BRAUGHING HUNDRED bishops stortford 



advowson of the church, wood and underwood on the 

 manor, warren, fishery, chattels of felons and fugitives. 

 The park was accounted for separately, the profits of 

 this arising from the agistment of cattle and the sale 

 of the underwood. 65 The courts of the manor were 

 held by the farmers. 57 Accounts for 1394-5 show 

 four courts held in that year, at Michaelmas, Epiphany, 

 Easter, and Trinity, and one view of frankpledge, 69 

 but in the next century, as appears from the court 

 rolls extant at the Record Office, 69 only two courts 

 were held in the year, one general court about 

 Michaelmas, and a court and view of frankpledge 

 usually on the morrow of the feast of Holy Trinity. 

 Two constables were chosen at the view of frank- 

 pledge. The common fine payable by the chief 

 pledges at the same court was 16a'. A fine for 

 recognition called ' Sadelselver ' was levied from the 

 customary tenants of the manor at the first court held 

 after a vacancy of the bishopric. It was returned, 

 however, in 1429 that all the customary lands had 

 been resumed by the lord and re-granted at farm. 

 These grants at farm for a period of years are very 

 common on the court rolls at this date. In 1+15 

 a tenement in South Street formerly belonging to 

 the priory of St. James the Apostle of Thremhall, and 

 then in the lord's hands by reason of the prior's 

 refusal to pay the rent, was granted to Richard 

 Pygdon for 100 years at a rent of 8^. e9a There 

 were, however, customary tenants on the manor in the 

 1 8th century, and such tenants were admitted at courts 

 baron held for the manor at this date. 70 Thomas 

 Hasler of Tilbury Fort, Essex, was the customary 

 tenant of land near Goose Meade to which his son 

 Thomas Hasler was admitted in 1705. 71 George 

 Jackson of the Admiralty (afterwards Sir George 

 Duckett, bart.) held a messuage on Goose Meade 

 and land between Town Mill and Goose Meade. 72 

 Grants by the lord of pieces of the waste are 

 common about this date. 73 After 1830 the head- 

 borough, ale-tasters, flesh and fish-tasters, and cattle 

 drivers were appointed by the vestry instead of by 

 the court leet, and so continued to be until 1872, 

 when the officers were abolished. 74 Paid surveyors 

 of the highway were first appointed in 1836, instead 

 of those chosen by the town. 75 They were superseded 

 by a Highway Board in 1856, which lasted until the 

 adoption of the Local Government Act in 1 866. 



A lease of the manor for twenty-one years from 1 6 14 

 was made by Richard Bishop of London to Queen Eliza- 

 beth, who assigned it to Sir Edward Denny in 1 596. 76 

 The manor, together with the site, park, two water- 

 mills called Town Mills, and the fairs and markets, 

 was sold in 1647 by the trustees for the sale of 

 Bishops' lands to Richard Turner, a citizen and 

 merchant tailor of London. 77 It reverted to the 

 Bishop of London after the Restoration, and remained 

 with the see until transferred to the Ecclesiastical 

 Cor 



For the origin of the castle of Waytemore we have 

 no exact date.' 7 " It was probably one of the numerous 

 castles raised by William 1 7a whilst the manor was 

 in his hands before the sale to William Bishop of 

 London between 1066 and the bishop's death in 

 1075. The first mention of it seems to be in the 

 charter (issued probably on the accession of Maurice 

 Bishop of London in 1 086) by which William I con- 

 firmed to the see the castle of Stortford and all the 

 land which William Bishop of London had of the 

 king. 70 At this date the castle must have consisted only 

 ot" the earthworks, upon which were erected a timber 

 keep and other timber defences. 80 It was not probably 

 till the reign of Henry I, or later in the 1 2th century, 

 that masonry works were commenced. The remains 

 of the keep stand on the summit of an artificial 

 mound about 42 ft. in height. The plan of the 

 keep is roughly rectangular, the northern end form- 

 ing a segment of a circle ; the other three sides 

 appear to have been straight, but the walls themselves 

 have been broken down almost to the ground level, 

 with the exception of some blocks at the south end ; 

 the whole of the outer and inner facings of the outer 

 walls, except next the sunk chambers, have completely 

 disappeared. The average dimensions within the 

 inclosed area measure about 106 ft. from north to 

 south and 57 ft. from east to west. At the north- 

 east and south-east angles are chambers sunk about 

 7 ft. below the general surface level ; they measure, 

 respectively, about 18 ft. by 15 ft. 6 in. and 

 17ft. 6 in. by 15 ft. ; across the segmental northern 

 end is a low wall about 2 ft. 6 in. thick, at the west 

 end of which are traces of a circular turret ; a break 

 in the main south wall may indicate the former 

 entrance. The outer and inner walling is built of 

 flint rubble ; the inner walls at the north end are 

 bonded irregularly with Roman bricks, with mediaeval 

 tiles in parts ; no stonework remains in situ. The 

 flint walling probably dates from the Norman period, 

 but it is not possible to speak definitely on the point 

 owing to the lack of detail. At the north end is a 

 small collection of wrought stones, chiefly limestone, 

 which have been found on the site ; they comprise 

 splayed window and door jambs and plinths ; a 

 moulded stone was also found, which may have sup- 

 ported an oriel or formed part of a deep string-course. 

 These stones probably date from the 14th century, 

 when a licence to crenellate was granted. Portions 

 of leadwork from window glazing, spurs and frag- 

 ments of pottery have also been picked up in the 

 inclosure. A well still exists within the walled 

 space, the depth of which is about 40 ft. The 

 castle and grounds are now the property of the 

 urban district council, which is taking proper care of 

 the remains. 



In 1 1 37 Anselm Abbot of St. Edmund's, who was 

 trying toobtain the bishopricof London, took possession 

 of the castle. His election by a faction in opposition 



I. Accts. bdle. 



85 (Gen. Ser.), port/. 178, no. 6;, 66. 



■■< Ibid. 



>. 66. 



'« Add. Cha 

 71 Ibid. 27090. 



" Ibid. 1710;. Hchad seisin in 1794. 

 For details about him see note 41. 

 13 See ibid. 27091, 17093, 27097. 

 '* J. L. Glasscock, Sec. of St. Michael';, 



Bishops Stortford, 87. At a court held 

 in 1718 bread and butter weighers were 

 among the officers elected. 



7 = Ibid. 88. 



"' Cj!. S. P. Dom. 1595-7, P' 295. 



"Close, i 4 Cha 3 . I, pt. xxy\, no. 43. 



7, a It has been suggested (hat Wayte- 

 more may be identified with the Saxon 

 Wigingamere, where in 921 a 'burg' 

 was built by Edward the Elder {AntH.- 

 Stsx. Chrw. [Rolls Ser.], if, 31 ; i, 194 ; 



297 



the name Waytemore set 

 nected with the Wayte F 

 Street also found in this pa 



76 See Round, ' Castles 

 {Arch. MS). 



,,J Dujjdale, Hhl. of St. 

 196. The charter is take, 

 of the Dean and Chapter < 



m For description and 

 works see V.C.H. Herts, ii. 



ield and Wayte 

 rish (see above), 

 f the Conquest' 



JW,f,>6 5 8), 

 1 ex codice MS. 

 f St. Paul's. 



38 



