GRAFHAM with EAST PERRY
Grafham, Grafam (xi–xii cent.); Grofham,
Graffeham (xiv-xvi cent.); Peri, Pirie (xii cent.);
Est Perye, Pirie in Grofam (xiv cent.).
The parish comprises 1,927 acres of land, about
half of which is arable and the rest grass land. The
soil is Boulder Clay and the subsoil Oxford Clay. The
Diddington Brook, sometimes called the Grafham
Brook, (fn. 1) which flows into the Ouse, runs from northwest to south-east and forms the parish boundary on
the south-west and south sides of the parish. The
land rises from the brook, where it is about 90 ft.
above the Ordnance datum, to about 189 ft. at the
village on the north side of the brook and to 182 ft. at
East Perry on the south side.
The somewhat scattered village stands on high
land at the meeting of by-roads from Great Staughton
by Church Hill, from Easton by Hartham Street, now
only a grass track, from Ellington by Breach Road,
and from Huntingdon and from Buckden. The church
is on the south side of the village, and to the north of
it is the Rectory, the kitchen of which dates back to
the 16th century and formed part of a two-story brick
house with a tiled roof. The Fox Inn in the village
is a timber-framed thatched house of the 17th century
with modern additions. About a quarter of a mile
north-west of the church is the moated site of the
manor house (fn. 2) of the Engaines, who in the 14th
century are said to have had a park near the highway
leading to Sibthorpe in Ellington. (fn. 3) This was also the
site of the manor house of the Bigg family in the 17th
and 18th centuries. Half a mile to the east of the
village is another moated inclosure. (fn. 4)
Although there is now no woodland in the parish,
in 1086 there was pannage one league square. (fn. 5) During
John's reign Nigel de Lovetot granted his wood here
to Robert Russell, (fn. 6) and Ivo le Moyne had a great
wood here; (fn. 7) there were also six groves in 1301, (fn. 8) so
that before the 14th century there must have been a
fair amount of woodland.
The western part of the hamlet of Perry is in the
parish of Great Staughton and is known as West Perry;
the eastern and less populous part is in Grafham
parish. To the east of East Perry is Grafham Farm,
an early 17th-century timber-framed house with tiled
roof and modern additions.
There is a station on the London Midland and
Scottish Railway to the north of the village on the
road to Ellington. The village feast was formerly
held on the second day after the feast of St. Lawrence
(12 August), but in 1373, as it was found to interfere
with the harvest, it was changed to the feast of
St. Theckla the Virgin (fn. 9) (23 September).
There was an Act for the Inclosure in 1774, (fn. 10)
and the resulting award in 1776, (fn. 11) and a further Act
for inclosing 2,000 acres in Great Staughton and
Grafham in 1807. (fn. 12)
William Hull, the artist (1820–80), was the son of
a small farmer at Grafham. (fn. 13)
The lord of Grafham in 1279 had gallows, view of
frankpledge and its appurtenances, and his tenants
had ceased to attend the sheriff's court. (fn. 14)
The Knights Hospitallers claimed view of frankpledge of their tenants here. (fn. 15)
Manors
In 1086 GRAFHAM, assessed at 5
hides, was held by seven sokemen of the
king. It seems, however, that the
lands had been seized by Eustace the Sheriff, although
on inquiry it was returned that they had been and
still were the king's sokeland and no charter had been
seen or evidence produced of seisin having been
given to Eustace. (fn. 16) It would appear, however,
that Eustace retained possession of half of the
5 hides, as 2½ hides passed to his successors, the
Lovetots, and became part of the Lovetot Fee,
while the other 2½ hides formed part of the Gloucester Fee. (fn. 17)
Clare. Or tbree cheverons gules.
Stafford. Or a cbeveron gules.
