ADLESTROP
Adlestrop is a small rural parish on the eastern
border of Gloucestershire, about three miles east of
Stow-on-the-Wold. The ancient parish, 1,306 a. in
area, (fn. 1) is roughly rectangular in shape, and its boundaries are identical with those of an estate defined in
a 10th-century charter. (fn. 2) On the south-west the
parish is bounded by the River Evenlode. The northeast boundary is also that between Gloucestershire
and Oxfordshire, and the ancient parishes of Evenlode on the north-west and Daylesford on the southeast were detached parts of Worcestershire until
1931 when they were added to Gloucestershire. The
civil parish was enlarged in 1935 by the addition to
it of the whole of Daylesford (670 a.), (fn. 3) which is,
however, outside the scope of this article. (fn. 4)
The land rises from about 350 ft. along the river
in the south-west to over 750 ft. at the top of
Adlestrop Hill in the north-east. Two ridges, the
more northerly known as Horn Down, (fn. 5) project
towards the river from Adlestrop Hill so that the
centre of the parish forms a valley through which a
small brook flows. The valley was known as Harcomb, (fn. 6) and where the brook met the River Evenlode
the bridge across the Evenlode was called Hart
Bridge, (fn. 7) but the names Hart Brook and Harcomb
appear to have been used, in recent years, only of
another brook and valley on the further side of Horn
Down, in Evenlode. The parish has a number of
small woods, mostly deciduous: in the northern
corner are Peasewell Wood (reduced in size in the
middle of the 20th century) and Harcomb Wood, (fn. 8)
and on the middle slopes of Adlestrop Hill are
Comb Wood and three plantations made apparently
in the late 18th century. (fn. 9) In the southern part of the
parish the park, made in the early 19th century,
contains many carefully placed trees. Some trees
remain along the top of Adlestrop Hill, although the
upper slopes, which in the 1930's were sufficiently
covered with trees and bushes to conceal the existence of a burial mound (fn. 10) standing in a commanding
position, have largely been cleared to make way for
arable land. Until the 19th century the high ground
was used entirely for rough pasture and as a source
of firewood, and it was usually known as the Green
Hill. (fn. 11) On the lower ground, which was nearly all
under grass in 1960, traces of ridge and furrow show
where the former common fields have apparently
remained untilled since inclosure in the 18th century.
The soil and subsoil is mainly strong clay; along the
ridge in the south-east of the parish, there are
several small quarries, apparently used for local
building. (fn. 12)
Adlestrop village lies south-east of the brook that
runs through the centre of the parish, half a mile from
the River Evenlode. It is not far north of an ancient
route, the old Cotswold Ridgeway. (fn. 13) This road was
described in a Saxon charter as the regia strata from
Northampton, crossing the Evenlode by Hart
Bridge, (fn. 14) and it crosses the Foss Way at Stow-onthe-Wold. Leland used this road, noting 'Adelsthorp
and Horse Bridge' about midway between Stow and
Chipping Norton. (fn. 15) In 1643 the London trained bands
quartered for a night at Adlestrop on their way into
Gloucestershire. (fn. 16) The course of the modern road
through the eastern half of the parish is of considerable antiquity, for there it formed the boundary
of Adlestrop in the 10th century as in the 19th; (fn. 17) in
the western half, however, it has been diverted to
the south. The lie of the land and the fact that Leland
noticed Adlestrop may indicate that until it was
turnpiked in 1755 (fn. 18) the road passed through the
southern end of the village, beside the church, (fn. 19) but
by 1803 its course was further south, following the
steepest part of the ridge about 200 yards from the
church. In that year Quarter Sessions authorized
the diversion of the road further south again, to its
modern course, thus enabling the creation of a park
of over 100 acres around the manor-house. (fn. 20) The
bridge over the Evenlode, long called Adlestrop
Bridge, which was a horse-bridge in 1787 and a
county bridge by 1836, (fn. 21) was on the site later occupied by Adlestrop station (where the old line of the
road was used for approach roads), and a new bridge
was built to cross both river and railway 50 yards
further south, removing from the main road the
sharp bend that had been made in 1803.
