HITCHAM
Hucheham (xi–xiii cent.); Hecham (xiv–xv
cent.); Hichen (xvi cent.).
Hitcham is a long, narrow parish of 1,483 acres,
of which 582 acres are arable land, 280 acres permanent grass and 474 covered by woods and plantations. (fn. 1)
The soil is gravel and the subsoil loam and produces
crops of wheat, oats and barley. The land rises
from 76 ft. above ordnance datum on the south to
331 ft. in the extreme north of the parish, and the
village lies towards
the south of the
parish on the eastern
boundary at an altitude of 171 ft. At
the west entrance
stands the church
with Hitcham Farm,
an early 17th-century house, much
altered, on the same
side of the road. To
the north-east stand
the remains of the
old manor - house,
consisting of walls of
17th-century bricks,
which once inclosed
the kitchen gardens
and formed part of
outhouses. The
wrought - iron gates
supported by pillars
of brick still remain,
and four Doric
columns built into
some cottages belonging to Hitcham
House probably came from this house. Hitchambury, the residence of Mr. Charles Selwyn Awdry,
lies half a mile to the north-west of the church.
It was formerly the rectory, and, although almost
entirely rebuilt, contains a brick fireplace possibly
of the 16th century. To the south of the road is
Hitcham House, formerly Blythewood House, and
known in the late 18th century as the manor-house
of Hitcham. (fn. 2) It is the seat of Mr. Lionel Hanbury,
who succeded his father, Mr. George Hanbury, J.P.,
in November 1912. Attached to it is the Home
Farm, in Burnham parish. Nashdom is the seat of
Prince Alexis Dolgorouki. A road leads south from
the village to Newtown and descends to the Great
Western railway, which crosses the parish.
Hitchambury: Entrance Front
The higher grounds in the north are covered with
woods and with the plantations of Dropmore Park,
the dividing line between Hitcham and Burnham
passing through the house. A solitary farm called
Sheepcote Farm occupies the north of the parish and
stands on the edge of the Firs, with open ground
stretching before it. A Roman key and Roman
coins were found near the Bath Road. (fn. 3)
The parish has been inclosed under an Act
passed in 1778, (fn. 4) and the inclosure award, dated
7 August 1779, is in the custody of the clerk of
the peace. (fn. 5)
Among place-names in Hitcham in the 16th
century are Hasleton's Corner, Mershill Field and
Windmillfield. (fn. 6) In the field last mentioned an
Anglo-Saxon warrior's grave was found, containing a
sword and shield-boss. (fn. 7) Lees Halestons, Bokecroft
and Picked Croft occur in the 17th century. (fn. 8)
MANOR
HITCHAM MANOR, which before
the Conquest had been held by Haming,
a thegn of Edward, was assessed in 1086
as 6 hides of the lands of Miles Crispin. (fn. 9) His
possessions became united with those of Robert
Doyley (de Oilgi, d'Ouilly) in the honour of
Wallingford, (fn. 10) to which Hitcham is found attached as
late as 1528. (fn. 11)
The under-tenants in 1086 were Ralf and Roger, (fn. 12)
the latter of whom appears to have acquired all rights
here. (fn. 13) The next of whom there is record is Miles
Neyrnut holding in Hitcham at the beginning of
the 13th century, (fn. 14) who received a grant of free
warren in 1231. (fn. 15) He appears, however, to have
incurred the royal displeasure, as the custody was
bestowed in 1233 first upon the Bishop of Carlisle (fn. 16)
and then upon Richard Earl of Cornwall. (fn. 17) The
bishop seems to have asserted his prior right, as in
1234 the custody of the lands was again given to
him (fn. 18) in addition to all the stock on the manor, (fn. 19)
but by 1247 Miles Neyrnut
or a son of the same name
had been reinstated. (fn. 20) He
seems to have left a widow
Isabel, whose husband Reginald
Beauchamp in 1285 held in
her right the Neyrnut property
in Pitstone (fn. 21) (q.v.) and on
whose death in 1292 Hitcham
passed to his son and heir,
called indifferently Miles
Beauchamp or Miles Neyrnut, then twenty-one. (fn. 22) He
was in possession in 1300 (fn. 23)
and continued to hold until his death in 1338. (fn. 24) He
left a widow Amice, to whom Hitcham was allotted
in dower, (fn. 25) and a grandson and heir Miles Beauchamp, (fn. 26) who was spoken of as lord of Hitcham
in 1346 (fn. 27) and was alive in 1350. (fn. 28) The manor
afterwards passed to John Beauchamp, whose widow
Margaret in 1369 successfully brought and action to
recover one-third of Hitcham in dower. (fn. 29) The line
of the Beauchamps ended in Isabel Beauchamp, who
about 1377 seems to have married the son of Adam
and Philippa Ramsay, (fn. 30) and who in 1382 obtained a
confirmation of the grant of free warren to her
ancestor Miles Neyrnut. (fn. 31) For the next 100 years
or so the history of the Ramsay family is obscure.
