CAVERSFIELD
Cavrefelle (xi cent.); Kaueresfuld, Chauresfeld,
Caffresfeld, Caueresfeud, Kaveresfeld (xii-xiii cent.);
Catesfield (xviii cent.).
The parish of Caversfield, although entirely detached, was included in the county of Buckingham
until the 19th century, when, by Acts of 1832 (fn. 1) and
1844, (fn. 2) it was transferred to Oxfordshire. A detached
portion of Caversfield was added to Stratton Audley
by a Local Government Board Order dated 24 March
1888. (fn. 3) The entire parish has an area of 1,497 acres,
of which 651 acres are arable land, 326 acres permanent grass and 5 acres are covered by woods and
plantations. (fn. 4) The soil is cornbrash with a stony subsoil.
The land in the north-west of the parish is about
360 ft. above the ordnance datum, and falls gradually
about 100 ft. towards the south. The parish is
crossed by the road from Banbury to Bicester and is
bounded on the east by the Roman road from
Bicester. There is no village, the buildings in the
parish being mainly farms. Near the centre of the
parish is Caversfield House, a large modern building,
the seat of Mrs. Herbert Phillips, the lady of the manor.
The church and old rectory-house lie to the west of
it. The Home Farm, immediately south of the
church on the west side of the road to Bicester, is
a two-storied stone house dating from the 16th century, with original stone-mullioned windows on the
south front. The windows of the upper story are of
two lights with moulded jambs and mullions, and the
ground-floor windows are also moulded and have
square labels; they were originally of three lights,
but the mullions have been removed and wood frames
inserted. The house is now divided into tenements
and the interior has been modernized. Near the
house are two 16th-century stone barns lighted by
narrow loopholes and roofed with thatch; one of
these has been added to, somewhat altered and converted into a stable.
An Inclosure Act for the parish was passed in
1780. (fn. 5)
Manor
Edward, a man of Earl Tosti, held
and could sell the 5-hide manor of
CAVERSFIELD before the Conquest,
but in 1086 it was among the possessions of William
de Warenne. (fn. 6) The overlordship of the Earls Warenne
lasted until the beginning of the 14th century, (fn. 7) but
had passed before 1317 to Aymer de Valence, Earl
of Pembroke, (fn. 8) at whose death in 1324 it was
inherited by his second sister's daughter and co-heir
Joan wife of the Earl of Athole. (fn. 9) Their son and
grandson held it, (fn. 10) but after
the death of the latter in
1375, notwithstanding a claim
to the fee put in by his
daughter and co-heir Philippa,
then wife of Sir John Halsham, (fn. 11) it passed to the heirs
of Aymer de Valence's eldest
sister. (fn. 12) Joan, widow of Lord
Bergavenny, died seised of the
overlordship in 1435, (fn. 13) and
though the names of the overlords are not afterwards mentioned, this connexion can be
traced until the 17th century in the attachment of
Caversfield, from the 14th century onwards, to the
fee of Castle Acre, Norfolk, one of the manors held
by William de Warenne in 1086. (fn. 14) In 1559 the
manor was said to be held of the queen at fee farm, (fn. 15)
but this statement obviously applies only to that part
of Caversfield formerly belonging to Bicester Priory.
Warenne. Checky or and azure.
