STIBBINGTON or SIBSON cum STIBBINGTON
Stebintone (xi cent.); Stybyngton (xiv cent.);
Stepington (xvi cent.); Sibestune, Sybeston (xi–xii
cent.); Sybston (xvi cent.); Walmesford (xiii cent.);
Wanesford (xvi cent.).
Stibbington parish is situated in the extreme
north-west of Huntingdonshire, and is separated from
Northamptonshire by the River Nene, which flows
round the northern half of the parish. The area is
1,515 acres of land and 27 of water. The parish is
low-lying and is liable to floods on the banks of the
Nene, but reaches about 140 ft. above Ordnance
datum in the south. Of this area, it is difficult to
know which is Stibbington and which Sibson. Judging, however, by the position of Sibson Manor House,
with the reputed site of the church on the other side
of the road, and the site of the village stocks which
remained until quite recent years, we may, perhaps,
assume that Sibson was the eastern and south-eastern
part of the parish. The soil is rich loam, with a subsoil of gravel and clay, and produces wheat, barley and
beans. A coarse but durable stone is quarried in the
neighbourhood. There is an old quarry at the
western end of the railway tunnel, while to the south
of Stibbington House is Ship End Pits Quarry, with
an adjoining quay. A strip of land along the northwest boundary is called Wansford. It is not clear
whether the county boundary has been altered,
or whether the district, owing to its proximity to the
bridge which carries the Great North Road over the
Nene at this point, and which is known as Wansford
Bridge, came to bear the same designation. The
present bridge, which is half in Huntingdonshire and
half in Northamptonshire, dates from the 16th century
and replaced an older bridge. In 1221 a remission of
ten days' penance was granted to all those crossing
the bridge who gave alms for its repair, but these were
to be for the benefit of the township of Wansford only. (fn. 1)
The existing seven arches in Northamptonshire were
erected in 1577, and the next three, in Huntingdonshire, were built in 1672–4, after destruction caused
by ice floods. These, with one built in 1795, adjoining on the south, span the main stream. There is
another and smaller arch which may also date from
1795. (fn. 2) Wansford Station, on the Northampton and
Peterborough branch of the London Midland and
Scottish Railway, is about half a mile to the south of
Stibbington church.
The village of Stibbington, about 6½ miles from
Peterborough, lies on the Oundle Road, which joins
the Great North Road near Wansford Bridge. The
church stands about a quarter of a mile east of the
Great North Road near the ford to Sutton. Stibbington
Hall, near the church, is an unspoilt 17th-century
house which evidently replaced an earlier building,
parts of which are incorporated in it. The Rectory
House, south of the church, is a long, rectangular
building dating from the 16th-17th centuries and
incorporates some 15th-century building material.
Stibbington House, (fn. 3) adjoining the site of the papermill, was evidently the miller's house, probably enlarged and improved; it lies between the Oundle
Road and the Nene. Stibbington Manor Farm,
on the south-west side of the road near Sibson Manor
House, was built about 1625, but has modern additions.
Immediately south of the bridge is the Haycock, a
fine old house which has been both an inn and a private
mansion. It was probably built early in the 17th century,
though it was remodelled later. There are some
17th-century cottages about 200 yds. south of the
bridge. Sibson Manor House, of the same date,
is about three-quarters of a mile south-east of the
church, and is a small rectangular building with a
modern wing at the back. In the garden there are
fragments of 15th-century stone work, which may
have belonged to an earlier house or to Sibson
Church, which is said to have stood opposite, on
the other side of the road. The sites of some
Roman houses belonging to the Roman settlement
already described, (fn. 4) lie to the south of the station
and in the vicinity of the school and of Ship End
Pits Quarry.
