Bray with the borough of Maidenhead: Introduction, borough and manors

BRAY with the BOROUGH OF MAIDENHEAD

The parish of Bray, containing 7,820 acres, of which 2,208 are arable land, 4,690 under permanent grass and 492 woodland, (fn. 1) lies between Maidenhead and Windsor. The subsoil is Reading and London clay, but Maidenhead stands on the chalk. The village of Bray is close to the river, and the road which connects it with the main road between Maidenhead and Windsor on entering the village forms a rough triangle at the apex of which stands St. Michael's Church. The old chantry chapel may still be seen in the churchyard, at the south-east corner of which is a 15th-century gate-house, probably a chantryhouse. The houses which compose the village have been largely modernized, but some examples of halftimber work remain, chief among which are the Crown and Hind's Head Inns, both much altered and the latter cased with brick.

Jesus Hospital, founded in 1627, is at the southern end of the village just beyond the fork of the road. The buildings contain forty almshouses grouped round a large quadrangle measuring 162 ft. 3 in. by 142 ft. They are of red brick with stone dressings and tiled roofs. Each house contains one room lighted from each side by a square-headed two-light window, and between every two rooms is a common vestibule entered from the quadrangle and lighted by a gabled dormer window. At the back each room has a separate doorway. Over the entrance, which is in the middle of the eastern range, fronting upon the road, there is an upper floor with an attic in the roof. The entrance doorway has a four-centred head under a square containing mould and label, and above it, between the windows lighting the large room on the first floor, is a segmental-headed niche in which is a figure of William Goddard, sheltered by a square hood. Let into the wall below the niche, immediately over the central doorway, is a stone tablet inscribed, 'Jesus Hospitall Founded in the year 1627 of the sole foundacon of William Goddard Esq. wherein he hath provided for the poore people for ever and lefte it to the sole care and government of the righte Wor^ll Company of Fishmongers of the Citty of London of which company he was a free brother. This new stone erected 1844.' Below the windows on either side of the tablet are two stones; the dexter one is charged with the arms of the Fishmongers' Company, the sinister one with those of Goddard. The walls are carried up in pointed gables, behind which is the attic, lighted by two-light windows. The chaplain's rooms are on the first floor. Against the north wall of the entrance passage is an ironbound alms post, above which is a stone tablet inscribed, 'Hee that giveeth to the poor lendeth to the Lord,' surmounted by the date 1638. In the centre of the western block is the chapel, which measures internally 41 ft. 4 in. by 20 ft. The chancel is at the west end and is separated from the nave by a fine Jacobean screen. The west window is of five trefoiled lights with elaborate tracery under a pointed head and has both internal and external hood moulds. The chancel is lighted from either side by a window of three cinquefoiled lights with tracery under a four-centred head, while in the east wall over the entrance doorway, which is four-centred within a square head, is a large window of five trefoiled lights with vertical tracery in the head.

The chancel screen is a fine example of Jacobean woodwork; the central opening is round-headed with spandrels carved with scroll work within a square architrave. The upper part on either side is divided into four small round-headed openings carried on flat balusters with shaped brackets having small pendant drops (many of which are now missing) and carrying a moulded cornice; the lower part is filled in solid and is panelled on the west side only. The roofs are modern, as is also a small wooden bell-turret at the east end of the nave.

To the south of Jesus Hospital is Stroud Farm, which represents the manor of Strode. Some part of the house is of the 15th century, and some interesting woodwork of that period remains.

Ockwells Manor House, belonging to Sir Edward Barry, bart., stands about 1¾ miles to the west of the main village. Built by Sir John Norreys between 1446 and 1466, it is an exceptionally interesting example of the domestic architecture of the period. The buildings, which are of half-timber with brick filling, are grouped round a small central courtyard having the hall on the east side, with the solar block and servants' apartments at either end, and the kitchen and offices on the west. At the screen end of the hall is the normal pair of doorways, in this case, however, opening only into two rooms beneath a large chamber, which probably served for servants' sleeping quarters. A corridor leading round the south and west sides of the courtyard from the passage behind the screens gives access to the rooms in this part of the house, while the kitchen, on the south side of which is the buttery with its original hatch, apparently communicated directly with the dais end of the hall through the room which now serves as a lobby to the principal stairs. Touching the southeast angle of the house was a chapel with walls of brick and dressings of chalk, the north wall of which alone remains at the present day. It may be that a desire to keep the offices at as great a distance as possible from the chapel suggested the unusual position of the kitchen and buttery at the side of the hall instead of at its lower end, a position possessing a distinct advantage over the commoner plan where the serving across the more or less public passage of the screens must have always been attended with some inconvenience. The original stairs on the solar side have disappeared, but those at the opposite end still survive. The former were probably removed early in the 17th century, when new stairs were constructed in the central courtyard, and so remained till they were moved to the position which they now occupy on the west side of the solar block by the present owner, who has also added a new kitchen with offices to the north of the original kitchen. A large court was originally formed on the east or entrance front by the chapel on the south, with an adjoining range of stables, a large barn on the east, and a brick curtain wall on the north, somewhat of the same character as that which must have originally surrounded Southcot Manor House in the same county. All but a short fragment of this wall has been destroyed, but the stables and barn, which are of half-timber, are still in a fairly perfect condition.

The hall, which measures about 41 ft. by 24 ft., is entered through a two-storied porch by a doorway at the south-east with moulded posts and a four-centred head, in the spandrels of which are carved a griffon and an antelope. This doorway opens directly into the passage behind the screens, which occupies the greater part of the southernmost of the four bays into which the hall is divided by the uprights, which form the main timbers of its framing. On the south side of the passage is the pair of doorways above referred to, each with moulded posts, and a four-centred head with traceried spandrels. A larger doorway of similar character at the west end of the passage leads into the corridor round the central courtyard; both this and the entrance doorway on the east retain their original doors. The screens themselves are framed together with plain sills and rails, and have uprights with hollow-chamfered angles inclosing narrow panels; there are two square-headed openings, and the lower panels on the passage side as well as those near the entrance doorway have cinquefoiled heads. At the north-east of the hall is a square bay window with two tiers of six lights, with uncusped four-centred heads and mullions of oak in the principal face, and three similar lights in the upper part of the southern return, the opposite return being blank, as the bay here abuts upon the projecting solar block. The upper parts of the two remaining bays on this side are entirely occupied by five-light windows of the same type, with their sills at a little above half the height of the wall. On the west side, in the second bay from the north, is a stone fireplace of original date, having an opening with a straight-sided four-centred head within a square containing casement mould flanked by engaged shafts with moulded capitals and bases, the mouldings of the capitals being continued across the top of the stonework as a cornice, and inclosing a rectangular panel above the head of the opening. In the northern bay on this side is a modern doorway opening into the room between the hall and the original kitchen, and in the bay to the south of the fireplace is a window like those in the opposite wall, taking light from the central courtyard. The roof is of the braced collar type, with curved wind-braces and moulded wall-plates, the collar-braces springing from the main uprights, while the wall-plate is supported by moulded braces forming a flat arch where it crosses the bay window recess. The lower part of the walls is lined with early 17th-century panelling, but the upper part, where not occupied by the windows, shows the timber framing with its plaster filling. The original dais level is shown by the flooring of the bay window and of the room into which the doorway at the north-west opens, the intervening portion of the platform having been removed.

