HUNSDON
Hunesdone (xi cent.); Honesdon, Hamesdun,
Hunnesdon (xiii cent.); Hunsdon (xiv cent.).
Hunsdon parish lies on the high ground which
divides the valleys of the Rivers Ash and Stort, having
a southward slope from a height of about 266 ft. in
the extreme north of the parish down to the latter
valley, where the land is little more than 100 ft.
above sea level. The area of the parish is 1,971 acres,
nearly half of which is arable, about a third pasture
and only a small portion woodland. (fn. 1) The soil is very
varied, the subsoil chalk or gravelly loam. There is
no line of railway in the parish, the nearest station
being Roydon in Essex, on the Great Eastern
railway, rather less than a quarter of a mile from
the south-western boundary of Hunsdon parish.
The church lies close to Hunsdon House and the
village is about a mile to the north on the road to
Widford. There are a few houses along the road
between the church and the village called Acorn
Street, one of which is Nine Ashes, the property and
residence of Mr. Samuel Shott Death. In the village
are several 17th-century cottages of timber and plaster
with tiled roofs. The Wheatsheaf Inn, now converted
into two cottages, is an interesting timber and plaster
gabled building with a tiled roof. Within there is a
large fireplace bearing the date 1681 or 1687. The
pound is at the cross roads near to Hunsdon Mill,
which is on the River Stort in the south of the parish.
Plan of Hunsdon House
Hunsdon House, which is possibly on the site of
the earlier manor-house, is said to have been built by
Sir William Oldhall in 1447. In 1447, however,
the Duke of York seems to have been holding
the manor, and in May of that year received
licence 'to build within his manor of Hunsdon a
tower of stones, with lime and sand, and to embattle
the same.' (fn. 2) Oldhall is not known to have been
in possession until February 1448. He may have
begun building directly after that date, but the
house was apparently unfinished in 1453, for
Oldhall having forfeited, a certain Walter Burgh, a
servant of the king, then received a grant of 'stones
called brick in Hunsdon and Eastwick late pertaining
to William Oldhall,' (fn. 3) which looks as if the latter had
been in the midst of building. The house seems to
have come into the possession of Henry VIII with
the manor before 1527, when he granted the custody
of it to Henry Norris, squire of the body. (fn. 4) The
place was a favourite one with Henry VIII, who
carried on extensive buildings here. In February
1534 the 'master surveyor of the King's works at
Hunsdon' reported on the expenditure of £2,900
applied to this purpose: 'for "parelles" of freestone
for the chimneys in the King's watching chamber,
palett chamber, privy chamber, and in the other
chamber beneath the same; for lime, plaster, "rigge
tyles," corner tiles, paving tiles and plain tiles; for
timber, and for wood bought by the acre; for wainscoats, laths, pails, tile pins, hooks, hinges, locks,
clasps, keys ... new glass bought of Galyon Hone
and "sett with symond," etc.' (fn. 5) In June 1528 the
king appears to have fled here from the sweating
sickness. Thomas Hennege writes from Hunsdon
to Wolsey: 'Laud be Jesu, the King's grace is very
merry since he came to this house, for there was none
fell sick of the sweat since he came hither, and ever
after dinner he shooteth to supper time'; but the
postscript adds: 'This night as the King went to
bed, word came of the death of William Carey.' (fn. 6)
After the divorce of Katherine of Aragon, the Princess
Mary was sent to Hunsdon (February 1536), and
there are a number of letters of hers extant written
from Hunsdon, both to her father and to Cromwell,
on the subject of her reconciliation with the king. (fn. 7)
Writing to Charles V on the subject of the princess's
escape, Chapuys says of Hunsdon: 'The house where
she is at present is much more inconvenient for the
enterprise . . . there are a great many houses and
people in the village where she now is.' (fn. 8) It was
while in the service of the princess at Hunsdon
(1538–40) that Lady Elizabeth Fitzgerald—'the
fair Geraldine'—first met her admirer Henry Howard
Earl of Surrey. (fn. 9) Prince Edward also spent much of
his infancy and youth at Hunsdon, whence it was
written of him on one occasion: 'My lord Prince is
in good health and merry. Would to God the
king ... had seen him last night. The minstrels
played, and his Grace danced and played so wantonly
that he could not stand still.' (fn. 10) After the accession
of the prince to the throne as Edward VI the
Princess Mary spent much of her time here. In
1559, however, Hunsdon House ceased to be a royal
residence, for Queen Elizabeth granted it with the
manor (q.v.) to Sir Henry Carey. In 1576 Queen
Elizabeth and the Countess of Warwick stood godmothers to Elizabeth daughter of Sir George Carey,
