CHENIES
Isenhamstede (xii cent.); Iselhamstede Cheynes
(xiii-xix cent.); Eastnamsted Cheynes (xvi-xix cent.);
Chenies (xx cent.).
The parish of Chenies was originally known as
Isenhampstead, but from the 13th century onwards (fn. 1)
was spoken of as Isenhampstead Chenies from its
connexion with the Cheyne family, who resided here
for nearly 300 years. During the 19th century the
old name was gradually dropped, and to-day the
parish is universally known as Chenies.
It covers an area of 1,759 acres, of which 1,056
acres are arable land, 474 acres are permanent grass,
and the rest is covered by woods and plantations, (fn. 2)
while there are 10 acres covered by water. The
soil is gravel, flint and chalk and produces crops of
wheat and barley.
In the south the land
attains a height of 407 ft.
above ordnance datum at the
small hill on which the church
is placed. It falls away to
under 300 ft. in the west and
to 270 ft. in the extreme
south-east near Chorley Wood
station, where the Metropolitan railway enters the parish.
The village stands near the
northern boundary on the
brow of a hill. In the centre
is the green with its well,
sheltered by rows of tall elms
and surrounded by red brick
cottages, solid and well built
with pointed gables and tall
chimneys and good-sized
gardens round the cottages.
A road leads to the church
on the west, behind which is
Great Home Farm, while
opposite stands the old manorhouse of the Cheynes, which
for a long time has been used
as a farm. It was rebuilt
probably about 1530 by the first Earl of Bedford,
who had married Anne Sapcote in 1526. Leland,
who visited Chenies a little later, says: 'The olde
House of the Cheyneis is so translated by my
Lorde Russel that litle or nothing of it yn a maner
remaynith untranslated: and a great deale of the
House in ben newly set up made of Bricke and
Timber: and fair logginges be new erected in the
gardein. The House is within diverse Places richely
painted with antique Workes of White and Blak.
And there be about the House 2 Parkes, as I
remember.' (fn. 3)
Only one wing now remains, but it is in a state of
good preservation, due to the solid material used and
to the good work put into its construction. Its
high-gabled roofs with clusters of quaintly twisted
and ornamented chimneys form a striking feature,
which has been copied in the architecture of the
cottages in the village. Some original glass remains,
including a shield with arms and quarterings of
Russell within a garter with a coronet above, also some
old tiles and three fireplaces of Totternhoe stone.
A few yards north of the house is a cellar of two
chambers, dating apparently from the 15th century,
and probably part of a former house. The walls are
of flint and chalk and both chambers have vaulted
roofs.
In a field in front of the manor-house stands an
oak said to have been planted by Queen Elizabeth on
her visit in 1570.
Chenies House, the residence of Miss Russell, stands
in pretty grounds north of the church, from whence
a fine view can be obtained of the woods at Latimer.
From the church a road leads past the Bedford Arms
and Baptist chapel, erected in 1779, to the rectoryhouse, half a mile distant from the church. The
schools, which were built in 1846, lie a little south
of the village. Further south in Green Street, a lane
leading to Chorley Wood station, are Little and Great
Green Street Farms.
The Village Green, Chenies
The country around is hilly and richly wooded and
watered by the River Chess, which on the north
turns the wheel of Chenies Mill and separates the
parish from Hertfordshire. The Chess is here famous
for its trout, and Mr. Froude has written many pages
descriptive of the pleasure of trout-fishing at Chenies. (fn. 4)
Woodside House, which lies between the woods and
the river, is the residence of Adeline Duchess of
Bedford. A road running parallel with the river leads
west through park-land bordered by woods to Dell
Farm, near which is the site of a fairly large Roman
villa, (fn. 5) and from here footpaths lead south to Oldhouse
Farm.
