TOWERSEY
Eie (xi cent.); Toureseye (xiii cent.).
Towersey is a parish on the borders of Oxfordshire
with an area of 1,380 acres, including 320 acres of
arable land and 911 of permanent grass. (fn. 1) The slope of
the land is from the south-east (271 ft. above the
ordnance datum) to the north-west (219 ft.). The
soil is strong loam, the subsoil gravel, clay, and limestone, the chief crops being wheat, beans, barley,
clover and grasses. The Wycombe, Thame, and
Oxford branch of the Great Western railway runs
through the south of the parish from south-east to
north-west.
The village is situated on the Thame Road in the
west of the parish. There are many 16th and 17th
century half-timbered houses, several of which have
thatched roofs. The church stands at the west of
the village, with the vicarage, built in 1845, on the
north-west and the school on the south-west. At
the side of the road on the south of the church are the
remains of the village stocks. The 16th-century house
known as the Church Farm, to the north of the church,
may represent the old manor-house. It is a timberframed building, much altered, and the portion which
contained the hall is now a ruin. The present
manor-house, at the other end of the village, was built
in the Italian style by Mr. Edward Griffin in 1858.
In 1899 it was sold by Mr. J. Whitehouse Griffin,
to the Hon. Paulyn F. C. Rawdon Hastings, by
whom it was largely rebuilt and sold in 1911 to Mr.
G. J. C. Harter. It has since then been unoccupied.
The Grange Farm, probably on the site of the grange
belonging to Thame Abbey, is a 16th-century halftimber house with brick nogging, altered and enlarged.
Attached to it is the ancient tithe barn probably
built about 1500. It is a stone building of five bays
with aisles having original blocked doorways, on the
jambs of one of which are three sundials. The roof,
which is a fine specimen of its kind, is supported by
two rows of oak posts. Upper Green Farm and
Lower Green Farm are both 17th-century houses
with thatched roofs. There is a Baptist chapel in
the village, and in the north-west of the parish is a
windmill.
Towersey Village
The parish was inclosed in 1822. (fn. 2)
Manors
Before the Conquest seven of King
Edward's thegns held EYE MANOR. (fn. 3)
In 1086 it was assessed at 9 hides 1 virgate
among the lands of Niel Daubeny, (fn. 4) and was attached
to his barony of Cainhoe, Bedfordshire. (fn. 5)
Niel Wast was sub-tenant in Eye in 1086, (fn. 6) and by
the middle of the 13th century Ralph Pirot was holding
the mesne lordship in Towersey, (fn. 7) which continued
in his family (fn. 8) and was still held by his descendant,
another Ralph Pirot, in 1337. (fn. 9) No later reference
to it has been found.
In the middle of the 13th century Richard, son of
Robert Towers (de Tours), Probably a descendant
of John Towers, whose name occurs in the late 12th
century, (fn. 10) was holding the greater part of Eye Manor (fn. 11)
corresponding to land which was afterwards distinguished by the name of this family as TOWERSEY
MANOR. He and his descendants bearing the same
name were holding later in the century, (fn. 12) and in
1302 (fn. 13) and 1316. (fn. 14) Richard Towers was living in
1329 (fn. 15) and died before 1337 when his son Richard
granted the reversion of a third of Towersey Manor
then held in dower by his father's widow Agnes, and
of lands in Towersey held for
life by Henry Towers, to
Thame Abbey. (fn. 16) At the same
time this abbey also received
a grant of the remaining twothirds of this manor from
Edmund de Berford. (fn. 17) A rentcharge on the manor of £10
yearly was surrendered by
Richard Towers' wife Agnes
and his daughter Elizabeth
and her husband Richard de
Leming in 1338. (fn. 18) Towersey
Manor remained with Thame
Abbey, which received a grant
of free warren there in 1365, (fn. 19) until the Dissolution. (fn. 20)
In 1542 it was granted to the Dean and Chapter of
the cathedral of Christ and St. Mary, Oxford, (fn. 21) and
afterwards in 1545 to Christopher Edmunds and
others (fn. 22) with rights in the manor extending into
Oxfordshire. It was afterwards apparently acquired
by Sir John Williams, Lord Williams of Thame, (fn. 23) and
was conveyed in 1566 (fn. 24) by Daniel Snow to Edward
Lord Windsor. (fn. 25) Towersey Manor descended with
Bradenham (fn. 26) (q.v.) to Thomas, Viscount Wentworth, (fn. 27)
who sold it in 1788 to George Bowden of Radford,
Oxfordshire. (fn. 28) His son George who succeeded in
1791 (fn. 29) left three daughters Mary Elizabeth, Elizabeth,
and Anne Frances, (fn. 30) who were ladies of the manor in
1822. (fn. 31) About the middle of the 19th century it was
purchased by Mr. Edward Griffin, (fn. 32) who died in
1879. (fn. 33) His son and successor, Mr. James Whitehouse
Griffin, (fn. 34) is the present owner of Towersey Manor.
