WALTON
Wauton (xiii cent.).
Walton is a small parish of 772 acres, of which
202 acres are arable land, 5 acres woods and plantations and the rest permanent grass. (fn. 1) The land lies
low, and in the neighbourhood of the Ouzel, which
forms the western boundary, is liable to flood. The
highest point attained above the ordnance datum is
294 ft. in the east. The soil is light clay, the subsoil gravel and clay. The principal crops produced
are wheat, beans, barley and oats.
Cole, writing c. 1760, speaks of Walton as 'a most
dirty, detestable village,' but notes that the pastures
were remarkable for the goodness of their produce. (fn. 2)
The village is situated off the main road from
Newport Pagnell to Fenny Stratford. It contains a few
cottages and two farm-houses, one of which, the Manor
House, formerly inhabited by the Gilpins, is an ancient
building dating from the 16th century, with additions
made about 1701 by Sir Thomas Pinfold. (fn. 3) It was
thoroughly restored in 1855, (fn. 4) and is built partly of
stone, half-timber and brick, and has tiled roofs.
Many of the windows have wooden mullions, and
inside is an original open fireplace. The old manorhouse of the Beales, pulled down by Sir Thomas
Pinfold when he moved to the Gilpins' house on the
Green, (fn. 5) stood north-west of the church, (fn. 6) which is some
distance north-west of the village within the park of
Walton Hall. Near the church is the rectory, which
is described in 1639 as 'a Dwelling house of 3 bays,
a Barn of 4 bays, a Stable of 1 bay.' (fn. 7) The present
building is principally modern, but incorporates part
of a 17th-century house now rough-casted. Walton
Hall, the seat of Mr. Vaughan Harley, M.D., lord of
the manor, is a spacious brick and stucco mansion built
in 1830 by Charles Pinfold. (fn. 8) It stands in 60 acres
of well-wooded park.
Walton is famous for the growth of walnuts, of
which many hundreds of trees flourish in the parish. (fn. 9)
These trees give their name to the farm with a halftimber house built towards the close of the 16th
century and added to in later times. It is of timber
framing with brick filling coated with plaster and has
tiled roofs.
The following place-names have been found in
documents connected with this parish: Hickson's
Croft in the 16th and 17th centuries, (fn. 10) Abels,
Margarets pasture, Peatelys (a farm), Portway, (fn. 11)
Gabriel Thorn and Windmills Closes in the 17th
century. (fn. 12)
Manors
There is no mention of WALTON
in Domesday, and it has been assumed
that it was included in the land which
Walter Giffard held in the neighbouring parish of
Bow Brickhill. (fn. 13) On its first appearance by name at
the beginning of the 13th century it certainly appears
as attached to the Giffard honour of Crendon (fn. 14) (q.v.).
The overlordship was attached to the manor of
Moulsoe, whose lords, the Coudrays, appear as intermediaries in the 13th and 14th centuries. (fn. 15) The
overlordship passed to that branch of the honour
vested in the Earls of Shrewsbury; the latest mention
of it occurs in 1458. (fn. 16)
The first reference to Walton has been found in
1201, when the manor was already divided into
moieties. In that year Hugh Richepaut, or Rixbaud
as it more usually appears, and Juliana his wife paid
1 mark for a writ of summons against Roger de
Bray and Margaret his wife for lands in Walton and
elsewhere, (fn. 17) but whether Juliana and Margaret were
co-heirs has not been established. By 1231 Hugh
Rixbaud was succeeded by William Rixbaud, who then
made a presentation to the church. (fn. 18) William was
followed by another Hugh Rixbaud, whose daughter
Margery was in the guardianship of Richard de
Hemington in 1262. (fn. 19) Before 1284 Margery married
Nicholas de Hemington, (fn. 20) possibly a son of the above
Richard, but obtained a divorce from him some time
before 1291, in which year, described as his divorced
wife, she combined with him in making a presentation
to the church. (fn. 21) Roger de Brailsford, who is assumed
by Willis to be her second husband, presented with
Margery Rixbaud in 1292. (fn. 22) He held by knight
service in Walton in 1302–3, (fn. 23) and his name again
occurs with that of Margery in 1311, when they
together made a settlement of the advowson and
lands on Ralph de Hatle. (fn. 24) John Brailsford had
succeeded before 1324, (fn. 25) but some time during the
next twenty years the property had passed from this
family, being held in 1346 by Nicholas Hunt. (fn. 26) In
1348 the presentation was made in the names of
Nicholas Hunt of Fenny Stratford, Agnes his wife and
William his son, (fn. 27) the last-named of whom made the
presentation in 1361, (fn. 28) but Walton passed eventually to
