SHILLINGTON WITH LOWER STONDON and LITTLE HOLWELL
Sethlindone (xi cent.), Suthlingdon (xiii cent.),
Shutlyngdene, Shetelyngton (xiv cent.), Shytlington
(xvii, xviii cent.).
The parish of Shillington is situated in the hundreds of Clifton and Flitt. Its area is 5,003½ acres,
of which 3,126¾ acres are arable land, 834½ permanent grass, and 74¾ woods and plantations. (fn. 1) The soil
is strong clay, the subsoil, clay. The crops are cereals
of the usual kind. The slope of the ground is from
south to north, the greatest height being 581 ft., the
lowest 156 ft. above the ordnance datum. There are
old chalk-pits in the south of the parish. The village
of Shillington is grouped round the conspicuous mound
on which the parish church stands. On the west there
is a fall of some 70 ft. to the outlying part of the
village known as Hill Foot End. On the east, where
the main part of the village stands, the height of the
mound is not so great, but from all points of the
surrounding county, the fine church with its dark
sandstone walls, rising among the white stones and
monuments of the straggling churchyard, with the
village pleasantly grouped below, forms an effective
and delightful picture.
Close to the church are the schools and some
picturesque old houses of timber and brick. The
vicarage lies below the church a short distance to the
south. There is a mill in the north of the parish.
No main road or railway passes through Shillington,
the nearest station being Henlow on the Great Northern
Railway main line. Several small streams rising in
the hills on the Hertfordshire border run north-east
through the parish, flowing through Campton and
Shefford to join the Ivel.
Shillington Church from South-east
The five chief hamlets of the parish are Lower
Stondon in the north-east, Pegsdon on high ground
three miles south from the village on the hills which
form the Hertfordshire border, Aspley—with Aspley
Bury manor—one mile to the south, Little Holwell,
three miles east, and Woodmer End and Bury End close
to the village on the north. Miscellaneous Roman remains have been found at Shillington. (fn. 2) The parish
was inclosed by Act of Parliament in 1802. (fn. 3)
Among place-names may be mentioned the following: Brade Fen and Maundeacres, occurring in
the thirteenth century; (fn. 4) Essyngwell, found from the
fifteenth to the seventeenth century; Bury Lotts,
Plashe Brade, Church Pannell, (fn. 5) Chesill, Abbots Hedge,
Colvers Croft, Milfield, the Pounds, and Aldwick
Marsh, which are all found from the fourteenth to
the eighteenth century. (fn. 6)
Manors
The origin of the manor of SHILLINGTON is to be sought in the land
which formerly belonged to Ailwin, an
alderman of Edgar, and which was purchased between
1016 and 1034 by Æthelric bishop of Dorchester. (fn. 7)
This land, then estimated at 3 carucates, the
bishop subsequently bestowed upon the abbot of
Ramsey, the gift being confirmed by Edward the
Confessor and William I. (fn. 8)
At the time of the Domesday Survey the manor,
held by the abbot of Ramsey, was assessed at 10
hides, and worth £12. (fn. 9) The abbot continued to
hold this manor as of his barony of Broughton, and
received various grants in Shillington during the
thirteenth century. Thus Ralph de Tyville, who in
1230 had recovered half a carucate of land there
from Hugh Grandim, (fn. 10) in 1265 granted it to the
abbey, (fn. 11) and about the same
time Peter de Buel made a
similar grant in Shillington, (fn. 12)
and the Testa de Nevill states
that in the thirteenth century
the abbot held altogether 27
hides in Shillington, Pegsdon,
Barton, and Little Holwell,
which were assessed at four
knights' fees. (fn. 13) In 1251 he
received a charter of free warren, (fn. 14) and in 1311 claimed view
of frankpledge in his manor. (fn. 15)
The abbot was in the habit of
leasing out the manor, of which
the rent (together with Pegsdon) was estimated in 1336
at £113 6s. 8d., (fn. 16) and in 1450 at £86 3s. 11d. (fn. 17) The
difference between these rents may be due to the fact
that between the two dates mentioned certain lands
acquired by the abbey in mortmain without licence
had been forfeited to the crown and regranted to
Thomas Fauconer. (fn. 18)
Ramsey Abbey. Or a bend azure and thereon three rams' beads argent cut off at the neck and having horns of gold.
