CHESTERTON
Cestretune (xi cent.); Cestreton (xii cent.);
Chesterton (xiv cent.).
The parish of Chesterton contains 1,349 acres of
land and lies to the south of the River Nene, which
separates it from Northamptonshire. A feeder of the
Nene, called Billing Brook, forms the western boundary
of the parish. The altitude varies from 28 ft. to 179 ft.
above Ordnance datum, the village being about 70 ft.
The subsoil is Oxford Clay, Great Oolite, and Cornbrash. The parish lies along the Great North Road,
which forms its eastern boundary; the nearest
station is Orton Waterville, 2½ miles away, on the
London Midland and Scottish Railway. Neolithic
flints have been found scattered over the parish, (fn. 1) but
it and the neighbouring parish of Water Newton are
far more famous for their Romano-British remains.
'The Castles,' the name given to three fields, lying
due north of the village and near the Nene and Billing
Brook, is the site of a small Romano-British town,
which was surrounded by a rampart. The site of the
town has never been scientifically excavated, but many
miscellaneous finds have appeared. The Roman
signal station, so marked on the Ordnance map, is
really a round barrow. (fn. 2)
There formerly was a very fine house close to the
church, dating from the end of the 16th or the beginning
of the 17th century, and probably built by the first Sir
Robert Beville (d. 1635), and held successively by the
Drydens, Pigotts and Wallers. It was of Elizabethan
character, had a long central block with wings at each
end, and a porch of two stories, slightly out of the
centre, with transomed square-headed three-light
and four-light windows, embattled parapets, steeppitched roofs and plain gables with finials. It was
pulled down in 1807. (fn. 3) The porch has been re-erected
as part of a lodge at Alwalton, and other portions are at
the Lynch Farm house in the same village. A bay
window is preserved as the library window at Elton
Hall.
Manors
In the reign of Edward the Confessor
part of Chesterton, assessed to geld at
4 hides and 2 virgates of land, consisted
of two manors, which were held by two unnamed
brothers. (fn. 4) After 1066, it came into the hands of
Eustace the Sheriff (fn. 5) and afterwards was held as half
a knight's fee (fn. 6) of the barony of Lovetot or Southoe (fn. 7)
(q.v.). On the division of the lands of the barony
of Lovetot in 1219, it was assigned to the pourparty
of Rose, the second sister of Nigel de Lovetot.
Rose's son Richard took his mother's name of Lovetot,
and in 1279 it was held of his grandson Thomas. (fn. 8)
From this date the overlordship followed the descent
of Southoe. (fn. 9)
Beville. Gules a cheveron or between three bezants.
Dryden. Azure a lion with a sphere between two stars in the chief all or.
The earliest reference to the WALDESHEF or
BEVILLE MANOR is probably in 1166, when
William de Chesterton held a quarter of a fee of
Nigel de Lovetot. (fn. 10) In 1200–1 Ralph de Chesterton
and Roger de Cantilupe were claiming the advowson, (fn. 11)
and some 20 years later the quarter of a fee had
passed to Henry Waldeshef, who held with Roger de
Cantilupe a half-fee. (fn. 12) By 1242–3 Henry de Waldeshef was dead, and the half-fee was held by his
heirs and Roger de Cantilupe. (fn. 13) The quarter-fee had
passed in 1279 to William de Waldeshef, possibly son
or grandson of Henry. (fn. 14) William and his wife
Margery were holding later in the 13th century, and
in 1304 their son John settled the manor, together
