FLITT HUNDRED 



Act of Edward VI. At the date of its dissolution 

 Sir Henry Grey and Edward Daniell were the patrons, 

 and presented the chantry priest, at that time Hugh 

 Maney, who had not visited Silsoe for thirty years, 

 but lived in Cheshire. The service was conducted by 

 another priest, found by the vicar of Flitton, and 

 paid out of the possessions of Elstow Abbey. It 

 was stated that the chantry was of no use, although a 

 mile distant from the church of Flitton, and that no 

 goods or ornaments belonged to it."' The dissolved 

 chantry in 1 5 5 1 was bestowed upon Edward Warner 

 and John Goswood, to be held in free socage as of the 

 king's manor of Eye,"" but by 1573 it was in the 

 possession of the de Grey family, and was held by 

 them as late as 1623."° The place of the chapel was 

 taken by a chapel of ease built for the use of Wrest 

 House and the tenants : this latter had to be pulled 

 down in 1 83 1 as unsafe, when an addition was being 

 made to the steeple, and the present church of 

 St. James was erected on the site.'*' The vicarage is 

 in the gift of Lord Lucas and Dingwall. 



There is a Wesleyan chapel at Greenfield. 



The following charities are admin- 

 CHARITIES istered under an order of the Charity 

 Commissioners of 1898, namely : — 



Charity of William Daniel, £,izi 15/. lid. consols, 

 income to be laid out in bread in the proportion of 

 fths to poor of Flitton, .and f ths to poor of Silsoe. 



Mr. Cox's gift of ^(^20 upon similar trusts, repre- 

 sented by £z\ 8/. I id. consols. 



Earl of Kent's gift of ;£i70 for education of poor 

 children of Flitton and Silsoe in the proportion of 

 fths and -fths respectively. The trust fund now 

 consists of j^2o8 1 5/. 3^. consols. 



UPPER 

 GRAVENHURST 



Henry Sharp's Legacy of ^f 100 consols for repair 

 of monument, surplus income for poor of Flitton in 

 bread in January. A sum of zs. 6d. is retained 

 annually for repair of monument. 



The Rev. John Robinson, vicar of Flitton, who 

 died in 1817, by his will devised certain real estate 

 for poor of Flitton. The demise being void in 

 mortmain, the testator's heiress, Mrs. Godwin, set 

 aside ;£ioo consols in furtherance of his charitable 

 design, for poor of Flitton and hamlet of Greenfield, 

 the dividends to be distributed in bread in the parish 

 church yearly on the second Sunday in January. 



The several sums of stock are held by the official 

 trustees, and the dividends are applied in accordance 

 with the trusts of the charities respectively. 



The Town Lands consist of land and two cottages 

 and gardens allotted on the inclosure in lieu of certain 

 pieces of open-field land, held immemorially for the re- 

 pair of the church. The income amounts to about 

 £z'i, which is applied in aid of the church expenses. 



The Turf Lands, 1 3 acres, were set apart on the 

 inclosure for digging turf for firing for the poor, andi 

 by the Inclosure Act of 49 Geo. Ill, it was directed 

 that the rent or herbage thereof should be laid out 

 in the purchase of more fuel for the poor. The 

 land is let to labourers in shares, and produces about 

 j^io a year, which is distributed in coal equally be- 

 tween Flittou and Silsoe, under the title of Moor Coal. 



Silsoe Church Estate consists of cottages and 15 

 acres or thereabouts, awarded on the inclosure in lieu 

 of open-field lands held immemorially for the repair 

 of the chapel at Silsoe. The net income is about 

 jf 30 a year, which is applied in defraying the expenses 

 in connexion with the church. 



UPPER GRAVENHURST 



Cravenherst (xi-xiii cents.). 



Upper and Lower Gravenhurst, which were for- 

 merly two parishes, were united in 1888. Together 

 they cover an area of 1,695 acres, of which 665 are 

 arable land, 47 7^ permanent grass, and 1 36 J woods 

 and plantations.' The soil is strong clay, with a sub- 

 soil of gault, and the chief crops are wheat, oats, barley, 

 peas, and beans. The ground falls from the north to 

 the south ; in the north-west it reaches 272 ft. above 

 ordnance datum, while the lowest part of the parish, 

 155 ft., is situated outside Lower Gravenhurst village. 



The upper village is built upon irregular ground 

 on a prominent piece of land about zoo ft. above 

 ordnance datum, with a steep fall to the south. The 

 church is in the middle of the village close to the 

 point where a road running north-west from Shilling- 

 ton meets the village street. 



With the exception of Wrest Park the country is of 

 open character, and mostly occupied by fields of large 

 area. There are many springs, more or less chaly- 

 beate, in the parish. The village is equidistant from 

 the Bedford and Luton main road to the south-west, 

 and from Shefford town to the north-east, each being 

 about three miles away. 



i»8 Chant. Cert. Beds, i. No. 33 ; ibid. 

 2, No. 5 ; ibid. 4, No. 36. 



M» Pat. 3 Edw. VI, pt. 2, m. 7. 



"» Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), vol. 163, 

 No. 8 ; ibid. (Ser. 2), vol. 349, No. 172 ; 

 ibid. (Ser. 2), vol. 476, No. 144. 



The manor of GREAT OR UPPER 

 MANORS GRAVENHURST, otherwise TEJTELS- 

 BURT, originated in the land held by 

 the family of Tivill under Ramsey Abbey in Upper 

 Gravenhurst. The overlordship continued vested in 

 the abbey until 1266, when the abbot purchased the 

 ownership in fee of Ralph Tivill, by which act the 

 over- and under-lordships became merged. It so con- 

 tinued till the Dissolution, when the crown took the 

 place of the abbey.' 



Ralph de Tivill was holding land in the parish as 

 early as 1212, when he acquired several acres from 

 Joscelin de Stivecle.' He was also a tenant of the 

 abbey of Ramsey, holding one-third of a hide from 

 the abbey in the early part of the thirteenth century, 

 and again in 1255;' this land the abbey took into its 

 own keeping in 1264.' These lands were augmented 

 by a virgate acquired by Ralph from Miles de Ment- 

 more in 1 2 3 z at a yearly rent of a load of wheat and 

 a load of barley.' In 1234 Ralph was granted a tene- 

 ment in Gravenhurst by his uncle Hugh de Tivill.' 

 These various lands were apparently sold under the 

 name of the manor of Gravenhurst to the abbey of 

 Ramsey in 1266 for 250 marks,' while lands held 



m From information supplied by Mr. 

 Ransom. ^ Inf. from Bd.of Agric.(i905). 



' The name Tewelsbuiy was first 

 applied to the manor in 1600 (Feet of F. 

 Div. Cos. Trin. 43 Eliz.); Anct. Deeds, 

 P.R.O. A. 128, B. 3869; Chan. Inq. p.m. 

 vol. 476, No. 144. 



» Feet of F. Beds. 14 John, No. 8. 

 ■• Cartul. Mon. Ramesei. (Rolls Ser.), i, 

 277, 460. 



* Anct. D. (P.R.O.), B. 3872. 



8 Feet of F. Beds. 16 Hen. Ill, No. 9. 



' Excerpta e Rot. Fin. i, 257. 



» Anct. D. (P.R.O.), A. 128, B. 3869. 



333 



