MARSH GIBBON
Mersa, Merse (xi cent.); Gibbemers (fn. 1) (xiii cent.);
Mershe Gybbewine, Gibwyne, Mershe-juxta-Twyford
(xiv cent.); Marsh Gibbon (xvi-xx cent.).
This parish, on the Oxfordshire border, covers 2,817
acres, nearly the whole of
which is permanent grass. (fn. 2)
The soil and subsoil are clay;
the principal crops produced
are wheat, beans and oats.
The parish, which is watered
by the River Ray, lies low,
varying from 255 ft. above
the ordnance datum in the
north to 204 ft. in the south.
Marsh Gibbon village is
large, its main street extending nearly a mile in length.
Many of the cottages date
from the middle of the 19th
century, when Sir Henry
Acland, bart., master of
Ewelme, together with the
Ewelme trustees, greatly improved the condition of the
village. It had suffered from
a long suit in Chancery, from
the Inclosure Act and nonresident landlords, but under
his care the houses were rebuilt, modern sanitation introduced, and a dispensary
and reading room started. (fn. 3)
The church and rectory occupy a central position;
the latter, erected in 1846, (fn. 4) possibly replaced the
Parsonage House of five bays of stone and timber
which stood here in 1607. (fn. 5)
North of the church is
a mineral spring known as Stompe or Stump Well,
while to the west are traces of entrenchments supposed
to have been thrown up by the Parliamentary army
when they marched through Marsh Gibbon in June
1645. (fn. 6)
The Manor House, belonging to Ewelme almshouses, lies immediately south of the church. It is a
stone building of two stories and an attic, dating
mainly from the Elizabethan period, but somewhat
altered in the early 17th century, when the attic
was added, and partially refaced in the 18th century.
The central block, which faces east, has a wide twostoried bay window with moulded stone mullions and
transoms, and the lateral wings are lighted by oakmullioned windows of the 17th century. The roofs
are tiled and have four gables on the east front with
17th-century barge-boards and apex pendants, while
rising from the roofs are two groups of diagonal
chimney shafts. The hall occupies the ground floor
of the central block and is entered through a porch
with a stone moulded archway and oak inner doorway,
the latter having an original studded door and iron
fittings. On the north side of the hall is an original
wide stone fireplace with a four-centred arch and
moulded jambs, and at the north-east is an early
17th-century staircase with square newels, bell-shaped
finials and turned balusters. The main staircase,
constructed in a wing which projects at the southwest and entered from the hall by a 16th-century
moulded oak doorway, has square newels with acorn
finials, turned balusters and moulded handrails, and
is of original 16th-century date to the first floor, but
the upper flights are later, and have newels like those
of the stairs at the north-east of the hall.
The Manor House, Marsh Gibbon
Westbury Manor dates from the 17th century,
though it has been considerably altered since. It
retains its original staircase, and there are fragmentary remains of a moat near the house.
The village contains several houses of the 16th and
17th centuries, built principally of stone with tiled or
thatched roofs; many of these retain original mullioned windows and brick chimney shafts. A 16thcentury inn in Church Street has an original panelled
main door with strap hinges. In Clark's Yard, at
the bottom of Church Street, is a house dated 1680.
Immediately east of the church is an old stone barn,
probably a tithe barn, which is lighted by narrow
loopholes and has an external stairway.
Townsend is the name given to the west end of
the village. Scott's Farm (recently renamed the
Priory Farm) and Townsend Farm date from the
16th century, though the former has been largely
rebuilt, and Mercia Farm and the Greyhound Inn
are of the 17th century. Little Marsh and Summerstown are detached portions on the east side of the
village, and now much depopulated.
Marsh Gibbon contains a Congregational chapel
built in 1851.
The parish was inclosed by Act of Parliament in
1841, when 5 acres were allotted to a recreation
ground. (fn. 7) Gubbins Hole Farm, in the east of the
parish, still recalls at the present day the Gibbewins,
the early holders of Westbury Manor.