The diversion of the main road in 1803 was
accompanied by changes to the lesser roads. In the
18th century the village formed a semicircle, facing
south-west across a village green of 3½ acres with the
brook beyond, and stretching from Marsh Bridge
in the north-west, where the road from Evenlode
village crossed the brook, to the church, manorhouse, and parsonage in the south, where a road
came in from Daylesford. (fn. 22) A hundred yards north
of the church a lane (Schoolers Lane) led off eastwards, to bend north and later east and south to join
the main road at Norton's Gap. In 1767 the rector
inclosed the green, by agreement with his brother,
the lord of the manor, and with the consent of the
tenants, to provide for himself a garden, to be called
Parsonage Green instead of Cross Green. In addition to giving up parts of his outlying glebe the
rector undertook to build roads around the green:
the eastern side became the village street, and the
road between Evenlode and Daylesford was taken
along the right-hand bank of the brook. The creation
of the park in 1803 caused the closing of this road
and it was replaced by one some way to the west,
along the line of the modern road. A new stretch of
road was also built along the north side of the village
to shorten the route between Marsh Bridge and
Schoolers Lane. These changes altered the shape of
the village. Instead of lying in a semicircle it was
grouped round a triangle of roads, with a road running from the southern angle to the church, the
village school (closed in 1936), and the two large
houses. At the north-west end the area of the village
has contracted, for north and east of Marsh Bridge
the mill and a group of cottages were demolished at
the end of the 18th century, and the road subsequently straightened. Whereas the village was once
on the road from Evenlode village to Daylesford and
close to the main road it has become comparatively
secluded. (fn. 23)
One other road in the ancient parish is that which
runs along the top of Adlestrop Hill, from the main
road to Chastleton (Oxon.). It forms the northeast boundary of the parish and was described as a
'street' in the 10th century. (fn. 24) Where this road leaves
the parish boundary a lane leads off to Conygree
Lane, a sunken track from Evenlode village, which
also marks the boundary. In the 10th century
Conygree Lane apparently ended where it meets the
path between Chastleton and Adlestrop village, for
between that point and the 'street' the boundary
followed a dyke. (fn. 25) A number of tracks link the village
with the farms and barns to the north of it. Apart
from lying near the east-west route provided by the
main road Adlestrop is on the main railway line
from Oxford to Evesham (part of the Oxford,
Worcester, & Wolverhampton Railway), which was
built beside the river along the south-west side of the
parish in 1853. Adlestrop station (opened in 1853)
is in Oddington parish. (fn. 26) The village was provided
with electricity under an Act of 1928. (fn. 27)
The population has remained fairly constant over
the years. There was possibly an increase in the early
Middle Ages, but in the 300 years before the mid17th century the numbers seem hardly to have
changed. Sixteen people were enumerated in 1086, (fn. 28)
21 were assessed for the subsidy in 1327, (fn. 29) and 66
paid poll tax in 1381; (fn. 30) there were said to be 18
households in 1563, (fn. 31) 36 adult males in 1608, (fn. 32) and
19 families in 1650, (fn. 33) and c. 1645 22 people were
assessed for tax. (fn. 34) Between 1650 and 1700 the
population rose by about half: there were 29 households in 1672, (fn. 35) and 34 houses c. 1700. (fn. 36) The highest
population in the 19th century was 229, in 1821,
living in 43 houses, and thereafter numbers dropped
to c. 150 in the first half of the 20th century. (fn. 37)
Nearly all the inhabitants live in the village.
Away from the village, two farm-houses were
built to the north, following inclosure in 1775.
Fern Farm is built of rubble with a Cotswold stone
roof, and has two stories and attics. Beside it is
a barn of the same materials, having a gabled porch
with pigeon holes. An outer range of cow-sheds is
dated 1842. Hill Barn, 600 yards beyond the farmhouse, was apparently built in the 18th century, (fn. 38)
and adjoining it are two cottages which in 1960 had
been unoccupied for several years. Hillside Farm,
known as Rectory Farm until 1947, (fn. 39) was built in
1824–5 (fn. 40) as the farm-house for the glebe farm created
by inclosure. The foundations survive but the rest of
the house, of rendered brickwork, was apparently
rebuilt following a fire during the 19th century.
Adjoining it are some of the original farm buildings,
and 250 yards north of it is a large 18th-century
stone barn. South-east of the farm-house is a modern
stone cottage. The other buildings at a distance from
the village are an 18th-century cottage near the
station (possibly a turnpike cottage), (fn. 41) a lodge built
in 1849 at an entrance to the park, (fn. 42) and two groups
of barns.
The cottages in the village, which are mostly on
the south-west side of the triangle formed by the
roads, were built between the 17th century and the
middle of the 19th, of rubble masonry with roofs of
thatch, Cotswold stone, or slate. There are two
farm-houses in the village. Lower Farm, at the northwest end, was built in the mid-18th century, with
two stories and attics with dormers; beneath it is
a vaulted cellar, and beside it is a barn which has
a gabled porch with pigeon holes. Manor Farm (formerly Home Farm) (fn. 43) is apparently of the same date;
it has been considerably restored and divided to make
two cottages. Immediately north of the church is a
single-storied schoolroom, flanked by a cottage and
schoolhouse, all with doors and windows in the
Tudor style of the mid-19th century. (fn. 44) Apart from
a few extensions (some of them brick), the only
modern building in the village in 1960 was a small
house in course of construction.
Since the early 17th century the two large houses
in Adlestrop, the rectory and the manor-house, have
dominated the life of the village. The manor-house
was for long known as Adlestrop House, but after
the Second World War that name was given to the
former rectory (which had not been used as a rectory
since 1937) and the manor-house was renamed
Adlestrop Park. Adlestrop, formerly monastic
property, has been owned by members of the Leigh
family since 1553, (fn. 45) and soon after he succeeded his
father in 1632 (fn. 46) William Leigh (d. 1690) took up
residence there. He converted a barn (fn. 47) south-east
of the church to make a house of Cotswold stone.
