 | | Skrine of Warleigh | | | CHAPTER 2 | | The Manor of Forde with Warley | | he following short account of the ancient Manor of Forde has, in great part, been abstracted and abbreviated from an interesting "Sketch of the Early History of Bathford and its Neighbourhood" given by H.D.S. in a Paper which he read before the Bath Literary Club, printed at Bath by W. and F. Dawson, Printers, Market Place, 1871. Some of the author's conclusions might now be doubted, but they were in accordance with the archeological theories of his time.
The village of Bathford is situated on a steep declivity on the side of FarleighDown overlooking the river Avon and the Weaver (or Box) Brook, about three mileseast of Bath on the London road.
The parish consists of three tithings or quasi-manors, Bathford in the centre,Shockerwick to the north, Warleigh to the south. Of these the Bathford tithingwas granted by King Eadwig (957) to the Monastery of St. Peter's in Bath on thepetition of Wulfgar, Abbot, - "ten farms in the place which by the traditionof the elders is called Ford". This central part of Bathford parish, whichdid not include Warleigh or Shockerwick, is what is still called Bathford Tithing;ten farms then making up the tithing both in name and fact. The monks continuedto enjoy these farms from that date until the surrender of the lands of the monasteryto Henry VIII.
The description of Bathford in Domesday Book is as follows: "The Churchitself holds Forde. In the time of King Edward (the Confessor) it paid Danegeltfor ten hides (330 acres). The arable is nine carucates (ploughlands), and sixserfs, five villanes (bailiffs), and seven bordars (cottagers). There is a millof ten shillings rent, and twelve acres of meadow, and of coppice-wood fencedone mile in length and breadth."
The name Forde was originally applied to the whole manor, and it was known bythat name alone down to the seventeenth century. Its bounds, given in an ancientCharter of the date A.D. 957, (Codex Diplomaticus ~Evi Saxonici, iii, 451), verynearly correspond to those of the present time. "First from the Avon alongthe Strata or Fosseway to the One-stone; thence to Beonnan-lèhe (Banner-down)thence to the Weaver; thence to Hnoes-lehge (Ashley); thence to Cunuca-leage(Conkwell); from Cunuca-leage to the Avon."
In a Survey of the Manor held in March 1605-6 by Sir Edward Hungerford and others,by virtue of a Commission from the Crown, upon the oath of nineteen suitors ofthe manor (a copy of which was in the possession of H.D.S. as Lord of the Manor),the bounds of the Manor of Forde are given as follows:
"Commencing at the bridge called Ford bridge, and thence towards the westas far as a place called Paradise (now Pardis Close) for the space of a quarterof a mile, thence towards the north as far as Briton's land under Bannerdownfor half a mile, and thence as far as the house of Richard Pierce for half amile, and thence towards the east as far as a chapel called St. Giles' chapel,and thence as far as Matford's mead, near Shockerwick lodge, part of the demesnelands of the manor for half a mile, and thence towards the south as far as Nivey'sPye (now Long Ivies) for a quarter of a mile, and thence to the King's-fall brook,and towards the end as far as Ashley wood for half a mile, and thence towardsthe south as far as Inward's gate (Inwood) for the space of two miles, thenceas far as Conkwell lane for the space of one mile, thence as far as the bankof the river, thence as far as Forde bridge, two miles and a half."
The Manor took its name from the ford over the river Avon, which was the regularmeans of communication between Bathford and Bathampton down to the early yearsof the nineteenth century. It lay in the course of the Fosse-way, the great Romanroad from the south to Cirencester and on to Lincoln. This was originally anancient British road, which was converted and rebuilt by the Romans, by makinga ditch (fossam) on each side and using the materials excavated to raise thecentre.
The ford was opposite a field, still called Horselands, on the Warleigh estate,immediately below the Lower House farm and the church of Bathford. The name ofthe field - Horselands - indicates it as the exercise ground of the Roman cavalry,which watched and guarded the ford; and perhaps the remains of a Roman villadiscovered nearby in the middle of the seventeenth century may mark the residenceof their commanding officer.