The famous armorial glass in the eastern windows of the hall seems to be part only of a great scheme of heraldic decoration placed there by Sir John Norreys, the builder of the house. Beginning with the oriel window, the armorials that remain are as follows : 1. Henry Duke of Warwick, K.G., d. 1446 : Beauchamp quartered with Clare, Newburgh and Despenser and impaling (in modern glass) Montagu, Monthermer and Nevill, with a helm crested with a bunch of columbines; 2. Edmund Duke of Somerset, K.G., killed at St. Albans, 1455 : Beaufort with a helm crested with his leopard standing on a hat; 3. Margaret of Anjou, queen of Henry VI : France and England impaling Hungary quartered with Naples, Jerusalem, Anjou, Bar and Lorraine, ensigned with a royal crown and supported by a silver antelope and a golden eagle; 4. John Duke of Suffolk, K. G., d. 1491: De la Pole quartered with Burghersh (the crest is missing); 5. King Henry VI : France quartered with England, ensigned with a crown and supported by two silver antelopes; 6. James Earl of Ormonde and Wiltshire, K.G., d. 1461 : Butler with a helm crested with an eagle rising from a bush of feathers all gold; 7. Abingdon Abbey, the shield ensigned with a mitre; 8. Richard Bishop of Salisbury, 1450–81 : Beauchamp of Powick quartered with Delamere and Roche with the difference of a silver border with black caps, ensigned with a mitre; 9. Sir John Norreys: Ravenscroft (for Norreys) impaling Clitherow quartered with Oldcastle, for his second wife Eleanor Clitherow, supported by two sea-otters collared and chained, each holding a fish in its mouth, and with a helm crested with a raven; 10. John Lord Wenlock, K.G., killed at Tewkesbury, 1471: Wenlock with a helm crested with a Saracen's head; 11. an unknown shield, Azure five fleurs de lis or, and a helm crested with golden bulrushes, believed to refer to Sir William Lacon of Stow in Kent, chief justice, d. 1475; 12. the shield of a Mortimer of Chirk, having the scutcheon ermine, and a crowned helm crested with a bush of silver feathers; 13. Sir Richard Nanfan of Birtsmorton in Worcestershire : Nanfan quartered with Penpons, with a helm crested with a wolf standing azure; 14. Sir John Norreys : Ravenscroft as before impaling Merbrooke quartering Or two bars gules and a bend azure, for his first wife Alice, with the same supporters and crest as in the ninth achievement; 15. Sir John Langford, husband of Katherine granddaughter of Sir John Norreys : Langford, with a helm crested with a wild man; 16. a renewed shield of arms unidentifield with no crest upon the helm; 17. John Purye of Chamberhouse: Purye quartered with a renewed coat and a wrongly painted coat for More of Cookham, with a helm crested with a peacock's head argent between two wings sable; 18. Richard Bulstrode of Upton : Bulstrode quartered with Chopinden, with a helm crested with a squirrel gules sitting and holding a bunch of nuts or. (fn. 2) The quarries of the background are painted with a badge of three distaffs tied together with a golden ribbon, and each light is banded with diagonal stripes of white glass with dieu et mon droit about the king's arms, with humble et loiall about those of the queen, and with ffeythfully serve about all the rest. For some time the glass, which had been taken out of the house for preservation, was stored at Taplow Court. It was restored to the present owner by Lord Desborough.

The solar block at the north end of the hall contains two floors of nearly equal height, the ground floor, now the dining room, having probably served as a withdrawing room, while the solar above must always have been used as the principal bedchamber. Both have fine stone fireplaces of the Elizabethan period, and are lined with panelling of the same date, though the original ceiling beams and open-timbered roof still survive. The oak-mullioned and traceried bay window lighting both rooms from the east is a modern reconstruction on old foundations. The principal stairs, originally erected, as stated above, in the central courtyard, but now placed in a modern addition at the west end of the solar block, are a fine example of early 17th-century joinery, with moulded strings, raking balusters and massive square oak newel posts, surmounted by heavy finials. They are entered through a reset doorway of contemporary date on the north side of the room between the hall and the kitchen; this doorway, with the open balustraded light to the east of it, was originally in the opposite wall, where they have been replaced by windows looking into the courtyard. The kitchen, now used as the servants' hall, was formerly the whole height of the house, but is now divided into two floors, though the large fireplace on the west side still survives. The buttery and an adjoining room, probably the pantry, to the south of the kitchen have been thrown into one, and now form the billiard room; the buttery hatch with its large falling flap and range of open lights above it, the original doorways to both rooms, and the open-joisted ceiling supported by a moulded beam with arched braces still remain. The windows in the west wall are renewals of the 17th and 18th centuries, and a fireplace of the latter date at the north-west is now used as a cupboard. A modern lobby placed in the angle made by the kitchen block with the southern range connects the billiard room with the room now called the music room, which has its original ceiling beams, but the windows appear to have been renewed. Between this and the two rooms at the lower end of the hall is the original staircase to which reference has been made above. The corridor round the central courtyard which gives access to all this portion of the house is lighted on the courtyard side by a continuous range of oak-mullioned lights with fourcentred heads. The eastern portion of the room at the east end of the south range which projects flush with the entrance porch, and communicates with it by a doorway with a four-centred head, may have been the porter's lodge, but the intervening partition has been removed. Much 15th-century work remains on the first floor, where the corridor plan is repeated and the original arrangement has been little altered. Externally the timbering of the gable ends of the east or entrance front is elaborately treated with tracerled panelling, most of which is original, and the bargeboards are carved with pierced and foliated ornament of intricate design. The wide entrance to the porch is spanned by a flat four-centred arch of oak with carved spandrels, and there are open lights with modern mullions on the north side. The windows of the hall are in their original condition, but the elaborate traceried windows of the room over the porch and the first floor of the servants' range, like those of the solar block, are modern.

At the east and west ends of the remaining north wall of the chapel are chalk doorways with continuously moulded jambs and four-centred heads, the spandrels of the western doorway being carved with sea-otters and the shield of Ravenscroft for Norreys. Between them are four windows, one of four lights, one a single light, both with four-centred heads, while the remaining two have been built up. The stable range is separated from the east wall of the chapel by a cartway with a gabled room above it, perhaps a priest's room, lighted by an oak traceried and mullioned window on the north side. The barn on the east side of the entrance court, a fine example of 15th-century half-timber work, is divided by the uprights supporting the roof principals into eight bays, and has two large gabled wagon entrances on the side towards the court.

Great Thrift and Little Thrift near this house preserve in a corrupted form the name of the Frith which once stretched as far as Cruchfield.

The Hatch, a stuccoed mansion of three stories standing in its own grounds at the meeting of the Maidenhead and Windsor road with the road running north from Oakley Green, is the residence of Laura Countess of Wilton.

Bray Court, the residence of Mrs. Phillips, is a modern three-story red brick house standing about half a mile south of the village at the north-east corner formed by the crossing of the Maidenhead and Windsor road with the road running north from Bray to Holyport.

Bray Wick Grove, the residence of Col. Sir James R. A. Clark, bart., is a red brick building of two stories with attics in a slate roof. The house is chiefly of the 18th century, though it was originally built by Sir William Paule in 1675. The windows have wooden mullions and transoms filled in with casements; over the middle of the building is a small wooden cupola.

The hamlets of Oakley Green, Fifield and Water Oakley are scattered along the Windsor Road, and Boyn Hill, Tittle Row and Cox Green lie in the west of the parish. About half a mile from the village of Bray is Canon Hill, once the manor-house of the rectory. Holyport is further to the village of Bray is Canon Hill, once the to the south-west, and has a Wesleyan chapel; at the north end of this hamlet are Mores, now known as Moor Farm, and Philberds. (fn. 3) New Lodge has remains of 17th-century work. The old manor-house of Foxleys was burnt down in the 18th century (fn. 4); its site is marked by a deep quadrangular moat close to the present farmhouse, which is said to be a part of the stabling of the old house. (fn. 5)

The common lands in the parish were inclosed in 1817 under an Act of 1814. (fn. 6)

Maidenhead is supposed to stand on the line of a Roman road; several Roman remains have been found in the neighbourhood, (fn. 7) and in Maidenhead Thicket are remains of pit-dwellings and a circular entrenchment supposed to be British. (fn. 8) The town is now a favourite riverside resort, and new suburbs have sprung up on the north side, but some buildings of interest may still be found in the old main street leading to the bridge. The old town hall, originally the gildhall, was pulled down in 1751, (fn. 9) and a house named Copped Hall adjoining it was destroyed at the same time in order to make room for a larger hall. (fn. 10)