William de Warenne's tenant in 1086 was Brienz. (fn. 16)
Caversfield was probably held in the 12th century by
the Gargate family, who owned lands in Northamptonshire, in connexion with which the names of Hugh
and Robert Gargate occur in 1181–2. (fn. 17) Roger Gargate appears to have been tenant in Caversfield about
the end of that century, (fn. 18) and was succeeded by
Hugh Gargate or Hugh de Caversfield, (fn. 19) son of Roger
Gargate and Agnes. (fn. 20) He was alive in 1216, (fn. 21) but
died before 1220, in which year his widow Sibyl
attempted to regain possession of lands once her
husband's. (fn. 22) She was plaintiff in an agreement made
in 1227 with Osmund son of Robert about a virgate
in Caversfield (fn. 23) and was still alive in 1244. (fn. 24) Hugh
and Sibyl's daughters and co-heirs, Isabel wife of
Gerard son of Roger de Munbury (?) and Muriel
widow of William de Ros, inherited the land here, (fn. 25)
but 1236 appears to be the last date in which mention
is found of either. They endowed the priory of
Bicester with lands here amounting to half the entire
viii (see below). The remaining part was held apparently between 1236 and 1254 by Walter de Norton
and William Hay, the former's immediate overlord
being 'Garin fil' Keroldi' (Gerold?). (fn. 26)
In 1254–5 William Hay held 2½ hides, the whole
of the moiety of Caversfield which was not in ecclesiastical hands, (fn. 27) and by 1284–6 his interest had passed
to William de Wynncote, who held direct of Earl
Warenne. (fn. 28) Already at this date William de Wynncote had subinfeudated Simon de Wynncote in the
manor, (fn. 29) but rights of overlordship were retained by
his heirs as late as the 17th century. (fn. 30) In 1622,
during a Chancery suit concerning this manor (with
which the second manor of Caversfield had by then
become amalgamated), the defendant stated that
although the lord of the manor claimed that a moiety
of it was held of the heirs of William de Wynncote, yet
'the said tenure is to no purpose as well for the
uncertainty what moiety was so held as for the name
of the heirs of William de Wynncote.' (fn. 31)
Simon de Wynncote, who held, as had been said,
in 1284, (fn. 32) received in 1286–7 a quitclaim of a carucate
of land from John le Bert on behalf of Sarah his wife, (fn. 33)
and a Simon was still seised in 1316. (fn. 34) John de
Wynncote succeeded to the manor by an arrangement
made in 1312 with Simon whereby the latter was to
hold nineteen messuages, 2 carucates and 7 virgates
of land, 10s. rent and half a mill in Caversfield of
John for life at a rose rent, with reversion to John. (fn. 35)
John de Wynncote died in or before 1317, as Eleanor,
probably his widow, wife of John Hampton, claimed
dower at the end of the year; it was found that John
de Wynncote's heir was a minor. (fn. 36) A John de Wynncote held in 1324 (fn. 37) and in 1346. (fn. 38) By 1350 the
manor was in possession of John de Peyto, who conveyed it in that year to Fulk de Birmingham. (fn. 39) In
1386 John de Birmingham, son of Fulk, (fn. 40) and Elizabeth his wife conveyed Caversfield to John Tame, (fn. 41)
but whether for purposes of settlement or not is not
recorded. Caversfield afterwards came to the Langstons,
and an inquisition taken in 1435, after the death of
John Langston, lord of Bucknell in Oxfordshire, speaks
of him as 'of Caversfield.' (fn. 42) His son and heir John,
then aged six, (fn. 43) on attaining his majority sued
Robert Gilbert, Bishop of London, and others whom
his father had enfeoffed to the uses of his will for their
refusal to make him an estate of Caversfield. (fn. 44) John
Langston married Amice daughter of John Danvers,
and in 1449 a settlement was made on them and
their heirs. (fn. 45) By his will, dated 16 February
1499–1500, John Langston desired to be buried in
the chancel of St. Laurence, Caversfield, and left
instructions for two priests to celebrate mass for
seven years for the souls of himself and his wife
Elizabeth, (fn. 46) whom he had evidently married after
the death of Amice. At his death in 1506 he was
succeeded by his son and heir Richard, aged forty, (fn. 47)
though another son Thomas was made executor of
the will. (fn. 48)
Richard Langston made a settlement of the manor
in 1508, (fn. 49) and in 1511 leased it to Thomas Denton
for a term of twenty years at an annual rent of
£26. (fn. 50) About 1525 he brought a suit against the
