LILLINGSTONE DAYRELL
Lelinchestane (xi cent.); Lullingestan, Lyllingstan,
Lillingeston Parva (xii-xiii cent.); Lillingston Dayerel (xiv cent.).
This parish covers 1,873 acres, of which 1,267
acres are permanent grass, 261 arable, and 74 woods
and plantations. (fn. 1) The soil is clay. A stream borders
the east side of the parish, flowing southward, and is
joined about half-way down by a small tributary.
The land rises from about 300 ft. above the ordnance
datum in the south-east to over 500 ft. in the extreme
north-west.
The houses of the village are grouped round the
road to Buckingham. Tile House, standing in wellwooded grounds, is the property and residence of the
lord of the manor, Mr. Abraham John Roberts. In
the park is a large sheet of water, and an avenue
leads from the house to the eastern boundary where
Tile House Farm stands. Old Tile House, which also
stands in the park, is a brick and stone building with
a tiled roof. There were five messuages here called
the Tile House in 1615, (fn. 2) but the present house was
built by Sir Marmaduke Dayrell, (fn. 3) a member of a
younger branch of the family, (fn. 4) between 1693 and
1697, the former date with the Dayrell arms being
on a stone over the porch and the latter date on the
head of one rain-water pipe, while the initials M.D.
occur on another. The house was much altered in
the 19th century. It is of two stories with attics,
and the original windows have wooden mullions
and transoms. Inside some original some original panelling and
other fittings remain. The property descended in
the cadet branch of the Dayrell family (fn. 5) until after
the death of Marmaduke Dayrell, when, in order to
raise portions for his widow and children, his trustees
sold it, about 1796, to Abraham Roberts, (fn. 6) ancestor
of the present owner.
The rectory, formerly called Pondclose House, is a
17th-century building of brick and stone roofed with
tiles and slates. It was refronted in the 18th century,
and additions were made to it in the 19th century.
On the east side of the house are the remains of some
fish-ponds.
Near the church was the Old Manor House, which
was taken down in 1767. (fn. 7) Richard Dayrell, who died
in 1704, spent a large sum on the house and estate,
at least £4,000 he stated in his will, 'as appear in
a book of accounts I have kept for that purpose called
the Lillingstone Book which my eldest son may reap
the benefit of.' (fn. 8) Browne Willis, about 1735, states
that the manor-house had 'lately been handsomely
fitted up.' (fn. 9) A smaller manor-house was built by
Richard Dayrell in 1792. (fn. 10)
Lillingstone House with a park of about 20 acres is
the property of the lord of the manor and the residence
of the Hon. Mrs. Archibald Douglas-Pennant.
The site of Luffield Priory exclusive of the church
lay in the north-west of the parish, but there is now
no trace of the buildings above ground. A little to
the east of the site at Chapel Green are the remains of
the 15th-century chapel of St. Thomas of Canterbury.
This chapel was apparently founded by Robert
Dayrell and Ralf his son, who in the 13th century gave
to Luffield Priory the piece of land on which it stands. (fn. 11)
It is built of stone and has now a thatched roof. It
was converted into two dwellings and partly rebuilt in
the 17th century. There still exist traces of the 15th century east window of the chapel, the west doorway
and west window over it, all now blocked and the east
window partially covered by a 17th-century chimney
stack.