Manors
Sibson with Stibbington had been
equally divided before the Conquest
between Ulf, predecessor of Count
Eustace of Boulogne, and the Abbey of Thorney;
the holding of each consisted of 2½ hides in Sibson,
with half the church and half the mill, and 5 virgates
of land in Stibbington, where another church was
attached to the Abbey of Thorney's property. There
appears to be no existing clue as to why this arrangement had been made. (fn. 5)
The manor of COUNT EUSTACE OF BOULOGNE remained attached to the Honour of
Boulogne, which escheated to the Crown on the death
in captivity of Reginald, Count of Boulogne, who
was taken prisoner in France in 1214. (fn. 6)
Russell. Argent a lion gules and a chief sable with three scallops argent therein.
Lunen was the tenant in 1086, but the manor passed
to the de Merc family. Henry de Merc was dealing with
the advowson between 1147 and 1167 and was succeeded
by his son Eustace. (fn. 7) John de Merc was holding two
knights' fees in Walmesford, Sibson and Stibbington in
1211–12. (fn. 8) He was succeeded by William de Merc,
who owed scutage in 1217, (fn. 9) the service due apparently
having been reduced to that of one knight's fee.
Walter de Merc was dealing with lands and a moiety
of two mills in Sibson, Stibbington and Wansford
in 1219. (fn. 10) John de Merc was holding two hides in
1286, (fn. 11) and it may have been he, or a son of the same
name, who appeared in a plea of trespass in 1322. (fn. 12)
He was succeeded by Nicholas St. Medard or de Merc,
who was living in 1324. (fn. 13) He appears to have used
the alternative name, and it is suggested that his
mother was a daughter of John de Merc who had
married a St. Medard of Thornhaugh (Northants). (fn. 14)
Nicholas died in 1327, when his heir was his son John
de St. Medard or Semark (St. Mark), who only survived
him till 1332. He left a son Nicholas who died in
1349, leaving two sons, John who died without issue
in 1362, and Nicholas who succeeded his brother and
died in 1409. (fn. 15) His son Thomas Semark was holding
the manor in 1428, (fn. 16) as a quarter of a knight's fee, and
was still living in 1451. Anne, probably his granddaughter, presented to the church in 1496, (fn. 17) with
her second husband (Sir) David Phillip; she had
previously married William Sapcote, and on her death
in 1510 (fn. 18) was succeeded by her son Guy Sapcote,
whose daughter and heiress Anne married firstly
Sir John Broughton of Toddington (Beds) and
Chenies (Bucks). (fn. 19) She was a widow in 1522, when
her tenement was known as the 'Balneshowse' so
called from ancient times. (fn. 20)
She then became the wife of
Sir Richard Jerningham, and
in 1526 married as her third
husband Sir John Russell,
created Earl of Bedford. Their
son, Francis Russell, second
Earl of Bedford, settled the
manor, among others, on the
marriage of his fourth son,
William, with Elizabeth,
daughter and heir of Henry
Long, in 1583. (fn. 21) William, who
had been made Lord Deputy
of Ireland in 1584, was created
Baron Russell of Thornhaugh in 1603, and died in
1613. His son Francis succeeded as the fourth Earl
of Bedford, in 1627, (fn. 22) and the manor was held by
his descendants (fn. 23) until it was acquired in 1904 by
Earl Fitzwilliam, the present
owner.
Fitzwilliam. Lozengy argent and gules.
The Knights Templars. Argent a cross gules and a chief sable.
The Knights Hospitallers. Gules a cross argent.
