EARL'S CROOME
Crumbe (xi cent.); Crumba, Croumbe Adam
(xiii cent.); Croumbe Simond, Symondescrombe
(xiv cent.); Erles Crombe (xv cent.); Ellyscrove,
Yrlyscrome, Erles Crowme (xvi cent.); Jeffrey
Croombe, Jefferry Crombe, Earley Crome (xvii
cent.); Irliscroome (xviii cent.).
This parish, lying near the left bank of the Severn
in the south of Worcestershire, covers 1,153 acres.
Of these 329 acres are arable land, 697 are permanent
grass and 39 are laid out in woods and plantations. (fn. 1)
The parish lies on the Keuper Marl formation with
Alluvium near the river. Wheat, beans and barley
are the chief crops. The main road from Pershore
to Upton-on-Severn passes through the parish to the
south of the village of Earl's Croome, meeting the
road from Tewkesbury to Worcester to the south-west of Earl's Croome. The village stands at about
50 ft. above the ordnance datum, but to the north
and west the land rises to 100 ft.
The village of Earl's Croome contains nothing of
any particular interest, with the exception of Earl's
Croome Court, a half-timber house of the early
17th century, which has, however, been considerably
altered and modernized. This was formerly the residence of the Jeffery family, and on a plaster panel,
in what is now the servants' hall, is their shield, party
fessewise embattled gules and or, in chief three leopards'
heads, in base three hawks' lures, countercoloured.
Part of Ripple was transferred to Earl's Croome in
1884. (fn. 2)
Among 15th and 16th-century place-names in this
parish were Silbefeld, Holewell, Haledowne, Herdwell (fn. 3) and Paynes Meadow. (fn. 4)
MANOR
Æthelswith wife of Burgred, King of
Mercia, daughter of Æthelwulf, King of
Wessex, is said to have granted Croome
to the church of Worcester in the middle of the 9th
century. (fn. 5) This possibly included the three later
manors of Earl's Croome, Croome D'Abitôt and Hill
Croome, and their connexion with Ripple may have
dated from this time, for Bishop Aelhun had recovered
Ripple at about the same time from Burgred. (fn. 6) In
1086 EARL'S CROOME was a member of the
manor of Ripple, (fn. 7) and so continued until the 13th
century, (fn. 8) when its connexion with Ripple seems to
have ceased. It was, however, said to be held of the
Bishop of Worcester in 1406–7. (fn. 9)
Godric, the bishop's tenant before the Conquest,
was followed in Earl's Croome by Ordric, who held
1 hide there in 1086. (fn. 10) This estate had lapsed to
the Bishop of Worcester as overlord early in the 12th
century, when he was holding it in demesne. (fn. 11)
Bishop Samson (1096–1112) gave a hide of land
at Croome to Adam de Croome. (fn. 12) Simon son of
Adam was holding this land about 1182, (fn. 13) and this
manor was probably among the lands for which he
paid sums of 90s. yearly from 1158 to about 1172. (fn. 14)
Simon and Adam de Croome both occur in 1175
and 1176 as paying fines for trespass in the king's
forest. (fn. 15) In 1196–7 Adam de Croome was holding
a fee and a half of the Bishop of Worcester in
Worcestershire, (fn. 16) and early in the 13th century Adam
de Croome was holding this manor with those of
Tidmington and Armscote for the service of one knight's
fee. (fn. 17) In 1252 he obtained a grant of free warren
in this manor, (fn. 18) and was probably succeeded soon after
by a son Adam, for in 1273 Simon son of the younger
Adam was holding the manor, (fn. 19) which was said to have
been held by his father Adam. (fn. 20) In 1273 the bishop
confirmed to Simon the liberties which Adam his
grandfather had held in this manor, (fn. 21) and in the
Hundred Roll of about that time Simon is returned as
claiming pleas relating to hue and cry and effusion of
blood and the assize of bread and ale and free warren
in this manor. (fn. 22) He had married a nicce of Bishop
Giffard, (fn. 23) and in 1301 one of the articles brought by
the prior and convent against the bishop was that he
had granted to Simon the assize of bread and ale
without the consent of the convent. The bishop
justified himself on the ground that Simon's ancestors
had had this privilege from ancient times. (fn. 24)
In 1291 Simon de Croome granted this manor to
Geoffrey de Hambury, (fn. 25) who shortly after regranted
it to Simon and his wife Maud, daughter of Alexander de Escote, (fn. 26) but in 1319 Simon settled the
manor on himself and his wife Christine and their
issue with remainder to John and Simon, his sons by
former marriages. (fn. 27) Simon and Christine had a son
Godfrey, who in 1333 granted the manor to John
Hamond of Elmley. (fn. 28) John was a villein of the Earl