who was baptized at Hunsdon on 7 June. When
Emmanuel son of Thomas Scrope (afterwards Lord
Scrope) was baptized there on 26 August 1584 the
queen again stood godmother. Henceforward manor
and house followed the same descent, both being
purchased by James S. Walker of Hunsdonbury in
1858. Mr. Walker then sold the manor to Mr.
Charles Phelips, but the house (in 1861) to Mr.
James Wyllie, in whose family it remained until
1882, when it was purchased by Mr. Spencer
Charrington. It is now the property of the latter's
son, Mr. Edmund Knowles Charrington, and is the
residence of his sister Mrs. Montgomerie.
The house consists of a large rectangular block with
a low modern wing at the west end containing the
domestic offices. The house is built of brick with
embattled parapet and a flat roof. Judging from the
dimensions given by William of Worcester, (fn. 11) the
original building must have been a very extensive
structure; none of these dimensions, however, agree
with the present house. After the
manor came to the Crown (see below)
Henry VIII made considerable additions (fn. 12) ; about 1743 the wings are
said to have been pulled down, (fn. 13) and
in 1805 Mr. Nicolson Calvert pulled
a great part of the old house down
and reconstructed most of what remained. (fn. 14) Mrs. Calvert writes
16 April 1806 (fn. 15) : 'I hear there is
hardly a bit of old Hunsdon House
left standing . . . it will be nearly a
new house.'
The oldest parts of the existing
house are the cellars under the east
end; they probably date from the
16th century. The largest cellar,
which measures 48 ft. 6 in. by 18 ft.
6 in., runs transversely across the
building, and appears to have formed
a wing of a former house, as it projects
northwards 8 ft. beyond the original
north wall, which still remains visible
in the basement, the present north
wall standing about 9 ft. outside it;
the lower part of a small hexagonal
turret or closet still remains at the angle
of the old walls. The cellar itself has
a barrel vault of brick; the walls and
vault are constructed of thin bricks.
The turret, which has no trace of a
stair, is entered by a low doorway
with a four-centred arch. The adjoining cellars on the west are of the same
date; one has a doorway with a fourcentred arch, and in the original
north wall is a window, now blocked.
All the cellarage at the west end has
been rebuilt with modern bricks. Mrs. Calvert
writes 6 August 1805 (fn. 16) : 'We have completed cellars
and we think of adding to and repairing the old
building'; this, she writes later, was eventually
done.
Hunsdon House From The South-East
The interior of the ground and upper stories is
entirely a reconstruction of 1805, the only evidence
of an earlier date being a 17th-century carved oak
mantelpiece in the entrance hall; a stone fireplace
with a four-centred arch and three blank shields under
a carved wood mantel are probably all of 1805. The
external walls are built chiefly of old thin bricks, but
a large part appears to have been rebuilt and an
embattled front added to the attic story in 1805;
all the windows are modern. At each of the four
angles of the house is a large diagonal buttress with
keel-shaped face, carried up above the parapet and
finished with a slated pinnacle; the upper parts are
modern, but the buttresses are built of thin bricks;
some of them have probably been rebuilt. The whole
of the external brickwork has been covered with a
thick coat of red colour-wash and 'tuck-pointed.'
The main entrance is in a projection at the east end;
the doorway, which has wide moulded jambs and fourcentred arch, all executed in cement, is probably
modern. In the garden wall to the west of the house
is an octagonal summer-house, all of modern brickwork.
West of the house are modern stables and a large
brick gateway with embattled parapet, which forms
the entrance to the courtyard of the house; the gateway is modern, but some old bricks have been re-used
in the upper part. A wooden lintel, now built in
over the gateway between the garden and the stable
yard, is inscribed 'H. H. 1593.' A moat which
formerly surrounded the old house has been filled up.