The name of Thomas Ramsay occurs in 1485 as
witness to a charter (fn. 32) and in 1488 as lord of Hitcham
Manor. (fn. 33) He died in the autumn of 1499, and by
his will made several bequests to Hitcham Church,
and left 10s. a year to Abraham Sybells to hold a
court at Croughton, Northants, and two at Hitcham
yearly. (fn. 34) His son and heir Thomas Ramsay (fn. 35) died
in 1510, (fn. 36) and by his will left a life interest in
Hitcham to his wife Margaret. (fn. 37) She died in 1515,
and the manorial rights vested in their son and heir
Thomas, aged thirteen, (fn. 38) on whose death in 1524
Hitcham was granted in dower to his wife Parnel. (fn. 39)
A posthumous daughter Elizabeth, born two months
after her father's death, inherited the property on
the decease of her mother Parnel in 1527. (fn. 40)
Elizabeth Ramsay married as her first husband
Nicholas Clarke, who died in 1551. (fn. 41) In 1553 the
manor was settled to the use
of Elizabeth Clarke and her
heirs, (fn. 42) and on her subsequent
marriage with Roger Alford
further settlements were made
in 1561 and 1562. (fn. 43) Elizabeth was again left a widow on
the death in 1580 of Roger
Alford, who left instructions
for his burial in the chancel of
Hitcham Church, his motto,
'trie, trust and mistruste
not,' to be placed on his
tomb. (fn. 44) The manorial rights
were exercised by Elizabeth
Alford (fn. 45) until her death in
1598, when she left Hitcham
Manor by will to Sir William
Clarke, her son and heir by
her first husband. (fn. 46) Queen
Elizabeth visited Sir William
Clarke on 2 October 1602, when he 'so behaved
himself that he pleased nobody, but gave occasion to
have his misery and vanity spread far and wide.' (fn. 47)
From James I, however, he obtained in 1618 a
grant of a court leet and view of frankpledge to be
held twice a year in his manor of Hitcham. (fn. 48) He
made several settlements in 1624 (fn. 49) and died in the
following year, when the manor descended to his son
and heir William. (fn. 50) The latter enjoyed his
inheritance less than two years, and was succeeded in
1626 by his brother Hercules Clarke, (fn. 51) who in 1630
conveyed his interest to his brother Sir Francis
Clarke. (fn. 52) Sir Francis died in 1632, leaving a son
John, then aged seven, (fn. 53) during whose minority his
mother Grissell Lady Clarke managed the estates.
Hitcham Manor was charged with £200 yearly rent
to the king and vested by Lady Grissell in trustees
for the endowment of her younger children. (fn. 54) At
the same time detailed inventories and valuations
were made of the goods and furniture in Hitcham
House, in which Lady Grissell had a life interest, (fn. 55)
and also of those which were John Clarke's by virtue
of a settlement made by his grandfather, Sir William
Clarke, in 1624. (fn. 56) In 1641 Lady Grissell, now the
wife of Sir Arthur Mainwaring, kt., renounced
her right in Hitcham Manor to her son John Clarke
on the occasion of his marriage with Philadelphia
daughter and co-heir of Sir Edward Carr. (fn. 57) John
Clarke entered into possession on the attainment of
his majority in 1645 (fn. 58) and was created a baronet in
1660, (fn. 59) in which year he sold Hitcham to Charles
Doe and retired to Shabbington. (fn. 60) Charles Doe
presented to the church in 1660 (fn. 61) and was lord of
Hitcham until 1670, (fn. 62) when he alienated it to
Edward Fulham and others, (fn. 63) by whom it was conveyed in 1673 to Edward Nicholas. (fn. 64) In 1694
Edward Nicholas settled the manor on his son and
heir Edward, (fn. 65) who entered into possession on his
father's death in 1696. (fn. 66) He is said to have died in
1700, (fn. 67) and his brother and heir John Nicholas
alienated Hitcham in 1704 to Stephen Weston, (fn. 68)
from whom it was acquired in 1713 by Samuel
Travers. (fn. 69) Shortly after this it became the property
of the Rev. William Freind, who squandered his
resources (fn. 70) and apparently sold Hitcham to his
brother John Freind, physician to Queen Caroline. (fn. 71)
A John is described as lord of the manor on a slab in
Hitcham Church, recording his death in 1728. (fn. 72)
His son John, who succeeded his father at Hitcham, (fn. 73)
died without children in 1750, leaving the household goods at Hitcham to his wife Elizabeth. (fn. 74) The
manor passed to his cousin William Freind, Dean of
Canterbury, (fn. 75) who appears to have settled it in 1761
on his son Robert, (fn. 76) who also acquired the fixtures
and furniture at his father's death in 1766. (fn. 77) The
manorial rights were exercised by Robert Freind (fn. 78)
until his death without issue in 1780, when they
passed to his brother the Rev. William Maximilian
Freind. (fn. 79) They were shortly afterwards acquired by
William first Lord Grenville, (fn. 80) on whose death in
1834 they became the property of his widow. (fn. 81)
Lady Grenville died in 1864 and left her estates to
her husband's nephew the Hon. George Matthew
Fortescue, (fn. 82) whose son Mr. John Bevill Fortescue of
Dropmore Park is the present lord of the manor.
