EDWINSTREE HUNDRED 



THROCKING 



his brother Jeffrey to bar the entail, as Cary had no 

 children. Jeffrey's refusal gave rise to a quarrel, and, 

 to spite Jeffrey, in 1744 Robert and his son Cary 

 pulled the house down.'^ They were, however, 

 premature, for subsequently Cary married twice and 

 had two sons7^ The foundations of the old house 

 may still be traced in a meadow called the Pightle, 

 which lies to the south of the church. There are 

 the remains of an old brick wall, and a deep depres- 

 sion in the ground appears to denote the position of 

 the cellars. Near by is a moat, which probably 

 ran round the house, but it is very much overgrown 

 and nearly dry in summer-time.'' Traces of a path 

 which led from the house to the south porch of the 

 church are also to be found.'^ The modern house 

 known as Throcking Hall or Hall Farm stands a little 

 to the east of the foundations of the older house. 



Two carucates of land in Hoddenhoo and Throck- 

 ing were granted to the priory of Holy Trinity, 

 London, by Roger Fitz Brian, lord of the manor of 

 Throcking, and confirmed by Henry III in February 

 1226-7.'* ^^ 1287 the prior's men in Throcking 

 and Sandon were charged with the repair of the 

 bridges of Comeybury and Pope's Hall on the one 

 side of the river, the other side being undertaken by 

 his men in Alfladewick.'^ 



Before the Conquest two 

 men of William Bishop of 

 London held land in Throck- 

 ing which was assessed at i ^ 

 hides and was of the king's 

 soke. One virgate of it 

 was in mortgage.'' In 1086 

 these lands were held of the 

 Bishop of London by a 

 tenant Humphrey.'* One 

 virgate of it was still in 

 mortgage. Humphrey paid 

 the king's geld on it, but 

 was not in possession." The 

 Bishop of London's lands in 

 Throcking are mentioned in 



1278, when the bishop claimed that his tenants there 

 and elsewhere should be free from suit of hundred 



can be traced of this holding under Throcking and it 

 was possibly attached to Rumold's manor of Beau- 

 champs in Layston (q.v.). There was another small 

 piece of land, comprising 1 2 acres, which in the time 

 of Edward the Confessor was held by Alvric Scova.*' 

 In 1086 it had been acquired by the Bishop of 

 Bayeux and was held of him by Osbern.*^ This fee 

 also cannot be traced after 1086 and it was probably 

 appurtenant to a larger holding. 



The church of HOLr TRINlTr 

 CHURCH consists of chancel 19 ft. 6 in. by 18 ft., 

 modern north vestry, nave 3 1 ft. by 

 1 8 ft., south porch 8 ft. by 6 ft. 6 in. and west 

 tower 8 ft. 9 in. square ; all the dimensions are 

 internal. The walls are of flint rubble covered with 

 cement and with stone dressings. The upper half 

 of the tower is of red brick. The roofs, which are 

 continuous over chancel and nave, are slated. 



The lower half of the tower is the earliest part of 

 the building and dates from early in the 13th cen- 

 tury. The chancel and nave appear to have been 

 rebuilt early in the 15th century, though there is a 

 window of earlier date in the chancel. The south 

 porch belongs to the latter part of the century ; the 

 upper half of the west tower bears the date 1660. 



^=''=-<^ 



Nave Giancel 



'IL^^E^ 



a'..ViJll 



OrganCh*mber f 



AND T43TRT ^ 



^Esa » ■! 



T3-Century 

 I4-Century 

 1 5" Century 



I ESU Modern 



10 5 o 



10 



20 



II" I II '"^ 



30 



=3 



Scale of Feet 



Plan of Throcking Church 



church rc- 



The north vestry was added and the 

 roofed and restored in the 1 9th century, 

 court,- but no further record of them occurs after The east window of the chancel is of th^ee cinque 



thatite. It is possible that part of the bishop's foiled lights w.th tracery ""d".; f ^l""^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ 

 lands had been granted to the family of Vabadun. - 1^=.= h-" restored m parts ; it is of 15th-century 



for in 1 21 7-1 8 Richard de Vabadun had rights over 

 half the advowson of Throcking, which he conveyed 

 to Roger Fitz Brian, lord of the manor of Throck- 

 ing.*! -phe lands of the Vabaduns were also appa- 

 rently acquired by the Fitz Brians, for in the early 

 14th century part of the manor of Throcking was 

 known as the fee of Vabadun in distinction to the fee 

 ofChallers.82 



Besides the lands of the Bishop of London and 

 Hardwin de Scales, there were two other small hold- 

 ings in Throcking in 1086. One of these comprised 

 18 acres. It had been held of Archbishop Stigand 

 by Alric.*' At the Norman Conquest it was added 

 to the possessions of Count Eustace of Boulogne, of 

 whom it was held by Rumold.*^ Nothing further 



it has been restored in parts; it is of 15th-century 

 date. In the north wall is a doorway of the same 

 date, now opening into the modern vestry and organ 

 chamber. The arch is four-centred and it and the 

 jamb are splayed ; on the vestry side is a moulded 

 label. Adjoining the doorway is a modern stone 

 traceried opening to the organ chamber. In the 

 south wall is a single narrow light, apparently a 

 14th-century window reset; the pointed head is 

 blocked and 15th-century tracery has been mserted 

 beneath it. At the east end of the wall is a I5«- 

 century piscina with a four-centred moulded and 

 cusped arch under a square head and moulded label ; 

 it contains a stone credence shelf. The sill is modern. 

 There is no chancel arch, a single step being the only 

 division between chancel and nave. 



" Cussans, Hist, of Herts. Edwimtree 

 Hund. 109. 



" Clutterbuck, op. cit. iii, 463. 



" East Herts. Arch. Soc. Tram, iii, 154. 



'< Custans, Hist, of Herts. Edwimtree 

 Hund, 109. 



" Dugdale, Mon. vi, 153 i see above. 

 ™ Assize R. 325, m. 3od. 

 " f^.C.H, Herts, i, 305. 



'8 Ibid. 



'9 Ibid. 



8» Plac. de Quo fTarr. (Rec. Com.), zqo. 



113 



81 Feet of F. Herts. 2 Hen. Ill, no. 2. 



SI De Banco R. 273, m. 7S d. 



83 F.C.H. Herts, i, 32x4- 



8< Ibid. 



8* Ibid. JioA. 



8«Ibid. 



J5 



