
owner of the advowson of the vicarage. (fn. 80)
There does not appear to have been a rectorial
manor, but the rent payable from certain obit lands in
1550 to Edward Butler may have been payable to him
as lessee of the rectory. (fn. 81) Shortly after this a manor
of Waresley is mentioned, which is probably a wrong
description of the rectory. George Butler and his wife
Dorothy sold it in 1595 to Richard Buckland, (fn. 82) who
two years later sold it to John and Christopher
Whysson. (fn. 83) The impropriation seems to have been
held under long leases from the College so that it was
bought and sold. The lessee about 1660 was William
Brittain, who sold it to Sir John Hewett and his
brother Robert. (fn. 84) In 1689 the third Sir John Hewett
was lessee of the impropriation. (fn. 85)
In 1309 Robert de Meleford, clerk, and William of
Waresley, clerk, founded the chantry of the BLESSED
MARY for celebrating divine service daily in the
church of Waresley. They endowed it with a messuage and 23 acres of land in mortmain (fn. 86) and further
endowments seem to have been made in 1331 (fn. 87) and in
or before 1378. (fn. 88) The founders presented the first
chantry priest, but in 1413 the presentation was made
by the Bishop of Lincoln. (fn. 89) In 1550 a tenement of
the yearly value of 4s., which had been the endowment
of an obit, was in the hands of the Court of Augmentations. (fn. 90)
CHARITIES
Poor's Tenements. The origin of
this charity is unknown. Certain
tenements in St. Neots were appropriated to the use of the poor of the parish and in 1899
were sold under the authority of an Order of the
Charity Commissioners dated 19 September 1899.
The proceeds were invested in the purchase of
£275 0s. 1d. 2½ per cent. Consols in the name of the
Official Trustees producing £6 17s. 4d. annually in
dividends which are distributed by the vicar in bread
and coal to the poor.
Walter Henry Octavius Duncombe, by will proved
21 June 1917, bequeathed to the Vicar the sum of
£100, the interest to be applied in the maintenance
and upkeep of the Mortuary chapel in Waresley. (fn. 91)
The endowment of the charity now consists of
£105 10s. 6d. 5 per cent. War Stock held by the Official
Trustees producing £5 5s. 6d. annually in dividends
which are applied by the vicar towards the upkeep
of the said chapel.