A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



century. The roof on the south side, the present sash 

 windows, and other details are of the early 19th cen- 

 tury. Part of the house is now in use as a farmworker's 

 dwelling; the rest is unoccupied. 



The rectory of Fyfield was never appropriated 



although for a long period in the 1 2th cen- 



CHURCH tury the Cluniac priory of Bermondsey 



(Surr.) had the right to receive the greater 



part of the tithes of the parish as well as the advowson 



of the rectory. 



In 1094 Roger, lord of the manor of Fyfield, with 

 the consent of his overlord John son of Waleran, gave 

 'the tithes of Fyfield' to Bermondsey priory.' In 1 107 

 or later Maud wife of Hasculf de Tany and her son 

 Graeland confirmed this gift and also granted to the 

 priory the advowson of Fyfield church.* In 1183 

 the priory released the advowson to the then lord of the 

 manor, Hasculf son of Graeland de Tany. After this 

 the advowson was held by the lords of the manor of 

 Fyfield until 1 890-1 when it was granted by William, 

 Earl Cowley, to George Mayor.' The advowson was 

 held by Mayor until 1897 or 1898 after which it was 

 held by Mrs. A. Hewitt until 1914 or 1915.'" Mrs. J. 

 Worthington' Atkin then held it until 1929 or 1930 

 after which it was held by Canford School (Dors.)." 

 The living is now (1955) in the gift of the Church 

 Pastoral Aid Society which controls the Martyrs' 

 Memorial Trust, of which the Canford School Trust 

 forms part.'^ 



In return for the release of the advowson in 11 83 

 Hasculf de Tany confirmed to the priory | of the tithes 

 from his demesne, together with those from his demesne 

 assarts made or to be made, and undertook to give them 

 1 acre of land on which to erect a tithe barn, and also to 

 secure to them a perpetual annuity of 40J. payable by 

 the parson of Fyfield." In about 1254 it was reported 

 that the rectory of Fyfield was worth 24 marks and that 

 the monks of Bermondsey received | of the tithes from 

 the demesne of 'two lords of that vill' as well as 40/. 

 from the parson.'* In 1291 the church of Fyfield was 

 valued at ;^I2;'5 the prior of Bermondsey had there a 

 portion worth £3 6s. id. and a pension of ^2.'* In 

 1 342 the prior of Bermondsey brought an action against 

 the parson of Fyfield for payment of the annuity of 40^. 

 due to his house." In 1427 the church was still taxed 

 on the valuation of 1 29 1. '8 In 1535 the abbey of Ber- 

 mondsey still held in Fyfield a pension and a portion 

 which were then valued together at ^£4." At that time 

 the rectory of Fyfield was valued at £25 "js. 2^^/.^° The 

 abbey was surrendered on i January 1538.^' In 1650 

 the 'improved' value of the tithes was £1 20 and the 

 value of the glebe lands and buildings £s^." The 

 tithes were commuted in 1842 for ;^74i; there were 

 then 64 acres of glebe.^3 



Anthony Walker D.D., Rector of Fyfield from 1650 



until 1692, helped in the publication oi Eikon Basilike 

 and published various books and sermons.^* 



The rectory stands on a large moated site about 400 

 yds. to the north-east of the church. It is irregularly 

 shaped and has been altered and extended at different 

 periods. Running from front to back in the centre of 

 the house is a medieval timber roof, probably represent- 

 ing part of a two-storied cross-wing of the i 5th century. 

 The north end of the roof has curved wind-braces and 

 in the south bay is an arch-braced collar beam with the 

 king-post missing. East of this roof and at right angles 

 to it is another timber-framed wing which may be of 

 medieval origin. There are additional wings of later 

 date at the west end of the house. In the i8th century 

 the whole front was faced with red brick and there are 

 some interior details of the same period. In about 1770 

 the house was described as 'a large stately brick building 

 almost surrounded with a moat which, with the house, 

 encloses a pleasant garden'.^s In 1944 blast from a fly- 

 ing bomb caused considerable damage and in 1952 the 

 front was rebuilt in yellow brick and parts of the roof 

 were renewed. The porch and the original sash win- 

 dows were replaced. 



