WATTON-AT-STONE
Wodtone, Wattune (xi cent.).
The parish of Watton has an area of 3,585 acres,
of which 1,912¼ acres are arable land and 670 acres
permanent grass. (fn. 1) It attains a height of over
300 ft. in the north, slopes downwards towards the
south, but rises again to 300 ft. in the south-west.
The River Beane flows through the parish from the
north-west, and through Woodhall Park, where it is
artificially widened.
The church stands a little to the west of the road
from Stevenage to Hertford, but the village lies along
the road. There are in this part one or two late
16th-century houses, notably a timber and plaster
house in the middle of the village on the north side
of the road, now much repaired, but still retaining
an oak door frame and some original beams. On the
south side of the road are some 17th-century timber
and plaster cottages with overhanging upper stories,
one of which is thatched.
Watton Place, now a farm-house, stands beside the
main road at the north end of the village. It consists
of a main building of two stories and a low kitchen
wing, forming an L-shaped plan. The front part of
the main building, above the ground floor, is timberframed, and overhangs the wall below, the upper part
being divided into three equal gables. All the other
walls are of brickwork, the old bricks being two
inches thick. The building has been much altered
both outside and inside, so that not many features of
architectural interest remain. It was probably erected
towards the close of the 16th century. There are
some good brick chimneys on the main building
consisting of a row of three shafts, a fourth, which was
no doubt formerly there, having disappeared. The
front shaft is circular with a large moulded twist, the
capital consisting of triangular projections corbelled
out; the second shaft is octagonal with moulded
capital; the third is missing; the fourth is circular,
with a moulded octagonal capital: the upper part
of the shaft is covered with raised mouldings forming
a honeycomb pattern, the lower part is twisted. The
interior of the house has been so much altered that it
is not possible to trace the original plan. Most of the
work appears to be of the 18th century or later. A part
of the old cellar still exists under the main building.
It is approached from a doorway outside. Immediately
opposite the door and only a few feet from it, over
the stair, is a small shallow niche with arched head,
and in the cellar itself are a number of similar niches
in the walls. These are about 14 in. wide by
1 ft. 4 in. high, and 7 in. deep, and have four-centred
arches of brick plastered. There are thirteen or
fourteen of these niches, all about 2 ft. 8 in. from the
floor. There is besides a large square-headed aumbry
2 ft. wide and 1 ft. 9 in. deep, with an oak frame
round the opening and oak lining inside. The door
has disappeared. These niches are very similar in
shape and size to those in the cellars at Wymondley
Bury and Delamere.
Broom Hall is a late 16th-century farm-house in
the north-west of the parish. It is a rectangular
building of brick in two stories, and with a small
porch. The windows of the first floor have brick
mullions.
At Watton Green, and a little south of the Green,
and at Well Wood, are homestead moats, and in
Chapel Wood there are some defensive earthworks.
Bardolphs, the ancient manor, with Bardolphspark
Wood, is situated east of the village, a short distance
north of Woodhall Park, which is in the south-east of
the parish. The hamlet of Whempstead lies in the
north-east, about half-way between Watton and Little
Munden. Watkins Hall, in the south of the parish,
has been rebuilt, but an old beam over the entrance
bears the inscription 'Watton Hall alias Watkins Hall
I.M. 1636.'
The parish lies on a subsoil of chalk. There is a
chalk-pit south of Watkins Hall, and two now disused
north of the village. No railway passes through the
parish, the nearest station being Knebworth, 3½ miles
to the west.
MANORS
Watton was anciently Crown land,
and was of the extent of about 10 hides.
Of these, 4½ hides were granted to the
abbey of Westminster by King Edgar, (fn. 2) and confirmed
to that monastery by Edward the Confessor (fn. 3) (vide
infra). During the reign of the latter the remaining
5 hides, which apparently formed the manor of
WATTON, were held by Alwin Horne, one of the
king's thegns. (fn. 4) In 1086 it was held of the king by
two thegns named Derman and Alward. (fn. 5) The service
by which the manor was subsequently held was the petty
serjeanty of sending one foot-soldier equipped with bow
and arrows to the army of the king in Wales for forty
days. (fn. 6) In 1394 the service is said to be for fifteen
days in Scotland, or 13s. 4d. rent and 2s. a year
payable at the two sheriffs' tourns in the hundred
of Broadwater. (fn. 7) In the 15th
century it was held for a
quarter of a knight's fee (fn. 8) ; it
continued to be held of the
king in chief by fealty and
rent. (fn. 9)
Watton Place: Front View
Of the two sub-tenants of
Watton in 1086, Alward
apparently died without heirs,
for the whole manor was held
by the descendants of Derman.
