HALE
La Hale, Hales (xiii and xiv cent.); Hale near
Brummore (xiv cent.); Hall (xvi cent.).
The parish of Hale contains 1,377½ acres of land,
of which about 400 acres are forest land, 326 acres are
pasture and 294 acres are arable land. (fn. 1) The soil is
mixed on a subsoil of gravel, sand and clay. The
small village in the north-west of the parish consists
only of the rectory, Hale Farm, a few cottages and
the school, built in 1873 at the expense of the late
Joseph Goff, and enlarged in 1897. To the west is
Hale Park, the property and residence of Lady
Adelaide Henrietta Goff. It is a rectangular building
of the latter part of the 18th century. The parish
church is in the park to the north-west of the house.
From the low banks of the River Avon, in the west of
the parish, the land rises to the north-east from
108 ft. to 361 ft. above the ordnance datum.
Manor
The manor of HALE is probably
represented in Domesday Book by the
hide of land in Charford held of the king
by Alwi son of Torber, as Ulviet had held it before
the Conquest. (fn. 2) Alwi, who was also holding West
Tytherley at the time of the Domesday Survey, (fn. 3) was
possibly the ancestor of Richard de Cardenvill, who, at
the beginning of the 13th century, was holding Hale
and West Tytherley (q.v.) of the king in chief. (fn. 4)
Richard was succeeded about 1247 (fn. 5) by his son, Sir
William Cardenville, who died in 1254. (fn. 6)
A curious matrimonial question arose at the death
of this William. It appears that he had lived for a
year with, but was never ecclesiastically married to, a
certain Joan, and had by her a son Richard, then aged
twenty-four. He was afterwards 'married at the
church door,' that is ecclesiastically married, to a
certain Alice, and had by her several sons and
daughters, of whom the eldest son, also named Richard,
was then aged four years. Joan procured a judgement
in the Court Christian, upholding her marriage or
pre-contract, and Alice was divorced. (fn. 7) There was,
therefore, a doubt which of the two sons or whether
either of them was heir. Joan's son, however,
eventually succeeded to the property, (fn. 8) and afterwards
granted Hale to Henry Daubeney, reserving to
himself and his heirs a rent of 100s. (fn. 9)
Henry Daubeney died seised of the manor of Hale
in 1278, leaving as his heirs his sister Clarice
Daubeney and Maurice de Bonham, grandson or
Julia, another sister. (fn. 10) Hale passed before 1316 to
Adam de la Forde (fn. 11) and Christine his wife, who in
1328 obtained licence from the king to retain the
manor, (fn. 12) which they settled by fine on themselves. (fn. 13)
Adam died in 1325, leaving a son Adam, (fn. 14) who
settled Hale on his wife Katherine in 1337. (fn. 15) Their
only daughter, Clarice, married Sir Robert Brent of
Cossington (co. Somers.), in
whose family the manor remained for about two centuries.
Robert and Clarice were
evidently succeeded here, as
in Cossington, by a son Robert
and grandson John. (fn. 16) John,
son of the latter, had a son
Robert and a daughter Joan
by his first wife, Ida daughter
of Sir John Beauchamp, and
a son John by his second wife
Joan (Latimer). He was succeeded by his son Robert, on
whose death without heirs in 1421 the manor passed
to his sister Joan, then the wife of John Trethek. (fn. 17)
However, it was afterwards successfully claimed
against her by her step-brother John, since it had
been entailed in the 14th century. (fn. 18) From John it
passed to his son Robert, who died in 1508, leaving
a son and heir John. (fn. 19) The latter was succeeded in
1524 by his son William, (fn. 20) who died ten years later,
leaving a son and heir Richard. (fn. 21) In 1564 Ann the
only daughter of Richard, (fn. 22) at the age of fifteen,
married Thomas Lord Paulet, second son of John
Lord St. John and grandson of the Marquess of
Winchester. (fn. 23) On the death of Thomas, who had
survived his wife, in 1586–7, the manor passed (fn. 24) to
their only child Elizabeth wife of Giles Hoby, (fn. 25) who,
with her mother, is said to have ' sold and squandered
away all the patrimony of this ancient family.' (fn. 26)
Hale was probably sold to one of the Penruddocks,
descendants of the family seated at Arkleby (co.