Internally, a panelled room, with a richly carved
fireplace of wood, and the staircase survive from this
house. In 1672 the owner was taxed on 13 hearths. (fn. 48)
The classical porch on the north-west front and the
gateposts carrying unicorns' heads appear to have
been added c. 1700, when the north-west front
itself may have been refaced. By the mid-18th
century the house was in need of rebuilding. (fn. 49) One
third of a new south-west front was built in 1750, (fn. 50)
and between 1759 and 1762 much of the original
house was pulled down (fn. 51) and built on a larger scale,
a seat
Extensive, large, magnificently great, (fn. 52)
with the predominant feature an ornate south-west
front in the 'Gothick' style. The architect for both
the additions of 1750 and the later rebuilding was
Sanderson Miller. (fn. 53) Behind this front the house,
three stories high and of Cotswold stone with a
Welsh slate roof, centred on a narrow light-well; (fn. 54)
the panelled room surviving from the 17th-century
building became the servants' hall. (fn. 55) The southeastern part of the house was demolished after the
Second World War, when the whole building,
which had been used as military quarters, was
thoroughly restored. (fn. 56) Soon after the 18th-century
rebuilding pleasure gardens to the west of the house,
designed by Humphrey Repton, (fn. 57) replaced an older
orangery, bowling green, and 'expensive shewy
summer-houses'; and the large square dovecot northeast of the house, of rubble masonry and with four
gables and a Welsh slate roof surmounted by a
lantern, was perhaps built at the same period, to
replace one of the two dovecots mentioned in the
15th and 16th centuries. (fn. 58) The diversion of the roads
in 1803 enabled the setting of the house to be further
enlarged: between the new main road and the village
a park of over 100 acres was made, bordered at its
western end by the lower of two artificial lakes. Near
the lake is a cricket field which has helped the local
reputation of Adlestrop for skill at the game.
Adlestrop was a chapelry of Broadwell until 1937,
but in 1540 the Rector of Broadwell had a house
in Adlestrop, which with its adjoining buildings amounted to 12 bays in 1584. (fn. 59) This was presumably on the same site, north-west of the church,
as the house of 6 bays (fn. 60) and 8 hearths that the
rector, Richard Johnson, was building in 1672. (fn. 61)
Though altered at various dates, that house forms
the greater part of what was known in 1960 as
Adlestrop House. The 17th-century part of the house
is two stories high with gabled attics and a Welsh
slate roof. Thomas Leigh, rector from 1762 to 1813,
repaired the house, moved the entrance from the
south to the west front, and created a garden, leading
down to the upper of the two artificial lakes, (fn. 62) that
was large enough to be known later as the little park. (fn. 63)
The entrance to the house was moved back to the
south front apparently in the early 19th century at
the same time as the fine interior of the ground floor
was made. Presumably at the same period the two
projecting bays were added and sash windows
inserted. Later in the century there were further
alterations and the angle between the wings of the
house was filled with a kitchen block, making the
ground-plan roughly rectangular. When the house
ceased to be a rectory in 1937 it was bought from
the Church Commissioners and became part of the
Adlestrop estate, and was let as a private house
except for a period after the Second World War when
it was occupied by the owner, Lord Leigh. (fn. 64)
From the time that William Leigh took up residence at Adlestrop in the 1630's until the early 19th
century when his descendant James Henry Leigh,
M.P. (d. 1823), (fn. 65) inherited Stoneleigh Abbey
(Warws.) and made it his principal seat, the lord of
the manor and his family (usually a large one) lived
most of the year at Adlestrop, except for five years
(1727–32) when the disorder of the family's affairs
persuaded William Leigh (d. 1757) to economize by
living abroad. The family was of considerable local
importance—William Leigh (d. 1690) was High
Sheriff of Gloucestershire—and was connected by
marriage with the Bridges (dukes of Chandos) and
the Twisletons (lords Saye and Sele). From 1699
onwards the rectory was held by members of the
family, who lived before 1763 sometimes, and thereafter permanently, in the parsonage house, and it
was natural that the life of Adlestrop should revolve
round the Leighs. (fn. 66) In the early 19th century the
dominant role of the manor-house, which was let, was
assumed by the rectory, which continued to be held
by family connexions of the Leighs (fn. 67) until 1937. In
the 1870's the extent to which the rectory was not
accepted as the leading influence in village life was
resented by at least one inhabitant of the rectory. (fn. 68)
Adlestrop has minor connexions with literature and
learning: Theophilus Leigh, Master of Balliol College, Oxford (1726–85), (fn. 69) a younger son of the lord
of the manor, was rector 1718–62 and lived there during vacations; (fn. 70) Jane Austen, a niece of Theophilus,
visited her relations at the rectory; (fn. 71) and Chandos
Leigh (1791–1850), created Lord Leigh of Stoneleigh, achieved some fame as a poet and author. (fn. 72)
Adlestrop has, however, achieved wider publicity
through the poem by Edward Thomas, (fn. 73) not as a
place but as a name that inspired the poet when his
train stopped, 'unwontedly', at Adlestrop. (fn. 74)
Manor.
