MAIDS' MORETON
Mortone (xi cent.); Morthone (xiii cent.); Maydemorton (xvi cent.).
The parish covers about 1,365 acres, of which 376
are arable, 786 permanent grass and 26 woods and
plantations. (fn. 1) The ground slopes from a level of
about 400 ft. above the ordnance datum in the northwest to about 270 ft. in the south-east. The soil is
clay and gravel and the subsoil gravel.
The village lies in the south-west of the parish,
along the Buckingham to Towcester road, a mile
north-east of Buckingham station on the Bletchley
and Banbury section of the London and North
Western railway. It contains many 17th-century
houses and cottages of timber frames with brick or
plaster filling and thatched roofs. Its most interesting feature is the fine 15th-century church of
St. Edmund, said by tradition to have been built
by two maiden ladies of the Pever family, whence the
name Maids' Moreton. (fn. 2) A slab in the nave of the
church possibly marks their grave. The church
and rectory-house stand at the southern end of
the village, high among fine trees. They look
down upon Buckingham at the foot of the hill below,
the Ouse occupying the foreground. On its banks is
a picturesque water-mill, and between it and the
town the Grand Junction Canal winds along through
the meadows in a course very similar to that of the
river, which at one point it joins. About half a mile
south-east of the rectory is College Farm, the property
of All Souls College Oxford. The Manor, occupied
by its owner, Miss Andrewes, stands west of the church
and rectory. A fine avenue, about three-quarters of
a mile in length, leads south-west from here through
plantations of fir down the hill-side to Buckingham.
Maids' Moreton Manor House, built near the site
of the old manor and the residence of Mr. Arthur
Lucas, lies off Church Street. It was formerly called
Moreton House, and was the early home of the late
Bishop Browne of Winchester and of Sir Thomas
Gore Browne. (fn. 3) From this street Main Street branches
north-west through the village, passing the school
(built in 1854), the Elms, occupied by Miss Boyd,
and at the centre of the village Moreton Lodge, dating
from 1715, the property of Baroness Kinloss and
residence of Sir A. C. Thornhill, bart. At the
northern end of the village is Moreton House, occupied
by the owner, Mrs. Henry Bull. Where Main Street
joins the Towcester road the Wesleyan chapel, erected
in 1869, stands, with Manor Farm, a 16th-century
house of stone with modern additions in brick, a little
to the south of it. Tradition marks it as once the home
of the two maids of Moreton. Upper Farm, according
to a date in a chimney stack, was built in 1624, and
has later additions. It is of timber and plaster or brick
and has tiled and slated roofs. Some of the windows
still retain their mullions. The village has in its
vicinity the reservoir of the Buckingham Corporation
Waterworks.
The Village, Maids' Moreton
The parish was inclosed in 1801 by Act of Parliament. (fn. 4)
Manors
In 1086 5 hides in MORETON were
held by Lewin of Nuneham, the preConquest owner. (fn. 5) They descended with
his chief manors of Mursley and Salden to the Fitz
Niels, (fn. 6) by whom they were subinfeudated in the
early 13th century (fn. 7) for three parts of a fee, the Fitz
Niels being answerable to the king for scutage and
ward to Northampton Castle, assessed at 7s. 6d. (fn. 8)
From 1300 to 1346, the last date at which the
connexion of the Fitz Niels with Moreton is recorded,
the service due was returned at half a fee. (fn. 9)
Their place as overlords appears to have been
taken by the holders of the honour of Gloucester,
which had a large interest in Maids' Moreton (see
below). Already in 1272, after the death of the
tenant, Gilbert de Clare Earl of Gloucester had
entered the manor and occupied it for a year. (fn. 10)
Evidence points to the identity of part of this 5-hide
manor with the carucate of land afterwards known
as GREENHAMS MANOR in Moreton and held
of the honour of Gloucester in the early 15th
century. (fn. 11)
It is probable that the first tenant under the Fitz
Niels was Walter de Morton, about the beginning
of the 13th century. (fn. 12) His estate, said to be one
and a quarter fees in Moreton geldable to the king,
passed to Paul Pever, who about 1247, by grant
from Henry III, appropriated to himself hidage worth
10s. and suit and view of frankpledge worth 2s.