The site of this villa, whose hypocaust was discovered in 1655, is marked byan old pollard tree on a rising ground just above the old ford. The followingextract from Aubrey's Monumenta Britannica describes its discovery. "AtBathford (near the citie of Bathe) was found by digging of a drayning trenchdeeper than ordinarily in the grounds of one Mr. Skreene in the year 1655 a roomunderground, which was about 14 foot one way and 17 feet the other, the pavementof which was opus tesselatum (tesselated work) of small stones of several colours,viz. white (hard chalk), blue (liasse), and red (fine brick). In the middle ofthe floor was a blue bird, not well proportioned, and in each of the four anglesa sort of knott. This ground and the whole Manor did belong to the Abbey of Bath.Underneath this floor there is water. The floor is borne on pillars of stoneabout an ell distant the one from the other. On the pillars were laid plank stoneson which the opus tesselatum was layd. The water issued out of the earth a littlebelow, and many persuade themselves there is much water in it. This discoveredplace was so much frequented that it caused Mr. Skreene to cover it up again,because the great concourse of people, especially from Bathe, injured his grounds;but he would not cover it up so soon but the people had torn up almost all thework before I came hither to see it, but his daughter-in-lawe hath describedthe whole floor with her needle in . . . stitch. Mr. Skreene told me there isanother such floor adjoining yet untouched."
Forde was a post of military importance in Roman times, since here, at the bridgeover the Weaver brook, the Fosse-way crossed another great road, the Via Julialeading from Bristol and the mouth of the Avon, through Bath and Marlboroughto London.
In later days it was a Border Manor, the northern boundary of which was the ancientStrada (Fosse-way), whence the Mark or Border forest of Saxon times stretchedaway for miles.
Shockerwick, perhaps because it lay close to the Mark and was the most exposedportion of the manor, seems never to have been held by the Church. It was thatpart of the district which contained the Soke or Court; that is where the Courtwas held, most likely in the open air under an oak tree, or near some ancientstone, to try offences. There was such a stone on the Fosse-way, which no doubtwas the border stone. It is mentioned in the ancient Saxon chartulary above referredto as the "One-stone", i.e. single stone.
This old Mark stone not only marked the edge of the manor, but the boundary ofthe Saxon kingdom of Wessex, and the British kingdom of Dumnonia after the battleof Dyrham; later still of the kingdoms of Wessex and Mercia; and not far fromthis now stand the Shirestones which show the ancient boundary of Wiltshire,Somerset, and Gloucestershire.
In the times preceding the Roman occupation, the Belgae who came from Flandersmade this district their frontier, "and placed (sic) the Wansdyke, theirdefensive boundary line, through the parish of Bathford". This dyke traversedthe hilly district between the Bristol Channel and Bathford, and was continuedthrough Wiltshire to the neighbourhood of Marlborough. "It can still betraced in the meadows as the landmark of Warleigh Manor as against Forde, ina field called Ash-hayes."
In the Saxon Charter the name is Werlege. This became modified to Werlei, andlatinised to Herlei. It is thus described in Domesday Book: "Hugoline holdsof the King Herlei. Azor held it in the time of King Edward and paid Danegeldfor one hyde (33 acres). The arable is three carucates, with which are one villaneand five bordars and two serfs. There is half an acre of meadow and three furlongsof coppice-wood in length and breadth. It was formerly and is now worth fiftyshillings (that is to say) to let."
The quantity of fenced woodland or coppice seems to be identical with the extentof the wood now called Warleigh wood,-in the Survey of 1605-6, South wood. Mostof the central ground between the steep hillside above the Manor House and theflat meads by the river must have been arable; and about one hundred acres, thepart near the river, was meadow for the cattle and sheep of the tenants of Warleigh.Many of the meadows retain names showing that they were formerly arable land- Bean-leaze, Wheat-leaze, Wood-leaze, Summer-leaze, and Hop-yard. Those fieldswhich have always been meadow have the termination "mead" - Hay-mead,Clot-mead, Momford's-mead.
