Heston and Isleworth: Manors

MANORS.

The manor of ISLEWORTH or ISLEWORTH SYON, as it has generally been called since the 15th century, (fn. 1) was co-extensive with the hundred of Isleworth. (fn. 2) A small piece of land east of the Brent was claimed to belong to the manor in the 16th century, but the claim seems to have failed, (fn. 3) and apart from one or two small and detached areas the manor boundaries seem to have been identical with those of the three parishes which comprise the hundred. (fn. 4) Within these bounds the only ancient manor with comparable jurisdiction was that of Isleworth rectory: (fn. 5) other freehold estates attained to the title of manor in the later Middle Ages but Heston, Hounslow, and Twickenham were probably the only ones to have courts and copyholders, and the tenants of Heston manor were all transferred to it from Isleworth Syon. At the inclosure of 1818 Isleworth Syon still retained about 125 acres of copyhold in Heston parish and a great deal in Twickenham and Isleworth itself. (fn. 6) Most of this was enfranchised before the Law of Property Act, 1925. (fn. 7)

According to a later forged Charter 53 manentes at 'Gislheresuuyrth' were given to Barking Abbey by King Ædilred (probably Ethelred of Mercia, 674- 704). (fn. 8) It is not certain whether this estate may be identified with Isleworth. Twickenham was granted at about the same time to the Bishop of London and later passed into the hands of Christ Church, Canterbury. (fn. 9) Whatever the explanation of these transactions, the whole manor of Isleworth, including Heston and Twickenham, belonged at the death of Edward the Confessor to Earl Algar. By 1086 it was held by Walter of St. Valery, one of the Conqueror's companions. (fn. 10) He had a son Bernard, who presumably succeeded him, (fn. 11) and in 1130 Reynold of St. Valery held the same amount of land in Middlesex as Walter had held. (fn. 12) Reynold's son Bernard had seisin of his father's lands in Oxfordshire and Berkshire in 1166 (fn. 13) but is not known to have held Isleworth before 1183. (fn. 14) It was probably within twenty or so years before this date that one Guy of St. Valery confirmed and extended the grant of property in Isleworth hundred which had been made to the Abbey of St. Valéry (Somme) by his grandfather, Walter, after the Conquest. (fn. 15) Bernard of St. Valery died about 1191 (fn. 16) and his son Thomas (d. c. 1219) alternately supported the kings of France and England in their wars, so that his lands underwent corresponding vicissitudes: Isleworth was in the royal possession between 1193 and 1195, but was held by Thomas in 1202-3. (fn. 17) Thomas's English property passed to his son-in-law Robert, Count of Dreux, escheated to the Crown as lands of a Norman in 1227, and was then granted to the king's brother, Richard of Cornwall. (fn. 18) Isleworth formed part of the dower of Edmund of Cornwall's widow, and at her death in 1312 it again reverted to the Crown. (fn. 19) It was granted to Queen Isabel in 1327 and to Queen Philippa in 1330. (fn. 20) When the duchy of Cornwall was created in 1337 the reversion of Isleworth, with the rest of the honor of St. Valery, was included in the grant of lands. (fn. 21) In 1374 the Crown granted a lease to run for ten years from 1369, and the lessee continued to hold the manor until his death in 1387. (fn. 22) It was then granted to Queen Anne for life, and, in consequence of the earlier grant to the duchy of Cornwall, was later held by Henry V as Prince of Wales. (fn. 23) In 1400 it was granted for life to Henry Bowet, later Archbishop of York, who surrendered his lease in 1421. (fn. 24) The king then granted Isleworth to his newly founded abbey of Syon, in whose possession it remained until 1539. (fn. 25) The abbey seems generally to have leased the more distant demesne lands but, except possibly for a short while at the end of the 15th century, to have cultivated most of those in Isleworth. (fn. 26) From 1508 if not before these Isleworth demesnes were known as the Dairy Farm or Dairyhouse lands. (fn. 27)