each. (fn. 13) He had also acquired Chilton Manor, with
which the manor descended for about sixty years. (fn. 14)
After the death of Emma, widow of Paul Pever's son
John, Walter de Morton occupied the manor in
succession to Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester,
and was in possession in 1274. (fn. 15) During his tenure
the house had deteriorated to the value of 10 marks,
and he had carried away a press and apple-mill worth
20s. (fn. 16) This Walter de Morton may be identical with
the Walter de Morton whom Paul Pever succeeded,
and his descendants appear to have held lands in
Moreton as tenants to the Pevers. (fn. 17) John Pever,
Paul's grandson, had succeeded to the manor by 1279,
when he claimed view of frankpledge, (fn. 18) and freedom
from suit of court and hundred, which his father and
grandfather had enjoyed. (fn. 19) John Pever was still holding the manor in 1302, (fn. 20) but seems to have parted with
it before his death in 1315, when he was returned
as patron of the advowson only, (fn. 21) the manor passing
to Richard de Bayhous, who held with Katherine his
wife in 1337 (fn. 22) and was still lord in 1346. (fn. 23) Nothing
is known of this estate for the next sixty years, but it
probably reappears in the carucate of land in Moreton
of which Hugh Greenham died seised in 1407. (fn. 24)
He and his wife Katherine had previously, in 1384,
acquired rights in lands here from John Warde of
Buckingham. (fn. 25) His property passed to his grandson
John, son of his son Thomas, who died on
12 November 1408. (fn. 26) The heir was Hugh's son
William, aged twenty-six, who died on 8 December
1412, leaving a son Thomas to inherit Moreton
Manor. (fn. 27) The custody of Thomas during his minority
was granted to Queen Joan, and by her on 10 April
1413 to Nicholas, Bishop of Bath. (fn. 28) Thomas attained
his majority on 4 October 1420, (fn. 29) and on 4 May
1430, as Thomas Greenham of Ketton (Hunts.), conveyed the manor to Sir John Basynges and others, (fn. 30)
who released it to him on 1 April 1433. On the
same day Thomas Greenham granted lands in Moreton
to William Purefoy and others, by whom the manor
of Morel on was then granted to John Horwood and
Robert Somery. (fn. 31)
On 1 April 1442 Robert Somery granted this
property as the manor of Moreton called Greenhams
to Henry VI, (fn. 32) by whom in the following month it
was granted to All Souls College, Oxford, (fn. 33) the present
owners. It was leased by the warden in 1493 as
the lordship of Moreton to Robert Woodward, jun.,
of Buckingham, (fn. 34) and in 1518 to John Harris, (fn. 35) who
in 1535 was paying a rent of £7 6s. 8d. for the
manor of Moreton with the mill there called 'Brent
Myll.' (fn. 36) Old leases existing among the archives of
All Souls show that, as the manor of Greenhams,
many separate leases were made of it to the Harris
family in the 16th century (fn. 37) and to John Easton in
the 16th and 17th centuries. (fn. 38) It was held with the
Christ Church manor in the 18th century on lease by
Edward Bate, who died in 1717. (fn. 39) In 1801, 1808,
and 1815 it was leased to Edwin Oakley Gray of
Buckingham by the college. (fn. 40) In 1862 the lessee was
the Rev. Wm. Andrewes Uthwatt, (fn. 41) succeeded by
Mrs. Uthwatt about 1883. The manorial rights are
now vested in Miss Andrewes.