John, another son of Nicholas Hunt, (fn. 29) whose daughter
Joan married John Longville, (fn. 30) and together with her
husband obtained a quitclaim of this estate in 1399
from Robert Craven and Isabel his wife on behalf of
Isabel and her heirs. (fn. 31) The half manor, as it is usually
termed, thus acquired by the Longvilles was retained
by them and follows the same descent as their principal manor of Wolverton (fn. 32) (q.v.) until the year
1622, about which date a transfer appears to have
taken place to John Beale and Bartholomew Beale. (fn. 33)
Bartholomew Beale died and was buried at Walton
in 1660, (fn. 34) and his son, also Bartholomew, (fn. 35) combined
with another son Charles Beale, (fn. 36) Richard Gilpin and
others to make a settlement of the manor on George
and Thomas Gilpin in 1668. (fn. 37) Bartholomew Beale
died in 1674, (fn. 38) and his son and successor of the same
name (fn. 39) made settlements of Walton Manor in 1676,
1677 and in 1690. (fn. 40) In the last settlement the
names of Richard and Thomas Gilpin are again mentioned, appearing as deforciants with Bartholomew
Beale, (fn. 41) and, according to Willis, Richard Gilpin
definitely acquired Walton Manor at this date. (fn. 42) He
did not long retain it, alienating it in March 1700–1
to Sir Thomas Pinfold, kt., (fn. 43) to whom he had already
sold the advowson and some land in 1698. (fn. 44) Sir
Thomas Pinfold, kt., was chancellor of the diocese of
Peterborough, and died and was buried here in 1701. (fn. 45)
He was succeeded by his elder son and heir Dr.
Charles Pinfold, LL.D., Provost of Eton, who died in
1754. (fn. 46) His son, also Charles Pinfold, was for ten
years Governor of the Barbadoes (1756–66). (fn. 47) On
his death, unmarried, in 1788, at the advanced age
of eighty-one, (fn. 48) Walton Manor passed to his nephew
Captain Charles Pinfold, son of Joseph Pinfold. (fn. 49) He
died in 1857, when Walton became the property of his
granddaughter Fanny Maria
Pinfold. (fn. 50) She was described
in 1871 as lady of the
manor, (fn. 51) and so remained till
the close of the last century.
The manor next became the
property of Miss Seagrave, a
connexion of Miss Pinfold on
her mother's side. (fn. 52) She held
Walton in 1903, but between
that date and 1907 alienated
it to Vaughan Harley, M.D.,
the present lord of the manor.
Pinfold of Walton. Azure a cheveron or voided azure and charged with three roundels azure between three doves proper.
With reference to the
second half of Walton Manor,
the earliest tenants of whom
mention has been found are
the family of Bray, whose holding dates from the 12th
century. (fn. 53) In 1201 Hugh Rixbaud, lord of the other
half of the manor, obtained a writ of summons against
Roger de Bray and Margaret his wife for lands in
Walton and elsewhere. (fn. 54) In 1225 their turn of the
advowson was exercised by Godfrey de Limhoud,
who then presented Roger de Bray (evidently a member of the family) to a moiety of the parsonage. (fn. 55) In
1249 the patronage was vested in Stephen de Bray. (fn. 56)
In the 13th century Robert del Hoo is stated to have
'wardam' in Walton. (fn. 57) Peter de Coudray as guardian of Hugh de Brabeu (? Bray) presented in 1278, (fn. 58)
after which date no further reference has been found
to the Brays, though at Silsoe, Bedfordshire, where they
were also settled, they continued to hold for some
time. (fn. 59) The fact that the next owners of the Walton
property, the Grey family, appear about the same
time in Silsoe suggests that a Grey may have intermarried with the Brays. Sir John Grey certainly
held this moiety of Walton in 1302–3, (fn. 60) and presented
to the church in 1307. (fn. 61) The Greys had Water
Eaton and Bletchley Manors in this county (q.v.),
Walton, like Simpson Manor (q.v.), passing with
Bletchley to the younger branch, the Greys of
Ruthyn. (fn. 62) The descent of Walton Manor diverges
from that of Bletchley in 1524, when, like Brogborough
in Ridgmont, Bedfordshire, it became Crown property. (fn. 63) It was annexed to the honour of Ampthill
formed in 1542, (fn. 64) and was granted by Elizabeth in
1602 to Robert Morgan and Thomas Bradford, being
then termed a messuage and lands in Walton part of
Brogborough Manor. (fn. 65) It would appear to have passed
shortly after this date to Richard Gilpin, lord of Redcote Manor, who at his death in 1616 held Kent
House and Kent Farm, (fn. 66) with which may be identified
the property anciently held here by the Greys. (fn. 67)
In 1690, like Redcote Manor, it became once more
united to the other moiety of Walton by the alienation of the latter to Richard Gilpin, a member of this
family.