lessee, who 'of his subtle and crafty mind, being
expert in making of writings,' had forged a new lease
granting himself a further term in the manor. (fn. 51)
Richard Langston died in December 1525, leaving a
son John as heir. (fn. 52) Joan, Richard's widow, held the
manor in dower, (fn. 53) and married John Harman, (fn. 54)
whose second wife, Dame Dorothy Guido, was afterwards sued by the lord of the manor for retaining in her possession deeds and other evidences concerning the title. (fn. 55) John Langston meanwhile made
a settlement of the manor in 1554, (fn. 56) and died in
1558, when his heir was his nephew, Thomas Moyle,
son of his sister Amy. (fn. 57) Langston, however, made
more than one will attempting to dispose of the
property as he pleased, and the manor was the subject
of several lawsuits during the next few years. By a
will of 1556 he had bequeathed Caversfield to his
godson, Thomas Denton. (fn. 58) A later will, dated 1558,
is mentioned in the inquisition, giving the manor
to Thomas Pigott of Doddershall and his heirs. (fn. 59)
Directly after Langston's death Thomas Denton and
John his father resisted the claim of Thomas Pigott,
declaring the will of 1558 to be a forgery. (fn. 60) The
Dentons' suit succeeded; the second will was disallowed, and Thomas Denton appears to have held
the manor until his death, which occurred before
1563. (fn. 61) In that year Denton's brother and heir John
was sued for the manor by Thomas Moyle, Langston's
heir-at-law, who declared that, as Thomas Denton
had died without issue, the manor under the terms of
the will should revert to him, Moyle. (fn. 62) He was
apparently successful in proving this claim, and in
1587 obtained a quitclaim from the Pigott family
also. (fn. 63) In the same year he demised the manor
(inter alia) for twenty-one years at an annual rent
of £77 6s. 8d. to Walter Moyle, whose interest and
term of years were after his death conveyed in 1595–6
by his executor to Edward Ewer. (fn. 64) Meanwhile
Thomas Moyle died without issue in 1592, bequeathing the manor to his second cousin, Thomas Moyle
of Molash, Kent, with remainder to his sons John
and Thomas in tail-male. (fn. 65) Thomas Moyle in 1598
settled the manor on his son John and regained
possession from the lessee, Ewer, who had committed
waste on the lands. (fn. 66) Afterwards, according to the
father's evidence in a lawsuit, (fn. 67) John promised that
if his father would 'be good unto him,' pay his
debts and keep him he would renounce all claim to
the manor. Thomas paid the debts, amounting to
about £1,000, but his son 'matched himself to a
gentlewoman that brought him no portion' without
the consent of his father, who could have married
him to a lady having £1,500 as portion, and did not
mend his ways in other directions. In consequence
of his behaviour Thomas determined in 1614 to settle
the manor finally on his second son Thomas, who,
'taking better courses of life,' had married Mary
daughter of Sir Henry North, kt., the heiress of his
father's choice. (fn. 68) John Moyle in 1621–2 claimed
the manor under the deed of 1598. (fn. 69) The father
offered to give him sufficient lands for his support if
he would renounce his life interest. (fn. 70) Thomas Moyle,
who died in 1622, in his will bitterly complains of
the conduct of his son John, and continues: 'I am
in doubt to him what to give because he dealt so
lewedly with me … He also married a wife against
my will. However because he made over the
manor of Caversfield to me again… though I bought
it of him at a dear rate.' Thomas nevertheless settled
on John and his male issue the mansion and site of
Caversfield with the dove-house, 'fishpools and islands
in the said site being the old walls' and other
premises. (fn. 71) The two sons, John and Thomas Moyle,
made a joint settlement of the manor in 1624, (fn. 72) and
dealt with it again in 1634. (fn. 73) In that year a conveyance was made to Sir Cecil Trafford and Humphrey
Davenport, (fn. 74) probably in settlement on the marriage
of James Davenport, son of Humphrey, with
Mary daughter and co-heir of Thomas Moyle. (fn. 75)
Thomas Moyle died in 1649, (fn. 76) and James Davenport
sold the manor in 1653 to Maximilian Bard, (fn. 77) who
died in 1690. (fn. 78) Thomas Bard, his son, succeeded
him, (fn. 79) and joined with his sons in 1704 in selling
Caversfield to William Vaux, (fn. 80) who was lord of the
