ONGAR HUNDRED 



HIGH LAYER 



By 1 9 1 7 the estate was apparently no longer regarded 

 as a manor.39 



The present farm-house stands on a moated site 

 immediately north of the church. South of it an arm 

 of the moat may have enclosed the church itself. To 

 the north there was formerly a third rectangular moated 

 enclosure.'"' The present house is of brick, partly 

 plastered, and probably dates from the late i8th or 

 early 19th century. At least two of the timbered farm 

 buildings are older than the house. 



The manor of OTES alias OATES may originally 

 have formed part of the manor of Little Laver (q.v.). 



In 1288 Emma, daughter of Eustace fitz Walter, 

 granted all her lands in High Laver and Housham 

 (Matching) to Sir Henry de Enfield.^' In 1325 Sir 

 John de Enfield, son of Henry, John Otes, and others 

 were tenants of the manor of Little Laver .^^ In 1329 

 Sir John divided his estates between his sons Richard 

 and William. He conveyed to William his holding in 

 Little Laver which became the separate manor of 

 Envilles.^s To Richard he conveyed i messuage, 2 

 carucates of land, 1 2 acres meadow, and 40^. rent in 

 High Laver and Housham (Matching).^* It is possible 

 that at this time or shortly afterwards the lands held of 

 Little Laver manor by John Otes were merged with 

 the lands held by Richard de Enfield in High Laver to 

 form a separate manor which descended in the Enfield 

 family but which became known by the name of Otes. 



The heir of Sir Richard de Enfield was his daughter 

 Elizabeth, wife of Thomas Battail.'^s In 1397 the 

 manor of Otes was held by John Battail, son and heir 

 of Thomas and Elizabeth.** John Battail made his 

 will in 1397, on the eve ofhis departure for Jerusalem.*' 

 He gave detailed instructions for the partition of his 

 property between his sisters, Margaret, soon after- 

 wards wife of John de Boys, and Alice, wife of John 

 Barrington. Battail died shortly afterwards and Boys 

 and Barrington quarrelled over the partition.*' The 

 dispute was eventually referred to the arbitration of the 

 Countess of Hereford who decided that Otes should be 

 equally divided between Alice Barrington and Margaret 

 de Boys, as John Battail had instructed.*' In 141 2 

 John de Boys and John Barrington were each reported 

 as holding lands in High Laver and elsewhere worth 

 £20.50 Margaret de Boys apparently died without 

 issue. 51 Afterwards two daughters of John Barrington, 

 Elizabeth, wife of John Sulyard, and Katherine, wife 

 of John Pykenham, each inherited half of Otes. s^ 



Sir John Sulyard, son of Elizabeth and John Sulyard, 

 died in 1488 in possession of half of Otes which he held 



of Edward, Duke of Buckingham, and which was 

 worth 20 marks.'! His son and heir Edward died in 

 1 5 16 and was succeeded by his son Sir William Sulyard 

 who held his first court in 1 523.5* William died with- 

 out issue in 1540 and his half-brother Eustace Sulyard 

 inherited his half of Otes.55 Eustace died in 1547 

 leaving as his heir his son Edward. 5* In 1 574 Edward 

 conveyed his half of the manor to John Collins who 

 had already acquired the other half (see below). 57 



John Pykenham survived his wife Katherine and 

 died in 1436 in possession of half of Otes. '* In 1445 

 William Hasilden and others (named) conveyed this 

 half of the manor to John Pykenham, evidently the son 

 of John Pykenham (d. 1436), and his wife Margery. 59 

 Margery Pykenham was still seised of this half in 1 500 

 when her son and heir George died childless, leaving 

 as his heirs his two nieces, Margery and Elizabeth 

 Pykenham, daughters of his brother Thomas.'" At 

 that time this half of the manor was held of John, Earl 

 of Oxford, and was worth 20 marks.*' Apparently the 

 sisters Margery and Elizabeth Pykenham each 

 inherited half of the moiety. 