In 1794 the park belonging to Greenhams was
leased to Richard Geast of Blyth Hall, near Coleshill,
with assignment thereof to Edwin Oakley Gray. (fn. 42)
Two hides of land in Moreton, always reckoned as
part of Stowe, to which they appear to have been
appurtenant in 1086, were granted with it by Robert
Doyley and Roger de Ivry to the college founded by
them in the church of St. George in Oxford Castle,
and were in the possession of the canons before
1130. (fn. 43) With Stowe they passed to Oseney Abbey,
which was said to hold them of the fee of Robert
Doyley in the 13th century. (fn. 44) The abbot enjoyed
view of frankpledge, waif and stray and other liberties
in this estate, (fn. 45) which was assessed at £5 2s. 6½d. in
1535. (fn. 46) These 2 carucates were subinfeudated by the
abbot for a yearly rent of 3s. 4d. to the Greys of Wilton,
and proofs of their tenure exist from 1370 to the mid15th century. (fn. 47) The estate remained in the abbey
until the Dissolution, (fn. 48) when it formed part of the
endowment of the cathedral church of Christ and
St. Mary, Oxford. (fn. 49) It remained in the possession of
the Dean and Chapter of Christ Church, Oxford, who
held the manor as late as the early 19th century. (fn. 50) Part
of their estate in Maids' Moreton was held under them
on lease by William Moore at his death in 1600, (fn. 51) and
came to his son John, at whose death in 1620, without
issue, it passed to William's widow Elizabeth, then
described as Elizabeth Every, widow, who married John
Moore and held these lands with him. (fn. 52) In the 18th
century Edward Bate, the lessee of All Souls Manor
was said to have been tenant also of this manor, (fn. 53)
of which in 1801 Samuel Churchill was lessee. (fn. 54)
In 1086 4 hides in Moreton were held as one
manor under Walter Giffard. (fn. 55) Alric son of Goding
had previously held two of these hides as one manor,
Ederic, a man of Asgar the Staller, 1½ hides as one
manor, and Saward, a man of Toti, half a hide, all
three being able to sell and assign their land. (fn. 56) This
manor was parcel of the honour of Giffard or Gloucester, (fn. 57) of which it was held for one fee (fn. 58) until the
16th century, when the king claimed to be lord of the
honour. (fn. 59) In the 13th century the Earls of Gloucester,
as overlords, (fn. 60) had view of frankpledge in Moreton and
all royal rights as from time immemorial. (fn. 61) View of
frankpledge and a court leet in Moreton are also mentioned in the 14th and 15th centuries. (fn. 62) The Temples,
who obtained Stowe in Elizabeth's reign, received a
grant of free warren here in 1616, (fn. 63) and Lord Cobham
about 1735, and the Marquess of Buckingham in the
early 19th century, put forward a claim to be lords of
the paramount manor in Maids' Moreton, as held of
the honour of Gloucester, of which they were lords. (fn. 64)
The under-tenant in 1086 was Turstin, evidently
identical with the Turstin son of Rolf who held Great
Missenden at that date. (fn. 65) Either he or his successors
subinfeudated these 4 hides in Moreton, the intermediary lordship thus created descending with the
manor of Great Missenden (q.v.) and, like it, dividing
into moieties, after the death of Hugh de Sanford,
about 1234, between his two daughters and co-heirs,
Christine wife of John de Pleseys and Agnes wife of
Walter Husee. (fn. 66) These interests in Moreton are last
heard of in 1346, when Hugh de Pleseys and Thomas
de Missenden were jointly responsible for the fee to
the Earl of Gloucester. (fn. 67)
The subinfeudation had probably taken place before
1202, when Reynold son of Ascur granted to Richard
son of Emma 1 hide in Moreton at a rent of 12s.