with the dower of Beatrice Waldeshef, when it
should fall due, on his parents for their lives. (fn. 15)
William was holding the manor in 1316, (fn. 16) but
apparently died before 1320–1, when John, his
son, gave lands in Chesterton to his brother
Nicholas and Margaret his wife, and William their
son. (fn. 17) In 1373 Roger Leycester of Chesterton and
Margaret his wife, who had probably been the widow
of the Waldeshef holder of the manor, conveyed the
manor of Chesterton to Robert Boteler, clerk, and
John Skele, of Glatton, evidently feoffees. (fn. 18) Robert
Boteler in 1378–9 granted the manor, under the
name of the manor of Waldeshefs in Chesterton, to
Margaret Waldeshef, then probably the widow of
Roger Leycester, for her life with remainder to John
Beville and Agnes his wife and
their heirs. (fn. 19) It would appear
that Agnes was the heiress of
the Waldeshefs, which is corroborated by the fact that
the Bevilles of Chesterton
quartered the Waldeshef
arms. (fn. 20) In 1409–10 John and
Agnes Beville settled their
lands in Wood Walton and
Chesterton on Richard Butvileyn, chaplain, Thomas son
of Thomas Beville of Denton,
Henry son of Simon Butvileyn,
Henry de Deen, chaplain, Thomas Beville, lord of
Wood Walton, and other trustees. (fn. 21) They had a son
and heir Thomas Beville and a daughter Maud, the
wife of Simon Butvileyn. (fn. 22) Thomas was succeeded by
William Beville, who died in 1487, and left a request
in his will to be buried in the church of St. Michael
of Chesterton 'before the altar of our Blessed Lady
Seynt Mary the Virgin.' (fn. 23) He left two sons, William,
who died childless in 1504; and Robert, who made a
settlement of the manor on himself and Elizabeth
his wife in 1513 and died in 1517. (fn. 24) William his son
was a minor, and after he reached his majority obtained the greater part of
Chesterton, including Beville's
Manor. (fn. 25) He died in 1553 (fn. 26)
and was succeeded by his son
Robert (d. 1602); (fn. 27) grandson,
Sir Robert Beville, K.B. (d.
1634), (fn. 28) and great-grandson,
Sir Robert Beville, K.B. (fn. 29)
The last named died in 1640
leaving no surviving children,
and the manor was divided
between John Hewett, son of
his eldest sister Katharine;
Thomas Elmes, son of his
second sister Grace; and
Honor, his youngest sister, the wife of Sir John
Dryden, bart. (fn. 30) In 1647, Elmes sold his third part
of Beville's manor to Sir John Dryden, (fn. 31) and thus
two parts of the manor came into possession of the
Dryden family. Sir John died before November
1658, (fn. 32) his wife having predeceased him. (fn. 33) Chesterton
passed to their second son, John Dryden, who died
there in January 1707/8. (fn. 34) He was unmarried and
left the manor to his brother Erasmus, who also died
unmarried. (fn. 35) It passed to his nephew Robert Pigott,
of Chetwynd (Salop), whose son Robert succeeded
him. (fn. 36) His grandson, another Robert, (fn. 37) abandoned
the somewhat Jacobite sympathies of his ancestors
and became an ardent supporter of the French
Revolution. Before this, however, in 1776, thinking
that the American War would ruin the country, he
sold all his English estates (fn. 38) and went to live in
France, where he became known as a food and dress
reformer. (fn. 39) Pigott sold Chesterton to — Waller; (fn. 40)
it was bought from the Waller family in 1803 by
George, Earl of Aboyne, afterwards Marquess of
Huntly, (fn. 41) whose descendants retained it until about
1914. The Rev. William Francis Buttle, M.A., is now
lord of the manor.