Manors
In this parish under Edward the Confessor Ulf son of Borgerete owned land
which in 1086 had passed to the Count
of Mortain and was assessed at 11 hides. (fn. 8) No further
mention of overlordship occurs in the manor, which
was held in free alms until 1348, (fn. 9) and afterwards
of the king in chief. (fn. 10)
At Domesday the alien monks of Grestein in Normandy were the tenants in MARSH of the Count of
Mortain, whose father had founded their abbey and
who was himself a munificent benefactor to their
house. (fn. 11) Early in the 13th century the Abbot of
Grestein appears to have enfeoffed John de Montague,
whom he summoned in 1213 for arrears of a yearly rent
of £ 18 and 1 mark due from the manor of Marsh
(Bucks.) and Harrington (Northants). Montague
asserted that his lands had long been in the possession of
the king, who had demised them to three knights, Henry
Tregoz, Michael de Poynings and Enjuger de Bohun, (fn. 12)
but late in the year he is found claiming the advowson, (fn. 13)
and in 1218 he received acknowledgement from William
de Dunmear of services due from a hide of land which
he, William, held of John in Marsh. (fn. 14) Seven years
later John de Montague renounced all right to services
due from a hide of land held by the rectors of Marsh. (fn. 15)
John de Montague died in or about the year 1228,
and the abbot claimed that before his death John had
released the manor to the abbey. (fn. 16) Warin Basset and
Katherine his wife, who was the daughter of John de
Montague, in consequence sued the abbey for the
recovery of the manor, here described as 3 carucates of
land. They complained that when John de Montague
was of unsound mind and on his death-bed the abbot
had by undue influence obtained the grant of the
manor. The abbot in reply said that John de
Montague had been perfectly rational when he made
the enfeoffment, his only infirmity having been goitre
(gutturnosus), and that in return for the enfeoffment
he, the abbot, had pardoned him all arrears of service
in the manor to the value of 200 marks. (fn. 17) Warin
Basset and his wife eventually recognized John's
charter to the abbot, who retained the manor. (fn. 18)
Grestein Abbey continued to hold the manor, which
in the 14th century was attached to their cell of
Wilmington (co. Sussex), (fn. 19) until 1348, (fn. 20) when the
abbot and convent acquired royal licence to demise to
the king's merchant Tideman de Lymbergh for 1,000
years Marsh and other manors. (fn. 21) Two years later,
Tideman having obtained further licence, (fn. 22) transferred
Marsh to Michael de la Pole
and Thomas and Edmund his
brothers, whose father William
de la Pole obtained in 1354
a release from the abbot and
convent of all their rights in
the premises, (fn. 23) which release
was renewed five years later
to Thomas de la Pole. (fn. 24) His
death took place in 1361, (fn. 25)
and the following year Katherine, his daughter, a minor
and a ward of the king, died
seised of the manor of Marsh. (fn. 26)
Her heir was then stated to
be her uncle Michael de la Pole, (fn. 27) who in 1380
acquired licence to grant Marsh to his son Richard
de la Pole for life. (fn. 28) In 1384 Michael de la Pole
made a further settlement with remainder to his sons
Thomas, William and Richard de la Pole. (fn. 29) The
following year he was created Earl of Suffolk, (fn. 30) but
was attainted for treason in 1388, and fled to France,
where he died in 1389. (fn. 31) In accordance with the
earlier settlement his son Richard held Marsh till
his death in 1403, (fn. 32) when, his brother William
having died in 1390 without male issue, (fn. 33) the manor
passed to the other brother, Thomas de la Pole,
though the heir male was stated to be the eldest
brother, Michael Earl of Suffolk. (fn. 34) Thomas was
dead by 1411, the year of the death of his widow
Elizabeth, (fn. 35) and his son Thomas died in 1420 seised
of the manor, (fn. 36) of which one-third was assigned to his
widow Anne in dower. This third included two bays
in the west of the 'hall,' with free entry and exit,
one bay and half of a large grange there in the north,
one-third profits of dove-house, three bays of a certain
'cowshepene,' one-third of 'le Rekeyerd' and 'le
Barleycroft,' besides other messuages and crofts. (fn. 37)
Thomas de la Pole, son and heir of Thomas and
Anne, (fn. 38) was only three years old at the time of his
father's death, and died in 1430 still a ward of
the Crown. (fn. 39) Though he had a sister Katherine, at
this date aged fourteen, in pursuance of the settlement of 1384, Marsh now passed to his cousin
William de la Pole, Earl of Suffolk. (fn. 40) In 1437
William de la Pole and Alice were given licence to
establish an almshouse at Ewelme in Oxfordshire, (fn. 41)
and by 1442 the foundation, which included in its
endowments the manor of Marsh, was complete. (fn. 42) A
final confirmation was obtained from the earl and his
wife in 1447. (fn. 43) Ewelme escaped at the Dissolution,
doubtless because the king was the immediate patron
of the almshouses. (fn. 44)
Dela Pole Azure a fesse between three leopards' heads or.
