KEYSTON
Chetelestan, Ketelestan (xi cent.); Keston (xiii
cent.); Keyston (xvi cent.).
The parish of Keyston, containing about 2,690 acres,
lies on the Northamptonshire border, and on its west
and parts of its north and south sides the boundaries
of the parish and county coincide. The land is undulating, but rises from the brook, a tributary of the
Alconbury Brook, which runs through the middle of
the parish. Here the land is about 150 ft. above
Ordnance datum, and rises to nearly 250 ft. in the
north and a little over that height to the south.
Although much of the land is arable, most of it is
laid down for grass. There are many small copses
scattered over the parish, but on the whole there is
little woodland. The road from Huntingdon to
Thrapston runs through the north of the parish,
and a by-road from Covington to Raunds through
the middle. The village stands midway between
these roads, about 13½ miles from Huntingdon,
and is approached by a road called Toll Bar Lane
from the north and by another road from the south.
It is arranged round roads forming approximately
an oval shape. Within this figure is the church, to the
west of which is the Manor Farm. The ancient manor
house, which stood in the large field containing earthworks, east of the church, (fn. 1) was described in 1589
as 'newly built,' when, with its outbuildings, it was
said to be 'in good and sufficient repair.' (fn. 2) At that time
Henry Clifford, who had secured a lease for forty-one
years from Robert, Earl of Essex, less than a year
before the sale of the manor, was living there. (fn. 3)
During Henry Clifford's tenure of the manor the
common fields were 'improved and made into
several closes,' the Earl of Essex having given licence
for the inclosure; (fn. 4) and it seems probable that some
planting of trees was done at the same time, as the
survey of 1589 mentions that 'there are neither woods
nor underwoods pertaining to the said manor, saving
some okes and elmes growing in hedgerowes about the
several closes.' (fn. 5) The house was pulled down by
Thomas Elderkin about a century ago, and the present
Manor House was then built, but has been enlarged
in recent years. A 17th-century house built of rubble
with a tiled roof has a sundial on the south gable,
which bears the initials 'R. W. 1700.' To the east
of this house is another late 17th-century house,
thatched and timber-framed, which has been partially
refaced with brick.
Manchester Lodge is about a mile south of the
village.
The village stands about two miles north-east
from Raunds station (Northants) on the Kettering
and Cambridge branch of the L.M.S. Railway.
The following place-names occur in the survey of
1605: Basinghame's bridge, the Cross, Duckinglane,
Froglane, Gotheridge feld, Hilmeadow or Hillymead, Middlebrook, Milfeld, Morden feld, Staples
or Stables meadow, Towne meadow, Torpens
meadow, Read close, Torpill's end. (fn. 6)
Manors
The manor of KEYSTON, which was
assessed in 1086 at 4 hides, belonged to
the farm of King Edward the Confessor;
and though Aluric the sheriff occupied the township,
'he always paid the King's farm therefrom, and his
sons after him until Eustace took the shrievalty.'