In 1728 Salmon wrote that 'Robert Chester hath
within a few years built a seat in this parish, and
inclosed it with a park. (fn. 17) This was Briggens Park,
situated in the south-western corner of the parish, on
the banks of the River Stort, which Robert Chester
had bought from the Feildes of Stanstead Abbots. (fn. 18)
The house built by Chester occupied the site of two
older messuages called Over Bredons and Nether
Bredons or Great Briggens and Little Briggens. (fn. 19)
Robert Chester died in 1732, (fn. 20) having left Briggens
Park to his sister Jane Chester provided that she kept
up the park, gardens and deer. Jane Chester died in
1736, (fn. 21) and was succeeded by her brother Henry (or
by his son Henry), who in 1740 sold the property to
Thomas Blackmore of Covent Garden. (fn. 22) He was
succeeded in 1763 by his nephew Thomas Blackmore,
who left a son Thomas and several daughters, one of
whom, Mary, in 1792 married Rev. Charles Phelips,
fourth son of Edward Phelips of Montacute. The
death of Thomas Blackmore in 1824 resulted in
Briggens Park passing into the hands of their son
Charles Phelips. The latter died in 1870, when the
estate was inherited by his son Charles James Phelips.
Charles James Phelips died without issue in 1903,
and Briggens Park fell to his nephew Gerald Edward
Farquharson Phelips, whose trustees sold it with the
manor in 1907 to the Hon. Herbert Cokayne Gibbs,
the present owner, who resides there. (fn. 23) The house
built by Chester forms the centre of the present house,
and some of the 2-in. brick foundations of the older
houses have recently been discovered. (fn. 24)
Hunsdon House from the North-east
Hunsdonbury is now the property
of Mr. E. Thomas, who bought it from
Mr. John Henry Buxton in 1911.
The latter purchased it in 1889 from
Mr. Salisbury Baxendale. (fn. 25) It originally
formed part of the estate of the
Calverts, who resided there after 1840,
and later passed to Mr. Walker, (fn. 26) who
also lived there. (fn. 27) About half a mile
south of the church is Brickhouse Farm,
a 17th-century house built of 2-in.
bricks.
Olives Farm is a moated house on
the extreme west of the parish. It is
of timber and plaster, with tiled roofs,
and dates back to the 17th century,
though it has considerable later additions.
Fillett's Farm, situated in the northwest of the parish, was in the 16th century in the possession of Sir Wimund
Carew, whose son Thomas Carew sold
it in 1551 to William Grave (fn. 28) of
Stanstead Abbots. In 1575 Thomas
Grave conveyed it to Edward Baesh. (fn. 29)
Caddingtons is the name of another
old house, which in the 15th century belonged to the Shelley family of
Hunsdon. (fn. 30) In 1542 the king made
John Carey keeper of the messuage
called Caryngtons alias Cadyngtons. (fn. 31)
MANOR
At the time of the
Domesday Survey the
manor of HUNSDON
formed part of the lands of Hugh de
Beauchamp, who had succeeded Ralph
Taillebois (Tulgebos or Tailgebosch)
in estates both in Hertfordshire and
Bedfordshire. The manor comprised
4 hides, of which I had been taken
by Ralph from the manor of Stanstead Abbots and attached to Hunsdon. (fn. 32) The Beauchamps continued to
hold Hunsdon as part of their Bedford barony, Simon
de Beauchamp in the 12th century granting certain
tithes of this manor to Newnham Priory. (fn. 33) John de
Beauchamp, the last feudal baron of Bedford, fell
fighting against the king at the battle of Evesham
(1265), and Hunsdon went to Maud, one of his
sisters and co-heirs, wife of Roger de Mowbray. (fn. 34)
Her great-grandson John, third Lord Mowbray, is
found as overlord of Hunsdon in 1358, (fn. 35) and the
fourth Lord Mowbray is similarly described in 1367. (fn. 36)
John, eighth Lord Mowbray, is so found in 1419
under his title of Earl Marshal of England. (fn. 37) Anne,
only daughter and heir of the tenth Lord Mowbray,
married Richard, younger brother of Edward V.
Richard was murdered in the Tower in 1483, his
child-wife having died some three years previously,
and such rights of overlordship in Hunsdon as survived fell to the Crown.
