RISBOROUGH HUNDRED 



John Barber and his wife Anne told it to Edmund 

 Wat. 1 * The Wests seem to have held it for a longer 

 period than any of their predecessors since the first 

 grant by Henry VIII, for in 1694-5 a Roger West 

 sold it to John Poynter," in whose family it still 

 remained in 1719." At the present time the Earl 

 of Buckinghamshire is the lord of the manor. 



The hamlet of OWLStHCK was apparently in- 

 cluded in Monks Risborough in the early grants to 

 Christchurch. After the Norman Conquest it was 

 held by a military sub-tenant. Three such tenants 

 are mentioned in 1210-12;" Henry de Lawike, 

 Thomas de Berewike, and Humphrey de Rede held 

 one fee in Risborough and Ncwington. The first- 

 named may be identified as a member of the family 

 who held Owlswick of the archbishop some years 

 later. Henry de Owlswick held half a knight's fee 

 there in 1284-6," and he was the ancestor of the 

 Baldwins who held the manor of Owlswick in the 

 next century. Baldwin son of Baldwin quitclaimed 

 all his right in certain land " which had originally 

 been granted by his ancestor Henry of Owlswick to 

 the abbey of Missenden," and John Baldwin made an 

 agreement with the abbey as to land in the hamlet." 



Henry Baldwin in 1332-3 held lands and tene- 

 ment* in Monb Risborough. 17 He also held the 

 manor of Owlswick with his wife Alice, and after 

 his death was succeeded by his son John Baldwin." 

 William son and heir of this John granted two- 

 thirds of the manor to John Grise and Nicholas 

 Bagenhale, excepting a tenement held by a life- 

 tenant." In 1 390 he granted the remaining third 

 of the manor, which his mother had held in dower, to 

 the same grantees." Nicholas Bagenhale 41 enfeoffed 

 Edmund Hampden, Thoma* Swynerton, Bernard 

 Saunterdon, John Aspley, and Thomas Durham, of 

 the manor, probably in trust for the Hampdens, and 

 they held it in 1401." Two years later Henry son 

 of John Baldwin, the nephew of William Baldwin, 

 made an unsuccessful claim to the manor as the son 

 of the brother and heir of William. 41 Nicholas 

 Bagenhale was called to give warranty and the feoffees 

 remained in possession. William Hampden made a 

 settlement of the manor in 1500" and Jerome 

 Hampden ** died seised of tenements in Owlswick in 

 1541. His son Richard ** and grandson Alexander 47 

 also held the manor. The heirs of Alexander were 

 his three nieces Anne, Margaret, and Mary, daughters 

 of his brother Edmund. 41 He provided for the shares 

 in this manor of Margaret and Mary, respectively the 

 wives of Thomas Wenman and Alexander Denton, 

 by a settlement made in 1639" and left their two- 

 thirds to his brother Christopher for life. 10 The re- 



MONKS 

 RISBOROUGH 



maining third and the reversion of the bequest to 

 Christopher he left to his eldest niece Anne, the wife 

 of Sir John Trevor." The Trevors finally obtained 

 possession of the whole manor," but in 1657 they 

 sold it to William Claydon." His daughter Bashe- 

 well married John Grubbe of Horsenden, and the 

 manor of Owlswick," under the will of William 

 Claydon, passed to her three daughters, Elizabeth, 

 Lettice, and Hester." These heiresses, however, sold 

 it in 1716 to Edward Stone, 5 * who had married their 

 half sister Elizabeth Grubbe.* 7 His grandson 

 Edward Stone, rector of Horsenden,* held the manor 

 in 1769," and it descended to his only daughter and 

 heiress Sarah, the wife of Charles Shard. 40 



In 1847 it was in the hands of Mrs. Shard of 

 Grimsdyke Lodge, Lacey Green. About 1861, 

 Mr. Grey bought the manor from Mrs. Shard, but in 

 that year he re-sold it to Mr. Humphreys, whose son, 

 Mr. George Humphreys of Brogton Park, Aspley 

 Guise, Bedfordshire, is the present lord of the manor 

 of Owlswick. A small quit-rent is paid to the lord 

 of the manor of Monb Risborough, and the copyhold 

 lands in the manor of Owlswick are also subject to 

 fines payable to him. 