Smyth's almshouses stand on the north side of the Bath Road. The buildings are two-storied and of red brick with tiled roofs, the block facing the road containing six dwellings, divided by a central entrance and passage, while at the rear there are two projecting wings, each containing one dwelling. The elevation towards the road is very picturesque; the upper floor is lighted by brick-glabed dormers, with sills a little above the level of the eaves where the wall is crowned by a moulded brick cornice. Over the central doorway is a wooden hood with well-moulded cantilever brackets. Over this a pedimented gable rises above the eaves level, and within it is an elaborate tablet, in the upper part of which is a shield of the arms of Alderman James Smyth of Hammersmith (?), the founder. Below is inscribed, 'Theis Almeshowses were erec | ted and built at y^e sole & proper | Cost & charges of James Smyth | Esquier citizen & salter of | London in y^e yeare of our Lord 1659. |'

There was a Baptist community in Maidenhead as early as 1669, (fn. 11) but in 1778 the Maidenhead Baptists were regarded as members of the Reading congregation. In 1847 the Strict Baptists had a meeting in a room over a granary in Market Street and their first chapel was opened in York Road on 25 January 1865. The other Baptists opened their present chapel in Marlow Road in 1873. (fn. 12) The Congregationalists have been settled in Maidenhead since 1696. (fn. 13) Their present chapel in West Street, then known as Back Lane, was opened on 18 September 1785. (fn. 14)

The Society of Friends had a meeting here in 1722 in John Fellow's house, but it was not until 1803 that they were sufficiently numerous to build a meeting-house. (fn. 15)

Wesleyan Methodism was introduced into Maidenhead in 1829; the community had a chapel in Bridge Street until 1858, when they bought their present building at the top of High Street from the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion. (fn. 16)

The chapel which they had vacated was taken over by the Primitive Methodists, who had been established in the town since 1845; their meetings, like those of the Strict Baptists, had begun in the room in Market Street. In 1882 they built a new chapel in Queen Street and the Bridge Street chapel was occupied by the Salvation Army. (fn. 17)

In Market Street is the Roman Catholic church of St. Joseph.

BOROUGH OF MAIDENHEAD

The site now occupied by the town of Maidenhead (Maydeheth, Maydeneth, Maidenhethe, xiii cent.; Maidenhythe, Maydenhath, xiv cent.; Maidenhead, xvi cent.) was known up to the latter part of the 13th century as South Elington or Aylington. (fn. 18) This name, which appears in the Bray Court Rolls for the last time in 1296, is supposed to have been gradually superseded by the later one after the construction of a new hythe or wharf on the river, which brought an increase of prosperity and population to the little hamlet. (fn. 19) A much greater increase, however, was due to the building of the bridge, for the road to the west which had previously crossed the river at Babham End and passed through Cookham was then diverted at Two-mile Brook and carried over the new bridge (fn. 20) through the hamlet of Maidenhead to the Thicket, where the main road to Henley and Gloucester branched off from that to Reading and Bristol. This bridge was a wooden one, and by 1297 had become much decayed. (fn. 21) A grant of pontage for three years was therefore obtained from Edward I. (fn. 22) After this date grants of pontage for varying lengths of time seem to have been made with some regularity, (fn. 23) and the bridge also benefited from gifts made to a hermitage on its west side, the tenant of which promised on his admission to spend all except bare necessities 'uppon amendyng of the brigg and of the comen weyes.' (fn. 24) The bridge was again very unsafe in 1451, and Thomas Mettingham, chaplain of the chantry founded by John Hosbonde (vide infra), obtained from Henry VI licence to found a gild 'as well for the maintenance of his chantry as of the bridge over Thames.' (fn. 25) The chaplain and his successors were to be surveyors of the gild, which might include both men and women, and the members should have the right to elect two wardens yearly. (fn. 26) They might acquire lands for the repair of the bridge, while the grant of pontage was made permanent, and the gild received in addition a fishery in 'the whole water under the bridge and for 50 ft. on either side thereof on either bank.' (fn. 27)

Up to this date the townsmen had apparently had no communal organization separate from the courts of the two royal manors in which the town was situated. From 1331 to 1386 the grants of pontage were made to 'the bailiffs and good men of Maydenhythe,' (fn. 28) but before and after these dates to the bailiffs and good men of Cookham and Bray. (fn. 29) After the foundation of the gild the collection of pontage was entrusted to two bridgemasters, (fn. 30) who seem to have been the 'wardens' mentioned in the deed of Henry VI, while the title of warden was afterwards confined to the surveyor. The Maidenhead gild was dissolved with the chantry in 1547, (fn. 31) but the inhabitants petitioned Queen Elizabeth for its reestablishment, and in March 1582 she granted them a charter of incorporation (fn. 32) under the style of the warden, bridgemasters, burgesses and commonalty of the town of 'Maydenheth'; a weekly market on Monday and two annual fairs with a court of piepowder were established, and provision was made for a scale of tolls on merchandise passing over the bridge. (fn. 33) These tolls were probably intended to be spent entirely on the repair of the bridge, for though the corporation had succeeded to all the duties of the ancient gild, except that of maintaining the services in the chapel, the endowments remained in the hands of the Crown and were granted in 1592 to the notorious 'fishing grantees' William Tipper and Robert Dawe. (fn. 34) The toll-money proved to be insufficient for its purpose, and a new charter issued by James I on 4 August 1604 confirmed the charter of Elizabeth and granted in addition a third fair, to be held on Whit Wednesday, and three oak trees every third year for the repair of the bridge, (fn. 35) while the increasing importance of the corporation was marked by the provision of two mace-bearers to go before the warden. (fn. 36)

During the Commonwealth application was made to Cromwell for a fresh charter, (fn. 37) but though the committee for charters was ordered in 1656 to 'draft such a new one as is fit for his Highness to pass,' Maidenhead received none until 1663. (fn. 38)

The charter of Charles II simply confirmed the privileges already existing, without further alteration than the change of the market day to Wednesday, (fn. 39) a change which was locally considered 'likely to prove very advantageous. (fn. 40)

In 1685 the liberties of the town were surrendered into the hands of James II, (fn. 41) who confirmed the previous charters, raised the warden to the rank of mayor and appointed a high steward and also a steward who should act as town clerk. (fn. 42) No further change in the constitution took place till the Municipal Reform Act, when the government of the town was vested in a mayor, four aldermen and twelve councillors; the first mayoral election under the new system took place on 1 January 1836. (fn. 43) The formal duties of the high steward then ceased, but as the office had not been actually abolished by the Act the corporation decided that it should be continued. (fn. 44) The present high steward is Lord Desborough.

By the charter of Elizabeth a court of record was to be held every three weeks on a Monday before the warden and bridgemasters or two of them, to deal with all offences, contracts and debts concerning Maidenhead Bridge and its support. (fn. 45) James I altered the court day to Wednesday and extended the jurisdiction of the court to all pleas personal and mixed, provided both parties were residents in the town and the cause of action did not exceed £20. (fn. 46) The charter of James II provided that the court should be held on Friday, but there was no further change. (fn. 47)

The right of taking timber from Windsor granted by James I was regularly claimed by the corporation of Maidenhead. (fn. 48) During the Civil War the bridge was broken down, and the townsmen, according to their own account, 'durst not repair it,' (fn. 49) but in 1654 they demanded not only three oaks, but the arrears of timber due during the war. (fn. 50) The claim was repeated in 1676, (fn. 51) and in 1679 the king is said to have granted twenty pollard trees. (fn. 52) In 1692, however, an attempt was made on behalf of the Crown to prove that the whole cost of the repairs should be met by the corporation. (fn. 53) The matter was decided in favour of the borough, but in 1714 they complained that the oaks to which they were entitled were of small value, especially as their tolls had been much lessened by a free bridge built by Queen Anne at Datchet, and petitioned for a grant of such trees as the exigencies of the town required. (fn. 54) A similar petition in 1732 was followed by a grant of twenty oaks. (fn. 55)