A so-called manor in Sibson
may be identified with a hide
and a half, and half a virgate
of land, which William de
Merc gave in perpetual alms
to the KNIGHTS TEMPLARS, who in 1276 claimed
assize of bread and ale, and
had, it was then stated, withdrawn suit from their land in
Sibson for the last 30 years. (fn. 24)
In 1279, their fee contained the same amount of
land, of which 2 virgates 13½ acres and 1 rood was
held in demesne; they had 1 messuage, with a court
and garden containing 1 acre, 3½ acres of meadow,
1½ acres of pasture and a fishery in the Nene from
Stibbington to Newton Mill pond. (fn. 25) On the dissolution
of the Templars, it passed to the Knights Hospitallers
and was held of the Preceptory of Temple Bruer. (fn. 26)
After the Dissolution of the Monasteries, the capital
messuage and other lands were granted in fee to
William Romesdon of Longley, Yorks, in 1546, (fn. 27) including a rent of 40s. from the lands of John, Lord
Russell. It afterwards passed to Adam Smythe, who
died seised in 1587, (fn. 28) leaving a son Robert, who was
granted livery of his lands in 1589. (fn. 29) He granted a
lease of 58 years for a peppercorn rent to Thomas
Cropley in 1601, (fn. 30) but eventually sold the manor to
Sir Robert Beville in 1609, (fn. 31) though he evidently
retained certain tenements of which he died seised
in 1628, (fn. 32) and with which Benjamin Smythe and
his wife Jane were dealing in 1633. (fn. 33) The manor
was apparently acquired from Sir Robert Beville either
by William Kirkham or his son Walter, who was dealing
with it in 1617, (fn. 34) and died seised in 1636, leaving as
his heir his cousin Robert, son of his father's only
brother, Thomas. (fn. 35) William Kirkham alias Piccard
settled the manor on John Hatfield and his wife
Elizabeth, probably William's daughter, in 1652, (fn. 36)
and in 1659 they joined with him and his wife Bridget
in selling the property to William Earl of Bedford. (fn. 37)
No tenant is mentioned in 1086 in connection with
the manor belonging to the ABBEY OF THORNEY,
which then held one hide in demesne. (fn. 38) The 2½ hides
in Sibson and 5 virgates in Stibbington were confirmed
to them in 1162 by Pope Alexander III, with the tithe
of one carucate in Sibson, and the tithe of Roger [de
Stibbington]. (fn. 39)
In 1279 the abbey held a hide and a virgate in
demesne, and their half share of the mill was recorded,
but no mention is made of the share of the church. (fn. 40)
The abbot claimed view of frankpledge, and waif in
1286 in Newton, with its members of Sibson, Stibbington and Wansford from ancient times. (fn. 41) The abbey
continued to hold the manor till the Dissolution, and
it then appears to have been granted to the Earls of
Bedford and merged in the chief manor, as Francis
Russell, the second Earl, was seised of the manors belonging to the late dissolved Monastery of Thorney,
including Sibson and Stibbington. (fn. 42)
Geoffrey de Haddon was the chief of the Abbot of
Thorney's free tenants in Sibson in 1279. He held
one hide and paid rent of 6s. and service to the abbot,
doing suit at the Hundred of Norman Cross every
three weeks and at the abbot's court at Yaxley. (fn. 43) There
is apparently no further reference to the family after
1305, when John de Haddon was holding lands in
Haddon (q.v.).
Besides the above-mentioned manor, the Abbey of
Thorney held 5 virgates of land in the Boulogne
manor which had been granted by Eustace of Boulogne to a certain Adam, son of —, who enfeoffed
the abbey with them. In 1279 they were held of the
abbey at an annual rent of £4, by Gerard de Gravele,
who had a capital messuage and six acres of meadow.
His holding seems to have been a small sub-manor as
he held a court for his tenants. (fn. 44)
In addition to the manors of Count Eustace and
Thorney Abbey, there were two hides in Stibbington
which were recorded in the Domesday Survey under
Northamptonshire. (fn. 45) This holding, which afterwards
became known as the MANOR OF STIBBINGTON
AND WANSFORD, belonged in 1086 to Richard
Engaine, when the value had risen from 2s. to 20s.
One plough was held in demesne and the villeins and
bordars had another; there was a mill rendering 8s.
