BURROUGH GREEN
The parish of Burrough Green, which covers
2,272 a., lies 5½ miles south of Newmarket. (fn. 1) It
stretches 6 miles from north-west of the main
London-Newmarket road to the Suffolk border in
the south-east. There it is over 1 mile wide, but
narrows to less than ½ mile in the north-west where
Westley Waterless has been cut out of it. From
Sipsey Bridge eastward to Plunder wood the southeast boundary follows that of the county. Parts of
the north-east and south-west boundaries follow
watercourses near the south-east end of the parish,
and the boundary with Westley follows the road
from Westley village to the main road, but elsewhere
the boundaries are far less regular, sometimes not
even coinciding with field boundaries, and some
lands were traditionally 'interbait' with Westley.
About 50 a. near Underwood Hall, in the northwestern half of the parish, became part of Burrough
Green under the Dullingham inclosure award in
1810. (fn. 2) The village lies in the south-eastern half of
the parish along the road from Great Bradley to
Dullingham and Newmarket, and roads from Brinkley and Carlton Grange cross the parish north-west
of the village. The Cambridge-Newmarket railway
crosses the north-western end of the parish; the
nearest stations are at Six Mile Bottom and Dullingham.
The parish is well wooded, especially in the southeast; Park wood and Out wood are recorded from
the early 15th century, (fn. 3) and Out wood was scheduled
as of special scientific interest in 1951. (fn. 4) The land
rises from 150 ft. on the north-west to 300 ft. on
Cambridge Hill, and then falls a little before rising
again to a plateau at 375 ft. on which the village
stands. It falls again to 270 ft. in the south-east. The
parish lies on the chalk, covered on the higher ground
by boulder clay. The chalkpit near Underwood Hall,
designated as of scientific interest, provides a section
through the chalk rich in fossils. (fn. 5) The soil on the
chalk is a brown or red loamy sand, and from it
Redfield or Radfield in Burrough Green took the
name which it gave to the hundred. (fn. 6)
There are two moated sites, one of which may be
of Saxon origin, and from which Burgh, as it was
originally called, took its name. (fn. 7) The name Burrough
Green first occurs in the 16th century. (fn. 8) The village
is grouped around a triangular green of c. 5 a., with
the manor-house, church, and rectory on the
western side, and the early-18th-century school at
the northern corner. Along the north-eastern side
runs the main street, with most of the older houses
looking across it to the green. A number of thatched
and plastered cottages survived in 1975, by when
small groups of new houses and an old peoples' unit
had been built on the south-western edge of the
green, near the church. There was also some new
building at the south-western end of the main
street. In 1887 a reading room, still standing in 1975,
was built next to the school by Mrs. Porcher as a
memorial to her husband Charles. (fn. 9) North-west of
the village lies Burrough End which, although just
within Burrough parish, forms a continuation of the
main street of Westley Waterless. At one time there
was a hamlet at Padloe or Paddle Hole End, which
lay on the track to Bushey Grove, east-south-east
of the village. Only one cottage remained in 1801,
and it disappeared in the course of the century. (fn. 10)
Nineteen people were enumerated in Burrough
Green in 1086. (fn. 11) In 1327 there were 29 taxpayers in
Burrough and Westley, and in 1377 there were
141 adults in the two parishes. (fn. 12) By the mid 16th
century there were 34 households in Burrough, (fn. 13)
and 54 houses a century later. (fn. 14) In 1728 there were
c. 200 inhabitants. (fn. 15) By 1801 the number had risen
to 276, though there were only c. 30 houses. The
population rose steadily, to 529 in 1851, but then
fell to 423 in 1901 and 268 in 1971. (fn. 16)
There were two inns in 1779, the White Hart and
the Black Bull, which stood at each end of the
north-eastern side of the green in 1837. The White
Hart had a small farm attached to it, (fn. 17) and had
ceased to be an inn by 1889. The timber-framed and
plastered 17th-century house still stood at the
eastern corner of the green in 1975, (fn. 18) when the Bull
was the only inn in the parish.
Manors and Other Estates.
