BUSHLEY
Biselie, Biselege (xi cent.); Bisselea (xii cent.);
Bisscheleye, Besselegh (xiv cent.); Bussheley (xv
cent.).
Bushley is an agricultural parish on the right bank
of the Severn, opposite Tewkesbury. It has an area
of 1,834 acres, of which the greater part is grass
land. (fn. 1) The soil is clay, with a subsoil of Keuper
Marls, and Alluvium near the river. The Severn
forms the eastern boundary, while on the north
Queenhill Brook, which runs into the Severn, separates Bushley from Queenhill, so that on two sides
the parish is bounded by water. The ground slopes
upward in a westerly direction from the river bank,
where it is very low and liable to floods, and reaches
on the western boundary a height of about 200 ft.
above the ordnance datum. The high road from
Ledbury to Tewkesbury passes through Bushley, and
where it reaches the Severn the river is crossed by a
single-span iron bridge built by Telford in 1826–30. (fn. 2)
The village, which stands near the Severn on a
branch from this high road, is small. There is a
parochial school built in 1857. Pull Court, the home
of the Dowdeswell family, was built in 1836–9 by
Canon E. C. Dowdeswell on the site of an older
house, described as ancient in 1628. It stands in a
well-wooded park at the north end of the parish,
and is a large and picturesque stone building in the
Elizabethan style with curved gables and square-headed
mullioned windows, erected on three sides of a court,
with stone screen and gateway opposite the hall.
At Payne's Place, an interesting 15th-century halftimbered house at Bonnells End, Thomas Payne
and Ursula his wife lived at the time of the battle
of Tewkesbury in 1471. According to tradition,
Margaret of Anjou, when she fled from the battlefield, crossed the Severn by the ford and found refuge
for the night at Payne's Place. In memory of the
event one of the rooms was called the Queen's room. (fn. 3)
Thomas Payne died in 1500 and Payne's Place
passed to a Master Stratford, who was living there
in 1558. His great-grandson Anthony was killed at
the battle of Worcester in 1651. He was succeeded
by his relative Anthony Stratford, who in 1678 sold
the estate to Mr. Dowdeswell, (fn. 4) to whose descendants
it still belongs.
There was a vineyard at Bushley in the 12th and
13th centuries. (fn. 5) In 1620 it was found by presentment of the Grand Jury that 'the stocks at Bushley
were so insufficient that they would not hold a rogue.' (fn. 6)
The following place-names occur: Dokemede,
Shirmede, Oxonleese, Le Lynche, Henleybroke,
Hoggebroke, Crokkere, Horsecrofte, Saronhille,
Morefurlonge, Eggebroke, Dedherle (fn. 7) (xv cent.);
Strippelingplace, (fn. 8) Longmead, Froggmore, Oyehey (or
Oxhey) Close, (fn. 9) Poole Grove (fn. 10) (xvi cent.); Dock
Meadow, Little Hay, Lipiate at the Lake, the Little
Dower, the Middle Lay, the Lord's Grove, Parkfield
(or Parkersfield), The Linches, Henley and Layfurlong (fn. 11) (xvii cent.).
MANORS
At one time BUSHLY was included
in the hundred of Oswaldslow, (fn. 12) being
held of the Bishop of Worcester's manor
of Bredon. (fn. 13) It was still held of this manor at the end
of the 13th century. (fn. 14) Bishop Lyfing (1038–44) sold
it to Brictric son of Algar, (fn. 15) the great English thegn
and lord of Hanley. (fn. 16) Two accounts of Bushley are
given in the Domesday Survey. One says that Brictric
bought it, together with a house in Worcester city
and a wood a league in length and the same in
breadth, for 3 marks of gold. 'All this he bought
and held undisturbed, doing service to no man for
it.' (fn. 17) The other account says that Brictric paid
rent to the bishop for it every year, 'and yet he
rendered to the bishop whatever he owed to the
King's service.' (fn. 18)
Bishopric of worcester. Argent ten roundels gules.