Derman's heir was his brother
Leofstan, (fn. 10) whose son Ailwin
or Elwyn was the father of
Henry, first Mayor of London (fn. 11) and lord of the manor
of Watton. (fn. 12) Henry is first mentioned in 1164–5, (fn. 13)
and died in 1212. (fn. 14) His nearest heir was a granddaughter, the daughter of his eldest son, who was
first married to Ralph le Parmenter and afterwards
(5 October 1212) to William Aguillon, (fn. 15) whose son (fn. 16)
Robert became lord of the manor before 1248. (fn. 17)
Robert Aguillon died about 1286, leaving as his
heir his daughter Isabel, who was betrothed to
Hugh Bardolf. (fn. 18) The manor was granted to Margaret,
Robert Aguillon's widow, until the regular assignment
of dower was made by the
king, (fn. 19) but in 1287 it was
held by Hugh Bardolf in right
of his wife. (fn. 20) He was warden
of Arundel Castle in 1272, (fn. 21)
and, having been summoned
to Parliament as Lord Bardolf
from 1299 to 1302, died in
1304. (fn. 22) Isabel having quitclaimed her right in the manor
upon her husband's death, it
was re-granted to her for life,
with reversion to her son
William, (fn. 23) but in 1318 it was
entailed on Thomas Bardolf,
the elder son. (fn. 24) Isabel died about 1324, (fn. 25) and Thomas,
who had succeeded as second Lord Bardolf in 1304,
became lord of the manor. He died in 1329, (fn. 26) and
his widow Agnes held Watton in dower until her
death, (fn. 27) which occurred in 1357, (fn. 28) when she was
succeeded by her son John, third Lord Bardolf of
Wormegay. (fn. 29) William, fourth Lord Bardolf, son of
John, became lord of the manor in 1363. (fn. 30) He granted
Watton to Robert Bardolf for life, in exchange for the
manor of Stow Bardolph in Norfolk, (fn. 31) and died in
January 1385–6. (fn. 32) Upon the death of Robert Bardolf
in 1394 the manor reverted to Thomas, fifth Lord
Bardolf, son and heir of William, the fourth lord, (fn. 33)
after the death in 1403 (fn. 34) of his mother Agnes, to
whom it had been granted in dower by Richard II.
Thomas, the fifth lord, joined Northumberland's
rebellion in 1405, and died of wounds received at
the battle of Bramham Moor in 1408, (fn. 35) leaving two
daughters, Anne, who married, first, William Clifford,
and secondly Reginald Cobham, and Joan the wife
of Sir William Phelip. (fn. 36) The manor was divided
between the two sisters. Sir William Phelip, who
was a Knight of the Garter, and was in 1437 created
Lord Bardolf, had served at the battle of Agincourt
in 1415, being afterwards made Captain of Harfleur.
Later he occupied the post of Treasurer of the
Household to Henry V, and that of Privy Councillor
and Chamberlain to Henry VI. (fn. 37) He died in 1441, (fn. 38)
his wife Joan surviving until 1447, when the halfmanor of Watton passed to her grandson William,
second but eldest surviving son of her daughter
Elizabeth and John Viscount Beaumont. (fn. 39) William
Viscount Beaumont and Lord Bardolf married
Joan daughter of Humphrey Duke of Buckingham,
from whom he was divorced before 1477, (fn. 40) but who
survived him. Upon the death of Anne Cobham,
his great-aunt, in 1454 he became possessed of the
whole of Watton Manor, her
moiety passing to him as the
next heir, (fn. 41) but he was attainted after the battle of
Towton Field in 1461 (fn. 42) and
his lands forfeited. Watton
was granted in the following
year to his wife Joan, with
Thomas Archbishop of Canterbury and George Bishop
of Exeter as trustees, and with
remainder to William Beaumont, (fn. 43) who was still under
attainder. Joan was still living
in the reign of Richard III, (fn. 44)
but in 1467 the manor was granted to Roger
Ree, one of the ushers of the king's chamber,
for his good services to the king's father. (fn. 45) Roger
died in 1476, (fn. 46) leaving a son and heir William.
