ICKLEFORD
Hikleford (xiii cent.); Ikelingford, Ikeleford
(xiv cent.); Icklesford (xvi cent.).
Ickleford is a long and narrow parish of 1,036 acres,
running northwards from Hitchin, from which parish
it is divided by the River Oughton. The average
level of the land is only about 180 ft. above the
ordnance datum. The parish lies in the valley of the
River Hiz, which forms its boundary on the east,
parting it from Bedfordshire. The parish is entirely
agricultural. In 1905 the arable land was estimated
at about 800 acres, permanent grass at about 200 acres,
while woodland was only 10 acres. (fn. 1) The soil is
chalk.
In the middle of the village is a triangular green
called the Upper Green, to distinguish it from the
Lower Green, which lies at the north end. Around
the Upper Green stand, on the south-west the parish
church, to the north some cottages and the school,
and on the east Pound Farm with a moat supplied
with water from the River Hiz. The village extends
to the south-west along the Icknield Way and a road
leading south to Bearton Green. At the junction of
these roads is Ickleford House, the residence of
Mr. David Simson. On the road to Bearton Green,
about a quarter of a mile from the church, is an old
two-storied timber-framed house, on a brick foundation, covered with rough-cast and with a tiled roof.
At each end are gabled wings only slightly projecting
beyond the central part; one wing has an oriel
window, over which is the date 1599. The upper
story is overhanging. The village continues northward
along the west side of the road, the east side being on
low land adjoining the Hiz. The Icknield Way runs
through the south of the parish.
Old Ramerick, a moated manor-house, lies 2 miles
to the north of the church, and is a two-storied house
of L-shaped plan. The main block is 18th-century
work of brick, the wing is of the 17th century, and
is built of clunch with brick quoins. The moat has
almost disappeared.
The Bedford branch of the Great Northern railway passes through the parish, but the nearest station
is at Hitchin.
Field-names of the 16th century which occur in
this parish are Callouse Peece, Whesell Dytch and
Hambridge Peece.
MANORS
There is no mention of Ickleford in
the Domesday Survey. It is evident
that it was then included in the manor
of Pirton and that the manors which subsequently
appear were formed from that manor by subinfeudation. (fn. 2)
Ickleford
The manor of ICKLEFORD was held in the 13th
century of the lords of Pirton as a quarter of a
knight's fee by the family of Foliot. (fn. 3) Isabel widow
of John Foliot appears in 1285 as holding part of
the estate of Thomas de la Sale, a felon. (fn. 4) In 1287
John Foliot, then a minor and possibly son of Isabel,
claimed view of frankpledge in Ickleford. (fn. 5) By 1303
this quarter of a fee was in the hands of John Fitz
Simon, (fn. 6) and in 1346 Hugh Fitz Simon was holding
it with several coparceners.
One of these was Simon
Francis of London, (fn. 7) into
whose family the manor seems
subsequently to have passed.
Ralph Francis (Fraunceys)
son of William died seised of
the manor in March 1532–3,
leaving as heir his son
William, aged six years. (fn. 8) This
William was holding in 1556. (fn. 9)
In 1585 Richard Francis (of
Ticknall, co. Derby), apparently his son, (fn. 10) mortgaged
the mansion or manor-house
of Ickleford, together with certain lands, to Thomas
Ansell or Aunsell, (fn. 11) and two years later Francis
released the manor to Ansell, (fn. 12) excepting the manor-house and closes called Conygers, Dovehouse Close,
Pennes, the Old Orchard, the New Orchard, Duncroft and Earles Close and a water mill called Newe
Mill (probably because Ansell already held these).
Ansell died in 1606, leaving three sons, William,
Thomas and Edward, between whom, by his will, the
estate was divided. Thomas and Alice his wife
received the chief part, William, the eldest, having
only one messuage, and Edward and his wife Susan a
tenement and the water mill called Westmill. (fn. 13) The
manor descended in the family of Thomas Ansell, (fn. 14)
and came to another Thomas Ansell, who was holding
in 1714, (fn. 15) and apparently to a third Thomas, who
suffered a recovery in 1740. (fn. 16) His widow Elizabeth
was holding in 1763, with reversion to her daughter
Mary and her husband Thomas Goostrey, (fn. 17) who were
in possession in 1776. (fn. 18) In that year they conveyed
the manor to Charles Loundes and John Dashwood
King, probably for a sale to Thomas Whitehurst. (fn. 19)
He in 1788 sold it to Thomas Cockayne, who died
in 1809, leaving a son and heir Thomas. (fn. 20) At his
death he left an only child Marion Charlotte Emily,
who married the Hon. Frederick Dudley Ryder, third
son of the first Earl of Harrowby His son, Captain
Dudley Ryder, R.N., died in 1898, and the manor
was bought by Captain C. J. Fellowes, R.N. After
his death it was purchased in December 1910 by
Mr. David Simson, who is the present owner. (fn. 21)
Francis. Party bend sinisterwise sable and or a lion countercoloured.