The CANTILUPE MANOR, which formed the
second half of the Lovetot holding, was known as
the manor of Chesterton and was also held as a
quarter of a knight's fee. (fn. 42) In 1166 it was held by
Roger de Cantilupe (fn. 43) and in 1207 a Roger de Cantilupe brought an action against his sister Maud as to
land in Chesterton. (fn. 44) Another Roger de Cantilupe
in 1242–3 held half a fee here with the heirs of Henry
de Waldeshef, (fn. 45) and it was probably the same Roger
who in 1257 granted the wardship and marriage of
his heir to Adam de Chesterton before proceeding
on a pilgrimage which he had vowed to make. (fn. 46) He
died before 1265, when, according to the arrangement
made in 1257, the king granted the wardship of his
heir to Adam de Chesterton, a king's clerk, the wardship being in the king's hands owing to the part
taken by Roger de Lovetot in the baronial opposition
to Henry III. (fn. 47) The heir was probably the John de
Cantilupe who held the manor in 1279. (fn. 48) It was
his sister Alice (Elicia), daughter of Roger de Cantilupe, who was dealing with lands in Chesterton in
1292. (fn. 49) In 1303, Roger de Cantilupe had succeeded
him and seems to have been the last member of the
family to hold it. (fn. 50) In 1339, it had passed into the
possession of Sir Richard de la Pole, knt., who held
it jointly with his wife Joan. (fn. 51) He died in 1345 and
was succeeded by his son, Sir William de la Pole. (fn. 52)
He settled the manor in 1362 on his son John, on the
occasion of the latter's marriage with Joan, daughter
of John, Lord Cobham. (fn. 53) It passed to their only
daughter and heiress Joan, who with her husband
Sir Robert Hemenhale sold it in 1390 to Sir Gerard
Braybrooke, senior. (fn. 54) It appears to have been settled
on his daughter Joan, the wife of Sir William Thirnyng,
knt., (fn. 55) but after her death reverted to her brother,
Gerard Braybrooke. (fn. 56) He granted it in 1427 to Henry
Chichele, Archbishop of Canterbury, (fn. 57) who bestowed
it on the college of Higham Ferrers, of which he
was the founder. (fn. 58) At the Dissolution, the manor
and its appurtenances were valued at £6 14s. 7d. a
year. (fn. 59) In 1528, however, the college had granted it
on a 21 years' lease to Robert Drewe, of Chesterton, (fn. 60)
and in 1537 granted it, at the request of Wolsey, to
William Beville, (fn. 61) the lord of Beville's manor (q.v.),
and from this time the descent of the two manors
was identical. In 1543, however, Henry VIII granted
the rent of £6 13s. 7d. and 2 capons a year, (fn. 62) by which
Beville held the manor, to Robert Dacre on the
condition that he maintained 2 chaplains, nominated
by the Crown, in the parish church of Higham Ferrers
and a schoolmaster there. (fn. 63) This rent was held
by the Dacres as late as 1748, but it was generally
described as the 'manor of Chesterton.' (fn. 64)
The manor of CHESTERTON VESSIS [VESCI]
may be traced back to the land which was held by
Ulf in the time of Edward the Confessor. (fn. 65) In 1086,
it was held, apparently in demesne, by Count Eustace
of Boulogne. (fn. 66) It formed part of the Honour of
Boulogne in the 13th century (fn. 67) and in 1470 was held
of the Earl of Richmond. (fn. 68)
Vesci. Gules a cross argent.
The first sub-tenant whose name is recorded is
Eustace de Merc, the founder of Royston Priory. (fn. 69)
In 1201, he had been succeeded by his son William,
who held one knight's fee in Chesterton about 1210. (fn. 70)
Giles de Merc, probably the son of William, was
holding this knight's fee in 1217–18 and 1221–2 (fn. 71)
and sold the manor in 1226 or 1227 to Nigel de
Amundeville. (fn. 72) In 1258, (fn. 73) he sold it to Richard de
Clare, Earl of Gloucester and
Hertford, but obtained a
grant of it for the life of himself and his wife Joan. In
1277, Gilbert, Earl of Gloucester, obtained a quitclaim
from Alice de Amundeville,
the widow of Nigel's son
Robert, for certain lands
which she claimed in Chesterton. (fn. 74) The Earl, however,
before 1278, exchanged the
manor with Agnes, widow of
William de Vesci. (fn. 75) She was
a daughter of William de Ferrers, Earl of Derby,
and through her mother one of the co-heirs of
Anselm, the Earl Marshal. (fn. 76) She held it as half
a knight's fee at her death in 1290. (fn. 77) Her heir
was her son William de Vesci, to whom she had
sub-enfeoffed the manor before 1278. (fn. 78) He died in
1297, (fn. 79) but had previously given it to his son John
and his wife Clemencia, a Frenchwoman, to hold
jointly for their lives. (fn. 80) John died in his father's
lifetime, (fn. 81) and Clemencia continued to hold it till after
1303. (fn. 82) Subsequently she demised it for an annual
rent of 100s. to William de Thorp and then returned
to France, so that in 1343, after the outbreak of war,
the king seized the rent into his own hands. (fn. 83) She
died abroad before 1345 and the manor passed to
the heirs of Agnes de Vesci, who were the descendants