William Viscount Beaumont was, however, restored
to his honours in 1470. He was again attainted in
1471, (fn. 47) but was finally restored in 1485. He lost
his reason in 1487, and was placed under the custody
of John Earl of Oxford (fn. 48) until his death in 1507,
when he was seised of the manor of Watton. (fn. 49) His
nearest heir should have been Francis Lord Lovell,
son of his sister Joan, but he was under attainder;
the remaining heirs were John Norreis, son of his
niece Frideswide, and Bryan Stapleton, son of his
niece Joan. (fn. 50) The Crown, however, seems to have
taken possession of the manor owing to Lord Lovell's
attainder, (fn. 51) and it was granted in 1509 to John Earl
of Oxford, (fn. 52) who had married Elizabeth widow of
William Beaumont, to whom it was confirmed for
life by Act of Parliament after her husband's death. (fn. 53)
The reversion of the manor was granted in 1521 to
Sir Wistan Brown, Knight of the Body, (fn. 54) and Watton,
or Bardolf Hall as it was now called, came to his son
John, (fn. 55) and from him descended to his son and heir
George Brown in 1550. (fn. 56) In that year, probably
for assurance of title, Edward VI granted the manor
to Sir Thomas Darcy, Lord Darcy of Chich;
George Brown seems to have remained in possession,
for in 1552 he conveyed the manor to Matthias
Bradbury. (fn. 57) In 1576 Thomas Bradbury sold the
manor of Bardolfs to Philip Boteler, (fn. 58) after which it
followed the descent of Watton Woodhall Manor
until 1801, when it was sold, after the bankruptcy
of Paul Bendfield, to Edward Lord Ellenborough,
Lord Chief Justice of the King's Bench. The latter
conveyed it in 1813 to Samuel Smith, lord of the
manor of Woodhall, with which manor it has since
been united. (fn. 59)
Aguillon. Gules a fleur de lis argent.
Bardolf, Lord Bardolf. Azure three cinqfoils or.
Beaumont. Azure powdered with fleurs de lis or and a lion or.
The manor of Watton possessed a mill in 1086, (fn. 60)
which in 1324 was valued at 13s. 4d. (fn. 61) It is mentioned in a conveyance in 1651, (fn. 62) and is still working.
Robert Aguillon obtained a grant of free warren in
1248. (fn. 63) The right to hold a fair yearly on the vigil,
feast and morrow of the Nativity of the Blessed Virgin
(7–9 September) was granted to Robert Aguillon in
1248. (fn. 64)
King Edgar gave 4½ hides in Watton to the abbey
of Westminster, (fn. 65) which grant was
confirmed by Edward the Confessor. (fn. 66) Of this land, which is
reckoned in the Domesday Book as
5 hides, 1 hide was held by the
abbot himself (fn. 67) ; 2 hides were held
of the abbot by Aluric Blac, together
with half a hide held by Almar, a
man of Aluric (which was perhaps
the added half-hide) (fn. 68) ; and 1½
hides were held by Goduin of the
abbot. (fn. 69) Before 1086 this Westminster estate had become broken
up. The hide held by the abbot
remained in his possession, (fn. 70) and
was afterwards united to the manor
of Stevenage, (fn. 71) the chief manor of
the Abbot of Westminster in Hertfordshire. Goduin's 1½ hides should
have reverted to the abbey after his
death, but his widow put herself by
force under Eddeva the Fair, who
was in possession of the land 'on
the day when King Edward was
living and died.' It was granted
by William the Conqueror to
Count Alan, (fn. 72) who was also lord of
Great Munden, and hence seems to
have become permanently attached
to that manor. (fn. 73) Aluric Blac, although he held his land in Watton
of the Abbot of Westminster, was
at the same time the man of
Archbishop Stigand, and hence it
happened, as in Datchworth, that
Archbishop Lanfranc annexed his
2½ hides in Watton and was holding them in 1086, with Anschitil
de Ros as tenant under him. (fn. 74)
It seems impossible to trace any
connexion between these holdings
and the manor of WOODHALL.