Coenred, King of the Mercians, is said
to have granted Adlestrop to Evesham Abbey in 708. (fn. 75)
Seven hides 'at Daylesford', which in fact comprised
the whole ancient parish of Adlestrop, were granted
or confirmed to the abbey in the 10th century. (fn. 76) The
abbey continued to hold the manor of Adlestrop
until the Dissolution. (fn. 77) In the 12th century Adlestrop was part of the abbot's estate, but in 1198, in
an exchange of property between the monks and the
abbot, Adlestrop was assigned to the monks' chamber. (fn. 78) Adlestrop was one subject of dispute between
the monks and the abbot in 1203, (fn. 79) but was later
administered by the chamberlain. (fn. 80) In 1251 the abbot
was granted free warren in Adlestrop, (fn. 81) and in 1276
claimed the assize of bread and ale there. (fn. 82) The
manor comprised the whole parish. (fn. 83)
In 1553 Adlestrop was sold by the Crown to Sir
Thomas Leigh, (fn. 84) later Lord Mayor of London
(d. 1571), (fn. 85) and passed without any permanent
diminution to successive eldest sons: Rowland, (fn. 86)
Sir William (d. 1632), (fn. 87) William (d. 1690), Theophilus (d. 1725), William (d. 1757), James (d. 1774),
James Henry (d. 1823), and Chandos, created Lord
Leigh (d. 1850). The manor then descended with
the peerage. (fn. 88) Shortly before 1960 Lord Leigh made
over most of the estate to his eldest son. (fn. 89)
Economic History.
Domesday Book suggests
a neat division of the land in Adlestrop into various
holdings: Evesham Abbey's demesne and the
holding of a knight each supported two ploughs, and
the 12 lesser tenants (10 villani and 2 bordars)
shared 3 ploughs, each perhaps having land for ¼
plough. (fn. 90) If such a neat arrangement had ever obtained, it had broken down by the 14th century. The
demesne was still reckoned as 2 carucates in 1291 (fn. 91)
and may have remained intact; it was being farmed
for 60s. a year in 1535. (fn. 92) The knight's and other
tenants' holdings had no such continuity.
The knight's holding in 1086 was larger than any
of the later estates known to have been held of the
abbey in fee. The precise relationship between these
later estates cannot be traced. Half a hide, or two
yardlands, was held by knight service in the 12th
century, but the abbey claimed that the tenant,
Edgar, was entitled to only one. (fn. 93) In 1203 the abbot
gave, unjustly according to the monks, 6 yardlands
in Adlestrop to John and Hugh, and in 1214 6½
yardlands were granted or confirmed by the abbot
and convent to John of Adlestrop. (fn. 94) It was perhaps
this same John of Adlestrop who quitclaimed to the
abbey at about this time a messuage from which
John had made 3 cotlands; this messuage may have
been the same as one held in the 12th century by the
tenant Edgar, which 3 bordars had held before
Edgar. (fn. 95) In 1222 Nicholas Blundell acquired 13
acres and some meadow in Adlestrop. (fn. 96) Estates held
of the abbey were granted back to it in 1338 (fn. 97) and
1392, and it appears that estates formerly held in fee
were added to the customary land: in 1373, though
a messuage and 7½ yardlands were recorded as John
Blundell's, at least part of Blundell's land was divided
among customary tenants, (fn. 98) and the property granted
in 1392, comprising a carucate, 3 yardlands, and a
dovecot, (fn. 99) seems to have been held by customary
tenants in the early 15th century. (fn. 100) In the 15th and
16th centuries parts of various customary holdings
were known as 'knight's' or 'the knight's'. (fn. 101) Land
called Dameagneisland, granted in 1413 by Richard
Dameagneis to the Rector of Broadwell and others, (fn. 102)
evidently came later into the hands of the abbey and
became part of the customary tenants' land in the
same way, for in 1540 Richard Fretherne held 'Dame
Annes land'. (fn. 103) By the early 16th century the demesne
and the customary land accounted for all the
tithable and tithe-free land in the parish: there were
then 30 yardlands of customary land, (fn. 104) and in 1450
tithe was paid on 27 yardlands, (fn. 105) with the demesne
(because it belonged to the abbey) and 3 customary
yardlands being tithe free. (fn. 106)
It is possible that the amount of land under tillage
increased in the nth century or later. The value of
the whole estate increased from £4 a year at the
Conquest to £5 in 1086. The tenants' land was
assessed at 5 plough-lands, (fn. 107) considerably less
(reckoned at 4 yardlands to each plough-land) (fn. 108) than
in 1373. (fn. 109) From the mid-15th century the division
of the tenants' land into yardlands and cotlands remained roughly constant until inclosure in 1775:
there were 30 yardlands and 6 cotlands both in the
early 16th century (fn. 110) and in 1763. (fn. 111) In the early 16th
century the yardlands varied a little in size, averaging
15 a. (fn. 112) In 1774 a yardland averaged a little under
20 a., (fn. 113) and a cotland in 1763 was reckoned as ⅓ yardland. (fn. 114)
In the 12th century there were 12 servile tenants,
including the miller, and 3 bovarii. All owed services,
all except the bovarii owed money-rents, and the
bovarii and one other tenant (whose services included
carrying the abbot's letters throughout England)
owed rents in kind. A survey of the estate suggests
that a manorial organization based on individual
holdings of a yardland each had become unrealistic.