From Roger de Lovetot, who was holding the
LOVETOT FEE in 1125, the manor went to his
nephew Richard, son of his brother Nigel. (fn. 18) Richard
was succeeded by his son William, and he, as regards
Southoe, the head of the Lovetot Fee in Huntingdon,
and Grafham, by his younger son Nigel, who died
about 1179. From this date the overlordship of the
Lovetot Fee in Grafham was attached to the barony
of Southoe and followed the descent of that manor
(q.v.). (fn. 19) Richard, son of Nigel Lovetot, was succeeded by his brother Roger, Nigel, son of Roger, a
clerk in holy orders, was succeeded in 1219 by his
three sisters and co-heirs: Amice, wife of Ralph de
Amundeville, Royce, who married firstly Hubert de
Bromford and secondly Hugh le Fleming, and Alice,
the wife of William Patrick. Nigel de Amundeville,
the son of Amice, conveyed his third of the service
of a knight's fee in Thurning, Hemingford, Offord
and Grafham to Richard de Clare, Earl of Gloucester
and Hertford, in 1258. (fn. 20) Royce's son, Richard, took
the name of Lovetot and his third of the overlordship
of Grafham passed with his purparty of Southoe (q.v.)
to his descendant Edward Lovetot, whose widow
Joan was holding it in 1401. (fn. 21) Margaret, wife of Sir
John Cheyne, was the heir of Edward and Joan, but
before 1428 this purparty of the Lovetot Fee had
passed to the Earl of Stafford, who represented the
Gloucester barony. The remaining third of Alice,
wife of William Patrick, went to William their son,
and from him to his sister Margery, the wife of John
de Littlebury. Margery and John conveyed their
interest in Southoe to Richard de Clare, Earl of
Gloucester, in 1259. Thus all three purparties came
to the barony of Gloucester and passed with the manor
or barony of Southoe (q.v.). (fn. 22)
Le Moyne. Argent two bars sable with three molets sable in the chief.
Anderson. Argent a cheveron between three crosses sable flowered at the ends.
The chief of the tenants of the Lovetot Fee was
the family of le Moyne. Reginald, father of Berenger
le Moyne, was holding lands
in Grafham and elsewhere in
the time of Henry II, which
he exchanged with Philip le
Moyne for the vill of Walton.
Philip was living in 1207, (fn. 23)
and his son Ivo le Moyne of
Little Paxton (q.v.) gave 2
carucates, which were probably all his holding in Grafham, to Sawtry Abbey (fn. 24) about
1235. Ivo by his will left to
the abbot, with his body to
be buried in the abbey, his
messuage with a grove and
his whole holding in Grafham with certain exceptions. (fn. 25) Probably he died before 1240, when Gilbert,
his nephew, confirmed a carucate to the abbey. (fn. 26)
Joan, widow of Ivo, who married Richard de
Yrecester (Irchester), granted to the abbot her
dower lands in Grafham in 1248 (fn. 27) and confirmed
them when she married her third husband, John
Boleard. (fn. 28) Ivo's gift was also confirmed by Nigel
de Amundeville as chief lord so that neither he nor
his heirs should distrain for reliefs, wards, suits
of court or other services. (fn. 29) After the dissolution of
Sawtry Abbey these lands passed to Sir Richard
Williams alias Cromwell, whose court here is mentioned
in 1543 to 1554, (fn. 30) and passed to Francis, his second son,
who died seised of the manor of Grafham in 1598,
leaving a son Henry. (fn. 31) In 1600 Henry conveyed the
manor to Edmund Anderson,
Chief Justice of the Common
Pleas, (fn. 32) who was succeeded by
his son, Sir Francis. Francis
died seised of the manor in
1616, leaving Edmund his son
and heir. (fn. 33) Edmund died
seised in 1638, leaving a
daughter Dorothy, aged 7½
years, (fn. 34) but the manor was
settled on the heirs male and
passed after the death of Lady
Dunsmore, widow of Sir
Francis Anderson, in 1652 to
Stephen, younger brother of
Edmund. His son Stephen
was created a baronet and settled the manor in 1659
and 1660. (fn. 35) Before the end of the century the
manor had passed to the Bernards and went with the
Bernard estates to the Duke of Manchester, the
present owner.
Papworth. Gules a fesse dancetty argent.
