SAUNDERTON
Santesdone, Santesdune (xi cent.); Santerdon (xiii
cent.); Sauntdresdone (xiv cent.).
Saunderton is a long, narrow parish, 5¾ miles from
end to end and with its greatest width of less than a
mile in the centre. Its area covers nearly 1,725 acres,
including 1,111 acres of arable land and 178 of permanent grass. (fn. 1) There are no woods or plantations.
The slope of the land varies between 348 ft. above the
ordnance datum on the road near the church and
687 ft. at Lodge Hill on the western boundary.
The soil is light and shallow, the subsoil rubble and
chalk. There is a chalk-pit to the south-east of
Lodge Hill. The chief crops are wheat, barley, peas,
beans and oats. Both the Watlington and Wycombe
branches of the joint line of the Great Western and
Great Central railways cross the north of the parish,
and the latter branch traverses two of its eastern
sections and has a station in the extreme south-east.
Between them runs the Lower Icknield Way; the
Upper Icknield Way lies 1½ miles further south.
Close to the station is the Wycombe union workhouse. The small village of Saunderton lies 3½ miles
to the north-west of the station and halfway between
them is a small hamlet called Saunderton Lee, which
includes the Grange. The reason for the decline of
a once flourishing community is lost. There were
originally two churches in Saunderton, with the
ascriptions to St. Mary and St. Nicholas respectively,
but the latter appears to have been allowed to fall
into decay from the middle of the 15th century (see
advowson), and its site is not ascertainable. It is
supposed, from the human remains which have been
dug up there, (fn. 2) to have stood to the westward of the
present church at a place called Great Saunderton.
After its decline the remaining church of St. Mary
was henceforward known as St. Mary and St. Nicholas.
The rectory, formerly a farm-house, about half a
mile to the south-east of the church, is an 18th-century building with a 17th-century wing and a
stable and barn of the latter date. Some fragments of
14th and 15th-century window tracery from the church
are now in the garden.
There is no manor-house. The last mention of
one that could be found at the end of the 18th century
was in a will dated 1610. (fn. 3)
Frogmore Farm, about a quarter of a mile west of
the church, is an interesting example of a mid-15th-century house, which, though altered about 1600 and
subsequently added to, retains much of the original
massive timber construction, including the roof to
the hall.
To the north-east of the church is Saunderton
Mill, which is both a steam and water-mill. The
Bledlow paper-mill stands in the north of the parish.
Near Slough Farm, in the south, are two tumuli,
which were opened in 1858, but nothing was discovered, and at Lodge Hill, about 1½ miles northwest, are two more and a line of entrenchment. Near
the church is an almost effaced mount and bailey castle
which has one bailey on the south-east, since converted
into a moated site, and vestiges of another at the
north-west of the mount. On the borders of Horsenden parish is a homestead moat in Roundabout Wood.
Saunderton was inclosed in 1806. (fn. 4)
The following place-names have been found in this
parish: Chawley Farm (fn. 5) (xvii cent.); Budnam and
Great Wyldy (fn. 6) (xviii cent.).
MANORS
In 1086 the Bishop of Bayeux held a
manor in Saunderton assessed at 5 hides, (fn. 7)
which was later
known as SAUNDERTON
or SAUNDERTON ST.
MARY. Before 1235 it
appertained to the honour of
Leicester, (fn. 8) and so passed to
the duchy of Lancaster, (fn. 9) the
last reference to this overlordship that has been found
occurring in 1650. (fn. 10) In 1086
the Bishop of Bayeux had
subinfeudated his land in
Saunderton to Roger, (fn. 11) who
was also his tenant in Weston
Turville, (fn. 12) to which manor
Saunderton become appurtenant. (fn. 13) This intermediary
lordship is last mentioned in
1361. (fn. 14)
Robert son of Osbert de
Saunderton was holding in
Saunderton in the middle of
the 12th century. (fn. 15) Before
1215 (fn. 16) Osbert de Saunderton
was tenant of the manor of
Saunderton St. Mary, (fn. 17) and
was still alive in 1247. (fn. 18)
William de Saunderton, probably his son, was holding before 1289, (fn. 19) and was incapacitated by age for
the office of coroner for the county in 1308. (fn. 20)
Alexander de Saunderton had succeeded before
1329. (fn. 21) Another Alexander de Saunderton was
holding in 1346, (fn. 22) and was returned to Parliament
for the county in that year. (fn. 23) By licence two years
later (fn. 24) he made a settlement of this manor on his
sons William, John and Alexander in tail-male. (fn. 25) It
remained in his family (fn. 26) until 1452, when William
Saunderton and his wife Agnes conveyed it to John
Brecknock, Edmund Brudenell and others. (fn. 27) They
demised it in 1459 to John Stocker and others, (fn. 28) who
transferred it in 1462 to William Tybert and John
Wild. (fn. 29) They granted this manor before 1474 to
Sir John Leynham alias Plomer and his wife Margaret. (fn. 30)
He died in 1479, (fn. 31) and Margaret sold the manor to
Sir John Donne. (fn. 32) He bequeathed it to his wife
Elizabeth for life, with reversion to their son Edward, (fn. 33)
who had succeded in 1506. (fn. 34) He was knighted in
1513, (fn. 35) and on his death in 1551 (fn. 36) Sir Thomas
Jones, who had married Elizabeth only daughter and
heir of Sir Edward Donne, held the manor for his
life. (fn. 37) He died in 1559, (fn. 38) leaving two co-heirs,
Anne wife of John Cotton and Frances wife of Ralph
Lee. (fn. 39) By mutual agreement Saunderton Manor
passed to the Lees. (fn. 40) Frances died in 1572 (fn. 41) and
her husband in 1578. (fn. 42) Their
son and heir Edward Donne
Lee (fn. 43) conveyed this manor in
1593 to Sir Robert Dormer, (fn. 44)
afterwards first Lord Dormer. (fn. 45)
Robert Dormer, third son of
Lord Dormer, (fn. 46) was in possession in 1625, (fn. 47) and the
manor has descended in his
family, (fn. 48) his grandson Charles
succeeding his cousin Rowland
as Lord Dormer in 1712. (fn. 49)
Rowland thirteenth Lord
Dormer is the present owner.