manor in 1735. (fn. 81) By his will, proved 19 July 1737,
William Vaux left his real and personal estate, subject
to certain bequests, to his son John, (fn. 82) who died without issue in 1740. His instructions to his sister
Abigail Gregory to sell Caversfield and pay his debts (fn. 83)
were carried out in the following year, when Sir James
Harington, bart., acquired the property for £3,000,
Abigail's sister, Cecilia wife of Richard Serjeant, renouncing any claim to the manor. (fn. 84) Ten years later
Richard Harington, representative of Sir James, sold
it for the same amount to John Southcote. (fn. 85) In 1764
the latter sold to Joseph Bullock for £3,400 and the
payment of a £40 life annuity to his brother George
Southcote alias Parker. (fn. 86) Bullock, who was sheriff of
the county in 1781, (fn. 87) at his death in 1806 left a
daughter and heir Amelia Frances wife of Canon
the Hon. Jacob Marsham. (fn. 88) She died in 1836,
her husband surviving her four years, and Caversfield
passed to their son, Robert Bullock-Marsham, D.C.L.,
warden of Merton College, who held until his death
in 1880. (fn. 89) His son Charles Jacob Bullock-Marsham
alienated the manor about 1897 to Mr. Herbert E.
Phillips, whose widow is the present owner.
Langston. Gules a cheveron ermine between three hinds or.
Moyle. Gules a mule passant argent.
Bullock. Gules a cheveron ermine between three bulls' heads cabossed argent with horns or.
Marsham. Argent a lion passant bendways gules between two bends azure.
The property of the Gargates in Caversfield in the
13th century included a windmill and water-mill and
'the capital court of Caversfield.' (fn. 90) In the 16th and
17th centuries the manor-house was included in the
Moyle property. (fn. 91) A lease made of it in 1588–9
excepted to the use of Thomas Moyle a chamber over
the kitchen and inner chamber over the larder and
the gallery over the said chamber, the stable near the
brew-house with ingress and egress. (fn. 92) It is mentioned
in the sales in the manorial property in the 18th
century, at which time a close called the Park,
containing 21 acres, was also included. (fn. 93)
In the 13th century Muriel de Ros, daughter of
Hugh Gargate, granted land here to the priory of
Bicester in Oxfordshire. (fn. 94) Isabel, the other daughter,
also made a grant in 1236, (fn. 95) and both gifts were
confirmed by John de Warenne, Earl of Surrey, in
1308. (fn. 96) In 1254–5 the prior held 2½ hides here, a
moiety of the whole fee, (fn. 97) and continued to hold it
until the Dissolution, (fn. 98) when the farm of the manor
was worth 53s. 4d. annually. (fn. 99) The property was held
at farm by the Langston family, to one of whom, John
Langston, the prior had demised it in 1487 as the
'moiety of the manor of Caversfield.' (fn. 100) The
Langstons and their heirs held the rest of Caversfield
in fee-tail (see above), a circumstance which led to
numerous disputes in the 16th century, since they
evidently tried to amalgamate both the estate held at
farm and that held in fee as one manor held in fee.
In 1563 the queen granted the manor of the late
priory in Caversfield to Robert Hitchcock and his
heirs. (fn. 101) Suits at law between Hitchcock and Thomas
Moyle followed (fn. 102) ; the former's interest was vested
in Edward Ewer before 1602, and disputes between
Ewer and the Moyles continued, (fn. 103) both as regards this
estate, which Ewer claimed to hold in fee of the
Crown, the Moyles being only the lessees of it, and
the other estate in which he was the lessee and the
Moyles the real owners. (fn. 104) His right in the priory
manor seems to have been upheld, since the Crown
made a regrant to him and his heirs in 1604. (fn. 105) In
1610 the annual rent of 53s. 4d. received by the
Crown for this manor was granted to Anthony
Aucher and Thomas Hardres, kts., (fn. 106) but it seems
probable that the estate was afterwards obtained by
the Moyles, since in the somewhat lengthy lawsuit
between Thomas Moyle and his son John in
1621–2 it certainly appears that the family were
seised in fee of both properties and held them as one
manor. (fn. 107)
Church
The church of ST. LAURENCE consists of a chancel measuring internally
about 27 ft. 9 in. by 13 ft. 10 in., north
vestry and organ chamber, nave 29 ft. by 13 ft. 6 in.,
north and south aisles each 6 ft. 4 in. wide, and a
west tower 11 ft. 2 in. by 10 ft. 6 in.