The hundred, however, bore witness against Eustace's
efforts to acquire the manor, and at the time of the
Domesday Survey it was in the custody of Ranulf, the
brother of Ilger. (fn. 7)
It is not clear at what date it was granted to Saher
de Quincy; but it was stated in 1220 that it was given
to the Earl of Winchester for his maintenance in the
king's service at the royal pleasure. (fn. 8) This was apparently an ineffectual bribe, for both Saher and his son
Roger rebelled against King John and continued to
support Louis the Dauphin even after the accession
of Henry III; the manor of Keyston was accordingly
committed to Joslan de Brisay and Peter des Roches
on 2 November 1220, after it had been taken into
the king's hand on the 25th of the previous July,
when the news of Saher's death reached him. Provision was made for Margaret de Quincy, Saher's
widow, by the assignment to her of another manor,
and his goods were saved to his executors. (fn. 9) Early
in the following year Roger, son of Saher, submitted
and did homage, and on 26 February 1221 orders
were sent out that he should be given seisin of the
lands, fees, and rents of Saher, his father, without
delay. (fn. 10) In 1255 he was dealing with meadow land
in Keyston, (fn. 11) but the manor is not mentioned among
his Huntingdonshire possessions in the inquest taken
after his death in 1264. It seems, nevertheless, to have
passed to his daughters and co-heirs; for Helen, the
widow of Alan la Zouche, Elizabeth, the wife of
Alexander Comyn, Earl of Buchan, and Margaret,
the widow of William Ferrers, Earl of Derby, were
parties to a fine concerning it in 1271, when 2 carucates
of land here were settled upon Margaret and her heirs. (fn. 12)
She died about 1280, (fn. 13) leaving as her heir her grandson,
John de Ferrers. He made proof of his age on 8 July
1293, when Robert of Heacham, the rector of Keyston,
stated that he had been born at Cardiff on Saturday
before St. John's Day (20 June) 1271, which the
rector of Kimbolton confirmed, adding that it was
just two years after the marriage of his parents,
Robert de Ferrers and Eleanor, granddaughter of
Sir Humfrey de Bohun of Kimbolton. (fn. 14)
Ferrers of Chartley. Vairy or and gules.
Devereux. Argent a fesse gules with three roundels gules in the chief.
The manor subsequently followed the descent of
the barony of Ferrers of Chartley. (fn. 15) Anne, daughter
and heir of Sir William de Ferrers of Chartley (d. 1450),
married Walter Devereux, and their great-greatgrandson Walter was created Earl of Essex in 1572
and died in 1576. (fn. 16) Robert, Earl of Essex and Lord
Ferrers, received a licence to alienate the manor to
Thomas Crompton and Robert Wright in 1589. (fn. 17)
This was a forced sale, made in order to discharge a
debt of £3,000 to the Crown. The manor was regarded as having been sold to the queen, (fn. 18) and
seems to have remained in the Crown until 1616,
when, being in the tenure of Henry Clifford (to whom
it appears to have been first leased by Walter, Earl of
Essex, about 1588), it was granted by James I to Thomas
Emerson, his heirs and assigns. (fn. 19) Within two years
it had passed to Thomas Dudley and Margaret his
wife, who sold it in 1618 to Sir James Wingfield. (fn. 20)
Wingfield. Argent a bend gules cotised sable with three pairs of wings argent on the bend.
Almost immediately after this purchase Sir James
Wingfield, with the consent of the freeholders on the
manor, began to turn arable into pasture, and for this
purpose inclosed over 1,700
acres, the freeholders receiving
shares in the inclosure and the
rector a tithe rent-charge of
20d. an acre yearly in compensation of his glebe. (fn. 21) In
1634 the manor was conveyed
to Sir Francis Bodenham and
Edward Harbert for the purpose of settlement on Sir
James and his heirs. (fn. 22) His
son, Edward Maria Wingfield,
succeeded him before 21 April
1642, when his estate at Keyston was certified by Mr.
Justice Heath to be sufficient
security for the payment of a debt which he owed to
Wolley Leigh of Thorpe in Surrey. (fn. 23) This debt was
collected at the end of the first Civil War by the Parliament, the Committee for Advance of Money giving
order 'for the sale by Edward Maria Wingfield of
Keston of so much of his estate as should produce
£800 due upon a bond to Wolley Lee [Leigh] esq., a
Delinquent.' (fn. 24) Wingfield was still living at Keyston
in 1655, (fn. 25) but presumably did not care to risk the
remainder of his estate by joining in the royalist
rising of that year. He seems to have been succeeded
before 1680 by his son John, who died about 1687, (fn. 26)
leaving four daughters and co-heirs: Mary, Alice,
Elizabeth and Dorothy, the eldest of whom was not
more than seven years old. In 1703 a settlement of a
quarter of the manor was made upon Alice, on her
marriage with William Leete, (fn. 27) who died before
1739. Mary married William Bridges, and the
youngest sister Dorothy was married at Keyston in
1710 to the rector, Henry Lee. (fn. 28) Elizabeth, who never
married, died in 1739, when a fresh settlement of the
manor was made. (fn. 29) Mary and Dorothy had no children,
but Alice had a son, Wingfield Leete, and several
daughters. One of these, Dorothy, was adopted by the
Lees as their heir, but she died unmarried in 1729,
at the age of seventeen, during the lifetime of her
aunt, Dorothy Lee. (fn. 30) In 1751 Wingfield Leete with
his wife Mary and his sister Anna Maria and Dorothy
Lee were parties to a recovery concerning Keyston
Manor; this appears to have been made in connection
with the marriage of Anna Maria to James Sykes. (fn. 31)
Wingfield Leete died childless, and after his death
the manor was divided between his sisters, Anna
Maria Sykes and Mary, the wife of Richard Willis.