Beauchamp of Bedford. Quarterly or and gules a bend sable.
Mowbray. Gules a lion argent.
The tenant in demesne at the time of the Domesday Survey was the daughter of Ralph Taillebois,
who had succeeded Lewin, a thegn of Earl Harold,
at the Conquest. (fn. 38) No under-tenant is known after
this date until 1248, in which year Vitalis Engayne
died seised of this manor,
holding of the Beauchamps. (fn. 39)
This Vitalis, son of Richard
Engayne, is found earlier in
the century holding the manor
of Upminster in Essex. (fn. 40) His
son and heir Henry (fn. 41) received
a grant of free warren in the
demesne lands of Hunsdon in
1253, (fn. 42) and died seised of the
manor in 1271. (fn. 43) Henry's
brother and heir John died
similarly seised in 1296. (fn. 44)
John Engayne, his son and
heir, is found holding Hunsdon
in the early years of the 14th century, (fn. 45) and Nicholas
his son and successor made a settlement of the manor
in 1318. (fn. 46) Nicholas Engayne was succeeded by his
son John, a knight, who married Joan the daughter
of Robert Peverel and died in 1358. (fn. 47) Thomas, their
son and heir, died 'in parts beyond the sea' about
1367, when the Engayne inheritance was divided
amongst his three sisters and co-heirs. (fn. 48)
Engayne. Gules a fesse dancetty between six crosslets or.
Hunsdon fell to Joyce the wife of John Goldington,
the latter dying some time previous to 1383, (fn. 49) when
she was still living. John Goldington, son of Joyce
and John, died seised of this manor in 1419, leaving
Thomas his son and heir a minor. (fn. 50) Thomas must
have died very shortly after, for in 1423 John
Hinxworth of Ashwell was holding Hunsdon as the
kinsman and heir of John Goldington, when he
released all right in it to John Tyrell of Essex and
others. (fn. 51) John Tyrell was still holding in 1428, (fn. 52) after
which the immediate descent is not clear.
In 1445 view of frankpledge, waifs and strays, and
other rights within the manor of Hunsdon were granted
to William Estfeld, kt. (fn. 53) Possibly he was a trustee for
Richard Duke of York, who was evidently lord of
this manor in the autumn of 1445, (fn. 54) and who in
May 1447 received royal licence to hold it to himself
and heirs. (fn. 55) It was probably from him that Sir
William Oldhall, kt., his chamberlain, obtained
Hunsdon, either by grant or by purchase. Oldhall
is described as 'of Hunsdon' in February 1448, (fn. 56) and
'late of Hunsdon' in April 1450. (fn. 57) He forfeited for
complicity in the rebellion of Jack Cade, which took
place in that year, and was formally attainted in
Parliament in June 1453. (fn. 58) In May 1453 the
manor of Hunsdon, with all appurtenances, was
granted by the king to York's rival, Edmund Duke
of Somerset. (fn. 59) In 1454 the York party returned to
power and Somerset was imprisoned. It was not,
however, until after the complete triumph of the
Yorkists at the first battle of St. Albans, when
Somerset was slain (May 1455), that Oldhall's
attainder was reversed in Parliament (November
1455). (fn. 60) The fortunes of the Wars of the Roses
brought about a second attainder for Oldhall in the
autumn of 1459. In January 1459–60 his possessions
were granted to Humphrey Duke of Buckingham, (fn. 61)
but in February they were taken into the king's
hands. (fn. 62) The accession of Edward IV a year later
nullified this attainder, and Oldhall presumably held
Hunsdon until his death, which took place before
the end of 1460. (fn. 63) In his will, dated 15 November
1460, Oldhall left Hunsdon to his executors, to be
sold by them for the payment of legacies. (fn. 64) The
Archbishop of Canterbury, one of the executors,
transferred the manor to trustees, who conveyed it
to Laurence, Bishop of Durham, and others. (fn. 65) It
seems that the latter were acting for the king,
Edward IV, who was clearly in possession by 1476. (fn. 66)
Richard III, at some time during his brief reign
(June 1483-August 1485) granted Hunsdon to Sir
William Stanley, kt., whose wavering support to the
throne he was most anxious to secure. (fn. 67) Stanley
afterwards maintained that Richard's substantial grants
to him had been in exchange for 'other manors, lands
and tenements of great value,' but the truth of this
statement remains unproved. His execution in 1495
for complicity in the rising of Perkin Warbeck caused
Hunsdon once more to revert to the Crown. In
1503 Henry VII made a life grant of this manor to his
mother Margaret Countess of Richmond and her
husband the Earl of Derby, elder brother of the late
Sir William Stanley. (fn. 68) The earl died in 1504 and
the countess in 1509. (fn. 69) On 1 February 1514
Hunsdon was granted to Thomas Howard, Earl of
Surrey and Treasurer of England, on his creation
as Duke of Norfolk. (fn. 70) The duke died in 1524.
