THUNDRIDGE
Tonrich (1086); Tunrigge, Thanrugge, Thornrugge (xiii cent.); Thunrigge, Thunrych, Thurrich
(xiv and xv cent.); Thundriche (xvi cent.).
Thundridge is a small parish of 2,206 acres bounded
on the north-west by the River Rib, which divides it
from the parish of Standon, and on the north-east by
the Nimney Bourne. The main road to Buntingford
intersects the parish on the west. Of the total area
rather more than half is arable land, but there is
a considerable amount of pasture in the valley of
the Rib. The chief woods are Sawtres Wood on
the north in the bend of the river, Steere Wood
further south, and Buckney Wood to the south of
this. Gardiner's Spring, a small wood to the west
of Buckney Wood, preserves the name of the 17th-century owners of the manor. The land rises from
the valley of the Rib on the north and is for
the most part between 200 and 300 ft. above the
ordnance datum. The soil varies, the subsoil being
gravel and clay. No inclosure award has been made
for the parish. Burleigh Common and Halfyard
Common are still in several ownership, but Ashridge
Common, which from its name must have been an
open field, is now owned by one person only. All
three are arable. (fn. 1)
There is no village of Thundridge properly speaking; all that remains of the original settlement are a
17th-century chimney stack of brick which belonged
to the manor-house called the Bury (pulled down in
1812), (fn. 2) the ruins of a cottage which once formed part
of the stables of the Bury, and the tower of the old
church, all situated close together in a bend of the river
about half a mile east of the Buntingford road. The
church is surrounded by fine chestnut trees, pines and
yews, and in summer the spot is beautiful in spite of its
deserted appearance. To the south of the church is
Thundridge Hill, the slope of which is occupied by
a long field planted with lines of elm trees. Leading
to the church from the west is an avenue of elms
known as the Causeway. This at the further end is
continued to Wadesmill by a picturesque path along
the side of the river.
The hamlet of Wadesmill is built along the road
to Buntingford and lies partly in the parish of Thundridge and partly in High Cross (formed from the
ancient parish of Standon), the bridge over the Rib
forming the boundary. The part of the village on
the eastern bank of the river is known locally as
Thundridge. The church of St. Mary occupies a
good position on high ground further along the road
to the south. The vicarage stands some little distance
from it in Poles Lane. The main street of the village
was the street parallel with the main road, now known
as Back Street. The main road is said to have run
along here before it was diverted to its present route,
this new part of it being still known as New Road. (fn. 3)
In Back Street is the old White Hind Inn and next to
it stood the smithy, now pulled down. A row of
cottages on the same side as the 'White Hind' was
built by Mr. Hanbury in 1888. The mixed elementary school on the other side of the road was built in
1900, superseding one opposite the church which is
now used as a reading-room. The infants' school
near the church was opened in 1894, taking the place
of one which stood in front of the present house. The
situation of the hamlet on the main road to Cambridge brought much traffic through it when travelling
was by coach. At the beginning of the 19th century
more than 100 horses were often stabled at the
Feathers Inn on the other side of the bridge. The
turnpike at Wadesmill was one of the first three put
up in the county. (fn. 4)
Poles, on the north-west of the parish, is the seat
of Mr. E. S. Hanbury; the house, which is modern,
stands in a park of about 100 acres. Swangle's Farm,
to the south-east of the old church, preserves the
name of a family of Swangle who appear in the
neighbourhood in the 14th century. (fn. 5) On the southeast of the parish is a farm called Castlebury. The
original form of this name is Casewellbury. At the
end of the 15th century there is record of a mill
called Casewell Mill, (fn. 6) and in 1694 half a messuage or
farm called Casewelbury, or Casewelbury, was sold by
Humphrey Taylor, citizen and mercer of London, to
Sir Henry Wincombe of Bucklebury, co. Berks.,
bart. (fn. 7) From Castlebury a by-road runs south-west to
Newhall Green in Ware parish and east to Baker's
End in Thundridge. Baker's End (fn. 8) communicates by
road with Nobland Green on the north-east and with
Rush Green on the north by a road which passes
through Halfyard Common. The number of these
small greens in the neighbourhood is noticeable.
Anastasius Cottonus Jacksonus Lightfoot, son of
John Lightfoot, rector of Great Munden, the Hebrew
scholar and Biblical critic (and named after his father's
friends Sir Rowland Cotton and Sir John Jackson),
became vicar of Thundridge in 1661. Another divine
of some note, William Webster, was instituted in
1740. He was a voluminous writer, chiefly of
theological works, but in 1740 he published a
pamphlet on the woollen manufactory from materials
furnished by a merchant in the trade called The
Consequences of Trade to the Wealth and Strength of any
Nation, by a Draper of London, which had a large sale;
this he followed next year by a refutation of his own
arguments called The Draper's Reply.