yearly, excepting from the grant his chief messuage
and two assarts at 'Smalethornes' and 'Portgrave,'
which he reserved to himself and his heirs. (fn. 68) In
1226 there is mention of the wood in Moreton
of William son of Reynold, (fn. 69) who in 1254 held
that moiety of the fee which was dependent on
the Husees, the other moiety being then held by
Ellis le Drueys. (fn. 70) By 1268 they had granted to
Matthew de Stratton, Archdeacon of Buckingham,
lands which before his death in that year he granted
to the abbey of Oseney, by a deed conferring on the
abbey in free alms all his court of Moreton which he
had of the gift of William son of Reynold, with all
its appurtenances within the towns and fields of
Moreton, whether of the fee of St. Gregory or of
other fees, with a messuage and lands which he had
of the gift of John and Robert sons of William de
Morton, of Henry son of the said Robert, with all
that he had of the gift of Ellis le Drueys and Alina
his wife. (fn. 71) In 1279 Ellis le Drueys's half-fee was
extended at 2 hides and 3 virgates, and Ralf Kam was
intermediary between him and Hugh de Pleseys. The
bequests of William son of Reynold and of his relatives to Oseney Abbey evidently comprised all his
estate in Moreton, for in 1279 the abbot was answerable to Henry Husee for the half-fee due from
William's 2 hides in Moreton. (fn. 72) A hide and 3½ virgates
were then held of the abbot by John de Morton, (fn. 73)
who shortly afterwards acquired Ellis le Drueys's
portion, (fn. 74) and the Walter de Morton holding in
1316 may have been his representative, (fn. 75) for during
the 14th and 15th centuries the Abbot of Oseney
and the heirs of John de Morton are returned as
joint lords of this part of Moreton. (fn. 76) The Oseney
portion was doubtless granted with the rest of the
abbey's land in this parish to the Dean and Chapter
of Oxford at the Dissolution, (fn. 77) and the Mortons'
holding may have been represented by the 7 virgates
and capital messuage which the Moore family, also
lessees of Christ Church (see above), held of the
honour of Gloucester in the 17th century. (fn. 78)
A 2-hide manor in Moreton, previously held by
Ulvric, a man of Alric son of Goding, who could sell,
was included in 1386 among the lands of Walter
Giffard. (fn. 79) It may perhaps be in part accounted for
by the lands attached to the honour of Gloucester in the
15th century, (fn. 80) and held by the Bartons of Thornton (fn. 81)
(q.v.). Some of these were granted with other lands in
Crendon and Foscott for the foundation of a chantry
at Thornton by Isabella Barton. (fn. 82) At the Dissolution
All Souls College, Oxford, paid 10s. 8d. from its
manor in Moreton for the yearly distribution of alms
and 6 lb. of corn at Thornton, and were also liable
for the stipend of the chaplain celebrating there for
the Bartons' souls. (fn. 83)
Other Barton lands descended with the Castle
House in Buckingham to the Fowlers, of whom
Richard Fowler was in possession in 1477, (fn. 84) and then
to their heirs the Lamberts. (fn. 85) They passed to Sir
Edward Bagot, bart., by his marriage with Mary
daughter and heir of William Lambert, to whom
livery of her property was granted in 1639. (fn. 86)
They are said to have been subsequently held by
Sir George Moore, created a baronet as Sir George
Moore of Maids' Moreton in 1665, (fn. 87) and sold by
him to Dr. George Bate, physician to Charles I,
Oliver Cromwell and Charles II. (fn. 88) He was born in
1607 at Moreton, where his father, George Bate, was
rector until his death in 1643. (fn. 89) Edward Bate
succeeded his father, the doctor, in 1669, and was
described by Browne Willis as 'an excellent, active
J.P. . . . a good neighbour and friend.' (fn. 90) He built
a mansion-house near the church, where he died in
1717; the house subsequently passed to Samuel
Churchill and Edwin Gray, lessee of Greenhams
Manor, to which it was said to belong. (fn. 91)
Lands in Moreton were also held by the abbey of
Biddlesden, (fn. 92) the convent of Elstow, (fn. 93) and the hospital
of St. John of Buckingham. (fn. 94)
Lewin of Nuneham held a mill worth 10s. with
his manor in 1086, (fn. 95) probably the water-mill held
by John Pever in 1279. (fn. 96) The Brend or Brent
Mill was held by All Souls College in 1483, (fn. 97) and
leased by them then and at subsequent dates.
Church
The church of ST. EDMUND consists of a chancel measuring internally
about 25 ft. 11 in. by 15 ft. 11 in., south
vestry 6 ft. 8 in. square, with a modern westward
extension, nave 40 ft. 3 in. by 23 ft. 11 in., west
tower 13 ft. 3 in. by 12 ft. 3 in., north porch 9 ft. by
6 ft. 5 in. and south porch 6 ft. 10 in. by 7 ft.
