LITTLE BERKHAMPSTEAD
Berchehamstede (xi cent.).
The parish of Little Berkhampstead is bounded on
the north by the River Lea, which separates it from
the parish of Hertingfordbury. The area of the
parish is 1,581 acres of land and 6 acres of water.
The soil is of clay and gravel, the subsoil clay and
chalk, and the chief crops are grass and wheat. The
village, standing at a height of nearly 400 ft., is
situated on a road which runs north to the Lea and
south to Tyler's Causeway, which forms part of the
southern boundary of the parish, and is continued
as the road to Cheshunt. The church lies at the north
end of the village, and a little further along the road
is the old manor-house of the Welds. The house is
a timber and plaster building of the early part of the
17th century, with a tiled roof. It has an open timber
porch on the east side and a bay window with moulded
wooden transoms and mullions on the north. Most of
the internal details are modern, but part of the original
hall ceiling still exists decorated with roses and other
flowers in low relief. The house is the property of
Mr. A. Hale, and is now used as a cyclists' resort.
The modern house called the Manor House, further
north, is the residence of Mr. Cornelius Hanbury.
On the north side of Berkhampstead Lane and
close to the church and village are the rectory and
Little Berkhampstead House. The latter was formerly
the property of Owen Lloyd, stationer, of Temple
Bar, who died in 1756, and left it to his nephew
Samuel Gibbons. It was acquired early in the last
century by Thomas Daniell, grandfather of the present
owner, Mr. A. E. Daniell. Pondfield, the residence
of Mr. Percival Bosanquet, stands in a park about
half a mile north-east of the church. At the southern
end of the village stands the Village Hall, which was
built in 1888, and south of the hall is the school.
About a quarter of a mile east of the church is
The Gage (formerly the Gaze or Gaze Place), a late
16th-century house, much altered subsequently. It
is of brick and timber with tiled roofs and contains
some late 17th-century panelling. In the grounds on
high land is a circular tower built mainly of 17th-century bricks in 1789 by John Stratton as an observatory. The house belonged to John Bentley at the
end of the 17th century. It was acquired by John
Stratton in 1780, and is now the property of his
grandson Colonel J. H. Stratton. At Woodcock
Lodge Farm are the remains of a homestead moat.
This house belonged in the early 17th century to
William Smithsby, groom of the Privy Chamber to
Charles I. He sold it to William Priestley of Camfield (see Essendon), in whose family it remained
until the death of Meliora Priestley, (fn. 1) widow, in 1761.
It afterwards came into the possession of William
Baker of Bayfordbury.
Little Berkhampstead is said to have been the
birthplace of Thomas Ken, Bishop of Bath and Wells,
who was born in 1637. (fn. 2)
Epping Green, a hamlet, lies 1 mile south of the
village, and another hamlet, Howe Green (probably
Le Hoo of the 15th century), lies a mile to the north.
Epping House, to the west of Epping Green, was the
property of William Horne, attorney-general, who
died in 1860. It now belongs to Mr. B. H. Henderson. (fn. 3)
An inclosure award was made in 1842. (fn. 4) Ashfield,
Sprowsefield and Mill Field were the principal common fields.
MANOR
Hardwin de Scales held LITTLE
BERKHAMPSTEAD at the time of
the Domesday Survey, when it gelded
at 5 hides. Before the Conquest 2 hides of the
manor were held by Semar, a priest, 2 hides by a
certain widow, Levefa, and 1 hide by Uluric.