The royal forest of Whittlewood extended into the
parish. At least one member of the Dayrell family
was ranger of the forest, and certain hunting rights
were held by them from an early date, in token of which
they owned a horn known as the 'purlieu horn' that
was in the possession of the lord of the manor as late
as 1885 and bore the date 1692. (fn. 12)
Manors
Before the Conquest LILLINGSTONE DAYRELL and Lillingstone
Lovell evidently formed one vill of
10 hides, (fn. 13) but by 1086 they had become two vills,
each of 5 hides, the one in Buckinghalmshire and the
other in Oxfordshire. The 5 hides comprising the
manor of Lillingstone Dayrell, formerly held by Syric,
a man of Queen Edith, were in 1086 part of the
lands of Walter Giffard. (fn. 14) As parcel of the honour
of Giffard the manor passed to the Earls of Pembroke (fn. 15)
and so to the Talbots. (fn. 16) The overlordship rights,
apparently amounting only to a view of frankpledge,
were held here by the Talbot family as late as 1419. (fn. 17)
Cottage At Chapel Green, once the Chapel of St. Thomas of Canterbury
Walter Giffard's tenant in 1086 was Hugh, (fn. 18) most
probably the Hugh de Bolebec whose granddaughter
and heir married Robert de Vere, Earl of Oxford, (fn. 19) as
a mesne lordship was held here by the earl in the
13th century (fn. 20) and continued to be held with this
title, (fn. 21) the last mention of it occurring in 1634. (fn. 22)
The family whose name was later associated with the
parish was settled here in the 12th century and probably earlier, for in 1166–7 Dairel owed half a mark
for 'Litlingestan.' (fn. 23) In 1194–5 a dispute arose
between Richard, brother of Ellis Dayrell, and Maud,
who may have been the widow of Ellis, as to whether
Richard was seised in demesne as of fee of a messuage
in Lillingstone which Maud held. (fn. 24) At the same
date, (fn. 25) and again in 1199, (fn. 26) Ralf Dayrell is mentioned
in connexion with this county, and was probably lord
of Lillingstone, as he certainly held lands here in
1232, (fn. 27) and his son Henry was
lord of the fee in 1234–5. (fn. 28)
Henry Dayrell was succeeded
before 1254–5 by another
Ralf, (fn. 29) evidently his son, as in
1262 Ralf granted a messuage
in Lillingstone to Richard
Grusset and Emma his wife, (fn. 30)
daughter of Henry. (fn. 31) and they,
at the instance of the donor,
granted it to Henry's widow
Jane to hold of them for her life
for the yearly rent of a rose. (fn. 32)
Ralf still held in 1278–9, (fn. 33)
and was followed before
1284–6 by his son Henry. (fn. 34)
In 1297 Henry Dayrell quitclaimed the manor to John
de Foxley and Constance
his wife. (fn. 35) In 1301 Henry
son of Henry Dayrell, while
still a minor, claimed that by
reason of that deed he had
been unjustly disseised of the
manor. (fn. 36) Henry, the father,
who was still alive, maintained
that he was justified in making
the conveyance, and added
that, as his son had never been in seisin of the manor,
the claim of unjust disseisin was impossible, a view
which was upheld by the court. (fn. 37) John de Foxley
was returned as holding the manor in 1302–3, (fn. 38) and
two years later he recognized the claim of Alice,
widow of Henry Dayrell, sen., to a third of the
manor as dower. (fn. 39) In a further dispute John de
Foxley is stated to be the
guardian of Henry, the son. (fn. 40)
The quarrel, however, was
finally settled in 1309, when
John de Foxley and Constance
quitclaimed to Henry Dayrell
and Emma his wife all their
right in two-thirds of the
manor, and their reversionary
right in the third held by
Alice in dower, on payment
by Henry and Emma of £100
sterling. (fn. 41) Henry Dayrell still
held in 1316. (fn. 42) John Dayrell,
who presented to the church
in 1328, (fn. 43) and Jane his wife
were seised in 1332–46. (fn. 44) Roger, his son, (fn. 45) was lord in
1369 (fn. 46) and member for the county in 1388, 1390,
1393–4 and in 1399. (fn. 47) He married Joan Agmondesham, and was succeeded, after 1407, by his son John,
who died in 1417, leaving two sons, Paul and Thomas. (fn. 48)
Nicholas Dayrell, possibly the brother of John, (fn. 49) presented to the church in 1441. (fn. 50) Paul Dayrell died
seised of the manor in 1491, having previously made
a settlement of it; his heir was his son Thomas, aged
twenty-four. (fn. 51) Thomas married Dorothy Danvers;
his son Paul, who succeeded him in 1524, married as
his first wife Margaret daughter of John Cheyne. (fn. 52)
He died in 1556, leaving a son of the same name, (fn. 53)
who married Frances Saunders (fn. 54) and made various
settlements of the manor in 1561, (fn. 55) 1573–4 (fn. 56) and
1602. (fn. 57) He died in 1606, and his son and grandson,
both called Thomas, were successively lords of the
manor. (fn. 58) The grandson died in 1628, ten years after
his father, without male issue, so that Lillingstone
passed to his brother Peter Dayrell, (fn. 59) who took an
active part in the Civil War as an ardent Royalist. (fn. 60)
In 1646 he compounded for his delinquency in
adhering to the king's cause, and a fine of £788 was
imposed. (fn. 61) He died in 1667. (fn. 62) His two elder sons,
Thomas and Peter, died without issue, the latter in
1670, when the third son, Anthony, rector of the
parish, became the heir. (fn. 63) Anthony's son Thomas
died in 1685, his heir being his uncle Paul, who
died in 1690, leaving a daughter Frances, and, as
male heir, his brother Richard, who married Frances
Tucker. (fn. 64) He, at his death in 1704, was followed
by his son Peter, (fn. 65) who died unmarried in 1725.