In the will
of Lustwine, made between 1017 and 1049, Burrough Green was left to Ely abbey, but in his son
Thurstan's will (1043 × 1045) it was left to Ulfketel. (fn. 19)
In 1066 it belonged to Eddeva and in 1086 was held
by Count Alan. (fn. 20) The manor of BURGH or
BURROUGH with most of Count Alan's lands
descended with the honor of Richmond, and c. 1166
Thomas de Burgh (d. 1199) held 4 fees of that
honor. (fn. 21) In the early 13th century one of the fees
was identified as Burrough. It descended in the de
Burgh family for 200 years. (fn. 22) Thomas was succeeded
by his sons Thomas (d. 1234) and Philip (d. 1235). (fn. 23)
In 1260 Burrough was held by Philip's son Sir
Thomas de Burgh, who died in 1284. His son Philip
died a year later, the manor passing to Philip's son
Thomas, then aged 7. Thomas was knight of the
shire for Cambridgeshire in 1311, and was succeeded
in 1322 by his son John. (fn. 24) Shortly before his death
in 1329 John entered a religious house, and made
the manor over to his brother Thomas. (fn. 25) Thomas
died in 1334 leaving a son John, aged 4, and the
Crown granted the custody of the manor to John de
Verdon. (fn. 26) John de Burgh died in 1393 and was
succeeded by his son Thomas. On Thomas's death
in 1411 his estates were divided between his three
half-sisters, the Cambridgeshire lands going to
Elizabeth, wife of Sir John Ingoldisthorpe, who
held Burrough in 1412. (fn. 27)
In 1420 Sir John was succeeded by his son
Thomas Ingoldisthorpe who was still a minor when
he died in 1422 leaving a son Edmund, aged one. (fn. 28)
The wardship of Edmund was granted to John,
Lord Tiptoft, who married Edmund to his daughter
Joan. (fn. 29) Edmund died in 1456 leaving a daughter
Isabel (d. 1476), who married John Neville, marquess of Montagu. On Joan's death in 1494 the
Ingoldisthorpe lands were divided between Isabel's
five daughters. Burrough Green went to Elizabeth,
wife of Thomas, Lord Scrope of Masham, and after
her death to Lucy Brown, her niece. (fn. 30) Lucy married
Sir John Cutt of Childerley, who held Burrough at
his death in 1521. Their son, also John, died in 1528,
and his son, a third John, sold Burrough Green to
Sir Anthony Cage in 1574. (fn. 31)
Cage was succeeded in 1583 by his son Anthony
(d. 1603) whose son John was knighted and served
as sheriff of Cambridgeshire in 1609. Sir John died
in 1628. His son Sir Anthony (fn. 32) fell into great debt
during the Civil Wars, and at his death in 1667 his
estates were heavily mortgaged. He devised Burrough Green manor not to his sons John and William
but to his daughter Anne and her husband Henry
Slingsby, (fn. 33) and in 1670 Burrough Green was the
Slingsbys' seat. (fn. 34) Slingsby later came under suspicion for his conduct as Master of the Mint and at
his death in 1690 was much in debt. He left Burrough
Green to his wife for her life with reversion to his
younger son Anthony. (fn. 35) In 1696 Anthony Slingsby
mortgaged the estate to Edward Russell, later earl
of Orford, who eventually bought the manor, dying
without issue in 1727. Burrough Green was bought
by Charles Seymour, duke of Somerset, and passed
to Heneage Finch, earl of Aylesford (d. 1777),
through his marriage with the duke's daughter
Charlotte. (fn. 36) It passed to the Finches' son Heneage,
earl of Aylesford, who before he died in 1812 had
begun the sale of Burrough Green to Thomas and
Henry Redhead, and Henry was lord of the manor
in 1815. (fn. 37) In 1837 Thomas Redhead held c. 800 a.
in Burrough Green. (fn. 38) He died in 1839 and the
manor passed to Charles Porcher of Cliffe (Dors.),
who had married Thomas's daughter Elinor in
1828. (fn. 39) In 1864 she was lady of the manor, which
by 1869 had passed to E. L. Kindersley, also of
Cliffe. Kindersley assumed the additional name of
Porcher in 1901, and died in 1907, to be followed
by his son Capt. C. P. W. Kindersley (later Kindersley-Porcher), (fn. 40) who c. 1909 sold Burrough
Green to S. A. Taylor of Newmarket. The estate
was then split up, the manorial rights passing to
Mrs. Gertrude Taylor, who held them in 1920 and
1939. (fn. 41) In 1913 the Hall was advertised for sale by
R. J. Lacey, whose father had leased it for many
years previously. (fn. 42) By 1925 it belonged to G. R. C.
