BESFORD
Bettesforda (x cent.); Beford (xi cent.); Bezefort,
Bezford (xii cent.); Besceford (xiii cent.).
Besford Court: the Old West Wing
This parish lies on the right bank of Bow
Brook, which forms its eastern boundary, and is
crossed by Besford Bridge in the north-east of the
parish. There are beautiful views of the Malvern
and Bredon Hills from the higher grounds, but the
parish for the most part lies somewhat low, at about
100 ft. above the ordnance datum. In the east of
the parish on the banks of Bow Brook there is a rifle
range. The village, which consists only of a few
scattered houses, lies mainly along the Severn Stoke
Road, and is in the south of the parish. St. Peter's
Church, described by Habington as 'a poore chappell
buylded part of stone and the rest of timber, but
yealdethe plenty of armes,' (fn. 1) lies at the southern end
of the village. To the north is Besford Court, with fishponds to the north-east. It is a large stone mansion,
built in 1912, the new work incorporating much of
the old house. This now forms the west side of the
house and dates from the early 16th century. It
is a half-timber building two stories high and formerly inclosed a courtyard. The remaining block is
L-shaped, with an entrance gateway in the middle of
the long side. The original door remains with its
wicket, and above it is a square projecting oriel window
and a gable with a cusped barge-board. To the
south of the doorway the windows, of 17th-century
date, have pediments to the ground floor and cornices
on the first floor. The north end of this wing has
been lengthened, but much of the old north end has
been again used. Facing the entrance on the other
side of the original courtyard is a detached building
with a large 16th or 17th-century window retaining
its old glazing. In the south wing is a much damaged
Jacobean fireplace, and several of the ceiling beams
show traces of colour and black and white decoration.
There was formerly a great deal of oak carving and
panelling, which was removed by the owner, Lord
Beauchamp, to Madresfield Court before Besford
Court was sold to Mr. Noble. The modern house
adjoins on the east and is built round a central cloister.
A short distance to the west is a fine timber barn with
two porches and a northern annexe, all recently renovated and fitted up for domestic use.
Prattinton, writing in 1820 of the various objects
of value at the Court House, mentions among them
tapestry and a state bed, painted glass of a knight of
Jerusalem, and portraits including Richard II and
Edward IV. (fn. 2)
The parish has an area of 1,383 acres, of which
a large part is permanent grass. (fn. 3) The soil varies,
being chiefly sand and clay; the subsoil is Lower Lias.
The chief crops are wheat, beans, barley and fruit.
An Inclosure Act was passed in 1751. (fn. 4)
Among place-names have been found Bokenhull
Wood, (fn. 5) Wikersleye Meadow (fn. 6) (xiii cent.); Knowling
Coppice, Irish Field, Godworth (fn. 7) (xvii cent.).
Westminster Abbey. Gules the crossed keys of St. Peter with St. Edward's ring in the chief all or.
MANOR
By a charter said to have been given
in 972 land in BESFORDformerly
granted to Pershore Abbey by King
Coenwulf at the request of the ealdorman Beornoth
was restored to that abbey by King Edgar. (fn. 8) Before
the date of the Domesday Survey this had passed from
Pershore to Westminster Abbey, (fn. 9) on which it had
evidently been bestowed with the manor of Pershore
by Edward the Confessor, 10 hides being included
among the lands of St. Peter
of Westminster. Besford was
held of the Abbots of Westminster and of their successors
the Dean and Chapter of
Westminster until 1621, the
owners of the manor doing
suit at the court of Binholme
in Pershore. (fn. 10)
At the date of the Domesday Survey 4 hides were
entered as in demesne, and
held by William the priest.
One hide which never paid
geld, but was then and previously waste, though worth
16d., was held by Walter Poer (Ponther) (fn. 11) ; and the
Sheriff Urse was holding 5 hides previously held by
Edward and Leofric. (fn. 12) Urse's interest in the 5 hides
passed to his successors, the Beauchamps, lords of
Elmley Castle, (fn. 13) a chiefage from the manor being
paid to Elmley Castle in 1651. (fn. 14)
Besford. Gules a fesse between six pears or.
