Harmondsworth: Manors and other estates

MANORS AND OTHER ESTATES.

Before 1066 the manor of HARMONDSWORTH was owned by Earl Harold, and at the Conquest it passed to William I. (fn. 1) In 1069 it was granted by the king to the Benedictine Abbey of Holy Trinity, Rouen, afterwards known as St. Catherine's, (fn. 2) which held it in 1086. (fn. 3) Some time later a small cell was founded at Harmondsworth, although a prior is not mentioned until 1211. (fn. 4) Thereafter the prior seems in effect to have become lord of the manor, and indeed sometimes appeared in law-suits as the lord rather than as the representative of his abbot. (fn. 5) Richard de Cruce, who claimed to hold the manor at farm, quitclaimed his interest to the abbey in 1209. (fn. 6) In the late 12th or early 13th century the abbey exchanged some land in Southcote (fn. 7) for 33 a. in Harmondsworth. (fn. 8) Apart from this transaction it does not appear that the abbey acquired much land in addition to the original grant. The priory and manor were taken into the king's hands after a murder in 1279. (fn. 9) In spite of the confiscations suffered by alien priories in the 14th century, (fn. 10) the priors of Harmondsworth seem to have retained the custody of the manor and priory, paying the king £80 for the farm from 1338 to 1369. (fn. 11) The manor and advowson, together with those of Tingewick (Bucks.), were acquired from the abbey and prior in 1391 by William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester, and formed part of the endowment of Winchester College. This grant did not include the knights' fees held in the king's hands nor the property farmed out by the priory, (fn. 12) which possibly consisted of the several manor farms described below. Winchester College retained the manor until 1543 when it was surrendered to Henry VIII (fn. 13) in exchange for property elsewhere. (fn. 14) It has been suggested that by means of the surrendered lands the king wished to enlarge Hampton Court chase, (fn. 15) but there is no indication that this extension ever stretched as far north as Harmondsworth, which lay on the far side of Hounslow Heath. Four years later, in 1547, the lordship and manor were granted to William, later Lord, Paget (d. 1563), (fn. 16) who had obtained the neighbouring manor of West Drayton in 1546. (fn. 17) Paget's second son, Thomas, Lord Paget (d. 1590), was attainted in 1587. (fn. 18) The queen then leased the manor of Harmondsworth to Sir Christopher Hatton, (fn. 19) who died in 1591. Thomas's son, William Paget, was granted Harmondsworth and West Drayton in fee in 1597, (fn. 20) and was finally restored in blood in 1604. (fn. 21) Thereafter the manor remained in the hands of the Pagets, later earls of Uxbridge and marquesses of Anglesey, (fn. 22) until the mid 19th century when it was sold by Henry, Marquess of Anglesey (d. 1869). (fn. 23)

When the manor passed to Winchester College in 1391 it seems to have been farmed out in various lots, (fn. 24) the college appointing a bailiff responsible for the whole. (fn. 25) Leases of the whole manor, however, became common in the mid and late 16th century, the first one, for 10 years, appearing to have been made in 1540 to William Noke. (fn. 26) A lease in reversion was granted by the king in 1544, (fn. 27) Noke sub-let in 1549, (fn. 28) and other leases were granted by the Crown during the sequestration from the Pagets. (fn. 29) In 1589 the Crown retained 49 a. in demesne, (fn. 30) and at one time in the 18th century the Pagets themselves held 389 a. in the manor. (fn. 31) The location of most of the manor lands is uncertain. Holdings were scattered among the hamlets; in the early 15th century there were about 408 a. in Southcote hamlet, 366 a. at Harmondsworth, 351 a. at Sipson, and 212 a. at Longford. (fn. 32) In 1450 the amount of land held in Harmondsworth itself was the smallest, at 321 a., of any in the four hamlets, (fn. 33) but had risen to by far the largest in 1494. (fn. 34) The demesne lands were probably situated in the north of the parish, as in 1530 they lay principally in Harmondsworth, with a small amount of land in Sipson. (fn. 35) Both in the 1380s and in 1591 two acres of common meadow in Colnbrook (Bucks.) lay in the demesne of Harmondsworth manor, (fn. 36) and the manor also owned land in Ruislip. (fn. 37) There were 2½ a. of meadow in Stanwell that were owned by Godfrey atte Perry in 1411. (fn. 38) This estate subsequently became part of Harmondsworth manor, and was sold by William, Lord Paget (d. 1678), in 1672. (fn. 39)

