HITCHIN HUNDRED 



KIMPTON 



Kamintone (xi cent.) ; Kymitone, Kymbton, 

 Kumynton (xiv cent.) ; Kympton (xv cent.). 



Kimpton is a parish of 3,677 acres, lying an the 

 Bedfordshire border, north of the Ayots and west of 

 Codicote. The northern and southern parts reach 

 a height of 450 ft., but the rest is some 100 ft. lower. 

 The surface is undulating, and the village lies in the 

 lower parts, being built along a road running east and 

 west. The street has several 17th-century houses 

 and cottages which retain many of their ancient 

 features. It is about a mile long, including the 

 ihamlet of Kimpton Bottom. There are many h.unlets 

 and outlying firms and cottages in the parish. Skegs- 

 bury Lane lies to the west, Ansells End to the north- 

 west and Percy Green with Peters Green further to 

 the north-west of the parish. 



Bury Farm, the residence of Mr. John Barker, lies 

 to the east of the village ; Kimpton Grange, the 

 residence of Mr. C. F. Parr, lies to the west ; 

 Lawrence End House, with extensive grounds, the 

 seat of Mr. George Oakley, J. P., lies in the north- 

 west part of the parish. Stoneheaps Farm, lying a 

 little less than a mile to the south-west of the church, 

 is a two-storied house of the L f Yp e , of plastered 

 timber and brick, built early in the 17th century. 

 Tallents Farm, Rumeridge, Kimpton Hail and Kimp- 

 ton Mill Farm are farm-houses in the parish built 

 at about the same date, but they have all undergone 

 much alteration, external as well as internal. 



The little River Mimram or Maran flows through 

 the north-east of the parish, and adjoining it are osier 

 beds. The soil is chalk. Nearly the whole of the 

 parish is given up to agriculture, 1,506 acres being 

 under the plough ; 682 acres are permanent grass, 

 and some 168 acre; are woodland, 1 including Cuck- 

 oldscross Wood, Dovehouse Wood, Park Wood and 

 Leggatts Spring. 



Some Roman and Celtic coins have been found 

 near Prior's Wood in the south-east. 



In the 14th century the hundred court of Hitchin 

 was held at Kimpton. 3 



In the time of King Edward iElveva, 

 MJNORS mother of Earl Morcar,Jield KIMPTON. 

 In 1086 it was assessed for 4 hides and 

 formed part of the possessions of Odo Bishop of 

 Bayeux, of whom it was held by Ralf de Curbespine. 3 

 Ralf was of the same family as Gilbert Maminot, 

 Bishop of Lisieux (who was son of Robert de Curbes- 

 pine), and his lands afterwards descended with the 

 Maminots,* of whose Dover-Castle ward barony Kimp- 

 ton was held as two knights' fees. 6 Through Alice 



1 Statistics from Bd. of Agric. ( 



s Assise R. 540. 



*y.C.H. Hern, i, 310*. The 

 is given in Domesday as ' Ralf,' t 

 descent of the manor with the Ma 

 shows that he was Ralf de Curbt 

 cf. West Fairbourne, Thornhan 

 Waldershare in Kent. 



1 Possibly Hugh Maminot 

 Henry I) was his son. 



5 Red Bk. a/ExcA. (Rolls Ser.), i 

 71i, 617. There seems no dout 

 the place spelt here Kenintone, Re. 

 and Kenntune Is Kimpton (Kernl 

 cf. spelling in Fsud. Aid:, ii, 419. 



905). 



sister and heir of Walkelin de Maminot this barony 

 passed to the family of Geoffrey de Say, her husband, 

 and the overlordship then descended with the barony 

 of Say.* 



Under the Says Kimpton was held by three sepa- 

 rate tenants as the manors of Hockinghanger, Park- 

 bury and Leggatts. 



HOCKINGMJNGER (Hokenhangre, xiv cent. ; 

 Hokynanger, xvi cent.). Asearlyas 1 235-6 Baldwin 

 de Verc, a member of the Northamptonshire family of 

 Yere, was holding this manor and demanding customs 

 there from a certain William de Bikkeworth.' He was 

 succeeded by another Baldwin, probably his son, who 

 died before 1303, when his widow Matilda was 

 assessed for three-quarters of a fee in Kimpton held 

 of William de Say. 8 This descended to John de 

 Vere, probably his son, and his widow Alice was 

 holding in 1 346.' In 1 3 5 1 Robert de Vere made a 

 settlement of his land, under the name of the manor 

 of Hockinghangcr, on himself and his wife Elizabeth 

 in tail. 10 The manor descended in this family until 

 1493, when Henry de Vere of Great Addington, 

 co. Northants, died seised, leaving four daughters, 

 Elizabeth, Ann, Constance and Audrey." Eliza- 

 beth married John Lord Mordaunt " ; Ann married 

 Sir Humphrey Browne, kt., of Roding, co. Essex 15 ; 

 and Audrey married John Browne, a nephew of 

 Sir Humphrey." These three daughters with their 

 husbands each held one-third of the property. In 

 1556 Audrey, after her husband's death, conveyed 

 her third to John Lord Mor- 

 daunt. LS These two thirds 

 descended to his son John 

 Lord Mordaunt and to the 

 latter's son Lewis Lord Mor- 

 daunt. 16 Sir Humphrey 

 Browne, husband of Ann, 

 1 562, leaving the 

 :h had fallen to his 

 ? three daughters- 

 Mary, who afterwards married 

 Thomas Wylforde ; Christine, 

 later the wife of John Tufton, 

 and Katherine." Mary and 

 Kathcrine seem to have both 

 conveyed their shares to Chri 

 who in Hilary Term i ; " 

 to Lewis Lord Mordai 

 whole. 



In I 596 Lord Mordaunt sold the manor to Thomas 

 Hoo of £t. Paul's Walden.™ He was succeeded by 



IS Feet of F. Herts. Trin. jlj Phil. 



» Ibid. Hil. 24 Eliz. 



u Chan. Inq, p.m. (Ser. 2), exxxv, 7; ; 

 Recov. R. East. ; Eliz. rot. to68. His 

 son George died immedia;ely after his 

 own death. 



is Recov. R. Trin. 18 Eliz. rot. 11 20 ; 

 Feet of F. Herts. Trin. iS Eli;. In 

 ,577 John Tufton had licence to alienate 



died i 



third v 



ife D 



a thrum 



and John Tufton, 18 

 ■2 conveyed this portion 

 1 who thus acquired the 