The first recorded tenants under the Beauchamps
were the Besfords. Vivian de Besford paid 20s. forest
fine in 1175–6. (fn. 15) In 1220–1 Vivian son of Osbert
recovered seisin of 2 carucates of land in Besford
against Walter de Nafford and Denise mother of
Walter. (fn. 16) Walter son of Vivian de Besford granted
land in Besford to Abbot Gervaise of Pershore (1204–
34). (fn. 17) Helen, widow of Sir Walter de Besford,
granted to Abbot Roger of Pershore (1234–50) (fn. 18) the
right to make assarts in Ramsen Wood in confirmation of an agreement made by her son Alexander
in 1248–9. (fn. 19) Alexander must have been dead before
1268, for William Beauchamp directed by his will of
5 January 1268 that the wardship and marriage of
the heir of Alexander de
Besford should be sold and
the money laid out for the
benefit of his own soul. (fn. 20)
This heir must have been
Alexander's son, another Alexander. To the subsidy about
1280 Alexander de Besford
paid 4s. 6d. in Besford. (fn. 21) In
1316 he was holding a knight's
fee in Besford, (fn. 22) and in 1327
he headed contributors to the
subsidy in Besford with a payment of 3s. (fn. 23) Alexander son
of Alexander de Besford was
engaged in a suit against John de Bishopsdon in
1325 (fn. 24) and 1328, (fn. 25) and in the latter year dower in
Besford was recovered against him and others by
Parnel, widow of John Thornden. (fn. 26) An order was
issued in 1338 for the election of a verderer for the
forest of Feckenham in the place of Alexander de
Besford, who was so sick and broken by age that he
could not perform the duties of his office. (fn. 27) He must
have died before 1341, when John de Besford and
Joan his wife were holding the manor (fn. 28) and made
a grant of land to Alexander de Besford, probably
their son, and Joan his wife. (fn. 29) Joan, widow of
Robert de Harley, released lands in Besford and elsewhere to Alexander de Besford in 1376–7, (fn. 30) and in
1398–9 Alexander was dealing with land in Pershore. (fn. 31) He died without male issue, leaving either
two or three daughters: Margaret, who married firstly
John Dicleston of Dixton in Alderton (co. Glouc.) and
secondly Thomas de la Hay; Joan, who married Sir
William Clopton (fn. 32) ; and perhaps Agnes, who married
Thomas Throckmorton of Fladbury, but the third
is somewhat doubtful, (fn. 33) and Margaret and Joan seem
to have divided the manor between them, Joan ultimately transferring her share to her elder sister for a
rent of 30s. out of the manor. (fn. 34) Beatrice, widow of
Alexander de Besford, who held of the lord a toft
in which the capital messuage of her manor used to
stand, and two parts of the manor of Besford, died in
1403–4, when it was presented that the daughters
and heirs of Alexander, Margery wife of John
Dicleston and Joan wife of John (an error for
William) Clopton, owed suit for the same. (fn. 35) John
Dicleston owed for relief and fealty for half a fee in
Besford from 1408 to 1411. (fn. 36) The estate shortly
afterwards passed to Thomas de la Hay, who had
married John's widow. (fn. 37) After his wife's death on
24 August 1412, Thomas de la Hay continued to
hold the manor. (fn. 38) Her son, Thomas Dicleston, must
have died before 1419, when her three daughters were
found to be her co-heirs. (fn. 39) Each married a member
of the Harewell family. As heir of her brother,
Elizabeth wife of John Harewell proved her age in
1419–20, (fn. 40) as did Maud wife of Richard Harewell (fn. 41)
and Margery wife of William Harewell in 1422. (fn. 42) In
the partition of their father's
property Besford seems to