of four of her sisters. Their names were John de
Mohun of Dunster, Hugh Mortimer of Chelmarsh,
John de Bohun of Midhurst, who each inherited a
quarter of the manor, while Henry FitzRoger and
John de Beauchamp of Somerset, a minor, each inherited an eighth part. (fn. 84) During the minority of
Beauchamp, the wardship of his share was committed
to Mortimer. (fn. 85) Before 1355, the latter had obtained
a moiety and an eighth part of the manor, (fn. 86) and it
was possibly his holding, described as the manor of
'Vessis in Chesterton,' of which John Tiptoft, Earl
of Worcester, was seised at the time of his attainder
and execution in 1470. (fn. 87) His son and heir Edward,
a child of three, (fn. 88) was restored probably at the return
of Edward IV to the throne in 1471, but died unmarried in 1485. (fn. 89) His heirs were his three aunts,
and a messuage, 20 acres of land and 30 acres of
pasture, probably representing a third share of the
manor, passed to the second, Joan, wife of Sir Edmund
Ingoldesthorpe. (fn. 90) She died in 1494, when her heirs
were the five daughters of her daughter Isabel, who
married John Nevill, Marquess Montagu. (fn. 91) Margaret, the second of these heiresses, married Charles
Brandon, afterwards Earl of Suffolk, (fn. 92) and they seem
to have become possessed of the whole manor, since
in 1508 they sold it to John Castel, with warranty
from her heirs. (fn. 93) Subsequently this manor, or part
of it, came into the possession of the Bevilles and
probably first appears in the documents relating to
the family as two tenements and 60 acres of land,
etc., held by knight's service of the king in chief, of
which Robert Beville died seised in 1602. (fn. 94) On the
division of their property on the death of the second
Sir Robert Beville, the manor of Chesterton Vessis
appears by name (fn. 95) and followed the descent of
Beville's manor (q.v.). (fn. 96)
ROYSTON (or CHESTERTON) MANOR may
be identified with land which Eustace de Merc
granted to the Priory of Royston before 1184. (fn. 97)
Possibly it may also be identified with the carucate
of land which was said in 1279 to have been given
to Giles de Merc. (fn. 98) The manor was then held of
the priory by William de Hamtone for the term of
his life at a money rent. (fn. 99) In 1291, the possessions
of the priory were valued for taxation at £3 6s. 8d., (fn. 100)
and at its dissolution the manor was let at farm
for £4 6s. 8d. a year. (fn. 101) In 1543 the king sold it to
William Beville (fn. 102) and from that date it followed the
descent of Beville's manor (q.v.).
The College of Fotheringhay acquired 5 messuages
and 126 acres of land in Chesterton about 1506, (fn. 103)
but they do not seem to have formed a separate manor
and appear to have been held of various manors in
Chesterton. (fn. 104) In 1547, Edward VI granted the
reversion of the holdings to Richard Lee, (fn. 105) who in
1550 alienated them to William Beville. (fn. 106)
In 1278, the Knights Templars held a messuage in
Beville's manor (q.v.) and their sub-tenant, Beatrix
de Waldeshef, paid them a yearly rent of 2s. (fn. 107) It
was presumably the same holding which passed to the
Knights of St. John, from whom it was held in
the 16th century by the College of Fotheringhay for
the same rent of 2s. (fn. 108) This was granted in 1543
to William Beville. (fn. 109)
In the early 13th century both the tenants of the
Lovetot fee in Chesterton owed one suit to the
Hundred of Norman Cross, (fn. 110) which was in the hands
of the Abbot of Thorney. (fn. 111) In 1278, a tenant of
Chesterton manor (q.v.), then held by John de
Cantilupe, held a virgate of land and did suit at the
shire and hundred. (fn. 112) In 1285, the abbot claimed to
have view of frankpledge and waifs in the manors of
the hundred. (fn. 113) The fee of Boulogne also owed suit
to the sheriff's tourn, but this was withdrawn by
Richard, Earl of Gloucester, (fn. 114) and in 1276 Agnes de
Vesci claimed to have view of frankpledge, the assize
of bread and ale, and trebuchet in her manor. (fn. 115) Her
right to the view was questioned in 1285 and it was
taken into the king's hands, but was restored in
1286, pending the settlement of her claim. (fn. 116) In 1279
fisheries worth 3s. a year were attached to Beville's
manor and Cantilupe manor, (fn. 117) and there was also a
common fishery from Newentone lake to Ewlyedyk (fn. 118)
attached to these manors and also to Chesterton
Vessis. In 1086, a custom in the wood of the Abbot
of Peterborough, presumably giving the right to carry
wood, was attached to both the Lovetot and Boulogne
fees in Chesterton, each of them paying 2s. a year. (fn. 119)
In 1254, Henry III, at the instance of Adam de
Chesterton, granted to the Prior of Royston the right
to hold a weekly market on Tuesday and a yearly
fair on the eve, day and morrow of Michaelmas, (fn. 120)
but no more seems to have been heard of it.