Thame Abbey. Sable a chief argent with two croziers.
The remainder of the Domesday Eye Manor estate
corresponding to that part of the vill of Towersey
called LITTLE EYE was held of Ralph Pirot in
1254 by John de Morton. (fn. 35) In 1265 he, with his
wife Sarah, alienated this estate in free alms to
Thame Abbey, for the service of a pair of white
gauntlets or 1d. at Easter. (fn. 36) This abbey continued
to hold Little Eye, (fn. 37) which is not distinguishable
from the principal manor in Towersey after 1346. (fn. 38)
The 11 hides at which Towersey was assessed in
1254 comprised, besides the Domesday Eye Manor,
an estate of 7 virgates, (fn. 39) apparently part of one of
Gilbert Pinkney's fees in Buckinghamshire and
held of him in 1166 by Robert de Wauci. (fn. 40) In
1254 Muriel de Weston held it in socage and by the
service of 20s. yearly for ward of Windsor Castle of
Robert's descendant, Robert de Wauci. (fn. 41) Henry de
Weston, probably her son, granted it in 1275 to
Thame Abbey, (fn. 42) when it became absorbed in the
principal manor.
A small estate called BRITTONS MANOR appears
in Towersey in the later 16th century, when it was
held of the President and scholars of Magdalen
College, Oxford. (fn. 43) In 1564 Nicholas and Alice
Collingridge conveyed it to John Goodwin (fn. 44) and
Richard Belson died seised of it in 1569. (fn. 45) His
wife Elizabeth held it for life and was alive in 1575,
when her eldest son Bartholomew died. (fn. 46) Thomas
Belson, another son, claimed it in 1585 against his
elder brother Augustine under their father's will (fn. 47)
and obtained judgement in 1586. (fn. 48)
In 1623 John, Thomas and Richard Porter with
Mary and Robert Whitfield surrendered their interests
in Brittons Manor to John Harman and his heirs. (fn. 49)
John Harman of Towersey, deceased, is mentioned
in 1646, (fn. 50) but the later descent has not been traced.
A small estate in Towersey called in the later 16th
century PARAGE MANOR corresponds to the property conveyed in 1341 by Walter, son of William
Audlaf of Stoke, to Edmund Parage and his wife
Agnes. (fn. 51) This property reappears in 1577 when
Parage Manor was conveyed by Francis and Katherine
Bertie to William Fleetwood and John White, (fn. 52) but
no other reference to it has been found.
Church
The church of ST. CATHERINE
consists of a chancel measuring internally
17 ft. 6 in. by 13 ft., nave 56 ft. by
24 ft. with north transeptal recess 12 ft. wide by 4 ft.
deep, and south tower; it is built of rubble with
tiled roofs.
The chancel dates from the early 13th century and
the nave from about the middle of the 14th century.
The tower added in 1854 replaced a 14th-century
porch, the archway of which was re-used in the lower
stage. The church was restored in 1850 and again
in 1877.