have fallen to William Harewell and Margery his wife,
who appears to have survived
her son Roger, and was dead
in September 1500. (fn. 43) At her
death she was holding of the
lord the old court of Besford,
in which the manor of Besford
was once situated, and was
then the widow of Nicholas
Giffard. (fn. 44) She was succeeded
by her grandson Edmund, (fn. 45)
who married Joan Russell of
Strensham, and was the son of Roger Harewell by
the daughter and co-heir of — Corbett of Cowleigh. (fn. 46) Thomas son of Edmund, who succeeded
his father in 1532, (fn. 47) further enriched the family by
marrying Margery sister and co-heir of John Vampage
of Wollashull. (fn. 48) Edmund Harewell, the son of Thomas
and Margery, again added to its property and importance by his marriage with Elizabeth daughter and
heir of James Bury of Hampton Poyle (co. Oxon.). (fn. 49)
Edmund and Elizabeth were dealing with the manor
in 1588. (fn. 50) Their son Edmund, who succeeded to the
manor, (fn. 51) was the last Harewell of Besford. He was
knighted in 1603, and sold the manor in 1606 to
William Sebright of London for £2,750, a lease for
twenty-one years made by him on the previous 19
March to Rowland Berkeley being redeemed for
£457 10s. (fn. 52) Habington describes most sympathetically the shipwreck of Sir Edmund's fortunes which
necessitated this sale of the manor, and ascribes his
sudden downfall, after the steady ascent of the generations that had preceded him, to the heavy expenses
incurred by him in filling the offices to which he was
appointed on account of his wisdom and character.
He eulogizes him as 'Edmund Harewell, Knyght of
the Bathe, Shyreefe of this county, an expert Justyce,
a rare Commisyoner, and learned Gentellman. But
overspending hymsealfe to serve his county in Offyces of
authority (as hee towlde
me hymsealfe) weakened
hys estate, and then
rowlinge from Besford
to London and so backe
agayne fyrst consumed
and last sould all.' (fn. 53)
Harewell of Besford. Argent a fesse wavy sable with three hares' heads or thereon.
Sebright, baronet. Argent three cinq foils sable.
William Sebright,
who belonged to the
family of Sebright of
Blakeshall in Wolverley,
died seised of the manor
on 27 October 1620, (fn. 54)
and was succeeded by
his nephew Edward,
son of his late brother
John. (fn. 55) Edward was
created a baronet in
1626. (fn. 56) He was Commissioner of Array before the battle of Edgehill, and is said to have
fought on the Royalist
side, but a warrant
issued by the king in
1646 for the cutting
down of timber at Sebright's manor of Prestwood described him as 'in rebellion against us.' (fn. 57)
He 'acted cordially' for the Commonwealth according
to his own protestations, made in 1651 to obtain
discharge from sequestration, when he declared that
he took the Engagement, lent £1,000 on the Public
Faith, relieved Parliament garrisons, served as Sheriff
of Staffordshire, obeyed all Parliament orders through
the wars, and lent and disbursed money for Parliament,
and yet was sequestered on information that he assisted
the king. He begged to be allowed to compound
on the ground that he was very aged, and wished to
have his poor estate free for his son, who was very
young. He was ordered to pay a fine of £3,618 in
June 1651. (fn. 58) He died on 8 December 1653, (fn. 59) and
was succeeded by Edward his only son by his second
wife Elizabeth, daughter of Henry Earl of Manchester.
He married Elizabeth daughter of Sir Richard
Knightley of Fawsley, and died 11 September 1679. (fn. 60)
Their son Edward, third baronet, then succeeded.