Richard's son Viel or Vitalis Engaine married the
daughter of William de Lizures, and their younger son,
Fulk, took his mother's name. He inherited the manor
with the Honour of Benefield (Northants) and died
before 1185, when the property was inherited by his
son Hugh (d. 1207), whose daughter Alice married
Nicholas de Bassingbourne. (fn. 46) The manor continued
to be held of the Benefield (q.v.) fee by the Bassingbournes, and afterwards by the Earls of Warwick. (fn. 47)
There are conflicting statements as to the overlordship in the 17th century. The manor was said to be
held of the Earl of Warwick in 1620, (fn. 48) but this is
probably a mistake, as the tenure was not known in
1603, (fn. 49) and the overlordship had apparently been
acquired by the second Earl of Bedford, whose son
William, Lord Russell, died seised in 1614. (fn. 50) According to Bridges, the Duke of Bedford was lord in 1711, (fn. 51)
but in 1807 the lordship was claimed by William
Walcott, (fn. 52) according to the Inclosure Act. It has
presumably since followed the descent of Sibson.
No sub-tenant is mentioned in 1086, but the de
Folksworth family were holding in the 13th century
when John de Folksworth held one-sixth of a knight's
fee in Stibbington and Wansford in 1243. (fn. 53) John de
Folksworth was assessed for a quarter fee in 1284. (fn. 54)
Another John, probably his son, settled two parts of the
manor, subject to the dower of his mother, Eleanor,
on his wife Maud in 1333, with reversion to his
brothers Thomas, his heir, Henry and William. (fn. 55)
William was dealing with land in Stibbington in 1348, (fn. 56)
and Richard, presumably his son, was living in 1388. (fn. 57)
Early in the 15th century Nicholas de Folksworth was
assessed for one knight's fee, (fn. 58) but the descent during
this century is not clear. John de Folksworth died
in 1517, leaving a son Richard, aged 48, (fn. 59) who in
his will dated 1524 directed that he should be buried
in the chapel of Our Lady on the north side of the
parish church. He was succeeded by his grandsons
John, son of his daughter Euphemia, wife of Ralph
Cotton, and Leonard, son of Susanna and William
Stubbs. (fn. 60) Ralph Cotton's will, proved in 1537,
mentions his father-in-law, Richard de Folksworth,
and contains similar instructions as to his burial. (fn. 61)
The manor of Stibbington was sold by John Cotton
to Sir Robert Beville (d. 1602) in 1560, (fn. 62) and it was
purchased from his son, Sir Robert, by Peter Edwards,
who died in 1619 having left the property, including
2 water-mills and a fulling-mill, to his wife Joan for
her life. His son John was then aged 15. (fn. 63) Joan
married John Hangar soon afterwards, and was living
at Stibbington in 1620. (fn. 64)
In 1185, the Knights Templars held a virgate of
land in Stibbington, given them by Roger Engaine, of
Yardley Hastings (Northants). (fn. 65)
An inquisition as to the waters belonging to the
Abbey of Peterborough from Wansford Bridge to
Normansland in 1276 supplies an account of the
fisheries held by various lords in this parish at that
date, and in Water Newton, (fn. 66) i.e., from Wansford
Bridge to the Bridge Mill, the lord of St. Medard and
the lord of Stibbington; from the Bridge Mill to
Huntingdon Holme, the Almoner of Peterborough
and lord of Stibbington; from Huntingdon Holme to
Newton Dam, the Almoner of Peterborough and the
Abbot of Thorney; from Letheholm to the Bar of
Newton Dam, the fishery of the Templars by reason of
their tenure in Sibson with one boat with the Abbey
of Peterborough; from Sibson Dam to Newton Dam,
the fishery of the Abbey of Thorney and the Almoner
of Peterborough and the Templars; from Newton Bar
to Newton Mill the several fishery of the Abbot of
Thorney; and from Newton Mill to Billing Brook,
the fishery of the Abbeys of Peterborough and Thorney
in common. (fn. 67)
Stibbington: The Old Church, before 1848, from a Sketch in the Vestry
Church
The church of ST. JOHN THE
BAPTIST (fn. 68) consists of a chancel (32¼ ft.
by 14½ ft.), with vestry (13 ft. by 9½ ft.)
and organ chamber (12 ft. by 4¾ ft.) on the north,
nave (35¼ ft. by 17 ft.), north aisle (36¼ ft. by 11 ft.),
with northern annexe (15 ft. by 14¼ ft.), south aisle
(35¼ ft. by 11 ft.), and south porch. The walls are of
rubble with stone dressings, and the roofs are covered
with stone-slates.