This seems to have been held of the lords of the
neighbouring manor of Benington (fn. 75) (q.v.). In 1278
Alexander de Balliol, lord of Benington, claimed
liberties in his manor of Watton. (fn. 76)
In the 12th century the sub-tenants of the manor
appear to have been a family of Watton. There was
a Ralph de Watton, whose son Robert succeeded, and
settled his 'vill of Wattun' on his wife Katherine
in dower, some time before 1158. (fn. 77) 'Selidus' de
Watton is mentioned in 1166 (fn. 78) and Gilbert de
Watton in 1207, (fn. 79) both of whom were perhaps subtenants. After this the manor passed to John de
Tuwe or Teu, who was holding it in 1248, and was
in that year accused of obstructing a way in Watton
by making a ditch where the road was accustomed to be. (fn. 80) He was succeeded before 1303
by Mabel de Tuwe, (fn. 81) probably his daughter. In
1308 she conveyed the reversion of the manor to
Philip de Peletot, (fn. 82) who was still holding it in
1346, (fn. 83) and died in 1361. (fn. 84) Philip is said to have
had a daughter Katherine,
who married, first, Ralph le
Boteler (by whom she had a
son Philip), and secondly
Edmund Bardolf. (fn. 85) Edmund
Bardolf and his wife Katherine were holding Woodhall
in 1372, (fn. 86) when the manor
was claimed by Elizabeth
Peletot, as daughter of Adomar,
son of Philip de Peletot, (fn. 87) but
there seems to have been a
defect in her title, as the
manor passed to Philip Boteler,
the son of Katherine. In
1382 Philip received an exemption for life from
being put on juries, &c, and from being made mayor,
sheriff, escheator, or other minister of the king against
his will. (fn. 88) He died in 1420, and his eldest son Edward
dying a few weeks after, Woodhall came to his second
son Philip, (fn. 89) who came of age in 1435. (fn. 90) Philip died
in 1453, and his widow Elizabeth immediately
married Laurence Cheyney and held the manor with
him until her death, when it came to her son John
Boteler. (fn. 91) John was succeeded by Philip Boteler,
presumably his son, in 1514, (fn. 92) who in turn was
succeeded by his son John in 1545. (fn. 93) From John's
son, Sir Philip, Woodhall passed in 1607 to his
grandson Robert Boteler, son of an intervening Philip
who died during his father's lifetime. (fn. 94) Robert died
in 1622, leaving a daughter Jane and a brother
Sir John. (fn. 95) John Boteler succeeded, (fn. 96) and the lord of the
manor in 1700 was Philip
Boteler, (fn. 97) his son. The lastnamed Philip died in 1712
without issue, and his estates
passed to John Boteler, the son
of his great-uncle John. (fn. 98)
From John Boteler Woodhall
came to his grandson John
Palmer Boteler, (fn. 99) who sold it
to Sir Thomas Rumbold.
After the death of the latter
Woodhall was purchased in
1793 by Paul Bendfield, after
whose bankruptcy it was sold, and acquired in 1801
by Samuel Smith, (fn. 100) who died in 1834. (fn. 101) His greatgrandson Mr. Abel Henry Smith is the present lord
of the manor.
Watton Place: Back View
Boteler of Woodhall. Gules a fesse checky argent and sable between six crosslets or.
Smith of Woodhall. Or a cheveron cotised between three demigriffons sable.
