A HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



It was described as in Rushden in 1327* and consisted 

 in the 15th century of a hall, chapel, chamber, kitchen, 

 brewhouse and bakehouse.^ There were a dovecot^ 

 and two fishponds* in the grounds. Besides the Great 

 Lodge there was a Little Lodge or New I,odge which 

 stood in the i6th century at the south end of the 

 park.* The present Old Hall, now a farm house, was 

 possibly built on a new site when the Great Lodge 

 fell into decay in the time of the Commonwealth.^ At 

 the end of the i8th century the Great Lodge was 

 known as Higham Park House. The park was said in 

 1649 to be well wooded and to contain many valuable 

 trees. It was, however, disparked by 1671' and the 

 land converted into arable and pasture. 



The earliest mention of the park seems to belong to 

 the I2th year of Henry II (1166), when tlie sheriff of 

 Northamptonshire owed ^15 16^. lojW. for the ex- 

 change of the park of Higham.* 



King John's grant of Higham Ferrers to the Earl of 

 Derby shows, however, that the King's great-grand- 

 father, Henry I, had acquired the park from the elder 

 William Peverel and that it remained part of the royal 

 demesne until 1199.^ It was enlarged in or before 

 1 166 by Henry II, who inclosed within it certain lands 

 for which he gave in exchange to tlie tenants, Ricliard 

 and William de Newton and Aleswas or Halenod 

 Bochard, land elsewhere in the same fee.'" Thence- 

 forward payment on this account was made yearly 

 into the Exchequer.^' After the grant of 11 99 these 

 three knights redeemed their old inheritance and the 

 lands they had held in exchange were absorbed in the 

 manor of Earl Ferrers. '^ Higham Park, thus reduced 

 to its earlier dimensions, followed the descent of the 

 manor of Higham Ferrers (q.v.) until 1672. In 1298 

 and again in 1327 it is called the park of Rushden, of 

 which parish it formed part until the latter part of the 

 last century, but later in the 14th and throughout 

 most of the 17th century it was generally known as 

 Higham Ferrers Park. In 1406, Henry IV leased its 

 herbage and pannage to Thomas Beston and the parker 

 was charged to provide him with a key of the gate of 

 the park that he might have free entry with ins cattle. l' 

 Two leases of the same for twenly-one years were 

 made by James I in 1604, first to William Purvey 

 and afterwards to Sir John Stanhope, vice-cham- 

 berlain of his household. These leases included 

 the warren of the park, all buildings there and the 



office of keeper. These were followed, early in the 

 next year, by a grant in socage of Higham Ferrers Park 

 to Sir George Hume, Chancellor of the Exchequer.^* 

 In 16:0 Sir John Stanhope, now Lord Stanhope, 

 surrendered his claim to the park of Higham Ferrers in 

 Northamptonsliire and Bedfordshire to the king for 

 j^400.** William Purvey was dead, but his lease was 

 still in force when a fresh one was granted in 1618 to 

 John Levingston, groom of the bedchamber, for life 

 and twenty-one years beyond. 1® This was to come 

 into force in March 1624, and in this month instruc- 

 tions given a year before were renewed to Sir Thomas 

 Tresham, verderer of Rockingham Forest, to report 

 on the game and woods in Higham Ferrers Park. He 

 found great disorder prevailing, and the new keeper 

 refused to take charge until a survey had been made." 

 In the following November Sir Robert Osborne was 

 ordered to examine the deer-stealers from Higham 

 Ferrers Park, and three weeks later steps were taken 

 to arrest Edward Ekins who was chiefly responsible 

 for the outrages there.'* The park formed part of the 

 jointure of Queen Henrietta Maria in 1630." Sir 

 John Levingston had died more than three years 

 bcforCj^" and in or about 1632 his widov/, who then 

 held the remainder of his 

 lease, petitioned Charles I to 

 renew it to her son,^' presum- 

 ably the James Levingston, 

 groom of the bedchamber, in 

 1625,^2 who leased the keeper- 

 ship of the park to Francis 

 Dyn in 1649.^' 



A later lessee. Sir Robert 

 Long, bart., Auditor of the 

 Exchequer, exchanged his in- 

 terest for permanent posses- 

 sion in 1672, when he paid 



j{j8oo for the grant in free socage of Higham Ferrers 

 Park with its appurtenances.'''* In the following 

 year he was succeeded by his nephew and heir Sir 

 James Long, bart., of Draycot Cerne,^* whose great- 

 grandson, the third Sir Robert I-ong, was seised in 

 the latter part of the 1 8th century .'•^^ 



The Parliamentary Commissioners of 1649 declared 

 Higham Park to be tithe frc\-,2' but about 60 years later 

 tithes from this estate belonged to the rectory of 

 Rushden.-* 



Long of Drnycnt. SahU 

 crusily and a lion ardent. 



' Chan. Inq. p.m. Edw. Ill, file 6, m. 27. 

 ' Rev. W. J. I!. Kerr, Higham Ferrers, 

 165-9. 



• Ibid. 164. 



' Ibid. 163 : Pari. Surv. Nortliants. 

 no. 34. 

 ' Kerr, op. cit. 169. 



• Pari. Surv. NorthanU. no. 34. 

 ' Cal. S. P. Dom. 1671-72, 25. 



• r,pe Roll 12 Hen. II (Pipe R. Soc.) 64. 



• I'inc R, 1 John, rn. 23 ; Pipe Roll, i 

 John, m. 2d ; Royal Charter* (Duchy of 

 Lane.) 49. 



'» Pipe Roll, 2 John, m. 4d ; Il.irdy, Rot. 

 dc Ohlal. el Ftn. 61. 



" Pipe Roll, 13 Hen. II (Pipe R. Soc.) 

 1 13 ct scq. 



" Pipe R. 2 John, m. 4d. 



" Misc. Bks. (Duchy of Lane.) 16, 

 fol. 52, 65. 



'* Pat. R. I Jas. I, pt. 7, m. 29. 



>' Feet, of F. Div. Cos. Mil. 8 Ja>. I. 



'• Pat. R. ifi Jas I, pt. 1 1, no. 4 ; Cal. 

 S. P. Dom. 1611-18, p. 597. 



" Ibid. 1619-23, p. 539 i 1623-25, pp. 

 195, 202. 



'" Ibid. p. 388 ; 1623-25, p. 407. 



'» Pat. R. 5 Chas. I, pt. 15, no. 6. 



" Pari. Surv. Northants. no. 34. 



"' Cal. S. P. Dom. 1631-33, pp. 476-77. 



" Ibid. 1625-26, pp. 23, 195. 



" Feet of F. Northants. Hil. 1649. 



" Pat. 24 Chas. II, pt. 3, no. 14; Cal. 

 S. P. Dom., 1671-72, p. 25. 



" Complete Baronetage, iii, 257-59. 



"' Brid,:;os, Xorthiinis. ii, 194. 



*' Pari. Surv. Northants. no. 34. 



•» Bridges, loc. cit. ; Hist. MSS. Com. 

 Rep. MSS. of Mrs. Sackville, i, 4?. 



280 