Peter Allibond, who translated theological treatises
from the French and Latin, was rector of Chenies at
his death in 1629 and was buried in the chancel of
the church. (fn. 6)
MANOR
The manor of Isenhampstead, afterwards called ISENHAMPSTEAD CHENIES, is not mentioned in the Survey of
1086, but was doubtless included in the possessions
of Manno the Breton, of whose descendants it was
afterwards held as of their barony of Wolverton, (fn. 7) the
last mention of the overlordship occurring in 1619. (fn. 8)
The first notice of Isenhampstead is found in 1165,
when it was held for a knight's fee by Alexander de
Isenhampstead. (fn. 9) He was probably the ancestor of
the Alexander Cheyne who
presented to the church in
1232 (fn. 10) and died before
1247. (fn. 11) His son John, (fn. 12) who
was Sheriff of Bedfordshire and
Buckinghamshire in 1278, (fn. 13)
incurred debts to the king.
After his death about 1285
his manors, among them
Isenhampstead, valued at
£11 4s. 3d., were taken by
the king, but a certain pension
was allowed to the widow
Joan. (fn. 14) The next to hold
Isenhampstead was Bartholomew Cheyne, whose name occurs between the years
1296 and 1316. (fn. 15) He was followed by Alexander
Cheyne, who with Margaret his wife was in 1321
in possession of Isenhampstead Chenies Manor,
so called for the first time, (fn. 16) and was still holding in
1346. (fn. 17) By 1350 it had passed to John Cheyne, (fn. 18)
who was Sheriff of Bedfordshire and Buckinghamshire
in 1371 (fn. 19) and a knight of the shire in 1373. (fn. 20) He
was afterwards knighted, (fn. 21) but in 1397 was condemned
to death as a Lollard with Sir John Oldcastle. (fn. 22) The
sentence was, however, at the intercession of the
Lords, commuted to one of perpetual imprisonment. (fn. 23)
The next owner of the manor, another John Cheyne,
married about 1400 Agnes sister and heir of William
Cogenhoe, with whom he obtained Cogenhoe Manor,
Northamptonshire. (fn. 24) He was returned as member
for the county in 1413 and 1425 (fn. 25) and was sheriff
in 1426 and 1430. (fn. 26) Agnes his wife having died,
he married Isabel Mortimer, for which he obtained a
dispensation in 1421, Agnes his first wife having been
godmother to a child of Isabel by her former
husband. (fn. 27) In 1440 John Cheyne united with his
son Alexander to convey the manor to a trustee, (fn. 28) but
in 1444 alienated it to Thomas Cheyne of Chesham
Bois, of another branch of the family. (fn. 29) After John
Cheyne's death his son William confirmed the conveyance in 1445, (fn. 30) but Thomas Cheyne apparently
alienated Chenies to his brother Sir John Cheyne,
lord of Drayton Beauchamp and Grove in Chesham
(q.v.), to whom he was indebted for £400, (fn. 31) and
William Cheyne acknowledged Sir John Cheyne's
right in 1451. (fn. 32) On Sir John Cheyne's death without
issue in 1468 (fn. 33) his widow Agnes married Edmund
Molyneux, who was sheriff of the county in 1475 (fn. 34)
and presented to the church in 1479. (fn. 35) He died in
1484, (fn. 36) and Agnes survived him ten years. By her
will 20 November 1494 her first husband's greatgreat-nephew John Cheyne of Chesham Bois (q.v.)
obtained Drayton Beauchamp, Grove and Cogenhoe
Manors, but Chenies passed to Agnes Cheyne's niece
Anne wife of David Philip. (fn. 37) Anne and David
Philip, who was sheriff in 1498, (fn. 38) had some difficulty
in inducing the trustees to hand over the manor, (fn. 39)
but were in possession in 1500, when Chenies was
settled on Anne and her issue. (fn. 40) She died seised of
it in 1510, when it passed to her granddaughter
Anne wife of John Broughton and daughter and
heir of Guy Sapcote, son of Anne Philip by a former
husband. (fn. 41) John Broughton died in 1518, (fn. 42) and by
1523 Anne was the wife of Richard Jermingham. (fn. 43)
He died before 1526, in which year Anne married
John Lord Russell, (fn. 44) the
favourite of Henry VIII,
who stayed at Chenies in
1534. (fn. 45) Lord Russell was
made lord high admiral in
1540, (fn. 46) and in 1541 the privy
council met at Chenies. (fn. 47) In
1550 Russell was created Earl
of Bedford, and on his death
in 1555 he was buried in the
mausoleum in Chenies Church
built by his widow Anne, (fn. 48)
and in which all the succeeding Earls and Dukes of Bedford lie buried.