The church and that formerly at Sibson are both
mentioned in the Domesday Survey (1086), but
apparently the church was rebuilt in stone as a
chancel and aisleless nave in the middle of the 12th
century, and the nave of this period remains. About
1180 a north aisle was added. About 1240 the chancel
was rebuilt on a larger scale, with its axis farther to
the south, and some twenty years later a south aisle
was added to the nave. A west tower was added,
probably in the 15th century. In 1848–49 the west
tower was pulled down, the two aisles rebuilt, and the
vestry, organ chamber and porch were built, a timber
bell-cot being added to the nave roof.
The 13th-century chancel has two lancet windows
in the east wall with a buttress between them and a
quatrefoiled window in the gable. The north wall
has a modern doorway to the vestry, having a re-used
segmental head; part of a blocked doorway farther
east; and a modern arch to the organ chamber. The
south wall has three two-light windows of c. 1330,
with flowing tracery in two-centred heads; a blocked
low-side window; and an original doorway. (fn. 69) The
mid 12th-century chancel arch has a semicircular
arch of two square orders, the inner one having a
semicircular roll on its soffit; the responds are plain,
but under the roll of the arch are attached semicircular shafts with scalloped capitals and moulded
bases.
The modern vestry has a square-headed two-light
window in the north wall, and a plain doorway in
the east wall. The modern organ chamber is a mere
recess; on the north side of it is a small coal store.
The nave has a north arcade, of c. 1180, of two bays
having semicircular arches of two square orders on
a circular column with scalloped capital, cruciform
abacus, and moulded base, and similar attached halfcolumns to the responds. The 13th-century south
arcade is of three bays having two-centred arches of
two chamfered orders on octagonal columns with
moulded capitals and bases and similar attached halfcolumns to the responds. In the west wall is a doorway of c. 1180, having a semicircular arch of three
orders, the two outer with large rolls on the angles
and the inner one plain; below the latter is a tympanum ornamented with a sunk lozenge pattern, and
supported on a modern lintel; the arch is surrounded
by a broad band of billet ornament and a plain label;
the jambs have two detached shafts on each side, with
scalloped capitals and moulded bases. Above the
doorway is a modern two-light window.
The modern north aisle (fn. 70) has a three-light window
in the east wall, one two-light and one single-light
window in the north wall and a two-light window in
the west wall. A large pointed arch in the north wall
opens into the northern annexe.
The modern northern annexe has a two-light window
in its east and west walls, a stair-turret to the
gallery, and a plain doorway in the north wall. There
is a large gallery supported on iron columns in this
annexe.
The modern south aisle has a three-light window
in its east wall; two two-light windows and a doorway
in its south wall; and a two-light window in the west
wall.
The west tower, now destroyed, had low diagonal
buttresses at the north-west and south-west angles,
and was finished with a plain parapet. The west
doorway, and a small light in three walls of the stage
above, were merely rectangular openings of very late
date. The belfry windows, apparently two-lights with
two-centred heads, had been almost destroyed. It
must have become so weak and dilapidated that it
was unsafe to take it down, so it was demolished with
a charge of gunpowder fired with a fuse. (fn. 71)
The modern south porch has a two-centred outer
arch of two continuous chamfered orders. The old
porch was very similar, and probably of 15th-century
date.
The early 13th-century font has an octagonal bowl
with an incised semicircular arch on each side, standing on a circular central column without capital or
base and eight smaller circular shafts with irregular
octagonal capitals and bases, all on an octagonal
chamfered base stone.
The 17th-century Communion table has turned
legs and plain rails. There is a plain 16th-century
chest in the vestry. A fragment of a stone effigy
of a priest lies loose in the chancel; and there are also
several 12th and 13th century carved stones.
