A HISTORY OF ESSEX 



Reynold was found to hold J fee in Theydon Mount 

 formerly held by Richard de Sutton.^' He died in 

 143 1. There is no specific reference to Theydon 

 Mount in his will, nor any mention of children,'^ and 

 in 1434 Alice his widow released her right in the manor 

 to Sir Hugh Halsham, kt., and others who held it by 

 her feoffment." 



Thomas Hampden died holding the manor in 

 i486.'* He was the grandson of an Edmund Hampden 

 who died in 1 420^5 and who was probably the man 

 upon whom the remainder of the manor had been 

 settled in 141 8. If this identification is correct the 

 manor had probably passed after the death of Alice 

 Malyns to John Hampden (d. 1450-1), son and heir 

 of Edmund and father of the above Thomas. Thomas's 

 heir was his son John, but Theydon Mount was left 

 to his widow Margery.'* She appears to have held it" 

 until her death in 1 506, as her will refers to her pro- 

 perty at Hill Hall." The manor then seems to have 

 passed to her grandson (Sir) John Hampden, son of 

 John Hampden. In 1532 Sir John settled it, except- 

 ing chief rents, for the jointure of his wife Philippa, 

 daughter of William Wylford of London, merchant.'* 

 In 1548 he further settled the manor upon himself and 

 his wife for their lives, with remainder to Edward 

 Ferrers son of one of Sir John's daughters, and his wife 

 Bridget, daughter of William, Lord Windsor, in tail.'' 

 Sir John Hampden died in 1553 and in the following 

 year his widow married Sir Thomas Smyth, son of 

 John Smyth of Saffi-on Walden.*" Sir Thomas (l 5 1 3- 

 77) Secretary of State under Edward VI and Elizabeth 

 I, Ambassador to France 1562—6, and author of De 

 Republica Anglorum, lived at Theydon Mount and 

 started building the present Hill Hall.*' In 1556 he 

 purchased from Ferrers and his wife their reversionary 

 interest in the manor in return for an annuity of 

 j^3 6/. %d. payable during the life of Philippa and of 

 ;^30 thereafter. In 1 559— 60 Ferrers released to Smyth 

 all his interest in these annuities, binding himself in the 

 sum of ;^400 to join with his wife in a final concord to 

 extinguish her rights therein. Ferrers, however, never 

 carried out this obligation and Smyth brought an action 

 in Chancery, complaining that Ferrers had died leaving 

 neither goods nor lands in fee simple, whereby he 

 might have execution of the recognizance, and that 

 Bridget, who had later married Andrew Ognall, had 

 refused to make her release, so that Smyth still remained 

 charged with the payment of the rents. It was also 

 alleged that just before the conveyance of 1 5 56 Ferrers 

 had leased the manor in two parts, one part with the 

 mansion house of Mount Hall to Robert Fynchfe for an 

 annual rent of {jio, the other part called Hill Hall to 

 Thomas Luther and his mother for £10 a year, so that 

 Philippa lost her jointure. In consequence of this, 

 according to Smyth's statement, her brother John 

 Wylford had put into execution a bond under which 

 Ferrers was obliged to maintain the jointure, and it 

 was for this reason, among others, that Ferrers had 

 sought financial help from Sir Thomas in return for 

 the sale of his reversionary interest in the manor. In 



1576 the case was decided in Sir Thomas's 

 favour.*^ 



During Sir Thomas Smyth's tenure of the manor it 

 was said to be held of the Honor of Rayleigh at an 

 annual rent of 3;. %d.^^ He died in 1 577 and his wife 

 in 1578. The manor then passed under a settlement 

 made by Sir Thomas shortly before his death to his 

 natural brother George Smyth. George died in 1584 

 and the manor passed successively to his son (d. 1626) 

 and grandson (d. 1632), both named Sir William 

 Smyth. Edward, son and heir of the second Sir William, 

 died in 1652, being succeeded by Thomas, brother of 

 that Sir William, who was created a baronet in 1661. 