Cheyne. Checky or and gules a fesse gules fretty ermine.
Russell, Duke of Bedford. Argent a lion gules and a chief sable with three scallops argent therein.
Francis the second Earl of
Bedford established his right to the manor beyond
all dispute in 1561, when he procured a renunci
ation from John Cheyne of any claim which might
be put forward by the Cheynes of Chesham Bois. (fn. 49)
He entertained Queen Elizabeth at Chenies on
19 July 1570 (fn. 50) and she thought of returning there
in August 1576. (fn. 51) In October 1592 the privy
council again met at Chenies. (fn. 52)
Lord William Russell, son of the fifth earl, is
perhaps the most interesting figure in connexion
with Chenies. As a member of the country party in
the House of Commons he backed the Bill excluding
the Duke of York from the throne. Being afterwards
implicated in the Rye House Plot he was executed
for treason in Lincoln's Inn Fields on 21 July 1683
and has earned for himself the name of 'patriot'
or martyr of the Revolution. (fn. 53) He was buried at
Chenies and his widow Lady Rachel Russell visited
the church in later years, when she decided to 'make
a little monument' and erected the one to the fifth
earl and his wife with medallions of their children,
conspicuous among which is that of Lord William
Russell, ranged in
rows on either side. (fn. 54)
Chenieshas remained
in the Russell family
until the present
day, (fn. 55) the present
Duke of Bedford
being lord of the
manor, but it is
many years since the
family ceased to use
the old manor-house
as a residence.
CHURCH
The
church
of ST.
MICHAEL consists
of a chancel 30 ft.
6 in. by 16 ft. 6 in.,
organ chamber, nave
47 ft. by 16 ft. 6 in.,
north chapel, south
aisle 12 ft. 6 in. wide,
south porch and west
tower 10 ft. 6 in.
square, these dimensions being all internal. It is built
of flint with stone dressings and roofed with tiles.
The present church was built in the 15th century
on the site of an ancient edifice the only remains of
which are the font and a capital now lying in the
south aisle, both dating from the 12th century. The
north or Bedford chapel was built in 1556 and
enlarged in 1906, while in 1861 and 1887 the
whole building was extensively restored; the organ
chamber and porch are modern. The chancel has a
modern east window of three lights containing some
16th-century glass showing a man at prayer, and two
modern two-light windows on the south side. On the
north is a mid-16th-century arch. The nave communicates with the Bedford chapel on the north by a
modern arcade of two bays and in the south wall is a late
15th-century arcade of four moulded arches supported
on clustered pillars with moulded capitals and bases.
The pointed tower arch at the west is of two moulded
orders, the inner one of which is supported on engaged
shafts. The south doorway and two windows in the
south wall of the south aisle are of late 15th-century
date considerably repaired, the windows being of
four cinquefoiled lights in depressed heads. There is
a restored piscina at the east end of the south wall. In
the west wall is a three-light window in a depressed
head. The tower is of two stages with an embattled
parapet; it has diagonal buttresses and a stair-turret
at the south-east. The doorway and window in the
west wall are much restored, but above the window
is an original single cinquefolled light.
The late 12th-century font has a circular bowl
fluted and enriched on the upper edge with a
band of foliage and supported on a square scalloped
base.
Chenies Church from the South-east
The detail of the Bedford chapel is entirely
modern. It has a shallow chancel, nave and north
aisle. In the east wall there is a tablet with the
inscription 'Anno Dni 1556: Thys chappel ys built
by Anne Countysse of Bedforde, wyfe to John Erle
of Bedford, according to ye last wyll of the said
Erle.' At the east of the chapel are two carved
wooden images of early 16th-century date which
were brought from the church of La Royal in
France, and at the west are some carved wood angels,
probably from a 17th-century roof, which hold shields
bearing the Russell arms with their quarterings. On
the wall are four funeral helms.