The money rents varied from 1s. to 12s., and the
tenant paying this highest rent had to provide 24
men for the lord's harvest. (fn. 115) By 1291 Evesham
Abbey was receiving a cash payment for release of
works. (fn. 116)
The division among the customary tenants of
land formerly held in fee may have been partly
responsible for the increasingly complex pattern
of their holdings. That pattern was perhaps more
complex in the late 14th century than it is superficially represented in a rental of 1373, which names
11 holdings of a messuage and a yardland at a
standard rent, 15 'pennymen', 9 tenants de terra
Blundell, and 10 tenants of 'farms'. The 11 holdings of
a messuage and a yardland may have a direct link
with the holdings of the 12 Domesday villani and
bordars, but any simple pattern of holdings that may
have existed was disappearing. Of the tenants who
held a messuage and a yardland, one had two such
holdings, two were also pennymen, nine also held de
terra Blundell, and several held 'farms'. The arable
land was reckoned partly in yardlands (about 30 in
all) and partly in cotlands (8 in all). There were also
a few holdings of between 2 a. and 8 a. The pennymen held between half and one yardland or a messuage and a cotland, and in two instances both. The
terra Blundell was divided into holdings of various
size, and the 'farms' were mostly a messuage and a
yardland, though one was a cotland. (fn. 117) In addition
to their rents the tenants paid a 'tallage' (which
from 1402 was amalgamated with their rents) for
pasturing their beasts. (fn. 118) By the 16th century heriots
were partly in cash, (fn. 119) and they continued to be paid
in the 18th century not only on copyholds but also
on leaseholds for lives. (fn. 120)
In the 14th century the customary tenants held
widely varying amounts of land, (fn. 121) and of the 21
taxpayers in 1327 one was assessed at 10s., eighteen
at between 1s. and 4s., and three at less than 1s. (fn. 122) In
1540 there were 17 tenants with from ½ to 3 yardlands, several of them having two or three messuages, (fn. 123) and thereafter the larger holdings tended
to increase in size and become fewer. In 1608 there
were 13 husbandmen and 7 labourers of military
age. Four of the husbandmen had servants, (fn. 124) and
in 1672 five had houses with three or more fireplaces. (fn. 125) In 1748 one tenant was farming 4 yardlands, (fn. 126) and in 1763 there were eight farmers with
between 1 and 6 yardlands. (fn. 127) Several of these—
Shayler, Freeman, Gardiner, Tidmarsh, Hanks—
came of families that had long been established in
Adlestrop: a John Shayler entered a holding in
1499, (fn. 128) and a William Freeman farmed in Adlestrop
in the 16th century. (fn. 129) None of them, however,
achieved the same local importance as the family
of Fretherne, whose members held land there, and
farmed the demesne, in the 16th and early 17th
century. (fn. 130)
The land by the river makes good meadow-land,
and although in 1086 there was not enough meadow (fn. 131)
the shortage was met apparently by ploughing higher
up the hill. Nicholas Blundell's estate in 1222 included two half-yardlands of meadow, and the
estates granted to Evesham Abbey in 1338 and 1392
included 2 a. and 5 a. of meadow respectively. (fn. 132) By
the early 16th century there were 13 a. of meadow
inclosed and held in severalty, and four common
meadows, amounting in all to over 30 a. Two of the
six cotlands had also been converted to meadow. (fn. 133)
Whether or not the number of sheep in Adlestrop
had increased it seems that minor inclosure and
conversion to meadow resulted in a shortage of
pasture. In 1498 the manor court ordered that the
tenants were to plough and till the fields, especially
in Harcomb, and recorded an agreement for the
management of the fields that accepted the conversion of land called Fernditch to pasture, suggesting
that the fields were being used for pasturage to the
detriment of tillage. (fn. 134) In the early 16th century the
sheep-commons of the tenants numbered 1,213,
averaging 40 to a yardland, though the proportions
for each tenant were not exact. (fn. 135) The rector's estate
in Adlestrop included common for 80 sheep in
1584, (fn. 136) apparently the customary allotment for his
two yardlands. This allotment was later found to be
too high, and was reduced in the 17th century to 30,
in 1769 to 20, (fn. 137) and in 1775 to 10 on the permanent
pasture and 20 on the fields after harvest. (fn. 138) A cotland
used 'as part of his ways' by the shepherd of the
village flocks, mentioned in 1373, was taken into the
lord's hands during the 17th century. (fn. 139) The office of
village shepherd apparently did not survive: in the
mid-18th century the manor court limited the
number of sheep that might be in the charge of a
single shepherd. (fn. 140)
In the open fields of the village the parts of any
holding were widely scattered, and except in the
demesne and the glebe there appears to have been
no attempt at consolidation before the 18th-century
inclosure. In 1222 Nicholas Blundell's 13 a. lay in
lots of ½ a. (fn. 141) In 1584 the rector's two yardlands lay
in 30 different lots, and in 1680 in 28 different lots. (fn. 142)
The division of the open arable into two fields (fn. 143)
may indicate an early two-course rotation of crops.