Foster (d. 1936) and in 1938 was bought by R. S.
Way. (fn. 43) In 1958 it was sold to Sir Alan Noble, M.P.,
with a 37-acre stud farm, and in 1975 was owned by
Miss P. K. Wolf. (fn. 44)
The earliest manor-house probably stood on the
Saxon moated site in Park wood; there was a deer
park in the parish in 1086. In 1330 Thomas de
Burgh was licensed to impark land there. (fn. 45) Burrough
Green Hall, built c. 1575, but possibly incorporating
part of an earlier timber-framed house, stands west
of the green, next to the church. It was originally
much larger, having 26 hearths in 1665, and probably extended across the full width of the surviving
walled forecourt. (fn. 46) The main front of brick with
pedimented and pilastered surrounds to the windows has a central porch and doorway which is
axial to the main gateway into the forecourt and to
a garden layout now largely destroyed which
included a large moated enclosure some distance
north-west of the house. By 1670 the house was
said to be large but ruinous and in an inconvenient
position. (fn. 47) It was subsequently reduced in size and
in the 19th century it was remodelled as a farmhouse.
In the early 13th century Philip of Barnwell gave
to Warden abbey (Beds.) land in Burrough held of
Nichole and Robert de Sahoun and Hugh of Croydon. (fn. 48) In 1291 the abbey held RAVENSHOLT and
other lands there later known as BURGHDEN
GRANGE. There was a grange attached to each
estate. About 1368 the abbey's tithe-free land in
Burrough comprised 60 a. attached to Burghden
Grange, 100 a. attached to Ravensholt, and woodland belonging to both. (fn. 49) In 1387 both estates were
given in exchange for land in Bedfordshire to
William Bateman and Nicholas Westerdale, who
transferred Ravensholt to John Atwood and Burghden to Robert Knatchbull and John Kent. (fn. 50)
In 1392, however, Barnwell priory was licensed
to acquire 240 a. in Burrough called Ravensholt
from Bateman and Westerdale. (fn. 51) By 1534 the priory
held pasture called Ravensholt which in 1541 was
granted to Edward North, later Lord North. (fn. 52)
Sir George Downing (d. 1684) bought from Sir
Dudley North 132 a. called Ravensholt, which
descended in the Downing family and formed part of
the original endowment of Downing College. In
the 19th century Ravensholt covered c. 173 a. Also
known as Piper's farm, it was sold by the college in
1922 to a Mr. Vye, (fn. 53) and by 1942 formed part of
the Great Thurlow Hall estate of C. F. Ryder,
which was then sold to Mr. R. A. Vestey. (fn. 54)
Burghden Grange seems to have remained in lay
hands after 1387. About 1501 William and Elizabeth Taylard sold it to Nicholas Hughson and
others. (fn. 55) In 1567 it was held by Dorothy and
Thomasin Rudston, and in the early 17th century
by Sir John Cage, lord of the manor. (fn. 56) The name
does not occur thereafter; the land presumably
descended with the manor. The site of the grange
has not been traced.
In 1231 William le Breton, a judge, was granted
c. 8 a. in Burrough by Alice de Burgh. At his death
in 1261 he held 120 a. there of the manor and 20 a.
of Randal de Burgh. (fn. 57) William was succeeded by
his son John who acquired further lands in the
parish and in 1307 granted them to Edmund le
Breton. (fn. 58) In 1353 Thomas le Breton held the land
in Burrough. (fn. 59) In 1389 a tenement in Burrough
called BRETTONS was held by Robert, a clerk,
and in 1392 was granted to William Bateman to be
held for rent and suit of court to the honor of Richmond. (fn. 60) In 1445 John Bateman, rector of Burrough,
was licensed to found a chantry there, which Sir
John Scalers and others thereupon endowed with
land. (fn. 61) In the later 16th century the chantry land
was known as Brettons manor or BATEMANS
CHANTRY. In 1548 it was granted to Gilbert
Claydon of Brinkley and Robert Bank, an Ipswich
merchant, and in 1557 Claydon was licensed to sell
it to Leonard Barrett. (fn. 62) Barrett sold the estate in
1562 to Thomas Holmes who in 1582 sold it to
Anthony Cage. (fn. 63) It then descended with the manor
which in the 17th century was known as Burrough
cum Brettons.