The chancel has in each side wall an early 13th
century lancet, the rear arch of which, originally round,
has been subsequently made roughly pointed. In the
east wall is a two-light traceried window of the mid14th century, and at the south-west is a late twolight window. Under the lancet in the north wall is a
round-headed recess, and in a square recess on the
south is a 12th-century piscina formed in a scalloped
capital. The chancel arch, which dies into the side
walls, dates from the 14th century. The high-pitched
roof over the chancel, with curved wind-braces and
moulded wall-plates, is of the 15th century.
In the east wall of the nave, on either side of the
chancel arch are two traceried 14th-century windows each of two lights with labels linked to that of
the arch. In each side wall are two windows of the
same number of lights, all renewed, except the
heads, which date from the 14th century. In the
west wall, which appears to have been rebuilt, is
a modern three-light window with a 14th-century
label and a contemporary outer order, reset, to
the external jambs. The north and south doorways, with arch mouldings continuous with the
jambs, are also of the 14th century, and the strap
hinges on the south door are probably of the same
period. The transeptal recess has been considerably
restored and its north wall, which contains a threelight window with a 14th-century rear arch, may
have been rebuilt inside the line of the original
wall; the archway in the nave wall is similar to the
chancel arch. The tower is of three stages surmounted by pinnacles and an embattled parapet; its
lower stage forms a porch in which the 14th-century
archway of the former porch has been reset.
The font is of a plain cylindrical shape with no detail
by which its date can be determined, though it is
probably ancient. The panelled hexagonal pulpit,
which is enriched with foliage and scroll ornament,
dates from the early 17th century; the sounding-board
support is original though the sounding-board itself is
modern. There are also four 16th-century bench ends
with poppy heads.
The tower contains a ring of four bells: the treble
by Richard Keene 1695; the second and third, inscribed
'This bell was made 1627', and the tenor 'Prayes
the Lord. 1627,' by Ellis Knight; and a small bell
undated.
The communion plate includes a late 16th-century
cup, the date letter of which is partially obliterated,
and also a modern chalice and paten.
The registers begin in 1589.
Advowson
Towersey was a chapelry appendant
to the church of Thame, Oxfordshire, (fn. 53) and as such the advowson
appertained to the prebend of Thame, founded by
Bishop Grosteste in Lincoln Cathedral in the middle
of the 13th century. (fn. 54) The prebend of Thame was
alienated to Edward Duke of Somerset in 1547, (fn. 55)
and sold by him in 1561 to Sir John Thynne. (fn. 56) It
descended in his family to Thomas, third Viscount
Weymouth. (fn. 57) His brother Henry Frederick Thynne,
Lord Carteret, (fn. 58) sold the advowson of Thame with
the chapel of Towersey in the early 19th century to
John Blackall, (fn. 59) who owned it in 1822. (fn. 60) His heirat-law Walter Long, (fn. 61) with his wife Mary Long, conveyed it about 1830 to Richard Harrison, (fn. 62) apparently
agent for Dr. Slater of High Wycombe. He vested
the advowson of the vicarage of Towersey, which was
separated from Thame in 1841, (fn. 63) in trustees, (fn. 64) and
their successors, known as the Peache Trustees, (fn. 65) are
the present owners.
In 1822 the great tithes of Towersey were in the
hands of Henry Bowden, George and William Frith,
and other assignees of the estate of George Bowden,
and all other tithes in the parish belonged to the
vicar of Thame. (fn. 66) Land given for the maintenance
of lights in Towersey Church was granted to Edward
Downing and John Walker in 1578. (fn. 67)
Charities
The charity of Christopher Deane,
founded by will proved in the P.C.C.
16 March 1695, is regulated by a
scheme of 28 October 1879, made under the Endowed
Schools Acts. The endowment consists of 20 acres,
or thereabouts, at Gayton (co. Lincoln), let at £30 a
year. Under the scheme £5 a year is payable to the
minister of Towersey, £20 for educational purposes,
and the residue of the income for apprenticeships.
This parish is entitled to a share of the charity of
Mrs. Katherine Pye, founded by deeds of lease and
release, dated respectively 13 and 14 November 1713. (fn. 68)