Church
The church of ST. MICHAEL consists of a chancel (22 ft. by 17½ ft.),
nave (48½ ft. by 19 ft.), north aisle
(8½ ft. wide), south aisle (6½ ft. wide), west tower
(10½ ft. by 10½ ft.), and south porch. The walls are
of stone rubble with ashlar dressings, and the roofs
are covered with lead.
The church is mentioned in the Domesday Survey
(1086), but no part of this early church remains.
Small parts of the nave walls may be of 12th-century
date, but they have been so much cut into by later
arcades that very little remains. Early in the 13th
century the south aisle was added, and during the
first half of the same century the west tower was
built. The north aisle was built c. 1300, and
probably the chancel, with its arch, was rebuilt at the
same time. The clearstory was added about 1330,
and a little later the spire was built. In the 18th
century the chancel was rebuilt, and a heavy oak screen
erected across the chancel arch; the aisles had new
windows inserted and the parapets reconstructed;
and the south porch was rebuilt. The church was
restored in 1841 and 1906.
The chancel is of 18th-century date, but possibly
the lower parts of the east and north walls and the
foundations of the south wall may belong to the
13th-century chancel. The east window is of simple
Renaissance design with a semicircular head with
plain imposts and keystone. There is a similar window
in each of the side walls, and a priests' door on the
south. The roof is hidden by a flat plaster ceiling.
The chancel arch of c. 1300 is two-centred and has
two chamfered orders; the line of the former chancel
roof remains on the wall above. Two lead rainwater pipes are inscribed 'g. g. 1821,' for the Rev.
Lord George Gordon, Rector 1819–1863.
The nave has an arcade of c. 1300 on the north side,
consisting of four bays having two-centred arches of
two chamfered orders on octagonal piers with moulded
capitals and bases, and plain chamfered responds with
moulded corbels carrying the inner order. The early
13th-century south arcade, also of four bays, has twocentred arches of two chamfered orders, on two
octagonal and one circular pier; the capital of the
eastern pier is carved with the water-leaf, that of the
second with stiff-leaf foliage, and that of the western
pier moulded, and all have moulded abaci and bases.
The responds are semicircular and the capital of the
eastern is carved with stiff-leaf foliage. The clearstory, c. 1300, has three square-headed three-light
windows on each side, and at the east end of the
south wall an ogee-headed one-light window. The
embattled parapet of the south wall has the ballflower ornament in its string-course. The roof is
hidden by a plaster ceiling, but some cambered tiebeams are visible and are supported on shaped
cantilever brackets, probably in lieu of splicing rotten
ends.
The north aisle, c. 1300, has the jambs of a blocked
window in the east wall. The north wall has three
18th-century windows similar to those in the chancel
but with slightly depressed heads; parts of the jambs
and splays of two blocked windows and of a blocked
doorway remain. Towards the eastern end is a low
arched recess covering a slab with black-letter inscription 'Orate p aia Willmi Beiu[y]le gnosi qui obiit anno
Reg' richardi tertii 1° cujus anime ppiciet Deus.'
The west wall is blank. In the south-east angle is
part of the blocked upper doorway to the rood-loft.
The roof is modern but has five chamfered beams,
probably of 16th-century date.