The old bridge was thoroughly repaired for the last time in 1750 at a cost of over £764. (fn. 56) The new stone bridge, designed by Robert Taylor, was begun in 1772 and finished in 1777, but the tolls which were levied for the payment of the debt on the building came to be regarded as part of the common fund of the town, and it was not until 1903 that the bridge was freed. (fn. 57)

Some potash works in Maidenhead are mentioned during the Commonwealth, (fn. 58) but the chief trade of the town sprang from its position on the main roads to the west. There is apparently no record of any inn by name until 1459, when the 'Bull' in the High Street (fn. 59) was kept by William Mordell, who 'took exorbitant gain.' (fn. 60) The house, which stands on the south side of the road at the entrance to Ives Place, was an inn until 1870, when Mr. William Wilberforce came to live on the Ives estate: the licence of the 'Bull' was discontinued and the inn converted into a chapel and priest-house. (fn. 61)

The landlord of the Bear Inn in the High Street was presented in 1489 for charging an unlawful price for provisions. (fn. 62) It was at this inn that the officers usually had rooms when soldiers were quartered at Maidenhead during the first half of the 19th century, before the building of the new barracks at Windsor; the non-commissioned officers were put up at the 'Bull,' and the rank and file distributed among the other inns. A temporary 'soldiers' room,' with a ladder or steps leading up to it, was in most cases built outside the inn, and the remains of several such rooms and steps could be seen as late as the beginning of this century. (fn. 63) The 'Bear' was converted into a private house about 1845. (fn. 64) The Lion Inn is first mentioned in 1490, when its joint owners, Robert Norton and John Maston, were charged with the usual offence. (fn. 65) In 1636 the inn, which had been held some years earlier by Richard Mattingley, (fn. 66) was considered one of the best in the town. (fn. 67) The Excise Office was there in 1807. (fn. 68)

The 'Swan' was in existence in 1489, but had apparently ceased to be an inn before 1636. The record of this house is brief, and strengthens an unfavourable impression of Maidenhead innkeepers: 'Richard Hithe holds an inn called the Swan, and sells victuals and takes excessive gain.' (fn. 69) Great indeed must have been the cunning of the legendary trio who could catch such old birds of prey with chaff, (fn. 70) and many were the victims they avenged.

The 'Greyhound,' probably the most famous of Maidenhead inns, is first mentioned in 1636, when it was already one of the best inns in the town. (fn. 71) It was perhaps at this inn that Charles I stayed in 1642, (fn. 72) and he certainly came there in 1647 to meet his children. (fn. 73) It was there, too, that Thomas Ellwood was detained by the horrified Sabbatarians of the town when he attempted to ride to First Day Meeting at Chalfont St. Giles. (fn. 74) The 'Greyhound' stood on the north side of the High Street on the site now occupied by no. 66; it was entirely destroyed by fire in March 1736. (fn. 75)

Of other ancient Maidenhead inns, the 'Saracen's Head' is mentioned in 1622, (fn. 76) and the 'Sun,' which stood at the corner of Castle Hill and the Marlow Road, was certainly in existence at the time of Charles II and probably earlier. (fn. 77) The 'White Horse,' (fn. 78) which occurs in 1574, is said to have been an inn from that time, but it is not mentioned among the Maidenhead taverns in 1636, unless it may be identified with the 'White harte,' (fn. 79) of which there is no other record. 'There are good inns lodging and entertainment' was Taylor's verdict at this time, 'it may be one too many' (fn. 80); but as Maidenhead prospered and the number of visitors increased three more inns were added to catch the traveller at his first coming: the 'Folly,' which stood on Castle Hill and was until 1820 almost the first house on the west side of the town, (fn. 81) and the two famous inns at the eastern end: Marsh's by the bridge, which was patronized by the Eton boys concerned in the college rebellion of November 1768, (fn. 82) and the 'Orkney Arms,' now known as 'Skindle's,' through which the boundary of the borough passes.

The borough extends south as far as Bray and Bray Wick, Kimber's Lane and Harvest Hill Road being the southern boundary; the western is marked by Dogkennel Lane, Green Lane and Courthouse Lane; while the northern runs along Harrow Lane through the North Town to the river, which forms the eastern boundary as far as the southern end of the eyot nearest the bridge, at which point the borough includes a part of the Buckinghamshire bank, in accordance with the charter of Henry VI. (fn. 83) These boundaries have been verified by repeated perambulations. (fn. 84) The regalia belonging to the corporation include a seal, two silver-gilt maces, four bridge masters' staves, two halberds and pikes and the mayor's chain and robe.

MANORS

The manor of BRAY belonged to the ancient demesne of the Crown and paid no geld, though it was assessed in 1086 at 18 hides. (fn. 85) It was usually let to farm to a succession of wardens, (fn. 86) but as the Crown reserved the right to grant pensions out of the issues the farmers usually lost by the transaction. The Ministers' Accounts for the manor show that the half-yearly expenses sometimes amounted to £48 6s. 8d., though the receipts were only £28 7s. 8d. (fn. 87) Complaints of oppression were made under Sir Imbert de Montreal and his successor Hamo de Chaumbre. (fn. 88) John le Keu, warden in 1322, (fn. 89) was afterwards accused of unjust exactions on pretence of providing men-at-arms for the king, (fn. 90) but the attack on him may have been partly due to political feeling; he is said to have fled out of the country at the time of Mortimer's triumph, (fn. 91) and seems to have found some favour with Edward III after the earl's fall. (fn. 92)

During the 14th century the manor was usually in the queen's hands. (fn. 93) It was granted in dower in 1299 to Margaret of France (fn. 94) and in 1327 to Isabel for her services in the matter of the treaty with France and the suppression of the Despensers' rebellion. (fn. 95) Queen Philippa held it from 1331 till her death in 1360, (fn. 96) and it was subsequently granted to Anne of Bohemia. (fn. 97) Henry IV, however, gave it to his son Humphrey, afterwards created Duke of Gloucester, (fn. 98) who in 1435 settled it on himself and Eleanor his wife, with remainder to the king. (fn. 99) Eleanor forfeited her interest after her condemnation for treason and sorcery, (fn. 100) and upon Humphrey's death in 1447 the manor reverted to the Crown, (fn. 101) in whose possession it remained until 1649, (fn. 102) when it was taken over by the Parliamentary Commissioners. (fn. 103)

After the Restoration the manor was resumed by the king, (fn. 104) and remained Crown property until 1818, when it was bought by Mr. Pascoe Grenfell of Taplow, (fn. 105) whose great-grandson Lord Desborough of Taplow Court is the present owner of the manor.

An interesting custom is mentioned in the early part of the 13th century, when it was stated that 'it was always the custom of Bray that if any tenant had three or four daughters and all of them were married outside their father's tenement save one who remained at home (in atrio) she who remained at home should have the whole of her father's land … but if … all of them are married outside their father's tenement with his chattels whether this be so before or after his death the eldest daughter should have the whole … and if the daughters were married after their father's death with his chattels, and this without protest, and one remained at home she should retain the whole. (fn. 106)

The manor of CRESSWELL or PHILBERDS (Creswell, xiii cent.; Craswelle, Karswell in Bray, Bray St. Philibert, xiv cent.; St. Phylyberts, xv cent.; Filberts, Creswells, Filburds, xvii cent.) belonged in 1208 to Roger de St. Philibert, who granted it in that year to Hugh de St. Philibert, apparently his brother. (fn. 107) It was valued at £12 16s. 4d. at the death of a Hugh de St. Philibert in 1248, (fn. 108) and was said in 1276 to be held by the serjeanty of providing the king with one boucel of wine. (fn. 109) Hugh was succeeded by his son and namesake, who was then twenty-four, but had not yet been knighted. (fn. 110) The date of his death is uncertain; possibly he lived until 1304, but it seems more likely that the Hugh who died in that year was his son. (fn. 111) This Hugh inherited Sulham from his mother Euphemia (fn. 112) and after 1279 he leased from the Crown various pieces of land in Windsor Forest, (fn. 113) which were granted rent free to his son John by Edward III in 1329. (fn. 114)

In 1317 John de St. Philibert obtained free warren in Cresswell, and in 1329 view of frankpledge in his manor of Bray, (fn. 115) and two years later he had licence to settle it on his son John and Joan the daughter of Robert de Ufford on the occassion of their marriage. (fn. 116) The elder John de St. Philibert seems to have died in Gascony (fn. 117) about 1333, (fn. 118) and was succeeded by his son and namesake, then only six years old.