A titular manor in this parish known as WALTON
MANOR alias REDCOTE MANOR probably takes
its name from a family of Redcote who owned land in
this parish in the 13th century. John de Redcote,
the first member of whom mention has been found,
in 1285 conveyed a messuage, land and rents here to
William Cheltenham. (fn. 68) In 1307 William son of
Robert de Battlesden acknowledged John's claim to
a messuage and a virgate in Walton. (fn. 69) Finally
William de Redcote's name appears in the middle of
the 14th century as one of the assessors in a levy of
the ninth in Walton. (fn. 70)
The Redcote property reappears in 1542, when
Edward Taylor transferred land in Walton, with
which, as will be seen below, it may be regarded as
identical, to Robert Chernock of Holcot (co. Bedford). (fn. 71)
He died seised in February 1548–9 of a messuage
and land in Walton described as formerly belonging
to John Redcote. (fn. 72) . It then passed to his son
Richard Chernock, (fn. 73) who in 1589 together with
Mary his wife and others transferred the manor of
Redcote in this parish to Thomas Anglesey. (fn. 74) The
latter in 1600 sold this estate to Richard Saunders, (fn. 75)
by whom it was dispersed by sale, the greater part
going to Thomas Gilpin. (fn. 76) No further mention has
been found of Redcote Manor, but it may be
identified with the White House of which Richard
Gilpin died seised in 1616, (fn. 77) and henceforward
follows the same descent as the Grey moiety of
Walton Manor.
Church
The church of ST. MICHAEL consists of a chancel measuring internally
22 ft. 6 in. by 13 ft., north vestry,
nave 39 ft. 6 in. by 20 ft., west tower 10 ft. 6 in.
square, and south porch. It is built of rubble, partially coated with cement, and the roofs are covered
with lead and tiles.
A church existed here in 1225, (fn. 78) but the structure
of that period was entirely rebuilt about the middle of the
14th century, the date of the present chancel and nave.
The tower was added in the 15th century, and it is
probable that the porch, with its pointed doorway and
unglazed windows, though it has been considerably
restored with cement, is of the same period. The
vestry, now used as a store room, was probably added
at the time of the general restoration of the church in
1861.
The chancel, which inclines towards the south,
has one window on the east, one on the north, and
three on the south side. All of them are of the
mid-14th century except that at the west end of the
south wall, a square-headed low-side window of two
cinquefoiled lights, which was inserted a century
later. The east and south-east windows are each of
three lights with tracery in a pointed head, and the
other windows are of similar character but of two
lights with more simple tracery. A pointed priest's
doorway below the middle window on the south is
also of the 14th century, and a cinquefoiled piscina
at the south-east, though considerably restored,
probably dates from the same period. The pointed
chancel arch is of three orders, and has semi-octagonal
respond shafts with moulded capitals and bases.
The nave has two windows on the north and
two on the south, all of two lights with tracery
under pointed heads, and of mid-14th-century date.
There is also an original pointed doorway at the west
end of each lateral wall. Near the south doorway is a restored stoup with a round bowl. A
trefoiled piscina at the south-east marks the position
of the nave altar, which probably stood against the
east wall. This corner of the nave is further distinguished by the more elaborate character of the
window tracery. A turret-stair with a narrow blocked
light, which projects at the north-east of the nave,
formerly gave access to the rood-loft. The 15thcentury tower arch is of three chamfered orders
dying into plain responds. The nave has a lowpitched timber roof of about 1600, the king-post
trusses of which have moulded and carved timbers
and rest upon moulded stone corbels. Traces of a
black-letter inscription and colour-painting remain on
one of the tie-beams. The high-pitched collar-beam
roof of the chancel probably dates from the early
16th century.