The early 13th-century south aisle has no windows
in the east and west walls. In the south wall are two
18th-century windows similar to those in the north
aisle, the easternmost being formed in a blocked
original window; an original doorway with a twocentred head of three moulded orders, the two outer
orders resting on detached shafts, three having capitals
carved with stiff-leaf foliage and one with a human
head; and an original piscina with a two-centred arch
and a square basin. The roof is modern.
The 13th-century tower has a two-centred tower
arch of three chamfered orders on chamfered responds
with attached semicircular shafts having moulded
capitals and bases. In the west wall is a tall, narrow
lancet with an external rebate and wide internal
splays. In the south wall is a similar lancet, some of
the stones of which have been re-used from another
window—and below it is a blocked 18th-century
doorway. The belfry windows are two-lights with
pierced spandrels in their heads, under a two-centred
arch resting on detached jamb-shafts with moulded
capitals and bases. The tower has bold buttresses
standing square at the angles and has a large stair-turret at the south-west angle; it is finished with a corbel
table of carved heads, from which rises an octagonal
broach spire with two tiers of spire-lights on the
cardinal faces, both tiers being two-lights.
The 18th-century porch has a semicircular-headed
outer arch with continuous moulding broken with
large square blocks. At the north-east corner, outside. some rough masonry may be the remains of an
earlier porch. A plain parapet with a small cornice
below it is carried round all three walls at the same
level.
The font is of poor 18th-century design.
There are three bells, inscribed: (1) Omnia fiant
ad gloriam Dei, 1621; (2) Sancta Margareta ora pro
nobis; (3) O Trinitas Sancta istam campanam
conserva. The first bell is by Tobias Norris (1), of
Stamford; the second by John Walgrave (c. 1418–
1440); and the third by John Michell (c. 1490). (fn. 121)
In 1712 there were in the church three bells and a
Saints' bell. (fn. 122)
The 18th-century chancel screen is of Renaissance
design with a Greek feeling. It has three semicircular
arches surmounted by a frieze and cornice, and entirely encases the responds of the chancel arch. There
is a reredos against the east wall of somewhat similar
character. The 18th-century oak pulpit is of simple
design with raised panels and a moulded cornice.
In the churchyard is the 13th-century circular
base with part of the 15th-century octagonal stem of
a churchyard cross; and a large rectangular Roman
stone coffin and cover found in 1849 in some fields
called 'the Castles.'
At the east end of the north aisle is a stone monument to Beville. It consists of two semicircular
arches grouped under a frieze and cornice supported
on two Composite columns and surmounted by a
shield enclosed with Elizabethan strapwork, and two
smaller shields. Under the arches, kneeling figures of
two men with their wives, and below, two groups each
of eight children. There is neither date nor inscription, but the heraldry clearly shows it to be to Robert
Beville and his wife Joan, daughter of William Lawrence,
of St. Ives (d. 1602 and 1574 respectively), and to their
son Sir Robert Beville and his wife Maria Coles (d. 1634
and 1611). At the east end of the south aisle is a
white marble monument with a large inscription panel
between Corinthian pilasters surmounted by a curved
pediment, and with shield of arms, and inscribed for
John Dryden, arm. (second son of John Dryden, of
Canons Ashby, bart., and Honor dau. and coheir of
Robert Beville, K.B.), who died unmarried 3 Non. of
January 1707, aged 72. Erected by his nephew and
heir Robert Pigott, arm. Above the chancel arch is a
hatchment for Elmes.
Other monuments are as follows: in the chancel to
Deborah wife of the Rev. John Fowke, d. 1808; the
Rev. John Fowke, LL.D., Rector, d. 1813; and the
Rev. Lord George Gordon, Rector, d. 1862, and
Charlotte Anne (Vaughan) his relict, d. 1879; floor
slab to Deborah Fowke, d. 1808; in the nave, floor
slabs to John Toon, d. 1831; and Mary dau. of John
and Reb. Toon, d. 1831; in the north aisle, floor
slabs to Bigland, son of Isaac and Orme Bayley, d.
1739; Orme, dau. of the same, d. 1739; Orme Bayley,
d. 1745; Isaac Bayley, gent., d. 1751; and Esther,
dau. of Isaac and Orme Bayley, d. 1760, and Orme,
her sister, d. 1757; in the south aisle, to Richard
Edwards, d. 1730, and Richard and John his sons;
and floor slabs to Richard Edwards, d. 1730; Martha
Standish, d. 1781; and John Willimott, d. 1788.
