MAMBLE
Momela (x cent.); Mamele (xi cent.); Momyll,
Mawmill (xv cent.); Mombell (xvi cent.).
Mamble lies in the north-west of the county, on
the road from Tenbury to Bewdley. It is bounded
on the north by Mill Brook, and Dumbleton Brook
waters it on the east.
The village, which is situated on the main road
between Bewdley and Tenbury, consists of a few
houses near the church, some of half-timber and some
of brick. Near the centre of the village stands the
Sun Inn, a gabled brick house of the late 16th or
early 17th century, two stories in height with an attic
and tiled roofs. The oak stairs with moulded handrail, square newels, and flat twisted balusters are
original and the central brick chimney stack is also of
original date. Sodington Hall, the property of Sir
Walter de Sodington Blount and the residence of
Mr. Hugh Francis Blount, J.P., about half a mile
south-east of the church, is an early 19th-century
three-storied brick house built on the site of one
pulled down in 1807. (fn. 1) It is surrounded by a moat,
now dry. In the entrance hall is a panel dated
1606 and bearing a quartered shield of Blount, with
the crest of the family and the motto 'Omnis caro
foenum.' In the garden of the house immediately
to the west of the church is preserved an iron fireback,
found in an adjacent field, having on a shield a
sun in splendour between three choughs, impaling a
cheveron between three rams' heads erased.
The Parliamentarians in the Civil War burnt the
manor-house, which had been inhabited by the
Blounts since the 14th century, (fn. 2) but, even after the
destruction which must then have taken place, Nash,
writing late in the 18th century, was able to say:
'The house at Sodington has the appearance of
formerly having been a place of some strength. . . .
It is a very pleasant summer situation, on a gentle
eminence, moated round, with four drawbridges.' (fn. 3)
Clows Top, about 2 miles east of the church on the
road to Bewdley, is partly in this parish and partly
in Bayton (q.v.).
There are two collieries, Mamble Colliery and
Buckets Leasow Colliery. The substratum abounds
with coal of good quality. (fn. 4)
The east of the parish is between 600 ft. and 700 ft.
above the ordnance datum; the land falls to the west
to the valley of the Rea, the lowest point being about
300 ft.
The parish has an area of 2,285 acres, of which
397 are arable land, 1,600 permanent grass and
169 woods and plantations. (fn. 5) It lies on the Coal
Measures, the soil being light marl. The chief crops
grown are wheat, barley, oats and fruit.
MANORS
The earliest reference to MAMBLE
is found in a 10th-century charter among
the boundaries of Newnham and Knighton. (fn. 6) At the date of the Domesday Survey Ralph
Mortimer held half a hide at Mamble. It had been
previously held by Sawold, who could betake himself
where he would. (fn. 7) The overlordship remained with
the Mortimers of Wigmore, (fn. 8) who became Earls of
March in 1328, until the earldom merged in the
Crown on the accession of Edward IV. The manor
was still held of the honour of Wigmore in 1611, (fn. 9)
when the overlordship is mentioned for the last
time.
At an early date the manor seems to have been
divided into two parts. In 1232 the Abbot of
Wigmore sued Robert de Wodeton for the advowson
of Mamble, (fn. 10) and in the following year he was
himself sued for its possession by Hugolina Mustel. (fn. 11)
Both Robert and Hugolina gave up their claim to the
abbot, (fn. 12) and they were probably the owners of the
two moieties of the manor at that time. Robert
derived his title from Eliis de Higley, who was a
son of William de Higley, (fn. 13) and was living in 1194,
but died without issue before 1203. His heirs were
his four sisters, one of whom, Cecilia, married William
de Wodeton or Witton. Robert de Wodeton mentioned above was son of Cecilia, (fn. 14) but is not again
mentioned in connexion with Mamble. He left an
only daughter Amice. (fn. 15) It may have been his estate
which was held in 1303 by William de Shakenhurst. (fn. 16)
Robert Moryn and Isolda his wife, possibly the
remarried widow of William, granted the manor in
1330–1 to Walter de Shakenhurst. (fn. 17) In 1349–50
Walter de Shakenhurst settled the manor on himself,
with remainder to his nephew John Meysey and Joan
his wife. (fn. 18) It evidently passed under this settlement
to the Meyseys, who afterwards held it with Shakenhurst (fn. 19) in Bayton (q.v.). At the partition of the
Meysey estates in 1845 property in Mamble was
assigned to Mary Charlotte wife of Charles Wicksted, (fn. 20)
but its further descent has not been traced.
