ONGAR HUNDRED 



CHIGWELL 



chief of the manor descended in the Limesi family and 

 their heirs the Dodyngsells. John de Dodyngsells held 

 it in i35o.5't 



Alan de Limesi, son of Ralph, granted the tenancy in 

 demesne of the manor to Richard de Lucy, the Justiciar 

 of Henry II, to hold for i knight's fee. 55 The grant was 

 confirmed before 1163 by Gerard de Limesi, Alan's 

 son. 5* De Lucy's interest in the manor subsequently 

 passed through his daughter Maud, wife of Walter 

 Fitz Robert of Woodham Walter to the Fitzwalter 

 family.5' Walter, Lord Fitzwalter (d. 1406) held 

 I knight's fee in Chigwell.58 



After acquiring the tenancy of the manor Richard de 

 Lucy enfeoffed Ralph Brito, who held of Richard for 

 I knight's fee. 59 Some time after this Richard appears 

 to have enfeoffed William de Goldingham so that he 

 became the overlord of Brito, holding of Richard for 

 I knight's fee.*" In 1 169-70 WiUiam de Goldingham 

 enfeoffed Robert son of Ralph Brito with the manor, to 

 hold for I knight's fee.*' 



During the reign of Richard I Robert Brito suffered 

 imprisonment and forfeiture for his adherence to Prince 

 John.*^ In the 20 years that followed there were several 

 disputes concerning the ownership of Chigwell. Before 

 his imprisonment Robert Brito had leased the manor for 

 ten years to Andrew Blund of London. The lease still 

 had six years to run when the manor was seized by the 

 king.*3 While the king had possession a suit was brought 

 by Geoffrey Mauduit, claiming the manor.** Mauduit 

 apparently succeeded in getting possession of it for a 

 time but he was later ejected through the legal action 

 of William son of Robert Brito and Wilham's mother 

 Philippa.*5 In 1214 Andrew Blund sued William Brito 

 for the unexpired portion of the ten-year lease, and the 

 court awarded him 50 marks in compensation.** In 

 1226 Gilbert Mauduit, presumably Geoffrey Mau- 

 duit's heir, quitclaimed a knight's fee in Chigwell to 

 William Brito.*' About 1235 Alan son of John de 

 Goldingham quitclaimed all his rights in Chigwell to 

 William son of William Brito.** In or about 1254 

 William Brito's daughter was patron of the rectory and " 

 probably held the manor also.*' Soon after this, how- 

 ever, the Goldinghams appear to have acquired the 

 tenancy in demesne. In 1258 William de Goldingham 

 made a conveyance of property in Chigwell'" and in 

 1298 John de Goldingham was lord." John died be- 

 fore 1 3 16, leaving a son and heir John.'^ 



John son of John de Goldingham was knighted and 

 was still hving in 1 349. '' He died about 1 362 and was 

 succeeded by his son Sir Alexander de Goldingham.''* 



In 1 3 8 1 Sir Alexander had licence to impark his garden 

 and 50 acres of land adjoining his manor of Chigwell.'s 

 He died in 1408 leaving his estates to his wife Isabel for 

 life with remainder to his son Sir Walter Goldingham.'* 

 Sir Walter was dead by 1435 when his widow had be- 

 come the wife of Matthew Hay." Sir Walter's daugh- 

 ter Eleanor married John Mannock of Stoke by Nayland 

 (Suff.) who inherited the manor in right of his wife 

 after the expiration of a life interest held by Matthew 

 and Elizabeth Hay.'* Mannock died in i47i'9 and 

 was succeeded by his son John who died in 1476, leav- 

 ing Chigwell to George Mannock his elder son.*" 



In 1 53 1 George Mannock leased the manor to John 

 Kempe for 1 5 years,*' but four years later sold it to the 

 king.*2 In 1537 a 21-year lease was granted to WiUiam 

 Rolte, serjeant-at-arms,*3 and this was upheld when 

 Kempe claimed in respect of the earher lease.** Rolte 

 died in 1 541, leaving the residue of his lease to George 

 Stoner*5 who apparently transferred it soon after to 

 his son John.** In 1550 Edward VI sold the manor to 

 Sir Thomas Wroth, who died in 1573.*' Sir Robert 

 Wroth, son of Sir Thomas, married, before 1578, 

 Susan daughter of John Stoner.** Chigwell descended 

 in the Wroth family in the same way as the manor of 

 Loughton (q.v.) until the death in 1642 of John 

 Wroth. *9 John's estates were then apparently divided 

 between the two sons of his brother Henry: John 

 Wroth, who took Loughton (and Luxborough, see 

 below), and Sir Henry Wroth, who took Chigwell.'" 



