1 341, Thomas, living in 134.8, 15 and a Thomas, 

 living in 1418, 46 occur in records of Sawbridge worth. 

 The services for their lands were owed in the 15th 

 century to the lord of Mathams, to whom apparently 

 they had been assigned at some earlier date by a 

 lord of Pishobury. 47 Later the lands came either by 

 escheat or purchase to the owners of Mathams. John 

 Leventhorpe died seised in 1 5 1 1 of the ' manor of 

 Blunts,' and for a long time it descended with that 

 manor 48 (q.v.). In 1861 it was bought by Mr. John 

 Prout (see general description of parish) and now 

 belongs to Mr. William Prout. 



Other tenants of the lords of Pishobury and 

 Mathams were the Vantorts, 49 whose holding in the 

 1 6th century is called the manor of VANTORTS. 

 Margaret wife of Robert Vantort died in 1 3 1 o seised 

 of lands in Saw bridge worth, which descended to 

 her son Thomas. 60 The name of Richard Vantort 

 of Saw bridge worth occurs in 1337 and 134.8 61 

 and of John Vantort in 1 378 52 and i386. ss 

 A John Vantort was holding lands of John 

 Leventhorpe of Mathams early in the 15 th 

 century. 54 In the 16th century the 'manor of 

 Vantorts' was held with Mathams by the Leven- 

 thorpes S5 and subsequently became amalgamated 

 with that manor. Vantorts Farm lies to the 

 south-east of the town. 



BLECHES, BEACHES, or BLOTCHES was 

 the holding of a John Bleche, whose name 

 appears in Saw bridge worth at the end of the 

 14th century, 56 and who was living in 14.04. 57 

 His lands, called the manor of Bleches, were 

 held with Chamberlains (q.v.) in the 1 6th cen- 

 tury by John Shelley. The estate descended 

 with that manor until 1764, when it was sold 

 by Christopher Parker the younger to raise 

 money for paying off the mortgage on Cham- 

 berlains. 68 The purchaser was Edward Gardiner 

 of Pishobury. 



FRERES was similarly the holding of another 

 local family. The name of Walter Frere occurs 

 in I22D 69 and of William Frere in IZ78. S0 

 Another Walter Frere and Alice his wife held 

 lands in Sawbridge worth in the 14th century. 61 

 They had sons John 62 and Robert. 63 Robert 

 and his wife Cecilia were conveying lands in 

 I379, 64 and a Robert and his wife Katherine 

 were living in I4i8. 65 The chief holding seems 

 to have been that of Thomas Frere, whose name 

 occurs about the middle of the 15th century. B6 

 He held the property called Freres Place. By 

 his wife Cecilia (who afterwards married Hamelin 

 de Matham and died in 1410) he had two daughters, 

 Joan, who married John son of John Burman of 

 Stainby, co. Lincoln, by whom she had a son John 

 aged three in 1418 67 (by which date she was dead), 



BRAUGHING HUNDRED sawbridgeworth 



and Alice, who married first Denis Lopham and 

 secondly John Rodenhale. 68 In 1 481 John Lymbard 

 granted the manor of Freres to John Browne and 

 John Jocelyn, 69 but whether any of these were bene- 

 ficiary owners is uncertain. The estate next appears 

 in 1509, when Clement Cotton and Constance his 

 wife conveyed to Thomas Laurence, 70 after which no 

 further record of it has been found. It seems to be 

 represented by the present Fryars in the west of the 



A reputed manor called ACTONS was held in the 

 1 6th century by the Leventhorpes. John Leventhorpe 

 was in possession in 1561. 71 In 1564 Edward 

 Leventhorpe conveyed it to Thomas Leventhorpe, 72 

 who was holding it in 1570, when he granted it to 

 Oliver Lord St. John and others, 73 probably trustees 



Bursteads : Interior of Great Barn 



in a sale. In February 1636—7 Sir John Fowle died 

 seised of 'the manor or farm of Actons,' John, his 

 eldest son, aged fourteen, being his heir. 74 This farm 

 is situated on the west of the parish close to Fryars. 



