A HISTORY OF BEDFORDSHIRE 



the inscription being hidden. The font, on the south 

 side of the nave, is modern. 



There is one bell cast by William Mears in 1800. 



The church plate consists of a communion cup and 

 paten and chalice of 1700, a small salver of 1808, and 

 a modern plated flagon. 



The first book of the registers contains the baptisms 

 from 1553, and marriages and burials from 1 5 58, all 

 entries running to 1653, from which date they are 

 continued in the second book to 1685. The third 

 book begins in 1706, and the fourth is the printed 

 marriage register from 1 754. 



Dunstable Priory held the advow- 

 JDVOWSON son and rectory of Pulloxhill until 

 the Dissolution, but shortly after that 

 date the rectory became divided, part following a 

 descent analagous to that of the advowson, while the 

 other part had a different history, and finally lapsed 

 among the many alienations of tithes which took 

 place in the seventeenth century. Pulloxhill Church 

 appears to have been given to Dunstable Priory in 

 the twelfth century together with Harlington Church 

 by John and William Pyrot," from which date it 

 continued in the possession of the priory, although its 

 tenure was marked by a series of disputes, in all of 

 which the priory was successful. The first of these 

 took place in the twelfth century between the priory 

 and Elstow Abbey, and it was settled by the bishop of 

 Ely by the mandate of Alexander III."" In 12 10 

 a moiety of the church was disputed with Henry 

 Buniun.'"' In 1204 a vicarage was ordained in 

 Pulloxhill Church by William bishop of Lincoln,'"' 

 and the church was dedicated in honour of 

 St. James in 1220 by Robert, bishop of Lismore.'"' 

 The priory was not left long in undisturbed possession, 

 for, in 1262, William Pyrot contested the claim of 

 the abbot to the advowson. Ralf Pyrot had presented 

 Henry de Borham to the church against the will of 

 the priory, and William maintained that the abbey 

 had no claim to the presentation except by the gift of 

 John Pyrot his grandfather, who claimed it by right 

 of his wife ; '" he was unable however to despoil the 

 priory. In 129 1, the church of Pulloxhill was 

 assessed at £,^ 6s. 8</.,'°' and in 1535 the vicarage was 

 assessed at ^9 10/."" At the Dissolution the church 

 and rectory, which was then worth £zi 6s. SJ.,"" 

 were taken into the hand of the king, and were 

 granted first to Thomas Wye, and afterwards, in 1 549, 

 to James Rogers and Richard Veale.'"' In the fol- 

 lowing year, 1550, a dispute between Thomas Kent 

 and John Robbins, in which Thomas Kent declared 

 that the parsonage had been leased to his father by 

 Dunstable Priory,"' was settled in favour of John 

 Robbins, who was owner of the advowson in 1554."° 

 About this date also the rectory was involved in a 

 dispute between John Robbins, Christian Barber, 

 ind the master and fellows of Trinity Hall, Cam- 



bridge, the latter alleging that John Robbins had sold 

 them the rectory and tithes, while Christian declared 

 that they had been sold by John Robbins in 1553 to 

 her late husband William Barber for fifteen years, and 

 that the term had not then expired."' The matter 

 was evidently settled by a compromise, for Christian 

 obtained a moiety of the rectory, which remained in 

 the Barber family for many years, following a descent 

 distinct from that of the advowson. The other moiety, 

 instead of remaining in the possession of Trinity Hall, 

 passed by some means, together with the advowson, 

 into the hands of John Page, who was holding them 

 in 1605."' Richard Page, evidently his son, in 

 161 2 made a settlement of the advowson and the 

 moiety of the rectory,'" and in 1623 conveyed the 

 reversions to William, afterwards Sir William Briers,"* 

 who entered into possession on the death of John 

 Page in the following year.'" The advowson and 

 this moiety of the rectory then followed the same 

 descent as the manors of Pulloxhill and Greenfield 

 (q.v.), passing from Sir John Norton to his relations, 

 the Coppins of Markyate, Hertfordshire, who held 

 them from 1686 to 1710;"* between 1710 and 

 1 7 1 6 they were probably sold by John Coppin to the 

 duke of Kent, who was patron at the latter date."' 