In 1539 John Heron and his wife Elizabeth, who 

 was probably the daughter of Thomas Pykenham, 

 conveyed a quarter of Otes to John Lymsey.*^ The 

 latter died in 1545; in 1558 Edward Lymsey, his son 

 and heir, conveyed this quarter to John Collins.'^ 



Meanwhile in 1550 John Collins had received the 

 other half of the moiety from John Jennyns and his 

 wife Joan, one of whom may have been the child or 

 grandchild of Margery sister of Elizabeth Pykenham.** 



Between 1 5 50 and 1 574 John Collins thus acquired 

 the whole manor of Otes. It remained in the Collins 

 family until shortly after 16 14 when it was purchased 

 by William Masham whose son William succeeded 

 him and was created a baronet in i62i.*5 In 1638 Sir 

 William Masham was visited at Otes by Oliver 

 Cromwell, who was his relative by njarriage.** Sir 

 William died about 1656.*' His heir was his grandson 

 William Masham, 2nd Bt., who died unmarried about 

 1662 and was succeeded by his brother Francis 

 Masham, 3rd Bt.** In 1668 there were 59 freeholders 

 and copyholders on the estate.*' The area in their 

 hands was more than 3 54 acres'" and they paid rents 

 amounting to ^£9 12/. xdJ^ In 1678 22 tenants who 

 failed to attend their lord's court were each fined 2(/.'* 



From 1 69 1 until 1704 John Locke the philo- 

 sopher lived at Otes as the paying guest of Sir Francis 

 Masham.'! In 1723 Sir Francis died, leaving as his 

 heir his son Samuel, ist Baron Masham of Otes (cr. 



3' Kelly' % Dir. Essex (1917 f.). 



*o E.R.O., D/P 1 1 1/27/2. 



*> Cal. Close, 1279-88, 525; Visits, of 

 Essex (Had. Soc. xiii), 227; C. Moor, 

 Knights of Ediu. I (Harl. Soc. Ixix), i, 

 305-6. 



** Cal. Inq. p.m. vi, p. 372; Morant, 

 Essex, i, 143. 



*3 Feet of F. Essex, iii, 5. See Little 

 Laver, Manor of Envilles. 



<* Feet ofF. Essex, iii, 5 ; Visits, of Essex 

 (Harl. Soc.), 227. 



*5 Visits, of Essex (Harl. Soc), 227. 



*« E.A.T. N.s. i, 268-72; Visits, of 

 Essex (Harl. Soc), 227; Cal. Close, 1396- 

 9, 282. 



*' E.A.T. N.s. i, 268-72. 



♦« Ibid.; Cal. Close, 1396-9, 282. 



♦9 E.A.T. N.s. i, 268-72. 



5" Feud. Aids, vi, 440. 



5' E.A.T. N.s. i, 272. 



5' B.M. Add. Chart. 40792; Visits, of 



Essex (Harl. Soc), 147; E.A.T. n.s. i, 

 272. The historian of the Harringtons 

 {E.A.T. n.s. i, 272) believed that John 

 Barrington, husband of Alice, had only one 

 daughter, Elizabeth. The evidence of the 

 B.M. charter, however, suggests strongly 

 that he had several daughters. 



53 Cal. Inq. p.m. Hen. Vll, i, p. 177. 



54 Ibid.; E.R.O., D/DEw M9; E.A.T. 

 iii, 180; ibid. n.s. vi, 325. 



55 E.A.T. iii, 180; ibid. n.s. vii, 16. 



56 C142/86/63. 



57 CP25(2)/l29/l6S5. 



58 B.M. Add. Chart. 40792. 



50 Cal Inq. p.m. Hen. VII, ii, p. 246. 

 When the half manor was settled on John 

 and Katherine Pykenham it was stipulated 

 that if they had no issue, the estate should 

 descend to Margery, sister of Katherine or, 

 if Margery died, to Alice also sister of 

 Katherine. 



'0 Cal. Inq. p.m. Hen. VII, ii, p. 246. 



91 



6" Ibid. 



" CP25(2)/52/374Trin.3i Hen. Villi 

 C 142/74/72. Elizabeth Heron certainly 

 held the half manor in her own right. 



«5 C142/74/72; CP25(2)/7o/586 Trin. 

 4 & 5 Phil. & Mary. 



«* CP25(2)/57/42i East. 4 Edw. VI. 



65 CP25(2)/295 Mich. 12 Jas. I & 

 Trin. 17 Jas. I; Hisi. Essex by Gent, iii, 

 348; Morant, Essex, \, 141; G.E.C. 

 Complete Baronetage, \, 182. 



" E.R. xviii, 201. 



»7 G.E.C. Complete Baronetage, i, 182. 



68 Ibid. 



M E.R.O., D/DXs I. 



"> Ibid. Some of the acreages in indivi- 

 dual tenants' hands are not given in the 

 rent roll. 



7" Ibid. 



72 Ibid. 



73 See above, p. 88. 