Richard Wingfield Willis, Mary's son, was heir to
both sisters. (fn. 32) He sold the whole manor in 1791
to Thomas Elderkin, (fn. 33) whose family remained in
possession of it until 1877, in which year another
Thomas Elderkin sold it to Messrs. Duncan and Milligan. In 1912 Mr. Milligan sold the manor to Mr.
Joseph Henry Horsley, who died in 1917 and was
succeeded by his son, Mr. Guy B. Horsley, who sold
it in 1933 to Sir Holburt Waring.
An action heard before the justices of assize in
1286 seems to indicate the existence of a sub-manor
in Keyston which had been held by Osbert Covenard,
who had granted a tenement to Stephen de Scaldewell
to be held of him. Osbert then gave the services
due from Stephen to Maurice de Monte Martirum,
who held them of William de Ferrers. Stephen died
and was succeeded by Walter, his son, who did
homage to Maurice. After Maurice's death William
de Ferrers, as overlord, gave the custody of Saher, son
of Maurice, to Simon de Cotes, who unjustly disseised Walter. (fn. 34) The later descent of this holding
has not been traced, but a reputed manor known as
MONTAGU MANOR appears in the 17th century.
In 1609 Edward and Thomas Dudley conveyed lands
to Sir Sidney Montagu, (fn. 35) who was presumably a
trustee for his brother Henry. At his death in 1642
Henry, Earl of Manchester, bequeathed to his son
Walter 500 marks a year rent-charge on Keyston
Manor. 'Walter, being then out of England and
afterwards in the Tower, demanded this rent of the
young Earl his brother,' who said the will was void
as the rent-charge was given on lands that would not
bear it, and further that during his six years' imprisonment he had furnished him with nearly that sum for
his subsistence. On his release Walter 'accepted a
small present from the Earl for his journey to France,'
and thereafter, having taken religious vows, expected
nothing further. But in 1657 he heard that his brother
was being 'questioned for two-thirds of his rentcharge and arrears on the score of his recusancy,' and
thereupon urged the Cardinal (Mazarin) to represent
to the Protector that he had been 'relieved by
his brother's kindness only, not of right,' and to
request that the Earl might not be pressed on this
demand. (fn. 36)
The property followed the descent of the Earldom
and afterwards of the Dukedom of Manchester (fn. 37)
until 1918, when under the names of Manchester
Lodge Farm and Mickle Hill Farm it was put up to
auction and later sold. Any manorial rights there
may have been have apparently been lost.
As was frequently the case with regard to the
property of absentee landlords, Keyston seems
to have been developed, probably in the 13th century, by conveying away large freeholds. It
appears from an action in 1286 that William
Wold or William, son of Maurice de Wold Weston
(Old Weston), gave to Ralph Waldeschef of
Chesterton and Beatrice, his wife, lands in Keyston
which Ralph afterwards leased to Roger de Lylleford
and Alice, his wife. Beatrice in her widowhood later,
as Roger asserted, quitclaimed to him all her right
in the vill and fields of Keyston which included the
lands given by William de Wold. Beatrice, however,
denied that the quitclaim was sealed by her. (fn. 38) In
1299 Roger and Alice conveyed lands in Keyston to
Richard le Faukener of Keyston, clerk, (fn. 39) and in 1384
John de Stukeley obtained from a Thomas Faukener
and Elizabeth his wife a quitclaim of 2 messuages,
8 tofts, a carucate of land, 6 acres of meadow,
2 acres of pasture and rent of one penny and
a left-hand glove, (fn. 40) and a similar quitclaim from
Richard Northfolk and Margaret his wife of whatsoever right they might have in the premises during the
lifetime of Margaret. (fn. 41) It seems probable that this,
like Stukeley's land in Gidding, was afterwards sold
on account of his debts, but no evidence as to its
further history has been found.