This John, when in Italy on a pilgrimage with Robert de Bradestan and his squire William Datchet in 1345, was 'unjustly and unreasonably arrested in the city of Pisa.' (fn. 119) There they remained prisoners for more than two years in spite of the efforts of Sir Thomas de Bradestan, Robert's father, who persuaded Edward III to cause all the merchants of Pisa and Lucca then in England to be arrested and kept safely in the Tower of London and other castles until they had obtained the release of the three Englishmen. (fn. 120) Bradestan and St. Philibert returned to England in August 1347, (fn. 121) and the latter proved his age a few months later. (fn. 122) He sold the manor of Cresswell in 1352 to Edward III. (fn. 123)

Shortly afterwards the king granted it in frankalmoign to the warden and college of St. George's Chapel, Windsor, (fn. 124) in whose possession it remained until 1649, (fn. 125) when the Parliamentary commissioners sold it to Edward Curle and Richard Spencer. (fn. 126) Curle and Spencer leased it in 1652 to Thomas and Peregrine Wilcox, (fn. 127) who continued to hold it on lease after the Restoration, when the Dean and Canons of Windsor recovered their land. (fn. 128) During the 18th century it was held of them by the Meeke family, who sold their lease about 1780 to Mr. Fuller. (fn. 129) His descendants held it for almost a century, being still the tenants in 1860, when the manor was bought from the dean and canons by Mr. Charles Pascoe Grenfell, (fn. 130) whose grandson Lord Desborough is the present owner.

The manor of CRUCHFIELD (Cruchesfeld, xii cent.; Crychfeld, Cruchefelde, Crussefeld, xiii cent.; Crouchefeld alias Lordeslond, Cruchfield alias Hawthorne, xvii cent.; Hawthorn, xix cent.) was originally a dairy farm belonging to the royal manor of Bray. (fn. 131) It had been established, probably in the reign of Henry I, by Alan de Nuvill (fn. 132); he afterwards gave it to Geoffrey de Baggesite, whose grandson Henry de Baggesite was in possession of it between 1186 and 1217. (fn. 133) Henry was succeeded before 1240 by his son Geoffrey, (fn. 134) who gave his estate in Cruchfield to the queen's cook, Henry Lovel, about 1251. (fn. 135)

In 1253 Henry Lovel obtained from the king a grant that he and his heirs should be quit of all tallage in respect of these lands, (fn. 136) and in 1256 he had a further grant of 10¼ acres of land in Bray. (fn. 137) His descendants, the Lovels of Boveney in Burnham (Bucks.), remained in possession of Cruchfield until 1502, (fn. 138) when Agatha Wayte, the eldest daughter of Richard Lovel, sold it to Sir Reynold Bray and his trustees for a settlement on Edmund Bray. (fn. 139) The manor subsequently followed the descent of Foxleys (q.v.) until 1577, when William Lord Sandys sold it to William Chapman, apparently a trustee for Robert Chamberlayne, (fn. 140) after which it passed to John Hercy, who was seised of it in 1608. (fn. 141)

John Hercy was succeeded by his son and namesake, (fn. 142) who died in 1648, leaving the manor to his son, a third John. (fn. 143) This John settled the estate in 1675 on himself for life with remainder to his younger son Lovelace Hercy, whose descendants were still living at Cruchfield in 1887. The house has belonged since 1891 to Mrs. Henderson, but the manorial rights are in abeyance.

In 1248 Geoffrey de Baggesite granted to William de Cruchfield his freedom together with the messuage and lands afterwards apparently known as LORDSLAND FARM, which he had formerly held in villeinage, to be held freely by him and his heirs for rent of 10s. yearly. (fn. 144) By 1256 this rent seems to have been reduced to 7s. 6d., which Henry Lovel gave to Agnes the widow of Geoffrey de Baggesite for her life, at the same time granting to William de Cruchfield that he and his heirs should be quit of the payment for ever after the death of Agnes. (fn. 145) The holding, which was afterwards described by its owners as the manor of Cruchfield alias Lordsland, (fn. 146) remained in the possession of William's descendants until the 16th century. (fn. 147) John Cruchfield, the representative of the family in 1333, married the heir of John de Shoppenhanger, and their son William succeeded to her estate, (fn. 148) the descent of which was followed by the so-called manor of Cruchfield until 1525. (fn. 149) By the time the estates were again separated some of the lands which had formerly belonged to Shoppenhanger had been annexed to Cruchfield, (fn. 150) and passed with it to Humphrey Hyde, who was seised of them in 1606. (fn. 151) He was succeeded before 1608 by William Hyde, who sold the property in that year to William Goddard, (fn. 152) under whose will it was settled upon the Fishmongers' Company for the support of the hospital of Jesus which he had founded in Bray. (fn. 153)

The reputed manor of FOXLEYS (Pukemere, xiii cent.; Pokemere, xiv cent.) seems to have been formed out of the various holdings in Bray acquired in the 14th century by Sir John de Foxley.

Some of this land had belonged before 1266 to Henry Wade, who held 22 acres of purpresture in his own right and 1 hide of land of his wife's inheritance. (fn. 154) Between 1273 and 1275 Geoffrey de Picheford, constable of Windsor, demised 30 acres in Pukemere to Wade and his heirs for 14s. 8d. yearly, (fn. 155) and in 1283 Edward I granted the same land to him for payment of 15s. yearly. (fn. 156) After Henry's death in 1288 (fn. 157) 29s. 8d. yearly was exacted from his son and heir John, 'as if the demise and grant had been for different holdings, which they were not' (fn. 158); and it was not until 1300 that the king in response to John's complaints ordered that he should be acquitted of the said 14s. 8d. from the time of the grant. (fn. 159) John Wade died in 1310, leaving as his heir his brother Henry, (fn. 160) who alienated the property in 1313 to John de Foxley and his wife Constance. (fn. 161) John de Foxley had already acquired some land in the parish, (fn. 162) and in 1316 this was increased by a grant of all the assarts in the forest of Windsor and parish of Bray then held by Margaret the queen for her life. (fn. 163) In the following year he received a charter of free warren in all his demesne lands in Bray, (fn. 164) and in 1321 he had licence to make a park at Pokemere. (fn. 165) In 1319 he was granted, 'in consideration of his great and meritorious services, leave … to live in his own house as often as should seem good to him either for rest or for attention to private affairs.' (fn. 166) He died about 1324, leaving his lands to his son Thomas. (fn. 167) Thomas lived until 1360, when he was succeeded by his son John, (fn. 168) who was in as much favour with Edward III as his grandfather with Edward II. (fn. 169)

Sir John de Foxley had married about 1331 Maud Brocas, (fn. 170) by whom he had two daughters, Katherine, afterwards the wife of John de Warbleton, and Margaret, who married Robert Bullock; but he also had a son Thomas by Joan Martin, whom he married after Maud's death. (fn. 171) After Sir John's death about 1378 (fn. 172) Thomas succeded to the manor, (fn. 173) but his right was disputed in 1412 by William Warbleton, the grandson of Katherine, (fn. 174) and it was probably for this reason that he obtained from Margaret Hertyngton, daughter and heir of Margaret Bullock, a quitclaim of her rights in 1429. (fn. 175) He died in 1436, (fn. 176) leaving as his heir his daughter Elizabeth the wife of Thomas Uvedale. (fn. 177)