His son and heir Thomas Duke of Norfolk conveyed the manor in 1526 to Sir Henry Wyatt
and others (fn. 71) evidently in trust for the king, who in
1529 granted it to Henry Norris, reserving the
house and parks. (fn. 72) In 1531 the grant to Thomas Duke
of Norfolk was recited and the manor was confirmed
to the duke, his successor, (fn. 73) but this was probably
only a formality, as in 1532 the manor was still in the
king's hands. (fn. 74) On 15 January 1532 an Act of
Parliament was passed whereby the manor became the
honour of Hunsdon, to which various lands in Hertfordshire were attached. (fn. 75) In the same year Henry VIII
granted an annuity out of this honour to Anne Boleyn
on her creation as Marchioness of Pembroke, (fn. 76) but
the manor remained under the control of his bailiffs or
stewards. (fn. 77) In 1548 Edward VI granted Hunsdon
Manor to the Princess Mary 'for her life, or until she
is otherwise provided for,' this being in accordance
with the will of their late father Henry VIII. (fn. 78)
Mary, after she became queen, annexed the honour
in 1558 to the duchy of Lancaster. (fn. 79)
Carly, Lord Hunsdon. Argent a bend sable with three roses argent thereon.
In March 1558–9 (six months after her accession)
Queen Elizabeth granted this manor, with house and
lands, &c., to her cousin Sir Henry Carey, kt., and
his heirs male, (fn. 80) she having already (January 1558–9)
created him Lord Hunsdon. Carey died in 1596, (fn. 81)
and was succeeded by his son George Lord Hunsdon,
who died in 1603, leaving as heir his brother John,
then over fifty years of age. (fn. 82) A neighbour wrote in
1616: 'Seven men are to be hanged for a robbery
of £700 in the house of Lord Hunsdon, who is
building a monument in Hunsdon Church for himself and family.' (fn. 83) John, third
Lord Hunsdon, died in 1617, (fn. 84)
and the manor was inherited
by his son Henry, the fourth
baron, (fn. 85) created Viscount
Rochford in 1621 and Earl
of Dover in 1628. He was
Speaker of the House of Lords
in 1641, and played a prominent part on the Royalist side
in the Great Civil War. On
the triumph of the Parliamentarians, Carey was accounted
a 'delinquent, or malignant,
or cavalier,' and his estates
sequestrated. (fn. 86) He must have compounded for them
before the sale of Hunsdon by him in March 1653 to
William Willoughby, afterwards sixth Lord Willough by
of Parham. (fn. 87) Lord Willoughby made a settlement
of Hunsdon Manor on himself and his wife Anne in
1666. (fn. 88) In 1671 he sold Hunsdon Manor to Matthew
Bluck, (fn. 89) who was succeeded by his son and heir of the
same name. (fn. 90) He was still holding in 1728, (fn. 91) and in
1743 a Matthew Bluck suffered a recovery of this
manor. (fn. 92) Clutterbuck, writing in 1823, says that
this was the occasion of the purchase of Hunsdon
by Mr. Josias Nicolson of Clapham. (fn. 93) The latter's
daughter and heir Christian married Felix Calvert of
Furneux Pelham, their son Nicolson Calvert inheriting Hunsdon at his mother's death in 1759. He
suffered a recovery of this manor in 1789, (fn. 94) and died
in 1793. His nephew and heir Nicolson Calvert
made a settlement of Hunsdon in 1806, (fn. 95) and was
holding in 1823. (fn. 96) In 1858 Edmund Calvert, son
of Nicolson, sold the manor to James S. Walker, who
in turn sold it to Charles Phelips of Briggens Park in
this parish. (fn. 97) On the latter's death in 1870 Hunsdon
Manor descended to his son Charles James Phelips.
