HAMFORDSHOE HUNDRED 



MEARS ASHBY 



Thomas stated that his father had presented to Holcot 

 Church, but Roger's widow Maud, at this time the wife 

 of Theobald de Bray, successfully claimed the advow- 

 son as part of her dower.' Very soon afterwards the 

 advowson was acquired by the Prior of the Hospital of 

 St. John of Jerusalem in England, who presented to the 

 church in 1227-8,^ and subsequently until the Dissolu- 

 tion. About 1 291 the church was worth ^^8 a year.' In 

 1492 William Lily, the grammarian, who had become 

 acquainted with the Knights Hospitallers in Rhodes, 

 was presented to Holcot rectory by the prior, John 

 Kendall.'* At the Dissolution the preceptory of the 

 Knights Hospitallers in Dingley was receiving 40/. 

 yearly from Holcot Church, and the rectory was let to 

 farm to Anne Pachett for ^^15 17/. i^. a year. The 

 payment to the archdeacon of Northampton for pro- 

 curations and synodals was 50/. 7/, leaving a clear 

 income oi C^l 6s. iJ.^ The advowson of the rectory 

 and church was granted in i 548 to Thomas Henneage, 

 knight, and others.* It was held at his death in 1595 by 

 Gilbert Langtree whose son and heir was Edward.' In 

 1636 presentation was made, jointly, by Sir Anthony 

 Haslewood, knight, Hannah Campion, widow, and 

 Edmund Barves of Cunnington in Huntingdonshire;' 

 in 1640, according to Bridges, the right to present was 

 held by a Mr. Campion, probably identical with 

 William Campion, then rector.' In 1663 the living 

 was presented by the Crown,"* probably to Edward 

 Halles, who died as rector in 1 7 1 5 at the age of ninety- 

 four. He had a daughter, Anne Woodford," who 

 presented in 1745 when she was a widow.'- In 1777 

 the Rev. Thomas Gill was patron," and presentation 

 in 1778 was by Elizabeth Gill, widow.'* In 1780 

 Edward Montgomery, clerk, the incumbent, pre- 

 sented." The advowson and incumbency continued in 

 this family, the Rev. R. Montgomery being patron and 

 incumbent from 1 836 to 1 88 1 . Mrs. Daniels (formerly 

 Miss Montgomery) is now patron. 



The following charities are administered by the 

 rector and 3 trustees appointed by the parish council 



of Holcot in accordance with the 

 CHJRITIES Scheme of the Charity Commissioners 



of I October 1909 under the title of 

 the United Charities. 



1 . Blacksmith's Shop Rent-charge. 5/. yearly paid in 

 respect of a former blacksmith's shop, being the 

 interest on a sum of ^^5 given for the poor by Thomas 

 Campion and invested on mortgage in 1699. 



2. Rev. William Campion. Will dated in 1636. 

 Rent-charge of 6s. on a house and a piece of land in 

 Holcot. 



3. John Clark. Gift of £1 yearly charged upon 

 Poplars Farm in Holcot. 



4. Rev. Christopher Crouch. Will I August 1735. 

 Moiety of the rent of 2 acres of land in Hardingstone, 

 leased to Northampton Rural, now District, Council at 

 ;^I2 12/. of which sum half comes to Holcot. 



5. Doe Bank Rent-charge. A yearly sum of 10/. 

 in respect of about I rood of land called Doe Bank in 

 Holcot is paid, half by the rector and half by Brixworth 

 Rural District Council, who have acquired half the land 

 as building sites. The origin of this payment is unknown. 



6. Elias Groom. Will dated 12 February 1687. 

 Rent-charge of 6/. on a house and land in Holcot. 



7. Edward Halles. Will 4 May 171 3. 3 poles of 

 land in Holcot let for 10/. yearly. 



8. Poor's Land. Inclosure Award 30 March 1778. 

 I a. 2 r. 10 p. of land in Holcot let for £,2 2S. yearly. 



The income of these charities is applied in the dis- 

 tribution of goods to the poor at Christmas. 



By the Award of the Inclosure Commissioners dated 

 30 March 1778 a piece of land adjoining the Poor's 

 Land was allotted, the rents to be applied in repairs of 

 the parish church. The land is let for ^^9 yearly, which 

 sum is applied by the rector and churchwardens towards 

 church expenses. 



MEARS ASHBY 



Asbi, Esseby, Northesseby, Esseby Mares, Assheby 

 Mares (xi-xvii cent.); Ashby Meres, Mears Ashby 

 (xvii-xx cent.). 



The parish of Mears Ashby covers 1,670 acres, 

 mainly grassland. The slope of the land is from north 

 to south, the highest point being 388 ft. In the north- 

 east several acres are covered by the Ashby Furze. 

 There are stone and sand pits in the parish. The village 

 is situated in the centre where the four main roads con- 

 verge; that from Northampton enters on the south side 

 and a road crossing the parish from east to west connects 

 the village with Wilby and S)'well. Two gabled houses 

 to the south of the church are medieval but much 

 altered in the 17th century. Swans' Pool Brook, the 

 only stream of any size in Mears Ashby, flows through 

 the village. The soil is partly red land and partly clay; 

 the subsoil is composed of ironstone, clay, and free- 

 stone. Cereals are cultivated and the population for the 



most part is engaged in agriculture. Roman remains 

 have been discovered in this parish; kiln 'wasters' of 

 light grey ware were found there in 1899." 



Mears Ashby Hall, the residence of Major Henry 

 Minshull Stockdale, stands on the south side of the 

 village and is a picturesque gabled house of three 

 stories erected in 1637 byThomasClendon," faced with 

 local ironstone and covered with Colleyweston slates. 

 The main front, which faces north, has projecting end 

 wings and a central porch taken up the full height of the 

 building and terminating in a curved gable. The other 

 gables are straight and all the windows have stone 

 muUions. The round-headed doorway is flanked by 

 coupled columns carrying an entablature, above which 

 is a semicircular arch. The house was enlarged about 

 1720 on the west side, but the buildings then erected 

 were pulled down in 1859 and rebuilt on a more exten- 

 sive scale'* in harmony with the old work. The original 



' Braclon'i Nole-Book, 1 592. 



» Harl. MS. 6950, fol. 26. 



> Pofe Aid. Tax. (Rec. Com.), 39. 



« Diet. Nal. Biog. 



' yalor Eecltt. (Rec. Com.), iv, 306. 



» Pat. 2 Edvc. VI, pt. 7. 



' Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), cccxvi, 2. 



» lost. Bks. (P.R.O.). 



' Bridges, Aorihiintt. ii, 147. 



'» Inst. Bks. (P.R.O.). This must have 

 been a confirmation of possession as, 

 according to his monument, Halles was 

 rector 'nigh 60 years'. 



■■ Bridges, op. cit. ii, 146. 



" Inst. Bks. (P.R.O.). 



" Priv. Act 17 Geo. Ill, cap. 13. 



'« Inst. Bks. (P.R.O.). 



'» Ibid. 



■« y.C.U. Norihanls. i, 2 1 8. 



" Northantt. N. & Q. ii (n.s.), 244. 

 His initials are over the porch, and initials 

 and date on two lead rain-water heads on 

 the north front. 



" The architect was Anthony Salvia: 

 the new wing is of two stories, ranging 

 with the three of the old. 



1: 