Shillington manor remained in the possession of
the abbey till its dissolution, at which time its value
was assessed at £88 2s. 10d. (fn. 19)
In 1540 Henry Bord was made bailiff, (fn. 20) and
Shillington then became part of the honour of Ampthill. It was conferred on the Princess Elizabeth in
1551, (fn. 21) and later formed part of the dower of Anne
wife of James I. (fn. 22)
During the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries the
site of the mansion-house of the manor was leased out
by the crown, which reserved to itself the right of holding court leet and view of frankpledge in the manor. (fn. 23)
In 1594 George Rotherham held it on a twentyone years lease, (fn. 24) and in 1625 the king leased the
manor for ninty-nine years to Sir Henry Hobart and
others, as trustees, (fn. 25) who transferred it three years
later to Anthony Chester, (fn. 26) whose son Henry was
holding in 1662. (fn. 27)
In 1711 (three years before the expiration of this
lease), Roger Gillingham sold to John Borrett for
£1,340 the annual rent of £78 6s. 2¾d. from the
manor of Shillington, which rent had been purchased
in 1678 of Dr. Peter Barwick. (fn. 28)
Nothing further has been found concerning this
manor until in 1764 John Briscoe left by his will
Shillington Bury to Henry earl of Essex for life
with remainder to Margaret Arnold and Frances
Skegness, daughters of Grey Longueville. (fn. 29) Upon the
death of the earl in 1800, the property came in
moieties to Grey Arnold, the great-grandson of
Margaret, and to Bridget Frances Anne, granddaughter
of Frances Skegness. (fn. 30) About the middle of the nineteenth century, Shillington Bury, till then the property
of Miss Profit, was purchased by Mr. Hanscombe,
whose son Mr. Wm. Hanscombe owns it at the present day. (fn. 30a)
The first mention that has been found of a second
manor in Shillington, afterwards called SHILLINGTON or ASPLEY BURY, held of the abbot of
Ramsey, is in 1476, when Thomas Lawley transferred
this so-called manor to Thomas Rotherham archbishop of York, (fn. 31) who left it at his death in 1500 to
Thomas Rotherham, son of his brother John. (fn. 32)
Thomas Rotherham was succeeded by his son
Thomas, who conveyed the manor to a son, a third
Thomas and his wife Alice, for their lives. (fn. 33) George,
their son, held the manor from
1561 to 1599, (fn. 34) and his son
John, having succeeded him,
appears to have alienated this
manor, as in the case of Luton
(q.v.) to Sir Robert Napier, (fn. 35)
for in 1651 he was holding a
court at Shillington, (fn. 36) and like
Luton it remained in this
family to the death of Sir John
Napier in 1714. (fn. 37) In 1748
the manorial court was held
by Sir Conyers D'Arcy, and in
1759 by the earl of Holderness, (fn. 38) who in 1760 sold
the property to Joseph Musgrave, (fn. 39) and henceforward
it follows the same descent as Aspley Bury manor (q.v.)
in the same parish.
Rotherham. Vert three harts tripping or.
