POLEBROOK HUNDRED 



LUDDINGTON 



parish, to the monks of St. Neot's by Thurstan, the 

 priest of Hemington, in 1 149, on the condition that 

 after his death Roger, his son, should hold it for life.'- 

 Between 1173 and 1 1 82 the prior and monks were 

 inducted into the church by order of Geoffrey, Bishop 

 elect of Lincoln, Roger,then priest, retaining possession 

 in the name of the monks and paying them 2;. a 

 year." Although Thurstan's grant had thus obtained 

 episcopal sanction and was ratified by the several 

 tenants of the abbot of Peterborough in the parish, 

 [see above] the Priory was not undisturbed by rival 

 claimants. The Ramsey Cartulary preserves a bull 

 of Pope .\lexander III which confirms Hemington 

 with its church to the Abbey,** and at a later date the 

 abbot of Peterborough laid claim to the advowson.** 

 The dispute between the Priory and Abbey was 

 finally settled in 1 219 when the prior surrendered 

 his right to the church of Clapton on condition that 

 the abbot gave up the advowson of Hemington to 

 him and paid him the ancient and due pension which 

 he was wont to receive from Clapton.** It was 



amongst the possessions of St. Neot's Priory at its 

 surrender" and was included in the grant of Lud- 

 dington (y.t.) to Sir Edward Montagu in 1544. From 

 that date the rectory and advowson followed the 

 descent of the manor** until 1920, when the Duke of 

 Buccleuch conveyed them to Mr. Benjamin Measures. 



A vicarage was ordained during the episcopacy of 

 Hugh de Welles (1206-35).** 



The rectory belonged to the Priory of St. Neot's 

 until 1539'" and in 1544 was granted to Sir Edward 

 Montagu with the advowson (q.v.) with which it has 

 since descended. 



In the 14th century the Priory of St. James, or 

 Hinchinbrooke Priory, near Huntingdon, owned 

 certain tithes in Hemington which were leased to Sir 

 Edward Montagu for £1 4J. a year at its surrender." 

 An annuity of 13.1. 4d. is payable out 

 CHARITY of the Estates of Lord Montagu for 

 distribution to the poor. Tlie origin 

 of the charity is unknown, but it said to have been a 

 bequest of the blind Lady Montagu. 



LUDDINGTON 



LuUintone, LuUinthone (xi to xiii cent.) ; Lyling- 

 ton, f.oUington, LuUyngton (xiv cent.) ; Lodyngton 

 in the Brooke (xv cent.) ; Leddyngton, ah. Luddyng- 

 ton, als. LuUyngton (xvi cent.) ; Ludington ab. 

 Lullington (xviii cent.). 



The parish of Luddington, or Luddington-in-the- 

 Brook, lies on the borders of Huntingdonshire and a 

 small part of it falls within the Hundred of Leighton- 

 stone in that county. It covers 1,104 ^cres on a 

 subsoil of Oxford clay, with a border of cornbrash 

 in the east. Of this area rather more than a third is 

 pasture, about eight acres are woodland, and the 

 rest is arable, producing chiefly wheat and barley. 

 The average height above the ordnance datum is 

 200 ft. 



A long and rather narrow tract of land in the east 

 of the parish ftretches south of Lutton and east of 

 Hemington along the county boundary in Gipsy 

 Lane to the Rectory Farm. Farther south on the 

 east the road from Great Gidding enters the parish 

 and runs through the village in a north-westerly 

 direction into Hemington, passing the church of St. 

 Margaret and the Church Farm. A very winding 

 itream called Alconbury Brook rises in the Great 

 Hall Spinney north of the church and flows in a 

 south-easterly direction through a tract of land liable 

 to floods. In the early part of the i8th century the 

 county historian described the situation of the village 

 as ' low and dirty ' from the overflowing of this 



rivulet, and attributed its title of Luddington-in-the- 

 Brook to this cause.* 



In 1921 the population of Luddington consisted 

 of 65 persons. 



A hide and a half in LUDDINGTON 

 MANOR which was parcel of Oundle were held 

 of Peterborough Abbey by Walter in 

 1086.2 'YYie lordship of the Abbey over this fee con- 

 tinued without interruptionuntil its«urrender in 1539.* 



The names of Walter's successors in the 12th 

 century and early 13th have not been preserved. 

 A mesne lordship over the fee was held by Richard 

 Poure, possibly the Shropshire and Stafford landowner 

 of that date, in 1243.* It came afterwards to the 

 Marmion lords of Lutton manor, of which the manor 

 of Luddington was a member, until John Marmion, 

 who did homage to the abbot of Peterborough in 

 1300,' released all his rights in Luddington to the 

 Abbey.* 



In 1243 William de Lullington was subtenant 

 to Richard Poure, holding half a knight's fee of the 

 old enfeoffment, of him.' He presented to the church 

 four years later,' but in or before 1275 had been 

 succeeded as patron by Gregory de Lullington.' 

 Within the next thirty years the manor had passed 

 into the possession of John, son of Thomas de Oundle, 

 probably Gregory's grandson,*" who held it of John 

 Marmion by homage and fealty and service of half a 

 knight's fee.** 



•• Gorham, op. cit. ii, pp. xxxix, xl, 

 •cxx»i. 



•• Cott. MS. Faus:. A. iv, ff. 40A, 41 ; 

 Dugdale, Mtm. Angl. iii, 474. 



** Cartul. Mon. de Rames. (Rolls Ser.), 

 ii, 137. 



•» Cott. MS. Cleo. C. ii, fol. io6b ; 

 Gorham, loc. cit. 



•• Fe«t of F. Nortbants. case 172, 

 file 16, no. 58. 



•' Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), iv, 262. 



•' Inst. Bk«. (P.R.O.). 



•» Rot. Hug. de WeUes (Cant, and York 

 Soc), i, 208. 



'» ValoT Eccl. (Rec. Com.), iv, 262. 

 "Add. Chart. 34326, 39589; Dug- 

 dale, Mon. Angl. iv, 388-89. 



' Bridges, Hist, of Northants. ii, 402-4. 

 ■ V.C.H. Northants. i, 316a. 



• Egerton MS. 2733, ff. 134, 1344; 

 Cott. MS. Vcsp. E. xxi, fol. \id; Chan. 

 Inq. a.q.d. file 49, no. 4 ; Feud. Aids, iv, 

 23; Pat. R. 36 Hen. VIII, pt. 6, 

 m. I. 



• Pytchley, Bk. of Fees (Northants 

 Rec. Soc), ii, 968, 69 ; Egerton MS. 

 2733, fol. 134A. 



• Cott. MS. Veip. E. xxi, fol. I2d. 



• V.C.H. Northants. ii, 584-85. 



' Egerton MS. 2733 fol. 134b. 



' Rot. Rob. Grosseteste (Cant, and York 

 Soc), 226. 



' Rot. Ric. Gravesend (Cant, and York 

 Soc), 127. A John de Lullington and 

 Benigna, his daughter, appear about 

 1260-70. Buccleuch Deeds, A 37, G 8, 

 H 28. 



'° Walter de Whyttlcseye (Sparke, 

 Hist. Angl. Script, pp. 157-8) describes 

 him as Gregory's son. 



"Chan. Inq. a.q.d. file 49, no. 4; 

 Cott. Chart, xv, 18. 



83 