Between 1582 and 1588 leases of the manor were
made to Edward Cary, William Tipper, and others, (fn. 45)
and in 1617 the mastership of Ewelme was granted
by James I to augment the stipend of the Regius
Professor of Medicine in the University of Oxford,
and has since been attached to that professorship. (fn. 46)
Marsh Manor has thus remained in the possession of
the trustees of the Ewelme almshouses, who act as
a corporate body as lords of the manor, which they
have been in the habit of leasing. (fn. 47)
A second manor in Marsh Gibbon parish is known
as WESTBURY MANOR, and represents the 4-hide
manor which William Fitz Ansculf held here in
1086. (fn. 48) As the manor was a parcel of the barony
of Dudley (fn. 49) the overlordship followed the descent of
the manor of Newport Pagnell (fn. 50) (q.v.). In 1626,
when last mention of the overlordship has been found,
Westbury Manor was said to be held of the manor of
North Marston. (fn. 51)
Ailric had held Marsh Manor (fn. 52) in the reign of
Edward the Confessor, and when dispossessed by
William Fitz Ansculf remained as under-tenant in
heaviness and misery (graviter et miserabiliter). (fn. 53) He
was succeeded at some time in the following century
by a family of Gibbewin or Gibevin, of whom the
earliest known member, Ralph Gibbewin, was living
in 1166. (fn. 54)
In 1213 Geoffrey son of Ralph Gibbewin is found
disputing with John de Montague, who claimed the
advowson of Marsh Church. Geoffrey Gibbewin
then claimed that his land in Marsh belonged to the
barony of Dudley, and that the chancel and the
greater part of the church stood within that fee. (fn. 55)
He further said that in the reign of Henry II Gervase
Paynel had brought a suit against Ralph Gibbewin,
his father, and had then released the advowson to
him. During this suit, which lasted eleven years,
Richard father of John de Montague had made no
claim to the advowson. (fn. 56) Geoffrey Gibbewin did
not substantiate his claim to the advowson, but
certainly continued to hold his manor. He was
justiciar under Henry III, (fn. 57) his death taking place
previous to 1236, when Robert Lisle (de Insula) and
Robert son of Brian are stated to be his heirs in a
plea against the Abbot of Oseney concerning lands in
Marsh. (fn. 58) Probably Geoffrey left two daughters as
co-heirs. A year or two later Giles Lisle had succeeded Robert Lisle, and held this fee with Robert
Brian. (fn. 59) Two tenants with these names held 4 hides
(the Domesday assessment) in 1254–5. (fn. 60) Robert
Brian, probably a successor of Robert Brian of 1236,
is mentioned in 1278–9, (fn. 61) while his widow Jolenta
held this manor together with Giles Lisle (who must
also be considered a successor to the earlier Giles) in
1284–6. (fn. 62) Jolenta Brian had been followed by
Robert Brian in 1302–3, who held with Giles
Lisle. (fn. 63) In 1308 Peter Brian transferred 6 virgates
of land, 14 acres of meadow, and 6s. 11d. rent in
'Mershe Gybbewine' to John de Grenstede, parson
of Bledlow, and William his brother, (fn. 64) while Giles
Lisle alienated his share, here given as fifteen messuages, 8 virgates, and 12s. rent, to Richard Damory
and Margaret his wife in 1313. (fn. 65)
In 1316 Richard Damory and William Mersh
(possibly the William of the enfeoffment of 1308 by
Peter Brian) are returned as joint owners. (fn. 66) The
following year Richard Damory obtained a grant of
free warren here. (fn. 67) William de Bledlow, representing the Brian portion of this estate, is found holding
in 1323. (fn. 68) Richard Damory died seised of land here
in 1330, (fn. 69) which was still held by his widow Margaret
in 1346, (fn. 70) at which date William de Westbury held
the other portion of this manor. (fn. 71) Nothing more
has been found concerning the Damorys in this parish,
and the name of Westbury, later attached to this
manor, shows that it was the Brian share which
persisted. Its history during the following century
it has not been found possible to trace, but it appears
to have formed part of the original endowment of
the Mystery or Company of Cooks which was incorporated by charter of Edward IV in 1482. (fn. 72) It
was retained by the company until 1529, in which
year they sold it to Robert Dormer. (fn. 73) He shortly
after enfeoffed William Howel, who by his will, made
31 November 1557 and proved 20 October 1558,
left Westbury Manor to John Howel, his eldest son,
with remainder to Henry Howel, a younger son. (fn. 74)
John Howel died in 1575, whereupon the masters
of the Cooks Company trumped up an 'odious suit,'
to the effect that the original sale to Robert Dormer
had been void because the corporation was misnamed
in the indenture. They accordingly put in a tenant
of their own, Edmund Croft, against whom Henry
Howel brought an action for ejectment. (fn. 75) Henry
Howel won his case, and is found making a settlement
of Westbury Manor in 1587. (fn. 76) He survived until
1625, when his son Edward, aged forty years and
more, is given as heir, though the widow Margaret
was to hold Westbury for her life. (fn. 77) She died before
1638, when Edward Howel alienated the property
to Richard Francis. (fn. 78) He died in 1659, (fn. 79) his widow
Elizabeth surviving him two years. She left legacies
to the children of her son William Francis by his first
wife Martha, Richard, another son, receiving Westbury Manor. (fn. 80) By his will, dated 18 December
1665, Richard left the manor to his nephew Thomas,
son of William Francis. (fn. 81) Thomas Francis held the
manor in 1670 (fn. 82) and died in 1698. His widow
Anna Maria Francis conveyed Westbury in 1701
to John Townsend and his heirs. (fn. 83) John Townsend settled the property in 1709 (fn. 84) and died in
1714, (fn. 85) and his descendant Mary Townsend, later
wife of William Guy, (fn. 86) carried on a lawsuit some
years after with the trustees of the Ewelme almshouses, who owned the other manor in this parish.
