A HISTORY OF BEDFORDSHIRE 



wards married Lawrence Cheyne, owed feudal ser- 

 vice for the manor." Documentary evidence con- 

 cerning this manor is scanty during the sixteenth 

 century, but proof of its descent in the Butler family 

 may be found in an inquisition taken after the death 

 of Sir Philip Butler in 1617. John Butler, great- 

 grandson of Sir Philip who had died in 1420," 

 settled the manor in 1 5 1 1 on himself for life with 

 remainder to his son Philip, to whose son Sir Philip 

 Butler the inquisition of 161 7 refers." He was suc- 

 ceeded by a grandson Robert," who held the manor 

 till his death in 1622, when his brother John became 

 his heir.'" 



The latter died in 1637 leaving a son William who 

 was of unsound mind and whose guardian, Edward 

 Lord Howard, was allowed to compound for the 

 manor in 1646." He died in the following year, 

 leaving the manor of Streatley, called Sharpenhoe, to be 

 divided among his six sisters,^' Audrey wife of Francis 

 earl of Chichester, Helen wife of Sir John Drake, 

 Jane wife of James earl of Marlborough, Olive wife of 

 Endymion Porter, Mary wife of Lord Howard, and 

 Anne wife of Mountjoy Blount earl of Newport, and 

 between their brother's death in 1647 and the year 

 1674, the manor — thus split up into sixths — was the 

 subject of a series of settlements, and was finally at the 

 latter date conveyed by trustees to Oliver Luke," by 

 whose family it was retained until 1725, when 

 Nicholas Luke transferred it to John Nodes." From 

 the Nodes it passed by inheritance to the Goldsmiths." 

 William Goldsmith, who held the manor in 1790, 

 appears to have alienated it very shortly after to Mr. 

 Marshal, and when Lysons wrote, at the beginning of 

 the nineteenth century, it was the subject of a suit in 

 Chancery." 



In 1854 this manor was sold by Messrs. Cobb to 

 George and John Smythe, representatives of whose 

 family hold it at the present day." 



The hamlet of Sharpenhoe is not mentioned in 

 Domesday,'* and no definite trace of SHARPENHOE 

 MJNOR has been found before the thirteenth century 

 when it was held of the king in chief. There is every 

 reason to suppose, however, that the land, afterwards 

 known as the manor, was held by the Cauz family 

 before this date. As early as 1197 Robert Passelewe 

 alienated land in Sharpenhoe to Richard de Cauz," and 

 in 1234 their estates in Sharpenhoe were of sufficient 

 importance for James de Cauz to obtain the grant of 



a chantry in his chapel there.'" By 1 266 Sharpenhoe 

 manor had passed to Robert, son of John de Thorp, 

 who in that year obtained free warren in his manor 

 there." 



Matilda, Robert's widow, by a settlement made 

 in 1303, held the manor till her death, when it 

 passed to George de Thorpe, probably a brother of 

 Robert," who held it in 1 3 16, in which year he 

 acquired a charter of free warren." 



In 1346 George Thorpe was holding this manor, 

 which by 141 7 had passed into the possession of 

 Simon Felbrigge, though no record has been found of 

 the transfer." 



He was holding in 1428," and between that date 

 and 1485 there is another break in the continuity of 

 the descent of Sharpenhoe manor, which reappears at 

 the latter date as the property of William Tyndale 

 and Mary his wife, who settled it on Roger Town- 

 shend." He died seised of it in 1492, and by his 

 will he bequeathed the manor, after the death of 

 Eleanor his wife, to his son Thomas, with remainder 

 in default for sale ' for the benefit of his and her souls, 

 and the souls of their friends and benefactors for 

 whom they are most bounden.' " Eleanor Townshend 

 was still alive in 1543, when the manor was settled 

 on Roger Townshend, her son, and his heirs, Thomas 

 having probably died in the meanwhile.^ 



Roger Townshend transferred it to Sir John Hud- 

 dleston before the latter's death in 1557, when he 

 left a son William as heir;" and he before 1578 

 alienated Sharpenhoe manor to Edmund Mordaunt, 

 who at that date sold it to Thomas Norton." The 

 latter died in 1584 seised of this manor, leaving a 

 son Henry Norton, then aged 13,*' who in 1604 

 settled the manor on his brother Robert Norton and 

 his heirs male, with reversion to William and Walter 

 Norton and their heirs male," and they, in 1610, 

 sold Sharpenhoe manor to their uncle Luke Norton, 

 who held it at his death in 1630." Graveley Norton 

 succeeded his father Luke, and in 1 646 ** sold the 

 Sharpenhoe estates for ;^3,050 to William Wheeler 

 of Silsoe," whose son in 1673 alienated the manor to 

 Hugh Smythe." The manor thus acquired has since 

 remained in the Smythe family, and is held at the 

 present day by Mrs. Hugh Smythe and George 

 Townsend Benison, whose wife was first cousin to 

 James Smythe, who held the property in 1872, as 

 joint owners." 