Another large freeholder of the Lovetot Fee was
William de Papworth of Grafham, who is mentioned
among those who were injured by the afforesting
of lands in Hunts in 1299. (fn. 36)
He died in 1314 seised of
lands in Grafham, when he
left a wife Ada and a son
John, aged 14½ years. (fn. 37) John
was dealing with lands in
Grafham in 1345 and, described as Sir John de Papworth, knight, he was acquiring land of John Russell and
Eleanor, his wife. (fn. 38) In 1348
Sir William, son of Sir John
de Papworth, knight, and
Elizabeth his wife settled a
manor in Grafham, which had belonged to John his
father, on themselves and the heirs of their bodies,
failing such heirs to Edmund, son of said John and
his heirs. (fn. 39) William de Papworth, who was dealing
with a manor of Grafham in 1371, (fn. 40) was probably
a son or grandson of William, son of John. In
1400 Sir William Papworth, knight, conveyed all his
tenements in Grafham, Perry and Buckden to John
Hervy. (fn. 41) Joan Lovetot of Southoe, with the assent
of her daughter Margaret, wife of Sir John Cheyne,
in 1401 granted licence to John Hervy to assign
all the lands of William Papworth within her fee
in Grafham and Perry to the Abbot and Convent
of Sawtry, (fn. 42) and in 1402 licence in mortmain was
given by the Crown. (fn. 43) The transaction was confirmed
by Sir William Papworth in 1413 and by his widow
in the same year. (fn. 44) Thus this holding became merged
in the manor of the Abbot of Sawtry and later followed
the same descent.
The family of Russell were also large freeholders
of the Lovetot Fee in Grafham. Robert Russell, who,
as Robert son of Robert Russell, was witness to a
charter relating to Grafham before 1244, (fn. 45) in 1248
agreed to permit Adam, Abbot of Sawtry, to have
common of pasture in Grafham. (fn. 46) About the same
time Nigel de Lovetot, with the consent of William
his brother, granted to Robert Russell for his homage
and service certain woodland in Grafham, (fn. 47) and again
Robert, with the consent of his wife Muriel, granted
lands in Grafham to Adam, son of Hamuld. (fn. 48) Robert
died in 1254 seised of 2 carucates in Grafham held of
many lords, leaving as his heir his brother, John. (fn. 49)
Sir John joined Simon de Montfort and his lands were
seized as those of a rebel after the battle of Evesham
in 1265. (fn. 50) He was reinstated, however, and was holding lands of both the Lovetot and Gloucester Fees
in 1279. (fn. 51) It is not clear what became of this holding,
but it probably passed to the Abbey of Sawtry with
the greater part of the Lovetot Fee.
Another holding of the Lovetot Fee is found in
Domesday Survey (1086), when it appears that Eustace
the Sheriff held half a hide in Grafham and Oilard
the larderer held it of him. (fn. 52) We find this half hide
in the hands of Eustace's successors the Lovetots, and
it appears that Nigel de Lovetot, probably Nigel the
priest (son of Roger), who died in 1219, gave it to
the prior of Huntingdon. In 1279, it was held of the
prior by Amice le Noble, John Russell and two
villeins, who made redemption of flesh and blood for
their sons and daughters and paid aid at the will of the
prior. (fn. 53) In 1535 the prior held 15s. of rent in Grafham and a part of the tithes. (fn. 54) The half hide seems
to have been split up among various owners and was
probably merged in the principal manor.
The manor of PERRY, which is partly in Great
Staughton (q.v.) and partly in Grafham, was part of
the lands of Eustace the Sheriff and was held in
1086 by Alwin Deule. It was assessed at one hide
and there was a church there. (fn. 55) Like other lands of
Eustace, the overlordship passed to the Lovetots and
descended with the Lovetot Fee in Grafham (q.v.).
The tenant in demesne early in the 13th century was
apparently Thomas, son of William Perry, who sold
170 acres of land in Perry Lovetot to George de
Beville. George, it was reported, was killed in the
battle of Lewes (1264), and Roger de Lovetot as an
adherent to Simon de Montfort and overlord seized
his land. George, however, returned and made fine
for the redemption of his lands and sold them to
Henry Engaine, who died in 1272 and was succeeded
by his brother John, who successfully brought an
action in 1286 against Thomas, son of Roger de
Lovetot, for reinstatement in this holding. (fn. 56) These
lands were confirmed to John, brother of Henry
Engaine, by Thomas de Lovetot in 1288, (fn. 57) and
subsequently the overlordship passed with the Lovetot
Fee and the subtenancy with the Engaines manor in
Grafham. (fn. 58)
The other moiety of the 5 hides, held by the king
in 1086, went to the Earldom of Gloucester at an early
date and formed a part of the GLOUCESTER FEE.
William FitzRobert, Earl of Gloucester, was holding
in 1167, and the fee followed the descent of the earldom until Richard de Clare, Earl of Gloucester,
acquired the overlordship of the Lovetot Fee in the
middle of the 13th century, and it then followed the
descent of the overlordship of that fee.
