A HISTORY OF NORTHAMPTONSHIRE 



In the 1 5th century Sir Thomas Tresham of Sywell 

 held a considerable estate in Ecton described as ECTON 

 MANOR. In 1462 Edward IV granted to John Donne, 

 one of the ushers of his chamber, the manor of Ecton 

 recently forfeited by Sir Thomas Tresham.' In 1480 

 Edward IV granted these same lands to his servant Wm. 

 Sayer and his wife for life,^ and four years later they 

 were bestowed upon Edward Brampton and his heirs 

 male.^ After this date there is no further mention of the 

 Tresham estate, but it is possibly identical with the 

 manor held by Francis Catesby in 1527, when he willed 

 that Francis, second son of his nephew Anthony 



Ecton: The Village 



Catesby, should succeed to his manor of Ecton. He 

 died the following year and Anthony, son of his brother 

 Humphrey and father of Francis mentioned above, then 

 held the estate, probably in trust for his son."* Francis 

 Catesby the younger died in 1537, his heir being his 

 elder son Thomas, then aged 3.^ In 1575 Thomas, 

 then of full age, claimed J of his father's lands,* and in 

 1 581 he compounded for the estate with his mother 

 Mary and her husband Nicholas Thorne, who sur- 

 rendered it to him in 1598.' To this Thomas the 

 Montgomerys alienated their more important manor of 

 Ecton (q.v.) in 1574,* in which this property becomes 

 henceforward merged. 



A third manor was formerly held by the abbey of 

 Warden. In 1291 the abbot held lands in Ecton valued 

 yearly at £■} 13/. 7a'.;' in 1535 these, including the 

 grange of Ecton, were valued at 6is. bd}° After the 

 Dissolution, the estate, called ECTON MANOR, was 

 granted in i 540 at a yearly rent of 6j. to John Gostwyk 

 and Joan his wife;" they in the same year received 



licence to alienate it to William NichoUs.'^ In 1585 

 Augustine, second son of Thomas NichoUs and grand- 

 son of the original grantee, alienated his manor to 

 Edward Stonynge and Julia his wife,'^ who in 1586 

 conveyed it to John Freeman.''* In May 1606 John 

 Freeman settled part of his estate on his son Francis on 

 his marriage with Thomasine Andrews, with remainder 

 to his daughter Margaret, wife of Sir Robert Osborne. 

 At the death of John Freeman in 161 5 his heir was his 

 grand-daughter Catherine, wife of Sir Edward Gorges 

 and daughter of Margaret Osborne deceased," and in 

 1627 they transferred the manor to Sir Anthony 

 Haselwood.'* From this date 

 until 1678 there is no mention 

 of the manor; but in 1678 

 Thomas Hackoll bought the 

 manor of Ecton, situated in the 

 Abbot's or Prior's Hyde, from 

 William Bernard for the sum of 

 ^^650." In 1689 Nicholas, son 

 of Thomas Hackoll leased this 

 property for a term of 900 years 

 to Henry Bagley, bell-founder 

 in Ecton,'* and in the same year 

 he sold him the mansion house 

 of Ecton." After this date no 

 further trace of the Warden 

 manor has been found. 



In 1086 there were two mills 

 in Ecton worth \\s?-° Of these 

 mills one remained attached to 

 the main manor (q-v.), the other 

 appears to have passed to the 

 abbey of Warden which pos- 

 sessed a mill in Ecton as early 

 as 1291.^' 



In 1629 Charles I granted a 

 court leet and view of frank- 

 pledge in Ecton to Robert Owen 

 and his heirs. ^^ 

 Cole {c. 1825) states that there is said to have been a 

 nunnery or cell subordinate to Delapre Abbey, and 

 describing Ecton House he writes: 'At the back of the 

 house is a yard bounded by high walls, which still 

 retains the name of Nuns' Court.'-^ There is no record 

 of any land in the parish having belonged to the nuns, 

 but in 1538 'all liberties belonging to the Priory of St. 

 Mary' in Ecton were granted to Anthony Denny and 

 Joan Champernowne, whom he was going to marry. ^^ 

 The parish church of ST. MART 

 CHURCH MAGDALEN consists of chancel, 41 ft. 

 by 14 ft. 10 in., with north and south 

 chapels;^' clerestoried nave, 59 ft. by 20 ft.; north aisle, 

 12 ft. wide; south aisle, 9 ft. 6 in. wide; north and 

 south porches, and west tower, 12 ft. 6 in. square, all 

 these measurements being internal. The chapels are 

 continuations eastward of the aisles and cover the 

 chancel for about half its length. 



The church is built throughout of ironstone rubble 

 except the later upper stage of the tower which is of 



' Cat. Pat. 146 1-7, p. Ill; ibid. p. 431. 



2 Ibid. 1476-85, p. 201. 



' Ibid, p. 416. 



■• Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), xlviii, 170. 



5 Ibid, cxiv, 9. 



<> Mcm.R. L.T.R.Mich. i8Eliz.m.44. 



' Chan. Proc. C. c. 14 Eliz. no. 44. 



8 Feet of F. Northants. East. 16 Eliz. 



» Pope Nkh. Tax. (Rec. Com.), 54. 



'<> Valor Eccks. (Rec. Com.), iv, 193. 



" Pat. 31 Hen. VIII, pt. i, m. 16. 



" L. and P. Hen. Fill, xv, p. 342. 



" Recov. R. Hil. 27 Eliz. ro. 12; Feet 

 of F. Northants. Mich. 27 & 28 Eliz. 



■t Ibid. Mich. 28 & 29 Eliz. 



^5 Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), cccxlix, 157. 



'* Feet of F. Northants. East. 3 Chas. I. 



"' Add. Chart. 24140. 



'8 Ibid. 24144. 



■» Ibid. 24145. 



2" F.C.H. Northants. i, 333. 



21 Pope Nick. Tax. (Rec. Com.), 54. 



" Cal. S.P. Dom. 1629-31, p. 184. 



^' Cole, History of Ecton, 31. 



" L. and P. Hen. Fill, xiii (l), 384 (47). 



^5 The north chapel is used as a vestry 



and organ-chamber. 



124 



