HEXTON
Hehstanstuna, Hegestanestone (xi cent.); Hextenestona (xiv cent.); Hextone (xv cent.).
Hexton formerly belonged to the half-hundred of
Hitchin, but when it came into the possession of
the abbots of St. Albans it was probably added by
them to their hundred of Cashio. (fn. 1)
This parish is a peninsula of Hertfordshire jutting
northwards into the county of Bedford. The
southern half of the parish is part of the chalky
downs of the Chiltern Hills, which are covered with
short turf and plantations of fir trees. The hills end
abruptly and close to their foot lies the village of
Hexton. It stands among grass fields and orchards
at the beginning of a low plain, which, sloping
gradually to the north, becomes merged in the
large plain of southern Bedfordshire. The southern
boundary of the parish is the grassy Icknield Way.
The parish was inclosed by an Act of 1766. (fn. 1a)
The whole parish, with the exception of one small
piece of ground belonging to a St. Albans charity,
is owned by Mr. George Herbert Hodgson, who lives
in Hexton Hall, a large modernized house standing
in an extensive park. There is no regular village
street, but most of the houses are near cross roads,
which lead north, south, east and west and connect Hexton with the neighbouring small villages.
Hitchin, which is the nearest town, lies about 6 miles
due east.
The old ill-built cottages are being rapidly replaced by new substantial ones. There is a small
hamlet called Mortgrove on the hills in the south,
consisting of a farm and several cottages. The population had been steadily diminishing for some years,
but lately the decrease has been arrested.
A number of ancient coins have been found in the
neighbourhood, (fn. 1b) and there is a strongly entrenched
earthwork in the parish, known as Ravensburgh
Castle. (fn. 2)
A little stream taking its rise near Ravensburgh
Castle used to flow open along the village road. It
is now inclosed in and utilized for the water supply of
the cottages.
The account given by Francis Taverner (fn. 3) of the
Hocktide revels celebrated yearly in the village, 'in
the memorie of some yet lyving,' is most interesting.
Hocktide, he says, 'signifies a tyme of skorne and
contempt which fell upon the Danes by the death of
Hardicanute their king' and was 'solemnized by the
best inhabitants, both men and women in Hexton,
in the fields and streetes with strange kind of pastyme
and jollities.' He then proceeds to give a detailed
account of the game of Pulling at the Pole, which
was played by the men and women of the place on
the slope of Waytyng Hill, the women attempting
to pull the pole down the hill in defiance of the
men. The game would last some two or three
hours, but in the end the women always succeeded
in bringing the pole to the cross by the town-house
door, after which a feast was held in the town house,
and a collection made, the proceeds of which were
given in part to the poor, and part to the church-wardens for the repair of the church—the latter
share amounting on an average to some 20s. The
feast was followed by further sports, the women once
more against the men at Base and other games. The
roughness of the play would seem open to obvious
objections, but Taverner concludes his account
with the criticism that 'these nice tymes of ours
would not only despise these sports, but also account them ymmodest if not prophane, but those
playne and well-meaning people did solace themselves in this manner, and that without offence or
scandall.'
Saint Faith's Well, whose site was a little to the
south of the church, was filled up, probably at the
Reformation, and the waste ground around it was
drained and levelled by Francis Taverner in 1624; he
includes in his account of the parish a description of
the well and of the shrine and image of Saint Faith
placed over it. So rich were the offerings made by
the people who came from far and near, that 'the
vicaredge in those days of Hexton was of a better
yearly reveneu than the parsonage. I coulde wish,'
adds Taverner, 'some good ladye would putt to her
helping hand now, for our vicaredge hath extreme
neede thereof.'
The subsoil and surface soil are chalk. The chief
crops are corn and turnips. In 1905 there were
903½ acres of arable land, 301½ permanent grass, and
108½ woodland. (fn. 4)
The following are some place-names extant in this
village: Fanny's Spinney, Mortgrove, Furger's
Wood, and Cank Hole.