In 1539, after Syon Abbey was suppressed, Isleworth was added to the honor of Hampton Court, and John Gates, a gentleman of the privy chamber, was made bailiff and keeper of the abbey, manor, and demesnes. (fn. 28) In 1541 he also received a lease of the demesnes for 21 years. (fn. 29) In 1547 the Duke of Somerset, as lord protector, secured a grant of the estate to himself. (fn. 30) He lost it on his fall from power in 1549 but regained it later and held it until his execution in 1552. (fn. 31) In 1552 the Crown leased the Dairyhouse lands to Sir Thomas Wroth for his life, but in 1553 they were committed, with the house and steward ship of the manor, to George Tirrell, a gentleman usher of the privy chamber. (fn. 32) He in turn surrendered his rights, and the whole estate was granted to the Duke of Northumberland only a few months before his fall. (fn. 33) How fully any of Somerset's successors took possession is uncertain: the Duchess of Somerset was living at Syon as late as 1554, when the queen ordered her to leave. (fn. 34) It may have been at about this time that the Earl and Countess of Lennox held the Syon lands: an undated document refers to them as being in possession of demesne lands of Syon in Isleworth, and of lands in Heston belonging to the queen, (fn. 35) and in 1555 Lennox's servants were involved in an affray at Brentford. (fn. 36) In 1555 Joyce Wastell or Page, a groom of the chamber, received a 21-year lease of the Dairyhouse lands, but this had apparently been surrendered by 1557, when Mary refounded the abbey and included the Dairyhouse lands in her first grant to it. (fn. 37) The abbey's former park at Syon Hill, north of the London Road, and other lands which had belonged to the manor were also returned to it in 1558, but on the dissolution of the abbey in 1559 the whole property again reverted to the Crown. (fn. 38) In 1560 Sir Francis Knollys and his wife received a 31-year lease of the Dairyhouse and other lands and he was made keeper of the house and woods and steward and bailiff of the manor for life. (fn. 39) Knollys seems to have held the Dairyhouse during pleasure before this grant, (fn. 40) and in 1577 his son Robert secured the reversion of his father's lease for a further 21 years, and of his keepership for life. He then transferred all his rights to his father, who in 1584 reassigned the estate to him. Robert Knollys mortgaged the property in 1587 to John Stanhope, who assigned his interest a year later to the Earl of Essex, the son of Robert's sister. Essex and a creditor of his own, Thomas Crompton, (fn. 41) to whom he had in turn assigned his interest, transferred their rights to Sir John Perrott, the father-in-law of Essex's sister Dorothy. After the death of Perrott's son in 1594 Dorothy married Henry Percy, Earl of Northumberland. (fn. 42) By 1598 he had secured all Knollys's rights in the Dairyhouse and received from the Crown a new 40-year lease to run from 1612, when Knollys's lease fell in. Who had been in actual possession of Syon during these successive mortgages is uncertain, but in 1590 Essex referred to himself as the queen's steward of the manor. (fn. 43) Northumberland secured a 21-year lease of the park at Syon Hill in 1602, and in 1604 finally received a grant in fee of the house and manor, with the park, Dairyhouse, and other appurtenances. (fn. 44) The property descended to Charles, Duke of Somerset (d. 1748), who married the daughter and heiress of Joceline, Earl of Northumberland (d. 1670). Their son (d. 1750) was created Earl of Northumberland with remainder to his sonin-law, Sir Hugh Smithson, who was created Duke of Northumberland in 1766. (fn. 45) Smithson and his wife are said to have been given Syon by her father on his succession to it two years before they inherited it with the rest of his property. (fn. 46) Their descendant, the 10th duke, owned Syon in 1958.

The medieval manor-house of Isleworth seems to have stood between North Street and Church Street, on the south of what is now called the Duke of Northumberland's River. Richard of Cornwall surrounded the manor-house with a ditch and fence. The house was burned down and pillaged in 1264 (fn. 47) by the Londoners whose enmity Richard had aroused and who also broke into the park he had made between Isleworth and Twickenham, and emptied his fishpond at Baber Bridge. (fn. 48) The house was rebuilt, and was visited in the 14th century by both Edward III and Queen Philippa. (fn. 49) By 1370 it was in bad repair but still included a hall, chapel, and several other rooms within the moat, as well as farm buildings and a mill outside. (fn. 50) It seems highly probable from other evidence that this mill stood on the site of the later Isleworth Manor Mill behind Church Street. (fn. 51) After the manor came to Syon Abbey the manor-house was no longer needed, though the abbey continued to use farm buildings (later the Dairyhouse Farm) which stood across the Duke's River to the north. (fn. 52) The manor-house and buildings within the moat were leased about 1455 and were still leased in 1486. (fn. 53) John Fox, Bishop of Winchester, held a lease in 1506 of the Moatplace and the adjoining derelict millhouse. (fn. 54) Among the later lessees was Thomas, Lord Darcy (d. 1537). (fn. 55) Robert Cole or Plume leased the Moatplace under Elizabeth I (fn. 56) and one Plum is marked on a map of 1607 as the occupier of a moated house on the site described above. (fn. 57) Glover in 1635 ascribes the same house to 'Ofley kt.', (fn. 58) and in 1643 Sir John Offley received a lease from the Earl of Northumberland of the Moat House in Isleworth where he then lived. He was to rebuild it in two years. (fn. 59) The same property was leased again in 1661, (fn. 60) and a house on the same site or nearby was said to have been occupied by the widow of Charles, Duke of Somerset. It was called Somerset House, and after being used for some time as a school was pulled down in 1803. (fn. 61) By 1851 the only evidence of the former existence of the moated manor-house was the small arm of the Duke's River east of Percy Gardens, which seems to represent the west side of the moat. (fn. 62) Syon House is described elsewhere. (fn. 63)