Plan of Keyston Church
Another large holding was that of 400 acres of land,
30 acres meadow, and 20 acres pasture, which appears
to have been the inheritance of Anne the wife of
Thomas Pulter the elder. She and her husband conveyed it in 1475 to John Nicholls. (fn. 42) Thomas Pulter
had other lands in Keyston, for he afterwards complained that he had enfeoffed William Husey, Simon
Hareby, John Lytyll and John Dymmok 'to the intent
to refeffe him,' which they refused to do. He brought
an action against them in Chancery about 1475, (fn. 43) but
the result has not been found.
In 1432 John Drewell and Henry Penwortham,
clerks, obtained a quitclaim concerning 5 messuages,
2 tofts, a dovecot, 300 acres land, 16 acres meadow and
6d. rent in Keyston from Simon Horne of Daventry
and Elizabeth his wife and the heirs of Elizabeth,
with a warrant to the heirs of Henry; (fn. 44) and in the year
following they received a similar quitclaim of the
premises from Thomas Agard and his wife Christiana
and the heirs of Christiana. (fn. 45)
Church
The church of ST. JOHN THE
BAPTIST consists of a chancel (36¼ ft.
by 19 ft.), nave (60¾ ft. by 18½ ft.), north
transept (22½ ft. by 13¾ ft.), south transept (22 ft. by
16 ft.), north aisle (46¼ ft. by 10¼ ft.), south aisle
(46½ ft. by 11½ ft.), west tower (11¼ ft. by 10¾ ft.),
and south porch. The walls are of coursed rubble
with stone dressings, and the roofs are covered with
zinc and lead.
The church is not mentioned in the Domesday
Survey (1086), and the earliest existing parts are the
nave and aisles, c. 1250, and the chancel, c. 1280.
The tower and porch were built c. 1350. Commencing about 1480 a considerable reconstruction took
place: the east wall of the chancel was rebuilt, the
walls heightened and a new window inserted in each;
the clearstory was added to the nave; the south
transept was built and new windows inserted in the
south aisle walls; and finally, c. 1500, the north
transept was built and new windows formed in the
north aisle walls. The roofs of the nave, transepts
and aisles were renewed when these parts were respectively reconstructed towards the end of the
15th century, and correspond with the slight differences of date; but those of the south aisle and porch
were renewed in the 17th century. The church
underwent a general restoration in 1883, when the
lead on the nave roof was replaced with zinc; and
shortly afterwards the top of the spire was repaired.
The roofs of the south aisle and transept were repaired
in 1897; the chancel was re-roofed in 1904, and the
spire was again repaired in 1908. The roofs of the
north transept and north aisle were thoroughly repaired in 1922–3, and in 1928 the top of the spire was
again repaired.