As lady of Westbury Manor she claimed the whole
waste and cottages within the larger manor. (fn. 87) The
litigation extended over the years 1743–7, but her
name and that of her husband William Guy are
found as late as 1765 in documents recording settlements of the manor. (fn. 88) At this latter date their son
Townsend Guy (fn. 89) is referred to, but the manor was
sold in 1777 to John Dixon. (fn. 90) It was subsequently
in the possession of George Hitchcock, from whom
it passed to Richard Ivens. He claimed to be lord
of the reputed manor of Westbury in 1841, (fn. 91) and
was still in possession in 1862. (fn. 92) In 1883 it was
purchased by Mr. Thomas H. Phipps, in whose family
it remains.
Church
The church of ST. MARY THE
VIRGIN consists of a chancel measuring
internally 28 ft. 6 in. by 18 ft., south
vestry, nave 50 ft. by 18 ft., north and south transepts each 16 ft. square, north aisle 10 ft. wide, south
aisle 6 ft. wide, south porch, and west tower 12 ft.
square. It is built of stone rubble.
An aisleless cruciform church, probably without any
tower, was built here in the middle of the 13th
century. A south aisle was added at the end of that
century, and a western tower some twenty years
later, while the south porch was built in the 15th
century. In the early part of the succeeding
century a clearstory was added to the nave, which at
the same time was reroofed, and many of the details
of the church were renewed. In 1860 the chancel
was repaired, and in 1880 the north aisle was added,
the tower rebuilt, and the church generally restored.
The chancel has three lancets in each lateral wall,
only some internal jamb stones of which are original,
and there are three modern lancets in the east wall.
A tomb recess on the north contains a late 13thcentury coffin-lid, on which is carved an elaborate
foliated cross. The pointed chancel arch of two orders
is modern.
The eastern part of the nave opens to the transepts
by 13th-century pointed arches, which have semioctagonal responds with foliated capitals of refined
design; the eastern capital on the north is further
enriched with carved human heads, but both this and
the corresponding capital on the south have been
partially cut into for the fixing of a later rood-loft,
the upper doorway of which remains on the south
side, with a small blocked window above it. West of
the transept arches are arcades opening to the aisles;
that on the south, of two pointed arches supported by
an octagonal pillar and responds with moulded capitals
and bases, dates from about 1300, and the north
arcade is a modern copy of it. The tower arch is
modern, but some 14th-century stones have been
rebuilt in the responds. The clearstory has two 16thcentury windows on the south, each of two plain
lights under a square head, and two modern windows
on the north. The open timber roof over the nave
dates from about 1510, though it has been considerably repaired; its moulded trusses are supported on
stone corbels, two of which are plain: one has a
carved grotesque figure and the others figures of angels
holding shields or scrolls.
The north transept is lighted from the north by
two original lancets, which have moulded labels with
internal foliated stops, and from the east by a window
of three cinquefoiled lights inserted in the 15th century. On the east wall are three plain brackets and
two pointed piscinae, the latter evidently marking the
positions of two mediaeval altars which stood against
the east wall, each having a piscina on the south side.
The south transept communicates with the south
aisle by a pointed arch, which is probably contemporary with the aisle, and in the south wall is a fivelight traceried window of about 1500; a round-headed
piscina with a quatrefoil bowl and a double locker in
the south wall are probably of this latter period.
Both transepts are supported at their external angles
by 15th-century diagonal buttresses, and have open
timber roofs of the same period and character as that
over the nave.