Bishopric of London, Gules two sword of St. Paul crossed saltriewise.
Until the 16th century this estate, later known as
the manor of Bushley Park, descended with the manor
of Hanley Castle (fn. 19) (q.v.) as part of the honour of
Tewkesbury. In 1545 Henry VIII granted it to
Edmund Bonner, Bishop of London, and his successors
in exchange for lands in Essex. (fn. 20) The Bishops of
London held Bushley till 1647, when it was sold by
the Parliamentary Trustees to William Hancocke. (fn. 21)
The bishop's lands having been recovered at the
Restoration, Bishop Sheldon in 1685 leased Bushley
to Richard Dowdeswell of Pull Court, (fn. 22) who eventually bought the manor, an Act being passed in 1691
to enable the bishop to sell it. (fn. 23) The manor of
Bushley Park has since descended with Pull Court
(q.v.). (fn. 24)
From 1296 to the middle of the 16th century
there are frequent references to a windmill appurtenant to the manor of Bushley Park. (fn. 25) It may have
disappeared before 1545, as it is not mentioned in
the grant to the Bishop of London, nor is there any
later reference to it. Its site is probably indicated
by Windmill Tump at the entrance to the park at
Pull Court.
The woods of Bushley, (fn. 26) which were part of
Malvern Chase, were formerly of great importance,
and played a considerable part in the development of
the place. William Fitz Osbern, lord of Hanley
and Bushley after the Conquest, appointed two
foresters, one from Hanley and the other from
Bushley. (fn. 27) Simon de Columba in the 12th century
received the lordship of Pull for his service of keeping the 'haya' of Bushley. (fn. 28) In 1307 the underwood at Bushley and Malvern Chase 'could not be
sold because of the game.' (fn. 29) As in Hanley Castle
(q.v.), the woods passed with the manor to the Tudor
kings, who appointed a series of masters of the parks. (fn. 30)
In 1545 Bushley Park was 210 acres in extent. It
was granted in that year with the manor to Edmund
Bonner, Bishop of London, (fn. 31) who leased it to the
Lechmeres of Hanley Castle. (fn. 32) In 1549 Bonner
was deposed from his see, which was given in 1550
to Nicholas Ridley. Ridley granted a lease of Bushley
Park for ninety-nine years to Mr. George Carr. (fn. 33)
On the accession of Mary in 1553 Ridley was
deposed and Bonner recalled; he tried to oust the
Carrs by renewing the lease of the park to the
Lechmeres. (fn. 34) This led to a long suit between the
two families, (fn. 35) till in 1591 the Privy Council ordered
the law officers of the Crown to investigate the case, (fn. 36)
with the result that the Carrs remained at Bushley
Park till the end of their lease in 1657. (fn. 37) The park
was sold with the manor in 1647. (fn. 38) It is mentioned
in the 18th century, (fn. 39) but no later reference has been
found.
Sybil, probably the wife of Robert Fitz Hamon,
gave a virgate of land in Bushley to the abbey of
Tewkesbury, her gift being confirmed by Henry II. (fn. 40)
The abbey continued to hold this estate until the
Dissolution. (fn. 41) It was granted in 1556–7 to John
Hanby, (fn. 42) who sold it shortly after to Edmund Colles
of Leigh. (fn. 43) He gave it to his grandson John (son of
his younger son Richard), (fn. 44) who held it in 1620 (fn. 45) ;
in 1636 he sold it to Richard Dowdeswell of Pull
Court, (fn. 46) with which estate this manor of Bushley has
since descended.
Tewkesbury Abbey. Gules a cross engrailed or and a border argent.
Dowdeswill. Argent a fesse wavy between six billets sable.