MANORS
HEXTON seems to have been granted
to the monastery of Saint Albans at two
different dates, by Sexi a noble Dane, (fn. 5)
and by Ailward and Leofwyn, whose gift amounted to
four hides of land. (fn. 6) At the time of the Domesday
Survey the abbot's holding was assessed at 8 hides and
3 virgates, of which 4 hides were in demesne, half a
hide was held by Geoffrey de Bech under the abbot,
and 3 hides were similarly held by an Englishman. (fn. 7)
It is also recorded that Earl Harold had attached
1 virgate in Hexton to Hitchin by force and by
fraud, (fn. 8) and, among the lands of Geoffrey de Bech,
Ralf held of Geoffrey 1 hide. (fn. 9) At a subsequent date
there seem to have been only two manors in Hexton,
namely one held in demesne by the abbey, and the
other the manor of the rectory, and it appears probable
that the other holdings either were not manors or
became merged in the abbey manor.
On the dissolution of the monastery the king
granted the water-mill of Hexton to William Barton
for a term of years, while the
farm of the site of the manor
was granted to William Goldsmythe for thirty-one years. (fn. 10)
In 1545 the manor and watermill were granted to Sir
Richard Lee of Sopwell, knt. (fn. 11)
who conveyed them in 1560
to Edward Greaves and John
Kettel, (fn. 12) and again in 1571,
probably for the purposes of a
settlement, to George Horsey, Edward Baesshe, William
Dodds and Henry Coningsby; (fn. 13)
subsequently the manor seems
to have descended to Anne the younger daughter
of Sir Richard, and to Edward Sadler of Temple, her
husband, for in 1579 Edward and Anne conveyed it
to Henry Sadler their brother and Dorothy his wife. (fn. 14)
In 1590 this Henry conveyed
it to William Brand and Henry
Kinge, (fn. 15) and in 1593 the
manor passed out of the hands
of the Sadlers and became the
property of Peter Taverner and
Frances his wife, (fn. 16) in whose
family it remained for over
eighty years. (fn. 17) In 1674 Edward, Thomas, John, and
Jeremy Taverner conveyed the
property to John Crosse, (fn. 18) from
whom it passed to his son John
and eventually to his granddaughter Christine the wife of John Rogers, whose
descendant (fn. 19) John Fletcher, through her daughter Jane,
about the year 1764, sold it to Newdigate Poyntz. (fn. 20)
In 1774 his son Newdigate sold the manor to Sir
Benjamin Rawling (fn. 21) who died in 1775 in his ninetyfifth year and left no issue. (fn. 22) From three fines of the
year 1779 it is seen that Sir Benjamin's property had
come to a number of persons, (fn. 23) doubtless his relations
and co-heirs.
Lee. Party cheveron-wise or and gules with two lions sable in the chief face to face.
Sadler. Or a lion parted fessewise azure and gules.
Cussans in his History of Hertfordshire says these
co-heirs sold the manor to John Bradshaw in 1782,
who three years later sold it again to Captain, afterwards Sir Thomas, Paisley, bart., of whom it was
purchased in 1789 by William Young. He died in
1824, leaving two daughters and co-heirs Jane and
Caroline, and on the death of Jane all her estate
devolved upon Caroline wife of Joseph Andrew de
Lautour, (fn. 24) on whose death the manor of Hexton
was inherited by her son William Francis Joseph
Lautour, (fn. 25) who in 1870 took the name of Young.
The owner of the manor in 1899 was Captain
William Francis Joseph Young, from whom it passed to
Mr. George Herbert Hodgson.
AUNCELLS or AWSELLES is only once called a
manor and then in a somewhat doubtful entry to the
effect that Abbot William Heyworth (1401–20)
purchased the 'manor or messuage of Awselles in the
vill of Hexton.' (fn. 26) If, however, as seems probable,
Taverner is right in identifying the freehold of
Auncell with the freehold of Reimes, it must have been
the half-hide of land which was held of the abbot by
knight's service as one-eleventh part of a knight's fee.
This was in the hands of the family of Reymesi,
Rymes or Reynes as early as 1245; (fn. 27) and continued
to be held by them throughout the early part of the
fourteenth century; (fn. 28) in 1347–8 it was in the possession of Richard Chelsey, (fn. 29) and in 1432 was bought by
the abbot. (fn. 30)
Taverner states that in 1502 the abbot leased it as
a copyhold to a certain Mr. Hale whose descendant
held it at the time he wrote. (fn. 31)
The site of this manor of Awselles is not known,
but a family of that name lived in the village till
about 20 or 30 years ago, when they died out.