The capital messuage of Brettons stood on the
moated site known as the Chantry, close to the
Brinkley boundary. The earthwork probably dates
from the 14th century, but the house within seems
to have been rebuilt in the 15th or 16th century. (fn. 64)
There was apparently a chapel in the house, which
was occupied by the chantry priest, and it had a
bell to summon to mass. (fn. 65) It was presumably the
mansion house of Leonard Barrett mentioned in
1557. The building seems to have disappeared by
the early 17th century. (fn. 66)
In 1280 the prior of the Hospital of St. John of
Jerusalem held 1 hide in Burrough of the honor of
Richmond. (fn. 67) In 1540 Sir Richard Long was granted
the reversion of land of the Hospitallers' preceptory
of Shingay, including that in Burrough. (fn. 68) Later
record of the land has not been found.
In the mid 15th century God's House in Cambridge acquired GOD'S HOUSE CLOSE in
Burrough Green. In 1546 its successor Christ's
College held a messuage there with 5½ a. of pasture
and arable, which appears to have been sold for £28
in 1560. (fn. 69)
St. Catharine's Hall, Cambridge, held land in
Burrough Green in 1586. (fn. 70) In 1816 St. Catharine's
College exchanged land in the parish with the earl
of Aylesford for 25 a. in Brinkley. (fn. 71)
In 1505 William Atkinson, fellow of Pembroke
Hall, Cambridge, gave to the college land in Burrough Green which in 1563 amounted to c. 25 a.
From 1741 to 1827 it was leased to the trustees of
Burrough Green school. (fn. 72) In 1793 the college
agreed to an exchange of land with the earl of Aylesford, and in 1925 sold c. 30 a. of land and a house. (fn. 73)
In 1515 James Clerk, rector of Burrough Green,
gave a pightle and croft to Peterhouse, and in 1521
the college bought further land there. (fn. 74) In 1793 it
exchanged c. 17 a. in the open fields for 11½ a. in the
south-east corner of the parish. (fn. 75) Throughout the
19th century the college held between 20 a. and
30 a. in Burrough Green, which it sold in 1942. (fn. 76)
Economic History.
Three of the 5 hides in
Burrough in 1086 were in demesne, where there
were 2 servi and 4 plough-teams. There was meadow
for 4 oxen, and a park for hunting. The 7 villani and
10 bordars had 4 or 4½ plough-teams on the other
2 hides. Woodland provided pannage for the
41 pigs. The manor had been worth £10 T.R.E.
and having fallen to £8 was worth £9 in 1086. (fn. 77) In
1334 there were 200 a. of demesne arable which lay
in common from August to February; half was
sown each year, 60 a. in winter and 40 a. in spring.
The park covered 40 a. In 1422 there were still
200 a. of demesne arable, 100 a. of pasture, and
8 a. of meadow. The 80 a. of wood made no profit
but there were 30 a. of underwood of which 5 a.
could be sold each year. In 1334 only 20 works were
owed between Lammas and Michaelmas. By 1422
there were at least 7 free tenants paying 33s. a year
in all. The customary tenants and 10 cottars paid
40s. a year and all tenants gave 7 capons at Christmas. (fn. 78) Until inclosure the arable lay in up to seven
open fields, divided into unequal furlongs. The
largest was Outfield in the north-west part of the
parish, followed by Radfield east of the village and
Grove and Chalkpit fields north-west of the village.