A fishery in the Severn is mentioned in 1636 as
an appurtenance of this manor. (fn. 47)
The estate now known as PULL COURT (Lapule,
xi cent.) originally formed part of the manor of
Longdon, and perhaps takes its name from 'Orices
pulle' mentioned in the boundaries of Longdon in
972. (fn. 48) In 1086 the king held the 3 virgates at
Pull which had been taken by William Fitz Osbern
out of Longdon and added to his manor of Bushley. (fn. 49)
Pull was held by the Crown for some years, (fn. 50) and
was given by Henry II to Simon de Columba for the
serjeanty of keeping the 'haya' of Bushley. (fn. 51) Simon
still held Pull in 1210–12, (fn. 52) while Hugh de Columba
had half a virgate of land in Bushley by the same
serjeanty. (fn. 53) Shortly after Pull fell to the Crown.
King John possibly gave it to William Cumin, who
in 1220 claimed a free tenement in Pull against the
Earl of Gloucester. Cumin said that he had held it
'a long time before the war' (1215–17), but had
been disseised by Gascoyne de Sancell, (fn. 54) and he produced a writ of Henry III dated 1217 commanding
that he should be restored to the seisin of Pull. The
earl claimed that it belonged to King John's wife
Isabel Countess of Gloucester, who lost her lands
temporarily during the war, when Pull was given to
Cumin. After the war, however, the countess's lands
were restored to her, Pull being included among
them. (fn. 55) The earl won his case and Cumin gave up
his claim. (fn. 56) The manor was acquired before 1280
by the Abbot of Tewkesbury, who paid a mark for
it at about that time. (fn. 57) In 1291 the abbot held the
hamlet of Pull, (fn. 58) and his successors held it till the
surrender of the abbey in 1540. (fn. 59)
In 1531 the abbot leased the site of Pull to Edward
Tyndale, (fn. 60) after whose death in 1546 his widow Joan
and son Thomas held it. (fn. 61) In 1566 part of the
manor was leased to Richard and Edward Trotman, (fn. 62)
and in 1574 the reversion was granted to Robert
Earl of Leicester. (fn. 63) In the same year the site of the
manor was granted to Drew Drury. (fn. 64) Edward Trotman in 1575 sold the site and capital messuage of the
manor of Pull to William Childe, (fn. 65) who at his death
in 1601 (fn. 66) left it, for the payment of his debts, to
Ralph Sheldon and John Childe. He was succeeded
by his son William, whose younger brother John (fn. 67) in
1607 had a grant of the manor and site under the
Defective Titles Act. (fn. 68) In 1609 William, John and
Thomas Childe conveyed Pull to Sir John Rous, (fn. 69)
who in 1628 sold it to Roger Dowdeswell. (fn. 70) He
was succeeded in 1633 by his son Richard, a leading
Royalist, (fn. 71) whose estates were sequestered in 1645. (fn. 72)
He was returned member for Tewkesbury in the
first Parliament after the Restoration. (fn. 73) He died in
1673 (fn. 74) and his son William, who held Pull in 1676, (fn. 75)
died in 1683. (fn. 76) William's son Richard was M.P.
for Tewkesbury in ten Parliaments (fn. 77) and Sheriff of
Worcestershire in 1688. (fn. 78) He was a supporter of
William of Orange and active in suppressing the
Papists; he died in 1711. (fn. 79) His son William, (fn. 80)
member for Tewkesbury from 1711 to 1715, (fn. 81) died
in 1728, (fn. 82) leaving a son William, (fn. 83) who was also a
member for Tewkesbury in 1747. (fn. 84) In 1765 he
became chancellor of the Exchequer in Rockingham's
first administration. (fn. 85) He was an intimate friend of
Edmund Burke, who wrote the epitaph on his monument in Bushley Church. He died in 1775 (fn. 86) and
was succeeded by his sons Thomas, (fn. 87) who died in
1811, (fn. 88) and William, who was a lieutenant-general
in the army, from which he retired in 1811. He was
member for Tewkesbury in 1792–6, (fn. 89) and died
without issue in 1828. (fn. 90) The next brother, Canon
Edward Christopher Dowdeswell, (fn. 91) gave up his claim
in the estate to his youngest brother John Edmund,
who accordingly succeeded in 1828. (fn. 92) He was
member for Tewkesbury from 1812–31 (fn. 93) and died
in 1851. (fn. 94) His son William, member for Tewkesbury in 1835–47 (fn. 95) and Sheriff of Worcestershire in
1855, (fn. 96) was succeeded in 1887 (fn. 97) by his son William
Edward, (fn. 98) member for Tewdesbury in 1865–6 (fn. 99) and
for West Worcestershire from 1866 to 1876. (fn. 100) He
died in 1893 without issue, (fn. 101) and his brother and
successor, the Rev. Edmund Richard Dowdeswell, is
the present owner of the manor.
