SPELTHORNE HUNDRED 



Laleham. 60 There is also mention of a mill called 

 ' Stentemyll," and a ferry over the Thames to Hamp- 

 ton Court from East Molesey. 41 



The original statute creating the honour pro- 

 vided also for the making of a new forest or chase 

 for the king, to be called ' Hampton Court Chase,' 

 ' for the nourishing, generation, and feeding of 

 beasts of venery and fowls of warren,' in which 

 the king was to have ' free chase and warren.' " It 

 was also enacted that the same liberties, juris- 

 dictions, privileges and laws, that belonged to the 

 ancient forests of the kingdom, should also apply to 

 this ' the newest forest in England.' ss The limits 

 of the chase were clearly defined in the Act, and 

 were to extend from the River Thames on the 

 south side of the manor of Hampton Court to 

 Cobham and Weybridge, thus including all the 

 Surrey lands originally annexed to the honour." 

 The chase was to be surrounded by a wooden 

 fence, and there is an early grant of j6oo to Sir 

 Anthony Browne, for ' paling, ditching, and quick- 

 setting of the King's chase of Hampton Court,' " 

 besides payments for stocking the chase with deer, 56 

 and precautions to be taken for preserving them 

 there." 



Sir Anthony Browne was the first ' Lieutenant 

 and Keeper of the Chase,' an office held always 

 with that of ' Chief Steward of the Honour and 

 Manor of Hampton Court and Feodary of the 

 Honour.' M With these offices were also generally 

 held that of Housekeeper of the Palace and the 

 rangerships of Bushey Park, the Middle Park, and 

 the Hare-Warren Park. The rangership of the 

 ' House ' or ' Home ' Park was usually separate. 

 The last holder of that appointment was the Duke 

 of Gloucester. 59 Sir Anthony Browne M died in 

 1 548, and was succeeded by Sir Michael Stanhope, 

 who was also Keeper of Windsor Forest and 

 Lieutenant of Kingston on Hull. He was impli- 

 cated in the affairs of the Protector Somerset, and 

 was beheaded in I552. 61 Successive holders of 

 the office were William Parr, Marquis of North- 



HAMPTON 



ampton; 6 ' Charles, the famous Lord Howard of 

 Effingham, afterwards Earl of Nottingham ; * 

 James, second Marquis of Hamilton ; M George 

 Villiers, first Duke of Buckingham, 65 the favourite 

 of both James I and Charles I ; and Christopher 

 Villiers, first Earl of Anglesey. 66 During the 

 Commonwealth the office appears to have been in 

 abeyance, but on Cromwell's death in 1658 

 George Monk, afterwards first Duke of Albemarle, 

 the celebrated Parliamentarian general, 67 was ap- 

 pointed, and his appointment was confirmed by 

 Charles II on his restoration. Monk held it till 

 his death, and in April 1677 the stewardship 

 of Hampton Court and rangership of Bushey Park 

 were given to Barbara Palmer, Duchess of Cleve- 

 land, 68 who held them for her life in the name 

 of her trustee, William Young. 



In June 1 709 Charles Montague first Earl of 

 Halifax 69 was made keeper, and was afterwards 

 succeeded by his nephew George Montague, also 

 Earl of Halifax ro by a later creation, and his son 

 George Montague Dank second earl of the later 

 creation. 71 On his death Anne, Lady North, 

 afterwards Countess of Guildford, was granted the 

 offices, which she held for her life. In 1797 they 

 were granted to H.R.H. William, Duke of 

 Clarence," and from the time of his accession 

 to the throne in 1830 they have remained in 

 abeyance." 



The chase seems to have been very unpopular 

 from the beginning, and as early as September 

 1545, the 'men of Molsey and other towns in the 

 chace of Hampton Court ' were emboldened to lay 

 a complaint before the Privy Council when it met 

 at Oatlands, asking for redress on account of damage 

 done by the deer, and other losses incurred by 

 commons and pastures being inclosed. 75 Their 

 petition was referred to Sir Nicholas Hare, 76 wit- 

 nesses were allowed to appear before the Council, 

 and were 'generally examined of their losses,' but 

 no reparation seems to have been made at the time. 