It seems that the management of the fields had
become ineffective by 1498, when it was agreed to
divide them into four and follow strictly the rotation
fallow, barley, pulse, and wheat. (fn. 144) This quartering
of the fields was maintained, but the quarters themselves were flexible: new quarters were laid out in
1738, (fn. 145) and a piece of land could be added to or
removed from a given quarter in the manor court. (fn. 146)
In 1774 351 a. in the fields, described as 'common
land' and not included in the reckoning of yardlands,
was apparently permanent grass-land. (fn. 147) By the late
17th century the supervision of the fields was the
responsibility of three fieldsmen, chosen from among
the more substantial tenants, who were charged also
with buying bulls for the village. In 1738 the fieldsmen were instructed to appoint a hayward, to be
paid at the public expense: in 1769 the hayward
was paid 3s. 6d. a week in addition to 2d. a pinlock
for impounded cattle. (fn. 148) That these arrangements
were not sufficient to make efficient farming possible
is suggested by the increasingly strict and particular
orders made by the manor court in the 18th century
for keeping animals off the crops; (fn. 149) and it is likely
that efficient farming could be achieved only by
inclosure.
The demesne itself had been consolidated and
inclosed gradually during the 17th century, by
exchanges between the lord and his tenants. The
process began in 1612 and was virtually completed
in the 1690's, though as a prelude to general inclosure
there were further exchanges in 1766–7 between the
lord, the rector, and the tenants. (fn. 150) The rector,
apparently in the same way, achieved the inclosure
of one of his two yardlands between 1680 and 1700. (fn. 151)
From the early 17th century customary holdings, and
particularly the larger ones, were increasingly taken
on leases for lives rather than on copyhold. (fn. 152) As a
result of this the lord of the manor was able to
accumulate land in his own hands as the leases fell
in. (fn. 153) James Leigh prepared the way for comprehensive inclosure by reducing the number of farmers
with leasehold and copyhold land in the fields from 8
in 1763 to 4 in 1767, and to 2 (each holding a yardland of 20 a.) in 1774. (fn. 154) Two members of the Leigh
family holding copyholds and leaseholds surrendered
them in 1766–7 in return for life rent-charges. (fn. 155) The
land surrendered by these and others was presumably let on yearly tenancies. The inclosure took
place after the harvest of 1775, (fn. 156) and affected the
926 a. still uninclosed, of which about 125 a. was
allotted to the rector in respect of his glebe and
tithes, and 22 a. to the one remaining copyholder.
The rest went to the lord of the manor, (fn. 157) and out of
it were created three farms of 258 a., 250 a., and
45 a., all with rights of common and fuel on the
Green Hill (Adelstrop Hill) which accounted for the
rest of the acreage. The two larger farms were let to
John Shayler and John Freeman; the third, the
Home farm, was also let. (fn. 158)
Inclosure did not immediately change what was
produced from the land. The number of sheep had
already been declining, and there is no evidence of
rapid conversion from arable to pasture. (fn. 159) In 1801
the acreage under crops amounted to 316 a. The
main crops then were wheat, barley, and peas and
beans, the same as those prescribed for the fields in
1498 (fn. 160) and nearly the same as those sown on the
demesne farm in the 1690's; (fn. 161) in 1801 there were also
31a. oats and 20 a. turnips. (fn. 162) During the 19th
century there were four separate farms in
Adlestrop, (fn. 163) but in 1960 the land of Home or Manor
farm was being let to the tenant of Fern farm. (fn. 164)
The higher ground had almost all been put under the
plough, while sheep and cows were pastured in the
valley.
In the 17th and 18th centuries there were several
tradesmen and craftsmen in the village: masons in
1608, 1659, and 1722, tailors in 1608 and 1689,
shoemakers in 1702 and 1724, a maltster in 1706 and
two later in the century, butchers in 1708 and later,
a carpenter in 1723, and weavers in 1661, 1714, and
1771. (fn. 165) It is possible that some tradesmen and
craftsmen, as much as agricultural workers, became
impoverished in the period after 1775: their numbers
declined from 8 in 1811 to 3 in 1821. (fn. 166) Between
1775 and 1803 the amount spent on the relief of the
poor rose much more steeply for Adlestrop than for
its neighbours, and in 1803, when there was a total
of 41 families, 20 people were relieved regularly and
9 occasionally. (fn. 167) In 1876, apart from agricultural
and domestic workers, there were a mason, a dressmaker, a carpenter, and two railway-workers. (fn. 168) The
smithy had by then apparently ceased to function:
there had been one in 1671, (fn. 169) and in 1706 it evidently stood on the same site, in Schoolers Lane 200
yards north-north-east of Manor Farm, as in 1900. (fn. 170)
In 1876 a noticeable feature of the village was the
number of washerwomen. (fn. 171) Up to the Second World
War Adlestrop had a village shop and a coalmerchant. (fn. 172) In 1960 the only men who worked away
from the village and not on the land were a railwayworker and two men employed at Little Rissington
airfield. (fn. 173)
Mill.