Crowborough
CROWBOROUGH (Croubery, Crobberewe, xiii
cent.; Crobbergh, Crowbergh, Crebborogh, xv cent.;
Crowbury, xvii cent.) was held of the lords of the
manor of Benington for the service of a quarter of a
knight's fee. Alexander de Balliol claimed liberties
there as at Woodhall in 1278. (fn. 102) In 1266 the subtenant of Crowborough was Alice de Rivers, who in
that year settled it on herself for life, with remainder
to her daughter Christine. (fn. 103) In 1270 Christine de
Rivers conveyed the remainder of the manor after her
death to Robert de Graveley, (fn. 104) who had a grant of free
warren in 1292 (fn. 105) and was holding it in 1303. (fn. 106) He
died before 1311, his lands passing to his widow
Beatrice de Graveley, (fn. 107) who in 1329 conveyed
Crowborough to Thomas Bardolf, (fn. 108) who seems to have
joined it to his manor of Watton and paid Beatrice an
annuity of 66s. 8d. (fn. 109) He was succeeded by his son
John Bardolf, who in 1340 granted the manor of
Crowborough to his brother Edmund for life. (fn. 110)
Edmund was still holding it in 1346, (fn. 111) but after his
death it reverted to the heirs of John Bardolf, being
held by his son William. (fn. 112) After the death of Agnes,
widow of William Bardolf, in 1403 (fn. 113) Crowborough
passed to a younger branch of the family; probably
William Bardolf settled it on a younger son, for in
1384–5 he had granted it to trustees, from whom his
widow Agnes held it in dower. (fn. 114) In 1405 it was
held by another William Bardolf, (fn. 115) and in 1428 by
Edmund Bardolf. (fn. 116) Edmund Bardolf, apparently
grandson and successor of the latter, (fn. 117) died about 1472,
bequeathing to his wife Margery 'certain rooms at
his manor of Crowborough where she can bake bread
and brew ale.' He left a son Henry and a grandson
George, the son of Henry. (fn. 118) In 1562 Edmund
Bardolf, perhaps a son or grandson of the last-named
George, conveyed the manor to Sir John Boteler (fn. 119) of
Watton Woodhall, after which date Crowborough
followed the descent of that manor. (fn. 120) In 1702 Philip
Boteler exchanged the site of Crowborough Hall (which
is still marked by the moats near Watton Green) for
the old rectory-house (fn. 121) (see advowson). Apparently,
however, the manor was kept by Philip Boteler, for it
appears in the Boteler family as late as 1780. (fn. 122) It
apparently passed later to Mrs. Abel Smith (see
advowson).
Watton Hall, or Watkin's Hall
WATTON HALL, or WATKIN'S HALL, is
an estate which first appears about 1540. The
first recorded owner is Thomas Munden, whose
daughter and heir Elizabeth married Robert Burgoyn. (fn. 123)
The latter is mentioned in 1540, (fn. 124) and was holding
Watton Hall, with his wife Elizabeth, in 1543. (fn. 125)
In 1547, his son and heir Robert being a minor, the
custody of his lands was granted to Lord Rich. (fn. 126) In
1615 the 'manor' was held by Robert's son, Roger
Burgoyn, (fn. 127) who was succeeded before 1626 by his son
John Burgoyn. (fn. 128) John was living in 1634, and had
three sons, (fn. 129) but by 1636 from a date and initials
I.M. on an old beam inserted in the present house
it would appear to have passed to the Miles family,
as it was in the possession of John Miles in 1719. (fn. 130)
From John Miles it went to William Miles before
1731. (fn. 131) In 1788 it was held by Samuel Rogers and
Jane his wife. (fn. 132) It is now a farm-house.
A water mill (fn. 133) and free fishery (fn. 134) are mentioned as
pertaining to this estate.
CHURCH
St. Andrew And St. Mary
The church of ST. ANDREW AND ST. MARY stands on rising ground to
the south-west of the village, and is
built of flint rubble with stone dressings. It consists
of a chancel, north chapel, nave, north and south
aisles and porches and a west tower, all of a 15th-century rebuilding. In 1851 the church was restored
throughout by the late Mr. Abel Smith. (fn. 135)
The original church was entirely obliterated by
the 15th-century rebuilding. The east window of
the chancel and the two windows in the south wall
are each of three lights with tracery in a two-centred
head, but very few of the stones are old. A door
between them is modern, as are also the chancel arch
and the arcade of three bays opening to the modern
north chapel. Below the eastern of the two south
windows is a 15th-century piscina, in one range with
three sedilia of the 15th century, with cinquefoiled
canopies and cusped spandrels. All are much
restored.
The nave arcades are of the 13th century and are
of four bays with two-centred arches of two moulded
orders, supported on piers of four shafts separated by
hollows and having moulded capitals and bases. The
two arcades are almost exactly alike in detail. At
the north-east and south-east angles are stair turrets
to the roof, which also served as rood-stairs; only that
on the south side is accessible from the nave. Above
on each side are the doors opening from the stairs to
the rood loft. The turrets are carried up beyond
the nave parapet in an octagonal form, and that on the
south is embattled, while the northern one is plain.