Elizabeth Uvedale had a son Henry, who died childless in 1469 during his father's lifetime, and two daughters, Elizabeth and Agnes, of whom nothing further is known. (fn. 178) It is, however, possible that Elizabeth the wife of Charles Ripon, who dealt with the manor by fine in 1491, was one of these daughters. (fn. 179) She had previously been married to William Rekys, and had by him a son John, (fn. 180) who was a party to a fine of 1498 by which she quitclaimed her interest in the manor to William Bishop of Lincoln and other trustees of Sir Reynold Bray. (fn. 181) Joan the wife of John Rekys released her right to the trustees at the same time. (fn. 182) She was, perhaps, a daughter of Agnes Uvedale. In the following year a quitclaim was also obtained from William Sculle and John Sculle and Joyce his wife, who seems to have had some interest in Foxleys. (fn. 183)

Sir Reynold Bray bequeathed the manor after the death of his wife Katherine to Edmund Bray, (fn. 184) who was accordingly enfeoffed by the trustees in 1509. (fn. 185) His claim, however, was disputed in 1510 by Sir William Sandys, afterwards Lord Sandys of the Vyne, and Margery his wife, the niece of Sir Reynold Bray. (fn. 186)

William Lord Sandys died seised of the manor in 1542, leaving as his heir his son Thomas, who was succeeded about 1560 by his grandson William. William's son and namesake, who succeeded him about 1623, died childless in 1629, leaving the estate to his half-sister Elizabeth the wife of Sir Edwyn Sandys, son and heir of Miles Sandys of Latimers, Bucks. (fn. 187) The manor of Foxleys seems to have been settled on their youngest son Henry, who was in possession of it in 1630 during his elder brother's lifetime. (fn. 188) He sold it in 1639 to Henry Murrey. (fn. 189)

Henry Murrey left his estates at his death to his four daughters and co-heirs, Jane the wife of Sir John Bowyer, Elizabeth, who married firstly Randolf Egerton and secondly Charles Egerton, Mary the wife of Roger Bradshaigh and Anne the wife of Robert Pierrepont. (fn. 190) In 1681 Randolf Egerton and his wife bought the share of the Bradshaighs, (fn. 191) and by 1700 the whole manor had been acquired by Elizabeth and her second husband Charles Egerton. (fn. 192) In 1696 they settled a third part on Anne Egerton, (fn. 193) Elizabeth's daughter by her first husband, (fn. 194) and in 1700 granted an eighth to their own daughter Jane. (fn. 195) She probably died childless, as the whole manor was afterwards in the possession of her half-sister's descendants. Anne Egerton married William Paulet, by whom she had a daughter and heir Henrietta, (fn. 196) who married William Townshend. (fn. 197) Their son Charles Townshend, created Lord Bayning of Foxley in 1797, (fn. 198) was the owner of the manor in 1756. (fn. 199) He sold it shortly afterwards to — Stokes of Ryll Court, near Exmouth, (fn. 200) who died before 1763, leaving two daughters, Catherine Stokes of Warfield and Susanna the wife of William Mackworth Praed, upon whom the manor was settled by her mother and sister. (fn. 201) In 1765 Mackworth Praed and his wife sold Foxleys to Henry Vansittart, M.P. for Reading. (fn. 202) He was succeeded by his eldest son Henry, whose only son Henry held the manor. He was followed by Teresa Vansittart, who married her cousin Arthur Newcomen of Kirkleatham Hall, Yorkshire. Their eldest son succeeded and disposed of the estate about 1870 to Mr. W. H. Grenfell, now Lord Desborough. (fn. 203)

The reputed manor of OCKHOLT (Akeholte, Ocolte, Ocholte, xiii cent.; Okholt alias Norreysmanor, xv cent.; Ocole, Ockeholte called Norreis alias Fetyplace, xvi cent.; Ocknolds, xvii cent.; Ockwells, xix cent.) seems to have been originally a purpresture taken into cultivation between 1251 and 1259, (fn. 204) and granted before 1284 to Richard le Norreys. (fn. 205) In 1320 the land was held by another Richard le Norreys, who was perhaps the son of the first. (fn. 206) He died in 1337, when his executors John le Norreys, Hugh de Braibeft and Roger de Crosseby, vicar of Bray, had it, together with the crops, for one year, according to the custom of Bray. (fn. 207) William son of Richard le Norreys is mentioned in 1338, (fn. 208) but he died before 1361, when John le Norreys was seised of Ockholt. (fn. 209) Thomas le Norreys, the heir of John, died about 1406, (fn. 210) leaving as his heir his brother Roger, who was succeeded in 1422 by his son William. (fn. 211) In 1424 William bought from John Est all the lands and tenements known as Fords, but he had difficulty in making Est keep to the agreement, and it was not until 1427 that he was finally put in possession by judgement of the manor court of Bray. (fn. 212) His son and heir John Norreys also increased and consolidated the family possessions in the parish. (fn. 213) About 1445 he became esquire of the body to Henry VI, (fn. 214) and gained enough celebrity in that position to be mentioned as 'the Conduit' in a popular song of the day. (fn. 215) He seems to have flowed with the opinions of the party in power, for he retained his office and prosperity under Edward IV and left them at his death in 1466 to his son William. (fn. 216) The manor of Ockholt, however, had been settled in 1459 on him jointly with his third wife Margaret, (fn. 217) who held it until her death in 1495, when she was succeeded by her son. (fn. 218) William Norreys had been knighted before 1480 (fn. 219) and obtained various grants from Edward IV, (fn. 220) but enjoyed less favour under Richard III. In 1483 he was concerned in the Duke of Buckingham's rebellion, and a reward was offered for his capture, but he managed to escape (fn. 221) and lived until 1510, when he was succeeded by his grandson John the son of Edward Norreys, his son by his second wife. (fn. 222) In 1517 John Norreys was pardoned for the murder of John Enhold of Nettlebed (Oxon.) on payment of 1,000 marks fine and the surrender of his lands to the value of £40 yearly to his younger brother Henry for life, at whose suit the pardon had been obtained. (fn. 223) John's property in Maidenhead, Bray and elsewhere was accordingly granted to trustees to the use of his younger brother for life with reversion after his death to John and his heirs. (fn. 224) It passed, however, to Sir Thomas Fettiplace, one of the trustees, (fn. 225) who died seised of it in December 1525, leaving a widow Elizabeth and a daughter Katherine. (fn. 226) In the following spring the widow bore a son Nicholas, but he lived less than six months, and in November 1526 Katherine again became her father's sole heir. (fn. 227) She afterwards married Sir Francis Englefield, (fn. 228) and died childless in 1579, leaving as her heir her cousin Sir John Fettiplace, the greatgrandson of her father's younger brother Richard. (fn. 229) Sir Francis Englefield survived his wife, but his lands were forfeited and Sir John Fettiplace was put in possession of Ockholt on payment of £200. (fn. 230) In 1580 Fettiplace granted the manor to the queen so that it might be regranted to his son Bessels to be held in free socage and not in chief. (fn. 231) He died the same year and was succeeded by his son Bessels, (fn. 232) who leased Ockholt in 1583 to Thomas Ridley and others. (fn. 233) The lease was bought in 1587 by William Day and Anne his wife, (fn. 234) whose descendants were still living at Ockholt in 1749, (fn. 235) but the descent of the manor is less easy to trace. It was, however, acquired by the Finches of Hertfordshire about 1679, (fn. 236) and was bought from that family in 1786 by Penyston Portlock Powney, whose representative held it in 1813. (fn. 237) It was purchased by the Grenfells and sold by Lord Desborough to the present owner, Sir Edward Arthur Barry, bart.