The family of Grafham held the subtenancy of the
half knight's fee under the Earls of Gloucester. This
family has been identified with that of Engaine (fn. 59)
owing to the similarity of the christian names of some
of its members and the fact that some of the members
are called 'le noble de Grafham.' If it were a younger
branch of the Engaine family it must have split off
at an early date, as William de Grafham is mentioned
in 1166 (fn. 60) and Robert de Grafham recovered the right
to half a knight's fee in Woolley from Simon de Maufe
in 1180. (fn. 61) William de Grafham was dealing with land
in Grafham in 1199 and was holding half a knight's
fee of the Honour of Gloucester in 1211–12 and
perhaps rather earlier. (fn. 62) Viel, son of William, witnessed a deed as to a tenement in Grafham. He
was dealing with the advowson of the church
in 1223 (fn. 63) and at the same time recovered the
advowson from Elias de Amundeville and others
representing the Lovetot Fee. (fn. 64) In 1243 he
was holding half a knight's fee in Grafham of
the barony of Gloucester (fn. 65) and in 1244 he presented
to the church on the resignation of Walter, his son,
late rector. (fn. 66) Viel apparently left a son Robert.
During the disturbed condition of the country about
the time of the battles of Lewes and Evesham (1264–5)
a mesne lordship in the hands of Henry Engaine was
interposed between the Earl of Gloucester and Robert
de Grafham. In 1264 Robert de Grafham held half a
knight's fee in Grafham of Henry Engaine and he of
the Earl of Gloucester, (fn. 67) and in 1272–3 Sir John,
brother and heir of Henry Engaine, had the wardship
of the heir of Robert de Grafham, probably as overlord. (fn. 68) Viel, son of Robert de Grafham, in 1279 held
2½ hides of Sir John Engaine which were of the fee of
Gilbert de Clare, Earl of Gloucester. (fn. 69) Viel also held
the advowson of the church. In 1281 Viel obtained
protection for two years on going abroad, (fn. 70) and in
1287 he received a further protection when going in
the retinue of his overlord John Engaine on the king's
service into Wales. (fn. 71) Viel seems to have surrendered
in 1295 to his overlord, Sir John Engaine, all his lands
and tenements in Grafham, including the messuage
which Maud, mother of Viel, held in dower, but
excepting the advowson of the church, which was let
to the parson of Steeple Gidding with an undertaking
that no further grant of the advowson would be made
to anyone but to Engaine. (fn. 72) There was much litigation between the Grafhams and Engaines as to the
manor and tenements in Grafham in the early years
of the 14th century, but eventually the manor passed
wholly to the Engaines. In 1310 Peter de Croft and
Amice his wife, probably tenants of the Engaines,
brought an action to recover two parts of the manor of
Grafham against Viel, son of Robert de Grafham,
Martin de Littlebury and Joan his wife, John, son of
Viel son of Robert de Grafham, and Elizabeth his wife,
and Robert, son of Robert de Grafham, descendants
and representatives of Viel de Grafham who granted
his lands to Sir John Engaine in 1295. The defendants said that Andrew le Moyne held half of two
parts of the manor, and Viel pleaded that he entered
the remainder on the death of his father Robert by
hereditary right. The jury, however, said that
Andrew did not hold the said lands and Peter and
Amice had been disseised of the said two parts
except 40 acres of wood and the advowson of the
church. (fn. 73) The Grafhams continued to hold lands in
Grafham, but the manor, held of the Gloucester Fee,
with the advowson, descended from John Engaine
with Gaynes manor in Dillington, Great Staughton
(q.v.), down to Anne, daughter of Katherine, Lady
Howard of Effingham, and wife of William Paulet,
Marquess of Winchester, who seems to have sold the
property before 1576. In 1667 Mrs. Anna Bigg,
widow of Walter Bigg, sheriff of London, was lady of
the manor and patron of the church. (fn. 74) The manor
passed to her son John and grandson, another John,
who died unmarried in 1748 leaving it to his sister
Lucy for life and then to his friend Sir John Bernard
of Brampton. (fn. 75) Lucy only survived her brother three
months, (fn. 76) and Sir John Bernard came in for the
property. It has since passed with Brampton Park
(q.v.) to the Duke of Manchester.
