A HISTORY OF HERTFORDSHIRE 



inclosed it with i park." M This was Briggens Park, 

 situated in the south-western corner of the parish, on 

 the banks of the River Stort, which Robert Chester 

 had bought from the Feildes of Stanstead Abbots." 

 The hojse built by Chester occupied the site of two 

 older messuages called Over Brcdons and Nether 

 Bredons or Great Briggens and Little Briggens." 

 Robert Chester died in 1732," having left Briggens 

 Park to his sister Jane Chester provided that she kept 

 up the park, gardens and deer. Jane Chester died in 

 1736,'* and was succeeded by her brother Henry (or 

 by his son Henry), who in 1740 sold the property to 



North-east 



Thomas Blackmore of Covent Garden. 1 * He was 

 succeeded in 1763 by his nephew Thomas Blackmore, 

 who left a son Thomas and several daughters, one of 

 whom, Mary, in 1792 married Rev. Charles Phelips, 

 fourth son of Edward Phelips of Montacute. The 



death of Thomas Blackmore in 1824 resulted in 

 Briggens Park passing into the hands of their ion 

 Charles Phelips. The latter died in ] 870, when the 

 estate was inherited by his son Charles James Phelips. 

 Charles Jamea Phelips died without issue in 1903, 

 and Briggens Park fell to his nephew Gerald Edward 

 Farquharson Phelips, whose trustees sold it with the 

 manor in 1 907 to the Hon. Herbert Cokayne Gibbs, 

 the present owner, who resides there." The house 

 built by Che;t_-r forms the centre of the present house, 

 and some of the 2-in. brick foundations of the older 

 houses have recently been discovered. 18 



Hunsdonbury is now the property 

 of Mr. E. Thomas, who bought it from 

 Mr. John Henry Buxton in 191 1. 

 The latter purchased it in 1S89 from 

 .Mr. Salisbury Baxendale.'* It originally 

 formed part of the estate of the 

 Calvcrts, who resided there after 1 840, 

 and later passed to M r. Walker, 10 who 

 also lived there." About half a mile 

 south of the church is Brickhouse Farm, 

 a 17th-century house built of i-in. 



Olives Farm is a moated house on 

 the extreme west of the parish. It is 

 of timber and plaster, with tiled roofs, 

 and dates back to the 17th century, 

 though it has considerable later addi- 



Fillett's Farm, situated in the north- 

 west oi the parish, was in the 16th cen- 

 tury in the possession of Sir Wimund 

 Carew, whose son Thomas Carew sold 

 it in 1551 to William Grave" of 

 Stanstead Abbots. In 1575 Thomas 

 Grave conveyed it to Kdward Baesh." 

 Caddingtons is the name of another 

 old house, which in the 15th cen- 

 tury belonged to the Shelley family of 

 Hunsdon." In 1542 the king made 

 John Carey keeper of the messuage 

 called Caryngtons alias Cadyngtons." 



At the time of the 

 M4NOR Domesday Survey the 

 manor of HUNSDON 

 formed part of the lands of Hugh de 

 Beauchamp, who had succeeded Ralph 

 Tatllebois (Tulgebos or Tailgebosch) 

 in estates both in Hertfordshire and 

 Bedfordshire. The manor comprised 

 4 hides, of which 1 had been taken 

 by Ralph from the manor of Stan- 

 stead Abbots and attached to Huns- 

 don." The Beauchamps continued to 

 hold Hunsdon as part of their Bedford barony, Simon 

 de Beauchamp in the 12th century granting'certain 

 tithes of this manor to Newnham Priory." John de 

 Beauchamp, the last feudal baron of Bedford, fell 

 fighting against the king at the battle of Evesham 



'• Salmon, Bill, and Attrij. of Her 



11 In 1696 W 

 19 buried at I 



" M.I. 



Hod. H. C. Gibbi. 

 IrowleyofBriggen. 

 (ibid.). 



supplied by Mr. J. H. 



Braughing 



■n from Hon. H. C. Gibb.. 



M See below on Hunjdon 



" CuBiani, Hiti. of Her 

 W. 46. 



" Com. Pleai D. Enr. East 4 Edw 1 

 . tod. 



" Feet of F. Herts. Tria. 17 Elii. 



326 



M Early Chan. Proc bdle. 70, no. 54 j 

 CaLPal. i476-8e, p . 243 ; Add. MS. liioo, 

 Q 44 i Cal. I Ha . p . m , Hen. VI! \ j£ 

 Gilbert Shelley wae buried at Hunidon in 

 1548. (Information from Hon. H.Gibbt) 



" L. and P. Hen. VJU .viii {iV wi . 



* V.C.H. Her,,, i, J4+fl , »|j, ,(+, 



"Cal. Chan. R. 1300-16, p. 35I. 

 Confirmation of thii grant in IJ17. 