A 'court' on the manor is mentioned in 1293-4, (fn. 40) and a capital messuage, a garden, and two pigeonhouses are recorded in 1324-5. (fn. 41) A manor-house, with 23 a. around it, is mentioned in 1583, (fn. 42) and fifty years later a large house called Court Lodge, with 216 a. of land, was leased by Lettice, Lady Paget. It seems likely that this was the old manorhouse and demesne land, as the lease included the gate-house, pigeon-house, court barns, and the customary works of the tenants. (fn. 43) This building, leased out by the Paget family until at least 1698, (fn. 44) may have been the manor-house, a 'rich and quaint pile' with many ornamented gables, which is said to have been pulled down in 1774. (fn. 45) In 1794 a timberframed, double-fronted house under two plain gables, perhaps a farm-house, was called the manor-house, (fn. 46) although the present Manor Farm House near the barn dates from the early 19th century.

In 1484-5 Winchester College spent over £40 on new buildings. (fn. 47) The college was almost certainly responsible for building the tithe barn west of the church. In 1426-7 a new barn at Harmondsworth was being made and roofed (fn. 48) under the charge of William Kypping, a carpenter employed by the college, (fn. 49) and in 1434-5 another new barn was being built on the manor by an Uxbridge carpenter. (fn. 50) Two bays of the 'great barn' were included in a lease of the Court Lodge property in 1688, (fn. 51) and in 1698 another lease included a 'tithe barn' on part of the property and one other barn called the 'great barn'. (fn. 52) A 'tithe barn' standing in 1819 on Braggs Way, the lane leading from the Bath Road to Perry Oaks, still existed in 1934, when the lane was known as Tithe Barn Lane; (fn. 53) the airport now covers this site. Rocque shows the present barn at Harmondsworth as Lshaped (fn. 54) but there is nothing else to support the tradition that a wing of this building was removed to Heathrow and re-erected. (fn. 55) At Heathrow itself three barns of 16th- or 17th-century date were demolished, with the farm-house, during the building of the airport. (fn. 56) The barn at Harmondsworth, one of the most notable surviving medieval barns in the country, stands about 70 yds. west of the church and is an aisled building of twelve bays, 190 ft. long. It is of timber construction on a stone base and is weatherboarded externally. (fn. 57) The roof, continuous over 'nave' and aisles, has kingpost trusses with curved braces below the tie beams; there are also curved braces longitudinally between the principal posts and the ties which span the aisles have curved braces below and curved struts above. (fn. 58) West of the barn, traces of a moat survived in 1968.

The manor or manor farm of PERRY or PERRY OAKS evolved from the holdings in the parish of the Perry family. (fn. 59) There was a Robert de Perry on Harmondsworth manor in the 12th century, (fn. 60) and in 1308 Robert atte Perry acquired 13 a. of heath from Roger atte Crouch of Sipson. John, son of Robert de Perry, (fn. 61) held a tenement at Perry in 1337. (fn. 62) Henry atte Perry held land in 1405, (fn. 63) but the main holding was that of Godfrey atte Perry and his wife Mirabel, who were in the parish at least from 1375 to 1411. (fn. 64) In 1411 Godfrey sold the reversion on his property after the death of his wife to Nicholas Walpole of Suffolk. (fn. 65) The reversionary interest passed through a number of hands between 1419 and 1430, (fn. 66) when it was held by Robert Long to whom Mirabel, Godfrey's widow, and her second husband, Richard Edward, quitclaimed their rights. (fn. 67) It was sold again in 1431 to Thomas Hering, (fn. 68) from whom it passed before 1443 to Sir Thomas Lewkenore and Henry Sever. (fn. 69) Sever sold his interest in 1444 (fn. 70) and by 1486 the property had passed to four men who in that year sold it to Robert Frost or Frosten. (fn. 71) His son, another Robert, still held Perry in 1511, (fn. 72) when he mortgaged it to Nicholas Tichebourn and two priests, John Rede and John Webb. (fn. 73) In 1523, however, William Frost and Robert Wallop quitclaimed the property to Winchester College, (fn. 74) and in 1542 the house, Perry Place, and its land were leased by the college to George Brighouse. (fn. 75) Thereafter the property followed the descent of Harmondsworth manor. (fn. 76) Perry was leased by Elizabeth I (fn. 77) and by the Pagets, (fn. 78) and in 1672 William, Lord Paget, sold the house and estate to Thomas Wood of Littleton, (fn. 79) to whose descendants, Edward and William Wood, it belonged in 1708. (fn. 80) Thomas Wood the elder sold the manor in 1776 to Edward Baron and Robert Hudson, when it was linked to a Yorkshire estate. (fn. 81)