The clearstory has on each side four much restored
two-light windows of the 15th century. The north
aisle has a modern arch at the east end opening into
the north chapel, in the north wall three three-light
traceried windows, and in the west wall a two-light
window, all much restored. The north door and
another small door to the east of it are both modern.
The north porch, of two stages, is of the 15th century,
but all the detail is renewed, and the straight stair
and the parvise are also modern. The south aisle has
an east window of three lights, and the remaining
windows are like those of the north aisle. The
south doorway, with a two-centred arch of two wavemoulded orders, is of the 15th century. The south
porch was wholly rebuilt in the 19th century.
The west tower opens to the nave by a 15th-century arch of three moulded orders. The tower
is of three stages with an embattled parapet; it has
a stair turret at the south-west and two square
buttresses at each angle. The turret is carried up
above the parapet and is itself embattled. At the
foot are an interior and an exterior doorway, both
with four-centred heads. The west doorway and
the three-light window above it are so much restored
as to be almost wholly modern. The bell-chamber
windows, which are of two lights, are also much
restored.
There is a brass in the chancel of a priest in a
quire cope of mid-15th-century date. In the north
chapel is a brass of a knight in armour under an
ogee-shaped canopy, with a marginal inscription
'+icy gist Philip Peletoot chevaler qe morust le
XIIII | jour de Aust lan de | Grace mill CCCLXJ |.'
Above the canopy are two shields, the dexter paly
and a chief indented. The other shield is plain, a
modern restoration. The upper part of the figure
and the inscription were restored in 1851. Also in
the north chapel are the following brasses: a knight
in armour, said to be John Boteler, who died in 1514,
with five shields of arms; Boteler quartering Kilpeck
(twice), and Boteler impaling Tyrrel, Acton and
(?) Belknap, his three wives; a civilian of late 15th-century date; and one to Richard Boteler of Stapleford, 1614, with Anna his wife, daughter of John
Mynne of Hertingfordbury, 1619, and their only
daughter Elizabeth wife of Rowland Graveley of
Graveley, 1600. This brass has an inscription and
two shields of Boteler and Graveley. A third shield
of Mynne is lost.
At the east end of the nave is a much mutilated
brass of a lady with the lower part of the figure
missing; there are indents of her husband, sons and
daughters, and two brass shields, the one of Drury,
and the other Kilpeck quartering Boteler. The fragment of the inscription reads '. . . . Knyght, late
Lorde of Wodhall whyche deceassed th . . . .'
In the north aisle is a brass with the headless figure
of a civilian of the late 15th century, and the indents
of two figures and of a marginal inscription.
In the south aisle is a brass of a lady with a shield
of Bardolf. This is only a portion of the brass of
Sir Edmund Bardolf (1438) and Edmund Bardolf
his kinsman and Joan wife of Edmund.
In the chapel are also a monumental slab with a
marginal inscription in French to Sir Robert de
Graveley of 14th-century date, and an alabaster
slab, 8 ft. 2 in. long, incised and inlaid with figures
of Sir John Boteler of Woodhall, in armour (the date
of his death not filled in), his two wives, Elizabeth,
who died in 1471, and Constance, who died in
14–, his eight children, and an inscription and
three shields of the arms of Boteler, Kilpeck, and
Downhall. In the chancel is a floor slab to John
Saywell, rector, died 1693, and in the north aisle is a
14th-century floor slab to Roger de Larebi.
There are a few important monuments of more
recent date. In the chancel chapel is one to Sir
Thomas Rumbold, formerly Governor of Fort St.
George, who for his eminent services under the East
India Company was created a baronet. He died
11 November 1791. There are also tablets to his
two sons Thomas Henry and Anwaer Henry Rumbold; to their mother Joanna, daughter of Bishop
Law of Carlisle; and to Captain William Richard
Rumbold, who carried the Pondicherry dispatches
and the colours of the fortress to the king. He died
14 June 1786.
In the manor chapel are many monuments to the
Smiths of Woodhall with their arms. In the south
aisle is the monument of Philip Boteler, only son of
Sir John Boteler, kt., who died 7 May 1712, aged
thirty-one, and of his cousin and heir John Boteler of
Woodhall, who died 17 July 1774, aged ninety.