On the west respond of the south arcade is a brass
with the figure in mass vestments of Richard Newland,
rector, who died in 1494; the inscription is inverted.
On the west wall of the south aisle are brass figures
of Agnes widow of Sir John Cheyne, kt., who died
in 1494, and of Edmund Molyneux, her second
husband, who died in 1484, the man in armour and
both beneath canopies; a figure holding a heart under
a rich canopy with four shields and scrolls to Anne
widow of Sir David Philip, lady of Thorne, co.
Northants, and Isenhampstead Chenies, who died in
1510; figures of John Waliston, 'faber istius ville,'
who died in 1469, and Isabel and Joan his
wives; an inscription only to Sir Nicholas Smythe,
late parson of Latimer, who died in 1517. On the
west wall of the nave is a marginal inscription and
part of a scroll to Agnes Johnson, mother of Robert
Leyst, rector, who died in 1511, and part of an
inscription with two shields to Elizabeth daughter of
John Broughton, who died in 1524. The church
possesses two coffin trestles, and in the vestry is a
carved chest, all of the 17th century.
The Bedford chapel, lighted by windows containing
modern glass with allegorical references to the Russell
family and hung with banners, contains an interesting
series of monuments of the Russells. All the recumbent figures of men are represented in the armour
of their period with the insignia of the garter and
coronets, and the ladies in their robes of state and
coronets. The earliest is the fine alabaster altar
tomb with unpainted effigies of John first Earl of
Bedford (d. 1555) and of Anne, daughter of Sir Guy
Sapcote, (fn. 56) his wife (d. 1559); his head lies on his
crested helm and hers on cushions, while his feet rest
on a lion and hers on a chained antelope. The sides
of the pedestal have panels containing shields of arms
and surrounded by arabesque work in relief and inlay.
(2) An alabaster altar tomb with the coloured effigies
of Francis second earl (d. 1585) and Margaret his
first wife, daughter of Sir John St. John of Bletsoe
(d. 1561). The pedestal is divided into panels
containing shields and has Doric pilasters at the
angles. The inscription at the west end states
that the monument was erected by Francis Lord
Russell of Thornhaugh in 1619. (3) An altar tomb
with effigy of Bridget, second wife of Francis, second
earl, daughter of Lord Hussey (d. 1600), was brought
from Watford Church. The marble pedestal has the
kneeling figure of her grandsons, Francis Lord Norreys
on the south side and Sir Charles Morison on the
north, and shields of arms. (4) An alabaster and
marble altar tomb with the recumbent effigy of Anne
wife of Ambrose Earl of Warwick and eldest daughter
of Francis, second earl (d. 1604). The painted
figure lies upon a slab supported by four Ionic columns.
(5) An altar tomb with effigy of Elizabeth wife of
William Lord Russell of Thornhaugh (d. 1611) was
also brought from Watford Church. The pedestal
is ornamented with Doric pilasters and shields.
(6) The memorial to Frances daughter of William
third Earl of Bath and Elizabeth (Russell) (d. 1612)
was erected by her cousin Anne Countess of Dorset.
It consists of a black marble slab resting on four white
marble Doric columns, which stand on a black marble
floor slab on which lie shields in white marble.