The estate at Mamble held in 1233 by Hugolina
Mustel had belonged in the time of Henry II to a
certain Osbert, who died without issue, and was
succeeded by his sister Sigerica, to whom succeeded a
son Richard, the father of Hugolina Mustel. (fn. 21) She
may have been identical with Hugolina de Mamble,
who in 1248–9 granted half a hide of land in Mamble
to Ralph de Mamble. (fn. 22) Hugolina probably died
soon after, (fn. 23) and her heir appears to have been Henry
Mustel, son of Hugh and grandson of William Mustel,
the son of Sigerica, and younger brother, apparently,
of Hugolina's father Richard. (fn. 24) Henry sued Ralph
de Mamble for his land in 1254–5, (fn. 25) but Ralph
seems to have retained his property, which was possibly that held by Roger de Mamble, a contributor to
the subsidy in Sodington about 1280. (fn. 26) Henry Mustel
was evidently the owner of the manor in 1254. He
was a knight of the shire for Gloucester in 1258, (fn. 27)
and was perhaps succeeded by Hugh Mustel, who
died in 1325–6 holding land in Kidderminster. (fn. 28)
Nothing more is known of this estate at Mamble
until 1417, when it belonged to the lords of Sodington, (fn. 29) with which manor it has since descended.
SODINGTON (Sudintuna, x cent.; Sudtune,
xicent.; Sutchinton, Sutinton, Suthinton, xiii cent.;
Sudyngton, xiv cent.; Syllyngton, xvi cent.) is mentioned in the boundaries of Lindridge in a 10thcentury charter. (fn. 30) In 1086 Ralph Mortimer held
Sodington, (fn. 31) the principal manor in the parish of
Mamble. (fn. 32) In the time of King Edward Æthelsige
had held it. This manor, like Mamble, was held of
the honour of Wigmore, (fn. 33) the overlordship being
mentioned for the last time in 1611. (fn. 34)
Ralph Mortimer's under-tenant in 1086 was 'a
knight of his,' (fn. 35) whose name is not given. No
tenant is given as holding the manor under Roger
Mortimer in 1210–12, (fn. 36) but Ralph de Sodington
held half a knight's fee in Sodington in 1230. (fn. 37)
In 1248–9 half a virgate of land in Sodington was
granted to Richard de Sodington by William de
Wadenhurst and Juliana his wife at a rent of 5s., (fn. 38)
and in 1254–5 Ralph de Sodington held land in
Mamble. (fn. 39) He died about 1274, when his son Ralph
succeeded. (fn. 40) William de Sodington, who was lord
of Eastham in 1292, (fn. 41) died about 1303, (fn. 42) when the
manor of Sodington passed to his co-heirs, his nephew
Richard, son of Reynold le Porter by his wife Mary
or Marisca, sister of William de Sodington, and his
sisters, Eustacia wife of William de Doverdale and
Joan wife of Walter Blount. (fn. 43) At first the manor
seems to have been held jointly by the co-heirs, (fn. 44) but
eventually it passed to the Blounts. Walter Blount
died about 1323, and appears to have been succeeded
by his second son John, (fn. 45) who was lord of the
manor in 1356. (fn. 46) John died in 1358, and was
succeeded by his son Richard Blount, (fn. 47) who was said
to be holding Sodington with William de Doverdale
and Ralph son of Richard le Porter in 1360. (fn. 48) Richard
Blount died without issue, and had by 1384 been
succeeded by his brother Sir John Blount, (fn. 49) who died
in 1425 seised of the manors of Mamble and
Sodington. (fn. 50) They then passed to his grandson
John, son of his son John, (fn. 51) who married in 1448
Catherine daughter and co-heir of Thomas Corbett
of Stanford, (fn. 52) Shropshire, by which marriage he added
a considerable fortune to his own. (fn. 53) He made a
settlement of the manor in 1458. (fn. 54) His will is dated
1478, (fn. 55) and he must have been dead before 1495,
when his widow Catherine claimed a third of the
manor in dower against his son Edward. (fn. 56) Edward
married Joan Lady Ferrers, widow of Sir Walter
Devereux, Lord Ferrers, on whom he settled the
manor, but died childless, being then Knight of the
Body to Henry VII, on 6 July 1499. (fn. 57) With his
parents and brothers and sisters he is commemorated
by a brass in the chancel of Mamble Church,
described by Habington. (fn. 58) His brother Peter, who
succeeded him, and who had married Anne daughter
of Sir Edmund Cornwall of Burford, left Sodington
by his will dated 1518 to her until his son should