No mention of the so-called manor of ASPLEY
or ASPLEY BURY has been found before 1503, in
which year Ralph Lane conveyed one-third of this
manor to Thomas Montague and Mary his wife for
life, with reversion to himself. (fn. 40) He died in possession
of this manor in 1541, (fn. 41) and was succeeded by his
son Robert, who was holding in 1556, in which
year he transferred a messuage and land forming part of
the manor to Laurence Eton. (fn. 42) Between this date and
1612, though no record has been found of the transfer,
Aspley Bury passed into the possession of Richard
Franklin, (fn. 43) whose son John, knighted during his
father's lifetime, succeeded him in 1612. (fn. 44) His
sister Elizabeth married Sir Christopher Musgrave,
and received Aspley Bury as her marriage portion. (fn. 45)
The manor was held in 1757 by their son Joseph, (fn. 46)
whose nephew George held the property till his
death in 1861. (fn. 47) His son, George Musgrave, was
succeeded by a son Edgar, whose son Horace Edgar
Musgrave at present owns the property. (fn. 48)
Franklin. Argent a bend azure with three dolphins argent thereon.
Musgrave. Azure six rings or.
A manor of LITTLE HOLWELL, sometimes called
NETHER HOLWELL, existed in this parish in the
thirteenth century, the earliest holders of which assumed
the place-name as surname. It appears to have been
held in chief, though no mention of the overlordship
has been found, but on the forfeiture of Robert Belknappe in 1388, it fell into the king's hands. (fn. 49) In
1200 Stephen de Holwell held property in Little
Holwell, for in that year he alienated a virgate here to
Ralph de Standon, (fn. 50) and in 1203 Simon de Holwell
alienated a virgate to Robert son of Ascelin. (fn. 51) Another Stephen de Holwell granted the manor to
William of Holwell for life in 1257, (fn. 52) whilst John de
Holwell held Holwell in 1272 by a fortieth part of a
knight's fee. (fn. 53) In 1314 Walter de Holwell held the
manor, (fn. 54) which was alienated by his son Nicholas in
1342 to John Avenel. (fn. 55) He transferred it in 1364 to
John of Buckingham bishop of Lincoln, (fn. 56) who in
1383 granted it for fifteen years to Robert Belknappe. (fn. 57)
Robert Avenel son of John, who married Juliana
daughter of Robert Belknappe, disputed the claim of
the bishop to the manor, (fn. 58) and it was finally arranged
that Robert and Juliana should have the manor, which,
failing their heirs, should revert to Robert Belknappe.
They subsequently died without heirs, and the manor
fell to Robert Belknappe, (fn. 59) and he having been found
guilty of treason in 1388, Little Holwell escheated to
the crown. (fn. 60)
Reginald Braybroke received a grant of the manor
in the following year on payment of an annual rent of
20 marks, which was afterwards remitted. (fn. 61) In 1492
Elizabeth daughter of Gerard Braybroke, who married
first William de Beauchamp of St. Amand, and afterwards Roger Tocotes, (fn. 62) died in possession of the
manor, (fn. 63) which then passed to her son Richard Beauchamp of St. Amand, who died in 1508 without
issue. (fn. 64) Further traces of this manor are scanty; in
1528 Thomas Brook of Cobham, as kinsman and heir
of Gerard Braybroke, relinquished his right in the
manor to John Foule, (fn. 65) and in 1532 Thomas Pares
and others gave up their right in Little Holwell to
James Dod of London, haberdasher, (fn. 66) but nothing
further has been discovered of the history of this
manor, which appears to have become extinct.
The manor of HOLWELL BURY appears to have
originated in the 3½ hides of land which the abbot of
Ramsey held in Holwell at the time of Domesday
(1086), (fn. 67) though no mention of it as a manor is found
until the fifteenth century. About 1255 William de
Holwell held 2 hides of the abbot, for which he gave
10s. per annum and suit at the courts of Broughton
and Shillington. (fn. 68) In 1302 one of the same name
was holding by feudal service of the abbot in Little
Holwell, (fn. 69) as also in 1346. (fn. 70)
Thomas Hobard in 1513 enfeoffed Edmund Jenney
and other trustees of Holwell Bury manor to the use
of George Ashfield and Margery his wife (probably
daughter of Thomas). Margery Ashfield died in
1525, leaving a son Robert as heir, (fn. 71) who in 1553 sold
Holwell Bury to Thomas Snagge for £530, (fn. 72) and his son
Thomas sold the manor in 1576 to John St. John of
Bletsoe. (fn. 73) Oliver St. John, his son, again sold it in
1601 for £1,800 to Richard Hale, (fn. 74) who held it till
his death in 1620, (fn. 75) being followed by his son William (fn. 76) and his grandson, another William, the latter
holding Holwell Bury in 1670. (fn. 77) The Hales continued to hold this property until the middle of the
nineteenth century, when it was purchased by Mr.