In addition to the park made by Richard of Cornwall (fn. 64) there were fairly extensive demesne lands. In 1296 171 acres of demesne arable were sown, but the total demesne arable in the 14th century seems to have been between 150 and 164 acres. At this period there were about 25-40 acres of meadow in severalty, some of them by the river in what is now the park of Syon House. (fn. 65) More land in this area and near Worton was acquired in the 15th century, (fn. 66) and from the 15th century the more distant demesne lands outside Isleworth parish were generally leased. (fn. 67) By the Dissolution the demesne farm of some 320-40 acres, much of it inclosed, lay largely to the north of Isleworth town on both sides of the London Road. It centred upon a house or buildings known as the Dairyhouse or Dairyfarm lying on the north of the Duke's River behind Church Street. (fn. 68) These lands did not include the 30 acres within the monastery walls or the 90-100 acres of the abbey's park at Syon Hill. (fn. 69) The demesne underwent some changes during the 16th century as parts of it were separately leased or granted away altogether. (fn. 70) By 1606 the whole of it, including the park at Syon Hill, the gardens round the house, and leased lands of which the Earl of Northumberland had the reversion, covered about 560 acres. (fn. 71) During the 17th century the two chief farms included in the demesne seem to have been the Dairyhouse, to which 43 acres were attached at one date, and the Lion Farm, with about 105. (fn. 72) The Lion, a former inn, stood to the north of Syon House in what is now the park. It was later called Syon Farm and was pulled down after most of its lands had been converted to parkland. (fn. 73) The Dairyhouse survived into the 19th century though its lands were curtailed. (fn. 74) Part of the 18th-century park attached to Syon Hill House was leased from the Duke of Northumberland, and he bought the rest with the house in 1823. (fn. 75) As Syon Hill Park West Farm it formed a separate unit for a while, but the house was apparently pulled down by 1865. (fn. 76) Syon Park East Farm, or Syon Hill Farm, on the other side of Syon Lane, had 146 acres around the farmhouse by the late 18th century: this included the old abbey park. (fn. 77) The farm survived until the Great West Road was constructed just to the south of the house, which was then pulled down. (fn. 78)

In 1840 the Duke of Northumberland owned 700 acres in Isleworth parish, of which 496 were said to have belonged anciently to Syon Abbey. Another 174 acres in other ownership-147 of them belonging to the Earl of Jersey-were also said to have belonged to Syon. (fn. 79) The duke's property in Heston and Twickenham amounted after the inclosures of 1818 to about 55 and 190 acres respectively. (fn. 80) By 1958 all this had been sold, apart from the 208 acres of the park at Syon House, and a few acres elsewhere in Isleworth. (fn. 81) The park is discussed elsewhere, with Syon House itself. (fn. 82)

The manor of ISLEWORTH RECTORY, also known in the 17th century as THE WARDEN'S HOLD or WARDEN HOLD, (fn. 83) originated in the grant by Walter of St. Valery (fl. 1086) to the Abbey of St. Valéry (Somme) of the churches of Isleworth, Hampton, Twickenham, and Heston. (fn. 84) He may have given them to the abbey after 1086, as Domesday Book mentions one priest in the manor who held 3 virgates. (fn. 85) The rectorial estate at Hampton became detached during the Middle Ages. (fn. 86) Twickenham rectory, though the parish and vicarage were distinct, was never separated from Isleworth. Heston rectory, consisting only of a house and barns to the north of the church, 2 acres of meadow, and the great tithes of the parish, was separately leased by the end of the Middle Ages, (fn. 87) and was in different ownership from Isleworth rectory after 1547. In 1562 it was granted to the Bishop of London, (fn. 88) who still owned it in 1818, when the great tithes were commuted for 316 acres of land around the Bath Road. This land was later known as the Rectory farm. (fn. 89) Suit of court from tenants in Heston was meanwhile retained until the 17th century or later by Isleworth rectory manor. (fn. 90) In the late 16th century the rectory of Twickenham, presumably consisting only of the great tithes, was leased separately from Isleworth rectory, (fn. 91) though it had been held as part of it in 1544 and was again united with it from the 17th century onwards.

By the 14th century the manor comprised 4½ virgates and about 17 acres held at will, as well as a number of free tenements, one of which became Woodhall manor in Heston. (fn. 92) Most of the customary lands probably lay at Whitton, where St. Valéry had villeins in 1300, and where much of the later copyhold was concentrated. (fn. 93) The tenants paid pannage and intercommoned with Isleworth manor on the heath. (fn. 94) By the 18th century the exclusive jurisdiction of the manor was restricted to the part of Isleworth town between Mill Bridge and the Rectory House, including all that part of Church Street and the ait nearest the church. (fn. 95) In 1818 there were also a few acres of copyhold elsewhere in Isleworth parish, 24 acres in Twickenham, but none in Heston. (fn. 96) In 1693 the rectorial glebe, or manorial demesne, comprised about 40 acres north of Smallberry Green, 18 acres near the Railshead, and 10 acres in Twickenham, together with the Rectory or Parsonage House behind Isleworth church. (fn. 97)