He died in 1903, when his nephew Mr. Gerald F.
Phelips succeeded, who in 1907 transferred the manor
with the Briggens estate to the Hon. H. C. Gibbs.
The existing rolls of the manor date from 1675.
PARKS
Henry Engayne, lord of the manor of
Hunsdon, received a grant of free warren
in the demesne lands of the manor in
1253. (fn. 98) A park was inclosed shortly afterwards, for
in 1296 a commission was appointed 'touching the
persons who entered the park of John Engayne at
Hunsdon, hunted therein, and carried away deer.' (fn. 99)
In 1445 it was reported that Richard Duke of York
might safely 'inclose a way (100 virgates long and
16 ft. wide) called Jermynslane leading from Eastwick to Hunsdon, in his park of Hunsdon, making
another road on the south of the park.' (fn. 100) The park
also occurs in the life-grant of Hunsdon to the
Countess of Richmond in 1503. It was, however,
not included in the grant in tail-male to the Duke of
Norfolk in 1514, (fn. 101) but was retained by the Crown.
In 1529 there were three royal parks at Hunsdon:
the 'old,' the 'new,' and 'Goodmanneshyde.' (fn. 102) Probably one of these was the same as 'Wyntrey Park,'
where the king killed two stags in July 1532. (fn. 103) In
the following month Stephen Gardiner wrote to
Wolsey from Hunsdon: 'I have been hunting from
morn till night by the king's commandment.' (fn. 104) The
three parks of Hunsdon were granted with the
manor to Sir Henry Carey in 1559 and continued
with his successors. Henry Earl of Dover enlarged
the park by the purchase of certain lands called the
Spring, formerly Chauncy's Lands, in the parish of
Eastwick. Other lands within the parks were the
Brick Hills, the Nursery, Eastwick Lawn and
Edward's Downs. The parks were disparked before
1684, when the boundaries were given as follows:
Eastwick Hall and lands called Germans on the
north-west, Hunsdon Mill Lane on the south,
Hunsdon House on the south-west, Eastwick Woods
on the north-east. (fn. 105)
A mill is included in the description of Hunsdon
given in the Domesday Survey and 'a water mill
worth 20s.' in an extent of 1297. (fn. 106) In 1508 the
mill conveyed with the manor is called Wadesmill, (fn. 107)
and another reference also occurs to 'Wardes Mill' in
Hunsdon. (fn. 108) In 1607 two mills are included in the
manor. (fn. 109) Probably one of these was in the parish of
Eastwick, as the two properties were in the same
hands at this date. Subsequently the Hunsdon Mill
passed to the owners of Eastwick, and was sold with
that estate by Henry Gore to John Plumer in 1701. (fn. 110)
Situated in the south of the parish on the River Stort,
it stands within a quarter of a mile of the boundary
between Hunsdon and Eastwick parishes. The mill
has been destroyed, but the house now forms part of
the Briggens estate.
CHURCH
The church stands close to Hunsdon
House, nearly a mile south of the village.
Its dedication is uncertain, but is attributed to ST. DUNSTAN. It consists of chancel
43 ft. by 17 ft. 6 in., north chapel 22 ft. 6 in. by
13 ft. 6 in., nave 48 ft. 6 in. by 22 ft. 6 in.,
south transept or chapel 23 ft. by 22 ft. 6 in., west
tower 12 ft. 9 in. by 11 ft., timber north porch;
all the dimensions taken internally. The walls are
of flint rubble with stone dressings, the south chapel
being built of brick; the roofs are tiled; much of
the stonework has been renewed and the building
generally repaired. This church possesses some exceptionally good details of fittings of the 16th and
17th centuries.
The walling of the nave belongs probably to an
earlier period than the rest of the building, but the
indications are too slight to fix the date; the west
tower and north porch belong to the early part of the
15th century; the chancel was rebuilt in the latter
part of the 15th century; the north chapel was
added about the middle of the 16th century, and
the south chapel was built by Lord Hunsdon about
1616.
