FLITT HUNDRED 



CLOPHILL 



Charnock. Argent 

 a bend sable 'with three 

 crosslets argent thereon. 



of the abbey of St. Albans until the Dissolution, when 

 it was taken into the hand of the king. Edward 

 VI in 1553 bestowed it upon Sir William Fitz- 

 william and his wife Joan." The former died in 

 1558 and his wife shortly afterwards, when the 

 manor was divided among their four daughters, 

 Mabel wife of Thomas Browne, 

 Katherine wife of Christopher 

 Viscount Gormanston, Eliza- 

 beth wife of Francis Jermye, 

 ■and Elizabeth wife of Innocent 

 Rede.*' Mabel Browne died 

 in 1 564, and her son Matthew 

 sold his share in the manor in 

 1585 to Richard Charnock,™ 

 who had already acquired the 

 remaining parts from the three 

 other daughters of Sir William 

 Fitzwilliam.*' 



Richard Charnock left the 

 manor to his son John,** and the latter's son Robert, who 

 was knighted in 161 9, succeeded his father, and was in 

 possession in 1639*' and died in 1670, leaving a son, 

 St. John, who had been created a baronet in 1 66 1 and 

 died in 1680. He was succeeded by his youngest son 

 and heir, Sir Villiers Charnock (the elder sons having 

 died without issue in their father's lifetime), who died 

 in 1694, and the manor passed through his son Sir 

 Pynsent, who died in 1734, to Sir Boteler Charnock, 

 the latter's son, who died in 1756 without issue.'" 

 His brother and heir. Sir Villiers, probably sold the 

 manor to Lady Amabel Grey, who was holding it in 

 177Z," since which date it has been held by the 

 de Greys, earls of Kent, jointly with the manor of 

 Clophill and Cainhoe, the manorial rights at the 

 present day being vested in their descendant Lord 

 Lucas and Dingwall. 



Another manor in Clophill, which at the beginning 

 of the sixteenth century acquired the name of the 

 MJNOR OF CLOPHILL HALL, can be traced back 

 to a grant of land made in 1354 by Joan the widow 

 of Roger Dakeney to Gerard de Braybrook and his 

 wife Isabella, which consisted of 4 acres of meadow, 

 and 250 acres of wood." Gerard died in 1359, and was 

 succeeded by his son, another Gerard." The manor 

 then probably followed the same descent as that of 

 Clifton (q. v.), descending from Sir William Babington 

 to Sir John Fisher, for in 15 10 Sir John Fisher died 

 seised of it and was succeeded by his son Michael." 

 On Michael's death in 1548 the manor passed to his 

 granddaughter Agnes, who by her marriage with Oliver 

 St. John brought it to that family," in which it re- 

 mained until 1598, when Lord Oliver St. John of 



Bletsoe alienated it to Thomas Anscell." The latter 

 conveyed it to Richard Charnock in 1 605 " and it 

 was held by the Charnock family together with Bed- 

 low manor until 1651 " when it was sold to James 

 Beverley" from whom it was bought in 1656 by 

 Lord Bruce.™ It was probably conveyed by the 

 latter to the de Greys, earls of Kent, for Lady Amabel 

 Grey was in possession in 1772.'' The subsequent 

 history of the manor is identical with that of Cainhoe 

 and Bedlow and is held jointly with them at the pre- 

 sent day by Lord Lucas and Dingwall. 



Certain rights and privileges were at different times 

 granted to the lords of the manors in this parish. 

 In 1293 the prior and convent of Beaulieu were 

 granted free warren in their demesne lands in Clop- 

 hill by Edward I,'* and in 1330 this charter was pro- 

 duced in justification of their claim.** In the latter year 

 the descendants of the Albinis of Cainhoe also claimed 

 free warren in Clophill and Cainhoe as from time im- 

 memorial."* View of frankpledge was claimed by the 

 priory of Beaulieu in 1287 "' and again in 1 330 in the 

 manor of Bedlow '° and in 1600*' and 1656*? the Char- 

 nocks' had view of frankpledge in the manor of Bedlow, 

 at which latter date a court baron was also held. In 1 298 

 the prior of Beaulieu was granted a fair in the manor 

 of Bedlow to last for three days every year at the feast of 

 St. James,'' and in 1330 when his claim was contested 

 he produced this charter.™ The abbot of St. Albans 

 also enjoyed the liberties of infangentheof, goods and 

 chattels of felons, waifs and strays." The lords of 

 the manor of Clophill and Cainhoe enjoyed free 

 fishing at Clophill: in 1376 John Dakeney died 

 seised of this right"' and it was referred to in 

 1 600, when Richard Charnock possessed a free fishery 

 in Clophill and Bedlow."' 