In 1211 Isleworth seems to have been the administrative centre of St. Valéry's English lands, for the 'Prior of Isleworth' then paid to have seisin of his lands and rents in Essex. (fn. 98) Later, Takeley in Essex was apparently the centre. (fn. 99) In 1391 St. Valéry sold Isleworth, which had been in the king's hands as the possession of an alien house, to Winchester College. (fn. 100) In 1543 Winchester granted it to Henry VIII in exchange for other lands. (fn. 101) St. Valéry had leased the rectory for at least four years about 1338. (fn. 102) By 1543 Winchester's lessee had been replaced by Thomas Young, a friend of Thomas Cromwell. (fn. 103) In 1547 the rectory glebe was included in the Isleworth property granted to Somerset but this part of the grant may not have taken effect, for a few months later the rectory was given, in fulfilment of Henry VIII's will, to St. George's Chapel, Windsor. (fn. 104) Among St. George's lessees was Gideon Awnsham (d. 1641), who also held Hallplace, and whose lease had passed to his son-in-law, Henry Mildmay, by 1650. (fn. 105) In 1651 the sequestered rectory was sold to William Smith, who was referred to after the Restoration as a 'committee man'. (fn. 106) In the 18th century one at least of St. George's tenants sublet the land. (fn. 107)

In 1800 Edmund Hill, the then lessee, purchased the Rectory House, glebe, and great tithes. St. George's retained the manorial rights and court, which had always been reserved out of the leases. They also retained the Court House or Church House, but this has not been identified. (fn. 108) After Hill's death the land was divided. (fn. 109) The Duke of Northumberland bought the tithe barns by the Rectory House in 1822 and the house itself was bought by the parish and pulled down in 1847-8 so that the churchyard could be enlarged. (fn. 110) In 1820 the great tithes of Isleworth and Twickenham were put up for sale in lots, (fn. 111) and a number of landowners, including the Duke of Northumberland, (fn. 112) purchased those arising from their own lands. By 1840, when the tithes of Isleworth were commuted, only £150 were payable to the owner of the remaining great tithes. (fn. 113)

Richard of Cornwall gave to the Trinitarian friars of Hounslow his land of Babworth, reserving to himself the fishpond there. (fn. 114) The friary lands later included over 80 acres by or near the Crane above Baber Bridge (i.e. in Chapel, South, or Lower Beavers) and in the inclosure out of Hounslow Heath farther north (the Beavers, North or Upper Beavers, &c.). (fn. 115) The manor of HOUNSLOW is first referred to in 1296, (fn. 116) and by the end of the Middle Ages this title was commonly applied to the friary's land in Hounslow and Heston: none of the property apparently extended into Isleworth. In the 19th century there were three copyhold houses of the manor in Kingston, a relic of the friary's property there. (fn. 117) A manor court was held in the 16th century, and free and customary tenants are referred to once or twice at that time, (fn. 118) but there were only about 15 acres of copyhold by 1849. (fn. 119) The 'manor' in fact seems to have consisted chiefly of a freehold estate, part of which was leased out by the friary in the early 16th century. (fn. 120) In 1571 the estate or demesne comprised the friary buildings, an inn in Hounslow, about 110 acres in Heston, and about 28 in Hatton (presumably across the Crane in East Bedfont parish). (fn. 121) Of this the friary had held about 96 acres in hand in 1535. (fn. 122) In 1537 the minister of the friary apparently leased all his lands to one Cheeseman for 99 years, but this lease was probably revoked by order of Thomas Cromwell. (fn. 123) Richard Awnsham (d. 1539) of Hallplace in Heston secured a 21-year lease of the friary house and most of the demesnes in 1539. (fn. 124) Another lease was granted to the Marquess of Northampton in 1552, but Awnsham's widow was still in occupation (fn. 125) when the freehold reversion was granted by Mary to William, Lord Windsor, in 1558. (fn. 126) According to the grant, Windsor, whose father and brother were buried in the friary chapel, was to found a religious house there, but this of course was never done, and in 1571 his son Edward, Lord Windsor, sold the house and lands to Anthony Roan, auditor of the Exchequer. (fn. 127) Roan was then already in possession. The manorial rights were reserved, together with a rent, while Roan covenanted to maintain the Windsor tombs in the chapel, which was conveyed as part of the manor- or friary-house. The next Lord Windsor conveyed the reserved rent and manorial rights in 1596 to Thomas Crompton. (fn. 128) Crompton also acquired Roan's estate in the house and land, and the whole property had passed to his son Thomas by 1602. (fn. 129) Sir Thomas Lyttleton and his wife, who was probably the younger Crompton's daughter, (fn. 130) conveyed Hounslow in 1625 to Justinian Povey, another auditor of the Exchequer. He held it in 1643 and 1650 and was succeeded by his son Thomas (fl. 1633-85), also a civil servant. (fn. 131) Lysons suggested that Henry Elsynge, clerk of the House of Commons, who retired to Hounslow in 1648, was Justinian Povey's tenant in the manor. (fn. 132) Lady Shannon, who occupied a house of considerable size in Hounslow in 1664, and whose daughter was married in the chapel there in 1663, may have been another tenant. (fn. 133) The manor left the Povey family in 1671 or 1672 and was acquired by Henry Sayer. (fn. 134) By 1697 William III was Sayer's tenant and used the house as a hunting-lodge. Sayer's heirs sold it in 1706 to Whitelock Bulstrode. (fn. 135) Bulstrode, a mystical writer, was buried in the chapel in 1724. (fn. 136) His son and grandson, both called Richard, succeeded him in turn. (fn. 137) The widow of the second Richard died in 1816 and the estate passed to a cousin, G. C. Bulstrode. It was soon afterwards sold in lots, the chapel being purchased by the Vicar of Heston, and the house was pulled down. (fn. 138) The estate purchased by Whitelock Bulstrode in 1705 apparently included only about 17 acres, but in 1731 Richard Bulstrode the elder held about 60 acres which he claimed to have belonged formerly to Hounslow friary, and in 1818 the estate contained about 140 acres of old inclosures and 37 of allotments. (fn. 139) Richard Bulstrode the younger also inherited from his father over 285 acres copyhold of Heston manor. (fn. 140)