Sir Henry Wroth sold Chigwell in 1669 to Sir Wil- 

 liam Hicks of Ruckholts in Leyton, ist Bt." The 

 manor descended with the baronetcy to Sir Henry 

 (commonly called Harry) Hicks who took possession 

 after the death of his mother in 1723.'^ Sir Henry, 

 while retaining the manorial rights, sold the demesne 

 lands of the manor and built himself a house near 

 Woodford Bridge, formerly called the Bowling Green 

 but now the Manor House."^ He died in 1755.''* His 

 elder son, who became the 4th baronet, was blind and 

 Sir Henry left his estates to his second son Michael 

 Hicks, who died unmarried in I764.'5 Michael left 

 the estates in trust for the benefit of his blind brother 

 Sir Robert and his sisters Ann Burton and Martha 

 Petty, with successive remainders to Howe Hicks of 

 Witcombe (Glos.), a relative, and Howe's second son 

 Michael.9* 



Sir Robert Hicks died unmarried in 1768 but the 

 trust continued until 1799 when Michael Burton, son 

 of Ann, sold his interest in Chigwell to Michael, son of 

 Howe Hicks." This Michael had changed his name 



5* C143/298/1 5 i cf. y.C.H. Warms, vi, 

 125-6. 



5 5 Madox, Formulare An^licanum^ p. 42. 



56 Ibid. Cf. Stenton, pint Century of 

 Anglo-Norman Feudalism^ 161. 



5' Complete Peerage., v, 472. For de 

 Lucy's heirs see also Chipping Ongar. 



58 Cal. Inq. p.m. (Rec. Com.), iii, p. 312. 



59 hiadox., Formulare Anglicanumyp. 178. 

 '» Ibid. 368. <" Ibid. 44, 179. 

 '^ Cur. Reg. R. 121 3-1 5, 205. 



«3 Ibid. 



'* Ibid. 1199-1201, 196, 207. 



'5 Ibid. Robert Brito was dead by 1200. 

 King John appears to have reversed the 

 forfeiture in favour of WiUiam Brito. 



" Ibid. 121 3-15, 205. 



«' FeetofF. E!!ex,\,ji. 



" E3'5'/3'/204- 



'9 E.A.T. N.s. xviii, 18. 



'" Feet of F. Essex, i, 235. 



" Cat. And. D. i, B. 974. According to 



W. A. Copinger, Manors of Suffolk, iii, 272, 

 Alice daughter of the last named William 

 Brito married Sir William de Goldingham. 



'2 Cal. Anct. D. i, B. 912, 961, 963. 



" Feet of F. Essex, iii, 95. 



'* Reg. Sudbury (Cant. & York Soc), i, 

 235; and see Church, below. 



'5 Cal. Pat. 1381-5, 36; E326/12448. 



^<• P.C.C. 16 Marche. 



" Feet of F. Essex, iv, 21, 22. 



'* E210/10551. 



'» P.C.C. I Wattys. '<> C140/59. 



8' E.A.T. N.s. ix, 273. 



" E31S/31/126. 



83 E326/642O. 



85 P.C.C. 36 Alenger. 



8' E.R.O., D/DRg 1/197: MS. relating 

 to the 'wardstaff' of Ongar hundred c. 1 550. 

 The MS. is described and partly printed in 

 E.A.T. N.s. ix, 212 f. And see above, 

 the Hundred of Ongar. 



25 



87 Cal. S.P. Dom. 1 547-80, 28 ; Cal. Pat. 

 1549-51, 68; ibid. 1550-3, I7i P.C.C. 

 16 Pyckcring. 



88 £:.^.r. N.s. viii, 148. 



89 Ibid. 348. 



90 Ibid. 348. Sir Henry Wroth probably, 

 did not inherit until after the death of his 

 father, Henry Wroth, the elder, which 

 occurred between 1653 and 1656: P.C.C. 

 437 Berkeley. 



'■C5/499/6; CP25(2)/653 Trin. 21 

 Chas. II; CP43/346 rot. 130. 



«2 Burke's Peerage (19 1 3): St. Aldwyn; 

 E.R.O., D/DDa M4. . 



93 Lysons, En-virons of London (18 10), i, 

 641 ; T. Wright, Hist. Essex, ii, 386. 



'♦ Burke's Peerage (191 3), St. Aldwyn. 



95 W. Hicks-Beach, A Cots-wold Family, 

 Hicks and Hicks-Beach, 259; Burke's Peer- 

 age {igij), St. Aldwyn. 



96 Hicks-6each Estate Act, 40 Geo. Ill, 

 c. 78 (priv. act). «' Ibid. 