There are two bells, both inscribed: C. & G. Mears
Founders London presented by Francis Duke of
Bedford m d c c c x l i x when the nave and aisles
of this church were rebuilt. In 1707 there were
three bells; (fn. 72) two were sold in 1848–49, and a third,
which was inscribed 'Joseph Eayre fecit 1767 Mr.
Holdich rector John Harreson churchwarden,' remained in the rectory coach-house as late as 1899. (fn. 73)
In the chancel is a small rectangular brass plate to
the Rev. John Hanger, S.T.P., Rector, d. 1638.
Other monuments are: in the chancel, to the Rev.
Jeffery Holdich, Rector, d. 1780, and Mary his wife,
d. 1796; the Rev. William Wing, Rector, d. 1831,
and his son, the Rev. William Wing, Rector, d. 1867;
Richard Newcomb, d. 1851; Henry Buckle Leeds,
d. 1868, and Arthur Leeds, d. 1871; floor slabs to the
Rev. Giles Aleyn, S.T.D., Rector, d. 1678; Sarah
(Holdich) wife of Abraham de Rippe, d. 1749; the
Rev. Jeffery Holdich, d. 1780; and glass windows to
Grace Bailey (n.d.); and Thomas and Elizabeth
Percival, 1899. In the vestry, to Charlotte wife of
Captain John Cochet, R.N., d. 1804, and John Robert
Cochet, their infant son, d. 1803. In the nave, to
John Franklin, d. 1703; John Swann, d. 1797, and
Mary his widow, d. 1798; the Rev. James Swann,
d. 1798; War Memorial, 1914–18. In the north
aisle, to Mary (Bonfield) wife of William Stredder,
of Boston, d. 1815, and Rebecca their infant daughter;
and Thomas Smith, d. 1836. In the south aisle, to
Captain John Wright, R.N., d. 1785; Elizabeth
Hamerton, d. 1804, and Thomas infant son of Charles
and Elizabeth Hamerton; James Cunnington, d.
1817, and Elizabeth his widow, d. 1844.
The registers are as follows: (i) baptisms, marriages
and burials, 4 October 1595 to 21 February 1705/6
(ii) the same, 26 March 1706 to 27 February 1793,
marriages end 26 December 1753; (iii) marriages,
2 March 1755 to 24 October 1780; (iv) marriages,
15 January 1782 to 25 November 1812; (v) baptisms
and burials, 10 February 1793 to 7 December 1812.
The church plate consists of: a late 16th-century
silver cup partly gilt, with deep bowl and short stem,
engraved with beasts, etc.—fox, squirrel, stag, hound,
bird and rabbit, no date letter; a silver chalice,
partly gilt, inscribed 'a.m.d.c. Sua manu fecit et
dono dedit Bache Cunard Stibbington m c m x x i i'
hall-marked for 1921–2; a plated cup with embossed
bowl; a silver cover-paten inscribed 'Thornhaugh
to Stibbington, 1908,' hall-mark of the Sheffield
office for 1908–9; a silver standing paten inscribed
'The gift of Giles Aleyn,' and with his arms,
Argent, a cross potent purpure, hall-marked for
1667–8; a silver salver inscribed 'The gift of Giles
Aleyn, D.D.' and with his arms, Argent, a cross
potent vert, and crest, a lion rampant holding a
shield, hall-marked for 1667–8 (?); a silver flagon
inscribed 'The guyft of Gyles Aleyn,' and with arms
as on the salver, but no crest, hall-marked for
1659–60; (fn. 74) a mother-of-pearl baptismal shell with a
silver mount inscribed 'a.m.d.g. Stibbington.
From the children of the Sunday School, 1927,'
hall-marked for 1926–7.