There was another branch of the Grafham family
holding in Grafham. In the time of King John
(1199–1216) Nigel de Lovetot granted a tenement and
a hermitage in Grafham to Robert Rufus to be held
of Simon, son of Stephen de Grafham. (fn. 77) In 1223
Stephen, son of Simon, conveyed the advowson of
Grafham to Viel de Grafham after some litigation. (fn. 78)
Simon, son of Stephen, had three sons, Thomas,
William and Simon. (fn. 79) Thomas had a son Simon who
granted lands to his son Thomas. (fn. 80)
Church
The church of ALL SAINTS consists
of a chancel (26¼ ft. by 12¾ ft.), nave
(46½ ft. by 16 ft.), north aisle (47½ ft.
by 10¾ ft.), south chapel (23½ ft. by 9½ ft.), west tower
(10 ft. by 10 ft.), and south porch. The walls are of
pebble and stone rubble with stone dressings, and
the roofs are covered with tiles and lead.
The church is not mentioned in the Domesday
Survey (1086), and the north arcade of the nave,
c. 1250, appears to be the earliest work which remains;
but the fact that the chancel is some half-century
later seems to point to an earlier church on the site,
although no vestige of it exists. The south chapel
was added early in the 14th century, and towards the
end of this century the north aisle was rebuilt. The
tower and spire were built c. 1400, but the stairturret at its south-east angle was added a little later.
The rood-stairs were built in the 15th century. The
porch was built, or rebuilt, in 1657; and apparently
some work was done to the chancel in 1689. In
1724 the 'steeple and bell-loft' were much out of
repair, (fn. 81) and in 1748 the archdeacon recorded 'the
whole of the church very bad and nasty.' (fn. 82) A new
floor, considerably raised, was put down in 1880, and
the steeple was pointed in 1884. The church was
restored in 1901–3, when most of the walls were
underpinned, a new buttress built on the south side
of the chancel, and the porch rebuilt. The spire was
pointed in 1906, and the lead on the aisle roofs was
recast in 1908.
The late 13th-century chancel has an original threelight east window, but the sill, mullions and tracery
are modern, and the lower part of the window has
been destroyed. The north wall has an original twolight window completely altered in the 16th century
and now having a square head; a square-headed
15th-century window with a 13th-century western
inner splay; and an original doorway with a twocentred head and continuous chamfered jambs. The
south wall has an original three-light window with
intersecting tracery in a two-centred head; an
original two-light window with a plain spandrel in a
two-centred head, and the lower part of the west
light rebated for a shutter; (fn. 83) an original double
piscina with two pointed arches on a central shaft and
two attached jamb-shafts, all with moulded capitals
and bases, and nine-foiled and seven-foiled basins.
The chancel arch is modern, two-centred and plastered. The roof is modern, but has two rather older
tie-beams.
Plan of Grafham Church
The mid 13th-century nave has a north arcade of
four bays of two-centred arches of two chamfered
orders resting on low circular columns and semicircular responds, all with moulded capitals but bases
hidden by the floor. The south wall has an early
14th-century arcade to the chapel, having two bays of
two chamfered orders resting on an octagonal column
and semi-octagonal responds, all with moulded capitals
and bases; an early 16th-century square-headed twolight window with carved roses in the spandrels; and
a late 13th-century doorway with a two-centred
head and continuous chamfered jambs. In the southwest corner is the late 15th-century doorway to the
tower stairs, having a four-centred head and continuous chamfered jambs. The modern roof is hidden
by a plastered ceiling, but two 15th-century tie-beams
with jack-legs and braces can be seen, and several
15th-century carved stone corbels remain; on the
south side are two 18th-century dormer windows.
The late 14th-century north aisle has an original
three-light east window with a four-centred head.
The north wall has three original square-headed twolight windows; and a doorway with a two-centred
head of two moulded orders on double chamfered
jambs. There is no west window, and the upper part
of the wall is modern, but at the base of the parapetcoping is a carved demi-angel holding a shield. In the
south wall, eastward of the arcade, is a piscina with
two-centred head, projecting sill and circular basin.
In the south-east corner is the 15th-century lower
doorway of the rood-stairs, having a four-centred head
and continuous moulded jambs. The early 16thcentury pent-roof has moulded beams, but the western
bay is modern.
