A HISTORY OF HERTFORDSHIRE 



lo March 183s. 53 The estate descended to his 

 sister the Hon. Caroline Mary Peachey, who married 

 the Rev. Leveson Vernon-Harcourt, and died without 

 issue in 1871." In accordance with her mother's 

 will, Wellington then passed to Hugh Henry Rose, 

 Lord Strathnairn of Jhansi, who had distinguished 

 himself in the command of the Central India Field 

 Force during the Sepoy Mutiny.* 1 He died in 1885, 

 and his estate was' administered by his great-nephew 

 Admiral the Hon. George Henry Dougla;, who 

 succeeded to the Wallington property. 56 



Apparently Mr. John Dorset! Owen of Plastyn 

 Grove, Ellesmerc, Salop, purchased the whole of the 

 Wallington estate, which was held by his trustees after 

 his death in March 1905. They sold to Mr. Philip 

 Arnold. The estate has again been divided in recent 

 years. The Manor Farm, with the manorial rights, 

 was purcha ; ed by Mr. Hugh Rayner, junior, whose 

 father has long been tenant of the farm. The Bury 

 Farm was purchased in two lots by Colonel H. A. 

 Remcr and Mr. Pratt." 



Half a knight's fee in Wellington was held early in 

 the 14th century as a separate tenement. Richard 

 de Hoggeswell held it of the lord of Wallington in 

 1303." He was still living at Wallington about 

 1322. 6S He seems to have been succeeded by 

 William de Hoggeswell, but this holding evidently 

 escheated to the lord of Wallington before 14:8, sa 

 and was probably absorbed in the main manor. 



MONKS' MANOR in Wallington and Clothall 

 originated in grants of lands to the monks of 

 St. Albans by William son of Robert de Wallington 

 and several others. 80 These gifts were confirmed by 

 Henry II between the years I 1 74. and I182. 01 It 

 was probably assigned to the use of the monks' kitchen, 

 as was Wallington Church. 02 In 1291 the manor 

 was worth £7 its. a,d. e3 The lands, with reservation 

 of the courts baron and view of frankpledge, were let 

 to farm in the 16th century and were held by John 

 Bowles, 61 who was also tenant of the monks' lands in 

 Bygrave (q.v.). 



The manor was purchased in June 1540 by 

 John Sewster of Ashwell." He alienated it in the 

 same year to John Bowles, c5a who thus completed the 

 consolidation of the Wallington estate. 



A field called 'Monks' Piece' still belongs to 

 Wallington Manor.*" 



The manor of MONTFITCHETS is probably 

 identical with 3 hides all but 20 acres held of Robert 

 Gcrnon by a certain William in 1086. This land 

 had been held by Alvric, a man of Goduin son of 

 Ulestan. 67 It was probably acquired in the time of 

 Henry I by William Montfitchet together with the 

 estate at Lctchworth held of Robert by the William 

 ofDomesd.iy Book. 03 The overlordship apparently 

 descended in the Montfitchet family. Richard Mont- 

 fitchet (son of Gilbert and grandson of William) 



succeeded to the Lctchworth Manor (q.v.) about 1 190. 

 The latter's son and heir died about 1258, and the fee 

 of Montfitchet in Wallington was ultimately assigned 

 to Margery Corbet, granddaughter of his , sister 

 Margery." It was held by the service of a quarter of 

 a knight's fee. 7 " As in the case of Lctchworth a sub- 

 feofFment seems to have taken place, the actual tenant 

 of Montfitchets being John Muschet, 71 a name which 

 is possibly a corruption of Montfitchet." With 

 Letchwor'th the Wallington quarter-fee had certainly 

 come by 1 295 to a younger branch of the Montfitchet 

 family. 73 "It seems possible that the feoffment was 

 made to a younger son of William Montfitchet during 

 the 1 2th century, as in 11 98 Richard son of William 

 Montfitchet unjustly disseised Warin son of John of a 

 tenement in Wallington. 71 Before 1295 the over- 

 lordship had been acquired by Philip Burnell, heir of 

 the Bishop of Bath and Wells, and was assigned to 

 his widow Maud. 78 



The subsequent history of Wallington Montfitchets 

 is identical with that of Letchworth Montfitchets 

 until 1539, when John Hanchet, gent., sold the 

 former to John Bowles, 70 who had already purchased 

 the main manor of Wallington. Thenceforward 

 these two manors have been amalgamated. 



The church of ST. MARY consists 



CHURCH of chancel 27 ft. by 17 ft. 6 in., north 



chapel 24 ft. by II ft. 6 in., nave 



47 ft. by 20 ft. 6 in., south porch 10 ft. 6 in. by 



9 ft., west tower 1 1 ft. square ; all internal dimen- 



The walls are of flint rubble, all covered with 

 cement except the chancel, the dressings are of stone ; 

 the chancel roof is slated, that over the nave being 

 covered with lead. 



The general walling of the nave and chancel may 

 be of the 1 4th century, but the absence of such early 

 detail makes the date uncertain. The west tower 

 belongs to the beginning of the 15th century, and 

 the north chapel and north nave aisle were probably 

 added shortly afterwards, and at the same time new 

 windows were inserted throughout ; the south porch 

 is of late 15th-century date. In 1864 the chancel 

 was almost entirely rebuilt and a new chancel arch 

 inserted. 



All the details of the chancel are modern with the 

 exception of (-he arch opening into the north chapel, 

 which dates from about 1440-50. It is four-centred 

 and consists of two wave-moulded orders, the outer 

 order being continuous, the inner resting on shafts 

 with moulded capitals and bases. 



The east window of the chapel is of three cinque- 

 foiled lights with rectilinear tracery under a four- 

 centred arch ; the two windows in the north wall 

 have each three lights under a four-centred arch. In 

 the south wall are the remains of a piscina projecting 

 from the wall on a semi -octagonal moulded pedestal ; 



8 Cal. Gin. i, 124 i Col. Clate, I171-9, 

 Si, 84. 



Feud. Aids, ii, 433, 447. 



1 Cal. Clsie, 1172-9, pp. 82, 84. - 

 s See under Letchworth. 



' 3 Cal. Clou, 1288-96, p. 46 J j cf. 



nited Mouotfitchet in Esiex. 



'• Rot. Cur. Rig. (Rtc. Com.), i, 155. 



''•Cal. Close, 1288-96, P . 461. 



'« Feet of F. Hem. East. 31 Hen. VIII; 



m. Plea. D. Enr. Mich. 31 Hen. VIII, 