The chancel has a large five-light window in the
east wall, one two-light window in the north, and
two with a doorway between in the south wall;
some of the jamb stones in the windows are original,
the rest is modern stonework. The north doorway
into the chapel has a four-centred arch with splayed
jambs; the arch opening into this chapel, which is
used as an organ chamber and vestry, is modern. In
the south chancel wall is a piscina with hollow splayed
jambs and pointed arch; adjoining it is a plain recess
with a wooden seat. The chancel arch of two plain
chamfered orders dates from the latter part of the
15th century.
The floor of the north chapel was raised about
4 ft. 8 in. in the 18th century for the construction
of a vault beneath, and a small gabled projection at
the east end was built to contain the short stair up
from the chancel. The east window is of two
cinquefoiled lights with a sexfoil opening in the head,
and is of late 14th-century date, reset in this wall;
the jambs have been repaired with cement. In the
north wall is a window of two cinquefoiled lights
chiefly of modern stonework. The plain collarbeam roof is probably original.
In the north wall of the nave are two three-light
windows with cinquefoiled arches and tracery above,
also a door with moulded arch and jambs and traceried
spandrels; all these are of the 15th century, but the
stonework has been much renewed. At the east end
of the north wall are the lower and upper doors to
the rood-loft set in a projecting portion of the wall.
In the south wall is a wide arch of three moulded
orders plastered, opening into the south transept or
chapel. West of it are two three-light windows of
modern stonework, the westernmost of which occupies
the position of the old south doorway, done away
with about 1830. (fn. 111) There are some old moulded
timbers in the roof.
In the east and west walls of the south chapel is a
five-light mullioned and traceried window of plastered
brickwork and a four-centred doorway in the east;
in the south wall are two single-light windows with
four-centred arches; they are all of early 17th-century date.
The upper part of the north porch is of open
timber-work; the entrance has a pointed-arched opening flanked on either side by an opening with a
cusped head; the barge-board has plain cuspings;
the open sides have square bars at short intervals set
diagonally; it is of early 15th-century work.
The early 15th-century tower, which is unbuttressed, is in three stages; the tower arch is of two
orders, the inner order resting upon jambs with
capitals and bases; above the arch may be seen the
line of an earlier steep roof to the nave; the west
doorway is of two moulded orders, the inner order
forming a pointed arch, the outer being carried
square over it; in the spandrels are shields, all repaired; above is a window of two cinquefoiled lights
with cusped opening in the head. On the north
and west faces of the second stage are two-light
windows, and at the belfry stage on each face is a
window of two trefoiled lights with cusped opening
above. Above the embattled parapet is a slender spire
covered with shingles. In the south-west angle of the
tower is the circular newel stair to the belfry. The
font, of clunch, is the original one recut, and is probably
of 15th-century date. Under the chancel arch is
the lower part only of the 15th-century rood screen
with traceried panels.
Plan of Hunsdon Church
Under the arch to the south chapel is a fine
oak screen of about 1610. The lower part has
moulded panels separated by fluted pilasters above
which is a rail of richly carved arabesque patterns; the
upper part consists of a series of open panels with
round arches set in square frames separated by Ionic
carved and fluted pillars, and having a moulded
entablature with richly carved frieze; over the cornice,
in the centre, in an open scroll-work setting is a
shield containing the arms of the Careys and allied
families.
The communion table and rails in the chancel are
of early 17th-century date, and near the door is a
plain 17th-century poor-box.
The pulpit is hexagonal and of small dimensions;
it has two tiers of plain moulded panels with a
carved frieze above and a carved sounding-board
over; it is of early 17th-century date.
In the chancel windows and in some of the nave
windows are fragments of 15th-century glass, containing figures of six of the Apostles, white rose of
York, fetterlocks, and Bowyers' flotes.
On the north side of the chancel is a recess with a
depressed arch, having cusped and panelled sides and
arch, and shields of arms to Francis Poynz, 1528.
On the same side is a large canopied tomb to Sir
Thomas Foster, with a recumbent effigy clothed in
the judges' robes; he died in 1612. In front of the
tomb is a richly worked railing of wrought-iron. The
Fosters were a branch of the Northumberland family.