The chancel, c. 1280, has a 15th-century five-light
east window with a two-centred head, and with
modern mullions and geometrical tracery. The
north wall has a late 13th-century two-light window
with a plain spandrel in a two-centred head; the
blocked rear-jambs and arch of a similar window, only
visible inside; a 15th-century three-light window with
vertical tracery in a four-centred head, partly occupying the position of a 13th-century window of which
the eastern splays and the rear-arch remain; a blocked
modern doorway. The south wall has a late 13thcentury two-light window similar to that on the
north; an early 16th-century three-light window
with a four-centred head occupying the position of a
13th-century window of which the eastern jamb and
part of the arch remain; a 15th-century three-light
window similar to that on the north; a 13th-century
doorway with a moulded trefoiled arch and one engaged jamb-shaft each side, with capitals having stiffleaf foliage and moulded bases; a piscina and triple
sedilia, c. 1300, having trefoiled heads carried on three
circular shafts with moulded capitals and bases,
octofoiled basin to the piscina and graduated seats
to the sedilia. The north-west and south-west
windows contain a little 15th-century glass, that on
north with the winged lion of St. Mark and that on
south with a figure of a female saint. The side walls
have been heightened in the 15th century, when the
east wall seems to have been rebuilt; at the foot of
the east gable, at the north end, is a carving of a roseen-soleil in a recessed panel, and at the south end is
the carved head of a bishop. The roof is modern,
1904. The chancel arch, c. 1300, is two-centred, of
three chamfered orders resting on three attached
shafts on each side, having moulded capitals and bases.
The nave, c. 1250, has an arcade of five bays on
each side, having two centred arches of two chamfered
orders, resting on columns and responds which are
alternately circular and octagonal, but the circular
columns on one side face octagonal columns on the
other; the responds, which are half-columns, are
semicircular at the north-west and south-east, and
semi-octagonal at the north-east and south-west.
All have moulded capitals and bases and square
plinths. Three of the capitals on the north side have
the nail-head ornament. The late 15th-century
clearstory has five two-light windows on each side,
having vertical tracery in four-centred heads. The
early 16th-century roof has moulded beams, jack-legs
and braces, with traceried spandrels; there are
remains of painted decoration on the eastern beam.
The late 15th-century north transept (fn. 46) has, in the
east wall, two original three-light windows with fourcentred heads; and a rectangular locker. The north
wall has an original transomed four-light window with
tracery in a four-centred head. The west wall has a
three-light window similar to those in the east wall.
The east and north windows contain a little contemporary glass with fragments of two figures and borders
of crowns, letters, the white rose and the rising sun
and other ornaments. The contemporary roof is of
low pitch and has moulded and carved beams, jacklegs, braces and carved spandrel pieces. The stone
corbels at the feet of the jack-legs are moulded and
embattled.
The late 15th-century south transept has, in the
east wall, two original three-light windows with
vertical tracery in four-centred heads; and a 14thcentury piscina with a two-centred head and an octofoiled basin. The south wall has parts of the jambs
and splays of a large blocked window, probably of
four lights, in which a 17th-century two-light window
with a four-centred head has been formed with the
old materials. The west wall has a three-light window
similar to those in the east wall. The 16th-century
roof has moulded beams, jack-legs and braces, with
carved bosses to the beams and purlins. Two of the
stone corbels under the jack-legs are carved with heads.
The north aisle, c. 1250, has, in the north wall,
two late 15th-century three-light windows with fourcentred heads, and there is another in the west wall.
The original north doorway has a two-centred head
of two chamfered orders, the outer order resting on
detached shafts (one of which has gone) with moulded
capitals and bases. The late 15th-century pent-roof
is generally similar to that of the north transept, and
the feet of the jack-legs rest on moulded and carved
stone corbels.
The south aisle, c. 1250, has, in the south wall,
three late 15th-century three-light windows with
vertical tracery in four-centred heads; and a 14thcentury south doorway with a two-centred head and
continuous moulded jambs. The west wall has a
late 15th-century window with tracery in a fourcentred head, apparently similar to those in the
south wall, but reduced in height and some of the
tracery omitted. The pent-roof is nearly all modern,
but retains a few 17th-century timbers.