Churling, Underwood, and Stonehurst fields were
much smaller. (fn. 79) In the 18th century a three-course
rotation was followed. (fn. 80) Throughout the 16th and
17th centuries barley was the chief corn crop. In the
mid 17th century wheat, rye, oats, peas, and a mixture of oats, peas, and beans were also grown. (fn. 81) In
the late 14th century some heath was brought into
cultivation, probably forming Outfield. (fn. 82) In the
later 18th century more heath, previously used as
grazing for sheep, was pared and burned, and then
cultivated. (fn. 83) In the 17th century Sir John Cage
claimed he had suffered great loss by some of his
heath being taken into Hare Park at Newmarket by
the king; he had to hire pasture 20 miles away, and
could keep only two instead of his previous three
flocks. (fn. 84) Up to the early 19th century every commoner could pasture two cows or a horse on various
lands after harvest, and on the Hall meadow at
Lammas. Sheep could graze Grove field at Michaelmas, Radfield at All Saints, and the glebe every
third year. (fn. 85) Most of the woodland remained in the
lord's hands, but in 1608 Thomas Atkinson and
others owned timber in the great park and elsewhere. (fn. 86)
In the late 18th and early 19th centuries a number
of copyholds were surrendered to the lord. By the
late 19th century little copyhold land survived, but
in 1910 the village green was sold subject to the
rights of copyholders. (fn. 87) By 1793 the earl of Aylesford held most of the land in the parish, and entered
into exchanges with Pembroke College, Peterhouse,
the trustees of Burrough Green school and town
lands, and the rectors of Burrough and Westley, to
facilitate inclosure and compensate them for their
surrender of common rights. No copy of any inclosure agreement survives, but in 1815 the earl's son
petitioned parliament for an Act to legalize the
exchanges. Although the bill was never passed the
exchanges seem to have taken place. (fn. 88) In 1812, however, there was still c. 1,000 a. of open-field land. (fn. 89)
There is no record of further inclosure, but no commonable land remained by 1837. In that year the
largest estate belonged to Thomas Redhead who
held c. 800 a. including the Hall farm, and Wick,
White Hart, and Owls Hall (later Fox Hall) farms.
The other large landowner was James Barker, rector
of Westley, who owned Westley Lodge and Underwood Hall farms. Apart from Downing College's
Ravensholt farm (170 a.) and the 62 a. of glebe, no
other holding exceeded 30 a. (fn. 90) Some of Barker's
land later passed to Gen. John Hall and by 1908 to
A. C. Hall. As part of his Six Mile Bottom estate it
was sold in 1912 to Sir Ernest Cassel, who in 1917
bought Upper Hare Park, (fn. 91) which from the 17th
century had included c. 50 a. in Burrough Green. (fn. 92)
The land later passed to Cassel's granddaughter, (fn. 93)
Ruth Mary Cunningham-Reid (later Lady Delamere), who in 1975 still held the Six Mile Bottom
estate. The farms which formed Redhead's estate
were split up in the early 20th century. (fn. 94) Fox Hall
and Ravens Hall seem to have been farmed together
by 1942 when the buildings of the former were
derelict. They had been demolished by 1952. (fn. 95)
In the mid 19th century the chief crops were wheat,
barley, and roots. (fn. 96) In 1837 there were 1,676 a.
of arable, 240 a. of grass, and 172 a. of woodland.
By 1905 the figures were 1, 319 a., 301 a., and 158 a.
respectively. (fn. 97) In 1910 the Hall farm was run by the
Lacey family as a stud: under G. R. C. Foster it was
known as the Bower stud of shire horses. (fn. 98) In 1975
it was again a stud farm. By 1922 there was a marketgarden in the parish, and after 1929 the rectory
farm was devoted to dairying. In 1959 a large fruit
farm was opened north-west of the village. (fn. 99) The
woodland in the south-east part of the parish in
1975 was almost co-extensive with that of 1837.
Only the 8 a. of Atkins grove had disappeared. (fn. 100) In
1910 the woodland contained oak, ash, elm, and
sweet chestnut. (fn. 101) Some land in the north-west part
of the parish remained as heath until the 19th century. (fn. 102)
In 1831 about two-thirds of the families in the
parish were supported by agriculture. (fn. 103) There was
agricultural unrest in the 1870s when a number of
farm-workers joined an agricultural strike. A Mr.
Jary who farmed Underwood Hall dismissed his
employees who had taken part, and as a result W. H.
Hall refused to renew his lease. The sale of stock
before Jary's departure was used to demonstrate
conservative feeling in the area. (fn. 104)
There was a forge in Burrough Green in the 17th
century. (fn. 105) By the mid 19th century there were two,
one in Burrough Green village and one at Burrough
End. In 1864 there were also a carpenter, wheelwright, and tailor. (fn. 106)
There was a mill in Burrough in 1308. (fn. 107) The windmill there in 1334 was in bad repair and worth
nothing in 1422. In the same year there was said
to be a water-mill, but it was not recorded later. (fn. 108)
A mill was mentioned in 1591 (fn. 109) and throughout the
17th century. (fn. 110) In the late 19th century there were
two windmills, one in the angle between the Brinkley
and Westley roads, and one on Bungalow Hill east
of the London-Newmarket road. (fn. 111) The latter, a post
mill bearing the date 1766, was moved to a near-by
position c. 1846 when the railway was built. It has
been out of use since 1923, but was still standing in
1975. (fn. 112)
In 1841 a fair was held in Burrough Green for
two days in June. In 1961 an old Whit-Monday fair
was said to have been revived several years before. (fn. 113)
Local Government.