attain the age of twenty-four. (fn. 59) Thomas Blount, his
son and successor, (fn. 60) married firstly Catherine daughter
of Thomas Stanford, and secondly Joyce daughter
of Thomas Shirley of Enfield Chase, (fn. 61) whose name
appears also as Joyce Habington. (fn. 62) He died on
20 December 1564, (fn. 63) and was succeeded by Walter
Blount, his son by his first wife. (fn. 64) Walter Blount
married firstly Catherine Grey of Enville, co. Stafford,
and secondly Margaret daughter of John Talbot of
Grafton, (fn. 65) but died childless on 7 September 1590. (fn. 66)
He was succeeded by his half-brother Sir George
Blount, (fn. 67) who in the following year settled the manor
on Eleanor daughter of William Norwood, whom
he afterwards married. (fn. 68) Sir George Blount died in
1611, and was succeeded by his son Walter, (fn. 69) who
married Elizabeth daughter of George Wylde of
Droitwich, serjeant-at-law. (fn. 70) Walter Blount was
Sheriff of Worcestershire 1619–20 and M.P. for
Droitwich 1624–5. (fn. 71) The Blounts were notable for
their faithful adherence to the Roman Catholic faith, (fn. 72)
and they gave the most zealous support to the Crown
in the Civil War. Walter Blount, who was created
a baronet in 1642, (fn. 73) fought for the king, as did his
four sons and three brothers. He was taken prisoner at
Hereford in December 1645, and suffered imprisonment
at Oxford and afterwards in the Tower of London.
He was heavily fincd as a Papist delinquent. (fn. 74)
Mamble Manor, by which Sodington is probably
meant, was bought from the treason trustees by
Peter and Thomas Powis and discharged from
sequestration on 13 July 1653. (fn. 75) Walter Blount
died at Blagdon, co. Devon, in 1654. His widow
died at Mawley Hall, co. Salop, and is buried at
Mamble. (fn. 76) His son George, second baronet, who
recovered the manor at the Restoration, married Mary
daughter and heir of Richard Kirkham of Blagdon,
and died at Mawley Hall in 1667, (fn. 77) when he was
succeeded by his son Sir Walter Kirkham Blount,
third baronet, who was appointed sheriff on
5 December 1687. (fn. 78) Sir Walter translated 'The
Office of the Holy Week,' printed at Paris in 1670.
He married, firstly, Alicia daughter of Sir Thomas
Strickland of Sizergh, Westmorland, and, secondly,
Mary daughter of Sir Caesar Cranmer alias Wood,
and died childless at Ghent in 1717. (fn. 79) He was
succeeded by his nephew, Sir Edward Blount, fourth
baronet, son of his brother George Blount of Mawley
Hall by Constantia, his second wife, daughter of Sir
George Carey of Torr Abbey, Devon. (fn. 80) Sir Edward
married Apollonia daughter of Sir Robert Throckmorton of Coughton, third baronet, and died on
16 February 1758. His son Edward, fifth baronet,
who had been dealing with the manor in 1746, (fn. 81)
succeeded him, (fn. 82) and married Frances daughter and
heir of William Molyneux of Mossborough Hall
(Lancs.), dying childless on 19 October 1765. His
brother Walter, who succeeded, had been educated at
Douay College. He married Mary daughter and coheir of James fifth Lord Aston and died on 5 October
1785. (fn. 83) His son and successor Walter, seventh baronet,
who married Anne daughter of Thomas Riddell
of Felton Park and Swinburne Castle, Northumberland, was dealing with the manor in 1795 (fn. 84) and
died in 1803, when he was followed by his son
Edward, eighth baronet, who married his cousin
Mary Frances daughter of Edward Blount, second
brother of the seventh baronet. He was dealing
with the manor in 1816, (fn. 85) was sheriff in 1835, and
died in 1881. His son Sir Walter de Sodington
Blount, ninth baronet, who married in 1874 Elizabeth
Anne Mould Williams, is now lord of the manor. (fn. 86)
Sodington. Argent three fleurs de lis coming out of leopards' heads sable.
Blount. Barry wavy or and sable.
A mill in Mamble was held by Henry Mustel in
1254–5, (fn. 87) but there is no mill at the present day.
CHURCH
The church of ST. JOHN BAPTIST
consists of a chancel measuring internally
28 ft. by 17 ft. 3 in., north chapel
28 ft. 7 in. by 15 ft., nave 53 ft. by 19 ft. 9 in., with
a timber bell-turret rising from the west end, south
aisle measuring with the organ chamber 47 ft. 2 in.
by 12 ft. 6 in., and south porch.