The Rectory, Saunderton
Dormer, Lord Dormer. Azure ten billets or and a chief or with a demi-lion sable therein.
The profits of the courts
leet and baron of the manor of Saunderton St. Mary
were 13s. 4d. in 1650, and the 'certainty money'
formerly paid to the steward for the use of the lord
was 2s. 6d. (fn. 50)
In 1086 a second manor assessed at 5 hides in
Saunderton, afterwards distinguished as that of
SAUNDERTON ST. NICHOLAS, was held by
Miles Crispin. (fn. 51) It belonged to the honour of Wallingford, (fn. 52) and later to the honour of Ewelme. (fn. 53)
The last mention in this connexion that has been
found occurs in 1673. (fn. 54)
Osbert was tenant under Miles Crispin in Saunderton in 1086. (fn. 55) Before 1215 Roger de Sanford was
holding Saunderton St. Nicholas, (fn. 56) and continued to
do so (fn. 57) until his death about 1235, when it was
divided among his heirs. (fn. 58) They appear to have
been Emma wife of William Beauchamp, Joan wife
of Henry Dayrell and Maud wife of John, 'medicus,'
who were plaintiffs in a suit in 1236. (fn. 59) That
part assigned to Emma and her husband William
Beauchamp was sometimes called SAUNDERTON
MANOR and afterwards CHEYNES MANOR, and
descended with Drayton Beauchamp (q.v.), of which
William Beauchamp was lord, for over 200 years. (fn. 60)
It was granted with Drayton Beauchamp to Thomas
Cheyne in 1364, (fn. 61) and descended in his family, Sir
John Cheyne being mentioned as lord in 1445. (fn. 62)
Before 1459 it had passed to John Breckneck, (fn. 63) and
from this date descended with Saunderton St. Mary
(q.v.), being last mentioned by name in 1723. (fn. 64) The
Crown seems to have retained rights in the manor,
which was leased in 1601 (fn. 65) and 1602, (fn. 66) the grants
evidently proving ineffective. It seems to have renounced these rights in 1603 to Sir Robert Dormer. (fn. 67)
The second share in the manor of Saunderton
St. Nicholas was presumably held by Henry and Joan
Dayrell in 1236. He was Sheriff of Middlesex in
1246, (fn. 68) and died soon afterwards. (fn. 69) His son Henry (fn. 70)
was holding in 1302, (fn. 71) and in 1308 obtained a
licence to alienate to John de Foxley, his wife Constance, and to John's heirs. (fn. 72) A grant of free warren
in this estate was made to John de Foxley (fn. 73) in 1317. (fn. 74)
He died about 1323, (fn. 75) when his lands were taken into
the king's hands, but restored to Constance in 1325
for her life. (fn. 76) Thomas son and heir of John de
Foxley (fn. 77) was holding in 1346. (fn. 78) His lands in
Saunderton presumably escheated to the Crown and
were included in the grant of land to the value of
100 marks made from the honour of Wallingford to
Sir John de la Hay in 1377, (fn. 79) and inspected and
confirmed in the following year. (fn. 80) He was holding
in Saunderton in 1379, (fn. 81) and the estate remained in
his family for over a hundred years, for early in the
16th century it had descended to John wife of
Thomas Botery and daughter and heir of Edward de
la Hay. (fn. 82) Before 1515 Thomas and Joan Botery
brought a suit in Chancery against Sir Ralph Verney
for the recovery of deeds relative to their lands in
Saunderton, (fn. 83) but no later mention of them has been
found.
The third share resulting from the division of the
manor of Saunderton St. Nicholas in 1235 came to
be known as BROMES, BROMYS or BROWN'S
MANOR. Maud wife of John, 'medicus,' in 1236 (fn. 84)
was presumably third co-heir of Roger de Sanford.