The early 14th-century south chapel (fn. 84) has an original
three-light east window with a segmental-pointed
head and having a semi-octagonal projecting pedestal
for a statue on the sill inside. The south wall has
two square-headed 14th-century two-light windows
and an original piscina with trefoiled head and circular
basin. The west wall has no windows and was refaced
on the western side apparently in the 17th century,
and again in 1902. The early 16th-century pent-roof
has moulded wall plates.
The west tower, c. 1400, has a two-centred tower
arch of two chamfered orders, the inner order resting
on semicircular attached shafts with moulded capitals
and bases. The west doorway has a four-centred head
of two orders and continuous moulded jambs. The
west window is of three-lights with tracery in a fourcentred head. The belfry windows are of two-lights
with a quatrefoil in a two-centred head. The tower
has diagonal buttresses at the north-west and southwest angles, which rise slightly above the west window
and are then carried up as clasping buttresses to just
above the sills of the belfry
windows; at the springing
of these windows the tower
becomes an octagon with
small pinnacles rising from
the broaches. Immediately
above the heads of the
belfry windows the octagonal spire rises from a
projecting moulding; it
has two tiers of spirelights, the lower of twolights and on the cardinal
faces, and the upper singlelights and on the diagonal
faces. The height to the
top is 88 feet 3 inches.
Adjoining the south-east
angle of the tower is a
large 15th-century octagonal stair-turret with two small quatrefoiled lights
and finished with an irregular sloped stone roof.
The porch, at the west end of the south chapel, is
modern and has a two-centred arch of two hollowmoulded orders enriched with carved paterae, and
splayed jambs. The gable above is coped with
medieval coping-stones, and has two date-stones,
inscribed: (a) 'Nov. 9. 1657. R.S.' and (b) 'Rebuilt
1902. H.H. E.B. J.T.H.' In the north-east angle
is the octagonal shaft and base of a 15th-century
stoup. Previous to 1902 the porch was of badly built
red brickwork with a semicircular-headed arch covered
with cement, and a thin modern roof; the gable had
the earlier coping-stones re-used, and the date-stone
of 1657 above the arch.
The font, c. 1300, has a tapering octagonal bowl
with panelled sides, resting on a circular stem and
one octagonal and one circular step.
There are three bells, inscribed: (1) (no inscription
but two founders' marks); (2) Sum Rosa pulsata
mundi Katerina vocata; (3) S. Katerina. The first
is by Watts of Leicester; the second by William
Dawe of London, c. 1381–1418; and the third by
Newcombe of Leicester. In 1552 there were three
bells and a sanctus bell; (fn. 85) and these, including the
sanctus bell, remained as late as 1724. (fn. 86) The bells
were quarter-turned in 1900.
A late 17th-century Communion table, now in the
tower, has turned legs and moulded rails. The
hexagonal oak pulpit, c. 1700, has raised panels and
moulded cornice. In the nave is a 16th-century shaped
bench-end and a few other fragments incorporated in
a modern seat.
Built into the west wall of the south porch are
numerous old stones found during the restoration of
1901–3, viz.: The upper part of a boldly carved early
14th-century sepulchral slab bearing the demi-effigy
of a priest, found re-used as a step to the north doorway; part of the octagonal shaft of a cross; a stone
inscribed '1689. R.A.' found built in at the foot of
the south wall of the south chapel, near the porch; (fn. 87)
pieces of a moulded arch, etc.
There are the following monuments: in the chancel,
to the Rev. Benjamin Puckle, rector, d. 1853, and
Elizabeth, his wife, d. 1845; Louisa Hale, his
daughter, wife of Lieut. Col. Henry G. Puckle, d.
1860; Georgina Hale, daughter of Frederick Hale
Puckle, d. 1882; the Rev. Benjamin Hale Puckle,
rector, d. 1892, and Eleanor (Brady), his wife, d. 1891;
Thomas Norman Puckle, d. 1914; and Lieut. Col.
John Puckle, d. 1917; War Memorial, 1918; and
floor slab to the Rev. William Fairclough, rector,
d. 1713, and the Rev. William Fairclough, junior,
d. 1762. In the south chapel, floor slab to Mrs. Lucy
Bigg, d. 1748. In the south porch, to Elizabeth
Fortrey, widow, d. 1708/9; and John Bigg, Esq.,
d. 1748.