The ground stage of the tower, which retains two
original windows in the north and south walls, is
probably of pre-Conquest date. The walls are of
small limestone rubble, but the quoins have all been
renewed. The tower arch, though entirely restored,
represents in all probability a late 12th-century
enlargement of the original opening, and the west
window may have been inserted at the same date,
when the upper part of the tower appears to have
been first rebuilt; the 12th-century doorway reset in
the north wall of the present north aisle affords evidence
that some considerable repair of the fabric was undertaken at that period. Early in the 13th century the
bell-chamber of the tower was rebuilt or added, the
chancel reconstructed, and north and south aisles were
added to the nave. The doorway in the north wall
of the chancel leading to the present vestry, which
has a shouldered head and jambs with the rebate on
the vestry side, suggests the addition of a north vestry
about 1300, but it is possible that it was not adapted
to its present use till the restoration of the church in
the last century. The arch to the organ chamber at
the west end of the north wall of the chancel is
probably that which is referred to by Parker in A
guide to the architectural antiquities in the neighbourhood
of Oxford (1846) as being then the chancel arch,
and was moved here in 1874. As they now
stand, the vestry and organ chamber date from 1874,
when the nave aisles, which had been pulled down,
probably in the 18th century, were rebuilt, the chancel
arch renewed, and the whole building, with the
exception of the tower, reroofed.
In the east wall of the chancel is a pair of early
13th-century lancets with plain wide internal splays,
and labels on both faces. The internal labels intersect at their junction and are original, but the linked
external labels appear to have been restored. At the
east end of the north wall is a small aumbry, to the
west of which, within the present sanctuary, is a
recess with a two-centred head, all of modern stonework and probably made in 1874 for the
Langston tomb which now stands in it.
The remaining features in this wall are
the doorway to the vestry and the arch
to the organ chamber referred to above; the
latter is two-centred and of two chamfered
orders with responds worked to a single wide
chamfer on each face. At the south-east is a
rough trefoil-headed piscina with a quatrefoil
basin, and immediately to the west of it is an
early 14th-century window of two acutely
pointed cinquefoiled lights with a quatrefoiled
spandrel in a two-centred head. Near the
centre of the wall is an original lancet and at
the south-west is a square-headed early 15thcentury window of two cinquefoiled lights.
All these windows have been very much
restored, their rear arches being modern.
The present chancel arch was built at the
general restoration in 1874 and is constructed almost entirely of modern stonework.
The walling of the chancel is of limestone rubble and
the original window dressings are of a yellow sandstone. Limestone is used for the later insertions,
the south-east window being of a dark brown stone
of a ferruginous nature. The north window of the
organ chamber is of three lights, and has original
leaf tracery of about 1360 reset, but its original
position is doubtful.
The early 13th-century nave arcades are each of
two bays with two-centred arches of two orders
supported by a central circular column and semicircular responds. The work has been very much
patched and restored, the capitals having been considerably damaged by the blocking inserted in the
bays when the aisles were pulled down. The south
arcade is of slightly earlier character than the north
arcade, and has spurred bases of a pronounced Attic
type, standing upon square plinths with roll-moulded
sub-plinths. The bases of the north arcade are also
spurred, but the hollow has become a water table,
and the projecting sub-plinths have their upper edges
plainly chamfered. The capitals of both arcades are
foliated and have volute leaves at the angles, with
human heads or leaves on each face, their moulded
abaci being square. The arches are roll-moulded
and the outer orders are enriched by a band of dogtooth, while the inclosing labels are ornamented with
the nail-head. The walls pierced by the arcades are
only 2ft. 1 in. in thickness, and, if not actually of
pre-Conquest date, are most probably built on the
foundations of the original nave. Reset in the north
wall of the modern north aisle is a good doorway of the
last half of the 12th century, recessed in two roundarched orders, the outer order having shafted jambs.
