A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



early 17th century the owners of the estate have been 

 resident.3' 



In 1838 the parish consisted of 1,570 acres.32 of 

 this the lord of the capital manor owned 7 1 1 acres and 

 the lord of Suttons 348 acres." Mrs. S. West was 

 the only other substantial owner (245 acres).3< These 

 landowners let nearly all their land to tenant farmers. 

 The largest farm in the parish was Stapleford Tawney 

 Hall farm comprising 374 acres. There was one other 

 farm of over 200 acres. There were three farms of 

 100-200 acres and six of 40-100 acres.^s 



In this parish mixed farming is carried on. In 1837 

 there were estimated to be 491 acres of arable, 768 

 acres of meadow and pasture, and 125 acres of wood- 

 land.3* 



Passingford Mill, which is about J mile west of 

 Passingford Bridge, just within the boundary of 

 Stapleford Abbots,^^ belongs to Suttons and is said to 

 have replaced an earlier mill south of Suttons.'* It is 

 a timber-framed and weather-boarded building of three 

 stories and probably dates from the i8th century. 

 Inside the mill are the names and dates of various 

 millers, the earliest being a Zach Tuck, 1760. In 

 about 1 93 1 a turbine was installed and later the water 

 wheel was cleared away.3' In a map of 1777 a wind- 

 mill as well as a water-mill is shown in this position.'*" 

 The present Mill House has been converted from a 

 pair of weather-boarded cottages, probably dating from 

 the late i8th century. The former Mill House is 

 farther west. It was probably built late in the 17th or 

 early in the i8th century and has a treble hipped roof. 

 The chimney has diagonal shafts. On the south wall 

 is a painted wood sundial with a pedimented top; this 

 bears the date 1635 and the inscription 'Horas non 

 numero nisi Serenas'. 



In 1066 STAPLEFORD TAWNETv^zi held by 

 Godric as I manor and as 5 hides.'*' Of 

 MANORS these 5 hides he 'gave to his 10 free men 

 freely 4 hides, retaining i hide in 

 demesne'.'*^ After the Conquest Robert Fitz Wimarc 

 had the i hide by the king's gift and his son Swein of 

 Essex added the 4 hides to it after his father's death.*' 

 In 1086 the manor was held of Swein by Siric.** At 

 that time the manor, which had been worth ;^8 before 

 1066, was worth ^io.*s In 1086 Swein of Essex held 

 the honor of Rayleigh, and the manor of Stapleford 

 Tawney continued to be held of that honor, which 

 escheated to the Crown in the 12th century, until after 

 1550.'** In 1296 and 1301 the manor was held by the 

 service of 2 knights' fees.*' In 1303, 1346, and 1428 

 it was said to be held by the service of I fee.** In 1 3 17 

 and 1 341 it was reported that the manor was held by 



3" Hisl. Mm. Com. Esux, ii, 226; 

 E.R.O., Q/RPl 685-737; rVhite's Dir. 

 Ettex (1848), p. 439; Kelly's Dir. Essex 



(1874 f.)- 



3» E.R.O., D/CT 331. 



w Ibid. Sec below. Manors. 



M E.R.O., D/CT 331. 



" Ibid. 36 Ibid. 



" See Stapleford Abbots, p. 223. 



'• Inf.fromMr. W. H. Twyneham,jun., 

 of Albyns, Stapleford Abbots. There are 

 obvious mill-cuts in the River Roding, 

 south of Suttons. 



" Inf. from Mr. W. H. Twyneham, 

 jun. 



*» Chapman and Andr^, Map of Essex, 

 1777, sheet xvi. 



*• y.C.H. Essex, i, 490«. 



*» Ibid. 



*' Ibid. For Robert Fitz Wimarc and 



the service of i fee.*' In 1491 the manor was held in 

 socage by a rent of "js. id.^° In 1550 it was held in 

 socage by a rent of 3/. 8</.5' 



By 1211-12 the tenant of the manor was Richard 

 Fitz William.52 After 1232-3 Richard was succeeded 

 by his son William who died in about 1 246 leaving as 

 his heir his daughter Margaret, wife of Richard de 

 Tany.s' It was from the Tany family that this manor 

 and parish took the second part of its name — Tany or 

 Tawney — to distinguish it from Stapleford Abbots 

 (q.v.). 