She is called Maud Mire in 1247–8. (fn. 85) Ralph
Brown, probably her son by a former marriage, was
holding before 1300. (fn. 86) John Brown, mentioned in
1356, (fn. 87) who married Maud widow of Alexander de
Saunderton (see Hedgerley), sold this manor in
1374–5 to Robert Braybrook and others. (fn. 88) One of
these, William Borstall, released his right in it to
Sir Gerard Braybrook the elder in 1389. (fn. 89) It probably remained in the Braybrook family until the
death of Sir Gerard Braybrook without heirs male in
1432, (fn. 90) and by 1459 was in the possession of John
Brecknock and others. (fn. 91) It thus came under the
same ownership as Saunderton St. Mary and follows
the same descent. It is last mentioned as a distinct
manor in 1749. (fn. 92)
In 1086 there were three mills in Saunderton, one
on the manor of Saunderton St. Mary, (fn. 93) the other
two on that of Saunderton St. Nicholas. (fn. 94)
Thame Abbey held lands in Saunderton, afterwards
called SAUNDERTON GRANGE, (fn. 95) granted to it in
free alms late in the 12th century by Robert de
Saunderton for 2 silver marks and a horse-load
(summa) of oats and for 40d. Paid to his wife. (fn. 96) At
the Dissolution this estate was in the tenure of
Thomas Winter. (fn. 97) It was granted in 1542 to the
Dean and Canons of Christ Church, Oxford, (fn. 98) a grant
which was confirmed in 1546. (fn. 99) They have since
retained it, their lessee in 1806 being Richard
Brigginshaw. (fn. 100) Mrs. Schobell, who purchased the
lease from John Brigginshaw in 1830, (fn. 101) was holding
it in 1862 (fn. 102) for £2 4s. 4½d. yearly and the price
(regulated by the Oxford market) of 1 quarter
5 bushels of wheat, 1 peck of malt and two capons,
amounting in all from £25 to £30. (fn. 103)
CHURCH
The parish church of ST. MARY
AND ST. NICHOLAS consists of a
chancel, nave with a western bellcote
of wood, and south porch. The present structure is
modern, having been completely rebuilt in 1888–91,
many of the windows and doorways and much of the
material of the walling of the former church, which
was of flint with stone dressings, being re-used.
Two early 14th-century windows are reset near
the east end of the chancel in the north and south
walls, each of two lights in a pointed head with an
external label, and at the north-west there is a single
trefoiled light of 15th-century date. The window
at the south-west of the chancel, of two pointed
lights, has been much restored. The heads of the
lights probably date from the 16th century, while
the label, which seems to have been originally made
for a pointed opening and is of typical 14th-century
section, has been adapted to its present segmental form.
The remaining features in this wall are an early 14th-century doorway, which is now blocked, and a piscina
with a moulded trefoiled head and a stone shelf, probably of a later date in the same century.
The easternmost window in the north wall and
the lower window in the west wall of the nave
contain a few old stones in the jambs and mullions.
The north and south doorways are both of the early
14th century.
The framework of the bellcote is of mediaeval date.
The early 13th-century font has a fluted and
moulded bowl, around which is a band of stiff-leaved
foliage, and stands on a circular base. The chancel
rails are made up of the remains of two screens, and
on each side of the central opening have trefoiled
heads of four bays with pierced spandrels cut from a
single plank. The north bays date from the late 14th
century and the south from the early 15th century;
over the latter is some woodwork with early 17th-century carving. On the altar platform and in the
organ chamber are a number of yellow and red
mediaeval tiles of a variety of designs. The only
early monument remaining is a 15th-century brass
of the half-length figure of a woman on the south
wall of the nave with inscription to Isabella Saunderton,
daughter of William Saunderton and sister of Bernard
Saunderton.
There are three bells, all by Alexander Rigby,
1699.
The plate includes a small cup of 1691 and a
cover; both have the same maker's mark, but the
cover has no date letter.
The registers begin in 1728.
ADVOWSON
Before 1215 there were two
churches in Saunderton, (fn. 104) which gave
their names to the manors of
St. Mary and St. Nicholas. The advowson of each
church appertained to the manor in which it was
situated (fn. 105) and followed the same descent. (fn. 106) Both
churches were valued at £5 6s. 8d. yearly in 1291. (fn. 107)
On the partition of the manor of St. Nicholas, about
1235, the advowson of that church appears to have
been divided between the holders of the Dayrells' and
Bromes portions, who presented in turn. (fn. 108) With
Bromes it had come under the same ownership as
Saunderton St. Mary before 1459, (fn. 109) and the last
mention of it that has been found occurs in 1528. (fn. 110)
The rectories were united to form the present rectory
of St. Mary and St. Nicholas, valued at £14 0s. 0¼ d.
in 1535. (fn. 111) The advowson of Saunderton Church was
sold by Charles Lord Dormer in 1726 to the President and Fellows of Magdalen College, Oxford, (fn. 112)
who are the present owners.
In 1806 the rector was awarded a fifth of the
arable land in Saunderton and a ninth of the
remainder, exclusive of the woodlands, in lieu of
the great and small tithes. (fn. 113)
In 1548 the site of the Church House in Saunderton, which had been given for an obit, was worth
yearly 4d. (fn. 114) It was granted in free socage in 1554
to William Walton and Jeremiah Hally. (fn. 115)
There are apparently no endowed charities in this
parish.