CHURCH
The church of ST. PETER was entirely rebuilt in 1843 by Canon Dowdeswell and consists of chancel, north
and south transepts, nave and west tower and spire.
The present chancel replaced a shallow original
apse in 1857 and was designed by Sir Gilbert Scott. (fn. 102)
It is in the style of the 14th century and has a
chapel on the south side opening to both chancel and
transept. On the north the chapel is inclosed by an
oak screen and on the west by one of iron supporting
a rood with attendant figures. There is also a small
vestry on the north side of the chancel.
The organ stands in a gallery at the west end erected
in 1908. The font is ancient, and may be of late
12th-century date. It consists of a hexagonal cupshaped stone bowl, slightly chamfered on the angles.
In 1842 it was 'taken into a farmyard and served as a
drinking trough for about five years, when it was
taken to the churchyard and placed on a stone plinth,
said to have been the base of one of the four great
baulks of timber which carried the frame in the old
tower. This stone still remains in the churchyard,
but the font has been placed in the church' (fn. 103) on a new
base. It replaced a font of white stone dating from
1843. (fn. 104)
Habington records (fn. 105) that in the east window of the
old church there were the effigies of Lord Edward
le Despencer (d.1375) and his wife Elizabeth
(d.1409), with the figure of the Blessed Virgin in
the middle pane with the Saviour in her arms. The
brass figures of Thomas Payne and his wife, which
were in 'the midst of the chancel' in the old church,
are now fixed to the wall at the west end of the
nave, but the inscription and the figures of eleven
sons and four daughters, together with a shield of
arms, have been lost. The figures are each 2 ft. long
and stand erect with hands in prayer. The man is
habited in a long tunic confined at the waist by a
girdle, from which hangs a rosary. The woman
wears a tight-fitting robe with close sleeves and deep
fur cuffs, and has a loose girdle, on which are the
words 'Deus meus,' reaching to the feet. She wears a
kennel head-dress, on the left-hand lappet of which
are the words 'Deus meus es tu.'The inscription
was copied by Nash and is reproduced on a modern
brass plate below the figures. It records the date of
Thomas's death, 30 October 1500.
A number of monuments and stones to members of
the Dowdeswell family, chiefly of 17th-century date,
from the old church are now in the nave. (fn. 106) The
monument to William Dowdeswell, chancellor of the
Exchequer 1765–6, who died in 1775, is now in
the south chapel. It was erected in 1777 and bears
Burke's long and laudatory inscription. (fn. 107) On the north
wall of the nave is a brass to Roberts Freeman, gent.,
who died in 1651, with rhyming inscription and two
coats of arms, and a tablet to General William
Dowdeswell (d. 1828), who was Governor of the
Bahamas 1798 to 1801.
There is a ring of six bells. The treble was cast
in 1889 by Mears & Stainbank, but the other five
are all by Abraham Rudhall of Gloucester, 1710. (fn. 108)
The plate consists of a modern chalice and paten
of mediaeval design, and a flagon of 1723 given by
A. Dowdeswell. (fn. 109)
The registers before 1812 are as follows: (i) all
entries 1538 to 1695; (ii) baptisms and burials 1696
to 1812, marriages 1696 to 1755; (iii) marriages 1755
to 1812. The first volume contains the original paper
register as well as the parchment copy made in 1597.