In 1 264 Richard de Tany obtained licence to enclose 

 his wood of Stapleford Tany within the bounds of the 

 forest of Essex together with 5 acres of his demesne 

 land adjoining the wood, in order to make a park.'* 

 Richard de Tany died in 1270 leaving as his heir his 

 son Richard who, unlike his father, had taken the king's 

 side in the recent baronial wars. 55 In the juo warranto 

 proceedings of 1274-5 Richard claimed to hold the 

 assizes of bread and ale and view of frank-pledge but 

 was unable to produce any charter confirming these 

 rights. 56 He was ordered to seek judgement of the 

 king.57 At the time of the second Richard's death in 

 1296 the manor included 60 acres of 'foreign wood in 

 the forest which is a loss to the lord because he assigned 

 a tenant to the keeping of the wood, who used to render 

 him 4/. 6d. a year for his land and now renders nothing'. 5* 

 Richard left as his heir his son Roger who came of age 

 in 1299.59 Roger de Tany died in 1301 leaving as his 

 heir his son Laurence, a minor.*" The king granted the 

 custody of the estate during the minority of Laurence 

 to Queen Margaret.*' In 1306 Margaret sold the 

 custody to William de Estden, king's clerk, who then 

 sold it to John de Uvedale.*^ The manor was still in 

 the custody of Uvedale when Laurence de Tany died 

 in 1 3 17 leaving as his heir his sister Margaret, wife of 

 John de Drokenesford.*' Margaret predeceased her 

 husband who died in 1341.*+ The heir of John and 

 Margaret was their son Thomas who died in 1 361 and 

 was succeeded by his daughter Anne, afterwards wife 

 of Sir Thomas Mandeville.*' In 1382 Thomas and 

 Anne granted a life interest in the manor to Thomas 

 Lampet at a rent of ^^20 a year.** Sir Thomas Mande- 

 ville was dead by 1399.*' His son and heir Thomas 

 died in 1400 while still a minor.** The heirs of the 

 young Thomas were his sisters: Alice, wife of Helming 

 Legat, and Joan, wife of John Barry.*' A partition of 

 their inheritance was made in 1400 and the annual 

 rent due from Thomas Lampet for the manor of 

 Stapleford Tawney was allotted to Joan and John 

 Barry.'" It is not clear what arrangement was made 

 at this time about the reversion of the manor after the 



his heirs see Manor of Theydon Mount. 



■M r.C.H. Essex, i, 490a. 



«5 Ibid. 



*' Bk. of Fees, ii, 1463; Cal. Inq. p.m. i, 

 pp. 248, 302; ibid, iv, pp. 12-13; i'^'''' ^'> 

 pp. 182-3; C142/208/181; E.R.O., 

 D/DRgi/115. 



♦' Cal. Inq. p.m. iii, p. 201 ; ibid, iv, 

 pp. 12-13. 



♦' Feud. Aids, ii, 136, 160, 222. 



*' Cal. Inq. p.m. vi, p. 69; ibid, viii, 

 pp. 228-9. 



"> Cal. Inq. p.m. Hen. VII, \, p. 334. 



5" E.R.O., D/DRg 1/115. 



" RedBk.ofExci.s<)S- 



" Ex. e Rol. Fin. (Rec. Com.), i, 449; 

 Cal. Inq. p.m. i, pp. 283, 302 ; Bk. of Fees, 

 ii, 1463. Cf. E.A.T. N.s. xviii, 18. In 

 c. 1254 the patron of the living was 

 reported as William eon of Richard. It is 



virtually certain, however, that William 

 was dead by March 1246. 



5* Cal. Pal. 1258-66, 394. 



*5 Cal. Inq. p.m. i, p. 248. 



5' Flac. de Quo Warr. (Rec. Com.), 232. 



5' Ibid. 



" Cal. Inq. p.m. iii, p. 201. 



5' Ibid.; Cal. Close, 1 296-1 302, 270. 



'° Cal. Inq. p.m. iv, pp. 12-13. 



" Cal. Pat. 1 30 1-7, 439, 464. 



" Cal. Pat. 1301-7, 464. 



63 Cal. Inq. p.m. vi, p. 69. 



6* Cal. Inq. p.m. viii, pp. 228—9, 



" Cal. Inq. p.m. i\, pp. 182-3. 



" FeetofF. Essex,m,j^y. For Thomas 

 Lampet see under manor of Lampettfi in 

 Fyfield. 



" C137/14. 



" Ibid. «» Ibid. 



"> Cal. Fine R. 1 399-1405, 75. 



234 