A water-mill in Adlestrop was mentioned
in a 12th-century survey as part of Evesham Abbey's
estate. (fn. 174) It continued to be part of the manor, and
in the early 16th century was held by a customary
tenant who also had a small copyhold farm. (fn. 175) In
1743 the mill was the subject of three successive
leases, (fn. 176) and in 1745 it was apparently still working. (fn. 177)
In 1770, however, it was presented as being out of
repair, 'the mills being fallen down', (fn. 178) and in 1774 it
was referred to as the 'old mill', and was apparently
demolished a little before 1799. (fn. 179) The site, northwest of Lower Farm, a little upstream from Marsh
Bridge and approached by Mill Lane, (fn. 180) was still
marked in 1960 by some unevenness of the ground.
Local Government.
The records of the
manor court survive for the periods 1400–4, (fn. 181)
1498–1512, (fn. 182) and 1553–1775, (fn. 183) and show the court
as a more than usually active agent of local government. In 1501 the manor court ordered a tenant to
remove an expectant mother, immediately after her
purification, from his household because it was of
'bad governance'; (fn. 184) in the 18th century James Leigh
hoped to curb the mischievous habits of the village
children through the agency of the court. (fn. 185)
The records of parochial government have not
been discovered, and are thought to have been
destroyed by fire. (fn. 186) By 1498 there were two separate
churchwardens for Adlestrop chapelry, (fn. 187) and although in 1572 there were three churchwardens
for Broadwell and Adlestrop together, (fn. 188) by 1584
Adlestrop again had two separate churchwardens. (fn. 189)
A constable for Adlestrop took the oath of allegiance
in 1715. (fn. 190)
Under the Act of 1834 Adlestrop became part of
the Stow-on-the-Wold Poor Law Union, (fn. 191) and in
1863 was included in the Stow-on-the-Wold highway district. (fn. 192) Under the Local Government Act of
1872 it became part of the Stow-on-the-Wold Rural
Sanitary District, and was transferred to the newly
formed North Cotswold Rural District in 1935. (fn. 193)
Church.
Adlestrop was for ecclesiastical purposes
a chapelry of Broadwell until 1937, when it was
severed from Broadwell and became part of the
parish of Oddington. (fn. 194) The chapel was mentioned
in a 12th-century survey, when it was endowed with
half a hide and 29 sheaves a year. (fn. 195) The fate of this
endowment is unknown, but it is likely to have been
appropriated to the rectory of Broadwell which in
1584 had two yardlands of glebe in Adlestrop. (fn. 196)
The rectors of Broadwell appointed chaplains to
Adlestrop, (fn. 197) and in 1535 the chaplain received
£5 6s. 8d. a year from the rector. (fn. 198) In the 16th
century the rector had a house in Adlestrop and may
have lived there rather than at Broadwell, (fn. 199) and
from 1562 other clergy serving Adlestrop, whether
the rector was residing or not, were described not
as chaplains but as curates. (fn. 200)
In 1572 there was apparently a curate serving
Adlestrop, (fn. 201) as in 1650. (fn. 202) In the later 17th century
the rectors seem to have resided at Adlestrop, (fn. 203) but
in the first half of the 18th the two successive rectors lived mainly in Oxford: the curate in 1715 and
1718 was apparently a relation of the lessee of the
parsonage house, (fn. 204) and Theophilus Leigh, Master of
Balliol College, Oxford (who after many years as
rector surprised his father, the lord of the manor, by
preaching at Adlestrop), installed his curate, who
also acted as domestic chaplain to the manor-house,
in part of the parsonage. (fn. 205) Although from 1763 the
rectors normally resided, curates continued to assist
them at Adlestrop at least until 1852, (fn. 206) but thereafter the rector alone seems to have officiated, a
curate being appointed for Broadwell. (fn. 207) In 1960 the
rector of the united benefice of Oddington with
Adlestrop was taking services not only in Adlestrop
but also in the two churches at Oddington.
The history of the rectory estate, which lay partly
in Adlestrop and partly in Broadwell, is given under
Broadwell.
Before 1580 the inhabitants are said to have been
buried at Broadwell, (fn. 208) but there is evidence that
burials took place in Adlestrop from 1516 onwards, (fn. 209)
and there is a register of burials, with baptisms
and marriages, from 1538. One of the Leighs is
said to have given the churchyard, in which the
church stands, in 1590, (fn. 210) and it is possible that he
enlarged it.
The church of ST. MARY MAGDALENE is a
small cruciform building of stone, with an embattled
west tower. The tower arch may be 13th-century,
heavily restored, the tower is 15th-century, and the
chancel arch 14th-century. For the rest, the church
was rebuilt and restored several times, and its
features are nearly all of the late 19th century. One
rebuilding took place apparently c. 1750, but the
workmanship was so bad that the work had to be
done again, almost entirely at the expense of the
lord of the manor, in 1765. (fn. 211) There were further
alterations, to the chancel at least, in 1824, (fn. 212) and the
whole church was restored in the early 1860's, (fn. 213) and
it is not possible to say how far the original design
of the church was followed. At the end of the 18th
century the chancel had on the south two narrow
round-headed windows, which were blocked, and
there were two three-light windows of Early
English style in the south wall of the nave. At the east
end of the nave there was a small south transept for
the lord of the manor's pew, with a door facing south
towards the manor-house garden, and apparently
opposite it on the north side of the nave there was
a recess for the font. These two projections were
rebuilt as larger transepts in the earlier 19th century. (fn. 214) The windows of chancel, nave, and transepts
all appear to have been made or remade at various
dates in the 19th century. All the interior walls are
plastered.