Little information seems to survive about the manor-house. It stood behind the chapel, which was on the site of the present Holy Trinity Church in the High Street. (fn. 141) The old friary buildings were at least partially replaced in the 16th century, for Norden says that there was a 'fair house' erected where the friary had been. (fn. 142) In 1706 the house was built partly of brick and partly of stone. (fn. 143)

The manors or estates of WORTON and AYDESTONES originated in two freehold estates which were held of the manor of Isleworth in 1300. William de Stanton and his wife Mabel then held a carucate and 2 virgates, and William de Eyston and his wife Emma held two houses and some land. (fn. 144) These lands were presumably the same as the eighth of a knight's fee at Imbury and the quarter-fee in Isleworth which were respectively attributed to them at the same date. (fn. 145) William de Stanton's estate passed to William de Eyston and Emma, (fn. 146) including his rights in the demesne pastures in the park and the meadows by the river north of Isleworth town. (fn. 147) Emma de Eyston was in possession as a widow in 1352 and by 1362 had been succeeded by her grandson, another William de Eyston. (fn. 148) In 1375 this second William conveyed to Edward III (then lord of Isleworth manor) considerable estates in Isleworth and Heston, including a house called Worton and 93 acres in Isleworth; a mill, 80 acres of land, and 20 of meadow at Imbury; and 50 acres of inclosed land at Osterley in Heston parish. (fn. 149) The house at Worton may have stood within the moat which was marked on later maps, but has now disappeared, on the west of the Duke of Northumberland's River north of Worton Road. This site later belonged to the demesne of Isleworth manor. (fn. 150) Imbury is described in 1375 as lying in Isleworth parish between Babworth pond (near Baber Bridge) and the common heath of Isleworth: it is not clear quite where William de Eyston's property at Imbury can have been, since there were no inclosures here later except to the north of Baber Bridge in Heston parish. (fn. 151) There was some demesne of Isleworth manor north of the bridge, but nothing, whether arable or meadow, apparently approaching 80 acres. (fn. 152) The Osterley property was probably the later Fawkeners fields (about 30-40 a.), which were afterwards inclosed in Osterley Park. (fn. 153) Several life interests in William de Eyston's lands were granted in the next 50 or so years. (fn. 154) In 1416, when one of these was still running, (fn. 155) the king granted the reversion to trustees for his new foundation of Syon, to which, under the name of Worton manor, it was transferred in 1424. (fn. 156)

After William Eyston's grant in 1375 his brother Thomas tried to regain that part of his lands which had descended from William de Stanton. (fn. 157) Thomas's claim may have succeeded, for in 1422 his widow conveyed to the Syon trustees, a house, a carucate, and 2 virgates (i.e. the amount of William de Stanton's holding), with appurtenances including pasture for 200 sheep in Isleworth, Twickenham, and Worton. This had belonged to Thomas and was also conveyed to Syon in 1424. (fn. 158) This transaction may account for the presence of Worton and Aydestones or Aystons as separate units of Syon's property, though the position of the two estates remains obscure. (fn. 159) William de Eyston's house at Worton may have stood on the site by Worton Road described above, but the position of Thomas's house is unknown. In 1449 all the buildings of the chief messuage of Aystona or Aydstons had been pulled down and carried to Syon Abbey, (fn. 160) and in 1486 three parts of Thomas Aydston's tenement were in the abbess's hand because the abbey was built on them. (fn. 161)

Thomas Eyston's widow also conveyed to Syon Eyston wharf by the Thames. (fn. 162) In 1519 the abbey held Haydestones wharf, (fn. 163) and in 1486 they also held a 'wilstage', which had formerly belonged to Thomas Maydstone. This was probably some sort of wharf and seems to have lain near the Dairyhouse in Isleworth. (fn. 164) Whether Thomas Maydstone was the same man as Thomas Eyston cannot be ascertained: in 1381 one Thomas Maydston had built a sewer in the Thames between Isleworth and Brentford, which was certainly in the approximate area where some of Thomas Eyston's lands lay. (fn. 165) On the other hand, the distinction between the two Thomases may be indicated by the continued existence in the mid-16th century of a house or manor called Maydstones; (fn. 166) this house, or other property belonging to its owner (over 300 a.), was afterwards granted by the Crown to Sir Thomas Gresham and became part of the Osterley estate. (fn. 167) Whatever the explanation of all this, it may be said that the Worton and Aydestones properties considerably enlarged Syon's demesnes, and that the Syon demesnes around Worton, including a moated site, probably came from them, like part of the demesnes near Baber Bridge. It also seems clear that Worton and Aydestones were manors only in name: there is little evidence of either possessing any courts or tenants. (fn. 168)

