Ch. V. 



SUFFOLK. 



121 



existing park at Christ Chttrch,nt3x the 

 county town. 



Near Sudbury, in Babergh Hundred, 

 bordering on the county of Essex, three 

 ancient parks are given by Saxton ; at 

 Chilton, Small Bridge, an ancient Wald- 

 grave seat, and at Gifford Hall, in the 

 parish of Stoke- Neyland, a very old seat 

 of the Mannocks family. A group of 

 three more parks is also marked by him 

 near Lavenham, in the northen part of 

 the same hundred (the ancient inheritance 

 of the Veres Earls of Oxford), and one 

 also at Cavendish on the borders of Essex. 

 At Long Milford, in this neighbourhood, 

 the seat of the Parker family, there were 

 deer within the last twenty years. 



In Risbridge Hundred, Saxton marks 

 three contiguous parks near Straddishall. 

 These appear to have been the parks 

 called Great Park, Estry Park, and Br ox- 

 ley Park, granted to Sir John Cheke, in 

 the third of Edward VI., as parcel of the 

 possessions of Stoke-Clare,^ once belong- 

 ing to Lionel Duke of Clarence. 



One park only is given by Saxton in the 

 hundred of Thingoe, at Chevington in the 

 immediate neighbourhood of Hengrave, 

 the well-known beautiful seat of the Gage 

 family. It appears from ' a Book of Ac- 

 compt of all kinds of deere put into Hen- 

 grave p£e,' that it was finished and 

 licensed at Michaelmas 1587. The new 

 park contained 300 acres, belonging to 

 Sir Thomas Kitson the younger, and was 

 stocked as follows : — 



' Deere of all kinds taken owte of Chev- 



' Kirby's Suffolk Traveller, and ed. p. 250. 



' Mr. Jernegan's Park, Somerley, in the 

 hundred of Lothing. 



= Mr. Crane's Park, Chilton, in the hundred 

 of Babergh. 



ington pKe in the beginning of the last 

 year ix"" xiii. 



' Rec""- and also put into Hengrave pice, 

 viz. : out of Lopham Parke xiiii. ; out of 

 Westrop Parke, xxvi. ; out of Wetherden 

 P&e, iii. Rec*"' as given by Mr. Clement 

 Higham being tame and whight, i. Rec°- 

 out of Mr. Jernegan'' his Pice one whight 

 doe, i. Rec*- out of Mr. Crane' his Pice 

 viii. Remayned in the yere ended as 

 before, Ixx. (cccxvi.) 



' Whereof killed and spent in the House 

 in Chrysmas, ii. Given unto Mr. Clement 

 Higham, ii. Morts with one lost, xi. 

 Killed and sent unto London of bucks, ii. 

 Given unto Mr. Seckford, i. Stolen, i.(xix.) 

 'And so, Remayns of bucks, xviii. 

 Sores, XX. Sorrels, xlviii. Pryketts, xxv. 

 Does and fawnes, ix^'vi. (cciiij"xvii.) 



' In 1712, the extent of both Great and 

 Little Park at Hengrave was 500 acres ; 

 the present park is but 230 acres.' * 



At Little Saxham in this hundred, the 

 seat of the family of Croftes, there was a 

 park in 1638, as appears by a plan of the 

 manor given by Mr. Gage in his admir- 

 able ' History of Thingoe.' The Croftes 

 family had also a manor and park at 

 Bardwell, in the adjoining hundred of 

 Blackbourn, as we find by the will of Sir 

 John Croftes, dated 21 st of January, 1557.* 

 Adjoining Little Saxham is Ickworth. '■Ick- 

 ■worth Park,' says Gage, ' which is well 

 stocked with deer, is very extensive, con- 

 taining with the woods, above 1,900 acres, 

 lying in Ickworth, Chevington, Little- 

 Saxham, and Horningsherth.' " 



■• History and Antiquities of Hengrave, 

 p. 4. 



" Gage's Thingoe, p. 135. 

 " lb. p. 303. 