The registers are as follows: (i) baptisms, marriages and burials, 13 Aug. 1561 to 1733; there
are no entries from 1640 to 1661, and the marriages
end in 1589; (fn. 123) (ii) the same, 8 May 1734 to 29 Oct.
1766; the marriages end 10 July 1753; (fn. 124) (iii) baptisms and burials 25 Feb. 1770 to 23 Dec. 1812;
(iv) the official marriage book, 15 Nov. 1754 to 2 July
1811.
The church plate consists of a silver cup engraved
with a band of Elizabethan ornament round the bowl
and egg and tongue moulding on the foot, and
inscribed on the base 'chesterton,' hall-marked for
1569–70; a cover paten for the same, inscribed
'1569,' the same hall-mark; two cups with arms of
Beville. (fn. 125)
Advowson
In 1086 a church and priest were
attached to the holding of Eustace
the Sheriff. (fn. 126) The advowson, however,
afterwards came into the possession of Eustace de
Merc, the tenant of the Boulogne fee in Chesterton, and
he granted it to Royston Priory at its foundation. (fn. 127) The
gift was confirmed by Pope Celestine III in 1192. (fn. 128)
In 1200–1, however, the advowson was claimed against
William de Merc by Ralph de Chesterton and Roger
de Cantilupe, the tenants of the Lovetot fee. (fn. 129) William
pleaded that his father had given the church to the
priory, (fn. 130) and two years later Roger was still claiming
the advowson against the priory. (fn. 131) He lost his suit
because he had claimed the whole church, but afterwards admitted that he could claim only as to onequarter of it. (fn. 132) Ralph de Chesterton had disappeared
from the suit, and the priory was left in undisputed
possession of the advowson. (fn. 133) The right of presentation was obtained either shortly before its dissolution
from Royston Priory or from the king by Henry
Pygott of Abyngton for one turn only. (fn. 134) He presented in 1543, (fn. 135) but in the same year Henry VIII
granted the advowson to Richard Andrewes. (fn. 136) In
1546 Andrewes and Nicholas Temple alienated it to
Sir Edward North, (fn. 137) who presented to the rectory
in 1557. (fn. 138) Before 1580, however, it was acquired by
Robert Beville, (fn. 139) and from that time followed the
descent of Beville's manor (q.v.). After the division
of the manor, both the Hewetts and Drydens claimed
their shares in the advowson, but after 1660, when Sir
John Hewett presented, (fn. 140) his successors in the third part
of the manor do not seem to have exercised the right,
although a third part of the advowson was included
in the sale to Abraham Ris in 1699. (fn. 141) John Dryden
presented in 1669 and subsequent presentations
have been made by his successors in the two-thirds
of the manor (q.v.) until 1916; (fn. 142) since then the
advowson has belonged to the Rev. W. F. Buttle.
The rectory of Haddon was annexed to Chesterton
in 1863. (fn. 143)
In 1279 the rectory consisted of an ancient endowment of a messuage and 1½ virgates of land, (fn. 144) in
addition to the tithes. A pension of 3 marks was paid
from it to the Priory of Royston, but between 1209
and 1219 Bishop Hugh de Welles ordered an inquiry
into the legality of its payment. (fn. 145) The priory,
however, must have established its right to the pension,
since in 1238, at the institution of a new rector, a
pension of 20s. a year was reserved to Royston, as
well as one of 2 marks to the Abbey of Thorney and
the tithes of the demesnes of the Lovetot fee to the
Canons of Huntingdon. (fn. 146) At its dissolution the
Priory of Royston received a pension of 40s. a year, (fn. 147)
which was in the possession of William Beville at
his death in 1553 (fn. 148) and passed to his descendants. (fn. 149)
The tithes formerly received by the Abbey of Thorney
were granted in 1545 to Sir Robert Tyrwhitt, junior,
and his wife Elizabeth. (fn. 150)
In 1279 small rents for land belonging to the church
fee were paid for the light of the Blessed Virgin. (fn. 151)
There are no charities for this parish.