According to the testimony of the shire-moot these
lands were of the 'alms' of King Edward and his
royal ancestors. (fn. 5) The manor descended in the Scales
family to Geoffrey de Scales, (fn. 6) who in 1223 granted
it to Falkes de Breauté and his heirs to hold by the
service of rendering one pair of gilt spurs or 6d.
at Easter, for all service except foreign service. (fn. 7)
Falkes de Breauté forfeited his possessions to the
Crown in 1224, (fn. 8) and the houses in Little Berkhampstead which had belonged to him were
removed to the castle of Hertford. (fn. 9) The manor,
which should have been restored to the Scales
family, was apparently kept by the king, who in
1225 gave orders that the old court, chapel, brewhouse and 'marescalcia' were still to be left at Little
Berkhampstead for John Marshall, to whom he had
granted Falkes's lands in Little Berkhampstead during
pleasure. In 1226, however, the sheriff was ordered
to move the 'domus marescalciae' from Little Berkhampstead to the castle of Hertford whenever the
carriage of it should cause least inconvenience to
the neighbourhood. (fn. 10) The manor was granted by the
king in 1226 to Nicholas de Moels (fn. 11) during pleasure,
a grant afterwards changed into one in fee. (fn. 12) His
son Roger held it in 1278 (fn. 13) and received a grant of
free warren in 1290. (fn. 14) Roger, who died before July
1295, was succeeded by his
son John, (fn. 15) summoned to Parliament as Lord Moels. Extents of the manor at this date
mention a water-mill. On the
death of John in 1310 the
manor went to his son Nicholas, (fn. 16) who, by a fine with
Philip de Courtenay in 1313,
settled it on himself and his
wife Margaret and their heirs. (fn. 17)
When Nicholas Lord Moels
died before 12 March 1315–
16 his heir was his brother
Roger. (fn. 18) Roger de Moels died
without issue in 1325, and was succeeded by his
brother John, (fn. 19) who in 1328 obtained a licence to
exchange some of his other lands for the life interest
of Margaret, his sister-in-law, in the manor of Little
Berkhampstead. (fn. 20) As John had no male heir, on his
death in 1337 the barony of Moels fell into abeyance and his lands were divided between his daughters
Muriel and Isabel. Isabel, who had married William
de Botreaux, received Little Berkhampstead in 1347
as part of her share of the inheritance. (fn. 21)
Moels, Lord Moels. Argent two bars gules with three roundels gules in the chief.
William Lord Botreaux, son of Isabel, was under
age when his father died in 1349, (fn. 22) and his estates
remained in wardship until 1359. (fn. 23) He leased the
manor in 1375 to Edmund de Hyndon for the term
of the latter's life, (fn. 24) and in 1384 to William Framelyngham, citizen and skinner of London, for twenty
years. (fn. 25) William Lord Botreaux died in 1391 and
was succeeded by his son William, (fn. 26) who survived
him less than a year, leaving a son, another William,
under age. (fn. 27) By 1402 the
manor had passed, probably
by sale, to John Norbury, (fn. 28)
who had already in 1388 acquired the manor of Bedwell
with lands and tenements in
Little Berkhampstead, (fn. 29) and
who in 1406 received a grant
of free warren and licence to
make a park in these manors. (fn. 30)
From 1402 the manor of
Little Berkhampstead must
have followed the descent of
Bedwell in Essendon (q.v.),
as it formed part of the possessions of the Marquess
of Exeter which were granted to Sir Anthony Denny
in 1547. (fn. 31) In 1600 it was sold by Sir Edward
Denny, grandson of Sir Anthony, to Humphrey
Weld, citizen and alderman of London. (fn. 32) From Sir
Humphrey Weld it passed in 1610 to his son John
(afterwards Sir John) Weld, (fn. 33) and the latter, dying
in 1623, left it to his son Humphrey, who was a
minor. (fn. 34) Humphrey suffered a recovery of the
manor in 1639. (fn. 35) In 1645 it was sold by Frances
Weld, widow of Sir John Weld, to Phineas Andrews,
a London merchant. (fn. 36) In 1655 Phineas Andrews
sold the manor to George Nevill (fn. 37) of Staple Inn,
London, who died in 1679, leaving as heir a daughter
Elizabeth, the wife of Cromwell Fleetwood. (fn. 38) She died
without issue in 1692, (fn. 39) when
the manor passed to her cousin
John Nevill's son George, (fn. 40)
who sold it in 1713 to Sir
John Dimsdale. (fn. 41) He died in
1726 and his widow was
owner of the manor in 1728. (fn. 42)
As Sir John Dimsdale left no
issue, the heir under his will
was his cousin Thomas Dimsdale, (fn. 43) who in 1768 was made
a baron of the Russian Empire.
