AYLESBURY HUNDRED 



HALTON 



HALTON 



The parish of Halton lies on the northern slopes 

 of the Chiltcrn Hills, and comprises 1, 45 5 J acres. 1 It 

 is well wooded, particularly on the higher and southern 

 parts, about four-sevenths of the total area being 

 woodland. The highest point, about 800 ft. above 

 the Ordnance datum, is in H.ilton Wood, but in the 

 northern part of the parish the land lies for the most 

 p.ut between 300 ft. and 400 ft. above the Ordnance 

 datum. The Wendover branch of the Grand Junc- 

 tion Canal crosses the parish near the village of Halton, 

 but there are no natural streams of any size in the 

 parish. The most important road passing through 

 the parish is the Upper Icknield Way. The village 

 lies on a cross road running between the Upper and 

 Lower Icknield Ways, joining the latter near Weston 

 Turville village. The nearest station is at Wendover, 

 2 miles distant, on the Metropolitan Extension Rail- 

 way. The people are mainly occupied in agriculture, 

 There are gas-works on the Grand Junction Canal. 

 The principal building in the parish is the great 

 modern house of Mr. Alfred de Rothschild. 



The manor of HALTON seems to have 

 M4NOR been in the possession of the monastery 

 of Christchurch, Canterbury, in the latter 

 part of the loth century. A tradition names Queen 

 Edith ' as the first donor of the 

 manor in 959, but there seems 

 to be no documentary evidence 

 of such a grant. Possibly it 

 came into the hands of the 

 monastery at the same time 

 as Monks Risborough,' which 

 certainly belonged to Christ- 

 church before 995.' There 

 are charters concerning land in 

 Halton of Archbishop ^Ethel- 

 noth about 1033,' and Arch- 

 bishop Eadsige between 1045 

 and 1052.* Both were dated 

 from Monks Risborough and 

 related to the gift of land at Halton by one To- 

 briges, who gave it after his death to Christ- 

 church. In the time of Edward the Confessor the 

 manor came into the possession of Earl Leolwine,' 

 who probably had no right to it, for the family of 

 Godwine were accused of despoiling the church of 

 its lands.' Archbishop Lanfranc apparently held the 

 manor after the Norman Conquest,' but there was 

 no distinction made at that time between the lands 

 of the archbishop and the lands of the monastery. The 

 restitution of Halton was probably obtained before 



CHRISTCIU RCH, CAN- 

 Tiur. Azure a emit 

 argent with the sacred 

 monogram table upon 

 the troll. 



1074, and as the king gave it without demanding any 

 price, theclaim of the monastery must have been strong. 10 

 In the division of the lands between the archbishop 

 and the monks " under Lanfranc, Halton went to the 

 monastery," and the prior held the manor in chief 

 of the king in frankalmoign until the Dissolution, 1 * 

 when it was worth 21 14*. 4^. a year." In 

 1541 Henry VIII granted it to the newly-formed 

 Chapter of Canterbury " in frankalmoign, but four 

 years later they were forced to make an exchange 

 of lands with the king," and it was sold to Henry 

 Bradshawe " to hold as one-fortieth of a knight's fee 

 for 800 marks. He probably belonged to the family 

 of Bradshawe of Wendover. There is a brass in 

 Wendover Church to William 

 Bradshawe, who died in 1537, 

 giving a list of his nine chil- 

 dren and twenty-three grand- 

 children, and it is possible 

 that Henry Bradshawe was 

 his eldest son. Henry was a 

 member of the Inner Temple, 

 and served as reader, treasurer, 

 and governor of the society." 

 He became solicitor-general 

 in 1540," attorney-general 

 five years later, 10 and in 1552 

 Chief Baron of the Ex- 

 chequer." Very little is known about him beyond 

 the outlines of his career. He was Chief Baron till 

 the end of the reign of Edward VI, and witnessed 

 that king's will in favour of Lady Jane Grey. He 

 died a few weeks after the accession of Mary in 1553, 

 and so escaped removal from his office or further dis- 

 grace. According to his will the manor passed to his 

 widow Joan during the minority of his heir," and 

 she was in seisin in 1562." His heir was his son 

 Benedict," who was a minor at the time of his 

 father's death. He only survived him a few months," 

 and the reversion of the manor passed to his two 

 sisters, Christiane the wife of Thomas Winchcombe, 

 and Bridget the wife of Henry White. Christiane 

 died in I 5 5 7," and her husband came into possession 

 of her moiety of the manor and held it till his death 



BAD>HAWI. 



tVfO ban gulei 

 nine lecfardi or. 



Azure 



in 1574 



.** when her son Benedict Winchcombe ' 



succeeded him. Benedict Winchcombe had however 

 quitclaimed 'the manor in his father's lifetime " to his 

 aunt Bridget, Benedict Bradshawe's other co-heiress, and 

 her second husband Thomas son of Richard Fermor, a 

 merchant of the Staple of Calais, who settled at Easton 

 Neston (Northants)." Thomas, though a younger 



1 Information (applied by Bd. of Agric. 

 (190;). By thii there ire 1,112 icrei of 

 woodland, 271 acre* of arable and 566 

 acres of gratt, which girea a total exceed- 

 in,' the area of the parnh, owing to the 

 returni being made by the farmer! of 

 landi cultivated by them which ometimei 

 citrnd into other parUhea. 



LipKomb, Hht. tf Such, ii, 219, 

 Ci". Monki Riiborough. 

 Kemble, Cod. Difl. dcluuix. 



'i'l. mcccxxi. 

 I , . rncccixxvi. 

 y.C.II. Buiki. i, 233*. 

 Ibid. 210. 



Ibid. 233*. 



10 Dugdale, Man. i, 97. 



11 Somner, Antij. tf Cam. ill. 



u Tetta de Nevill (Rec. Com.), 245*. 



" llunJ. K. (Rec. Com.), i, 20, 44 ; 

 Cat. Pat. 1429-36, p. 418 | L. end P. 

 Hn. yill, xyi, 87* (59). 



" ytltr Eul. (Rec. Com.), i, IJ. 



" L. and P. Hen. fill, xi, 878 (59) ; 

 Pat. 33 Hen. VIII. pt. 9, m. 20. 



" Pat. 37 Hen. VIII, pt. 6, m. 41. 



W L.tnd P.He*. F7//,ii(i), 465 (51) ; 

 Pat. 36 Hen. VIII, ft. 9, m. 63 ( Orig. 

 R. ft. 5, 36 Hen. VIII, 101. 



u Foat, J*d[tt of Enfl. T, 292. 



339 



Pat. 32 Hen. VIII, pt. 5, m. 55. 



10 Pat. 37 Hen. VIII, pt. 13, m. 21. 



11 Pat. 6 Edw. VI, pt. 6, m. 13. 



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

 clxxKJv, no. i ; cii, no. 7. 



Lay Subi. R. (P.R.O.), bdle. 79, no. 

 188 ; bdle. 79, no. 190. 



" Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), c. no. 2. 



* Ibid, cii, no. 7. 



* Ibid, cliiiuv, no. I. 



W Ibid. Ibid. 



* Feet of F. Buck*. Hil. 19 Elii. ; Pat. 

 19 Klir. pt. 3, m. (22). 



" Collina, Peerage (ed. Brydgej), ir, 

 200-1. 