Although at a date probably fairly soon after 1560 Heston was said to be 'no lordship or manor, but only a hamlet and member of Isleworth Syon', (fn. 169) there had once been an estate known as HESTON manor, and another one seems to have been created in 1570. The earlier of these had originated in a grant by Bernard of St. Valery (d. c. 1191), lord of Isleworth, to the Hospital of St. Giles without London. (fn. 170) In 1293 St. Giles's claimed to hold the assize of bread and ale for their tenants in Hounslow and Heston, (fn. 171) and in 1308 they held the rents and services of a hide of land in Heston. These rents and services were intended to support one leper who was to be presented to the hospital by the lord of Isleworth manor. (fn. 172) Virtually nothing more is known of St. Giles's holding, save that it passed with the hospital itself into the possession of Burton Lazars Hospital (Leics.) and was granted to Henry VIII in 1536. (fn. 173) In 1567 Sir Thomas Gresham asked for a grant of 'Heston and other quillets', saying that he wanted them 'rather for quietness and to be lord of the soil than for profit, as most is quit-rents, and the rest out on long leases'. (fn. 174) When he received his grant in 1570 no demesne lands were specified in it; it comprised the overlordship of the estates of Hallplace and Groveplace, and of nearly 600 acres of copyhold land, all in Heston parish. (fn. 175) This became the manor of Heston. In a successful chancery suit of 1598 the tenants, producing copies of court roll going back over a century, claimed that it had formerly been part of Isleworth Syon, from which rents and services in Heston had been detached by the grant of 1570. (fn. 176) In 1818 there were about 330 acres of copyhold old inclosures and nearly 645 more were allotted for open-field and common land. There was, however, no waste belonging to the manor. (fn. 177) Manorial courts continued to be held until the late 19th century, and there was some copyhold until the tenure was finally abolished. (fn. 178)

By 1570 Sir Thomas Gresham already held a good deal of land in Heston, most of which was included in the manor or estate of OSTERLEY. In 1300 John of Osterley held 2 carucates in Isleworth and Heston, (fn. 179) and about 1335 a man of the same name had lands in Heston worth 40s. (fn. 180) In 1443 John Ford quitclaimed to John Somerset, physician to Henry VI and Chancellor of the Exchequer, all the lands called Osterley and all other lands in Heston and adjoining parishes which had formerly belonged to Thomas, son and heir of John Osterley. Somerset had acquired the lands from Richard Dunket and others: Ford's and Dunket's claims or titles to the lands are not explained. (fn. 181) Somerset held other land in Heston and Isleworth, including Wyke manor. (fn. 182) When he died about 1455 his whole estate covered nearly 500 acres in the two parishes, and another 260 in Norwood, and was in the hands of feoffees who were to support the chapel of All Angels which Somerset had founded at Brentford End. (fn. 183) The feoffees sold Somerset's house in Isleworth parish to Syon Abbey, and also possibly alienated one or two other pieces of property, (fn. 184) but the remainder was kept intact. In the late 15th century it was described as the manor of Osterley, 16 houses, 550 acres of arable, and over 100 acres of other land, but this description almost certainly included Wyke manor. In 1490 it passed from Thomas Grafton and his wife Agnes to Joan Luyt, widow: it had apparently been Agnes's land. (fn. 185) By 1498 it belonged to Edward Cheeseman (d. 1510), the owner of Norwood manor. (fn. 186) From him it was purchased by Hugh Denys (d. between 1507 and 1516) (fn. 187) who left Osterley and Wyke manors to Sheen Priory in trust for All Angels and for a hospital to be founded in connexion with it. In 1530 Sheen transferred them to Syon under various covenants, for convenience of administration. (fn. 188) Syon leased Osterley in 1534 to Edward Cheeseman's son Robert. (fn. 189) The chapel lands, as they were called, were granted to the Duke of Somerset in 1547, along with the rest of Syon's possessions in Isleworth. (fn. 190) 'Osterley farm' then comprised 202 acres lying together, with a farmhouse on the site of the present house at Osterley Park. (fn. 191) In 1557 it was sold to Augustine Thayer and Alexander Chesenall and was said to be still occupied by Robert Cheeseman. (fn. 192) Since Sir Thomas Gresham held it by 1565 (fn. 193) it may have been the estate in Heston which he acquired in 1559. (fn. 194) From Gresham's time Osterley became in effect the manorhouse and demesne of Heston manor. To the two estates were added other lands in Heston and Isleworth which Gresham acquired. (fn. 195) Among them was land named ALLCOTTS, which was occasionally called a manor at about this time. It had belonged to Sheen Priory and had been granted to Somerset with Isleworth manor. It was granted to Gresham in 1565, when it comprised 146 acres, all lying together in what became the north-east part of Osterley Park. (fn. 196) The house and the park, to which other former Crown lands contributed, are discussed elsewhere. (fn. 197)