The present church was entirely rebuilt about
1450, its refoundation being traditionally ascribed
to the munificence of the two maiden daughters of
the last Thomas Pever, who died in 1429. The only
remains from the former church are the late 12thcentury font and some 12th-century moulded stones,
re-used in the rear arches of the windows of the north
porch. As might be expected in the case of a building
erected at a single period, the whole work is carried
out in a most complete and elaborate manner, and
may challenge comparison with any existing examples
of contemporary date in the country. The vestry,
porches, and ground stage of the tower are fan-vaulted,
and the design of the tower itself is especially remarkable for the boldness and originality displayed in the
design of the two upper stages. The walling throughout is of limestone rubble, the south wall of the
chancel and the walls of the original vestry being
covered with rough-cast. The building was restored
in 1882–7, when the vestry was enlarged by the
westward extension, which touches the south-east
angle of the nave.
Plan of Maids' Moreton Church
The east window of the chancel is of five cinquefoiled lights with transomed vertical tracery in an
elliptical head; internally the jambs are brought
down to the ground, and the inner fillets of the
mullions, interrupted only by a transom-like moulding
at the sill, are continued below the foot of the lights
and stopped upon a blocking of stone extending
beneath the three middle lights, and probably intended
for fixing the high altar. The tracery is set near the
middle of the wall, and the jambs are moulded with
wide casements on both faces, the casement being
stopped internally at the sill level, below which the
jambs have a plain splay. The rear arch is concentric
with the outer head, and is continuously moulded
with the jambs. To the north of the window is
a moulded image bracket. A similar treatment is
adopted in the case of all the other windows of the
chancel and nave, the fillets of the mullions being
stopped upon stone benches set back about 3 in. from
the internal face of the wall. At the east end of the
north wall is a window of three trefoiled lights with
floreated cusping and vertical tracery in a segmental
two-centred head with almost straight sides. To the
west of this window are two narrow recesses with
segmental two-centred heads, the western recess, in
the lower part of which is the north doorway, extending nearly the whole height of the chancel, while the
head of the eastern recess, which is now blocked by
a monument, is placed lower to clear the foot of the
wall-post of the adjacent roof-truss. At the east end
of the wall is a small window
of two cinquefoiled lights with
quatrefoil tracery in a two-centred
head. In the south-east angle of
the chancel is a shaft piscina with
a moulded semi-hexagonal basin
and a shaft of the same form.
The south-east window is like
the corresponding window in the
opposite wall, but the bench in
the recess below the sill is divided
by buttressed mullions into three
sedilia, each having a richly
panelled semi-hexagonal projecting canopy with a cinquefoiled
and sub-cusped ogee arch in each
face and miniature pinnacled
buttresses at the angles. The
soffits of the canopies have mock
vaulting, and the whole work is
of great elaboration. It has been a good deal restored, the crowning cornice being apparently modern.
To the west of the window are three narrow recesses,
the whole height of the chancel, with straight-sided
pointed heads and splayed jambs, hollow chamfered
at the angles; the middle recess does not descend
to the floor level, but is stopped above the head of
the vestry doorway, while each of the others has a
stone bench with two rectangular panels at the
back, stopped at the general sill level to correspond
with the treatment of the window recesses. At the
west end of the wall, now looking into the vestry, is
a window like the corresponding window in the
opposite wall. The wide and lofty chancel arch is
of two continuously moulded orders, separated by
deep, narrow casements. In the east face of the
south respond is a squint from the nave having an
opening with a trefoiled head. Externally the walls
of the chancel rise from a boldly moulded plinth,
which is continued round the whole building, and
are crowned by a moulded cornice and plain parapet
with a weathered coping, the east wall having a lowpitched gable. All the windows are labelled, and
there is a slight set-back at the level of their sills,
capped by a heavy chamfered weather-course, which is
utilized to form the label of the north doorway; at
the eastern angles and in the centre of the north wall
are slender buttresses of two offsets.
The south vestry is lighted by small square-headed
windows in the east and south walls, each being of a
single trefoiled light, rebated for a shutter, with plain
pierced spandrels in the head. At the south-east is a
rectangular recess possibly intended for a piscina. An
archway on the west opens to the modern extension.