Above is a shield of Boteler impaling Ettrick, Argent
a lion and a chief gules, for Philip Boteler and his
wife Elizabeth Crane Ettrick, who died childless.
In the chapel is preserved a large iron-bound chest
of late 16th or early 17th-century date.
The bells are six in number, the treble being by
J. Briant, 1785; the second by George Chandler,
1682; the third by the same maker and of the same
date was recast by Bowell in 1907; the fourth by
J. Briant, 1785; the fifth by C. & J. Mears, 1852;
and the sixth by Thomas Mears, 1841.
The plate consists of two chalices and two patens
of 1865 and a flagon of 1860.
The registers date from 1560 and are contained
in four books: (i) baptisms, burials, and marriages
from 1560 to 1737; (ii) baptisms and burials from
1737 to 1812, marriages from 1737 to 1753; (iii)
marriages from 1754 to 1806; (iv) marriages from
1807 to 1812.
ADVOWSON
The advowson is first mentioned
in 1304, when it was in the hands
of Mabel de Tuwe, (fn. 136) who in 1308
conveyed it with the manor of Woodhall to Philip de
Peletot. (fn. 137) The living is a rectory. It continued to
descend with the manor of Watton Woodhall until
the 19th century. (fn. 138) After the death of Paul Bendfield
in 1801 it was sold separately from the manor to
Alexander Ellice, (fn. 139) who presented in 1804. (fn. 140) His
son William Ellice presented in 1809, (fn. 141) and John
Corfield for one turn in 1814, (fn. 142) after which the
advowson was acquired by Abel Smith, (fn. 143) lord of the
manor of Woodhall, and has since remained with the
manor. In 1702 the parsonage and certain of the
glebe lands were exchanged with Philip Boteler for
Crowborough Hall and the premises and lands pertaining. The old house lay east of the River Beane.
The glebe still forms part of the Woodhall Park
estate and is called the Springs or the Rector's
Springs. The new site, which adjoined the churchyard, was more convenient, as before, 'when the
waters are out and overflow the banks of the river
there, which runs between the parsonage and the
church aforesaid, the minister cannot pass over the same
to go to the church.' (fn. 144) The second rectory, which
stood about 100 yards north-west of the church, was
pulled down about the middle of the 19th century
and a new rectory built close by. This house,
which is called by the old name of Crowbury (Crowborough), was bought in 1898 by the trustees of
the Woodhall estate, and is now the residence of
Mrs. Abel Smith. The present rectory was built
with part of the proceeds of the sale. (fn. 145)
In 1423 the advowson was in the king's gift by
reason of the minority of Sir Philip Boteler's heir, (fn. 146)
and again in 1635–6. (fn. 147) Dr. Halsey, the incumbent
by this presentation, in 1638 brought a suit against
Sir John Boteler, concerning which the king wrote to
the Master of the Court of Wards: 'We were
informed that the church suffered much by the
indirect courses held by the Botelers, patrons, in
obtaining leases of the parsonage house, glebe and
tithes, at an undervalue of the incumbents whom
they presented, and therefore we resolved to redeem
the church from that pressure, and when the church
became void determined to bestow the same on
Dr. Halsey divers months before our presentation
passed. This being the case you are first to preserve
the rules and orders of your Court for our better
service, and next if you still find that such indirect
courses have been held by patrons, if any advantage has thereby happened to us, you are not to
remit it.' (fn. 148)
In 1644–5 the inhabitants of Watton petitioned
Sir John Boteler not to bestow the living on the
curate, 'who is not a quiet and peaceable man, and
who will neither bury or christen or administer the
Sacrament.' Sir John was, however, at that time
imprisoned at Peterhouse for malignancy. (fn. 149) In 1734
Hamond Cross presented for one turn, (fn. 150) and in
1781 John Stockwell. (fn. 151) Edward Bickersteth, who was
instituted by Mr. Abel Smith in 1830, was the compiler of the Christian Psalmody, on the basis of which
his son, the Rev. E. H. Bickersteth, formed the collection of hymns known as the Hymnal Companion.