Ramerick
The manor of RAMERICK (Ranewick, Ramwardwike, Ramardewick, Ramorwyk, xiii cent.; Ranworthewyk, xiv cent.) was also held of the manor of
Pirton as a quarter of a knight's fee. (fn. 22) The first
tenant of whom there is record or tradition is Richard
Reincourt, whose daughter Margaret is said to have
married Robert Filliot and to have had a son Richard
Filliot. (fn. 23) Richard Filliot's daughter and heir Margery (fn. 24) brought the manor by marriage to her husband
Wiscard Ledet. (fn. 25) Wiscard's daughter and heir
Christine married Henry de
Braybrok, (fn. 26) by whom she had
two sons, Wiscard and John.
Wiscard and his son Walter
both died before Christine. (fn. 27)
Walter left two daughters,
Alice and Christine, who
married two brothers, William
and John Latimer. (fn. 28) The
manor remained with Christine, who held it by subfeoffment from her sister. (fn. 29)
It descended to her second
son John, (fn. 30) who took his
mother's name of Braybrok
and held the property with his wife Joan. (fn. 31) Gerard
de Braybrok, possibly their son, was assessed for
this fee in 1303. (fn. 32) In 1333 a grant was made to
Gerard de Braybrok, son of the above Gerard, (fn. 33) of
free warren in his demesne lands of Ramerick, (fn. 34) and
two years later he (then Sir Gerard) and his wife
Isabel settled the estate on themselves for life, (fn. 35) with
remainder to their son Gerard, with a further
remainder to their second son Henry. (fn. 36) Sir Gerard
held till his death in 1359 (fn. 37) and was succeeded under
this settlement by Gerard, his son, (fn. 38) who married
Eleanor de St. Amand. His only son and heir
Gerald died in 1428, leaving by his wife Parnel a
daughter Elizabeth, (fn. 39) who married first Sir William
Beauchamp, kt. (fn. 40) (summoned to Parliament as Lord
St. Amand from January 1448–9), (fn. 41) and secondly
Roger Toocotes. Her second husband forfeited
the estate early in the reign of Richard III as a
rebel, and it was granted to Thomas Meryng, one
of the king's servitors, (fn. 42) but was restored to Roger
Toocotes some seven years later. (fn. 43) Elizabeth died in
1491 (fn. 44) and her husband a
year later. (fn. 45) The manor was
inherited by Richard Beauchamp, kt., Lord St. Amand,
son of Elizabeth by her first
husband. Richard was attainted in 1483, but restored
two years later by Henry VII.
He died in June 1508 without legitimate issue, (fn. 46) having
bequeathed all his estates to
his natural son Anthony
Wroughton alias St. Amand,
who conveyed the manor in
1520–1 to St. John's College,
Cambridge. (fn. 47) This grant caused some trouble
between the college and George Brooke, Lord
Cobham, who claimed the manor as heir to Richard
Beauchamp, being descended from Reginald brother
of Sir Gerard Braybrok, who married Eleanor de
St. Amand. (fn. 48) The master of the college appeared
against Brooke in a Star Chamber suit for having
in February 1529–30 incited various persons to
come with weapons at three
o'clock in the morning to
break into the manor of Ramerick. According to the master,
these brought ladders 6 or 7 ft.
high and broke the wall of
the house and thus entered it
and kept possession, refusing
admission to a justice of the
peace. (fn. 49) Lord Cobham pleaded
that he was seised in demesne
as of fee of the manor and
lived there peaceably until
unjustly disseised by the
college. (fn. 50) A few years later
the dispute was brought to a close by the surrender
by Lord Cobham to St. John's College of his interest
in the manor. (fn. 51) In 1617 the college received a
grant of court leet and view of frankpledge in Ickleford. (fn. 52) The manor has remained in their possession
until the present day.
Braybrok. Argent seven voided lozenges gules.
Beauchamp, Lord St. Amand. Gules a fesse between six martlets or in a border argent.
St. John's College, Cambridge. The arms of Lady Margaret Beaufort, the founder.