The cones of the fan-vault have trefoiled panelling
and spring without corbels from the four angles of the
vestry, while the centre of the vault is occupied by a
multifoiled circle with floreated cusping inclosing a
large four-leaved flower.
The nave is divided into four bays by the spacing
of the roof trusses, and in each of the first, second,
and fourth bays on either side is a tall, finely-proportioned window of three transomed lights, cinquefoiled
in both stages, with vertical tracery in a two-centred
head. In the third bay on either side are the north
and south doorways, each set within a recess of the
same character as those in the chancel, and rising to
the same height as the heads of the windows. The
north doorway is of two moulded orders separated by
a casement, the head of the outer order being brought
to a septfoiled form by pierced cusping with trefoiled
sub-cusping. The south doorway is less elaborate
and has a four-centred head moulded continuously
with the jambs. Placed in the casement mould of
the east jamb of the south-east window is a moulded
image bracket supported by a carved angel. Though
it does not quite fit its position, the presence of a
broken piscina in the back of the window recess suggests that it has never been moved, but was probably
placed here at some time subsequent to the building
of the church as an additional ornament to the altar,
which must have occupied this corner of the nave.
Immediately to the south of the chancel arch is the
squint to the chancel, which has an opening with a
cinquefoiled four-centred head towards the nave. The
walls are crowned externally by a moulded cornice
and plain parapet, and there is a buttress of two offsets between the two eastern windows on each side,
the angles being emphasized by diagonal buttresses of
the same number of offsets.
The west tower has an embattled parapet and is
of three slightly receding stages with diagonally set
buttresses at the angles and a vice at the north-west.
The ground stage opens to the nave by a four-centred
arch of three orders with continuously moulded jambs
towards the nave. The orders are separated by casements, the inner being moulded with a swelled chamfer
on each face and the outer orders with hollow chamfers.
The fan-vaulted ceiling of the ground stage has a central
circular opening and the cones, which have trefoiled
panelling with floreated cusps, spring from quartercircular corbels supported by carved angels and enriched with flowers; the work, though bold and
vigorous, is somewhat coarse and the mouldings are
heavy. The west doorway has a four-centred head
and an elaborate external canopy supported by two
richly panelled cones of fan-vaulting springing from
roll shafts which form the outermost members of the
suite of jamb mouldings. The canopy itself is flat,
and, as the supporting cones do not meet, the intervening portion of the soffit is divided into plain rectangular panels. The cornice of the canopy is enriched
with flowers and crowned by an embattled parapet
with triangular-headed merlons having trefoiled panels.
Immediately above is a window of four cinquefoiled
lights with tracery in a two-centred head. A single
large recess in each face of the tower includes the
windows of the two upper stages, that on the north
being made narrower to clear the stair-turret. Each
recess has splayed jambs and a two-centred segmental
head with pierced septfoil cusping, the cusps terminating in a large trefoiled flower, and is subdivided by a
central pier of V-shaped plan rising into the apex of
the head; the string-course dividing the stages, with
the wall off-set above it, is continued round the
recess and the central pier. In each of the two upper
compartments thus formed is a single trefoiled light
to the bell-chamber (the eastern light on the north
side is now blocked), while the ringing chamber is
lighted by one smaller trefoiled light only in the lower
stage of the recess, the blank compartment containing
a trefoiled panel. The crowning cornice has gargoyles at the four angles of the tower, and the merlons
of the embattled parapet have circular piercings.
The north porch has a buttress in the centre of
each side wall and diagonal buttresses at the northern
angles, the walls being crowned by an embattled
parapet and moulded cornice with gargoyles at the
angles. The outer entrance has a four-centred head
continuously moulded with the jambs and rising into
the cornice which is lifted to clear it. The ceiling is
formed by a fan-vault of elaborate character arranged
in two bays and springing from vaulting shafts with
moulded capitals and bases placed in the angles and
at the centres of the north and south walls. The cones
of the vault have trefoiled panelling, and each bay
has a sculptured boss, that of the southern bay having
vine foliage, while the northern boss has a wreath of
roses. The porch is lighted from each side by a pair
of trefoiled lights placed on either side of the central
shaft; some moulded 12th-century stones from the
former church have been re-used in the rear arches of
these lights.