The Prior of Christchurch held the manor of 

 Monks Risborough in frankalmoign of the king in 

 chief." He held a view of frankpledge for his 

 tenants ** and claimed to have waifs and strays, the 

 chattels of felons and outlaws, and to receive the fines 

 of his men when they were fined in the king's courts.** 

 He also had gallows, tumbrel, and a pillory in the 

 manor.* 4 



When called upon by Edward I to show his war- 

 ranty for these rights he quoted a charter of William 

 the Conqueror confirming the comprehensive rights 

 and regalia granted to the Archbishop of Canterbury 

 by Edward the Confessor." The prior held the 

 assize of ale within the manor,** and he obtained in 

 13163 grant of free warren in his demesne lands in 

 Risborough,' 7 which was confirmed by Edward III.** 

 No mills are mentioned at Monks Risborough in the 

 Domesday Survey. In the I4th and I5th centuries, 

 however, the millward was continually presented in 

 the manor court for taking excessive tolls from the 

 manorial tenants." At the dissolution of the monas- 

 tery there were two mills at Risborough, which were 

 occupied by leasehold tenants. 70 These were the 

 same two mills presumably which were described in 

 the next century. Sir Jerome Horsey kept these in 

 his own hands when he settled the manor on his 

 sons, and at his death he died seised of a windmill on 

 Brokenhill, and a water-mill, both of which had been 

 formerly parcel of the manor of Monks Risborough. 71 



Feet of F. Buck>. East. 9 Chu. I. 



"> Ibid. Div. Cot. Hit. 7 Will. III. 



" Ibid. Buclc. Eait. 6 Geo. I. 



Rt Bk. tfExck. (Roll! Ser.), 471. 



FtuJ. Aid,, i, 85. 



" Hirl. MS. 3688. 



Ibid. * Ibid. 



7 Feet of F. Bucki. Hil. 6 Edw. III. 



" De Banco R. Trin. 4 Hen. IV, m. 

 119. 



" Feet of F. Bucki. Mich. 14 Ric. II. 



Ibid. 



41 Or Dagenhale. 



De Banco R. 570, m. 119. 



Ibid. 



44 De Banco R. Bucks. Chart. Enr. 

 Trin. 15 Hen. VII, m. I d. 



4 * Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), Uiii, no. 

 I ; Eich. Inq. p.m. bdle. 35, no. 6. 



* Feet of F. Div. Co. Trin. 10 Eliz. 



Ibid. Buck.. Hil. 29 Eliz. 



Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), ccclxrvi, 

 no. 96. * Ibid. 



Ibid. ( P.CC. 37 Meade. 



" Ibid. 



** Feet of F. Bucks. Bait. 1 9 Jai. I j 

 ibid. Mich. 20 Jat. I ; ibid. Mich. 16 

 Clu.. I. 



Ibid. Hit 1657. 



M Liptcomb, Hat. of Buckt. ii, 332. 



" Feet of F. Buckt. Trin. 33 Chu. II; 

 ibid. Eait. 36 Chat. II j ibid. Mich. 7 

 Anne. 



Ibid. Trin. i Geo. I. 



257 



" Liptcomb, Hiit. of Bucki, ii, 332. 



" Ibid, ii, 444. 



" Feet of F. Buckt. Trin. 9 Geo. III. 



60 Liptcomb, Hiit. of Bucki. ii, 444. 



FtuJ. Aidt, i, 97 ; Col. Chu, 1346-9, 

 p. 218. 



a Ct. Rollt, 



Plat. <tt Qua War. (Rec. Com.), 86. 



** Ibid. Ibid. 



*> Ct. RoUt. 



17 Chart. R. 10 Edw. II, m. 24, no. 

 60. 



Ibid. 38 Ed*. Ill, m. 8, no. 156. 



Ct. Roll i. 



' Valor Ecel. (Rec. Com.), iv, 249. 



71 Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), D. ii, no. 

 40. 



33 