The chancel and nave appear to date from the early
years of the 13th century, but the south arcade is
probably a little later. Early in the 14th century the
south aisle seems to have been widened and some new
windows inserted in the chancel and nave. The lower
portion of the framing of the timber bell-turret is probably of this date, or perhaps earlier. Early in the reign
of Elizabeth the mortuary chapel of the Blounts was
added on the north side of the chancel. In 1880
the church was restored and the traceried windows
of the 14th century reduced to a uniform modernity.
At the same time the south aisle was extended eastwards
to form an organ chamber and vestry opening out of
the chancel.
The chancel is lighted from the east by a modern
three-light window designed in the style of the early
14th century. The sole feature in the north wall
is the plastered four-centred arch opening into the
Blount chapel. At the east end of the south wall are
two original early 13th-century lancets with widely
splayed internal jambs and square external rebates for
glass frames. To the west of these is an arch opening into the modern vestry and organ chamber. The
chancel arch is a fine example of the transitional work
of the first years of the 13th century. It is twocentred and of two orders, the inner moulded with a
double roll separated by a bold square fillet, and the
outer chamfered on the chancel face and roll-moulded
on the nave face, where there is a grooved and chamfered label with head-stops. The inner order is
carried by filleted semicircular shafts, with foliated
capitals of a rudimentary character and grooved and
chamfered abaci continued round the responds and
back to the side walls of both chancel and nave.
Their Attic bases approximate to the water-holding
type. The jambs of the outer orders have large
angle rolls without capitals. The walling is of sandstone rubble, much renewed, with dressings of the
stone material. On the south are two restored 14thcentury buttresses, each of a single offset.
Plan of Mamble Church
The Blount chapel, the floor of which is two steps
above the chancel floor, is perfectly plain internally,
having a flat plastered ceiling and plastered walls.
There are two windows, one in the north wall and
one in the east, both insertions of the late 18th
century. The walling is of red brick, with blue
brick diapering, much disturbed by refacing in the
18th century. At the north-west is visible externally
a blocked window of the original date.
The west end of the nave is occupied by the
timber framing of the bell-turret and is divided from
the rest of the building by a half-timbered partition.
In the north wall of the eastern portion are two
windows with two-centred heads and modern tracery,
both probably modernized 14th-century openings. To
the west of these is a blocked doorway of the same date
with a plain chamfered two-centred external head,
continuously moulded jambs, and a segmental rear
arch. The early 13th-century south arcade is of three
bays with two-centred arches of two orders, the outer
plain and the inner chamfered, supported by circular
columns, with plain bell capitals, grooved and chamfered
abaci, and moulded bases of the same section as those of
the responds of the chancel arch.
The east and west responds have
semicircular shafts supporting the
inner orders, the abacus of the
eastern shaft being a continuation
of the abacus of the south respond of the chancel arch. The
lowest stage of the partition cutting off the west end of the nave
has a doorway near the centre
with a grille on either side formed
by a row of mullion-like chamfered rails, the panels beneath
being filled with oak boarding.
At the level of the head of the
doorway is a projecting gallery,
dating probably from the 17th
century, which has lost its front.
The upper panels of the partition
have wattle and daub filling.
The floor of the western portion
of the nave, which serves as the
ringing chamber, is raised four
steps above the general floor level.
On the north and west are lancets of the original
early 13th-century date and at the south-west is a
modern doorway. The walling of the nave, like that
of the chancel, is of sandstone rubble and has been
much renewed at the north-east. To the east of
the north-west window is a modern buttress of two
offsets, while at the western angles are original clasping buttresses of shallow projection, crowned by plain
gablets.
At the south-east of the original portion of the
14th-century south aisle is a piscina with a trefoiled
ogee head and a curiously large square basin, the
projecting portion of which has been cut away. The
two windows in the south wall are modern restorations, though the openings are probably original. To
the west of these is the south doorway, which has a
two-centred external head moulded with sunk quarterrounds, and a segmental rear arch. Between the
two windows is a fine tomb recess of original early
14th-century date, having a two-centred head, originally cinquefoiled, inclosed within a crocketed and
finialled gable, and flanked by plain pinnacled
pilasters. The walling is of the same material as that
of the rest of the church and has been practically
refaced in modern times. There are restored
buttresses of two offsets between the windows and at
the east and west ends of the south aisle.
