BROADWATER HUNDRED 



Thomas Bowles, 42 grandson and heir of the above- 

 mentioned John Bowks, who sold the manor in 1558 

 to Thomas Revert. 43 Soon after this Justinian Champ- 

 neys claimed the manor on the grounds that Thomas 

 Bowles had assured it to him in payment of a debt, 44 

 but he does not seem to have been successful, for Sir 

 Thomas Revett kept Baldock and it: descended about 

 1583 to his daughter Anne, who married Henry 

 Lord Windsor of Stanwell. 46 Anne sold the manor 

 in 1606 to James Jeve and John Hurst, 46 and in 

 1614 James conveyed his moiety to John Hurst, 4 ' 

 who died seised of the whole manor in 1635 and 

 was succeeded by his son John. 48 John Hurst son 

 of the latter died in 1684, his heir being his brother 

 William, who died in 1699. 49 William's son John 

 sold Baldock to Pierce Cleaver, who was lord of the 

 manor in 1700. 50 Pierce gave it to Charleston of 

 Sir Charles Cleaver, his brother, who held it in 

 1728, 51 but died young. 6S Pierce Cleaver is then 

 said to have devised it by will to Edward Chester, 



son of Robert Chester, 83 and Edward sold the manor 

 in 1755 toAdolphus Meetkerke, whose son Adolphus 

 was possessed of it in 1821. 64 His son Mr. Adolphus 

 Meetkerke of Julians sold Baldock Manor in 1 870 

 to Mr. Thomas Pryor, who died in 1899. It was 

 purchased after his death by Mr. Asplan Beldam, 

 who is the present lord of the manor. 56 



The parish church se of ST. MART 

 CHURCH THE VIRGIN, which stands in the 

 centre of the town, is built of flint 

 rubble with stone dressings. The tower is coated 

 with Roman cement. Pieces of moulding and 

 columns of an earlier building are used in the 

 walls. The roofs of the north chapel and north 

 aisle are of slate, and those of the rest of the church 

 of lead. 



The church consists of a chancel, north and south 

 chapels, nave, north and south aisles, west tower, and 

 north and south porches. The whole of the church 

 and the tower have embattled parapets, and the 

 tower is surmounted by a leaden spire on an 

 octagonal drum. 



The east end of the chancel is of the 1 3th century, 



BALDOCK 



but the remainder of the chancel, the north chapel, 

 the nave, north and south aisles, west tower, and 

 probably the lower part of the south porch were 

 built about 1330. The south chapel was begun m 

 the last part of the same century and completed in 

 the early 15th century; the clearstory was made 

 in the 15th century, and the parvisewas added at the 

 same time, when the church was re-roofed. The 

 north porch was built in the 19th century, when 

 the whole building was repaired, and the north aisle 

 and north chapel were re-roofed, The belfry stage 

 of the tower has been recently restored. 



The eastern and earlier portion of the chancel has 

 an east window of five lights, with tracery above in a 

 high two-centred head wholly modern ; under this 

 window on the outside is a 14th-century niche with 

 a trefoilcd head, having a rebated edge, and the re- 

 mains of iron hinges. The south window is of 

 three lights with restored tracery. Between it and 

 the south-east corner is a double piscina of the 13th 

 century. The flat head is probably modern. There 

 are traces visible externally on the east and north 

 walls of windows probably dating from the early 

 part of the 13th century. A break in the thickness 

 of the north wall of the chancel marks the junction 

 of the 14th-century work with that of the preceding 

 century, and to the west of this each side of the 

 chancel consists of two bays of an arcade which con- 

 tinues,^ an unbroken line from the chancel to the 

 nave. These two bays have two-centred arches of 

 two chamfered orders with moulded labels on both 

 sides, and carved heads as stops at the points of 

 junction. They rest on clustered columns of four 

 shafts, with rolls between, and moulded capitals and 

 bases. 



The chancel screen, which is in the same line with 

 those of the chapels, is a fine one in carved oak of 

 three bays, and two half bays at the north and south 

 ends. Each complete bay on either side of the 

 central entrance has four lights above solid lower 

 panels with tracery in a lofty two-centred head, the 

 central mullion being much slenderer than those at 

 the sides. The entrance has a low crocketed ogee 

 within the two-centred arch, and the original doors 

 are open, with mullions. The half bays at the sides 

 simply bisect the design of the complete bays. The 

 spandrels are solid and are filled with blind tracery. 

 The cornice is modern. The 1 5th-century roof 

 of the chancel has moulded wall plates and ties, 

 trusses, with tracery in the spandrels. The wall 

 plates rest on corbels with carved heads. 



The north chapel has a modern east window of 

 five lights, containing fragments of coloured glass, 

 probably of early I 5 th-century date. The two windows, 

 each of three lights, in the north wall, are of the 

 15th century, with repaired tracery. The outside 

 labels are of the 14th century, re-used. A finely 

 carved string-course of the 14th century runs across 

 the east wall. A small modern porch on the north- 



- 3 9- 



■■3 ' 



4 Phil, a 





fe S Phil, and Mary, pt. i 



m. IK ; feet of F. Div. Co. East. 4 & 



Phil, and Mary. 



« Chan. Proc. (Scr. z), bdle, r52, no. : 

 « Chan. Inq. p.m. {Ser. it ccii, .54 



G.E.C. Complete Peerage; Chan. Pro 



Eliz. Bb 192;, 



« Feet of F. Herts, Hil. 3 Jas. I. 



"i Chan 



132. 



rrir, 12 Jas. I. 

 Inc.. p.m. [Ser. 



" Clut 



ack, p. c ; 



19 Chauncy, op. cit. 382. su Ibid. 



51 Salmon, op. cit. 178. 



62 Sari. Sot. Pub!, viii, 66. 



53 This Robert waj the son of Robert 

 Chester, first husband of Frances Gofl'e, 

 who later married Sir Charlel Cleaver, 

 brother of Pierce (Berry, Her!,. Gen. Si). 



b'l 



sa Information kindly supplied by Ml 



su Dimensions ; chancel, 50 ft. 6 in. 

 by 22 ft. ; north chapel, 36 ft. by 22 ft. ; 

 south chapel, z8 ft. 6 in. by 19 ft. ; nave, 

 71ft. 6 in. by 22 ft. ; north aisle, 72 ft. 

 by 22 ft. j south aisle, 71ft. 6 in. by 

 18 ft. j vest tower, 16 ft. 6 in. by 16 ft. 