The west tower, c. 1350, has a two-centred tower
arch of three chamfered orders carried on similar
responds with moulded capitals and bases. The west
doorway has a two-centred head with continuous
moulded jambs; immediately above the apex is a
small bracket supported by a carved recumbent figure
of a man. The doorway is set in the inner half of the
wall, and the outer half forms a shallow porch with
ogee head, cusped and sub-cusped, and with carved
spandrels (one being the head and forepart of a
goat), crocketed label, and a straight-sided embattled
label forming a gable above; the jambs each have three
filleted bowtels with moulded capitals and chamfered
bases; there is a slight thickening of the wall carried
up above the straight-sided label, finished with a
square top, and flanked by two small buttresses
carried up as pinnacles. Above this porch is a lozengeshaped window with tracery and a continuous label
all round. In the next stage the north, south and
west walls each have a single-light window; and the
east wall has a small doorway with a segmental-pointed
head, opening on to the roof. The belfry windows
are coupled transomed two-lights with tracery in
two-centred heads; the jambs are carved with fourleaved flowers and a running stem; and the lights
above the transoms are filled in with rough stones
forming small triangular openings. Above these
windows is a deep band of five panels on each side,
with traceried heads. The tower has a boldly
moulded plinth and square buttresses set well in
from the angles, those on the east being within the
nave. The buttresses are carried to the top of the
tower, which is finished with a moulded cornice with
carved heads and notch-heads and is surmounted
by an octagonal broach spire having three tiers of
lights, the first and third on the cardinal faces; the
windows of the lowest tier are of two lights with a
central and two attached jamb-shafts, and have a
quatrefoil in the head, those of the second tier are
somewhat similar, and those of the top tier are
single-lights. The top of the spire is about 137½ ft.
above the ground. The lowest stage of the tower was
vaulted, but the vault has been replaced by a wooden
floor. The tower stairs are in the south-west angle,
and are covered by a quadripartite vault with chamfered ribs.
The south porch, c. 1350, has a two-centred outer
archway of two wave-moulded orders, the inner order
carried on semicircular attached shafts with moulded
capitals and bases. The side walls have each a singlelight window. The late 16th-century roof has
moulded beams.
The font has a modern octagonal bowl on a 13thcentury circular stem and base and a square plinth.
The 13th-century octagonal bowl with tapering sides
was found, about forty years ago, in the rectory
garden, and now lies loose in the south aisle.
There are five bells, inscribed: (1) Feare the Lorde
1592. (2) William Marks churchwarden: . I: Eayre
fecit. 1743 gloria Deo soli: . Francis [?] Clitherow
Esquire. (3) Remember the ende 1592. (4) Give
God the praise 1592. (5) Thomas Rvssell of Wootton
near X Bedford made me in 1733 Thomas Simonts
churchwarden. The first, third and fourth are by
Watts of Leicester. In 1552 there were four bells
and a sanctus bell. (fn. 47) There were five bells by about
1709, (fn. 48) but whether this is counting the sanctus bell
is not clear.
There are a few simple old seats in the aisles, and
one is dated 1608. A bench-end, made up with a
modern seat in the north transept, is inscribed
'D. Lee her seat.' (fn. 49)
The oak lectern, made up from a 17th-century
bedstead, has a desk ornamented with arabesque
carving, a turned stem with octagonal base, and
triangular foot. The reading desk is made up of
17th-century turned and moulded oak.
Lying loose in the south aisle is a coped coffin-lid,
c. 1300, with foliated cross at head and foot, and having
a transverse bar with crossed ends in the middle.
There are three 13th-century stone coffins lying across
ditches in the village.
In the walling of the east wall of the porch are two
stones with remains of 11th-century interlaced ornament; and another similar stone is built into the
south wall of the tower. Lying loose in the church
is an oak cadaver, c. 1500. On the west wall of the
north transept is a reset early 16th-century matrix of
a brass with indents of a man and wife and inscription
plate; the top of the stone has been cut to the shape
of a two-centred arch, and on either side of the figures
an ornamental cross, the letter 'D' and a monogram
(probably 'N A') have been deeply cut in.
There are the following monuments: in the chancel, floor slabs now fixed on the wall, to I.W. 1680;
the Rev. John Gardner, rector, d. 1698, and Frances,
his wife, d. 1740; Francis, Catherine and John,
children of John and Frances Gardner (date illegible);
John Gardner, son of the same, d. 1707; the Rev.