The first mention of the so-called manor of LOWBROOK (Lyllebrok, Lollebrok, xiv cent.; Lyllebrokes alias Lollebrookes, Lowbroke, xvi cent.; Lolbrook's Farm, Lullibrooke, xvii cent.) occurs in 1376, when Thomas son and heir of Thomas de Lollebrok appeared in court to exhibit his title to it. (fn. 238) His family seem to have been living for some time in the neighbourhood, and had acquired land in Cookham as early as 1292, when Walter de Lillebrok obtained a messuage, lands and rent from Joan de la Lane of Elington. (fn. 239) Robert de Lollebrok is mentioned in the Bray Court Rolls of the same year (fn. 240); he was knight of the shire for Berks. in 1323, (fn. 241) and seems to have died about 1327. (fn. 242) His heir was Thomas de Lollebrok, father of the Thomas who claimed Lowbrook in 1376. (fn. 243)

The younger Thomas Lollebrok probably supported Richard II at the end of his reign. (fn. 244) At the time of his death in 1412 all his property had passed out of his hands except one messuage called Berkeleys in Earley. (fn. 245) Probably Lowbrook was already in the possession of the Martyns of Athelhampton (co. Dorset). John Martyn held it in 1426, (fn. 246) and left it at his death to Thomas Martyn, (fn. 247) who died in 1485, leaving as his heir his son William, (fn. 248) afterwards knighted. (fn. 249) Sir William died in 1503 and his son Christopher (fn. 250) died seised of Lowbrook in 1525. (fn. 251) Robert, the son and heir of Christopher's son Thomas, (fn. 252) sold Lowbrook in 1541 to John Yate and Thomas Elyott, trustees for Elizabeth, the widow of Sir Thomas Englefield. (fn. 253) Lady Englefield died in 1543, leaving the manor by her will to her younger son John and the custody thereof to her elder son Francis. (fn. 254)

John's son and heir Francis Englefield succeeded to the manor before 1594, in which year he conveyed it for the purpose of a settlement to Sir Anthony Browne, whose daughter Jane he was about to marry. (fn. 255) He was created a baronet in 1611, (fn. 256) and lived until 1633, (fn. 257) when he left Lowbrook to his fifth son, William, upon whom he had settled it in tail-male two years earlier. (fn. 258)

As William Englefield was a recusant two-thirds of the estate were sequestrated under the Commonwealth, though he was allowed to enjoy the remaining third on producing a certificate from the county committee that he 'did not beare armes at al in these unhappy warres that wee ever heard of.' (fn. 259) He was, however, obliged to let the estate in 1647 (fn. 260) to Henry Partridge, who compounded for it in December of that year. (fn. 261)

In 1656 Partridge bought the estate from William Englefield's trustees, (fn. 262) and his descendants remained in possession of it until about the middle of the 19th century, (fn. 263) when Mr. Henry Samuel Partridge sold it to Mr. Lewis Rose, (fn. 264) from whose executors it was bought before 1861 by Mr. Charles Pascoe Grenfell. (fn. 265) The present owner is Lord Desborough.

HYNDENS (John de Brayesplace, ? xiv cent.; Huvyndons, Hyndons, xv cent.) does not seem to have been called a manor until 1455, when it was in the possession of John Norreys. (fn. 266) John de Bray, from whom it took its earlier name, held it in 1296, (fn. 267) and died seised in 1333. (fn. 268) In the following year Walter de Bray died seised of the lands in Bray formerly held by John de Hyndon (Hened[on]). (fn. 269) He was succeeded by Thomas Hynden, whose wife Ellen had property of her own in the parish. (fn. 270) Thomas died in 1373, leaving as his heir his son John, (fn. 271) who was murdered in 1406 by John Kimber and Richard Fairmayden. (fn. 272) He left a daughter and heir Alice, who married Aimery Mathany, and claimed her inheritance in 1422, (fn. 273) but conveyed it in 1424 to John Walle. (fn. 274) This was probably, however, for the purpose of a settlement, as Aimery seems to have been in possession in 1429. (fn. 275) The date of his death is uncertain, but Hyndens was granted before 1445 to John Norreys at a rent of 69s. 2d. by Humphrey Duke of Gloucester. (fn. 276) Henry VI afterwards reduced the rent to 6d., (fn. 277) and in 1462 Norreys obtained leave from Edward IV to settle the so-called manor on himself and his wife Margaret and their heirs, with remainder to his own heirs. (fn. 278) Margaret survived her husband and died seised in 1495, when she was succeeded by her son Sir William Norreys, (fn. 279) who bequeathed it at his death in 1510 to his son Lionel, (fn. 280) afterwards knighted. Sir Lionel Norreys died in 1537, leaving as his heir his great-nephew Henry, afterwards Lord Norreys of Rycote. (fn. 281) Henry's grandson and heir Francis Lord Norreys sold the estate in 1609 to Sir Thomas Bodley, who bequeathed it in 1612 to the University of Oxford for the support of the library which bears his name. (fn. 282)

MORES (Moris, xv cent.; Moores, xvi cent.) was also first called a manor in 1455, when it had passed like Hyndens to John Norreys. (fn. 283) It seems to have been occupied from the 13th century onwards by the More family, (fn. 284) a branch of which continued to hold land in Bray after they had lost the estate which bore their name. (fn. 285) The reputed manor followed the descent of Hyndens (q.v.) until the middle of the 16th century, (fn. 286) after which it seems to have been sold by Henry Lord Norreys to the Lawrences. Thomas Lawrence held it in 1597 and was succeeded in 1616 by his son and namesake, from whom it seems to have passed to Nicholas Brice of Maidenhead. (fn. 287) Brice sold it in 1663 to Mrs. Elizabeth Smith. The estate was bought in 1738 by the Proctor family, who sold it in 1855 to John J. Coney of Braywick Grove, (fn. 288) from whom it passed to his nephew, the Rev. Thomas Coney, and from him to his widow, who sold it in 1907 to Sir James Clark, bart. (fn. 289)

The reputed manor of IVES (Ivestenement, xiv cent.; Yvyes, xv cent.; Ivez, xvi cent.) seems to have been like Hyndens originally a holding in the royal manor of Bray, which was called after its tenants. This family had been settled in the parish at least as early as 1248, when the name of Thomas Yve occurs in a local charter. (fn. 290) Walter Ive died in 1296, leaving as his heir John Ive, who seems to have granted the holding in his own lifetime to Thomas his son by his first wife Idonia. (fn. 291) Thomas Ive died childless in 1334, and in the following year John Ive and Denise his wife alienated the tenement to Stephen de Abyndon. It afterwards passed to John Brid or Bird of Maidenhead, whose widow and executrix Eleanor held it in 1376. (fn. 292) In the following year it was bought by William Montagu Earl of Salisbury, who obtained at the same time licence to grant it in mortmain to his foundation at Bisham. (fn. 293) He died before the licence could take effect, but it was renewed to his son and heir. (fn. 294) The land subsequently remained in the possession of the priory till the Dissolution, (fn. 295) and was regranted to the new abbey of Henry the Eighth's foundation in 1537. (fn. 296) It was granted to Anne of Cleves for her life in 1541, (fn. 297) and was afterwards held of the Crown by William Chamber, who bequeathed it in 1559 to his wife Joan for life. (fn. 298) Between 1570 and 1609 it was held by various lessees, (fn. 299) but was finally granted to George Salter and John Williams by James I. (fn. 300) They sold it in 1617 to Sir William Garway, (fn. 301) whose son and namesake sold it in 1649 to John Whitfield. (fn. 302) Joseph Whitfield, the grandson of the purchaser, was owner in 1696. (fn. 303) He was succeeded by his niece Hannah, the daughter of his younger brother John Whitfield. (fn. 304) She married John Powney, whose grandson Penyston Portlock Powney was seised in 1770 and died at Ives in 1794. (fn. 305) The estate afterwards passed to Thomas Wilson, who was living at Ives Place in 1810. (fn. 306) His only son Thomas died in 1824, (fn. 307) and after his death in 1829 (fn. 308) the property was inherited by his son-in-law, Lieutenant William Innes Pocock, R.N., (fn. 309) who sold it in 1830 to Mr. Stephens. (fn. 310) It is now the property of Lord Desborough.

