A HISTORY OF HERTFORDSHIRE 



a son John, who died in i 3 1 3 and was succeeded by 

 his son Walter.^* The latter was holding the manor 

 in Little Hormead in 1325 by knight service.^' He 

 died in 1329, leaving a daughter Agnes, who married 

 Thomas Fytlyng.'" In 1352 a settlement was made 

 with regard to the manor of Stonbury, which was held 

 for life by Katherine formerly wife of Walter Nevill. 

 It was arranged by fine that the reversion of the 

 manor, which was said to belong to Reginald de 

 Cobham after the death of Katherine, should go to 

 Thomas de Fytlyng and Agnes his wife. In case of 

 failure of heirs on the part of Thomas and Agnes the 

 manor was to revert to the heirs of Reginald.^! In 

 1408 Reginald son and heir of Reginald Cobham 

 granted the manor of Stonbury to Thomas Colepeper 

 and others who were probably acting as trustees.^^ 

 There is no evidence of the descent during the next 

 hundred years from this date, but the manor appears 

 to have pa=sed by 1 5 I 3 to the family of Bolnes.'' In 

 that year it was the subject of a fine between Agnes 

 Bolnes, widow, Robert Bolnes and others on the one 

 part and Katherine Bolnes, widow, on the other.^ 

 A member of the same family probably held the 

 manor in I 561, in which year Thomas Bolnes was a 

 freeholder in Little Hormead. '^ In 161 2 William 

 Bownest died seised of the manor of Stonbury, which 



■cII40 50 



ii 13- Cent 



EARLY 



^ IJ^Cent. 



E±ai7^CENT 



E3 I8a G:nt. 

 □ Modern 



Plan of Little Hormead Church 



is described as held of Francis Delawood as of his 

 manor of Hormead Redesvvell in Great Hormead 

 by suit of court.^'' The manor remained with the 

 descendarts of William Bownest,^' one of whom, 

 William Bownest, was lord of the manor in 1725.^* 

 By 1758, however, it had come into the possession of 

 Jacob Houblon, who in that year settled it on his 

 son Jacob,^' and it was held by John Archer-Houblon 

 in 1826*'' and has apparently since descended with 

 the manor of Redeswell in Great Hormead.''^ 



Salmon, writing in 1728, says of the manor-house 

 of Stonbury : ' Stonebury hath been also a Manor, 

 but sunk for want of Tenants. It was probably the 

 Residence of some great Man before and after the 

 Conquest. If we consider the beautiful Situation of 

 it upon a rising Ground, towards the South East Sun, 

 well wooded and watered, the Land all enclosed and 

 entire, intermixed with none, between and at a proper 

 Distance from both of the great Roads, we may admit 



no spot in Hormead comparable to it, and indeed 

 very few in the County, especially if we esteem 

 Retirement, as the Ownen for some Generations have 

 done.'*2 



There is no trace of the descent of the reputed 

 manor of BALLONS until the 17th century, when 

 it belonged to the Provost and fellows of King'i 

 College, Cambridge, to whom in 1622 a recom- 

 mendation was made for a lease to Lady Lewin.*' 

 The site of the manor appears to have lain near the 

 church and manor-house of Little Hormead and 

 somewhat to the south-east of them, where the estate 

 known as Ballons is situated at the present day. 



The church of ST. MJRl' consists 

 CHURCH of chancel 24 ft. by l 2 ft. 6 in., nave 

 27 ft. 6 in. by 15 ft. 3 in., south porch 

 and wooden bell-turret on the west end of the nave ; 

 all dimensions are internal. The walls are of flint 

 rubble with stone dressings ; the nave walls are 

 covered with cement ; the roofs are tiled. The 

 chancel inclines slightly to the north. 



The nave dates from about 1 140-50 ; the chancel 

 appears to have been entirely rebuilt early in the 

 1 3th century. In the 1 7th century a buttress was 

 built against the south wall of the nave and in the 

 1 8th century the brick south porch was added. In 

 1888 the church was restored and 

 the chancel shortened by rebuilding 

 the east wall a few feet further west. 



The three lancet windows in the 

 east wall of the chancel are modern. 

 There is no opening in the north 

 wall. In the south wall are two 

 13th-century lancets; they differ 

 slightly in their heights and external 

 widths, and the westernmost, which 

 is probably a little later in date, has 

 its inner jambs much more widely 

 splayed than the other. Between the 

 windows is a modern doorway in 

 cement. In the western end of the 

 wall is a l 5th-century window of two cinquefoiled 

 lights under a squarehead. At the east end of the 

 south wall and partly covered by the modern east 

 wall is a plain pointed piscina with splayed edges ; 

 it may be of 15th-century date. The chancel arch 

 is of I 2th-century date, with round arch considerably 

 flattened. The arch is of two orders, the inner one 

 square, the outer with a large bead. The jambs are 

 square with engaged circular shafts, scalloped capitals 

 and moulded bases. The roof may be of 18th- 

 century date. 



In the north wall of the nave is a 12th-century 

 round-headed window placed high up in the wall. 

 The blocked north doorway is also of i 2th-century 

 date ; it has a round arch with mouldings similar to 

 the chancel arch. The tympanum is of cement ; the 

 jambs have circular shafts with scalloped capitals and 

 moulded bases much decayed. The doorway still 

 retains the original plank door of oak covered with 



Feet 



»* Cal. In J. p.m. 1-9 Edm. II, 252. 



" Ibid. 10-20 EJ-u.: II, 286. 



" See King's Walden in Hitchin Hund. 

 y.C.H. Hera, iii, 35. 



" Feet of F. Herts. 26 Edw. Ill, no. 391. 



" Close, 10 Hen. IV, m. 32. 



'^ Probabljr the name was an older 

 form of Bownest. 



" Feet of F. Herts. HiL 5 Hen. VIII. 



" See list of freeholders cited in 

 Cussans, op. cit. Ediuinstrtc Hund. 9. 



^ Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), cccnxii, 

 157- 



" See Recov. R. Mich. 20 Chas. II, 

 rot. 179 ; East. 7 Geo. I, rot. 23. 



" Ibid. East. 11 Geo. I, rot. 297. 



" Com. Pleas D. Ear. East. 31 Geo. II, 

 m. 12+. 



76 



•» RecoT. R. Hil. 6 & 7 Geo. IV, rot. 

 203. 



*' Ibid. HiL 8 & 9 Geo. IV, rot. 289. 



" Salmon, Hitt. of Hem. 311. 



" Cal. S. P. Dom. 1619-23, p. 409. 

 See Chauncy, op. cit. p. 311. Biggin, 

 which also belonged to the college, had 

 been the endowment of the hospital of 

 St. Mary Biggin in Anstey. 