As Burrough Green
was held of the honor of Richmond the manor owed
suit at the tourns of that honor which in the 14th
century were sometimes held at Burrough. Burrough
was represented at the tourn by three customary
tenants and three free tenants. An ale-taster and
brewster were answerable to the court, which also
concerned itself with the watercourses in the parish. (fn. 114)
In 1299 the abbot of Warden claimed view of frankpledge over his men in Burrough. (fn. 115) A manor court
for Burrough was held in 1334. (fn. 116) Court records
survive for 1673–81, 1719–92, and 1795–1920. By
the 17th century the courts were already concerned
almost solely with tenurial matters. The appointment of one or two pinders is noted throughout the
18th century, and in 1788 two tenants were presented for taking cattle which were being impounded
by the pinder. Courts were held once a year in the
17th century, but more irregularly after 1730. (fn. 117)
The amount spent on poor-relief rose from £78
in 1776 to £180 in 1803 and then, more sharply
than the average, to £470 in 1813. It later fluctuated
between £300 and £400 for the next 20 years, except
for low points in 1816 and 1828. In 1803 8 adults
and 16 children received permanent outside relief.
In 1813 40 were relieved permanently, but by 1815
the number had fallen to 23. (fn. 118) In 1835 the parish
joined the Newmarket poor-law union (fn. 119) and remained part of the Newmarket R.D. until 1974,
being then included in East Cambridgeshire.
Church.
There was a church in Burrough Green
in 1217. (fn. 120) The advowson of the rectory descended
with the manor until the early 20th century. (fn. 121) By
1917 it belonged to James Binney and later passed
to C. Binney whose brother Mr. H. Binney held
it in 1975. (fn. 122) In 1570 two presentations were granted
to Anthony and Richard Cutt successively, and in
1599 the second was granted to Francis Garthside,
the rector. (fn. 123)
The rectory was valued at 10 marks in 1254,
20 marks in 1276, and 16 marks in 1291. (fn. 124) In 1534
it was worth £18 10s. and by 1650 £100. (fn. 125) By 1728
it had risen to £120, and by 1835 the gross income
was £553, the second highest in the rural deanery.
By 1877 it had risen to £675. (fn. 126) In 1615 there were
85 a. of glebe. The amount was given as 106 a. in
1639, but was again 85 a. in 1787. (fn. 127) In 1789 62 a.
were exchanged for 30 a. of inclosed land, and in 1837
there were 73 a. of glebe. The rector was also entitled to all great and small tithes in Burrough Green
and to some tithes in Stetchworth and Dullingham. (fn. 128)
The rectory house, south-west of the church, was
being rebuilt in 1876. Since 1958 it has been occupied as a private house, known as Brettons. (fn. 129)
There were three chantries in Burrough Green
church by 1468, (fn. 130) each with a chaplain presented
by the lord of the manor. Catherine de Burgh in 1407
provided for a chaplain to celebrate at the altar of
the Virgin Mary in the south side of Burrough
church, and by will of 1409 left vestments and other
bequests to the chantry. That chantry was valued
at £14 19s. 3d. in 1534, (fn. 131) and was called Dame
Catherine's, as was also the chantry, alternatively
called the Burgh chantry, founded in 1460 under
the will of Edmund Ingoldisthorpe at the same altar,
for the souls of Catherine and others. (fn. 132) Bateman's
chantry, founded in 1446 by John Bateman, rector
of Burrough, in the chapel of the Annunciation, (fn. 133)
was worth £12 in 1535. (fn. 134) In the 15th century each
chantry was wealthy enough to pay a pension to
a retired chaplain and support his successor. (fn. 135) In
the early 16th century there was a parish guild of
St. Augustine, with a guildhall for the poor. (fn. 136)
There were curates in the parish from the mid
16th century when the rector lived on his vicarage
in Lancashire. (fn. 137) In 1564 the bishop reported that
Thomas Holmes of Burrough Green was not conformable in religion. (fn. 138) A parishioner who appeared
before the High Commission in 1640 was perhaps
the one who failed to receive communion that year. (fn. 139)
Thomas Wake was ejected from the rectory in 1644
on evidence of unseemly behaviour and Laudian
attitudes. (fn. 140) Thomas Watson, rector from c. 1672,
held the benefice in commendam when he became
bishop of St. David's in 1687. After his deprivation
he was charged with simony for letting Burrough
rectory to another clergyman. Even before his
appointment to the see he had not often resided in
the parish, and in 1692 had a curate there. It was
at Burrough Green that he was attacked by a mob
in 1688 after being excepted from the Act of Indemnity. (fn. 141) Samuel Knight, rector 1707–46, was also a
canon of Ely and Lincoln and archdeacon of Berkshire, and held three other parochial cures. He had
