A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



parishes because there were in this parish several 

 wealthy famihes — notably at Stondon Place, Stondon 

 House, and the rectory — which did not depend wholly 

 upon farming for their incomes, and which brought 

 money into the parish. An example of the way in 

 which this effect may have been produced comes from 

 a slightly earlier period: the prosperity of the 'Brick- 

 layer's Arms' was built up partly upon the liberality of 

 Miss Hollingworth of Stondon Place.'*' The depres- 

 sion did, however, have one striking result in the parish. 

 Stondon Hall farm, which in 1868 had been bought 

 by the tenant, James French, for ,£11,000, was sold 

 after his death soon afterwards at a substantial loss. 

 The purchaser was a Welsh cattle-dealer who turned 

 the whole farm over to pasture.^* 



There have been few occupations in the parish other 

 than those connected with agriculture. Gravel digging 

 has probably been carried on in a small way for cen- 

 turies. One gravel pit, to the north-east of the church, 

 was opened as recently as i886.'" Soap House per- 

 petuates the memory of a local industry carried on in 

 the 1 8th century. It was occupied from 1696 to 1743 

 by Robert Dennett, a soapboiler, and the industry is 

 said to have been carried on there until about i8oo.'*' 

 The new engineering works near Hallsford Bridge 

 deals mainly with repairs to agricultural machinery and 

 implements. 



By far the most eminent of Stondon's worthies was 

 William Byrd (i 543-1623), the musi- 

 fFORTHIES cian, who lived for the last 30 years 

 of his life at Stondon Place.*' The 

 history of his residence there is one of frequent bicker- 

 ing with his neighbours. 



Sir John Hende (d. 141 8), lord of the manor of 

 Stondon, was Mayor of London in 1391 and 1404.50 

 His two sons, both named John, were sheriffs of Essex, 

 the elder in 1443 and 1447 and the younger in 1456.51 

 Walter Wrytell, son-in-law of the elder John Hende, 

 was sheriff in 1469 and 1471.52 Sir Edward Belknap 

 (d. 1 521), a later lord of the manor, accompanied 

 Henry VIII to the French war in 15 13 and was 

 knighted at Tournai. In 1 520 he was one of the special 

 commissioners responsible for preparing the Field of 

 Cloth of Gold and received a letter from Wolsey 

 instructing him to ensure that the cardinal's tent was 

 pitched in a dry place. 53 Rainold Hollingsworth (d. 

 I 573), a wealthy resident of Stondon, was one of the 

 royal commissioners for dealing with church goods 

 under Edward VI. His brass is in the parish church. 5* 

 Sir Nathaniel Rich (d. 1636), another lord of the 

 manor, was a Member of Parliament, Merchant 

 Adventurer of London, and a Puritan who promoted 

 colonial enterprises in America. 55 His nephew and 

 successor Col. Nathaniel Rich (d. 1701) fought for 

 Parliament in the Civil War. He was a close friend of 

 Cromwell but eventually quarrelled with him and was 

 deprived of his command. 5* Nathaniel Ward (1578- 

 1652), Rector of Stondon 1623-33, was deprived of 

 the living by Laud for nonconformity. He subse- 



quently emigrated to New England and helped to draft 

 the 1 64 1 Code of Laws for the colony of Massachusetts. 

 He returned to England in 1647 and spent the last four 

 years of his life as Rector of Shenfield.57 



The Puritan connexion in Stondon represented by 

 the Riches and Nathaniel Ward is an interesting 

 parallel to the Roman Catholic connexion. Byrd was 

 a Roman Catholic and so also was William Shelley 

 (d. 1597), lord of the manor of Stondon, whose reli- 

 gion led him to plot against Elizabeth I and to imprison- 

 ment in the Tower. 58 William was the grandson of 

 Sir William Shelley (d. 1548), a justice of the Com- 

 mon Pleas and son-in-law of Sir Edward Belknap. 59 



Sir John Hende and Sir Nathaniel Rich represent a 

 connexion with London trade which was shared by 

 several other men of less individual distinction. These 

 include Andrew Bridham (d. 1442) of Stondon and 

 St. Michael's, Cornhill, John Wheler (d. 1 521), and 

 George Webb (d. 1579).*° Richard Hall (d. 1541), 

 citizen and ironmonger of London, lived for a number 

 of years in Stondon and left legacies for some of its 

 people.*' John Carre (d. 1 570), whose brass is in the 

 parish church, became a member of the Ironmongers' 

 Company under the sponsorship of Hall, whose brother 

 John was his godfather.*^ Henry Giles, nephew of 

 Carre, was his apprentice and duly joined him in the 

 company.^3 He inherited a large sum of money under 

 Carre's will and used some of it to found the almshouses 

 in Stondon.** 



John Oldham, rector from 1 79 1 until his death in 

 1 841, had studied law before entering the church. He 

 was for many years a county magistrate and was nick- 

 named 'Chief Justice 01dham'.*5 He is said to have 

 designed the impressive rectory built about 1800. 

 Altogether he made a lasting impression in this part of 

 Essex during his long incumbency. 



From 1849 to 1936 the rectory was held in succes- 

 sion by E. J. Reeve (d. 1893) and his son Canon 

 E. H. L. Reeve (d. 1936). Both were good friends to 

 the parish and E. H. L. Reeve became its historian.** 



The early history of the manor of STONDON 

 M^SSET has not been traced with cer- 

 MANOR tainty. Stondon is not mentioned in Domes- 

 day Book. It derived the suffix Massey 

 from the family of Marcy and it has been suggested 

 that in 1086 it formed part of the manor of Kelvedon 

 Hatch (q.v.) then held by Ralph de Marcy.*' That 

 manor did perhaps include some land in Stondon, but 

 the succession to Ralph's Navestock estate (q-v.), to 

 which his Kelvedon Hatch estate probably became 

 attached, suggests very strongly that the Marcys who 

 became lords of Stondon were not his heirs. In the 

 early 13th century the heir to this Navestock estate, in 

 direct succession from Ralph (see Magdalen Laver), 

 was another Ralph de Marcy; this last Ralph did not 

 inherit Stondon. 



The origins of the manor of Stondon are probably 

 to be found not in Ralph de Marcy's estate in Kelvedon 

 Hatch but in the manor held in 1086 by Serlode Marcy 



** Rccvc, Stondon Massey^ 4.9. 

 «* Ibid. 120. 

 " Ibid. 4. 

 ** Ibid. 124, 152. 



♦» See Manor, below. For Byrd's career 

 »ee E. H. Fellowes, miliam Byrd. 

 *** See Manor, below. 

 *' Reeve, Stondon Massey^ 19. 

 " Ibid. 20. 

 " Ibid. 23, 14.1. 

 ** See Church, below; Reeve, Stondon 



Massey^ 1 86. 



55 See Manor, below. 



56 Ibid.; Reeve, Stondon Massey^ 144-7. 



57 See Church, below; D.N.B.; Reeve, 

 Stondon Massey, 71—74, 141— 3. 



58 See Manor, below, 



59 See Manor, below. 



"• Reeve, Stondon Massey, 23. 



" Ibid. 24. 



" Ibid. 



M Ibid. 110. 



6* See Charities, below. 



65 Reeve, Stondon Massey, 86-90 (with 

 portrait). 



>'<' E. H. L. Reeve, History of Stondon 

 Massey (c. 1900, 1902, and 1914). Second 

 and third parts printed separately. In 

 some editions parts 1 and 2 are bound to- 

 gether, but part 3 is usually separate. 

 Pagination is continuous through the 

 three parts. 



" V.C.H. Essex, i, 503a and note i. 



242 