The registers are as follows: (i) baptisms from 1581,
marriages and burials from 23 April 1586 to 5 November 1718; (ii) baptisms, marriages and burials 2 December 1718 to 8 November 1812, marriages end
8 February 1751; (iii) marriages 1 November 1754
to 13 January 1783; (iv) marriages 10 November 1783
to 29 September 1812.
The church plate (fn. 88) consists of a Britannia silver
cup, hall-marked for 1719–20; a Britannia silver
cover-paten, hall-marked for 1711–12; a plated plate,
inscribed 'Graffham Church, 1854.'
Advowson
The earliest reference we have to
the advowson of the rectory of
Grafham is in a dispute in which Viel
de Grafham recovered it from the co-heirs of the
Lovetot Fee, the Prior of Huntingdon, Stephen son
of Simon (de Grafham), and Laurence, son of Cuthbert,
in 1222. (fn. 89) Viel presented in that year and shortly
after he presented his son Walter, who resigned in
1242. (fn. 90) The advowson remained with the Grafham
family until John Engaine acquired a mesne lordship
of the manor and held it as guardian of the heir of
Robert de Grafham. About 1316 he and his wife
Eleanor recovered the right of presentation from Viel,
son of Robert de Grafham, and from this date the
patronage followed the descent of the manor of the
Gloucester Fee (see above) held by the Engaines,
Broughtons, Cromwells, Biggs, Bernards and so to
the present Duke of Manchester.
The church is dedicated to All Saints. (fn. 91) The
suggestion sometimes made that the dedication is to
St. Alban is wrong.
In the return in the Domesday Survey (1086) for
Perry it is stated there was a church there, (fn. 92) but there
is no return of a church at Grafham. This church
was probably the chapel of St. Katherine in East Perry,
which apparently belonged to the Priory of Stonely.
In the reign of Edward I Sir Henry Engaine granted
to Stonely Priory lands in East Perry for the maintenance of a priest to celebrate divine service daily in
this chapel for the souls of George Beville and the
parents, predecessors and successors of Sir Henry
Engaine. (fn. 93) The chapel seems to have fallen into decay
before the dissolution of Stonely Priory. The lands
of the priory in Grafham were granted in 1544 to
Oliver Leder and Frances his wife. (fn. 94)
Charities
The charity called the Town Farm
and Bigg's Charity, otherwise known
as the Charity of Elizabeth Fortrey
and John Bigg, are now regulated by a scheme of the
Charity Commissioners dated 1 May 1923.
Town Farm.—This property originally consisted
of land known as Town Farm containing about 40
acres, land known as Town Close containing about
3 acres, two cottages and a blacksmith's shop. The
rents in the first instance were applied towards
the repair of the church and the surplus distributed to the poor of the parish. The property has
since been sold under the authority of the Charity
Commissioners.
Elizabeth Fortrey, by will dated 26 Oct. 1708, gave
£100 to the parish of Grafham to be laid out by her
brother John Bigg in purchasing an estate of inheritance, the rents and profits to be disposed of for the
use of the poor.
John Bigg, the nephew of the testatrix, by his will
dated 24 March 1747, gave to the poor of the parish
of Grafham £150 in lieu of the £100 given by his
aunt's will. The sum of £150 was laid out in the
purchase of land, which has since been sold under the
authority of an Order of the Charity Commissioners.
The endowment of the charities in 1928 consisted of
£1,411 8s. 10d. 5 per cent. War Stock, 1929–47, with
the Official Trustees, and which under the provisions
of the above-mentioned scheme of 1 May 1923 was
apportioned in equal moieties between the charities
called respectively 'The Town Farm and Bigg's
Ecclesiastical Charity' and 'The Town Farm and
Bigg's Charity for the Poor.'
The income of the Ecclesiastical Charity is applied
by the trustees towards the maintenance and repair of
the fabric of the parish church of Grafham and in
defraying the expenses incidental to the maintenance
of divine service in the said church. The trustees
consist of the rector of Grafham (ex officio trustee)
and two representative trustees appointed by the
Parochial Church Council.
The income of the charity for the poor is applied by
the trustees for the benefit of the poor in accordance
with the provisions of the said scheme. The trustees
consist of the rector (ex officio trustee), two trustees
appointed by the parish meeting and two co-optative
trustees.