The south porch is smaller and less elaborate, being
without buttresses and having a plain parapet in place
of battlements. In the centre of the parapet, over
the outer entrance, which has moulded jambs and a
three-centred head inclosed by a label, is a small niche
with a trefoiled head under an ogee canopy with
flanking pinnacles, crockets and finial. The ceiling
has a fan-vault of the same character as that of the
vestry, but the cones spring from shafts in the angles.
The original roofs of the chancel and nave remain.
The wall-plates are moulded and the trusses are of
the king-post type with chamfered tie-beams strutted
from moulded wall-posts by curved braces, and all the
spandrels are traceried. The chancel roof is of two
bays and the wall-posts rest on moulded corbels, those
on the north being of stone, while those on the south
appear to be of wood. There are carved bosses at
the intersections of the main timbers, and under the
tie-beam of the central truss is a boss carved with a
seated figure of our Lord with one hand raised. The
nave roof is of four bays with carved bosses of the same
character as those of the chancel roof, and the wallposts are supported by carved corbels of stone and
wood.
The altar table, an elaborate piece of work, bears
the date 1623 and the name, presumably of the donor,
John Moore (More). The font has a circular bowl
of the late 12th century, with a band of acanthus and
pellet ornament, and stands on a modern base. The
oak chancel screen is of original 15th-century date;
it is divided into three bays by buttressed and pinnacled
uprights standing on a heavy chamfered sill. The
lower portion has cinquefoiled panelling with small
piercings in the panels, while in each bay of the upper
portion are four open lights with cinquefoiled ogee
heads and tracery; the central bay opens in two
leaves, and the screen is crowned by a moulded cornice
originally surmounted by brattishing, of which the
stumps alone remain. Upon the top of the screen, at
either end against the jambs of the chancel arch, is
placed the half-figure of an angel holding a passion
shield; these may have been corbel fronts or bosses
from the roof, but if so they had been removed from
the church, to which they were restored by Lady
Kinloss, into whose possession they had come. The
north doorway of the nave retains its original richly
traceried door, and the plain door in the north doorway of the chancel is probably also original. In the
outer entrance of the north porch is an early 17thcentury double door set in a frame with a balustered
'fanlight' in the head, the balusters of which spring
from a centre composed of a semi-elliptical block
of wood bearing the date 1637 and the initials
PR. IA. IN. WA. with a shield of the arms of Pever.
In the lights of the tracery of the east window of
the chancel is some fragmentary 15th-century glass,
including some pieces of scrolls, one inscribed,
'miserere i . . . dns,' a second '[A]ve maria,' while
a third has a heart with five wounds upon it. In one
of the trefoiled upper lights of the north-east window
is a figure with a halo in white and gold upon a blue
background, perhaps an angel playing a harp, while
in the quatrefoil in the head of the north-west window
is a vernicle, also in white and gold. Fragments of
figures and canopy work also remain in the west
window of the tower. At the back of the sedilia is
a late 15th-century painting of the Last Supper, much
damaged by a coating of whitewash, and possibly
painted over at a later period. Remains of painted
decoration are still visible on the east truss of the nave
roof, and eight incised consecration crosses contained
in circles about 8 in. in diameter and coloured red,
remain in the nave between the north and south windows and on either side of the chancel arch.
In the floor of the nave near the north doorway is
a slab with three brass shields of the 15th century,
charged with the arms, a cheveron with three fleurs de
lis thereon, for Pever, and the indents of two female
figures and an inscription plate. The indents now
contain modern figures designed in the style of the
period, and an inscription commemorating the two
sisters Pever, whose memorial the slab is traditionally
supposed to be. Above the north doorway is a 17thcentury painted inscription with the arms of Pever,
commemorating the founding of the church in the
following terms: 'Sisters and Maids Daughters Of
The Lord Pruet (for Pever) The Pious And Munificent Founders of this Church.' On the south wall of
the chancel over the vestry doorway is a tablet to
Frances daughter of Thomas Attenbury, who died,
aged seven years, in 1685. The inscription states that
Thomas Attenbury was Alderman of Buckingham and
servant to King Charles II and King James. Blocking the recess in the centre of the north wall is an
elaborate monument to Edward Bate (d. 1717) and
his wife Penelope (d. 1713). The monument is
framed by marble columns with gilded bases and
composite capitals supporting a curved pediment
with a shield of arms. In the nave is a floor slab to
John Birtwisle (d. 1697) and his wife Philippa
(d. 1696).