Cumb.). Thus Robert Pen ruddock, who died childless in 1583, evidently had a lease of the manor and
was the first of the family to settle at Hale. (fn. 27) It was
probably purchased by his nephew, Sir John Penruddock, who died in 1600–1, leaving a son Thomas, (fn. 28)
on whose death in 1637 the manor passed to his son
John. (fn. 29) The latter was followed by three sons
Charles, Edward, and lastly George, whose daughter
and heir Elizabeth wife of Joseph Gage of Firle
(co. Suss.) (fn. 30) succeeded to the
manor. Thomas son and heir
of Joseph Gage, afterwards
Lord Gage of Castlebar in
Ireland, (fn. 31) apparently sold the
manor between 1713 (fn. 32) and
1720 to Thomas Archer,
Groom Porter to Queen Anne,
who at the latter date was
licensed to inclose two roads
in Hale between South Charford and Wood Green. (fn. 33) After
the death of Anne, his wife,
the manor passed to his
nephew, Henry Archer, (fn. 34)
second son of Andrew Archer or Umberslade (co.
Warw.), who dealt with it by recovery in 1756. (fn. 35)
By his will, proved in 1768, he left the manor to
his wife, Lady Elizabeth Archer, for her life, with
reversion to the younger sons of his nephew Andrew
son of Thomas Lord Archer, in tail-male successively,
or to the right heirs of Thomas. (fn. 36) Andrew, who
became Lord Archer in 1768, died in 1778 without
issue male, (fn. 37) his heirs being his three daughters Sarah,
Maria and Elizabeth Anne. (fn. 38) His affairs seem to
have been somewhat involved at the time of his
death, (fn. 39) and it is uncertain whether Hale passed to
his daughters or had been previously sold. It
belonged to Joseph May in 1831, (fn. 40) but shortly
afterwards was sold to the late Joseph Goff, (fn. 41) and
now belongs to Lady Adelaide Henrietta Goff, the
widow of his son Joseph.
Brent. Gules a wyvern argent.
Penruddock. Gules a ragged bend argent.
Gage, of Firle. Party saltirewise azure and argent a saltire gules.
Archer. Azure three arrows or with their points downwards.
A mill at Hale existed in 1086, (fn. 42) but is not
apparently mentioned later.
Free fishing was parcel of the manor in the 17th
century. (fn. 43)
Church
The church of ST. MARY is small
and of cruciform plan, consisting of
chancel, nave, and north and south
transepts with pedimental gable ends and squareheaded windows, some of which in more recent
years have been divided into two segmental lights by
the insertion of stone tracery. The chancel and
transepts were built in 1715 by William Archer, but
the nave, which was refaced at the same time, is
mediaeval, and has old stone benches round the north,
south and west walls. The roofs are covered with
tiles and on the apex of that on the north transept
there is a square wooden bell-cot with a pyramidal
lead roof which contains one bell. This was formerly
on the west end of the nave.
The church is plastered within and roofed with
panelled matchboarding. Near the west doorway
stands a circular font on a square base, which is
probably of ancient date, with an added band of
early 17th-century ornament.
A brass on the nave floor to Sir John Penruddock,
who died 8 March 1600, is engraved with a crest
and four shields, his name and date of death, and
the inscription ' Fui quod es quod sum eris.'
On the south wall of the south transept there is a
large monument in black and white marble to Sir
Thomas Archer, who died 22 March 1743, with an
effigy reclining upon a sarcophagus, which is mounted
upon a high pedestal with life-sized female figures on
either side, one holding a skull and the other a
book. On the west wall of the same transept
there is a mural monument to Henry Archer,
16 March 1762.
There is one modern bell.
The plate consists of a silver chalice of 1583,
another of 1718, a pair of patens of 1695, a flagon of
1702 and a loose flagon cover of 1725, all but the
early chalice being a gift of Thomas Archer, lord of
the manor.
The registers are contained in six books. The
first has all entries from 1618 to 1708, somewhat
irregular between 1650 and 1660. The second,
beginning in 1709, has baptisms and burials to 1777
and marriages to 1754. The third has marriages
1755 to 1799, and the fourth baptisms and burials
1777 to 1809. The fifth has marriages 1799 to
1813, and the sixth baptisms and burials 1810 to
1813.
Advowson
Hale Chapel belonged to the
priory of Breamore from an early
date, and followed the descent of
Breamore Church (q.v.) until 1777, (fn. 44) when it was
sold with South Charford Chapel to Lady Elizabeth
Archer. (fn. 45) She left it by her will, proved 16 January
1789, to her niece Charlotte, Lady Burgoyne, widow
of Major-General Sir John Burgoyne, but before
1848 it was sold to Joseph Goff, (fn. 46) and has followed
the descent of the manor of Hale.
After the dissolution of chantries it was found
that money had been left by persons unknown for
the maintenance of three lamps in the chapel of Hale. (fn. 47)
A manorial chapel evidently existed at Hale in the
early 14th century, when Adam de la Forde obtained
licence to hear divine service in his manor. (fn. 48)
There are no endowed charities in this parish.