It is almost certain that the Perry property was never independent of Harmondsworth manor: John de Perry held his land in 1337 from that manor; (fn. 82) Godfrey atte Perry owed services to the manor; (fn. 83) Henry atte Perry appeared in the court rolls as a tenant; (fn. 84) and in 1431 Nicholas Carewe and Thomas Hering were entered in the rolls as the tenants of Perry Place and its land. (fn. 85) It may, however, have formed part of the property which was farmed out in 1391 and therefore exempted from the grant to Winchester College. It was first styled a manor in 1424-5 (fn. 86) but was not so described again until 1542, when it belonged to the college. (fn. 87) Perry Place was called a farm in 1580, (fn. 88) and in 1587 formed part of the demesne of Harmondsworth manor. (fn. 89)

There are no known valuations of Perry manor. In 1542 (fn. 90) and 1587 (fn. 91) a rent of £8 was paid to Harmondsworth manor. In 1662 there was a reserved rent on Perry Place of £5 6s., and rents from 9 men on Perry manor were estimated to amount to £84 15s. (fn. 92) In 1430 the manor consisted of 4 houses and 260 a. of land, (fn. 93) which in 1424-5 included 143 a. of heath, 100 a. of which was called Perry Heath. (fn. 94) In the 15th century there were at least 200 a. in the manor, (fn. 95) and by 1580 this had risen to 240 a. (fn. 96) In 1640 the manor comprised 278 a., 2½ a. of which lay in Stanwell, (fn. 97) and had been owned by Perry at least since 1411. (fn. 98) During the 17th century the manor was partially split up in leases, (fn. 99) but in 1672, when the whole property was sold, it amounted to 261 a. (fn. 100)

There were four houses on the manor in 1419. (fn. 101) One of these was presumably the manor-house, as in 1424-5 the gate of the manor is mentioned. (fn. 102) In the mid 15th century there was a manor-house with a gate-house, two gardens, and a dovecote, (fn. 103) and in 1511 one of the four houses on the manor was expressly called Perry Place. (fn. 104) In the mid 17th century the house was described as a spacious mansion, with two great gate-houses, three gardens, and two pigeon-houses. (fn. 105) Nothing is known of the house after this date; the gate-houses do not appear to have survived and in the 19th and 20th centuries the only buildings at Perry Oaks were a late-16thcentury farm-house, a dovecote, and barns. (fn. 106) These were demolished during the construction of Heathrow Airport. (fn. 107)

The manor farm of PADBURY has no known connexion with the John de Padbury who held land in the parish in 1349. (fn. 108) In the late 14th century property called 'Padburylands' was held by John Ley or Lye of London and John Dodd of Staines. Some time before 1400 they conveyed it to Peter Lodington or Luddington, who in turn conveyed it to five people, among whom were Godfrey atte Perry and Alan Wombe, Vicar of Harmondsworth. In 1400 'Padburylands' was conveyed by these five to John Hore or Okebourne. (fn. 109) It was acquired from Okebourne in 1401 by John Kundell and others, (fn. 110) but in 1402 Okebourne still appeared to have rights in the property. (fn. 111) Padbury was probably included in the lands of Robert Okebourne which were sold to Rose, widow of Robert Tentirden, in 1428, (fn. 112) and by her to Winchester College in 1430. (fn. 113) The property is mentioned as a tenement in Harmondsworth manor in 1450 (fn. 114) and was being administered by Winchester College after 1475, together with the two other manor farms, Luddingtons and Barnards. (fn. 115) The first known lease was made by the college in 1541 to Nicholas Parker. (fn. 116) A lease was granted by Elizabeth I in 1592, (fn. 117) and during the 17th and early 18th centuries the Pagets leased it to Matthew East and his son John. (fn. 118) The later descent of the property is unknown.