The RECTORY OF HEXTON was assigned by
Abbot John to the office of sacrist of Saint Albans in
1243, (fn. 32) and at some subsequent date the profits
seem to have been divided between the sacrist
and the almoner, for in 1355 the sacrist made a
lease of the rectory 'except the tithes to the almoner belonging,' (fn. 33) and in 1393 the abbot granted
a lease of the site of the rectory to Stephen Carpenter for life, at a rent of 22 marks to be paid
in part to the sacrist and in part to the almoner. (fn. 34)
There seems to be no actual mention of a rectory
manor prior to the Dissolution, but its existence
is proved by the fact that there is extant a record
of a lease of the rectory for thirty years, saving to
the sacrist and almoner heriots, reliefs, and profits
of the court, (fn. 35) and in the Ministers' Accounts of 1541
it is stated that the farm of the rectory had been
leased to Edward Dey some nine years earlier for a
period of thirty years, all services, wardships, marriages and perquisites of the court excepted, and that
6s. 8d. was allowed annually for the expenses of the
court whether held or not. (fn. 36)
CHURCH
The church of ST. FAITH has lost
whatever historical interest it may have
had in the early days of the Gothic
revival. It has a chancel with north vestry and north
chapel, (fn. 37) nave with north and south aisles and south
porch and west tower. The exterior is covered with
Roman cement, with low-pitched roofs and plain
parapets. The chancel has an arched stucco ceiling
and windows of the late Gothic detail in vogue
at the date of its remodelling, and the nave has
arcades of two bays, with a west gallery under which
is a third bay.
The arches of the arcades have stucco mouldings
which appear to be founded on early thirteenthcentury detail, but whether they are in any way
reminiscent of what formerly existed there is nothing
to show. The middle column of the north arcade is
formed of four engaged shafts and that of the south
is circular. The roof of the nave is of fifteenth-century date with moulded beams and carved bosses
at the intersections, and at the ends of the intermediate rafters half figures of angels with shields.
The tower appears to date from the fifteenth
century, (fn. 38) and has an east arch of three chamfered
orders of that date and a vice in the south-west angle.
The west door and three-light window over it are
modern.
The octagonal font is modern and stands at the
west end of the south aisle, and there are no old
fittings in the church.
The pulpit stands to the north of the chancel arch
and the reading and clerk's desks to the south.
The only monument of interest is one on the east
wall of the north chapel to Peter Taverner, lord
of the manor, 1601, and his wife Frances, 1636.
The inscription is on an arched Purbeck marble
panel, into which are inset two brass shields of the
arms of Taverner and Docwra.
There are three bells in the tower and pits for two
more. The treble and tenor are by Chandler, 1697
and 1688 respectively, and the second is an interesting
bell, not later than the beginning of the fourteenth
century, inscribed in Gothic capitals Ave Maria.
The initial cross is identical with that used later by
William Rofforde of London.
The plate consists of a cup of 1828, a paten of 1825,
and a covered standing bowl of 1827, all given by
Mrs. Jane Young in 1827. There is also a cup of
1818 given by the Rev. F. R. Wardale in 1826,
and a small paten of 1826.
The parish registers previous to 1812 are contained
in two volumes, and date from 1538. (fn. 39)
Ralph bishop of Rochester (1108–14) dedicated the
church of Hexton in honour of St. Faith, Virgin and
Martyr, (fn. 40) and about a century later Abbot John II
of St. Albans (1235–60) appropriated this church for
the celebration of his anniversary. (fn. 41)
ADVOWSON
To the time of the Dissolution the
advowson belonged to St. Alban's
Abbey. In 1553 the rectory with
the advowson was granted to Sir Richard Lee, knt.,
and they appear to have been held together with the
manor till 1775, when at the death of Sir Benjamin
Rawling the property was divided, and in 1779 the
rectory was held by one of his numerous co-heirs, and
the advowson by another. (fn. 42) In 1723 the king presented to the living, and two years later he had the
right again by 'lapse,' but in 1776 Francis Hawkins
was patron. (fn. 43)
Taverner. Argent a bend indented sable with a roundel gules in the cantle.
Docwra. Sable a cheveron engrailed argent between three roundels argent with a pale gules upon each roundel.
At the present day the living is in the gift of
George Herbert Hodgson who is also lord of the
manor.
CHARITIES
Charity of Bodenham Rouse.—
See Barton-in-the-Clay, co. Bedford.
The sum of 10s. a year charged on
an estate called Sharpenhoe in the parish of Streatley,
county of Bedford, is received and distributed among
ten poor widows of this parish.