of Warwick, who on this account seized the manor of
Earl's Croome, (fn. 29) but Godfrey seems to have recovered
the seisin shortly after. (fn. 30) The three manors of
Croome, Tidmington and Armscote were returned in
1346 as held by John de Croome and Roger de
Ledbury, (fn. 31) but Croome was probably never held by
them, but remained with Godfrey de Croome until
his death. It then seems to have passed to Thomas
Beauchamp Earl of Warwick, who was dealing with
it in 1369 as the manor of Croome Adam, (fn. 32) and had
presented to the church of Earl's Croome in 1353. (fn. 33)
Reginald de Hambury, who claimed the estates of
the Croomes on Godfrey's death (see Tidmington),
released all his right in the manor of Earl's Croome
(Crombe Simond) in 1375–6 to Thomas Earl of
Warwick, Sir Hugh de Segrave, Sir Henry de Arderne
and others, (fn. 34) and in 1382 Ellen widow of Sir Henry
de Arderne gave up all her claim in the manor to
William de Cooksey and others, to whom the manor
had been granted by Thomas Earl of Warwick. (fn. 35)
They were evidently feoffees in trust for the earl, for
he held the manor until his forfeiture in 1396, (fn. 36)
when it passed to the Crown. At this date the
manor was still held for life by Christine widow of
Simon de Croome and by John Russell, who probably had a life grant of it from the earl. (fn. 37) In
1397 the king granted it in fee to John for his good
service and a sum of 200 marks. (fn. 38) In the following
year John settled it upon himself and his wife Elizabeth and their issue. (fn. 39) John Russell probably died
about 1400, when his son William confirmed the
advowson to Elizabeth. (fn. 40) Thomas Earl of Warwick
was restored in 1399 (fn. 41) and died seised of this manor
in 1401. (fn. 42) It then followed the same descent as
Elmley Castle, passing into the possession of Henry VII
in 1487. (fn. 43) The manor remained in the Crown (fn. 44)
until December 1546, when it was granted by
Henry VIII to Thomas Wymbish and his wife
Elizabeth Lady Tailboys. (fn. 45) In the following February
it was sold by Edward Lord Clinton, stepfather of
Lady Tailboys, to Thomas Jeffery, (fn. 46) Lord Clinton
perhaps acting on behalf of his stepdaughter.
Thomas was succeeded in 1548 by his son
William, (fn. 47) on whose death in 1570 his heir was his
son Leonard. (fn. 48) In 1583
Leonard had livery of the
manor. (fn. 49) He died in 1629,
leaving a son Thomas, (fn. 50) who
owned the manor until his
death in 1650. (fn. 51) It was probably this Thomas Jeffery, who
was a justice of the peace,
with whom Samuel Butler,
the author of Hudibras, spent
some years of his early life,
acting as his clerk. (fn. 52) William
the son of Thomas Jeffery was
in possession of the manor in
1657, (fn. 53) his sister and heir
Hester, wife of Sir Robert
Barkham, holding it in 1689. (fn. 54)
She, who died in 1691, (fn. 55) was the last of the Jeffery
family, and in 1694 the manor was vested in trustees
to be sold. (fn. 56) It appears to have been bought by
the Rev. William Marten, who was living there in
1700. (fn. 57) After his death the property was divided
between his two daughters. This occurred before
1738, for in that year half the manor was owned by
Marian Marten. (fn. 58) She afterwards married Thomas
Dunne of Gatley Park and died in 1744. Her eldest
son Martin died unmarried in 1814 and was succeeded by his nephew Thomas Dunne. (fn. 59) The second
son of the latter, the Rev. Charles Dunne, took the
name of Amphlett in 1855 (fn. 60) on inheriting the property of Four Ashes Hall (co. Salop), (fn. 61) and the
manor has from that time remained in the Amphlett
family, the Rev. George le Strange Amphlett being
the present lord of the manor.
Jeffery. Party fessewise and battled gules and or with three leopards' heads or in the chief and three hawks' lures gules in the foot.
The other daughter of William Marten married
the Rev. Francis Welles, and half the manor of Earl's
Croome passed into this family. Edmund Marten
Welles, probably the son of Francis Welles, owned
the property in 1770. (fn. 62) The next owner was
Edmund Francis Welles, possibly son of the former
owner, and he is known to have held the property
between 1805 and 1817. (fn. 63) Shortly after this time
this moiety of the manor appears to have lapsed to
the Dunnes. (fn. 64)
In the 15th century a fair was held at Herdwell in
Earl's Croome at the feast of St. Lawrence. (fn. 65)
CHURCH
The church of ST. NICHOLAS consists of a chancel measuring internally
15 ft. by 13½ ft., a nave 34½ ft. by
18½ ft., a modern western gallery, a western tower
built within the nave walls and a modern vestry.