Osterley and Heston, with the lands that had been absorbed in them, were held by Gresham's widow after his death in 1579. (fn. 198) They then passed to her son by a former marriage, William Read. (fn. 199) Read was succeeded by his daughter, Anne, who married Sir Michael Stanhope and left three daughters, who held the Osterley estate jointly with their husbands. (fn. 200) The third daughter, Bridget, and her husband George, Earl of Desmond, lived at Osterley between 1639 and 1651. (fn. 201) The representatives of the Stanhope coheirs sold the estate, probably in 1655, to Sir William Waller (d. 1668), the parliamentary general. (fn. 202) Waller sold the western part of Osterley Park, with Heston farm, to Anthony Collins, the owner of Hallplace, (fn. 203) in 1663, and in 1670 his son William sold the house, manor, and the rest of the estate to Daniel Farington. From Farington it passed in 1674 to Sir William Thompson, whose son Samuel sold it in 1683 to Nicholas Barbon (d. 1698), the London building speculator. Barbon conveyed Osterley to two mortgagees, of whom one was the banker, Sir Francis Child the elder (1642-1713). Child took possession on Barbon's death and in 1713 the heir of his co-mortgagee sold his interest to Child's son, Robert, who thus became possessed of the whole property. (fn. 204) Robert Child died unmarried in 1721 and was succeeded in turn by his brothers Sir Francis (d.s.p. 1740) and Samuel (d. 1752), and by Samuel's sons Francis (d.s.p. 1763) and Robert (d. 1782). Under the will of Robert Child, who regained the part of the estate alienated by Waller, Osterley and Heston passed after the death of his wife, later Lady Ducie, to his granddaughter Sarah, who married George Villiers, Earl of Jersey. (fn. 205) The estate then descended with the Jersey title until 1949, when Lord Jersey gave Osterley House and Park (140 a.) to the National Trust, who leased it to the Ministry of Works. (fn. 206) In 1958 the Villiers Estates Co. still owned 528 acres between Heston village and Syon Lane. (fn. 207) In 1905 the then Lord Jersey had owned about 900 acres in Heston and Isleworth. (fn. 208) Virtually all of this lay east of Heston village and north of Scrattage Lane and Wyke Green, (fn. 209) and it included the former Wyke manor, which, after passing through other hands, had returned to the same ownership as Osterley. (fn. 210) About 320 acres of the 1905 total were included in the park, but part of this was leased to farmers. (fn. 211) The chief units into which the leased part of the estate was divided at this time, and for some time before, were Heston farm (generally c. 200 a.), Scrattage farm (c. 134 a., nearly all in the park), Wyke farm (158 a. in 1885), and Osterley Park gardens (c. 60 a. and a house in the park). Other parts of the lands were leased with farm-houses in Southall and Norwood. (fn. 212)

The manor or estate of WYKE is first mentioned in 1444, when it belonged to John Somerset, along with 200 acres of arable and over 200 acres of other land in Isleworth, Heston, and Twickenham. (fn. 213) In 1449 Somerset held the house of Wyke and other lands of Aydstons manor. They were said to have belonged formerly to John Harpdon and once to Andrew Gilford. (fn. 214) There had been freehold land in Wyke from the 13th century, (fn. 215) and in 1428 William Loveney (a former lessee of Worton manor), had delivered seisin of lands there, apparently constituting the manor, (fn. 216) to William Harpdon and others: (fn. 217) beyond this nothing is known of the earlier history of the manor. Wyke descended with Osterley to All Angels' Chapel and to Augustine Thayer and Alexander Chesenall in 1557: (fn. 218) it was then occupied under a 40-year lease granted by Syon Abbey in 1537. (fn. 219) In 1547 'Wyke farm' comprised 104 acres of land and wood on each side of Wyke Lane (now Syon Lane). (fn. 220) Sir Thomas Gresham held Wyke by 1570 (fn. 221) and had perhaps acquired it with Osterley. It remained with his successors until 1638 when they sold it to Sir William Washington. (fn. 222) It then passed to Sir Richard Wynn (d. 1649), and to his brother's widow Grace Wynn (d. 1680). (fn. 223) Wynn apparently lived at Wyke at one time, (fn. 224) though he also owned, and in 1635 occupied, the house later known as Little Syon in the London Road. (fn. 225) Grace Wynn's granddaughter married Robert, 1st Duke of Ancaster, who sold the manor in 1724 to Joshua Fletcher. From Fletcher's widow it passed in 1731 to John Jacob under whose will it was sold in 1755 to William Baker. It then comprised nearly 140 acres. Baker's son sold it in 1778 to John Robinson (d. 1802), the politician. (fn. 226) It was sold after Robinson's death to the Earl of Jersey, and became part of the Osterley estate. (fn. 227)