His brother Thomas, rector of the parish, died in
1729, (fn. 66) leaving a son Richard, who was still a minor
at this date, but afterwards inherited the property (fn. 67)
and also held the rectory. (fn. 68) After his death in
1767 (fn. 69) his sons Richard and Paul held successively,
dying without issue in 1800 and in 1803 respectively. (fn. 70)
The third son, Henry, who held a commission in the
Royal Navy, died in 1823, and his son Richard,
captain in the Navy, became lord of the manor, dying
in 1841, when his heir was Edmund Francis Dayrell. (fn. 71)
His son Captain Edmund Marmaduke Dayrell, R.N.,
was lord of the manor as late as 1885, (fn. 72) at about which
date the property was sold to Mr. Abraham John
Robarts, the present owner.
Dayrell of Lillingstone. Argent on three bars sable six cinqfoils argent.
There was a mill appurtenant to the manor in
1602. (fn. 73) In 1610 there were two mills, one of
which, called the old mill, was then used as a
cottage. (fn. 74) A water-mill is again referred to in
1706. (fn. 75) In 1628 a rabbit warren and a dovecot
were included in the appurtenances. (fn. 76)
In 1369 Sir Henry Green, kt., died seised of the
manor of HEYBARNE, held of the lord of Lillingstone Dayrell, partly in Northamptonshire and partly
in this county. (fn. 77) The part in this county, which
was later said to amount to a toft and a carucate of
land, called Heybarnefield, in Lillingstone Dayrell, (fn. 78)
was worth only 40d. per annum at the above date
because it was in the forest of Whittlewood, and so
had been much harmed by the king's beasts. (fn. 79) Sir
Thomas Green, kt., son of Sir Henry, died seised in
1391 (fn. 80) , leaving a son Thomas, whose widow Mary,
after her husband's death in 1417, (fn. 81) held until her
death in 1434, (fn. 82) when their son Thomas inherited. (fn. 83)
By the end of the 16th century this property had
passed to Peter Wentworth, (fn. 84) lord of the manor of
Lillingstone Lovell (q.v.), with which it afterwards
descended. (fn. 85)
Church
The church of ST. NICHOLAS
consists of a chancel measuring internally about 29 ft. 7 in. by 13 ft. 8 in.,
north organ chamber and vestry, nave 31 ft. 7 in. by
16 ft. 1 in., north and south aisles each 6 ft. 9 in.
wide, west tower 9 ft. 2 in. square, and a south porch
7 ft. by 5 ft. 6 in.
The east and west walls of the nave, with the
chancel and tower arches, are the only survivals of a
late 11th-century aisleless church with a western tower.
Early in the 13th century the chancel appears to
have been rebuilt and lengthened, the walls of the
western portion following the line of the original
walls. The tower, if ever completed, must have been
in a ruinous condition at this time, as the window
in the west wall of the nave, which now looks into
the tower, is of about the same date as the older work
in the chancel. About 1240 the tower seems to
have been rebuilt, and to the same period may be
assigned the coupled lancet windows in the side walls
of the eastern half of the chancel. In the last half of
the 13th century the aisles were added to the nave
and a new east window was inserted in the chancel,
the recess on the north and the wall arcade on the
south being formed at the same time. The north
wall of the chancel is reported to have been in ruins
in 1366 (fn. 86) ; the 13th-century detail here bears marks
of resetting and suggests that the whole wall has
been rebuilt, probably a few years after this date.