The nave and chancel are those of a 12th-century
church, which remained practically untouched till
the first half of the 19th century, when the west
wall was rebuilt. The remains of the old west front,
preserved in the vicarage grounds, are sufficient to
show that it was shafted and arcaded in an elaborate
manner. At the same time the western tower was
built within the nave walls, a western gallery erected
and the vestry added. New tracery was also inserted
in several windows, which had already in some cases
been enlarged at various dates in the 14th and 15th
centuries.
Plan of Earl's Croome Church
The cast window of the chancel is a single light.
The rear arch is of 12th-century date and round-headed, but the window itself has a trefoiled head,
inserted probably in the 14th century. Above this is
a small loophole window, with an elaborately carved
12th-century head, jambs and sill. Below this, externally, is a portion of an enriched cable-moulded
string-course of the same period. In the north wall
is a small untouched 12th-century window with a
round head and an external rebate for a wooden
frame. To the south are two windows, the eastern
having a two-light wooden frame of the 15th century
with trefoiled heads, and the western a single 12th-century light with a modern head of 13th-century
character. The chancel arch is semicircular and
elaborately ornamented on its western face, with
zigzag ornament and a roll moulding. The responds
have angle-shafts on the west, with cushion capitals,
richly carved with interlacing floral designs, surmounted by deep square abaci, ornamented with
'arabesque' designs in low relief, and, in the case of
the southern one, with a well-formed lion looking
backwards. The bases are also moulded and carved
and the shafts are ornamented with the cheveron.
There are two 12th-century openings in the north
wall of the nave, both enlarged to two lights. The
eastern has modern tracery in the style of the 14th
century and the tracery of the other is made up of
later work. The north door between the windows
is blocked, and though somewhat restored is similar
in style and date to the chancel arch. Of the three
windows in the south wall the first is of 15th-century
date with modern tracery. It is of two lights with
traces of flowing decoration in colour on the jambs
and rear arch. West of this is a two-light modern
window of 14th-century detail, while the third is
similar to the corresponding window in the north
wall. The 12th-century south door is also blocked,
and has a round head enriched with roll and cheveron,
the side shafts having scalloped capitals and moulded
bases. The old wooden door retains a portion of
its ironwork.
Built in the western portion of the nave is the
modern tower, and opening into it are two old
nave windows, both somewhat restored. The
northern is of two lights with a quaterfoil over,
and the southern is a single light of a lancet type.
the external jambs and head being modern. The
west wall is almost entirely modern with a doorway of 12th-century detail. A rough sketch
(preserved at the rectory) of the west front previous
to the rebuilding shows a double arcade of 12th-century design. The tower is three stages high
and has an embattled parapet.
On the north wall of the chancel is a small
tablet with a well-designed inscription, in Roman
capitals, to Thomas Jeffery, died 1650, and on
the south a painted inscription, and over it, carved
in low relief, a shield of his arms.
There are five bells: the treble dated 1746,
the second 1739, and the third, fourth and fifth
1707.
The plate consists of a cup with a paten cover
(hall-marked for 1571), a small plated paten and a
plated flagon.
The registers before 1812 are as follows: (i) baptisms from 1647 to 1785, burials 1658 to 1785,
marriages 1659 to 1785; (ii) baptisms and burials
from 1785 to 1812; (iii) marriages from 1754 to
1812. Some earlier 17th-century entries will be
found among the Bishops' Transcripts.
ADVOWSON
The advowson of the rectory of
Earl's Croome has always followed
the same descent as the manor, (fn. 66) the
Welles and Dunne families presenting alternately when
the manor was divided between them.
In 1670 Fleetwood Sheppard presented to the
church, (fn. 67) and Thomas Wheat did so in 1701, (fn. 68) but
it seems probable that this was by arrangement with
the Jeffery family, for Sir Robert Sheppard and Thomas
Wheat were trustees or the marriage settlement of
Sir Robert Barkham and Hester Jeffery in 1689. (fn. 69)
Nash writing in 1779 states that there was
then in the registry of the church of Worcester
a deed of composition between the rectors of Ripple
and Earl's Croome concerning the burial of their
dead. (fn. 70)
CHARITIES
In 1796 the Rev. F. Welles—as appeared from the church table—by his will left £20, the interest
to be distributed in bread on Christmas Eve. The
trust fund now consists of £31 on deposit at a
bank, the annual interest of about 15s. being duly
applied.
The Church Lands—also mentioned on the church
table—consist of 8 a., or thereabouts, producing £11 5s.
yearly. The official trustees also hold the sums of
£44 15s. 6d. consols and £225 2½ per cent. annuities, arising from sales in 1898 and 1902 of cottages
and lands, producing in annual dividends £6 15s.
The income is applied towards the repair and
upkeep of the church.