Dodwell. The property has since been dispersed,
and that portion which includes the old farm-house
and buildings has been purchased by Mr. Hartley
of Liverpool, and is now used as a fruit-growing
farm. (fn. 77a)
The hamlet of PEGSDON (Pechesdone, xi cent.;
Pekesdene, xii cent.) gave its name to a manor which
was assessed at the time of the Survey at 10 hides, and
was worth £10. (fn. 78) It appears to have become merged
in the abbot's manor of Shillington at an early date
(q.v.), for in 1311 the abbot claimed the hamlet of
Pegsdon as member of his manor of Shillington. (fn. 79)
At the time of the Survey the abbot held half a hide
in LOWER STONDON, (fn. 80) which afterwards became
attached to the manor of Shillington. (fn. 81)
Hanscombe End is a district of Shillington, and a
family of Hanscombe has been settled in this parish
from the thirteenth century. In 1288 Reginald
Hanscombe was a suitor at the abbot of Ramsey's
court of Shillington, and the name constantly recurs in
subsequent court rolls. (fn. 82) A branch of the family
owned land in Great Holwell in the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries, (fn. 83) and in 1537 Robert Hanscombe
died in possession of land in Shillington. (fn. 84) Descendants of this family are at the present day resident in
Shillington.
Three mills are mentioned in the Domesday Survey
as belonging to the abbot of Ramsey in this parish.
Of these, one was a broken-down mill in Shillington of no value, (fn. 85) the other two were in Pegsdon, and
were worth 27s. 8d. yearly. (fn. 86) A charter of confirmation by Henry I to the abbot of Ramsey mentions a
mill recently constructed in Shillington, (fn. 87) so the
ruined mill of the Survey may have been restored, but
one mill only appears to have survived beyond the
fifteenth century. This mill is first mentioned in a
lease, dated 1265, by Ralph de Tyville to the abbot
of Ramsey, and is described as being near the bridge
of 'Watewale.' (fn. 88) At the Dissolution Whatwell Mill,
as it was called, became crown property with the
other possessions of the abbey; it formed part of the
dower of Anne wife of James I, who in 1612 granted
it to Edward Ferrers. (fn. 89) In 1341 a mill is mentioned
as belonging to the manor of Little Holwell in the
parish of Shillington, which Nicholas de Holwell at
that date transferred to John Avenel. (fn. 90)
Plan of All Saints' Church, Shillington
In the thirteenth century mention has been found
of a park at Shillington on the occasion of a release
by William le Coynte and Alice his wife to the abbot
of Ramsey of their right in land within the bounds of
the park. (fn. 91)
Church
The church of ALL SAINTS stands
on high ground in the midst of the
village and is a conspicuous landmark for
miles around. It consists of a chancel 37 ft. 6 in. by
20 ft. 6 in. with a vaulted crypt beneath its east bay
and chapels on both sides of the same length, the
north chapel being 13 ft. wide and the south
14 ft. 3 in.; a nave 47 ft. by 20 ft. 6 in.; north and
south aisles of the same length as the nave and the
same width as the chapels; south porch, and western
tower 14 ft. 6 in. by 15 ft., all measurements being
internal.