Although this building is certainly of medieval origin, 

 in the middle of the i6th century at least the rector 

 lived in another house, which was then known as 'the 

 parson's house' and was situated on the south side of the 

 church. In October 1 546 Robert Nooke, then rector, 

 let to Humphrey Nycolls, servant to Sir Richard Rich, 

 afterwards ist Baron Rich, for 5 1 years, at £2^ Js. 2\d. 

 a year, the rectory, church, and parsonage of Fyfield, 

 reserving, however, for his own residence his house 

 south of the churchyard called 'the parsonnes house'.^* 

 By 1610, however, the house to the south of the church 

 was not regarded as the parsonage-house for a terrier of 

 1610 described the rectory as including 'a Parsonage- 

 House, with two barns, and other edifices within the 

 yard, and a house abutting upon the churchyard, then 

 in dispute at law'.^' In 1650 the rectory was said to 

 include 'a parsonage house, glebe lands and a small tene- 

 ment'.^* Whatever the source or the outcome of the 

 dispute of 1610, a property at the south-west corner of 

 the churchyard was part of the glebe in 1842 and re- 

 mained so until 1948, when it was sold.^' In the late 

 19th century it was known as the Vicarage.^o The back 

 part of the building is timber-framed and weather- 

 boarded with a tiled mansard roof and dates from the 

 1 8th century, if not earlier. The front was added in 

 the 19th century and the building now comprises two 

 attached cottages. 



The parish church of ST. NICHOLAS consists of 

 nave, north and south aisles, chancel, central tower, 

 north porch, and organ chamber. The nave and the 

 first stage of the tower are mostly of flint rubble with 

 some Roman brick. The second stage of the tower is 



' Ann. Mon. (Rolls Ser.), iii, 428, 

 430—1. Roger held only 2 of the 4 manors 

 in Fyfield at this time. Presumably his 

 grant was only of his own tithes. 



* Ann. Mon. (Rolls Ser.), iii, 430-1. 

 In these annals the date assigned to 

 Maud's gift was 1 107. J. H. Round 

 thought this date too early to be probable : 

 E.A.T. N.s. viii, 104-5. 



« Ncwcourt, Repert. ii, 261-2; Kelly's 

 Dir. Essex (1870 f.); Clergy List, 1842- 

 91 ; Crockford's Cler. Dir. (1889, 1891). 



'» Clergf List, 1892-7; Kelly's Dir. 

 Essex (1898!); Chel. Dioc. Tear Bk. 



1915. 

 " Clergy List, 191 6 f.; Crockford s Cler. 



Dir. (1929, 1930); Chel. Dioc. Year Bk. 

 1937 f. 



" Chel. Dioc. Year Bk. I940f. Inf. from 

 the Revd. K. C. Stevenson. 



"3 E.A.T. N.s. viii, 104-5. In 1181 the 

 parson of High Ongar, who had cure of 

 souls in Norton Mandeville (q.v.), paid to 

 the church of Fyfield a sack of corn and a 

 sack of oats because Norton was so near 

 to that church. Norton had its own church 

 by 1 1 90, however. 



'■• Lunt, Val. of Norwich, 337. The 

 identity of one of the 'lords of that vill' is 

 uncertain : see Manors of Fyfield, Herons, 

 and Lampetts. 



'5 Tax. Eccl. (Rec. Com.), 21. 



52 



I' Ibid. 



" E.A.T. N.s. viii, 104. 

 '* Feud. Aids, ii, 205. 

 >9 Falor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), ii, 58. 

 2" Ibid, i, 437. 

 " V.C.H. Surr. ii, 74. 

 2^ E.R. xliv, 161. 

 » E.R.O., D/CT 148. 

 2« E.R. iliv, 156-72. 

 25 Hist. Essex by Gent, iii, 334. 

 2' Lond. Episc. Reg. Bonner f. 87*. 

 ^7 Newcourt, Repert. ii, 261. 

 28 E.R. xliv, 161. 



" E.R.O., D/CT 148; inf. from present 

 rector. 

 30 E.A.T. ti.i.m, 184. 