Advowsons
The church of Sibson, mentioned
in the Domesday Survey as belonging
in equal shares to Count Eustace of
Boulogne and the Abbey of Thorney, must have
disappeared at a comparatively early date. It does
not seem to be mentioned after the 12th century,
during which Henry de Merc quitclaimed his share
to the abbey. This was confirmed by his son Eustace,
together with the gift of the tithes of two virgates of
land, and of his demesnes, for the poor of the Hospital
of Thorney. (fn. 75) There is no mention of the church in
1279, (fn. 76) though it may have survived for a while as a
chapelry. A free chapel is mentioned at Stibbington
in a chantry roll of 1549, to which belonged an acre
of land worth 12d. yearly, and goods worth £2. (fn. 77)
The Smythes who held the Temple Bruer lands
included in their property a piece of land called
'Waste Chapel,' which was possibly the site of the
church. (fn. 78)
The church at Stibbington was attached at the
time of the Domesday Survey to the lands of the
Abbey of Thorney, (fn. 79) which held the advowson until
the Dissolution. The advowson appears in the 15th
century to have been granted, probably for one turn
only, to Anne Semark and her second husband, David
Phillip, who presented to the rectory in 1496. (fn. 80)
In 1501 and 1507 the abbot made the presentation, (fn. 81)
but apparently again sold the next presentation,
since in 1537 Sir John Russell, afterwards 1st Earl of
Bedford, presented (fn. 82) before he had acquired any of
the Thorney possessions. In 1557 the patron was his
countess Anne. (fn. 83) In 1558, King Philip and Queen
Mary presented, possibly after the death of Anne in
the spring of 1558/9 (fn. 84) In 1572 Adam Smythe, who
held the Templars' manor, presented, presumably
for one turn only, since in 1589 (fn. 85) the Crown again
presented and the advowson does not appear to have
been alienated in fee till it was granted by Queen
Elizabeth to Thomas Kerry, a clerk of the Privy
Seal. (fn. 86) In his will, made in 1607, though he disposed
of a manor in Somerset granted at the same time,
no mention is made of the advowson. (fn. 87) In 1640 it
was granted by Charles I to William Boughton, at
the nomination of Richard Deane, Richard Greene,
Mary Cheney, and Susan Henshawe. (fn. 88) The advowson
is mentioned in the marriage settlement of Sir William
Russell in 1583, (fn. 89) but it does not appear to have been
in the possession of his father, Francis, 2nd Earl of
Bedford, at the time. (fn. 90) Before 1678, however, it
had come into the possession of William, the fifth
Earl and first Duke of Bedford. It followed the
descent of his manor (fn. 91) and now belongs to Earl
Fitzwilliam.
The church was valued at £12 in 1291 and in 1428,
when the Abbot of Thorney received an annual pension of 13s. 4d., and the almoner there one of £1. (fn. 92)
At the Dissolution it was valued at £9, when the
pension of 13s. 4d. was still paid to the Abbot of
Thorney. (fn. 93) Adam Smythe, who presented to the
rectory in 1572, (fn. 94) held a pension of 10s. from the
rectory. (fn. 95) In 1693 a moiety of a pension out of the
rectory of Stibbington was conveyed by George
Goode and his wife Katherine to Sarah Gore. (fn. 96)
Tithes were commuted in 1807.
Charity
Poor's Fund.—This charity consists
of the following legacies left for the
benefit of the poor of the parish:
1601, John Philip, £2; 1602, Margaret Philip, £2;
1616, Abel Smith, B.D. (Rector), £10; Samuel
Smith, £5; 1626, William Edwards, £5; 1638,
John Hanger, B.D. (Rector), £12 10s.; William
Beville, esq., £5; 1639, Christopher Wells, £5;
1640, Sir Robert Beville, knt., £4; 1667, Captain
George Aleyn, £10; John Edwards, £50; 1669,
John Balderton, £2; 1670, Peter Edwards, £50;
1678, Giles Aleyn, D.D. (Rector), £37 10s.—total,
£200. The endowment now consists of £310 19s. 7d.
Consols with the Official Trustees, and the dividends
are distributed to the poor in coal.