A HISTORY OF BEDFORDSHIRE 



The altar table is in carved oak of Renaissance style 

 bought in London. 



The altar cloth and cushions were made from the 

 garter robe of one of the dukes of Richmond, and 

 the foot-cloth is part of the carpet formerly in St. 

 George's Chapel, Windsor. 



The pulpit, which stands at the west end of the 

 nave, came from St. Andrew's Church, Antwerp, and 

 is an exceedingly fine specimen, dated 1559. It is 

 hexagonal, each side inclosing a carved panel, on four 

 of which are figures of the Evangelists. 



Under the organ loft, which is in the west tower, 

 are large oak folding doors from Louvain ; and the 

 rail of the loft itself belongs to the same series as that 

 now in the chancel brought from Mechlin. 



The pulpit cushion is made from part of the pall 

 of George III. 



The pews in the nave are mostly of modern deal, 

 but there are a few mediaeval oak benches. At the 

 east end of the north aisle is the Cockayne pew, 

 screened off by woodwork from the church of St. 

 Bavon, Ghent. 



The font is octagonal, and was originally quite 

 plain, but has been carved with quatrefoils in modern 

 times. It dates from the fifteenth century. It 

 formerly contained a dish of Italian majolica, which 

 was used at christenings. 



The oldest monument in the church is an incised 

 slab at the west end of the church. It is of early 

 fourteenth-century date, with a floreate cross and 

 indents for two shields above it. The marginal 

 inscription runs — 



DAME DE BRIEN CIST ICI DIEU DE SALME EIT MERCI 



AMEN. 



In the nave are three slabs with brasses, all to 

 members of the Cockayne family, the western- 

 most dated 1527, and showing the figure of William 

 ' Cokyn ' with his two wives and ten children. The 

 next, which is of the fifteenth century, shows a knight 

 and his lady with three sons and two daughters. 

 This is probably the gravestone of John Cockayne, 

 1492, but the figure of the man is of earlier date, c. 

 1430. To the east of it is the brass of Edward 



Cockayne and his wife Elizabeth, 1525, with eleven 

 sons and four daughters. On this are the arms of 

 Cockayne impaling a cheveron between three fetter- 

 locks. 



In the south aisle is the large alabaster monument 

 of Sir Patrick Hume, 1627, blocking the south door- 

 way. 



There was formerly in the church the monument 

 of Sir John Cockayne, formerly Lord Chief Baron 

 of the Exchequei, who died in 1427, but it has been 

 entirely removed. 



There are two bells by Thomas Mears, 1828. 



The plate comprises a cup with cover paten, flagon 

 and standing paten of 1773, given by Francis 

 Cockayne Cust. 



The registers begin in 1 70 1. 



There is no mention of this church 

 JDVOWSON in the Survey, but it first appears as 

 one of the fourteen churches which 

 formed part of the original endowment of Newnham 

 Priory, founded by Simon Beauchamp in 1166." 

 The grant was confirmed by Adam de Port in 1 197," 

 and again by William de Port about 1277." In 

 1327 the prior and convent received licence to 

 impropriate this church whose advowson they held in 

 pure and perpetual alms of the barony of Bedford." 

 At the Dissolution the rectory of Hatley Port, which 

 was worth ^^4 4^.,*' became crown property, and 

 in 1564 W.1S granted to Thomas Reeve." Between 

 this date and 1595 it was transferred to John 

 Cockayne," who was the lord of Cockayne Hatley 

 manor, and since then the living, which is a 

 rectory, has remained in the gift of the lords of 

 that manor." 



Lady Hume, widow of Sir Patrick 

 CHj^RITIES Hume, who died in 1627, as appeared 

 from an old terrier, charged certain 

 lands in the parish with an annual payment of £1 

 for the uses following, namely — 20/. to the rector 

 for two sermons annually, at Lady Day and Michael- 

 mas ; 20/. yearly to the poor ; and 20/. yearly to the 

 repairs of the church. These payments are made by 

 F. G. Lomax, esq., of Cockayne Hatley Hall, and 

 duly applied. 



DUNTON WITH MILLO 



Daintone (xi cent.) ; Dontone (xiv cent.) ; Doun- 

 ton, Donton (xv cent.) ; Melnho, Milneho (xi-xviii 

 cent.). 



The parish of Dunton covers 2,649^ acres, and is 

 bounded on the south-east by Cambridgeshire and 

 Hertfordshire, from which it is separated by the River 

 Rhee. The slope of the land is to the north-east ; 

 the highest point attained is 183 ft., the lowest 104 ft. 

 above the ordnance datum. Of the acreage, 1,854^ is 

 arable land, 263J permanent grass, and 2 woods and 

 plantations.' The soil is greensand and strong clay, 

 the subsoil clay. No railway line passes through the 

 parish, the nearest station being Biggleswade, 3 

 miles off on the Great Northern Railway. The 



parish, which includes Dunton village and Millo and 

 Newton hamlets, is traversed by two main roads, one 

 in the west of the parish, running from north to 

 south, the second crossing the other, running from 

 east to west through the centre of the parish. 



The village and hamlets are in the western and 

 central districts, the remainder is devoted to agri- 

 culture. The road from Edworth, which enters 

 Dunton from the south, is marked at first by a sharp 

 rise in the ground, which shortly after begins to 

 slope gradually downward, and continues to do so 

 until it reaches the parish boundary. Some distance 

 off the road on the east lies Millowbury Farm, and 

 a little further on the entrance to the hamlet of 



«J F.C.H. Beds, i, 380; Dugdale, 

 Mon. vi, 373. 



88 Feet of F. Bed8. 9 Ric, I, m. 2 ; 

 Harl. MSS. 3656, fol. 217. 



8^ Ibid. The value of the church in 



1291 was ;^io, of which £z 135. 4</. was 

 the pension of the prior of Newnham ; 

 Pope Nkh. Tax. (Rec. Com.), 35*. 



*" Inq. a.q.d. file 172, No. 6. 



" Valor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), iv, 187. 



218 



■" Pat. 6 Eliz. pt. 3, m. lo. 

 <' Feet of F. Div. Cos. Trin. 37 Eliz. 

 ** Cf. History of Cockayne Hatley 

 manor above ; Inst. Bks. (P.R.O.) 



^ Statistics from the Bd, of Agric, 1905. 