The head of this order is moulded with a keel inclosed
by 'dentelle' ornament, and has a roll-moulded label
with head-stops; the inner order has a roll enriched
with leaves. No other original detail remains in the
aisles, which are designed in the 13th-century manner.
The tower rises in three stages marked by slight
set-offs, and is crowned by a saddle-back roof gabled
east and west. The restored tower arch has square
jambs with chamfered abaci, and a plain arch slightly
pointed with a chamfered label. The early windows
lighting the ground stage on the north and south
have heads roughly semicircular in form, and are set
near the middle of the wall with wide splays on both
faces. The actual opening in each case is about
6 in. wide and 1ft. 2 in. high, and appears to be
perforated in a block of tufa-like stone. Internally
the openings are increased by the splaying of the
jambs, head and sill to a width of about 2ft. 4 in.
and a height of 3ft. 10 in., while they are splayed
to about the same dimensions externally, where the
radiation of the stones forming their heads interrupts
the coursing of the limestone rubble for some distance
round. The round-headed window in the west wall
is entirely modern externally, though one or two
original stones remain in the internal jambs. A slight
difference in the walling marks the later work of the
two upper stages. In the west wall of the ringing
chamber is a modern window of two round-headed
lights with old internal jambs, probably of the late
12th century. The bell-chamber is lighted on the
east and west by tall lancets with modern external
stonework. The gables to the saddle-back roof have
been renewed, but the internal jambs of the windows
and the timbers in the roof show much of the work
to be of the early 13th century.
Plan of Caversfield Church
The font has a modern base supporting an early
12th-century tub-shaped bowl about 2 ft. 3 in. in
diameter and 1ft. 8½ in. deep, encircled by a roughly
carved intersecting arcade.
On the nave floor near the chancel arch is a marble
sfab with three brass scrolls issuing from a heart held by
two hands; the heart bears the word 'credo,' and the
scrolls are inscribed respectively 'heu michi domine
quia pecavi nimis in vita mea,' 'quid faciam miser ubi
fugiam nisi ad te deus meus,' and 'miserere mei dum
veneris in novissimo die.' The inscription below
has been lost, but at the foot of the slab is a shield
of Denton impaling a cross moline, presumably that
of John Denton, father-in-law to the Richard Langston
mentioned below. Affixed to the wall at the southeast of the north aisle are the brass figures of a man
in a fur-lined cloak with head uncovered and a lady
in a long cloak and gabled head-dress. There are
also groups of twelve sons and ten daughters with two
shields of Langston and one of Langston quartering
Danvers; these brasses, now detached from the slab
in which they were originally placed, are to John
Langston, who died in 1506, and Amice his wife.
A fragment 'Deus Amen.' near this group is doubtless the end of the upper inscription given in full by
Lipscomb (fn. 108) ; and the lower inscription, which remains
in full and is now placed near the table tomb in the
chancel, runs as follows: 'O pater excelse miserere
precormiserere Johannis langston et conjugis amisie
Atque sue sobilis (sic) que te in terra coluere Hosce
velis oro jungere celicolis.' The table tomb already
referred to doubtless commemorates Richard Langston,
son of the above John Langston, who married Joan
daughter of John Denton. It stands in the modern
recess on the north side of the chancel, and has a
Purbeck marble top slab with moulded edges; the
sides are divided into traceried panels, three in front
and one at either end, in the centre of each of which
is a shield painted with the arms of Langston impaling
Denton, some of the coats being very indistinct. On
the wall at the south-east of the north aisle is a brass
inscription to Raulf Heydon (d. 1592), in the nave
before the chancel arch is a floor slab with arms to
Maximilian Bard (d. 1690), and there is another
floor slab at the east end of the south aisle to Thomas
Bard (d. 1719), while in the tower are tablets
to Rebecca Meggott (d. 1782), Christian Walter
(d. 1789), and William Ellis, vicar of the parish
(d. 1795).