Beyond the addition of the south porch and the
insertion of a window in the south aisle in the early
15th century no further structural alterations appear
to have been undertaken in the middle ages. At a
later period the north aisle appears to have been
pulled down to supply material for the repair of the
church; this was probably done at some time in the
17th century, as, according to Browne Willis, there
was no north aisle existing in 1735. The uppermost
stage of the tower has evidently been rebuilt, perhaps
during the 18th century. In 1868 the church was
restored by Street, who rebuilt the north aisle and
added the north vestry and organ chamber. The
walling generally is of limestone rubble, but the south
porch has a facing of rough ashlar work. The roofs
of the body of the church are tiled.
Plan of Lillingstone Dayrell Church
The late 13th-century east window of the chancel
is a fine and interesting example of the transition
from plate to bar tracery. The head is two-centred,
and it is of three lights, the central light being higher
and wider than the side lights; the tracery above is
formed by three trefoiled circles with pierced spandrels
between them. The mullions are shafted, and the
rear-arch also springs from attached shafts with moulded
capitals and bases. The coupled lancet at the northeast, originally inserted about 1240 and reset at the
later rebuilding of the wall, has a lozenge ornament
between the heads of the lights externally, and a
circular flower ornament in a corresponding position
internally, now partly covered by the rear-arch. The
wide recess to the west of the window has a segmental
two-centred head subdivided by forked ribs springing
from a central moulded corbel. Both the main head
and the ribs are hollow-chamfered, and there are
small shafts at the angles of the jambs. The whole
work is very rough, and the junction of the ribs with
the main head is clumsy in the extreme, the result,
doubtless, of unskilful rebuilding. At the west end
of the wall is a modern arch opening to the organ
chamber. At the east end of the south wall is a late
13th-century piscina with a projecting bowl and
credence shelf and a trefoiled ogee head. The label
inclosing the head is linked to the label of the contemporary wall arcade which occupies the remainder
of the lower part of the wall. Above the arcade are
two windows, the eastern a coupled lancet window
of the same date as that in the opposite wall, but
more elaborately moulded externally, the mullion
being shafted and enriched with
dog-tooth ornament, while the
western window is a lancet of the
early 13th century. The end bays
of the arcade beneath are narrower
than the two middle bays, the
easternmost bay having a stilted
semicircular head, while the other
bays have two-centred segmental
heads; all spring from attached
shafts with moulded bases and
capitals, and the abaci are ornamented with the nail-head. The
two eastern bays formed sedilia, and
the westernmost bay contains an
early 13th-century low-side window
rebated for a shutter. The labels
are linked horizontally and stopped
by a mask-stop on the west. The
chancel arch, which is semicircular
and of rough workmanship, springs
from plain square jambs with chamfered imposts.
The north and south arcades of the nave are each
of three bays and are alike in detail; the arches are
two-centred and of two chamfered orders, and are
supported by octagonal columns with moulded capitals
and water-table bases standing on octagonal plinths
with square sub-plinths. The outer orders die upon
the end walls of the nave, the inner orders being
carried by moulded corbels, and the arches are inclosed
by labels on both nave and aisle faces. The north
arcade, which had been built up, was considerably
restored when the north aisle was rebuilt, and the
bases are modern. The tower arch is like the
chancel arch, but the imposts have been recut; above
it is an early 13th-century lancet, now looking into
the tower.
The modern north aisle is designed in the style of
the 13th century. The south aisle retains no original
windows; the east window is an insertion of the 14th
century, and is of three trefoiled lights with reticulated
tracery in the head, while at the west end of the
south wall is a two-light window of the same date
and type. The remaining window at the opposite
end of the same wall is a square-headed early 15th
century insertion of three cinquefoiled lights. The
south doorway, which is contemporary with the aisle,
has a two-centred head of two orders, the outer order
having shafted jambs, while the inner order is continuous.
The tower rises in three plain stages, the ground
and intermediate stages being lighted by plain lancets
on the west, and the rebuilt bell-chamber by coupled
lancets on all four sides. The early 15th-century
south porch has a pointed outer doorway of two
chamfered orders, and is lighted from each side by a
quatrefoil. The walls rise from a boldly moulded
plinth and have small two-stage buttresses on the east
and west; the roof is steeply pitched and covered
with stone flags.
The font and fittings are modern. In the sanctuary
floor are preserved eight early 13th-century tiles with
raised designs, and some 14th-century red and yellow
'slip tiles' are placed in the floor on the north and
south sides of the chancel. Hung on the north wall
of the chancel is a pulpit-hanging embroidered with
the Dayrell arms and bearing the inscription '1659
Donum Thomae Dayrelli Armigeri.' Above it are
also hung two funeral helms, one probably made up
from a 16th-century close helmet, while the other
seems to be a modern imitation.