The building is one of great architectural merit,
and of unusual design. Its plan is of the simplest, a
great clearstoried hall running from end to end,
broken only by the wide and lofty chancel arch, and
flanked by aisles of the full length. It seems to have
been begun from the east about the year 1300,
without reference to any previously existing building
on the site, unless the difference in width between the
aisles is to be attributed to some arrangement of the
older church. The crypt under the east bay of the
chancel, made necessary by the rapid eastward fall of
the ground, points to the fact that the former chancel
did not extend so far eastward as the present, but
nothing more can be said of it, and the only fragment
which seems to be preserved is part of a thirteenthcentury capital of good style, now lying in the crypt.
In 1333 (fn. 92) Bishop Burghersh of Lincoln issued a
commission to compel the parishioners of Shillington
to repair the nave of their church, from which it
would appear that the rector had already rebuilt
the chancel by this time and that the parishioners
were slow to do the same to their portion of the
church. The nave details follow those of the chancel,
and there is little sign of any pause in the work, such
as is suggested by the commission; it may be that
the intention was to compel the parish to finish off
a work which had been some long time in hand, and
was not being pushed on with any energy.
One result of the rebuilding of the church on an
enlarged plan has been that the building is rather too
long for its site, and the foundations both at the east
and west have given trouble from time to time. The
western tower fell in 1701, and the south-west porch
has had to be rebuilt, while at the east end there is
some evidence of failure in the blocking of the northeast stair and the rebuilding of the eastern gable in
the fifteenth century. The original east window
was also at this time replaced by a smaller window,
set within its jambs. The western tower was not
rebuilt, after its fall in 1701, till 1750. The chancel
is of three bays, with arcades having arches of two
orders, the outer with a sunk chamfer and the inner
with a quarter-round moulding. The piers are of
four engaged rounded shafts with hollow chamfers
between, and the capitals and bases have mouldings of
excellent detail, following the plan of the pier. Over
the arches are moulded labels, and at the level of the
sills of the clearstory windows runs a moulded
string. The clearstory windows are of two cinquefoiled lights with a quatrefoiled spandrel in the head,
the tracery being renewed throughout, and the roof is
of low pitch with modern timbers. The east
window of the chancel is a fifteenth-century insertion
of four cinquefoiled lights with tracery and a transom
in the head; it is framed by the rear arch of the
much larger original window, which has a band of
four-leaved flowers and a moulded label springing
from human heads, and engaged shafts in the jambs.
The eastern arches of both arcades are blocked as high
as the springing by solid masonry walls, coped at the
top, the bonding showing that this is part of the
original work, to form an inclosure for the high altar.
The external elevation of the east end of the church
is distinctly imposing, the angles of the chancel being
accentuated by rectangular turrets, the northern of
which contains a stair leading from the ground level
to the roofs, and by a gallery in front of the east
gables to the south turret, in which a short stair
leads down to the roof of the south aisle. The
turrets are embattled, and the gallery between them
has a plain parapet, on the cornice at the base of
which is the Ashton rebus, an ass and a tun, in
reference to Matthew Ashton (Asscheton), a former
rector, who died in 1400 and was buried in the
church. The chancel arch is fine and lofty, of two
moulded orders with half-octagonal responds and
moulded capitals and bases: close to its north jamb
on the east is the rood-loft doorway.
Under the east bay of the chancel is a vaulted
crypt, 19 ft. square, lighted by two small lancets on
the east, and approached from the north-east by a
passage which formerly led from the base of the
north-east turret stair. The crypt has a round
central column with a moulded capital, from which
spring four transverse and four diagonal ribs, with
plain chamfers, the arc of the transverse ribs being
approximately a semicircle, and that of the diagonals
in consequence elliptical. At the angles and centres
of each side are detached shafts with moulded
capitals and bases standing out from the walls, which,
like the vault, are of plastered rubble.
The north chapel has a three-light east window
with cinquefoiled heads and geometrical tracery,
under a two-centred arch. The inner jambs have
engaged shafts, with moulded capitals and bases, and
the rear arch has a rich and intricate irregular series
of mouldings, with a moulded label and carved dripstones.
