WYMERSLEY HUNDRED 



Collingtree in 1235-6 of the fee of Cauz,' which his 

 nephew Simon, son of his elder brother Walter, held in 

 1242-3 of Robert de Everingham.- He was succeeded 

 by his son John who held a fee of Philip de Quenton in 

 1284.1 From him the manor passed to his son Simon 

 who died in 1295 holding the manor of Philip deGayton 

 by ser%'ice of a knight's fee and a rent of ^10.* His son 

 John, who was only four )ears old at the time of his 

 father's death, was returned as one of the tenants of 

 Milton and Collingtree in 1316,' and died in 1349 

 holding the land of Scholastica de Meaux by service 

 of 22/. yearly. It was rented at ^27 8/. 3 W. and rents 

 of 4 capons, 6 hens, and 6 horseshoes with nails from 

 divers tenements arrcnted of old.* His son William 

 died without issue ten years later and, on the division 

 of his property among his four sisters,' the 2 virgates 

 in Milton and Collingtree were assigned to .\lice, the 

 wife of Thomas Wake of Blisworth.* On her death 

 in 1398' she was succeeded by her grandson Thomas, 

 whose son Thomas held i fee in Milton and Col- 

 lingtree in 1428.'° He died on 10 September 1458 

 holding the manor jointly with his wife Agnes, his heir 

 being his son Thomas who was born about 1434." 

 Roger Wake succeeded his father on his death in May 

 1476.'- He was attainted as a follower of Richard III 

 in 148;, his manor of Milton and Collingtree being 

 granted to SirCharlesdeSomerset,'^ but he subsequently 

 obtained a pardon and restitution of his lands.'* By deed 

 of 10 March 1496 he conveyed the manor to feoffees 

 appointed as executors of his will. He died on 16 

 March l 504, leaving to his brother William an annual 

 rent of £1 5 from the manors, and land worth £1 2 

 yearly there to be amortized to the use of the chaplain 

 of the chantry he founded at Blisworth.'* His heir 

 Thomas Wake subsequently sold the manors to Oliver 

 Wood, who by his will of 2 1 May 1520 left them to his 

 daughter Margaret, wife of Sir Walter Mantell, with 

 remainder to their sons John, Walter, and Thomas in 

 tail male.'* From this ill-starred family the manors 

 became known as MJNTELL'S MANOR. 



The eldest son of John Mantell was convicted of 

 felony and put to death, leaving a son Walter who later 

 suffered the same fate on being convicted of treason. 

 Walter Mantell, the second son, was also attainted on 

 a charge of treason, and on the death of Margaret, then 

 the widow of Sir James Hales, in 1 567, the manor 

 passed to Walter's eldest son Matthew who was aged 

 21 years." The property was at this time described as 

 the manors of Milton next Collingtree, Milton Malzor, 

 and Collingtree. Matthew Mantell conveyed the 

 manors to Francis Foxley in 1589,'' from whom they 

 passed to William Dry in 1610." He died in 1637, 

 being buried in Milton Malzor Church, where an 

 inscription describes him as 'Yeoman, Lord of a Manor 



MILTON 

 MALZOR 



in this towne called Mantell's-Manor'.^" He was suc- 

 ceeded by his son William who was living in 1666,-' 

 but had been succeeded in 1686 by his son Edward 

 Dry,-- who died on 19 November 1707.^^ By the mar- 

 riage of Anne daughter of Edward Dry, the manor 

 came to Edward Price, who presented to the church of 

 Milton Malzor in 1745. -•• .At the time of the inclosure 

 in 1779 James King was the lord of the manor, but 

 he sold it soon after to Joseph Dent, whose descendant. 

 Sir W. Ryland Dent Adkins, K.C., held it till his death 

 in 1925. 



The church of THE HOLTCROSS-^ 

 CHURCH consists of chancel 30 ft. 6 in. by 1 5 ft. 4 in. 

 with north and south chapels each 18 ft. 

 6 in. by 16 ft. 6 in., clerestoried nave 42 ft. 3 in. by 

 18 ft. 9 in., north and south aisles 14 ft. 6 in. wide, south 

 porch, and west tower 7 ft. 6 in. by 8 ft. 6 in., all these 

 measurements being internal. The width across nave 

 and aisles is 53 ft. The chapels are continuous east- 

 ward of the aisles and cover the chancel for more than 

 half its length. 



