BROADWATER HUNDRED 



it passed to his son Col. Mortimer Hancock, In 

 1901 the manor came to Capt. Mortimer Pawson 

 Hancock," who in 1903 sold a large part of his estate 

 to the Garden City Pioneer Company Limited." 

 Captain Hancock holds the remainder of the property. 

 BRjrS or BRJIES Manor, of which no trace now 

 remains, belonged to Bigging Priory at Hitchin, and 

 was leased by that house to Richard Yerdeley in 

 1521, together with a messuage called le Pounde- 

 house." After the Dissolution it was granted with 

 Me Poimdhouse' to John Cock in I54S- M By 

 1564 Brayes had come into the possession of James 

 Needham of Wymondley Priory and was conveyed 

 by him in that year to Thomas Rivett 11 of Baldock, 

 from whom it descended about 1583 to his daughter 

 and co-heiress Anne Lady Windsor," who held it in 

 1 606." For almost a century there is no further 

 record of the manor, but before 1692 it was acquired 

 by Richard Way, patron of Willian rectory. In that 

 ■ ' ■ Knighfley Holled, clerk," 

 In 1746 It was the subject 

 dus members of the Priest 

 more is heard of it. 



' were held before 



year he conveyed it 1 

 who held it in 1730." 

 of a fine between vario? 

 family, 16 after which no ir 

 Two and a half hides i 



the Conquest by Alestan of Boscumbe, and in 1086 

 by William de Ow. They belonged to the neigh- 

 bouring manor of Weston." In the time of Edward 

 the Confessor 1 hide of this land was held of Alestan 

 de Boscumbe by Alviet, and in 1086 this hide and 

 another were held of William de Ow by William de 

 Mare. Later the tithes of ' Wilis ' were given to 

 the monastery of St. Albans by Thurstan, brother of 

 William de Mare, and 'Robert de Mare gave his 

 tithe likewise.' S5 In 1086 (as Mr. Round points 

 out) there were also i| hides in ' Welga' held by 

 Robert de Pontcardon (Puncharden) of Robert 

 Gernon. ss It seems possible that there has been 

 some confusion between ' Wilga ' and ' Wilei ' 

 (Welwyn and Willian) here, and that both these 

 holdings lay in Willian. Certainly the estate after- 

 wards known as PUNCHARDEN was in this parish. 

 The Punchardon family appear to have been tenants 

 of some importance in Willian in the 13th century. 

 Gilbert de Tany gave a virgate and a half in Willian 

 to St. Albans 60 about the time of Stephen or 

 Henry II ; this grant was confirmed by Gilbert's son 

 Walter, 61 and by Ralph de Punchardon," probably his 

 overlord. Roger de Punchardon was holding land in 

 Willian in 1202.'* In 1247-8 Richard de Pun- 

 chardon called himself ' lord of Wylye,' 6 ' and a Wygan 

 Delamere appears as owing him homage. During 

 the abbacy of Roger de Norton, who was Abbot 

 of St. Albans from 1263 to I $01,* William son of 

 Geoffrey Punchardon quitclaimed his right in a 

 tenement in Willian to St. Albans. 66 After this the 

 history of the estate is lost until a ' capital messuage 

 called Puncherdownes,' with lands belonging, appears 



WILLIAN 



in 1625 in the possession of Edward Wilson, lord of 

 the manor of Willian. 1 " He settled it on his son 

 Ralph Wilson, who held it during the lifetime of his 

 father. Ralph died in 1637 and Punchardens passed 

 to hisson Edward 69 who died in 1639. His brother 

 and heir Thomas 60 succeeded his grandfather as lord 

 of the manor of Willian, and Puncharden presumably 

 continued with that manor. 



The parish church of ALL SAINTS,™* 

 CHURCH standing to the south of the village, is 

 built of flint, mixed in places with 

 freestone, and consists of a chancel, nave, west tower 

 and south porch. The chancel and nave date from 

 the earlier part of the 12th century. About 1430 

 the west tower was added, outside the west wall of 

 the nave ; this wall was then taken down and the 

 nave lengthened about 4 ft. to join the tower, the 

 east diagonal buttresses of the tower being built 

 against the quoins of the nave. A south porch was 

 added in the 15th century, and the chancel was 

 remodelled and probably lengthened in the early 

 part of the 19th century. 



In the eaet wall of the chancel is reset a 1 5th-century 

 window of three lights containing 17th-century glass 

 with heraldic panels. In the south wall are a doorway 

 with a 11th-century rear-arch and modern external 

 stonework and a late 14th-century two-light window 

 with a square head. The chancel arch is of about 

 1430 and is of two moulded orders with shafted 

 jambs. On the outside of the south wall of the 

 chancel is a 14th-century tomb recess, very much 

 repaired with cement. 



The north wall of the nave has two windows, the 

 easternmost being of the 15 th century, of two lights 

 with tracery over, in a dropped two-centred head. 

 The westernmost is modern, and cuts into the arch 

 of the blocked north doorway. There is only one 

 window in the south wall, of the 15th century, and 

 of similar type to that in the north wall, but of 

 three lights. The south doorway, which is of 1 4th- 

 century character, has been almost wholly restored in 



The tower arch is of similar character to the 

 chancel arch and is also of about 1430. The 

 west tower, into which it opens, is of two stages, 

 with diagonal buttresses, and has a stair turret on 

 the north-east and an embattled parapet. The 

 west doorway has a pointed arch inclosed in a 

 square head, with shields in the spandrels, one 

 bearing the instruments of the Passion and the 

 other a bend in an engrailed border. There is an 

 oak lintel which is possibly old. Above the door is 

 a window of three cinquefoiled lights with tracery 

 in a two-centred head. In each face of the belfry 

 stage is a two-light window, with cinquefoiled lights 

 and a quatrefoil over in a two-centred head and a 

 label with grotesque stops. Below the parapet is a 



" Walford, County Families (1907). 

 a Prespettut, First Garden City Ltd. 

 19 Mim. Accts. 31 & 3; Hen. VIII, 



"> L, and P. Hen. VIII, xx (a), g. 

 496 (44). 



51 Feet of F. Herta. Hil. 6 Ellz. 



M Chan. Inq. p.m. (Ser. 2), ccii, 1541, 

 G.E.C. CompUtc Peerage. 



53 Recov. R. Mich. 4 Jas. I, rot. 10. 



M Feet of F. Herts. Ttin. 4 Will, and 



* Recov. R. Eas 



3 Ceo 



II, 



66 Feet of F. Herts. M.ch. 20 Geo. II. 



w V.C.R. Hem. i, 1-i.jb. This hold- 

 ing may he the manor of Lockleyi in 

 Welwyn, which in 1303 was held of the 

 heir of the Earl of Pembroke (cf. 

 Weston). 



58 Dugdalc, Men. ii, 220. 



59 V.C.H. Herts, i, 327*. 



60 Cott. MS. Otho, D lii, fol. 167. 

 a Ibid. 