Neyrnut. Sable billey with a lion argent.
Clarke of Hitcham, baronet. Argent a bend gules between three roun-dels sable with three swans argent on the bend and a sinister quarter
azure charged with a demi-ram argent with a baston across him and two fleurs de lis or in the chief.
Hitchambury: Garden Front
CHURCH
The church of ST. MARY consists
of chancel measuring internally 28 ft.
by 16 ft., nave 31 ft. 6 in. by 19 ft.,
south porch and west tower 10 ft. square. It is built
of flint with stone dressings, with the exception of
the tower, which is of brick coated with rough-cast,
and the roofs are tiled.
The church was built early in the 12th century
and consisted then of the present nave and probably
an apsidal chancel, the foundations of which are
thought to have been found; in the middle of the
14th century the apse was apparently removed and
the present graceful chancel erected, the 12th-century
chancel arch, however, being retained. The west
tower was added in the 16th century and the
south porch was built in 1866, while the church
was restored throughout in that year and again in
1906–7.
The east window of the chancel is pointed and
has four cinquefoiled lights with a traceried head,
and is of 14th-century date; the mullions and jambs
inside the window have attached shafts with moulded
bases and capitals which are carved with foliage.
The north and south walls each have two original
but restored windows of two trefoiled ogee lights with
tracery under pointed heads and have shafted internal
jambs and mullions. Near the west, in the south
wall, are a small restored priest's doorway with ogee
head and a low-side window of a single trefoiled
light, while above the latter at some height is an
original round trefoiled window with sub-cusping. The
piscina with a moulded ogee head and the sedilia of the
same character are of 14th-century date. A moulded
string-course runs round the wall inside at the level
of the window sills, and on a window sill on the
south side is a corbel carved as a winged lion. The
chancel windows contain some especially interesting
14th-century glass which has recently been restored
in a conservative manner. That in the east window
includes two slightly incomplete figures of angels
standing on wheels, one holding a crown of thorns
and the other a cross, and a figure of Christ seated
between the four Evangelists. The north and south
windows contain a series of figures representing the
nine orders of angels, most of which are now incomplete. The east light in the north-west window
represented '(Virt)utes' and the west light in the
south-west window 'Dominationes,' while in each
of the quatrefoils in the heads of the windows is
a figure of one of the Evangelists with a scroll,
the most complete being that of St. Luke in thenorth-west window, on whose scroll is the inscription
'Missus est Angelus Gabriel ad Mariam Virginem.'
On the scroll with St. Matthew in the south-east
window is '(Natus) est in Beth(leh)em diebus Erodis
Reg(is),' and on that with St. Mark in the southwest window 'Recumbentibus undecim discipulis
aparuit il(le).'
Plan of Hitcham Church
The late 12th-century round-headed chancel arch
is of two plain orders, the inner of which springs from
semicircular keeled responds which have moulded bases
and carved capitals. Part of the south jamb has
been cut back and a head corbel formed beneath the
overhanging portion, while the holes for the former
rood beam remain in the springing stones. Above
the arch on the east side is a stone shaft rising to the
plastered ceiling and resting on a moulded corbel
with a scalloped capital. On the west side are traces
of colouring.
The north and south walls of the nave have each
two very small original windows with round heads
and deeply splayed jambs, the eastern one of which
on either side is blocked, and a 14th-century
pointed window of two cinquefoiled lights with a
traceried head. In the south wall there are also a late
14th-century doorway, the remains of a piscina and
at the west end the outline of a blocked gallery
window. The tower is of two stages without
buttresses and has an embattled parapet. The fourcentred tower arch is of chamfered brickwork, and
the west doorway, of similar character, retains its
original plain door. Above the doorway
is a re-set 14th-century window of two
cinquefoiled lights in a pointed head,
probably taken from the west wall of the
nave, and an outer order of brickwork
added. The bell-chamber has in each
face a window with a four-centred head,
and considerably below on the north
and south sides is a small light of
similar character. There are old tiebeams in the roofs of the chancel and
nave, the latter having king-posts, but
the rest of the original timbers are concealed by plastered ceilings.