Two windows of 14th-century date from the old
church were built into an artificial ruin at Pull Court
in 1843. From the evidence of these windows, and
from the fact that his effigy was depicted in the glass
of the east window, it has been conjectured that a
new church was built by Lord Edward le Despencer,
replacing the 12th-century chapel built by Simon de
Columba. (fn. 110)
ADVOWSON
William Fitz Osbern gave to the
monastery of Lire in Normandy,
which he founded in 1045, the
tithes of his demesne of Bushley, and the grant was
confirmed by Henry II, John Bishop of Worcester
and William Earl of Gloucester. (fn. 111) The Abbot of
Tewkesbury also had some share in the tithes, Bushley
being in the parish of Tewkesbury, of which the
abbot was impropriator, (fn. 112) and in 1151 there was a
dispute between the two abbeys concerning the tithes
of Forthampton, Prato, Bushley and Pull. The parties
were heard by the Bishop of Worcester and the matter
settled amicably. Lire gave up to Tewkesbury the
tithes of Pull, while Tewkesbury yielded to Lire those
of Bushley, Forthampton, &c. 'If the land of the
peasants increased in assarts (clearing the woodland)
the tithes were to be paid to the priest of Forthampton; but if the land of the monks of Lire increased,
the tithes were to be paid to Lire, a third being reserved to the priest of Forthampton and Bushley for
his chantry.' (fn. 113)
The arrangement was only temporarily successful,
and before 1162 a fresh agreement was made by
which Lire, for 2½ marks, granted to Tewkesbury all
the tithes of Forthampton, Bushley and Queenhill. (fn. 114)
In the time of Abbot Alan (1187–1202) Simon de
Columba with Rose his wife granted to Tewkesbury
Abbey two parts of the tithes of his lordship of
Bushley (? Pull), retaining a third for the use of
Simon's own oratory. Later, his wife being dead,
he gave to Tewkesbury, for the repose of her soul,
his own and that of his daughter Rose, the tithes
of hay in his demesne of Pull. (fn. 115) About this time
(1187–1202) Richard Swift gave to the church of
St. Peter at Bushley 12d. a year and a croft on which
the priest's barn stood. (fn. 116)
Bushley remained a chapelry of Tewkesbury (fn. 117) until
the Dissolution, (fn. 118) and as such was appropriated to the
abbey. (fn. 119) Since then the living has been a donative
and no institutions are recorded. (fn. 120) It is now a curacy
in the gift of the Dowdeswells.
In 1610 the tithes of Bushley were granted to the
Earl of Salisbury, (fn. 121) who conveyed them in 1618 to
John Mayle. (fn. 122) The tithes of Pull were granted in
1574 to Drew Drury (fn. 123) and in 1607 to John Childe. (fn. 124)
Roger Dowdeswell in 1609 had a grant of tithes in
Bushley. (fn. 125) In 1776 the Dowdeswells held the rectory
of Bushley. (fn. 126)
Thomas Payne in 1476 obtained for the parishioners
of Bushley the right of burial in their church and
churchyard. (fn. 127)
CHARITIES
Mrs. Elizabeth Dowdeswell, who
died in 1705, is stated on the church
table to have given by her will £80
to purchase an annuity of £ 4 to be applied towards
the better maintenance of the minister. The principal sum was laid out in the purchase of land.
The same table stated that one pasture ground
adjoining to Bushley Green and two small parcels
of meadow ground in Bushley Meadow had been
anciently given to repair the church.
The parish is not in possession of the lands referred
to, but some lands lying dispersedly in Hardwick
Field in the parish of Eldersfield containing about
8½ acres, which may have been acquired in exchange
for the properties above mentioned, were sold in
1893 and the proceeds invested in £178 17s. 8d.
consols with the official trustees. This stock was sold
out and the proceeds, together with unapplied income,
were in 1900 laid out in the purchase of 7 acres of
land called Knight's Field in the parish of Upton upon
Severn. The land is let at £ 8 yearly, and the official
trustees hold £55 6s. 4d consols, producing £17s. 8d
yearly, arising from the sale of timber. Two-thirds
of the net income is paid to the minister and onethird is distributed among the poor in small sums.