In the south-east angle of the chapel is a doorway
to the north stair turret, and the entrance to the vault
below the chancel is by a trap-door in front of it,
but it is evident that the turret stair was originally
continued downwards to the crypt, and that it was
found necessary to block up the lower part at a later
date, probably for strength. The two north windows
of the chapel are each of three cinquefoiled lights
with geometrical tracery. The jambs and rear arch
are old, and like those of the east windows, but have
been in part blocked to make room for two
eighteenth-century monuments. The tracery has
been renewed recently, as indeed has that of all the
side windows.
The western arch of the chapel, in line with the
chancel arch, is a two-centred drop-arch, dying into
the wall on either side, and of the same detail as the
arcades except that it has no labels.
The east window of the south chapel only differs
from that on the north in its tracery, the heads of
the three lights being cinquefoiled and four-centred
with plain pierced spandrels, under a segmental arch;
the rear arch has the fourteenth-century detail used
elsewhere.
In the eastern bay of the south wall is a late
fifteenth-century window of one light, with a plain
square head and segmental rear arch; its ledge inside
forms a seat. The two three-light windows to the
west of it are similar to those opposite, in the north
chapel, but in their complete original form with the
attached shafts to the inner jambs.
At the south-west angle of the chapel is a
doorway, probably part of the original design; its
two-centred segmental arched head cuts into the
south-western window, and the base of the jambshafts has been lifted up to stand on the arch. The
western arch of the chapel corresponds to that of the
north chapel.
The nave arcades are of four bays, the details
being like those of the chancel arcades, with slight
differences in the bases and abaci. The three
clearstory windows on each side are also like those in
the chancel. The walls west of the responds of the
arcades are considerably thicker than those over the
arcades, and it is possible that they may be the remains
of an earlier nave.
Each of the nave aisles has two windows, one of
three lights in the eastern bay, the other of two
lights in the bay next to it; the lights are cinquefoiled, with geometrical tracery over, and the windows
are of plainer detail than those in the chancel, having
plain splayed jambs on the inside, and rear arches of
simpler section.
There are doorways in the west bays of both aisles,
with fine fourteenth-century moulded details; over
the south doorway is a modern porch, replacing an
original porch of two stories, which had a span at the
north-west angle, the blocked lower door of which,
with an ogee head, remains in the wall west of the
entrance doorway.
In the west wall of the same aisle is a blocked
doorway with rebated jambs and a four-centred arch;
it is a fifteenth-century insertion, and cuts partly into
the south-east buttress of the tower.
The only detail now remaining of the mediaeval
tower is the tower arch of three orders with moulded
capitals and bases of the same style as those in the
nave; the jambs have a half-octagonal inner order
and a half-round outer order, with a hollow chamfer
between. Above the arch is a plain square-headed
opening from the second stage of the tower.
The tower itself, built in 1750, as recorded on a
slab in the south wall, is of red brick and absolutely
plain, with an unbroken parapet and round-headed
belfry windows, entirely unworthy of the church to
which it is attached. It has a round-headed west
window on the ground stage, into which modern
gothic tracery has been inserted.
The roofs of the nave and aisles retain some of their
old timbers, but have been reconstructed. In the east
bay of the nave are a number of modern painted shields,
with the emblems of the Passion and heraldry.
The inclosing screens of the chancel remain complete, though in part of modern work—the old work
being of the fifteenth century with open lights and
pierced tracery in the heads, and solid lower panels,
the whole effect being exceedingly good.
The rood screen has lost its loft, but otherwise
remains in a very perfect state, with its central doors;
a line of cresting is set as a finish to it. On each
side of the central opening are six tall lights with
tracery in the heads; another band of tracery was
formerly inserted half-way up the lights, but is now
removed.