The lower part of the timber bell-turret is a
magnificent example of early 14th-century carpentry.
The massive corner posts of oak, measuring about
1 ft. 1 in. square, rise each in one piece to near the
apex of the nave roof, and are braced by a system of
cross-struts halved together at their intersections. The
structure is also strutted from the side and west walls
of the nave, the latter of which shows a tendency to
be thrust outwards, the shallow clasping buttresses
at the angles being insufficient to counteract the thrust.
The upper part of the turret, the framing of which
has been much restored, is covered with oak shingles
and is surmounted by an octagonal broach spire.
The font is of original early 13th-century date and
has a plain straight-sided circular bowl standing on a
moulded stem of the same form. In the east window
of the chancel is a piece of 14th-century glass representing the Crucifixion. The colouring is in an
excellent state of preservation. The background is
formed of blue diapered lozenges divided from each
other by bands of red glass, and the whole composition
is framed by side pilasters of the normal type supporting
a gabled and crocketed canopy. In the uppermost
light of the same window is a small piece of plain
glass, probably of the same date, painted with black
and yellow foliage.
At the north-east corner of the chancel is a late
13th-century effigy of a knight. In the floor is a
slab with the brass figures of a man and his wife, the
former wearing plate armour of the early 16th
century. The inscription is now missing, but according to Habington the brass appears to be that of John
Blount, Catherine his wife, and their son Edward,
knight to the body of Henry VII. At the north-east
of the Blount chapel is an elaborate table tomb upon
which reclines, in place of an effigy, a full-sized human
skeleton. Above is a canopy supported by Corinthian
columns, and at the back of the portion beneath the
canopy are inscriptions commemorating Thomas
Blount of Sodington, who died in 1561; Walter
Blount, his son, who died in 1590; George Blount,
brother and heir of the preceding Walter, who died
in 1610–11, and his wife Eleanor, who died in
1624; Walter Blount, son and heir of George
Blount, created a baronet by Charles I, who died in
1654 at Blagdon in Devonshire, and was buried at
Paignton, in that county, and his wife Elizabeth, who
died in 1656; and, lastly, George Blount, baronet,
their son and heir, who died in 1667. On the
walls and in the floor are many other tablets and
slabs to later members of the family.
The tower contains a ring of three bells. The
treble is dated 1634, and the second was recast by
W. Blews & Sons of Birmingham in 1874; the
tenor is a 15th-century bell bearing the inscription in
black letter capitals, 'Sancta Margareta ora pro nobis,'
and a square stamp with four fleurs de lis placed
saltirewise with ermine tails between them. There
is also a small call-bell inscribed 'I.H. C.W. 1656.'
The plate consists of a silver chalice of the late 17th
century, the date mark of which is obliterated, a paten
dated 1698, and a paten of 1871.
The registers previous to 1812 are as follows:
(i) all entries 1586 to 1612; (ii) 1678 to 1689;
(iii) 1692 to 1737; (iv) baptisms and burials 1737
to 1797, marriages 1737 to 1755; (v) baptisms and
burials 1797 to 1814; (vi) marriages 1755 to 1812.
ADVOWSON
The church is first mentioned in
1231–2, when the advowson was
granted to the Abbot of Wigmore
by Robert de Wodeton and Hugolina Mustel. (fn. 88) The
church was probably appropriated to the abbey shortly
after this time, for in 1291 it was so appropriated,
the vicar's portion being then less than £4. (fn. 89) The
advowson and rectory remained with the abbey until
the Dissolution, (fn. 90) and the advowson has since remained in the Crown. (fn. 91) The Blounts of Sodington
have been impropriators of Mamble since the middle
of the 19th century. (fn. 92)
The vicarage was united with Bayton in 1669. (fn. 93)
A chantry had been founded at Mamble before
1277 (fn. 94) for the soul of 'Dame Huweline,' evidently
Hugolina Mustel mentioned above as an owner of
the manor. Roger Folliott presented to this chantry
in 1315, (fn. 95) but it is not again mentioned, and must
have disappeared before 1535, as it is not returned
among the Worcestershire chantries at that date.
Land given for the maintenance of two lights at
Mamble was confiscated by the Crown at the Dissolution. (fn. 96)
CHARITIES
In 1875 the Rev. David Davies,
by his will proved at Worcester
19 January, bequeathed a sum of
£104 14s. 10d. consols, the annual dividends,
amounting to £2 12s. 4d., to be distributed in
clothing, on the first Sunday in November immediately after divine worship, amongst Protestant poor.
The stock is held by the official trustees.