Colwick, Over and Nether

COLWICK, Over and Nether.

In Colewic, Godric had a manor before the conquest, which answered or was rated to the Dane-geld or tax at seven bovats. The land was one car. There afterwards William Peverel (whose fee it became) had one car in demesne and seven vill. six bordars, having three car. or plows. (fn. 1) There was a priest and a church, and two servants, and one mill 5s. half a piscary or fishing, and thirty acres of meadow, and fifteen acres of small wood. In the Confessours time it was 20s value, when the great survey was taken in the Conquerours 40s. and was then held by Waleraun — Here was another manor of the land of the Taynes, wherein Alvric had three, and Buge two, which made five bovats for the tax of geld. The land was one car.— They held it of the King (William) and there had two car. or plows, one sochm. on one bovat, and six villains, one bord. with two car. There was thirty one acres of medow, and small wood eight acres. In the Consessours time this was valued at 25s. 4d. Another part went with Stoche of the fee of Goisfrid de Alselin.

(fn. 2) William de Colwich, 20 H. 2. paid the sheriff one mark because he sold an horse to the king's enemies.

(fn. 3) Over Colwick was Peverels, and held by Reginald de Colewike of the king in capite, as one carucat, for twelve barbed arrows when he came to Nott. Castle, together with nineteen bovats in Willughby on the Wolds, as there is noted, for another service.

Philip, son of this Reginald, was after his death, 36 H. 3. found his heir, and to be then above forty years old. Philip died about 3 E. 1. and left it William his son and heir. (fn. 4)

(fn. 5) The jury, 6 E. 1. found that Reginald de Colewyke, the grandfather of William, lived an hundred years; and that he, and Philip his son, father of William, had their park enclosed with hedge and ditch at their pleasure, without the impediment of the justice or ministers of the forest, and so held it all their lives, as the said William then did, paying his twelve arrows, as before is said.

(fn. 6) John de Colwyk, 7 E. 3. was found son and heir of William. This John was a knight, and married Joane, daughter of Robert de Staunton [Harold] by whom he had William de Colwyke, who held the manor of Colewyke, with the advowson of the church, joyntly with Joane his wife, whom he left a widow, 35 E. 3. (fn. 7) and Thomas de Colewike their son his heir; he held a mess. also in Elston of William de Thorpe, and half a virgat of land. His said wife Joane was the daughter of John Peche, (fn. 8) and born at Kilnutt in Shropshire, by whom he had also a daughter called Joane, who was heir of her brother the said Thomas de Colwik, and carried this Lordship to the family of Byron (mentioned in Newstede) she being second wife of Sir Richard Byron, as in that place is noted.

(fn. 9) There was a presentment made against Richard Byron Chr. and Joane his wife, 15 R. 2. for hindring the course of the water of Trent at Over Colwick, which was the right of the said Joane, it seems as daughter of William de Colwik. The Trent is there found to be one of the great rivers of the kingdom of England for passage of ships and batells [that is, boats] with victuals, and other merchandises from the castle and town of Nottingham, to the water of Humbre, and from thence into the deep sea.

The Tayn-land I suppose to be called Nether-Colwyk, or Est-Colwyk, which came also to Peverel, for I find, 11 E. 1. (fn. 10) that William de Novers, or de Nodariis, named in Willughby on the Wolds, held the fourth part of a knight's fee of that honour in Est-Colwyk.

(fn. 11) The jury, 10 E. 3. found that John de Nowers held one mess. and one carucat of land, with the appurtenances in Nether-Colwyk, of the Lady Grace de Nowers Lady of Stoke Goldington, by the service of a fourth part of a knight's fee, and that John his son and heir was then of full age.

(fn. 12) A fine was levyed at York, 12 E. 3. between John de Nowers of Nether Collewyk, quer. and John, the elder son of William Moigne of Carleton, deforc. of thirteen mess. nine bovats, and one hundred and sixty acres of land, sixty acres of medow, one acre of wood, and 15d. rent, with the appertenances in Nether Colwyk, Carleton, and Bestan, which were thereby settled on the said John de Nowers for life; and after his decease on William, son of Robert de Jorce, and Margery, daughter of the said John de Nowers, and the heirs of their bodies, remainder to the right heirs of the said John de Nowers. This came after to the family of Slorey, whose arms were three Crosseletts pate upon a Fesse, which I have seen upon some of their seals.

(fn. 13) There was a recovery suffered, 4 H. 8. wherein Thomas Urswick, and Thomas Broun claimed against Robert Slory, the manor of Colwyke, with the appurtenances, and six mess. ten cottages, six hundred acres of land, five hundred of medow, as many of pasture, four hundred of wood, sixty of marsh, forty of heath. and 10l rent in Colwyke Nowers, Over Colwyke, and Nether Colwyke. Slory was a man of great possessions, and his daughters and heirs married to Hussy and Wood, but Mr. Wood's ancestor, to whom this Colwyk was allotted, sold it to the ancestor of sir John Byron, who having the whole, sold it to sir James Stonehouse, being of a very great yearly value, but never got much above half the money, by reason of the breaking out of the war, wherein it was stop'd by the rebells, but since the return of the king, Richard, the present Lord Byron, hath accepted of some small part, and confirmed the title of sir John Musters, the present owner.