The so-called manor of SHOPPENHANGER (Sobbenhangel, Sobenhangre, xiii cent.; Shortenhangers, Shopinghanger, Scopinhanger, xvi cent.) seems to have been originally a small tenement held by a family who took their name from the place. Roger de Shoppenhanger held land in Bray in 1204, (fn. 311) and Adam de Shoppenhanger was one of the jurors in the inquisition concerning the lands held by Henry Wade in 1267. (fn. 312) Between 1274 and 1283 lands were held in Bray both by another Roger and John de Shoppenhanger, (fn. 313) and in 1293 Thomas de Shobbenhanger held lands by suit at court of the royal manor. (fn. 314) He was succeeded by another John de Shoppenhanger, who was one of the commissioners appointed in 1340 to inquire into the rights of pasturage in Oldfield, and knight of the shire in the Parliament of the same year. (fn. 315) His son Richard is first mentioned in the Court Roll of 1335; he was tithing man in 1340 and died in his father's lifetime, leaving a daughter Joan. (fn. 316) She perhaps married John de Cruchfield, for on the death of John de Shoppenhanger and his wife Isabel in 1362 their lands passed to Thomas de Churchfield, who died in 1368, leaving as his heir his son Thomas, then a minor. (fn. 317) This Thomas in 1376 was seised of the lands formerly held by Thomas de Lollebrok. (fn. 318) He was succeeded by a third Thomas Cruchfield, who was seised of Shoppenhanger in 1422, but died before 1433, when the estate was held by John Cruchfield. John Cruchfield died in 1487, (fn. 319) and was succeeded by William Cruchfield, who died in 1520, leaving as his heir his kinswoman Alice Preston. (fn. 320) In 1525 Alice Preston and Alice Davy, who may have been her mother, leased the property to William and Edmund Holgill and Emma Stanyland, widow. (fn. 321) Emma Stanyland did suit of court at Bray for Shoppenhanger in 1550, (fn. 322) but by 1565 the property had passed to Roger Leake. (fn. 323) He was succeeded by Jasper Leake about 1601, (fn. 324) at which time the farm was already occupied by the Winch family, into whose possession it had passed by 1649. (fn. 325) Richard Winch, the owner at that date, was succeeded by his son James, who died in 1699, leaving as his heir his son Richard. Elizabeth, the only surviving child of this Richard Winch, became the wife of Robert Holden, and had by him two daughters, Charlotte, who married the Rev. Sir Adam Gordon, bart., and Elizabeth the wife of Mr. Richard Webb. (fn. 326) Mr. Richard Holden Webb, the son and heir of Elizabeth, sold his interest in 1799 to Sir Adam Gordon, from whom the whole estate was bought in 1801 by Mr. Pascoe Grenfell. (fn. 327) The present owner is Lord Desborough.

The manor of STRODE (Staverton, xvi cent.; Strowd alias Staffertons alias Shiplakes, xvii cent.) (fn. 328) seems to have been held in the 14th century by Robert de Shiplake, whose family had been connected with Bray as early as 1293. (fn. 329) Maud the wife of Robert de Shiplake the younger held a messuage and 6½ virgates of land in Bray of her own inheritance, which she and her husband seem to have exchanged for other land belonging to Robert de Shiplake the elder in 1332. (fn. 330) In 1373 Thomas Puttenham, vicar of Bisham, did homage for Robert de Shiplake's lands in Bray, (fn. 331) but the manor afterwards passed to the Stavertons. (fn. 332)

William Staverton was one of the surveyors of the pontage for Maidenhead Bridge in 1400. (fn. 333) He was killed in the following year by certain evildoers, who also attacked his fellow surveyor John Hynden. (fn. 334) William was succeeded by Ralph Staverton, who was seised of the manor in 1422, and was succeeded by his son William. (fn. 335) This William was living in 1461, (fn. 336) but died before 1488, when the manor passed to his son William, who settled it in that year on his son Humphrey and Humphrey's wife Maude Lollebrok. (fn. 337) Humphrey Staverton died before 1524, (fn. 338) leaving two daughters, Anne the wife of Thomas More, who died childless, and Eleanor, who married Robert Loggins and became eventually sole heir to the property. (fn. 339) Her right seems to have been disputed by Richard Staverton, a descendant of Richard the younger son of Ralph Staverton, whose family apparently lived at Stroud Hall, though the manor belonged to the elder branch. (fn. 340) The case was decided in favour of Eleanor, whose son Simon Loggins was in possession of the manor of Bray about 1560. (fn. 341) He was succeeded by his son, another Simon, whose son and heir John Loggins died childless in 1606, leaving the manor to his sister Elizabeth the wife of Sir John Blagrave. (fn. 342) Sir John Blagrave dealt with it in 1625, (fn. 343) but subsequently sold it to Archbishop Laud, who settled it shortly before his trial on the town of Reading. (fn. 344)

The reputed manor of WINKLES (Wenckles, Wenkeles, xiv cent.; Wyncles, xvi cent.) was, like Foxleys, a collection of various holdings acquired in the 14th century by one owner, John Brocas. One of these had been granted by Henry III to Simon Hartaud in 1253, (fn. 345) and passed from his descendant Nicholas Hartaud to John Brocas about 1337 (fn. 346); the rest were chiefly purprestures taken into cultivation towards the end of the 13th century and arrented to various holders by Geoffrey de Pycheford and his successors, wardens of Bray. (fn. 347) The estate followed the descent of the Brocas manor of Clewer (fn. 348) (q.v.).

The rectorial manor of CANON HILL was held at the time of the Domesday Survey by Rainbald, (fn. 349) and was granted about 1133 by Henry I to the abbey of St. Mary of Cirencester. (fn. 350) The grant was afterwards confirmed by King John, (fn. 351) and the abbey remained in possession of the manor till the Dissolution, (fn. 352) occasionally letting it out on lease. Between 1504 and 1515 it was let by the abbot to John Gawesem and Michael Poyhant, who sublet the parsonage to 'one Passemer … sythen which lease the said Passemer for certen offencys by him committed …was attachyd in a cause of eryse [heresy] and thereupon abjured, sithen which adjuracion he had upon certen surmyses conc'nyng the seyd erysy of late was takyn, and remayneth in hold att the comaundement of hys ordinary.' (fn. 353) The original lessees had therefore no means of raising the rent for which they were bound to the abbot, especially as the corn which might otherwise have been sold had remained so long 'in mowes unthrosh' that the greater part of it was spoilt. (fn. 354)

In 1547 Edward VI granted the manor to John King, Bishop of Oxford, and his successors (fn. 355) in the see, who leased it to various tenants. From 1539 to 1608 it was held by the Norreys family, (fn. 356) but passed before 1637 (fn. 357) to Sir Henry Marten, judge of the Admiralty, who died at his house in Bray in 1641. (fn. 358) In 1651 it was sold by the Parliamentary commissioners to Francis Hardinge, (fn. 359) but was recovered at the Restoration by the Bishop of Oxford and remained in possession of the see until the 19th century, (fn. 360) when it was enfranchised by the representatives of Mrs. Law. (fn. 361) It was bought in 1857 by Mr. J. H. Palmer, whose son Mr. Edward Howley Palmer held it in 1860, (fn. 362) and is now the property of Mr. Henry Adams.

A small holding at Shortford in Bray, with leave to build there, was demised before 1270 to William de Shortford, (fn. 363) who afterwards obtained from Edward I a grant of the same lands, to hold to him and his wife Felise, nurse of Alphonso, the king's son, and their heirs for rent of 10s. 10½d. at Michaelmas and Easter and 6d. yearly for tallage. (fn. 364) William was succeeded by his son Robert, who was described about 1320 as holding his tenement 'by charter in the same way as Richard le Norreys.' (fn. 365) Robert alienated it in 1335 to John Hereward and his wife Mary, (fn. 366) who granted it in 1345 to the abbey of Cirencester, (fn. 367) and it is probable that it was subsequently merged in the manor of Canon Hill.