The priory of Wymondley had lands in Ickleford,
by whose grant does not appear. A certain Thomas
de la Sale, who was imprisoned for felony in the
reign of Edward I, held a messuage and 12¾ acres of
land of the prior. (fn. 53) The monastery also had a mill
called Hyde Mill, (fn. 54) which at the time of the Dissolution was held by the convent of Elstow, co. Bedford,
at a rent of 30s. The mill and the rent were granted
by Henry VIII to James Nedeham in February
1542–3. (fn. 55) They descended to John Nedeham, who
died seised in 1591, leaving a son and heir George. (fn. 56)
In 1566 John Brockett and Ellen his wife conveyed an estate, under the name of the manor of
Ickleford, to trustees for a settlement. (fn. 57) Edward
Brockett some years after alienated this to Edmund
Knott. (fn. 58) A messuage in Ickleford, the residence of
Daniel Knott, is mentioned as part of the manor of
Ickleford in 1607, (fn. 59) and Edmund Knott, yeoman,
died seised of a capital messuage there in 1618,
leaving a son and heir John. (fn. 60)
CHURCH
St. Katherine
The parish church of ST. KATHERINE, standing in the middle of the
village, is of stone, entirely covered with
plaster. It consists of a chancel, nave, south aisle
and south chapel, north vestry, west tower and south
porch. (fn. 61)
The earliest part of the church is the nave, dating
from the middle of the 12th century. The chancel
and west tower were built early in the following
century, and the south porch was added about the
middle of the 15th century. In 1859 the church
was restored and the south aisle, south chapel and
north vestry were added.
The chancel windows are all modern except a
13th-century lancet in the north wall. A modern
door opens to the north vestry. The piscina, with a
broken bowl, is of the 15th century. Above it is
some 15th-century tracery, possibly the remnants of
a rood screen.
In the north wall of the nave are two windows,
one on each side of a blocked 12th-century doorway,
which, although it is much decayed and repaired with
cement, has a well-preserved cheveron moulding on
the rear-arch. The eastern of the two north windows,
of the 14th century, is of three cinquefoiled lights
with tracery in a square head, and the western, of the
15th century, is of two cinquefoiled lights, also with
tracery, in a pointed head. Both are much repaired
with cement. At the east end of the wall is a roodloft staircase. A much broken piscina is of the
15th century, probably moved from its original
position. The roof is of the 15th century, supported
on grotesque stone corbels. The south arcade and
clearstory of the nave are modern, the latter having
three circular lights with roll-ended cusps, surmounted
externally by a moulded roll. The modern south aisle
has three pairs of pointed lights, with shafted external
jambs and drop mouldings with sculptured stops.
In the south wall is a 12th-century doorway with
a semicircular arch of three moulded orders, the two
shafts on each side having leaf-carved capitals and
moulded abaci. The original bases have disappeared,
and the doorway has been repaired with cement.
This door leads to the south porch, which is embattled, with a central niche over the two-centred
entrance arch of two continuous orders. Above the
arch is a much decayed string course. To the west
of the south door is a 15th-century two-light window
with tracery, much repaired with cement. The west
tower is of two stages with heavy buttresses, those at
the north-west and south-west angles being diagonal.
The low pyramidal roof is of lead. The tower arch,
which is two-centred, and a small lancet on the south
side, are probably original. The west window and
the two-light belfry windows are of the 15th century
and are repaired with cement.
Ickleford Church from the South
In the nave is a brass of about 1380 of Thomas
Somer and his wife Marjory. The figures are halflength and the inscription is imperfect. There is in
the church a 6-in. stone slab measuring 5 ft. by 2 ft.
on its upper face and with edges moulded to a large
hollow chamfer. An oak chair in the chancel,
with a canopy, dates from the end of the 16th or
beginning of the 17th century, and is of foreign
workmanship.
The bells are five in number: the treble and
second are by John Warner & Sons, 1857, the
third is by Richard Chandler, 1680, the fourth by
Miles Graye, 1650, and the fifth by Thomas Russell
of Wootton, 1726.
The plate consists of a cup of 1796, presented by
Thomas Cockayne in 1807 and modern paten and
flagon, the former made from two old silver patens.
The registers consisted down to 1830 of three
books. Since then the first, containing baptisms, burials
and marriages from 1653 to 1748, has disappeared;
the second book contains baptisms and burials from
1749 to 1812 and marriages from 1749 to 1753;
the third book contains marriages from 1756 to
1812.
ADVOWSON
The church of Ickleford was a
chapel to Pirton (fn. 62) (q.v.), and the
two livings were held together until
divided by order of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners
in 1847. The advowson was purchased by Thomas
Wilson in 1868. (fn. 63) It was conveyed before 1875 to
the Rev. T. I. Walton, and now belongs to the Rev.
C. A. Walton, his son.
There was also a chapel at Ramerick attached to
the church of Pirton in the 13th century, (fn. 64) but there
seems to be no further trace of it.
In the 18th century two houses were registered for
meetings of Protestant Dissenters, and another was
certified in 1824. (fn. 65) There is now a Wesleyan chapel
in Ickleford.
CHARITIES
In 1657 Edward Ansell by his
will gave 40s. a year for the poor
charged on 2 acres of land, exchanged
under the Ickleford Inclosure Act for a close of
3 acres in Ramerick Farm, now belonging to St. John's
College, Cambridge.
In the Parliamentary returns of 1786 it is stated
that a donor unknown gave a rent-charge of 20s. to
poor widows, which is paid out of West Mill in the
parish of Shillington (Beds.).
The annual sum of 60s. is distributed to about
thirty recipients.