Some part of Nether Colwyk is in Geedling parish, which was that of the fee of Alselin.

(fn. 14) The rectory of Colwyke was heretofore 10l. value, and Mr. Byron, patron.— 'Tis now 6l. 2s. 1d. and sir John Musters, patron.

In a north window of this church was painted a man in his coat of arms, holding his shield, whereon also was depicted Gules, three or four Fusils in Fesse Arg. and two Cinquefoyles (or Mullets) in Chief Or. He was of the family of D' Aubeni, in Brant Broughton church in Lincolneshire, there are divers of their arms, and Byrons too.

[Throsby] Colwick

Lordship is in the hands of John Musters, esq; which was won, it has been said, at cards, from the Byron family; but this report, by Thoroton's account of it passing into the Musters' family, must be erroneous.

Colwick church is dedicated to St. John Baptist, is a neat structure, but small. It stands near the Hall. It appears by a monument, on the north side of the chancel, that it was repaired and beautified, and the chancel rebuilt by sir John Musters, knt. in 1684. This, Dr. Thoroton could not notice, being done subsequent to the publishing his history; but it is somewhat strange that a place so near Nottingham should not be visited by him or his friends, which seems to be the case, as he has wholly omitted the monuments here for the Byron family, who once possessed the manor.

An old tomb, against the south wall in the chancel, retains three figures in marble, (cut in the manner of brasses, but much desac'd) of a man in armour, with a female figure on each side. Round the edge of the tomb, "Here lyeth the body of— Byron, knight, Steward of Manchester and Bachdale, Lieutenant of the Forest of Sherwood, &c. who departed this life 3d. of May 15—" On the side of it are figures of a man and woman, and seven children.

On a monument, above this, "To the memory of Sir John Byron, late of Linby in Nottinghamshire, Knight, and Margaret his wife, daughter of Sir John Fitzwilliams, some-time Lord deputy of Ireland, by whom he had divers sons and daughters, they both died 7th. of March, 1623." John, the elder son, died in 1625.

Another monument here, informs us, that "John Byron, Miles obit. 24th February, 1603. It retains these lines on the side:
"Let same wyth golden trumppet blast, The worthi prayers eternize, Of Sir John Byron, gentle Knight, Whose Corps byloo these pictures lies. Sir John, his sonne, for parents love, Caused to erect this monument, That virtues of his father dead, In future time it might present."

A small plain monument remembers Sir John Musters, Knight, who was land owner here, in Thoroton's time, and who repaired the church; he died the 28th of July, 1689, aged 66. (fn. 15)

A neat one in the more easy modern stile, with figures as large as life, is placed to the memory of John Musters, esq; eldest son of Sir John, he died in 1685.

Patron, John Musters, Esq; Incumbent, William Thomson. King's book 6l. 1s. od.½ Yearly tenths 12s. 1d.½. Archiepise. pro Syn. 6s. Archidiac. pro Prox. 6. 8. Val. in mans. cum gleb. dec. &c. J. Musters and others in 1680.— Munday Musters, Esq; 1749. John Musters, Esq; in 1770.

[Throsby] Colwick Hall

The seat of John Musters, Esq; is seated on the borders of the Trent, within two miles of Nottingham. (fn. 16)

In passing from Sneynton to Colwick, the field scenery is happily diversified. A steep rock, elevated from the left boundaries of Sneynton cow-pasture, and co— vered with a hanging wood, is an agreeable contrast to the plain below and the regularity of some plantations leading to the seat of Mr. Musters. Above the rock or eminence, is a small park, wooded and stocked with deer. A portion of this rock, facing the Hall, has been cut away and forms a deep and sudden precipice. Here, while the present Mr. Musters was young, I am told, he was in great danger of losing his life: riding a restive horse, in the park, the animal ran away with him towards this place, at full speed, into which abyss he would probably have plunged him, had he not possessed courage to throw himself off the horse on the eve of destruction.

The pleasure grounds and plantations about this seat are extensive, which have been chiefly made by the present owner. The church has its share of that pleasant scenery. The Trent, at the foot of this dwelling, adds greatly to the view.

This seat was built in 1776, by Mr. Samuel Stretton, Nottingham, under the direction of Mr. John Carr of York, Architect.

This gentleman keeps a pack of hounds, the kennel, for which, is a modern building of some rank. When I saw it, it brought to my mind the parsonage house at Edwoltoh, (See page 123, vol, 1.) In this case the order of things may properly be inverted, thus, The dwelling of dogs, and the kennel of a priest.