A HISTORY OF BEDFORDSHIRE 



was given to the abbey in 1 1 99."' In consequence 

 of dissensions between the bishop of Lincoln and the 

 abbot a deed of composition was executed in 1 2 19 

 whereby a perpetual vicarage was established in 

 Luton.'" In 1 291 the value of the church was 

 £66 1 3/. 41/.*" St. Albans continued to present to 

 Luton until the Dissolution, when the advowson 

 became crown property and was granted in 1623 to 

 Sir Robert Napier, lord of Luton manor,"' and 

 followed the same descent as that manor until 1845, 

 when it passed by purchase from the marquess of 

 Bute to Mr. Sykes*" who in 1857 sold it to 

 Dr. Peile. In 1862 it was purchased by Mr. O'Neill, 

 who presented himself, and at his death in 1896 the 

 perpetual advowson was finally purchased by the 

 Peache trustees who exercise the right at the present 

 day."" The rectorial tithes of Luton were worth 

 j^92 in 1544 and were payable in Luton, Chaul End, 

 New Mile End, Leagrave, Limbury, Biscott, Bramble- 

 hanger, Woodcroft and Stopsley."' 



The tithes of Stopsley were granted in 1 5 5 5 to 

 Sir Thomas Pope who bestowed them on Trinity 

 College, Oxford ; in 1642 these tithes were rented at 

 j^zoo, in 1844 at j^820.*" In 1575 Edward 

 Wingate purchased the tithes of Chaul End, New 

 Mile End, West Hyde, East Hyde, Leagrave, 

 Bramblehanger, Woodcroft, Limbury and Biscott. 

 The tithes of the two latter his family retained 

 until the sale of the manors to Mr. Crawley in 

 1724.*'' 



In 1623 the tithes of Chiltern Green went to Sir 

 Robert Napier,"' and in 1638 when his son's 

 property was sequestered, the tithes are spoken of, 

 not as those of Chiltern Green, but as of East and 

 West Hyde, in the former of which h.imlets Chiltern 

 Green was situated. Eventually, the remainder of the 

 rectorial tithes were broken up into fragments, and 

 either became merged in the rent of the land, or 

 are found in the award of 1844 as belonging to 'the 

 rightful owners and impropriators of the rectorial 

 tithes.'"' 



Luton now includes the following ecclesiastical 

 parishes with their churches : — Christ Church, formed 

 in 1 861, the church in the gift of the bishop of Ely ; 

 St. Matthew's Hightown, formed in 1877, the church 

 in the gift of the Church Patronage Society ; 

 St. Saviour's parish formed from Christ Church in 

 1892, the church in the gift of the bishop of Ely ; 

 St. Paul's parish formed in 1895 from St. Mary's 

 Luton, the church in the gift of the Peache trustees. 

 Luton also contains one Roman Catholic church, 

 three Baptist chapels, seven Wesleyan chapels, five 

 Primitive Methodist, a Friends' Meeting house, two 

 Congregational chapels, and a Salvation Army barracks. 

 In Park Street Baptist Chapel a chair, said to be that 

 of John Bunyan, is preserved. 



The church of the Holy Trinity, Hyde, was built 



by public subscription in 1840-1. It is of brick, in 

 twelfth-century style, consisting of chancel, nave, porch 

 and a small western tower. The register dates from 

 1841. The living is a vicarage in the gift of 

 Mr. Lionel Ames of Ayot St. Lawrence. 



The church of St. Thomas, Stopsley, consecrated in 

 1862, is of red brick in thirteenth-century style, con- 

 sisting of chancel, nave, and turret containing one bell. 

 The register dates from 1863. The living is a vicarage 

 in the gift of the bishop of Ely. The Wesleyans have 

 a chapel at Stopsley, and the Baptists a mission chapel 

 in connexion with Park Street, Luton. 



The church of Holy Trinity, Biscott, built in 1867, 

 has chancel, nave, north transept, north porch, organ 

 chamber on south,*and western bell-cote containing two 

 bells. The living is a vicarage in the gift of Mr. Francis 

 Crawley, who holds Biscott manor. The Baptists 

 have in Limbury a small mission chapel in connexion 

 with Park Street, Luton, and in Leagrave are Primi- 

 tive Methodist and Wesleyan chapels. 