Rents belonged to the manor in the 15th century but there is no evidence of any courts or copyhold tenants, and by the 16th century the 'manor' was simply a freehold estate lying around and to the south of the house. (fn. 228) This stood on the west side of Syon Lane on a moated site now more or less obliterated by the Underground railway. (fn. 229) Some time after 1635 this house seems to have been replaced by one further south on the site of Wyke House. (fn. 230) In 1778-9 Robert Adam designed what was presumably an addition to this already existing house for its owner, John Robinson, (fn. 231) and the rest of the present house appears to have been rebuilt within the next few years. In 1827 the house was used as a school and soon afterwards it became a private mental hospital. (fn. 232) In 1958 it was still a nursing home for nervous disorders. (fn. 233) Except for the land attached to the house (30 a. in 1923), the rest of the Wyke estate continued during the 19th century to be leased as a single farm by the earls of Jersey together with a farmhouse standing to the north of the old moated site. (fn. 234) The present building there probably dates from about 1800. It was no longer used as a farm in 1958. (fn. 235)

The estates of WOODHALL, HALLPLACE, and GROVEPLACE seem originally to have been distinct, though by the end of the Middle Ages they were in the same ownership and their names were often combined or used as alternatives for one holding. (fn. 236) In 1336 Nicholas de la Woodhall held of Isleworth rectory manor a house and 30 acreware (fn. 237) of land in Heston. (fn. 238) The rectory's overlordship of Woodhall was remembered as late as 1642, while Hallplace manor and the farm or house called Grove or Groveplace were said to be held of Heston manor. (fn. 239) In 1483 the manor of 'Woodhallplace', with four houses and 100 acres of land, was conveyed to Sir Thomas Bourchier and his wife Isabel, who had possibly inherited it from her father Sir John Barr. (fn. 240) In 1488 it passed from Bourchier to Richard Awnsham. (fn. 241) Richard Awnsham, probably his son, who also held a lease of Hounslow manor, (fn. 242) died in 1539 leaving his house at Heston called Hallplace to his wife Eleanor with reversion to his eldest son William. He left to William his free land with 'the place called the Grove place' which he had just bought from Thomas Dewell. (fn. 243) This is the earliest definite reference to the Grove, though it may have originated in the three virgates in Heston which Matthew atte Grove held freely in 1300. (fn. 244) William Awnsham died shortly before 1565 holding Hallplace of Isleworth Syon, and was succeeded by his son William. (fn. 245) In 1570, however, when the overlordship was transferred to Heston manor, Eleanor Awnsham was said to be still in occupation of 'Woodhall or Hallplace', while William-presumably her grandson- held Groveplace. (fn. 246) It was perhaps this William who had two sons called Robert and William, and the elder of these who was the Robert Awnsham who held the three estates in 1621 and died in 1627. (fn. 247) Gideon Awnsham, who held them at his death in 1641, (fn. 248) and also leased Isleworth rectory, (fn. 249) was probably the son of Sir Gideon Awnsham of Isleworth (d. 1631). (fn. 250) Sir Gideon's father was named William and may have been the younger brother of Robert (d. 1627). (fn. 251) The younger Gideon left a son Robert who died soon after him leaving as coheirs his sisters Margaret and Jane. (fn. 252) Margaret, who held the property for life under a settlement of 1651, died unmarried and it reverted to Jane and her husband Henry Mildmay. (fn. 253) In 1668, after Mildmay's death, Hallplace and about 100 acres in Heston were sold to William Denington (d. 1687). (fn. 254) After Denington's death his estates were divided among his sisters' heirs. One of these, Abel Bradley, received the house and 33 acres, and later also got the share (18 a.) of one of the others. His son conveyed most of this land to Samuel Child of Osterley in 1746, and Child also bought the third share in the same year. (fn. 255) Abel Bradley had, however, parted with the house separately before 1698. At this date it belonged to Henry Collins (d. c. 1704), (fn. 256) whose father Anthony had bought 365 acres on the west of Osterley Park from the Osterley estate in 1663. (fn. 257) Henry Collins's son Anthony, a deist writer, (fn. 258) married Martha, the daughter of Sir Francis Child (d. 1713), and after the death of their daughter and eventual heir Elizabeth Cary in 1763, part at least of the Osterley land was transferred to Robert Child. Hallplace house, however, was not included. (fn. 259) In 1818 it belonged, with about 23 acres round it, to John Westbrook. (fn. 260) It stood back from the road in the angle of Heston Road and Church Road, and had been pulled down by 1865. (fn. 261) In 1635 Gideon Awnsham's house had stood on this site, though possibly nearer the road. It seems to have been larger than the house of 1818, and to have been built round a courtyard. (fn. 262) Where Groveplace lay is unknown.

About the end of the 17th century there was said to be a manor called SAWYERS HOLD in Heston, which held courts baron. (fn. 263) Since Heston manor is mentioned separately in the same document, and Hounslow is not mentioned, this may possibly have been an alternative name for the latter. No other reference to Sawyers Hold has been found.

The Manor House in Heston and the Manor House in Sutton were probably both 19th-century houses and had been demolished by 1958. Neither is known to have been connected with any manor.