There is a ring of six bells, four by Henry Bagley,
1717, and the tenor by John Briant of Hertford, 1806.
The plate is composed of a modern set and another
of Sheffield plate.
The registers begin in 1558. The first volume
bears at the commencement the title 'The Old
Register of Mayde-Moreton ffaythfully transcribed by
Matt. Bate, Rector.' Matthew Bate succeeded his
father as rector in 1643. An interesting entry under
the year 1642 describes the damage done to the
church by 'ye souldiers att ye command of one called
Colonell Purefoy of Warwickshire,' and goes on to
explain, 'we conveighed away what we could, and
among other things ye Register was hid and for that
cause is not absolutely perfect for divers yeares.'
Advowson
With the 2 hides of land granted
by Robert Doyley and Roger de
Ivry to the college founded by them
in the church of St. George in Oxford was bestowed
the chapel of Moreton, (fn. 98) subsequently transferred with
this property to the abbey of Oseney. (fn. 99) The abbey
must have granted the advowson to the owners of the
5-hide manor held by John Pever in 1279, at which
date the advowson was in his hands. (fn. 100) It continued
to be held by the Pevers after they had parted with
the manor, (fn. 101) following the same descent as Broughton
in their descendants the Broughtons, (fn. 102) and being
sold by Lady Agnes Paulet, Marchioness of Winchester (daughter of William, first Lord Howard of
Effingham, by his first wife Katherine, daughter and
co-heir of Sir John Broughton (fn. 103) ), to Richard Blake of
Buckland (Berks.), on 22 July 1600. (fn. 104) After an
intermediate conveyance it came in 1603 to George
Bate, rector of Moreton and father of the famous
doctor, whose descendants held until 1719, when it
was purchased by Thomas Coxed. (fn. 105) His widow sold
it in 1732 to John Larken, from whom it was
acquired in 1733 by Hartley Sandwell. (fn. 106) He conveyed it in 1750 to William Hutton, (fn. 107) whose relatives, the Hutton Long family, retained it until about
1860, (fn. 108) when it was acquired by the Rev. W. A.
Uthwatt. (fn. 109) His representative, Miss Andrewes, is the
present patron.
Walter Giffard bestowed the tithes of his demesne
lands in Moreton on the priory of St. Faith, Longueville, Normandy, (fn. 110) and they descended with Newton
Longville Manor (q.v.), the prior of that place claiming a minute portion of tithes in Moreton Church in
the 14th century. (fn. 111)
Lands for the maintenance of a lamp in the church
were valued at 2s. 4d. yearly at the suppression of the
chantries, (fn. 112) and were granted in 1553 to Sir Edward
Bray, John Thornton and John Danby. (fn. 113)
Charities
The parochial charities have by a
scheme of the Charity Commissioners
of 20 March 1913 been amalgamated under the title of the United Charities, comprising the charities following, namely:—
1. The charity of John Smart, mentioned on a
board in the church dated 1743; trust fund,
£158 2s. 6d. consols, with the official trustees, the
annual dividends, amounting to £3 19s., to be distributed in bread.
2. Charity of William Scott, for apprenticing,
founded in or about 1800 by will; trust fund,
£164 3s. 9d. consols, with the official trustees, producing £4 2s. yearly.
3. The poor's allotment, containing 26 a. 1 r. 26 p.,
allotted to the poor on the inclosure of the parish in
1801, in lieu of common rights. The net income,
which in 1912 amounted to £36 6s., is distributed
in coal.
The church land consists of 1 a. o r. 30 p., let at
£3 a year, which is applied to church expenses.
This parish is entitled to participate in the charity
of William Elmer for clothing. (See under parish of
Beachampton.)