 They have since been vested in the family of the 

 de Greys, the Hon. Philip Yorke, who married the 

 duke's daughter, being patron in 1742 and 1786 ;'" 

 in 1792 Lady Grey presented to the church, and in 

 1799 Lady Amabel Grey, Baroness Lucas, her 

 daughter."' The advowson has since then de- 

 scended to Lord Lucas and Dingwall, the present 

 patron.'" 



The other moiety of the rectory which was obtained 

 by Christian Barber about the middle of the sixteenth 

 century remained in the possession of the Barber 

 family for over a hundred years."' In 1665 it was 

 alienated to Thomas Neale by Thomas Barber and 

 his wife Anne,'" and was held by the former and his 

 wife Elizabeth, with the other moiety, until 1673. 

 At this date a part of the moiety was alienated to 

 Nicholas Crouch, and another part to Edward 

 Pennefather, the latter afterwards conveying his 

 rights to Nicholas Crouch,'" who thus came 

 into possession of one moiety, which in 1687 he 

 sold to Thomas Halfpenny.'" The rectorial tithes 

 were leased in the eighteenth century to various 

 people,'" and nothing further is heard of this 

 moiety. 



In the reign of Elizabeth there was a dispute be- 

 tween George Rotherham and Annand Isaac Rotherham, 

 the former claiming by descent lands given for the 

 maintenance of lights in sundry churches in the parish 

 of Pulloxhill, granted by Queen Mary to George 

 Rotherham, the plaintiff's grandfather.'" John Rother- 

 ham, evidently an ancestor of George, above men- 

 tioned, and John Acworth founded the fraternity of 



^y.C.H.Beds.ijjyin. Lysons itates 

 in his Mag. Brit, i, 126, that the rectory 

 *as giTen to Dunstable Priory by John 

 Pyrot, and in 1291 the priory had in Pul- 

 loxhill in fruits of animals and flocks 141. ; 

 there is however no proof of the grant. 



l»»Harl. MS. 1885, fol. 23A. 



"1 Ann. Mon. (Rolls Ser.), iii, 33. 



"2 Ibid, iii, 28. 



™ Ibid, iii, 56. 



IM Ibid, iii, 218. 



"5 Pope Nich. Tax. (Rec. Com.), 35. 



"« Falor Eccl. (Rec. Com.), iv, 21 +. 



'"' Ibid, iv, 207. 

 '™Pat. 3 Edw. Vr,pt. II. 

 "19 Ct. of Requests, ivii. No. 104. 

 "» Blaydes, Beds. N. and Q. ii, 195. 

 "1 Chan. Proc. (Ser. 2), 177, No. 81. 

 '" Blaydes, Beds. N. and Q. ii, 313. 

 "» Feet of F. Div. Cos. Mich. 10 Jas. I. 

 1" Ibid. Beds. Hil. 21 Jas. I. 

 "' Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), vol. 408, 

 No. 131. "8 Inst. Bks. P.R.O. 



"7 Bacon, Liber Reris, 48 j. 

 "^ Ibid. 

 '" Inst. Bks. P.R.O. 



380 



"" Clergy List for 1906. 



"1 Recov. R. Mich. 25 Eliz. rot. 83 ; 

 Com. Pleas D. Enr. Mich. 27 &28 Eliz. -, 

 Chan. Inq. p.m. 476 (70a). 



1" Feet of F. Beds. Hil. 17 & 18 Chas. 

 II i Recov. R. Hil. 17 & 18 Chas. II, 

 rot. 41. 



"w Feet of F. Beds. Mich. 25 Chas. II. 



"» Ibid. Mich. 2 Jas. II. 



l»5 Ibid. East. 23 Geo. Ill ; Trin. 20 

 Geo. III. 



'» Chan. Proc. (Rec. Com.), Eliz. 

 R. r. 5, No. 56. 