The side screens, which fill the two western bays
of the chancel arcades, and have doors at the east, are
complete but for their cornices; they are less in
height than the rood screen, and have narrower bays
with traceried heads, which differ slightly in design
on the two screens, the northern having cinquefoiled
heads with tracery over, in two alternating patterns,
while the southern has trefoiled heads and tracery
of uniform type in each opening. There are also
screens of much the same character inclosing the east
bay of the south chapel, and in the western arches of
the chapels; the lower part of the screen in the
north chapel has three of the original traceried panels
in situ, a fourth one introduced there, and the rest
new; the corresponding screen in the south chapel
has only one old panel complete.
To the west of the northern screen is a pew front
made up with five bays of old panelling from the
screens, and a few of the other pews have old woodwork in them.
In the north chapel is the fine brass of a priest,
with part of a marginal inscription, and the indents
of two shields above the figure. It commemorates
Matthew Asscheton, canon of York and Lincoln, and
rector of Shillington, 1400.
Next to it is a small brass of a priest, said to be
that of Thomas Partington, rector and treasurer of
York, 1485; over it is a shield with arms of three
martlets on a bend. There is also a brass plate with
an inscription to Peter Ashton, priest, 1538, and
later floor slabs to the wife of Andrew Alston, of Bedford, 1650; to James Hanscombe, 1660; and to
Thomas Sherwin, 1756.
There are five bells: the treble by Robert Oldfield, of Nottingham, 1638; the second, 1602, by
Hugh Watts; third, 1603, by Newcombe; and the
fourth and tenor of 1624, by Toby Norris of Stamford; while the priest's bell, by the same founder,
dates from 1626.
The plate comprises a silver communion cup of
1702, inscribed 'Shitlington Church, 1702,' a second
copied from it, with the Birmingham date letter for
1888; a standing paten without date letter, but inscribed 'Shitlington Parish Plate, Decm 24, 77' (i.e.
1677); and a plated two-handled covered cup, used
as a flagon.
The registers date from 1544, the first book containing baptisms, marriages, and burials to 1754; the
second, baptisms and burials, 1754 to 1812; and the
third, marriages, 1754 to 1812.
Advowson
There is no mention of a church
in Shillington at Domesday, but the
rectory and advowson belonged to
the abbey from the earliest times. (fn. 93) When Ramsey
Abbey was dissolved they became crown property, and
were granted for a short term to Lord Wriothesley. (fn. 94)
In 1547 Trinity College, Cambridge, obtained a
grant of the rectory and advowson and holds them at
the present day. (fn. 95)
In 1514 John Oxenbrigge received licence to found
a chantry with one chaplain to celebrate in the parish
church of Shillington. (fn. 96) He also received a licence to
grant any lands to the value of £10, not held in chief,
to the said chantry. (fn. 97) In 1547 the chantry, then
worth 27s. 6½d., had fallen into decay. No incumbent was kept, and no poor people relieved. (fn. 98)
Rowland Bolton received a twenty-one years' lease
of the Brotherhood House in 1578 at a yearly rent
of 31s. 2d. (fn. 99)
Westnynge Chantry possessed land in Shillington
to the value of 23s. 6d. to provide obits in the parish
church. (fn. 100)
Shillington also contains a Union Chapel for the
use of Congregationalists and Baptists, and a Wesleyan
chapel erected in 1872. At Bury End there is
a Primitive Methodist chapel, and at Pegsdon a
Wesleyan.
Charities
Charity of Edward Pilsworth.—A
sum of £12 14s. is received annually from the Clothworkers Company, London, and is applied as to £10 8s. in
money generally among fifty parishioners, £1 to the
vicar, 16s. for repair of church, and 10s. to the
churchwardens.
In 1796 Samuel Whitbread, esq., by will, left
£10 10s. a year, charged on the manor of Cardington, for providing clothing for the inmates of the four
almshouses situated in the churchyard. In 1897 the
annuity was redeemed by the transfer to the official
trustees of £350 India £3 per cent. stock.