The tower is of two stages divided by a stringcourse and surmounted by an embattled parapet. It
is constructed with very thick walls and supported by
diagonal buttresses at the west and straight buttresses
at the east. In the west wall of the ground stage is
a three-light window with modern tracery, and on
each side of the bell-chamber is a two-light window,
the tracery of which is original, though considerably
restored with cement. Below the north and south
windows of the bell-chamber are small square-headed
cinquefoiled lights.
The font is modern. On the north wall of
the chancel is a marble monument in memory of
Bartholomew Beale, who died in 1660, and Katherine
his wife (d. 1657), with their two busts flanked by
Corinthian columns and surmounted by a broken
pediment and achievement of arms. There is also
on the north wall a brass inscription in verse in
memory of Elizabeth daughter of William Pyxe
(d. 1617). In the nave is a mural monument with
a medallion portrait and arms commemorating Sir
Thomas Pinfold, kt., LL.D., king's advocate and
Chancellor of Peterborough, who died in 1701,
Elizabeth (Suckley) his wife and Elizabeth his mother.
There is also a tablet to Charles Pinfold, LL.D.,
Governor of Barbadoes 1756–66, who died in 1788,
and Ann his sister (d. 1805). In the tower is a
panelled chest of the early 17th century.
The tower contains two bells, the treble by
Anthony Chandler, 1679, and the tenor by Richard
and George Chandler, 1709. (fn. 79) They are set in an
old frame dated 1639.
The plate consists of a silver cup of 1814 inscribed
'For the town of Walton'; a silver paten of the same
date; a plated flagon with the same inscription; and a
plated flagon without date or inscription.
The registers begin in 1598.
Advowson
In the early 13th century the
church was attached to the manor
of Walton and, like it, was divided
into moieties, the lord of each moiety of the manor
having the right to present a rector to his moiety of
the church. (fn. 80) This system of two rectors persisted
until 1458, when, at the request of the two patrons,
the unification of the moieties took place. (fn. 81) Probably
by mutual arrangements made at that date the lords
of the manor have since made alternate presentations.
That moiety of the advowson which went with the
Rixbauds' share of the manor (see above) follows the
same descent as that property until its transfer to Sir
Thomas Pinfold, kt., in 1698, when he purchased the
advowson in trust for John Harrison, who owned it
c. 1735. (fn. 82) The right of presentation belonged to
William Ellis, rector 1790–1821, at the close of the
century. (fn. 83) In 1851 it belonged to the Rev. G. W.
Pearse, who was instituted rector at that date and so
remained for nearly fifty years. His trustees have
the right of alternate presentation at the present day. (fn. 84)
The moiety of the advowson which with the Greys'
share of the manor escheated to the Crown has so
remained vested, an alternate presentation being made
at the present day by the Lord Chancellor. (fn. 85)
In 1291 the church of Walton is returned at
£5 6s. 8d., (fn. 86) and at the Dissolution the rectory was
worth £9. (fn. 87) In 1495 lands in Walton were granted
to the gild at Fenny Stratford (fn. 88) (q.v.). In 1598
these lands were granted by the Crown to Henry
Best and Robert Holland. (fn. 89) In 1589 a messuage
and land in Walton and Simpson given in pre-Reformation times to provide obits were granted to Walter
Coppinger and Thomas Butler. (fn. 90)
Charities
Unknown donor's charity.—In
the Parliamentary Returns of 1786
some land is stated to have been
given by an unknown donor for the use of the
parishioners. The charity is now represented by a
sum of £532 2s. 2d. consols, with the official trustees,
and is regulated by a scheme of the High Court of
Chancery of 26 February 1862. By an order of the
Charity Commissioners of 20 January 1905 one
moiety of the stock, namely, £266 1s. 1d., was appropriated as the educational foundation, the annual
dividends, amounting to £6 13s., being applicable
towards the salary of master or mistress of the infants'
or Sunday school, and the other moiety as the eleemosynary charity, the dividends being applicable in
the distribution of coals and clothing.
The Church Land consists of 2 a. 1 r. in the adjoining parish of Milton let at £4 10s. a year, which
is carried to the churchwardens' accounts.