The building generally is of roughly coursed lime- 

 stone, with straight parapets to the chancel, nave, and 

 aisles. The roofs are all modern, those of the chancel,^* 

 nave and porch slated, the aisles leaded. All the walls 

 are plastered internally, and the floors, except in the 

 sanctuary, flagged. A gallery, since removed, was 

 erected at the west end of the nave in 18 17, and in 

 1 824 the church was completely reseated.^' The chan- 

 cel was restored in 1874, and the remainder of the 

 fabric in 1 876-7,-' when it was again reseated, the wall 

 of the north aisle heightened, and the porch rebuilt. 

 In 1904 St. Katharine's chapel, at the east end of the 

 south aisle, was restored to its original purpose. 



The building underwent a very considerable re- 

 construction in the 14th century, but the oldest parts 

 of the present structure are the cylindrical pillars of 

 the north arcade, which are c. 1 180-90 and have cir- 

 cular moulded bases on square chamfered plinths, but 

 they have been heightened and the capitals are later. 

 The arcade is of four bays with halt-round responds, 

 but the bases of the responds are chamfered and their 

 plinths are half-octagons. The base mouldings of the 

 pillars-'indicate a late-i2th-century aisled churchof some 

 importance, no other architectural features of which 

 have survived. That a rebuilding of the aisles took place 

 at a fairly early date is suggested by the pointed three- 

 light windows in their west walls, which are of three 

 sharply pointed uncusped lights, of c. 1270. The 

 tower is without buttresses and has so few architec- 

 tural features in its lower stage that it is difficult to date. 

 Its plinth, however, is continuous with that of the aisles 

 and the pointed west doorway is of three continuous 

 chamfered orders. The round relieving arch above it 



* Bk. of Fits, i,^g6. 

 ' Ibid, ii, 942. 



' Feu J. Aidi, iv, 5. 



* Cal. In^.p.m. iii, 369. 

 ' Ftud. Aidt, iv, 27. 



* Cal. Intj. p.m. ii, 350. 

 ' Ibid. X, 520. 



' Cal. Fine, vii, 1 19. 



* Ch>n. Inq. p.m. 22 Ric. II, no. 50. 

 " FeuJ. ylidl, iv, 43. 



" Chan. In<). p.m. 37 Hen. VI, no. 19. 



*^ y.C.H. AortAantf. Familie:, p. 322. 



" Cal. Pat. 1485-94, p. 100. In 1553 

 William, Earl of Worcester, grandson of 

 Sir Charles, asserted that he was seised 

 of the manor: Cal. Pal. Edvi. Vl, v, 47. 



'♦ RtilU of Pari, vi, 393. 



" Cal. Intj. Hen. FlI, ii, 847. 



"■ Chan. inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), clxv, 132. 



■' Ibid. 



'• Feet of F. Northants. Hil. 31 Eliz. 



■« Ibid. Mich. 8 Jas. i. 



" Bridges, Hist. Norlkanls. i, 377. 



" Feet of F. Northants. Eajt. 18 Chas. 

 II. 



" Ibid. I and 2 Jas. II. 



" B. E. Evans, The Story of Milton 

 Malzor, 42. 



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



" Brown Willis (1730-4;) gives the 

 dedication as St. Helen, though Bridges 

 calls it Holy Cross. The high altar was 

 dedicated to St. Helen. St. Katharine's 

 chapel was in the south aisle, and the Lady 



Chapel in the north aisle. The altar of 

 St. Nicholas may have been in the middle 

 part of the south aisle: see B. E. Evans, 

 Story of Milton Malzor (1924), 64. 



" In Bridges' time the chancel was 

 leaded. The lead was renewed in 1796: 

 Evans, op. cit. 103. 



" Ibid. 104. 



" It is described as having been in 'a 

 very bad condition'. The clerestory 

 windows were dilapidated and the tower 

 was leaning 7^ in. to the west. The cost 

 of restoration was ^"2,154. The church 

 was reopened 12 July 1877 : ibid. 1 10. 



" They consist of two rounds with a 

 shallow water-holding hollow between. 



IT 



273 



Mn 