On the south side of the south chapel is a large
monument to John Carey, third Lord Hunsdon, and
his wife, the founder of the chapel erected by him
during their lives about 1616; it is of marble and
alabaster, with Corinthian columns and moulded
entablature supporting an arched canopy, under which
are the recumbent effigies of the knight and his wife;
the dates of their death are omitted.
Two large early 18th-century monuments to the
Calverts of Hunsdon House and to Robert Chester
of Briggens were moved from the north wall of the
chancel to the north chapel, and thence in 1911 to
the nave.
In the nave is a brass to James Gray, park-keeper,
who died 1591. The figures represent a hunter
who has just shot an arrow into a stag, being himself
killed by an arrow in the hand of Death, represented
by a skeleton. Another brass on the north wall of
the chancel is to Margaret Shelley, 1495; the figure
is dressed in a shroud, and above is a representation
of the Holy Trinity; portions of the brass are
missing.
There are eight bells: the treble, second and
third by Mears & Stainbank, 1883; the fourth
inscribed 'Jesus be our spede, 1630,' by Robert
Oldfeild; the fifth recast in 1883; the sixth, by
J. Briant, 1787; the seventh, dated 1668, and the
eighth, 1652, both by Anthony Bartlett.
The communion plate consists of cup and cover
paten, 1660, and modern chalice, paten and flagon.
The registers are in five books, as follows: (i)
baptisms 1546 to 1675, burials 1546 to 1679,
marriages 1546 to 1674; (ii) baptisms and burials
1679 to 1730, marriages 1680 to 1729; (iii)
baptisms and burials 1734 to 1812, marriages 1734
to 1753; (iv) and (v) marriages 1754 to 1772 and
1772 to 1812.
ADVOWSON
A priest is included among the
tenants of Hunsdon Manor recorded
in the Domesday Survey, and the
church is mentioned in the taxation of Pope Nicholas
(1291). (fn. 112) At this date Merton Priory possessed an
annual pension of £8 from Hunsdon Church, (fn. 113) and in
1350 we find the lord of Hunsdon Manor (John
Engayne) suing the Prior of Merton for the right of
presentation to the living. (fn. 114) There is no record of
the termination of the suit, but Merton continued to
present until the Dissolution. The copy of a patent
granting the advowson of Hunsdon Church to the
Prior and convent of Merton Abbey is said to have
been in the possession of Thomas Cromwell, (fn. 115) but no
further trace of this patent has been found. The
advowson seems to have passed to Sir Henry Carey
with the manor, (fn. 116) and henceforward followed the
same descent. (fn. 117) After the death of Mr. Charles
James Phelips in 1903 Hunsdon advowson was sold
to Mr. John Henry Buxton, the present patron.
Hunsdon Church from the North-west
CHARITIES
The Poor's Land and Stock
Charities are regulated by a scheme
of the Charity Commissioners 17
January 1906. They comprise the charities of:
1. George, Lord Hunsdon, founded by will
proved in P.C.C. 27 September 1603, under which
he gave a sum of money which was invested in
land for the benefit of the poor of Eastwick and
Hunsdon.
2 Henry, Lord Hunsdon, founded by indenture
dated 1 February 1615. The endowment of these
two charities originally consisted of four pieces of land
known respectively as Godfrey's Piece, Puke's Piece,
the Town Lands and Oldburys, which were sold in
1905 and the proceeds invested in stock. The endowment for the parish of Hunsdon consists of £448
North-Eastern Railway 4 per cent. Guaranteed Stock,
producing £17 18s. 4d. yearly, and £30 13s. 11d.
consols, producing 15s. 4d. yearly. (See also under
parish of Eastwick.)
3. Robert Chester, founded by will dated in 1730.
The endowment originally consisted of land called
Mallons, containing about 12 acres, which was sold
in 1900 and the proceeds invested in £190 4s. 7d.
consols, producing £4 15s. yearly.
4. The Pound Piece, containing about 30 poles,
which was sold in 1902 and the proceeds invested in
£14 7s. 6d. consols, producing 7s. yearly.
The net income of the united charities is applied
in pensions for the aged poor.
The several sums of stock are held by the official
trustees, who also hold £163 6s. 9d. consols arising
from sale of glebe lands.