The fishery of Warleigh was a separate property from that of Forde there wasprobably a heronry as well. Possibly there was also a deer park or "hay",as suggested by the names Hay-mead, Ash-hayes.
Hugoline, named above as lord of Warleigh, was one of the three Justiciariesof England who compiled and corrected the Doomsday Book. He was styled "interpres",or interpreter, from his clerkly skill, and had been finance minister or treasurerto Edward the Confessor. William the Conqueror finding him in office wisely madeuse of him. Hugoline held other manors in this neighbourhood, as Claverton, Estone(Batheaston), and Hampton. These manors were sold by Hugo Barbatus, who was hisson (or, as some think, himself) to John de Villula, Bishop of Bath and Wells,by whom they were afterwards granted to the monastery of Bath.
In the hands of the monks of Bath the manor of Forde with Warleigh was quietlyenjoyed for many centuries, and was most peaceably surrendered to the Crown byPrior Holway at the dissolution.
At the Survey of 1605-6 the acreage of the manor is recorded as 1020 acres 2roods. There was one freeholder, Sir William Button, Knt., holding 102 acresby freehold, and 19 acres 11 roods in demesne. There were thirty "customary" tenants,of whom William Ducke held no less than 323 acres 2 roods of land. Among thenineteen "suitors" sworn occur the names of John Scryne, senior, JohnScryne, junior, (presumably father and son), another John Scryne, Roger Scryne,William Scryne. In the list of copyholders John Skreene is found to hold 35 acres2 roods; William Skreene I I acres 1 rood; John Skreene 19 acres 2 roods; RogerSkrine 8 acres.
Thomas Bigg held a field of four acres, and some wood adjoining called Conkwell,now represented by an old clearing on the hill close to Conkwell called Bigg's-leaze.This is the ancient field Cunucaleage, which gave its name to the lane and hamletof Conkwell the southern limit of the manor. Near the end of Bigg's-leaze a littlespring comes out of Warleigh wood. "The field just below Conkwell is calledGatewicks, which means the dwelling or hamlet at the entrance of the manor andexactly fits the situation, showing that there was in very early times a hutor cluster of huts here inhabited by the borderers of Warleigh."
At Cankery Hole, a place above Warleigh not far from the Dry Arch, revels wereregularly held on Palm Sunday down to the end of the eighteenth century. Thisimplied the commemoration of a Christian dedication, and shows that there mustonce have been on the hill, perhaps in Roman times, a chapel of some sort. Justabove there is a large barrow on the hill-side, and something very like a "cromlech" stillexists near here.
It was from near this spot that the Parliamentarians bombarded Claverton Manoron the opposite hill a few days before the battle of Lansdowne, (July 1643),when a cannon ball (now preserved at Warleigh) entered the room where Sir WilliamBassett and other Royalist officers were sitting, and lodged by the chimney.The rude summons to battle was met by a cavalry charge in the Ham meadow, inwhich two soldiers of the Parliament and one of King Charles were slain, andthe Parliamentarians were driven back across the ford which then existed at thisplace. The ford was originally known as Clot-ford, or the ford of the yellowwater-lily, hence the name of the village Clot-ford-ton (Claverton). The meadowon the Warleigh side is still called Clot-mead.
When the old Claverton Manor was pulled down about 1820 by John Vivian, who builtthe present Manor House, this cannon ball was found lodged in the wall of theHall near the chimney. It was afterwards presented to the Skrines who now ownClaverton Manor by Ralph Vivian, Lieut.-Col. Scots' Guards.
One further point of interest is found in the ancient "four-centered" archwhich still exists at the principal entrance door of the group of cottages oppositethe stile leading to Farleigh. Of what building it originally formed a part isnot known.