a curate at Burrough Green, who in 1728 held two
Sunday services and quarterly communions attended
by c. 20 parishioners. (fn. 142) John Green, presented in
1746, became Regius professor of divinity at Cambridge, master of Corpus Christi College, dean of
Lincoln, and vice-chancellor of Cambridge; he retained the rectory until after his promotion to the
see of Lincoln in 1761, but never resided. (fn. 143) Green's
successor J. F. Palmer lived in Bedfordshire in 1775
and by 1779 was insane. The cure was served by
a curate who had been there under Green. (fn. 144)
Charles Wedge served as resident rector from
1801 to 1872. (fn. 145) In 1807 there was only one Sunday
service, alternately morning and evening so that
people could go once to Brinkley and once to
Burrough Green. Only c. 12 attended the quarterly
communions, but there was frequent catechizing
in the summer. A Sunday school had been started
by 1836. (fn. 146) In 1877 the rector was not yet resident
but kept a curate. A third of the people attended
church: there were two Sunday services and monthly
communions, with once more c. 20 communicants, but
services on other holy days had been discontinued. (fn. 147)
In 1897 there were 29 regular communicants
at the twice-monthly sacraments, and two-thirds
of the parishioners went to at least one Sunday
service. (fn. 148) From the early 20th century the rector
of Burrough Green has also held Brinkley, where
from the 1950s he has usually lived. (fn. 149)
The church of ST. AUGUSTINE, so called in
1409, (fn. 150) is built of field stones and rubble, and has
a chancel, aisled nave, west tower, and south porch.
The chancel, which is almost as long as the nave,
dates from the 13th century. It may have been extended in the earlier 14th century. The two-stage
tower and the aisles were added to the nave in the
14th century. The chancel was flanked by two
chapels each stretching its full length, at least the
south one being transeptal at its west end. The
northern one was probably built in the early 14th
century and the southern one somewhat later. The
earlier windows of the chancel were blocked, and
arches were opened into both chapels from the west
end of the chancel and from the aisles. (fn. 151)
The south porch was added in the early 15th century when the doorway was renewed. From the mid
16th century the church began to fall into disrepair.
In the early 17th century the steeple was repaired,
but the Cage family refused to repair the chapels,
for which they were responsible. (fn. 152) In 1644 William
Dowsing broke 64 pictures and crucifixes at Burrough Green. (fn. 153) By 1665 the chancel, nave, and
aisles were all in a bad condition. (fn. 154) In 1667 part of
the roof had fallen in, and the church was described
as a danger to the lives and health of parishioners. (fn. 155)
Eventually the chapels were demolished and the
arches leading to them blocked; square-headed
windows were put into the chancel. Three bays of
each aisle were given gables with double openings
which served as a clerestory, and plain triangularheaded windows were put into the aisles. The plain
octagonal font, dated 1672, was probably put in at
the same time. The Cages seem to have been responsible for the work. (fn. 156) In the mid 18th century the
altar stood not below the east window but against
a wall running across the chancel c. 9 ft. from the
east wall. At that date the 14th-century chancel
screen was still standing. (fn. 157) It was removed between
1812 and 1877, by when the chancel arch had been
demolished and two 18th-century urns placed on
the responds. (fn. 158) By 1812 the nave and chancel had
been given flat ceilings. (fn. 159)
The church is chiefly notable for its monuments
to members of the de Burgh and Ingoldisthorpe
families. One monument, a large tomb in the middle
of the chancel bearing a brass of Edmund Ingoldisthorpe (d. 1456) has disappeared, probably during
the 17th-century alterations. There remain six stone
effigies and three canopied tombs. The three tombs
all stand along the north wall of the chancel. The
central one has an ogee arch which can also be traced
on the outside wall of the chancel; it is in its original
position. The other two have four-centred arches,
and all three have canopies with crocketed mouldings
in ogee curves. Since at least one of the tombs originally stood in the south chapel either of the outer
two may have been moved. The effigies have been
moved several times and are not well preserved. In
the 18th century one of the figures under the centre
canopy was on the outside chancel wall. It is impossible to identify the figures accurately. The lady and
three knights in the chancel are probably all 14thcentury members of the de Burgh family. The two
in the north aisle may be John Ingoldisthorpe (d.