 In 1548, soon after the death of Henry VIII, a 



40 Pat. 4 Jas. I, pt. xxi, m. 35. 

 Billets may have been included as ' Laic- 

 ham ' in 1540. L. and P. Hen. VIII, 

 xv, 498 (36). This doe not attempt 

 to be a full list of the manors annexed 

 to the honour at later periods. 



"Ibid, xx (i),i3 ? 6 (5 5). 



53 Star, of Realm, iii, 711 ; 31 Hen. 

 VIII, cap. 5. 



63 Manwood, Forest Laivs (ed. 1 598), 



11-12. 



M It has been supposed that the 

 honour and chase were identical, but 

 the chase did not include any part of 

 Middlesex. Star, of Realm, iii, 721, &c. 

 3 1 Hen. VIII, cap. 5. See supra. 



" L. and P. Hen. Vlll, xiii (2), 457 

 (12). See also Chapter House Accounts, 

 C. A, fol. 226, &c. 



" L. and 

 1280. 



W Ibid, xz (i), 512. 



48 Ibid, xv, p. 539. Pat. 4 Chas. I, 

 pt. i, no. 3. The patent of the Earl 

 of Anglesey, in which his predecessors 

 are mentioned; Lysons, Midd. Parishes, 

 57, &c. 



68 Ibid. Law, op. cit. i, 215, &c. 



nd P. Hen. Vlll, riii (2), 



80 Master of the Horse to Hen. 

 VIII. He held among other appoint- 

 ments that of justice in eyre of all the 

 king's forests north of Trent. He 

 married, as his second wife, Lady 

 Elizabeth Fitzgerald, ' The fair Gerald- 

 ine,' see p. 339 ; Diet. Nat. Biog. 



61 Ibid. Sir Thos. Cawarden was 

 also appointed, apparently by Edw. 

 VI ; Hiit. MSS. Com. Rep. vii, App. 

 6064. 



s He was born in 1513, died in 

 1571. The brother of Catherine Parr, 

 last wife of Henry VIII ; Diet. Nat. 

 Biog. 



"Born 1536, died 1624. Lord 

 High Admiral of England. 



M Born 1589, died 1625. 



" Born 1592, died 1628. Seep. 350, 

 under Palace. Pat. 4 Chas. I, pt. i, 

 no. 3. 



06 Born 1593, died 1630. Pat. 6 

 Chas. I, pt. xiii, mentions former 

 holders of the office. 



'' Born 1608, died 1670. Pat. 12 

 Chas. II, pt. iii, no. 7. 



68 Born 1641, died 1709. Pat, 29 

 Chas. II, pt. iii, no. 7. 



323 



69 Born 1661, died 1715. Chan- 

 cellor of the Exchequer, &c. Diet. Nat. 

 Biog. ; Pat. 8 Anne, pt. i, no. 3. 



70 Died 1739. Created Earl of Hali- 

 fax in 1715, on the death of his uncle j 

 G.E.C. Peerage, iv, 136. 



71 Ibid. Born 1716, died 1771. 

 In 1748 he held the chief justice- 

 ship in eyre of the Royal Forests 

 and Parks south of Trent. Diet. Nat. 

 Biog. 



'" Diet. Nat. Biog. Lysons, Midd. 

 Parishes, 57. 



7 Ibid. 



74 Vide Declared Accounts Audit 

 Office. P.R.O. Index, bdle. 247*, 

 no. 288, &c. 



7* L. and P. Hen. PHI, xx (2), 278. 

 Acts of P.O. 1542-7, p. 239. In 

 April of that year a mandate had been 

 issued that the red deer from the Icing's 

 chase which had strayed into * woods 

 and bushes between Cobham and Lon- 

 don * were not to be molested ; ibid. 

 512. 



* Master of the Rolls, &c. Diet. 

 Nat. Bag. ; Wriothesley, Chrott. 

 (Camd. Soc.), i , 101. 