The present Manor House of Warleigh was built by Henry Skrine (1788-1853) onthe urgent advice of his grandmother Mme. Chalié who shared half the costwith him. He tells us that while it was building it absorbed half his yearlyincome; but he must be considered fortunate to have been able to build the houseout of income. It seems to have come into occupation in 1815 or 1816; some statementssuggest the later date, but on the other hand H.D.S. who was born in 1815 issaid to have been born at Warleigh Manor. Subsequently the house received considerableadditions after it passed into the hands of the late Col. H. M. Skrine.
The old Manor House used to stand about a quarter of a mile further to the south,a little beyond the kitchen garden and the home farm. It was ancient, rambling,and inconvenient; but not very much is now known about its history, except thatan eighteenth-century front had been added to the earlier building. Richard DicksonSkrine (1719-1791), and his widow after him, were the last members of the familywho lived in it. In the Paper from which this account is chiefly drawn, H.D.S.refers to an aged tenant of his own who remembered his great grandfather RichardSkrine, and "the heavy coach drawn by four bang-tailed bays" in whichhe was borne about the eighteenth century country-side "through the steepand muddy lanes of the neighbourhood". This was "Old King", theferryman of Warleigh, who had known five generations of Warleigh Skrines.
After his day the house probably fell into serious disrepair, and had becomeunfit for residence to more modern ideas. At any rate when Henry Skrine returnedto the neighbourhood with his grandmother, Mme. Chalié, they did not attemptto occupy the old house; but she took a house in Bathford, and he lived in andnear Bath at several different houses in succession, before and after his marriage,until the new Manor House was ready for occupation. It was about this date thatthe old spelling Warley, which was still used by his father Henry Skrine, thetopographer, underwent the change to Warleigh, though the spelling Warleigh is,in fact, also occasionally found in some of the early documents.
After the surrender of the manor to the Crown by prior Hollway, it was grantedout at various times and in different ways to several persons before it passedinto the possession of the Skrines.
As already mentioned, it was granted by James I to the first Earl of Salisbury,whose son sold it to Susan Ducke (18th April, 12 James 1). She sold it four yearslater (6th May, 16 James 1) to William Rolfe, from whose son it passed into thehands of William Fisher and the two Skrine brothers.
Meanwhile the lease of the manor had passed through a good many hands. PriorHollway had leased it to Thomas and Robert Bradley and Margaret his wife, 15thMarch 1538. In the first account of the manor rendered to the King on his takingit over from the Abbey of Bath it was in the hands of the Bradleys (Lay SubsidyRoll 170-172). Afterwards it was in the occupation of one Griffin Williams, laterof Richard Henslow, armiger, with William Price, gent., as steward, and subsequentlyof Richard Todd of Braye.
On 5th April, 39 Elizabeth, by Letters Patent the Queen granted the manor tofarm at the rent of £37 13s. 1d. to William Ducke (armiger), one of HerMajesty's footmen, for the term of thirty-one years from the expiration, surrender,or other determination of certain other Letters Patent formerly made to one RichardTodd. The steward of the manor for William Ducke was one Matthew Rendell.
On 5th April, 12 James 1, by Deed Poll, Susan Duck of Bray, co. Berks, widow,to whom the manor came on the demise of her husband, William Duck, granted andassigned it to Joshua Durham of Bray for the remainder of the term of thirty-oneyears for a payment of £600;
and on 16th April of the same year Joshua Durham agreed to re-assign it to SusanDuck, if she at any time repaid the £600. Further, on 4th May, 16 James1, Joshua Durham granted it for the residue of the term to William Blake of Halehouse,co. Middlesex, gent., from whom William Rolfe's trustees seem to have purchasedthe remainder of the lease on 21st October, 18 James I. Thus the estate was freeof claims and encumbrances when it was finally sold by William Rolfe.
| |