The earliest monument in the church is a table
tomb in the third bay of the arcade, on the south side
of the chancel, commemorating Paul Dayrell (d. 1491)
and his wife Margaret, the date of whose death is
not given. In the covering slab are their brass
figures, he in the plate armour of the period, and she
in a gown trimmed with fur. Below the figures is
the inscription, 'Hic jac[e]t paulus dayrell Armig' et
Margareta uxor eius qui quidem | paulus obiit xxix
die Marcii A° dñi m°cccc° lxxxxj q. a[n]i[m]ab[us] ppicietr
de[us]' In the back of the recess in the north wall of
the chancel is a brass, with a headless figure, to
Richard Blakysley, a former rector (d. 1493). The
inscription is as follows: 'Hic sub pede jacet d∼n
Ric[ard]us blakysley quond[a]m Rector istius eccl[es]ie qtilde; obiit
sexto die aprilis A° d[omi]ni m°cccclxxxxiij° cui[us] a[n]i[ma]e
ppicietr de[us] amen.' Standing in the middle of the
chancel is a fine table tomb to Paul Dayrell (d. 1556)
and his third wife Dorothy (d. 1571), widow of
William Saunders, with their recumbent effigies. On
the sides are shields of arms and the kneeling figures
of their nine sons and six daughters. At the angles
are small baluster columns supporting a Doric frieze,
in the metopes of which are carved elephants' heads
and the Saunders coat, alternating with Dayrell cinqfoils. Beneath the altar is a floor slab to William
Cave, a former rector (d. 1635). The slab is
traditionally said to be the original altar slab, but no
crosses are visible on the exposed side, though they
may exist on the underside. The dimensions of the
stone render the tradition not improbable. On the
south wall of the chancel is a monument to a later
Paul Dayrell (d. 1690). There is also a floor slab at
the east end of the chancel to Frances, the wife of
Matthew Wilkes and daughter of Peter Dayrell
(d. 1694).
There are three bells: the treble by John Warner
& Sons, 1868, the second by Edward Hall, 1726,
and the tenor by Richard Chandler, 1674.
The plate consists of a silver cup of 1604, ornamented with an embossed pattern, and evidently a
secular vessel; a second cup with the date letter
partly obliterated, but probably belonging to the
1618–37 cycle; a standing paten of 1662, a second
paten of 1797, presented in 1811; and a modern
flagon.
The registers begin in 1584.
Advowson
In a late 12th-century charter
concerning lands in this county the
name of Philip, chaplain of Lillingstone, is given as a witness. (fn. 87) The church appears
to have been in the patronage of the Dayrell family
from an early date, and the living is still in the gift
of the lord of the manor. (fn. 88) In 1366 it appears that
the vicar had the right-hand side of the rectory with
the hall and a chamber and cellar on the east, the
kitchen and brew-house and two-thirds of the garden. (fn. 89)
In 1278–9 it was found that the church was endowed
with I virgate of land (fn. 90) ; it was valued at £5 in
1291 (fn. 91) and at £8 in 1535. (fn. 92) In 1291 an annual
sum of 6s. 8d. was paid to the priory of Newton
Longville, (fn. 93) to which Walter Giffard had granted
certain tithes in Lillingstone in the 11th century. (fn. 94)
Charities
It appeared from a board in the
church that Frances Wilkes in 1674
gave £40 for clothing poor women
yearly, and that Elizabeth Dayrell in 1679 gave £50
for apprenticing a boy every five years; but these
charities have been lost sight of.
The Rev. John Langham Dayrell, by his will,
proved in the P.C.C. 18 October 1832, bequeathed
£300 consols, the annual dividends, amounting to
£7 10s., to be laid out in the distribution of clothing
at Christmas among the poor.
The sum of stock is held by the official trustees,
who also hold a further sum of £63 3s. 1d. consols,
representing a sum of money awarded under an Act
of 1852–3 (fn. 95) for disafforesting the forest of Whittlewood, otherwise Whittlebury, as compensation to the
poor in lieu of any rights to sere and broken wood.
The annual dividends of £1 11s. 4d. are applied in
the distribution of coal at Christmas.