 The manor subsequently descended with the baronetcy 

 of Smyth (later Bowyer-Smijth) until 1916, when the 

 1 2th baronet. Sir William Bowyer-Smijth, died un- 

 married.** The baronetcy then passed to a cousin of 

 the 1 2th baronet, but the manorial rights of Theydon 

 Mount seem to have passed to his sisters, Mrs. Battye 

 and Mrs. Northcote.*' In the later title deeds of the 

 manor it is always called Mount Hall. 



For the manor houses of Mount Hall and Hill Hall 

 see below. Hill Hall. 



The manor of HILL HALL was held of that of 

 Theydon Mount. In 1373 Richard de Northampton, 

 herald, and Katherine his wife made conveyance of a 

 messuage, 210 acres of land, 28 acres of meadow, 4 

 acres of wood, and %d. rent in Theydon Mount and 

 Theydon Garnon, and properties in Hertfordshire.** 

 In 1384 they conveyed the same properties to John 

 Cokyng, Robert Somerset, and Thomas de Kent, pre- 

 sumably as feofi^ees.*' In his will, proved in 1389, 

 Northampton left the 'manor of Theydon Mount' to 

 his wife Joan to support a chaplain in the church of 

 Theydon.** Soon after the probate Cokyng, Somerset, 

 and Kent granted an annual rent of 10 marks to John 

 Hemersthorp and others from the manor of Hill Hall 

 and a few days later they conveyed to Nicholas Exton, 

 alderman of London and Joan his wife all the pro- 

 perties conveyed to them in 1384.*' In 1390 they 

 received the royal licence to found a chantry in the 

 church of Theydon Mount and endow it with \ acre 

 of land and 10 marks rent from the manor of Hill Hall. 

 The manor was then said to be held of Florence 

 Malyns as of her manor of Theydon Mount by knight 

 service and an annual rent of 1 5/. 7a'., i lb. wax, I lb. 

 pepper, and 2 capons, and besides the above land and 

 rent Hill Hall was worth 40/. »o In 1391 it was found 

 that the licence was not valid as Hill Hall was not a 

 manor, and a new licence was issued in which the 

 phrase 'issuing from their messuage, 210 acres of land, 

 28 acres of meadow, and 4 acres of wood' was sub- 

 stituted for 'issuing from the manor called Hill Hall'."' 

 In 1 397 Walter Pynchon of London and Joan his wife 

 quitclaimed to William Gascoigne and four others 

 properties described in the same terms as in the con- 

 veyances of 1373 and 1384.9^ This suggests that Joan 

 Pynchon was formerly Joan Exton, and she may also 

 have been identical with Joan widow of Richard de 

 Northampton. 



" Tend. Aids, ii, 222. 



" Reg. of lien. ChicheU, Ahp. Cant. 

 (1414-43), ed. E. F. Jacob, ii, 453-4. 



" Cat. Ana. D. vi, C. 5547. 



'* Cal. Inq. p.m. Hen. VII, i, p. 50. 



" Lipscomb, Hist. Bucks, ii, 232-3. 



« P.C.C. 27 Logge. 



" P.C.C. I Adeane. After Hampden's 

 death she had m. Ricd. Godfrey. 



'» C54/426, No. 34. 



'^ Shakespeare's Birthplace, Stratford- 

 upon-Avon, Baddesley Clinton Deed 313. 



80 Fisits. of Essex (Harl. Soc), loi. 



" For his career see D.N.B. 



0^ C78/47/28. 



83 E.R.O., D/DU 40/78. 



«♦ C142/180/36; G.E.C. Complete 

 Baronetage, iii, 234-7; 'he form Smijth 

 was adopted in the i8th cent, and the 

 additional name of Bowyer in 1839. 



278 



8s Keliys Dir. Essex (1937). Inf. from 

 the Revd. E. B. Rees. 

 8* Feet of F. Essex, iii, 170. 

 8' Ibid. 202. 



88 Commissary of London 185: Court- 

 ney. 



89 Cal. Close, 1389-92,60. 



•"> Ci43/409/7iC<i/. Paf. 1388-92,203, 

 224. »■ Cal. Pat. 1388-92, 290. 



92 Feet ofF. Essex, iii, 228. 