There was a mill on the manor of Cainhoe at the 

 time of the Domesday Survey worth 6/."* This mill 

 descended with the manor and by 1272 there were 

 two water-mills,"' the rights to which were divided 

 in the same way as the manor ; these were nearly 

 destroyed in 1330,"° and in 1376 there is mention 

 of only one mill"' which passed with the manor 

 to the de Greys and was rented in 1445 by Lord 

 Edward Grey de Ruthyn at 53/. 4^."' In 15 14 

 Richard earl of Kent demised the mill called ' Clop- 

 hyll Myll ' with the dam and pytell belonging to 

 William Hewyns, baker of Ampthill."" In 1553 the 

 mill was granted to Andrew Christendome at a rent 

 of 60/. for the term of twenty-one years, and in 1558 

 the reversion was granted to Robert Power for ninety- 

 two years.'™ He sold the reversion to Henry and 

 George Fisher and the latter sold it to Thomas New- 

 digate who was in possession in 1572.'°' In 161 1 



«< Pat. 7 Edw. VI, pt. 2, m. 20. 



w Fine R. 27 Eliz. pt. 2, No. 13. 



86 Feet of F. Beds. East. 27 Eliz. 



Wlbid. Mich. 13 Eliz.; Add. Chart. 

 9271, B.M. i Pat. 28 Eliz. pt. ii,m. 32. 



«8 Harl. Soc. Publ. xix, 92 ; Feet of F. 

 Beds. Mich. 15 Jas. I. The extent of the 

 manor in the sixteenth and seventeenth 

 centuries was 20 messuages, 2Q tofts, i 

 water-mill, i dovecote, 500 acres land, 500 

 acres meadow, 500 acres pasture, 200 acres 

 wood and 100 acres of heath (Pat. 27 

 Eliz. pt. 9, m. 19). 



«» Feet of F. Beds. Mich. 15 Chas. I. 



T> G.E.C. Baronetage, iii, 201 ; Burke, 

 Extinct and Dormant Baronetage, 



71 Recov. R. Trin. 12 Geo. Ill, rot. 

 247. 



'2 Harl. Chart. 49. B. 48 ; Abbre-v. Rot, 

 Orig. (Rec. Com.), ii, 235. 



r^Inq. a.q.d. file 3 1 5, No. g. This 

 manor was held of the king for ,j^ of a 

 knight's fee and was worth ys, ^d, yearly, 



?■' Chan. Inq. p. m. (Ser. 2), vol. 25, No. 

 157. 75 Ibid. (Ser. 2), vol. 88, No. 7. 



76 Feet, of F. Beds. Mich. 40 & 41 Eliz, 



7' Ibid. Mich. 3 Jas. I, 



78 Ibid. Mich. 15 Jas. I; ibid. Trin, 

 20 Jas. I ; Recov. R. Trin. 20 Jas. I ; ibid. 

 Mich. 1 5 Chas. I ; Feet, of F. Beds. Mich. 

 1641; Recov. R. Trin. 24 Chas. I, rot. 58. 



79 Feet of F. Beds. Mich. 1651. 



8«Ibid. Hil. 1656. 



SI Recov. R. Trin. 12 Geo. III. rot, 247. 



s^Chait. R. 22 Edw. I, pt. i. 



^Plac de Quo War. (Rec. Com.), 26. 



8^ Ibid. 67, esjbid. 8. 



86 Ibid. 26, 



8' Feet, of F. Beds. Trin. 42 Eliz. 

 88 Ibid. East, 1656. 

 83 Chart. R. 22 Edw. I, pt. i. 

 ""P/ac. deQuo War. (Rec. Com.), 26. 

 "llbid. 15. 



'2 Chan. Inq. p.m. 49 Edw. III. pt.i.No. 

 31. "'Feet, of F.Beds. Trin. 42 Eliz, 



»< V.C.H. Beds, i, 244<j. 

 "^ Chan. Inq. p.m. \ Edw. I, No. 10. 

 "6 Ibid. 4 Edw. Ill (ist nos.), No. 



17- 



"7 Ibid. 49 Edw. Ill, pt. I, No. 31. 



"8 Mins. Acts. bdle. 1 1 1 9, No. 4, 



»"Anct. D. (P.R.O.), C. 1698, 



1™ Pat. I Eliz. pt. 9, m. 27. 



l»l Chan. Proc. Eliz. N. n. i. No. 10. 