He died in 1800, leaving the
manor to his second son
Nathaniel, who had received
a title similar to his father's.
Nathaniel, dying unmarried in 1811, left the manor
to his sister Anne Dimsdale, who was the possessor
in 1817. (fn. 44) When she died unmarried in 1832 the
manor went by will to her nephew Thomas Robert
fourth Baron Dimsdale, on whose death without
male issue in 1865 it passed to his wife. On her
death in 1874 it was vested in her sons-in-law, ViceAdmiral Sir Walter Tarleton, K.C.B., and Colonel
David Henry Mackinnon, as trustees for her four
daughters, Lucinda widow of Major George Darby
Griffith, Ann widow of the Rev. Henry Dawson,
Finette Esther wife of Sir Walter Tarleton, and
Caroline Mrs. Mackinnon. (fn. 45) The present lords of
the manor are Mr. A. M. Mackinnon and Mr. A. H.
Tarleton.
Botreaux, Lord Botreaux. Argent a griffon gules.
Dimsdale. Argent a fesse dancetty azure with three bezants thereon between three molets sable and an augmentation of a scutcheon or with an eagle's wing sable thereon.
CHURCH
The church of ST. ANDREW stands
about the centre of the village, and consists of chancel 22 ft. by 16 ft., north
chapel 13 ft. by 11ft. 6 in., nave 39 ft. 6 in. by
20 ft., north aisle 24 ft. by 15 ft., south porch and
wooden bell-cote; all the measurements are internal.
The walls are faced with Kentish rag.
The church is said to have been rebuilt about 1647
on the site of an older building, but the only remains
of that date are parts of the east and west walls, the
rest of the church being modern. In the chancel
are some late 17th-century floor-slabs to the families
of Pendred, Nevill and Fleetwood.
There are three bells: the first, by John Waylett,
dated 1718; the second inscribed 'Ave Maria gracia
plena dominus tecum benedicta tu in mulieribus' in
Lombardic lettering; the third, dated 1621, cast by
Robert Oldfeild.
The communion plate consists of a cup of 1565, a
cover paten of 1576, another paten, 1721, an almsdish
with handles (silver), 1791, a plated flagon (Sheffield),
c. 1790, and two pewter almsdishes, c. 1720.
The registers before 1812 are as follows: (i) baptisms, burials and marriages 1647 to 1708; (ii)
baptisms 1712 to 1762, burials 1721 to 1762,
marriages 1714 to 1747; (iii) baptisms and burials
1769 to 1812; (iv) marriages 1756 to 1812.
ADVOWSON
Hugh de Scales, lord of the manor
in the 12th century, gave the
church of Little Berkhampstead to
the priory of Lewes, and the grant was confirmed by
Henry his son and Hugh his grandson. (fn. 46) In 1397
the king presented 'by reason of his wardship of the
land and heir of William Botreaux, kt., tenant-in-chief,' (fn. 47) and he also presented in 1399 (fn. 48) and again
in 1444, (fn. 49) but by what title does not appear. In
1538 the advowson of the church of Little Berkhampstead was granted to Thomas Cromwell with
the priory of Lewes. (fn. 50) In 1612 Robert Earl of
Salisbury died seised of the advowson, (fn. 51) and the
advowson was retained by his descendants, (fn. 52) the
Marquess of Salisbury holding the patronage at the
present day.
A house was licensed as a Presbyterian meetingplace in Little Berkhampstead in 1672, and one at
Epping Green was certified as a place of worship for
Protestant Dissenters in 1810. (fn. 53)
CHARITIES
In 1730 Maurice Hunt, by will,
bequeathed £600 in trust for the use
of the poor. The legacy is now represented by £558 5s. consols with the official trustees,
producing £13 19s. yearly, which, in pursuance of a
decree of the Court of Chancery, is distributable in
November among the poor. In 1911 twenty-four persons received gifts of money varying from 10s. to 20s.