16 Feud. Aid!, i, 46. 



1^ Waters, C haters of Ckicheley, i, 139. 



1' Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), ccxcix. No. 

 149. 



" Ibid, i Feet of F. Div. Cos. East. 19 

 Jas. I. 



™ Chan, Inq. p.m. (Ser, 2), ccccii, No. 

 144. 



^1 Cat. of Com, for Compounding, p. 

 1499. 



2^ Waters, Cbeiteri of Cbicbeley, i, 139. 



i» Feet of F. Beds. Hil. 1652 ; Mich. 

 16 Chas. II; East. 20 Chas. II; Div. 

 Cos. Hil. 1658 ; Hil. ij & 16 Chas. II ; 

 East. 17 Chas. II; Recov. R. Mich. 15 

 Chas. II ; Mich. 16 Chas. II ; Hil. 26 & 

 27 Chas. II. See also under Haynes for 

 the Lukes. 



" Feet of F. Beds. Mich. 12 Geo. I. 



»' Ibid. Mich. 30 Geo. Ill, Lysons, 

 Mag. Brit, i, 136. 



26 Lysons, Mag. Brit, i, 136, 



2^ Information supplied by Mr. Benison. 



^ Pirot held a manor in Streatley in 

 Domesday of 4J hides of which ij hides 



belonged to the Cainhoe Barony and were 

 in Sharpenhoe {V.C.H. Beds, i, 244*). 

 It is probable that in the remaining 3 hides 

 which were held in chief is to be found 

 Sharpenhoe manor, 



"9 Feet of F. Beds. 9 Ric. I, No. 9. 



»» Ann. of Dunstable (RoUs Ser.), iii, 

 141 ; cf. also hist, of advowson. 



»l Cat. Rot. Chart. (Rec. Com.), 95. 



"9 Feud. Aids, i, 14 ; Feet of F. Beds. 

 32 Edw, I, m. 2. 



»» Chart. R. 9 Edw. II, No. 20 ; Feud. 

 Aids,\, 22; Plac.de Quo ff^ar. {Rec. Com.), 

 44. 



»< Close, 7 Hen, V, m, 16, 



»s Feud. Aids, i, 46. 



»» Feet of F. Beds. 3 Ric. Ill, m. i. 



»' Cal. of In J. Hen. FII, i, 440. 



»" Feet of F. Beds. Trin. 35 Hen. VIIL 



"» Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), iii, No. 15. 



"Feet of F. Beds. Hil. 21 Eliz. 

 Recov. R. Hil. 21 Eliz. ; Com. Pleas D. 

 Enr. Hil. 21 Eliz. 



" Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser, 2), cciii. No. 

 38. 



382 



" Feet of F. Beds. East. 2 Jas. I ; Hil, 

 4 Jas. I. 



"» Ibid. Trin. 8 Jas. I ; Mich. 8 Jas. I ; 

 Harl. Soc. Fuhl. xix, 



** Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), cccdxv. 

 No. 38. In 1626 a settlement was made 

 of the manor on the occasion of the mar- 

 riage of Graveley Norton, son and heir of 

 Luke Norton, with Helen Angell (Feet 

 of F. Beds. Hil. 2 Chas. I). Lettice, 

 sister of Graveley, and wife of Richard 

 Norton, was receiving an annual rent of 

 ^40 out of the manor in 1647 (ibid. Trin, 

 23 Chas. I), in which year she renounced 

 her claim to William Wheeler, who had 

 bought the manor. 



« Blaydes, Beds. N. and Q. !, 311, 



"6 Ibid. Feet of F, Beds. HiL 25 & 26 

 Chas. II. 



"7 Recov. R. East. 23 Geo. II ; Com, 

 Pleas, East. 23 Geo. II, ; Feet of F. Beds, 

 Mich. 48 Geo. HI ; HiL 1 & 2 Geo. IV ; 

 Trin. 3 & 4 Will. IV. Information sup- 

 plied by Mr. G. Benison. 