His son Thomas Saunders Sebright, who succeeded
him as fourth baronet in 1702, (fn. 61) died in 1736, when
the manor descended to his son Sir Thomas Saunders
Sebright. On his death, unmarried, in 1761 (fn. 62)
he was succeeded by his brother Sir John Saunders
Sebright, sixth baronet. (fn. 63) He was a colonel of the
18th Regiment of Foot, and became a lieutenantgeneral. He represented Bath in three Parliaments (fn. 64)
(1763–80) and died in 1794. He was succeeded
by his son Sir John Saunders Sebright, who served for
a short time in the army and was in 1807 elected
M.P. for Hertfordshire, representing the county until
the end of the first reformed Parliament. (fn. 65) As an
independent member on 1 March 1831 he seconded
Lord John Russell's motion for leave to bring in
the first Reform Bill. He wrote and spoke much
that was of value on practical agricultural matters. (fn. 66)
He died in 1846, and was succeeded by his son the
eighth baronet, Sir Thomas Gage Saunders Sebright, (fn. 67)
at whose death in 1864 the manor passed to his son
Sir John Gage Saunders Sebright. (fn. 68) Of him it was
purchased in 1885 by Frederick Earl Beauchamp.
He was succeeded in 1891 by his son William Earl
Beauchamp, who sold the manor in 1910 (fn. 69) to Major
George John William Noble, the present owner.
CHURCH
The church of ST. PETERconsists
of a chancel 20 ft. by 13½ ft., with a
modern north vestry, nave 41 ft. by
15½ ft., and south porch and west bellcote. The
dimensions are internal.
The old chancel, now practically rebuilt, was
apparently of early 13th-century date and was the
earliest portion of the building. The timber-framed
nave was built in the late 14th or early 15th century
and the south porch added soon after.
The chancel has a modern three-light east window
and two others in the south wall. In the north wall
is a recess, with a doorway to the vestry. The latter
has ancient work re-used in the east window, and
below it is an old window with three uncusped lights,
re-used and lighting a basement. The chancel roof
is of wagon form and modern.
The nave is timber-framed and stands on a modern
stone base; the filling in of plaster is also modern,
but the timbering is mainly original and massive.
In the north wall are two square-headed three-light
windows, and there are two more together in the south
wall, all, however, mostly modern work. In the west
wall is a late 14th-century window of two lights with
a square traceried head, all in oak. The south door
is modern, but the blocked north door is original and
has a four-centred ogee head. The roof has modern
panelled boarding of wagon form, but the trusses
are ancient, the tie-beams having each a cross flory in
the centre of the soffit and curved supporting struts.
The alteration in level between the nave and chancel
roof is boarded in on the west face. The south
porch is of timber and structurally of the 15th
century, but the barge-board and traceried filling at
the sides are modern. Over the west gable is a
modern square bell-turret with a shingled spirelet.
It contains two bells, the first mediaeval and inscribed in Lombardic characters, '† Campanum
Sanct' Micaelis'; the second has no inscription, but
is of the same date (about 1300).
The wooden fittings of the church are of particular
interest. The rood-loft rests on a beam supported
on curved struts and posts against the walls. It is of
the 15th century, the beam being embattled and
having a band of vine carving along the front of
which only a portion at the north end is original.
The loft front has a series of quatrefoils bearing
traces of red, blue, gold and white colouring, and
having carved roses in the centre of each; the
moulded cornice is also coloured and has a cresting,
which is modern except at the north end. The loft
was anciently approached by a ladder. The walls of
the nave have 17th-century panelling to half their
height with Jacobean ornament at the west end.
The turned communion rails of the same date are
now in the roof. The old font, with octagonal bowl
and stem of doubtful date, stands in the churchyard.
On the north side of the chancel are two remarkable memorials, one to Richard son of Edmund Harewell and Elizabeth (Bury) his wife, the other probably
to Edmund son of Sir Edmund Harewell. The
monument of Richard, who died unmarried in his
father's lifetime, aged fifteen, is a stone altar tomb
with panelled sides having the crest (a hare's head
razed) at the west end, and the demi-figure of a
child and two shields on the front with the charges
obliterated. On the slab is the recumbent figure in
alabaster of a youth in ruff and puffed trunks with
a shield on either side the head, the first bearing
Harewell quartering nine other coats, (fn. 70) and the
second Vert a crosslet or for Bury, quartering a horn
between three trefoils for Pincepole. To this monument was added shortly after a pierced wooden rail
of semi-Gothic character, now much broken in front,
and a panelled wooden erection against the wall behind,
flanked by fluted Doric pilasters supporting an entablature. Of the panels six are occupied by painted
coats of arms, and above the cornice is a scutcheon
of the Sebright arms, quite foreign to the monument.