John Cooke, d. 1764; Margaret, his wife, d. 1761; and
Frances, their daughter, d. 1753; and glass window
to Joseph Henry Horsley, d. 1917, and Wilfrid
Palmer Horsley, his son, d. 1917. In the north
transept, to the Rev. Henry Lee, rector, d. 1751; and
floor slabs to Ann (Wingfield), wife of Robert Hampson, d. 1666; Alice, wife of Robert Gowler, d. 1725;
Dorothy Leete, d. 1729; Elizabeth Wingfield, d.
1739; Mary, wife of John Wingfield, d. 1739; Henry
Lee [d. 1751]; and Dorothy Lee, wife of the Rev.
Henry Lee, d. 1762. In the south transept, to
Frederick Henry Binns, d. 1846; and glass window to
Elizabeth Binns, d. 1885. In the north aisle, War
Memorial, 1914–18; and glass window to T. R.
Spencer, d. 1863.
The registers are as follows: (i) baptisms, marriages and burials 11 February 1637/8 to 22 March
172930; (ii) the same 24 May 1728 to 25 December
1770, marriages end 30 December 1753; (iii) baptisms and burials 7 April 1771 to 2 December 1812;
(iv) marriages 25 November 1754 to 10 August 1812.
The church plate consists of a silver cup inscribed 'Keystone. H. Lee, D.D. Rector,' hallmarked for 1735–6; (fn. 50) a silver cover paten for same,
similarly hall-marked; a shaped silver plate, inscribed 'Keystone W. Elliston, D.D., Rector. 1776,'
hall-marked for 1775–6; (fn. 51) a silver flagon, inscribed
'Keystone. Revd. J. P. Goodman M.A. & R.D.
Rector,' and on the bottom 'Presented by Mary P.
Ray, sister of the Rector. July 1885,' hall-marked
for 1885–6.
Advowson
The church at Keyston was valued
in 1291 at £18 13s. 4d. (fn. 52) and in 1535
at £30 1s. 6d. (fn. 53) In 1428 it was
assessed at twenty-three marks, and paid 37s. 4d.
to the subsidy. (fn. 54) The advowson was attached to the
manor and followed the same descent. (fn. 55) It was acquired before 1764 by Charles, Marquess of Rockingham; (fn. 56) it descended to Mr. G. C. WentworthFitzwilliam, whose executors are now patrons. The
tithes in Keyston seem to have been of considerable
value, for about 1620, when Sir James Wingfield
proposed the inclosure of over 1,700 acres of
land, the rector, John Scott, (fn. 57) 'perceiving the
great inconvenience which was to arise to the
church,' resisted the proposal and refused to
receive tithes in kind out of the inclosure, declaring that the rectory was thereby disinherited
almost to the value of one-half yearly. (fn. 58) Upon this
complaint, 'to prevent the disherison of the said
church and to make the said parsonage of as good, or
neere as good, value as it was before,' Sir James and
his tenants agreed that arbitrators 'of qualitie and
conscience' should be chosen by common consent
'for establishing such a yearly rate upon the new
inclosed grounds as they in their consciences and
discretions should think to be equall ratably and
respectively for the proportion of the said lands.'
Sir Robert Payne and Sir Lewis Pemberton, the
chosen arbitrators, decided that the inclosure should
pay 1s. 8d. an acre yearly to the rector and his successors in lieu of tithes. Notwithstanding their
agreement, Edward Bate and Thomas Hilles, 'two
substantiall tenants' and owners respectively of 120
and 850 acres of the inclosure, neglected to pay their
share. The rector brought an action against them
in chancery; whereupon Edward Bate declared that
the rate was exorbitant, and begged 'not to be compelled to pay as sett down by the referees'; while
Thomas Hilles pleaded that, having consulted Edward
Maria Wingfield and learned that 'Dame Mary,'
probably the widow of Sir Edward Wingfield, 'was
not willing to encumber the inheritance with this
perpetual rent charge,' he did not absolutely agree
to it, but 'did pay at times to stay suits until there
might be some friendly agreement.' (fn. 59)
There are no charities for this parish.