(7) An alabaster altar tomb attached to the north
wall to Frances wife of Giles Lord Chandos, daughter
of Edward Earl of Lincoln, and mother of Katherine
Countess of Bedford (d. 1623), was erected by her
grandson William, the fifth earl and first duke. The
lady is shown reclining on her left elbow with her
hand on a book, and wearing an embroidered dress
with a ruff and cap. (8) An altar tomb with the
painted alabaster effigies of Francis second Lord Russell
of Thornhaugh and fourth Earl of Bedford (d. 1641)
and Katherine (Bridges) his wife (d. 1653). An
inscription records that Lord Russell had placed in
the chapel monuments to his grandfather Francis the
second earl and Margaret his wife, his aunt Anne
Countess of Warwick, and his mother Elizabeth Lady
Russell. On the wall above the effigies, under a
broken pediment, are two round-arched niches, that
on the left containing the reclining figure of Frances,
their eldest daughter (d. 1612), and that on the right
a chrisom child, their fourth daughter Elizabeth
(d. 1616). (9) An immense white marble monument to William fifth earl and first Duke of Bedford
(d. 1700), and Anne (Carr) his wife (d. 1684), occupies
the west wall of the chapel. It represents the duke
in the robes of the garter and his wife in classical
drapery on a high pedestal, seated in attitudes intended
to express grief under a draped cupola flanked by
four Corinthian columns which support an entablature
with the Russell arms in a pediment above. On the
curtain behind them is a medallion portrait of their
son William Lord Russell, who was executed in 1683.
Between the columns are medallions of eight others
of their eleven children. (10) A large allegorical
mural monument in white marble to Wriothesley
second duke (d. 1711), and Elizabeth (Howland)
his wife (d. 1724), erected by their son John Duke
of Bedford in 1769 from designs by Sir William
Chambers, R.A., and sculptured by Joseph Wilton,
R.A. It represents figures, probably intended for the
duke as a young man, kneeling with outstretched
arms gazing up to heaven, and the duchess as a young
woman, also kneeling, but with her head bowed.
(11) A table tomb consisting of a black marble slab
supported on four Doric columns to John Earl Russell
(d. 1878), author of the Reform Bill of 1831 and
twice Prime Minister. (12) A monument in the
form of a bronze candelabrum with statuettes of Love,
Truth, Courage and Faith, designed by Alfred Gilbert,
R.A., to Lord Arthur Russell (d. 1892). (13) A
mural monument designed by George E. Fox, F.S.A.,
to Francis Charles Hastings, ninth duke (d. 1891).
It consists of a dark marble sarcophagus in an arched
recess which contains an inscription, and flanked by
pilasters supporting a cornice and frieze. (14) A
Jacobean panel in alabaster to George William Francis
Sackville, tenth duke (d. 1893), by the same designer.
There are mural monuments to Georgiana Duchess
of Bedford (d. 1858) designed by Richard Westmacott,
R.A., and to Odo William Leopold Lord Ampthill
(d. 1884), with medallion portrait by Sir Edgar
Boehm, R.A., and many tablets to other members of
the Russell family. In the north aisle of the chapel are
effigies probably to Sir John Cheyne, the Lollard, who
died about 1400, and his wife. The man, who is in
armour, is unfinished from the waist downwards. The
birds on his coat seem to be part of the arms, a fesse
between four martlets, which Sir John Cheyne is
known to have borne; the woman's effigy is much
damaged.
The north and west walls of the churchyard are
partly built of 17th-century brickwork, and among
the tombs is one to John Vernon, who died in 1622,
and his wife, who died in 1650.
There is a ring of six bells by T. Mears of London,
1826.
The communion plate includes a stand paten
which is probably of 1634, though the date letter is
indistinct.
The registers previous to 1812 are as follows:
(i) all entries from 1592 to 1679; (ii) baptisms and
burials 1679 to 1769, marriages 1679 to 1754.
ADVOWSON
The church of Isenhampstead
Chenies, first mentioned in 1232, (fn. 57)
has always been held by the lords
of the manor (fn. 58) (q.v.), and is in the gift of the Duke
of Bedford at the present day. The church was
assessed at £4 13s. 4d. in 1291 (fn. 59) and at £13 6s. 8d.
in 1535. (fn. 60)
CHARITY
The charity of the Countess of
Warwick, founded by deed, 10 October
1603, is endowed with £2,269 13s. 1d.
consols, which was augmented by the Duke of Bedford
by deed of trust, 12 December 1890, with £720
2½ per cent. annuities. The annual income, amounting to £74 14s. 8d., is applied in pursuance of a
scheme of the Charity Commissioners, 14 December
1909, in pensions to not more than four men, and
not more than six women, of sixty years of age or
upwards, except in case of physical disability. The
sums of stock are held by the official trustees.