In 1467 Thomas bishop of Lincoln, John Rother- 

 ham, John Acworth and others obtained a licence 

 to found a fraternity or gild of the Holy Trinity 

 within the parish church of Luton, consisting of a 

 master, two wardens, and brethren and sisters, and 

 also a chantry of two chaplains to celebrate divine 

 service for the souls of King Edward and his consort 

 Elizabeth, and the said brethren and sisters.'" At 

 the time of its dissolution in 1547 the brotherhood 

 was worth £zi 4J. lid.,"' and in 1549 ^^^ \^nd% 

 which belonged to it were granted to Ralph Burgh 

 and Robert Beverly."* 



The schools. See above, article on 

 CHJRITIES 'Schools.' 



In 1673 Cornelius Bigland, by 

 will, gave £6 a year for educational purposes, now 

 paid out of cottages in Adelaide Terrace, and two 

 shops in George Street belonging to Mr. R. G. 

 Sibley. 



In 1695 Roger Gillingham, by will, gave ^^lo a 

 year payable out of his manor of Shillington, now 

 belonging to Mrs. Eyre, for a schoolmaster. 



In 1 736 Thomas Long, by will, left X'.ooo income 

 in part for a schoolmaster and in part for apprenticing. 

 The legacy is now represented by j^949 9/. ^. con- 

 sols with the official trustees, producing an annual 

 income of ^23 14'- 8</. 



By a scheme of the Board of Education of 

 23 December, 1905, these charities constitute a fund 

 for Exhibitions of ^^5 a year, tenable at a secondary 

 school or technical institutions, and for Bursaries 

 °f jCS a ye*r for pupil teachers in public elementary 

 schools, or of j^io a year tenable at training colleges. 



In 1 73 1 John Richards, by will, devised a messuage 

 m Luton for education, and for providing a twopenny 

 loaf every Sunday morning for six poor widows. 

 The trust property now consists of a shop and premises 



■■" Cart. Antiq. B. i. 



«« Matt. Paris, Chnn. Maj. (Roll> Ser.), 

 iii, 44 ; Gesta Abbat. (Rolls Ser.), i, 275. 

 Luton vicarage was worth ^16, as opposed 

 to five marks, the usual value of a vicarage, 

 but in addition to the Synodalia, the vicar 

 had also to pay the archdeacon's fee. 



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



"8 Cal. of S.P. Dom. 1623-5, P- 

 112. 



■"'Grar. Mag. xxiii, 82. 



■""> Cobbe, Hist, of Luton Church, 250- 

 262. 



«llbid. 175. See also Cobbe for the 

 whole question of tithes. 



■•""Ibid. Add. MSS. 5494; Lysons, 

 Mag. Brit, i, 113. 



■"^Crawley Papers (uncalendared). 

 Biscott tithes were given byT. S. Crawley 

 as an endowment for the church of Biscott 

 cum Limbury. 



"^Ca/. ofS.P. Dom. 1623-5, P- "2. 



'2' Cobbe, H«f. of Luton Church, 178 ; 

 Crawley Papers, No. 133; Feet of F. 

 Beds. Mich. 27 Chas. II ; East. 32 Chas. 

 II;East. 35Chas. II ; Mich. 10 Geo. Ill ; 



374 



Trin. 28 Geo. III. ; Div. Cos. Mich. 8 

 Will. III. *^ Cal of Fat. 1467-77, p. 446. 



«7 Chant. Certs. (Beds.), i, Nos. 30, 

 31; 4, No. 28. 



'»»Pat. 2 Edw. VI, pt. 4. The 

 register of the gild or fraternity of the 

 Holy Trinity in the church of Luton is a 

 manuscript which extends from 1475 to 

 1546 in the possession of the mar- 

 quess of Bute. This manuscript, together 

 with the account of the gild from 15:6 

 to 1547, has been edited by Mr. Gough, 

 and is in process of publication. 