1420) and his wife Elizabeth de Burgh (d. 1421). (fn. 160)
In the middle of the chancel is a large black marble
monument to Anthony Cage, rector (d. 1630).
In the 13th century Burrough church had two
chalices, (fn. 161) and in the mid 16th century a silver
chalice and paten. (fn. 162) The plate includes a cup dated
1633 given by Samuel Knight in 1741, and a paten
given by Thomas Watson in 1692. (fn. 163) In the 16th
century there were three bells. (fn. 164) In 1710 Samuel
Knight gave a ring of five bells cast by John Waylett.
The fourth was recast in 1807, and by the 20th
century the third was cracked. (fn. 165) The registers begin
in 1571 and except for a break between 1637 and
1660 are complete. (fn. 166)
Nonconformity.
In 1807 there were a few
Presbyterians in Burrough Green, and in 1825 their
numbers were increasing. In 1877 c. 80 people
attended dissenting chapels in other parishes. (fn. 167)
Education.
One of the chantry chaplains seems
to have acted as schoolmaster in the 15th century. (fn. 168)
By will dated 1630 Dr. Anthony Cage, rector of
Burrough Green, left a house and land, from which
half of the rent was to go to a poor woman of the
parish to teach reading, and half to be used for
apprenticing. In 1794 the land was exchanged for
closes and a blacksmith's shop in Burrough End.
School dames were appointed from 1631, and in
1728 the school was described as a charity school
for Burrough Green and Brinkley. (fn. 169)
In 1709 Thomas Watson, late bishop of St.
David's, gave a messuage and pasture which helped
to support another school in the school-house on
the green built in the early 18th century under the
will of Samuel Richardson whose date of death is
not known. Samuel Knight (d. 1746), rector and
Richardson's executor, also left houses and land to
buy bibles for children leaving the school and to
pay a master. The stone-built school is two storeys
high with a central doorway above which are
2 niches with figures of a boy and a girl. Two wings
were later added, one as a house for the master, the
other as an alms-house. (fn. 170) By the early 19th century
the educational portion of Cage's charity was usually
paid to the master of Knight's school, although in
1801 the buildings were dilapidated and the master
was not paid. (fn. 171)
After 1821 Cage's charity was again applied to
a separate infant school. (fn. 172) In 1837 Knight's school
was still badly conducted and the master unsatisfactory but by 1846 conditions had improved, and
the two schools taught 62 boys and girls and 31 infants. (fn. 173) By 1877 Cage's school had ceased, and a
Scheme of 1887 devoted its income to providing
prizes, grants, lectures, and evening classes. (fn. 174) In
1876 Knight's school was reorganized and in 1877
reopened, attended by 15 boys and girls and 6
infants. (fn. 175) There was accommodation for 86, and
numbers gradually increased, to 52 in 1884 and
98 in 1914. (fn. 176) The school received a grant from the
1880s, and in 1897 was liberally supported by Mrs.
Porcher. A 1d. rate was also levied. (fn. 177) A new room
was added in 1911. (fn. 178) Numbers fell again, to 37 in
1938, and in 1947 the seniors were transferred to
Bottisham village college, moving to Linton in
1964. (fn. 179) A new building was erected in the school
yard in 1975. The school was then attended by children from Burrough Green, Brinkley, and Westley
Waterless. By 1975 Cage's charity was distributed
in gifts for good attendance and to school leavers. (fn. 180)
Charity for the Poor.
By will dated 1719
John Jervis gave 10s. charged on a copyhold
estate to be spent in Easter week on bread for the
poor. Payment was apparently discontinued in
1820. (fn. 181)