MANORS
Thundridge
Before the Conquest the manor of
THUNDRIDGE, sometimes called
WADESMILL, was held by Alnod
under Stigand, Archbishop of Canterbury. In 1086
it formed part of the possessions of Odo Bishop of
Bayeux, of whom it was held by Hugh de Grentmesnil. It was assessed at 1 hide only. There was
land for four ploughs, but there were only three on
the manor, one of which was on the demesne; there
was meadow for four plough-teams, woodland for
sixteen swine, and a mill (fn. 9) (possibly on the site of
Wadesmill). After the forfeiture of the Bishop of
Bayeux the manor was held of the king in chief by
the successors of Grentmesnil, and this tenancy
follows the descent of the manor of Ware (q.v.).
Wades Mill, Thundridge
In the 13th century the immediate tenants of the
manor were the family of Dive of Balderton, co. Nottingham, and Kingerby, co. Lincoln. It was held by
William de Dive, who died before 1251, when his
heir John was under age and a third of the manor was
held in dower by his widow Ermentrude. (fn. 10) In 1277
John Dive obtained a grant of free warren in his
demesne lands of Thundridge. (fn. 11) John died seised in
1292–3, leaving two sisters, Joan then the wife of
Ralph de Trehamtone and apparently widow of Sir
William Disney, (fn. 12) and Elizabeth, then wife of John
D'Aubyn. (fn. 13) The extent of the manor is given as
a messuage and dovecote, 1 carucate of land, 10 acres
of meadow, 30 acres of wood, 40 acres of pasture,
with rents of assize and rents from customary tenants. (fn. 14)
In the following year Elizabeth died holding half the
manor, (fn. 15) leaving a son Sir Hugh de Bussy, kt., by a
former marriage. Apparently this half was acquired
by the other heirs, for there seems to be no further
trace of it. In 1303 Joan the second heir, then a
widow, conveyed her part of the manor to Adam de
Swillington for life. (fn. 16) Afterwards, before 1312, she
married Adam de Swillington (fn. 17) (of Swillington, near
Leeds), with whom she was jointly seised. He
obtained a grant of free warren in February 1327–8 (fn. 18)
and died in or before 1330. (fn. 19) The manor then
passed to Sir William Disney, apparently the son of
Joan by her first marriage. He in 1347 settled it on
his son and daughter-in-law William and Joan Disney. (fn. 20)
From William the younger it passed to Sir William
Disney, his son, (fn. 21) to John of Norton Disney, co.
Lincoln, son of William, who was killed at Towton
in 1461, (fn. 22) and to his grandson and heir William, who
died seised of it in 1540. (fn. 23) Richard, his son and heir,
conveyed it in 1543 to John Gardiner of London and
his wife Joan. (fn. 24) John Gardiner died in 1555. His son
Thomas died without issue and the manor passed to
his brother Henry, who had two sons Henry and James.
After the death of Henry, James conveyed it to his
nephew Edward Gardiner, son of his sister Elizabeth
by Simon Gardiner her first cousin. (fn. 25) Edward was
sheriff of the county in
1628 (fn. 26) ; he died in 1650,
leaving a son Edward, who
also served as sheriff in 1657. (fn. 27)
On his death in 1664 Thundridge descended to a younger
son John, and then, according
to Chauncy, to his son Henry,
who died in 1693, and to
Henry son of Henry, the
owner in 1700. (fn. 28) Clutterbuck, however, gives a rather
different account, making the
manor descend to John, the
fourth son of the abovementioned John, to John his son, who died in 1760,
to another John his son, and then to Gilbert son and
heir of John. Gilbert Gardiner sold part of the
estate called Poles, and later another part called
Downfield, (fn. 29) and in 1811 he with Dorothy Gardiner,
widow of John, sold the manor with the mill at
Wadesmill to Daniel Giles of Youngsbury. (fn. 30) It then
descended with Youngsbury in Standon (q.v.), and
Mr. C. B. Giles-Puller of Youngsbury is the present
lord of the manor.
Gardiner. Party or and gules a fesse between three hinds tripping all counterchanged.
Turner. Or a lion between three crosses paty gules.
Sawtres
The manor of SAWTRES (Sawtrey, Sawtrees), an
estate on the north of the parish, situated in the
bend of the River Rib, was held of the manor of
Ware. At the beginning of the 15th century it
seems to have belonged to Sir Nicholas Thorley, kt.,
and to have passed from him to his kinsman and heir
Walter Estoft, who conveyed it in 1451 to John
Viscount Beaumont and others. (fn. 31) In 1533 Walter
Wadeland and Thomas Montgomery conveyed it to
Richard Welles and others. (fn. 32) Francis Roberts died
seised of it in 1632, his grandson Sir William
Roberts, son of his son Barn, being his heir. (fn. 33) Sir
William Roberts, called of Willesden, co. Middlesex,
sold the manor and capital messuage in 1638 to
Robert Turner, D.D., canon
residentiary of St. Paul's
Cathedral, (fn. 34) excepting three
copyholds in Ware and an
acre of land in Ware Park. It
descended to Thomas Turner,
Dean of Canterbury, and to
his son Francis Turner, Bishop
of Rochester 1683–4, Bishop
of Ely in 1684 (afterwards
suspended from the latter
bishopric for refusing to take
the oath of allegiance to
William and Mary), who in
1695 sold the manor to
Richard Crawley of London. (fn. 35) After this the descent
of the manor is fragmentary. Jane Smith suffered a
recovery of it in 1732, (fn. 36) Edmund Pepys and his wife
Sarah did the same in 1765, (fn. 37) and Lee Steere Steere
in 1824. (fn. 38) It was acquired from the Steere family
about forty years ago by Mr. Arthur Giles-Puller,
and has since descended with the Youngsbury estate
(Standon, q.v).