The font is octagonal and modern.
The communion table and rails and
the richly carved and canopied hexagonal
pulpit date from the 17th century and the church has
an old oak chest inscribed 'R.C. 1684.'
In the nave are brass figures of Thomas Ramsay,
who died in 1510, in armour, Margaret his wife, four
sons and three daughters, with two shields of arms,
and in the chancel is a brass to Nicholas Clarke in
armour, who died 'of the swett' in 1551, son of
Sir John Clarke of Weston, 'that took the Duke
of Longevyle prisoner,' and his two sons, a matrix
for two daughters, a shield of arms and an inscription to Jane, his daughter, who died in 1563;
to Sir Francis Clarke, youngest son of Sir William
Clarke and Grizell, daughter of Sir David Woodroffe,
who died in 1631. On the south side of the
chancel is a marble monument to Roger Alford, of
London, who died in 1580, and Elizabeth his wife,
daughter of Thomas Ramsay; their kneeling figures
with a son and daughter are in a recess flanked by
Corinthian columns which support a broken pediment with an achievement of arms. On the north
side is a large marble and alabaster monument
to Sir William Clarke, who died in 1624, son
of Nicholas Clarke of North Weston and Elizabeth Ramsay. The recumbent effigy of the knight
in armour with pointed beard and ruff lies in a
recess with two shields of arms, a helm and a pair
of gauntlets, and is flanked by soldiers holding back
curtains; above is an entablature supporting an
achievement of arms and below are the kneeling
figures of five sons and three daughters, several of
which are damaged. The monument, which retains
traces of gold and colour, is inclosed by a charming
contemporary iron grill, and on the wall high above
the monument is a funeral helm with crest of a ram's
head. On the same wall there is a monument to
T. de Birchensty, who died in 1657. In the chancel
are floor slabs to Grissilla, who died in 1647, and
Philadelphia, who died in 1646, infant daughters of
John and Philadelphia Clarke, and to Dorothy, who
died in 1647, wife of Thomas Garrard and daughter
of Sir William Clarke.
Against the south walls of the nave and tower
outside are three coffin slabs and the upper part of
another, all of the 14th century. One with a
moulded edge is plain on the top, on another are
traces of a floreated cross, and on the third are traces
of an incised cross, while the fragment has the upper
part of a raised cross. On the east wall of the
chancel outside is a slab to Edward Evans, who died
in 1685, and Elizabeth his wife, who died in 1690,
and in the churchyard is a large marble tomb to
Edward Nicholas, who died in 1696, and Bridget his
wife, who died in 1692.
On the walls at the south-west corner of the nave
there is some late 17th-century oak panelling which
was formerly part of a box pew. In the floor of
the chancel there is a large number of tiles of the
14th century and later, with a variety of designs,
including a mermaid, a lion passant reversed, a
mounted man with a falcon, a hound hunting a
stag, and foliage with three shields, one charged
with a millrind cross, one three cheverons and the
third a cross.
The tower contains three bells: the treble and third
are by Thomas Swain, 1755, and the second, inscribed
'Sancte Petre,' is probably by John Saunders and of
16th-century date.
The communion plate includes a cup and cover
paten of 1684 and an almsdish of 1686.
The registers begin in 1559. (fn. 83)
ADVOWSON
The church of Hitcham is first
mentioned in 1210 in the possession
of Merton Priory, Surrey, (fn. 84) which
retained it until the Dissolution. (fn. 85) It was worth
£4 6s. 8d. in 1291 (fn. 86) and £11 18s. 2d. in 1535, (fn. 87) and
charged with a pension of 2s. to the priory, which
was confirmed by the Bishop of Lincoln in 1350 (fn. 88)
and paid up to the Reformation. (fn. 89) In 1517 the prior
received licence to unite it with Taplow Church and
to present one of the four canons of the priory to
the living. (fn. 90)
After the Dissolution the advowson of Hitcham
appears to have been retained by the Crown until
1560, when Thomas Stephyns and William Coxe
received a grant of it to them and their heirs. (fn. 91) By
1566 it had been acquired by Roger and Elizabeth
Alford, (fn. 92) owners of Hitcham Manor (q.v.), with
which it was held until the latter part of the 17th
century. (fn. 93) In 1701 it was vested in Rebecca Evans,
widow, (fn. 94) and in 1730 in Thomas Evans, clerk, (fn. 95) who
gave the advowson to the Provost and Fellows of
Eton College, and obliged his heirs to present on
their nomination. (fn. 96) His heirs appear to have been
the Archers, who presented during the 18th and early
19th centuries, (fn. 97) and the rectory is now in the gift of
the Provost and Fellows of Eton College.
CHARITY
The poor's allotment consists of
5 acres of land of the annual rental
value of £10 or thereabouts, which
is applied in the distribution of coal.