Against the east wall of the recess on this side of the
chancel is the memorial to Edmund Harewell [?], in
the form of a painted triptych of oak. It has two
pairs of doors or wings, the upper pair having externally two full-length angels holding shields, the
first bearing the twelve quarters of Harewell and
Bury, the other Gules a cheveron argent between
three lions' heads or with two gimel bars gules and
roundels sable on the cheveron, which are the arms
of Susan Coles, his mother. Below are two more
shields, the first Bury as on his kinsman's monument,
the second a shield of Townsend quarterly of six, (fn. 71)
for his maternal grandmother, Anne Townsend. On
the inside of these wings is a long inscription in
English verse relating to the early end, descent and
virtues of the deceased, and two figures of Time and
Death represented as a skeleton, both much defaced.
The centre piece itself bears the large kneeling figure
of a young man in Elizabethan costume with an inscription and a figured frieze of the Resurrection.
In the lowest division is represented a body laid out
for burial, and inside the lower leaves or wings are
two amorini blowing bubbles. The execution of these
paintings is much above the average for this period.
On the south chancel wall is a tablet with twisted
Ionic columns to Sir Edward Sebright, bart. (d. 1679),
and Elizabeth his wife (1685). It bears the arms of
Sebright impaling Knightley of Fawsley and marble
figures of two daughters. On the north wall is a
funeral helm with the Sebright crest, with sword and
gauntlets, and on the east face of the rood screen are
tattered banners and pennons, one with the same crest,
and evidently all forming part of a funeral achievement of the 17th century. In the west window is a
stained-glass shield, Argent on a fesse sable two pheons
argent, and a number of old quarries bearing yellow
flowers.
The plate includes a cup and cover paten without
date mark, but the cover is dated 1590, the cup has
a chased pattern; a flagon and paten of 1881.
The registers before 1812 are as follows: (i) 1539
to 1658 (burials to 1642 and marriages to 1650
only); (ii) all entries 1697 to 1750; (iii) marriages
1754 to 1812; (iv) baptisms and burials 1762 to
1812.
ADVOWSON
There was probably a chapel at
Besford in 1086 served by that
William the priest who held of the
abbey of Westminster their 4 demesne hides. A
reference to it occurs in 1186–90 as a dependent chapel
of St. Andrew's, Pershore. (fn. 72) The chapel remained
annexed to the vicarage of St. Andrew, Pershore,
until 30 June 1865, when Besford was attached to
Defford, and constituted a district chapelry known
as Defford-cum-Besford. (fn. 73) The living was declared
a vicarage in 1866. (fn. 74)
In 1218 John de Besford renounced to his lords,
the Abbot and convent of Westminster, as patrons,
and to St. Andrew's Church, Pershore, as mother
church, all his right in the chapel. (fn. 75) The advowson
now belongs to the Dean and Chapter of Westminster.
The privileges of Pershore Abbey, as recited after
one of the fires that took place there, included the
right to have the bodies of all those holding land in
Besford buried at Pershore, while those who had
none were to be buried in the churchyard of Little
Comberton. (fn. 76) This was a cause of many disputes.
Habington wrote of the chapel as already 'pryvileadged with funeralls' in his day. (fn. 77)
CHARITIES
The church lands originally consisted of about 1½ acres of land, the
origin of which was unknown. The
land was sold in 1890 and the proceeds invested in
£257 1s. 4d. consols, producing £6 8s. 4d. yearly,
which is applied towards church expenses.
Thomas Woodward, who died in 1879, gave by
his will £100, now represented by £102 16s. 6d. consols. The annual dividends, amounting to £2 11s. 4d.,
are distributed among the poor in bedclothing.
The sums of stock are held by the official trustees.