CHURCH
The church of ST. MARY at Wadesmill consists of chancel 26 ft. 9 in. by
20 ft. 9 in., north vestry, nave 56 ft.
9 in. by 25 ft., and west tower; all internal dimensions. The church was built in 1853 of squared
rubble with stone dressings, to take the place of the
old church, of which only the tower remains.
The old church was pulled down in 1853 on the
erection of the church at Wadesmill. There was a
chapel here in the time of Hugh de Grentmesnil, who
was tenant in 1086. (fn. 39) The dedication is given variously
as ALL SAINTS (fn. 40) and ST. MARY. Chauncy says
it was called Little St. Mary's. (fn. 41) The tower is built
of flint rubble with stone dressings, and is of three
stages, with angle buttresses on the west; it was
erected in the 15th century. The tower arch is
blocked and the stonework much defaced. Under the
arch has been inserted a 12th-century doorway with
semicircular arch, with cheveron and billet mouldings,
all much decayed; above the doorway a 14th-century
window has been inserted. It has two trefoiled lights
with tracery under a square head; it is in good condition. Both doorway and window appear to have
come from the old church. On the south wall, in
the first stage, is a square panel inclosing a quatrefoil
piercing with a rose in the centre; in the west wall is
a doorway with a four-centred arch under a square
head, with tracery in the spandrels, and above it is a
window of three cinquefoiled lights under a fourcentred arch. The second stage has narrow single
lights on the north, south and west faces and a
sundial on the south. Each face of the belfry stage
has a window of two trefoiled lights with a quatrefoiled
opening in the head, under a four-centred arch. The
tower has been buttressed on the east, and the upper
stages are secured with iron bolts.
The bells, of which there are four, are now in the
modern church. The treble is inscribed 'Johannes
est nomen ejus' by an unknown founder; the second
is dated 1623; the third 1631, both by Robert
Oldfeild; the fourth by John Dier, 1580.
The communion plate consists of flagon, 1775,
cup, 1837, and paten, 1837.
The registers are in five books as follows: (i)
baptisms, burials and marriages 1556 to 1670; (ii)
baptisms, burials and marriages 1682 to 1738; (iii)
baptisms and burials 1738 to 1812, marriages 1738
to 1751; (iv) marriages 1754 to 1806; (v) marriages
1806 to 1812.
ADVOWSON
The advowson of the old church
of ST. MARY follows the descent
of the advowson of Ware (q.v.), to
which church it was a chapel. Hugh de Grentmesnil
gave both church and chapel to the Priory of Ware.
In the composition made between the parishioners of
Ware and Thundridge and the Prior of Ware in 1231
(see advowson of Ware) it was agreed that the Prior
and vicar of Ware should serve the church daily by
a chaplain, who should reside there and who should
be provided by the parishioners with a house, 4 acres
of arable land, 1d. every Sunday with blessed bread,
2s. in Christmas week or bread to that value, and
3s. 2d. per annum. (fn. 42) After the Dissolution the
advowson came with that of Ware to Trinity College,
Cambridge. The church was served by a vicar of its
own until 1781, when the vicarage was consolidated
with that of Ware. (fn. 43)
In 1810 the parsonage and glebe land were sold
for the redemption of the land tax with which the
vicarage was charged, and the house was then pulled
down. (fn. 44) When the church of St. Mary was built by
Mr. Hanbury in 1853 the Master and Fellows of
Trinity College gave him the advowson, reserving
the great tithes. The vicarage was then again separated
from Ware and a residence built for the vicar. (fn. 45)
Mr. E. S. Hanbury is the present patron.
CHARITIES
The charity of Jane Wall, founded
by will dated in 1573, is regulated by
schemes of the Charity Commissioners
1862 and 1875. The property originally consisted
of about 19 a. of land in Thundridge and 4 a. 2 r. of
land in Much Munden. The land at Thundridge
was exchanged under the Act of 1 & 2 George IV for
25 a. 1 r. 37 p. of land situate near Nobland Green.
The real estate has been sold from time to time, and
the trust fund now consists of £2,126 9s. 9d. consols
with the official trustees, producing £53 3s. yearly.
The charity of an unknown donor, which is
regulated by a scheme of the Charity Commissioners
14 December 1909, consists of an annual rent-charge
of 40s. issuing out of the Youngsbury estate.
The income of these two charities was applied in
1909 as to £22 10s. in clothing tickets to about
forty-eight families, £18 in bread tickets to fifty
families, £5 to parish nurse, and £9 10s. in scholarships and assistance to children leaving school.
In 1908 Miss Katharine Jane Green, by her
will proved at London 24 November, gave £40
consols, the interest to be applied in coals to be
given at Christmas, and equally divided between the
six oldest poor women, either widows or spinsters.
The stock is held by the official trustees.