The embattled tower, which appears to have been
altered little, is of three stages, the lowest serving
as a porch. On the middle stage the north and south
faces each have a narrow light, and the north and
east faces carry clocks to commemorate the jubilee
of 1887; on the east face there was formerly a sundial. (fn. 215) The highest stage has a two-light louvred
window, with quatrefoil and head-mould, on each
face.
The font, at the west end of the nave, is 15thcentury. (fn. 216) The church contains a small organ in
addition to two harmoniums. There are many inscriptions of the 17th century and later, on floorslabs and mural tablets, mostly to members of the
Leigh family. In the south transept there is a hatchment of Leigh, and in the nave there are hatchments
of Leigh impaling Twisleton, (fn. 217) Leigh impaling
Willes and Williams quarterly, (fn. 218) and Leigh quarterly
with Lord impaling Bridges. (fn. 219) Round the outside
of the south wall of the chancel is a low railing
marking the family vault of the Leighs, made by
James Leigh (fn. 220) (d. 1774). On the outside of the north
wall of the chancel is an inscription to Anthony
Greenhill (d. 1596) and his wife Anne (d. 1594),
members of a local yeoman family. (fn. 221) There are five
bells, four of 1711 by Abraham Rudhall and one of
1838 by T. Mears; (fn. 222) there were two or more bells in
1516. (fn. 223) The older plate is of the late 17th century
and early 18th. (fn. 224) The registers begin in 1538; there
is a gap between 1673 and 1678, and the modern
register of baptisms up to 1930 was destroyed by
fire. (fn. 225)
Nonconformity.
In 1584 William Freeman
and his son Richard were reported as occasionally
performing unlicensed services, and the churchwardens had to answer for the 'superstitious ringing'
of the bells. (fn. 226) In 1724 Theophilus Leigh's estate at
Adlestrop was registered as a papist's estate under
the Act of 1716, (fn. 227) but it seems that Theophilus was
rather a philosophical eccentric than a papist. (fn. 228)
There were said to be four Protestant nonconformists in Adlestrop in 1676, (fn. 229) and in 1732 the
miller was a Quaker. (fn. 230) Later in the 18th century and
in the earlier 19th the parish clergy firmly denied
the presence of any dissenters: (fn. 231) in 1851 'all the
parishioners without exception' attended church once
a week at least. (fn. 232) By 1877, however, there were at
least three dissenters, two of whom had recently
become so. (fn. 233)
Schools.
By will dated 1763 Joanna Brandis
gave £100 in reversion for putting the poor children
of Adlestrop to school; the money was to be entrusted
to the lord of the manor to be set out by him. (fn. 234) In
1790 there was a day school supported by private
charity, (fn. 235) and in 1803 a school attended by 16
children who were taught to read and knit was
described as a school of industry and said to be
supported by private donations. (fn. 236) In 1818 there
was a day school for 18 boys, another for 26 girls,
and a Sunday school attended by 52 children. There
was said to be no endowment, (fn. 237) and Mr. Leigh's
distribution of the Brandis charity was apparently
regarded as his private donation. A small bequest
by the late rector, Thomas Leigh (d. 1813), at first
invalid, was applied in part to the support of a day
school in 1828, (fn. 238) and in 1833 the school for 29 girls,
with a library attached, was said to be supported
partly by endowment and partly by the benevolence
of Mr. Leigh. The expense of teaching 9 boys and
supplying their books was met by the rector. The
Sunday school in 1833, with 13 boys and 23 girls,
was said to be supported by endowment. (fn. 239)
The boys and girls were combined into one day
school, and the numbers dropped. (fn. 240) In 1889, when
the school was said to be supported by Lady Leigh,
average attendance was 17. (fn. 241) It was a 'certified
efficient' school in 1904, with an attendance of 48, (fn. 242)
dropping to 23 in 1932. (fn. 243) The school was closed in
1936, (fn. 244) and in 1960 the children of Adlestrop went
to Oddington and Evenlode. The Brandis charity,
yielding £7 10s. a year, was divided between children
attending secondary schools. The school building,
opposite the church, was used as a church room, and
the mistress's house beside it as a dwelling-house. (fn. 245)
Charities.
Apart from educational charities,
the poor of Adlestrop were given a rent-charge of
20s. by the will of Thomas Barker (d. 1707), £5 by
a certain Fletcher (d. 1757), entrusted to the lord of
the manor to pay 5s. a year for bread, and the reversion (which was effective by 1828) of £30 by the
will of John Shayler, dated 1800. (fn. 246) In 1956 the
accumulated capital of all three was invested in
stock yielding £2 17s. 4d., which was distributed by
the rector every Christmas as food-parcels. (fn. 247)