There was a church house connected with the
church of Watton, of which mention is made in
1504, when a chamber in it was provided by Sir John
Boteler for a priest. (fn. 152)
Whempstead Chantry or Free Chapel, dedicated in
honour of the Blessed Mary, was founded by Henry
Mayor of London late in the 12th or early in the
13th century. He endowed it with a carucate of
land of the value of 40s. yearly. (fn. 153) There are
references to a chapel in the parish of Watton in the
episcopal registers during the 13th and 14th centuries, the incumbent of which was called a warden,
who also served the parish church. In 1261 this
chapel was said to be without cure of souls. (fn. 154) Sir
Robert Aguillon by his will (?1286) left a tenterground in London to the chapel in his fief of Watton,
in relief of the poor. (fn. 155) It is uncertain if reference
was made to this chapel in the licence, dated 1390,
to build a chapel in a place called 'la Lowe,' in
the parish of Watton, to the honour of the Blessed
Virgin. The advowson of the chantry remained
vested in the lords of the manor of Bardolf (fn. 156) until
the forfeiture of that manor by William Viscount
Beaumont in 1461, when it escheated to the
Crown. (fn. 157) In 1521 it was granted, together with
the reversion of the manor, to Sir Wistan Brown. (fn. 158)
The chapel was, however, allowed to fall into disuse
by Sir Wistan's son and successor. The last incumbent, one Goldingham, a layman, died about 1547,
'after whose decease John Brown being patron of
the said chapel did enter and the profit thereof
took and enjoyed to his own use, and between
Michaelmas and Hollomas hath felled and sold ten
acres of wood.' By the time of the survey of 1548
the chantry was 'utterlie decayed,' and was farmed
out with its lands and appurtenances to Joan Curtes,
a widow, for the rent of £4 8s. 4d. (fn. 159) Upon the
dissolution of the chantry in the same year the site
and lands, including the woods of 'Bushey Layes and
Comes wood,' were granted to William Twisden and
John Brown and their heirs. (fn. 160) In 1584 Whempstead,
still called the 'free chapel,' was conveyed by Edward
Walgrave to John Harvey, (fn. 161) who died seised of it in
1606. (fn. 162) He left a widow Clemence, who enjoyed
the profits during her lifetime, after which Whempstead came to William Harvey, his second son, upon
whom it was entailed. (fn. 163) William died in 1621,
leaving it to his third son William, with remainder in
equal division to his four remaining children. (fn. 164)
William Harvey the younger died without issue in
1626, (fn. 165) and his estates were in consequence divided
between his brothers John and Thomas Harvey and
his sisters Mary Storer and Elizabeth Harvey. Thomas
Harvey and William Storer conveyed their fourths to
Sir John Boteler. (fn. 166)
A capital messuage called Whempstead appears in
1592 in the possession of John Scroggs, who died
seised of it in that year. He left a son Edward. (fn. 167)
A portion of the estate belonging to Whempstead
Chapel, called Olivers, was apparently kept by the
Botelers after the dissolution of the chantry and did
not go with the rest of the lands. (fn. 168) It presumably
became absorbed in the manor of Watton.
A portion of the buildings formerly belonging to
the chantry was remaining in 1877, (fn. 169) but has since
been pulled down. Near the site is Lowfield Grove
(see the name La Lowe above) and adjoining this
was a field called Lowfield. (fn. 170)
Meeting-places for Protestant Dissenters were
registered in Watton from 1697. In 1820 a
Wesleyan chapel was certified, (fn. 171) and there is at the
present time a Wesleyan chapel in the parish.
CHARITIES
The Free School, founded in 1662
by Maurice Thompson and Sir
William Thompson, kt., and augmented by will of Abraham Crosland, 1703 (see
article on Schools). (fn. 172)
This foundation is now regulated by scheme of the
Board of Education, 30 April 1906.
The endowments now consist of 8 a. 3 r. 22 p. of
the annual rental value of £11 10s. and £688 5s. 10d.
consols, invested in 1857 with the official trustees
and producing £17 4s. yearly.
The scheme includes appointment of trustees, and
provides for the application of the income in prizes
for boys and girls at or leaving public elementary
schools, a payment of not more than £5 a year in
provision of books for a school library, and for
exhibitions at a secondary school, and in the maintenance of bursaries, also for the instruction of
children in the theory and practice of gardening.
In 1867 Lady Susan Smith erected almshouses for
the use of three aged widows and as many widowers,
which were supported by Mr. Abel Smith.