The tower contains a ring of three bells. The treble
is a most interesting bell, the date of which, about
1200, can be established by the inscription on the
sound-bow; this has been reversed in the casting,
and reads from right to left. Some of the letters
are now illegible, and q's are used in place of g's, but
the following reading has been prepared with great
probability (fn. 109) : 'Hug(h) Gargat Sibillaq(ue) u(x)or
h(aec) ti(m)ppana fecerunt e(x)poni.' On the waist
is the inscription in plain characters, 'In honore Dei
et Santi Laurencii.' The second was recast by
J. Taylor & Co. of Loughborough in 1874 from a 14thcentury bell inscribed 'In honore Beati Laurencii,'
and the tenor was recast by the same firm in 1876
from a companion bell to the treble.
The plate consists of a cup of 1657 inscribed on
the foot, 'The communion cup of Caversfeild in the
county of Buckingham,' a large salver of 1783 inscribed, 'In honore Dei et Sancti Laurentii,' a flagon
of 1874, a plated flagon, and two plated patens.
The registers before 1812 are as follows: (i)
baptisms 1640 to 1769, marriages 1650 to 1753,
burials 1658 to 1762 (one entry 1796); some leaves
of this book have been extracted and parts of others
torn off; (ii) baptisms 1764 to 1810, burials 1769
to 1811; (iii) marriages 1754 to 1810.
Advowson
The church of Caversfield was
given to the Abbot and convent of
Missenden in the 12th century by
Roger Gargate to be held, together with an acre of
his demesne, in free alms. (fn. 110) Guy, parson of the
church, is mentioned in the charter, (fn. 111) and his predecessors in that position are also referred to. (fn. 112) Hugh
son of Roger confirmed the gift. (fn. 113) A vicarage was
ordained during or before the early years of the 13th
century, when the vicar, presented by the abbot,
received all small tithes and half the tithes of 6 virgates
in Stratton, and had a suitable house with 2 acres of
land (fn. 114) ; it was found that one chaplain sufficed for
the cure. (fn. 115) In 1291 the church was valued at
£6 13s. 4d. (fn. 116) and at £6 in 1535. (fn. 117) The abbey
continued to hold until the Dissolution. (fn. 118) In 1545
a grant in fee of the rectory and advowson was made
to Richard Ingram and Anthony Foster. (fn. 119) Their
interest appears to have passed within a year to
Thomas Denton, who conveyed in 1545–6 to John
Langston, (fn. 120) lord of the manor, with which the
advowson has since been held, (fn. 121) the patronage of the
vicarage, which has been annexed to Stoke Lyne,
being now in the possession of Mrs. Phillips.
John Langston's widow afterwards married Robert
Hitchcock, who was sued by Thomas Moyle for
retaining possession of all deeds and evidences relating
to the title of the rectory (fn. 122) ; Moyle's claim to the
latter was questioned by Hitchcock, who thought
that as John Langston left no issue the property
should revert to the Dentons. (fn. 123) The Moyles, however, successfully upheld their right, and the rectory
afterwards passed with the manor. (fn. 124)
Roger Gargate also granted to Missenden half a
hide of land here for which the proper service was to
be rendered to him and his heirs. (fn. 125) These heirs
afterwards released their overlordship rights to the
abbey, which then held the half hide direct of the
Earl Warenne for the service due from a tenth part
of the whole vill of Caversfield. (fn. 126) The value of this
property was given as only 11s. 11d. in 1291, (fn. 127) but
nevertheless in 1302 the abbot, at the instigation of
Walter Agmondesham, was granted free warren in
his demesne lands at Caversfield among other places, (fn. 128)
and the charter was confirmed in 1426. (fn. 129)
Charities
Thomas Mansfield, by deed of
22 January 1874, gave £150, the
interest thereof to be divided among
eight of the oldest deserving poor. The gift was
invested in £162 12s. consols with the official
trustees, the annual dividends of which, amounting
to £4 1s. 4d., are equally divided among the eight
beneficiaries.