There are two windows in the south aisle, the
eastern, of three plain lights under a square head,
dating from the 16th century, and the other, of two
trefoiled ogee lights with tracery under a square head,
dating from about 1350. The south doorway, which
has a four-centred head, is of the 15th century, but
has been considerably restored. The south porch is
lighted by a small window in each lateral wall, both
of which are very much restored, and is entered
through an original four-centred arch with restored
responds. Rebuilt in the walls of the modern north
aisle are a 13th-century lancet, similar to those in the
north transept, and two 16th-century windows, each
of three plain lights under a square head.
The tower is of two stages, with an embattled
parapet and corner pinnacles, and western diagonal
buttresses; the old material has been re-used in its
rebuilding, but the details have been much restored.
The ground stage has a west doorway with a pointed
arch in a square head, and a three-light window
above, both dating from the 15th century, though
restored; the bell-chamber is lighted from the north
by a pointed window of two trefoiled lights of about
1400, and from the other sides by square-headed
two-light windows dating from the 15th century.
On the east wall of the south transept is a monument to the Rev. John Dod, B.D., rector of the
parish (d. 1698). There is a 17th-century carved
oak chair in the chancel, and a communion table in
the vestry is probably of the same period, while
incorporated in the seating of the nave are several
early 17th-century oak pews. The base and lower
part of the octagonal shaft of a 15th-century churchyard cross stand near the south porch.
The tower contains a ring of five bells and a small bell: the treble is by W. Taylor of Oxford, 1848;
the second, third and fourth are all by Richard Chandler, 1678, and the tenor is by J. Warner &
Sons of London, 1854. The small bell, inscribed 'H. K.,' is doubtless by Henry Knight,
cast probably in the early 17th century.
The communion plate includes a cup and cover
paten with the London hall-marks for 1674, and
both inscribed 'Marsh-Gibbons Bucks. 1675'; a large
paten of 1720, given by Robert Clavering, S.T.P.;
and a plated flagon.
The registers begin in 1577.
Advowson
The early history of the church of
Marsh Gibbon is closely connected
with the two manors, the lords of
both of which claimed the advowson. It was eventually
acknowledged to belong to the Abbot of Grestein, and
is later found attached to his cell at Wilmington, the
advowson being repeatedly in the king's hands on
account of war with France. (fn. 93) On the grant of the
manor to Ewelme in 1442 the advowson of the church
was specially exempted, (fn. 94) and continued to remain
with the de la Pole family until the attainder of
Edmund de la Pole in January 1503–4. Charles
Brandon Duke of Suffolk presented Andrew Leason
in 1533, (fn. 95) but the advowson was then resumed by
the Crown, with whom the patronage remained (fn. 96)
until 1853, when it was transferred to the Bishop of
Oxford, (fn. 97) by whom it is now exercised.
In 1291 the church of Marsh Gibbon was assessed
at £16, (fn. 98) and at the Dissolution the rectory was
worth £22. (fn. 99)
At various times the right of presentation was
granted for one turn. Thus in 1546 Lord Russell
obtained a turn (fn. 100) ; Richard Hampden in 1689 (fn. 101) and
the Earl of Nottingham in 1691 (fn. 102) received similar
grants.
In 1660 Matthew Bate, brother of the king's
physician, and Josiah Howe, who claimed that he and
his brothers 'were all eminent sufferers in His Majesty's
service,' both petitioned for the living on the death of
Dr. Evans, (fn. 103) but were put on one side in favour of
Dr. Say. (fn. 104)
Among the rectors of Marsh Gibbon may be noted
Robert Clavering (1671–1747), later Bishop of Peterborough, who was made rector in 1719, and James
Douglas Lord Douglas, who was appointed exactly
100 years later. (fn. 105)
Charities
Unknown Donor's Charity.—This
charity consists of 5 a. at Piddington,
Oxfordshire, held on a lease for
2,000 years, created in 1628, the rents whereof
are applicable for the benefit of aged and infirm
poor or in apprenticing. The land is let at £10 a
year, which is applied in the maintenance of a poor
apprentice.
The poor's allotment, or Tender Land, containing
10 a., was acquired in 1841 under the Inclosure Act.
The rent is annually distributed in coal.
Under the same Act 5 a. were set apart as a
recreation ground, which is under the control of the
Parish Council.
The Church of England school is endowed with a
rent-charge of £12 14s. by Sophia Shepherd, by deed
dated 16 August 1847. The same donor, by deed
dated 6 September 1847, gave a sum of £742 14s. 1d.
consols, the annual dividends, amounting to £18 11s. 4d.,
to be applied for the support of the same school. The
stock is held by the official trustees.