The property, said in 1450 to be in Southcoterow, (fn. 119) was described in 1542 as being in Heathrow. It then consisted of a house and 109 a., rented at £5, and formed part of the manor of Harmondsworth. (fn. 120) In 1541 Padbury had comprised only 100 a., of which the greatest portion, 93 a., lay in Heathrow Field. (fn. 121) In 1583 the manor-house of Padbury was surrounded by 6 a. of inclosed land. (fn. 122) The house was still standing in 1749. (fn. 123) In 1450 Padbury appears in a rental of Harmondsworth manor, and in 1587 it was said to be part of the Harmondsworth demesne; (fn. 124) in 1662, however, it was described as a farm, with an annual rent of £22 10s. (fn. 125) It is doubtful whether it ever had an independent existence, at any rate after the beginning of the 15th century.

The manor farm of LUDDINGTONS followed a descent similar to that of Padbury. A Robert de Luddington held land at Sipson in 1337, (fn. 126) but in the late 14th century the land that became the manor farm had belonged to William atte Aronle, and later to John Ley and John Dodd. This property, comprising a house, garden, and ½ acre in Sipson, came into the possession of Peter and Maud Luddington in 1393. (fn. 127) In the same year Luddington acquired other land in Harmondsworth parish, formerly held by Alexander Tresom, from John Mann, Vicar of Harlington, and Alan Wombe, Vicar of Harmondsworth. (fn. 128) Luddington's lands, after the death of his mother Maud, reverted to Thomas Aunger of London, but in 1402 Aunger quitclaimed his rights to John Hore or Okebourne. (fn. 129) After a dispute in 1425 the property passed to Robert Okebourne. (fn. 130) Three years later he sold his land in Harmondsworth, Sipson, Southcoterow, and Longford to Rose, widow of Robert Tentirden, (fn. 131) who herself sold the estate to Winchester College in 1430. (fn. 132) Thereafter the property presumably became part of Harmondsworth manor, and after 1475 was administered by Winchester with Padbury and Barnards. (fn. 133) In 1542 Luddingtons was leased by the college at an annual rent of £2 13s. (fn. 134) In a rental of 1549, and in later years, the property was styled a manor, and consisted of a house, 64 a. in Sipson, and 4 a. of meadow in Wide Mead south of Longford. (fn. 135) It was let at £20 in 1662 (fn. 136) and leased until the early 18th century. (fn. 137)

The origin of the manor farm of BARNARDS is not known. The property, first mentioned in 1450 as a tenement on Harmondsworth manor, (fn. 138) was administered by Winchester after 1475, (fn. 139) and was leased in 1521 as the manor of Barnards to Roger and Thomas Watts. It consisted of the manor and 54 a., held at a yearly rent of £3 4s., (fn. 140) and was situated at Sipson. (fn. 141) In 1549 Thomas Watts, the assignee of James Annesley, held the manor and 55 a. (fn. 142) Other leases from the Paget family were granted during the 16th and 17th centuries, (fn. 143) the manor being joined in 1621 with Longford mills (fn. 144) and another tenement called Malinhawe with 9 a. of land and 2 a. of meadow in Colnbrook. (fn. 145) In 1542 Malinhawe and its land had been an independent holding in the manor. (fn. 146) Like the other manor farms, it is improbable that Barnards ever had a separate manorial existence.

Part of the manor of SOUTHCOTE lay in Harmondsworth parish until at least the 14th century. Although the extent of the manor and its relationship to the parishes of Harmondsworth and Ruislip is obscure, it seems unlikely that there were two manors of Southcote, as Lysons suggests. (fn. 147) Since the bulk of the estate appears to have lain in Ruislip from the late 14th century onwards, a full discussion is reserved for that article. (fn. 148)