CHARLES CHESTER
The whole story of how the Cave & Chester family acquired Chicheley is fascinating reading. Cardinal Wolsey had been given the Estate of the dissolved Priory of Tickford as part of the endowment of Cardinal College, Oxford. Wolsey’s Chief Secretary who was dealing with the Estate, was Thomas Cromwell.
Anthony Cave had set up as a merchant in London and had been admitted a Freeman of the Drapers Company.
Anthony’s dad Richard was mates with Thomas Cromwell and asked him if he could make some provision for his son, whereupon Anthony was appointed Bailiff of the Tickford Priory Estate with permission to use the former priory buildings and Grange Farm.
Anthony appealed to Cromwell to give him security of tenure whereupon he was granted a Lease of the Estate and was then able to embark on his path of acquisitions and developments.
16 year old Judith Cave married William Chester in 1558 and began the Chester Association with Chicheley.
By 1703 the Chester’s owned 1971 acres with some 170 acres in the open fields of Chicheley out of a total of approximately 2100 acres in the village and by 1723 had built Chicheley Hall.
After John Chester died the house descended to Charles Bagot Chester the 7th Baronet, a drunk and a gambler with two mistresses with each of whom he had children although he never married. He jumped out of a second floor window at his London lodgings in the drunken fit before dying of his injuries. He bequeathed all his estates including Chicheley Hall to distant relative and school friend Charles Bagot on condition he changes his name to Chester.
Charles Bagot was born on the 1st September 1730 at Blithfield Hall in Bromley Staffordshire and educated at Westminster School and became a wine merchant in Oporto, Portugal until he inherited Chicheley in 1755.
He changed his name to Chester by a Private Act of Parliament in 1757 in the reign of George II.
In 1765 he married Catherine Legge at St. Georges, Hanover Square and they were to have 5 sons and 4 daughter.
The North Crawley Enclosure Award of 1773 enabled him to secure odd bits of Chicheley that he did not own by Exchanges in North Crawley, Richard Lowndes 1.688 acres, Michael Nash 1.544 acres, Catherine Lowndes Stone 5.831 acres and William Lowndes 2.456 acres.
Apart from the exchanges Charles Chester was awarded 171.031 acres in North Crawley in Chicheley Park Field just across the Chicheley brook boundary and adjacent to the old Pateshull Manor which descended with the Chicheley Estate.
The poet Cowper visited him regularly at Chicheley hall until his death on 23rd may 1793 and he is buried at Chicheley.
CHARLES CHESTER ENCLOSURE AWARD
in lieu of all his lands and right of Common in and over the said lands and grounds intended to be divided and inclosed a deduction for discharging his old inclosures from tithes being there out first made and added to and comprised in the allotment to the said THOMAS LOWNDES in lieu of tithes of old inclosures as set out and described
All those five several pieces or parcels of land or ground by the Act to be divided and inclosed
CHICHELEY PARK FIELD and in the GARDEN FIELD comprising of 171 ACRES – 0 ROODS – 5 PERCHES including all roads and ways bounded on part of the SOUTH EAST by several old inclosures belonging to THOMAS SANDON and the said CHARLES CHESTER and JOHN NEAL on part of the EAST and NORTH EAST by old inclosures and a wood belonging to the said CHESTER CHESTER on the remaining part of the SOUTH EAST by lands allotted to THOMAS SANDON and to the RECTOR of NORTH CRAWLEY on part of the SOUTH WEST and WEST by the open and common fields of CHICHELEY and on the remaining parts of the WEST, NORTH WEST, NORTH AND NORTH EAST by old inclosures in CHICHELEY
Also a parcel of land situate in GARDEN FIELD comprising 5 ACRES – 3 ROODS – 13 PERCHES including all roads and ways bounded on the EAST and NORTH EAST and on the SOUTH by lands allotted to CATHERINE LOWNDES STONE and on the NORTH WEST by lands allotted to the RECTOR which last described allotment is set out to the said CHARLES CHESTER in that situation on purpose to be exchanged with the said CATHERINE LOWNDES STONE for lands in the Parish of CHICHELEY
Also MILL HILL FIELD containing 1 ACRE – 5 ROODS – 33 PERCHES including all roads and ways bounded on the NORTH and EAST by lands allotted to WILLIAM LOWNDES on the SOUTH by an old inclosure belonging to CATHERINE LOWNDES STONE and on the WEST by lands allotted to CATHERINE LOWNDES STONE last described allotment to CHARLES CHESTER set out to him on purpose to be exchanged with WILLIAM LOWNDES for lands in the PARISH OF CHICHELEY
Also that other parcel of land situate in the MOORS FIELD containing 1 ACRE – 2 ROODS – 30 PERCHES bounded on the EAST the SOUTH and the WEST by lands awarded to the said RICHARD LOWNDES and on the NORTH by an allotment to ELIZABETH BRANDON which last described allotment to CHARLES CHESTER is set out in that situation on purpose to be exchanged with the said RICHARD LOWNDES for lands in the Parish of CHICHELEY
And also that other piece of ground situate in MILL HILL FIELD containing 1 ACRE – 2 ROODS – 7 PERCHES bounded on the EAST or SOUTH EAST by lands awarded to the said RICHARD LOWNDES on the SOUTH and on the WEST by lands awarded to THOMAS GRIGGS and on the NORTH by lands awarded to MICHAEL NASH which last described allotment is set out to CHARLES CHESTER in that situation on purpose to be exchanged with MICHAEL NASH for land in the Parish of CHICHELEY
We award that the first of the said five described allotments to CHARLES CHESTER is allotted as near as maybe to his mansion house at CHICHELEY and with several parcels of land in CHICHELEY received by him in exchange from CATHERINE LOWNDES STONE, WILLIAM LOWNDES, RICHARD LOWNDES and MICHAEL NASH in lieu of all his lands and right of Common upon fields and common lands in NORTH CRAWLEY by the said Act directed to be inclosed and that the other four allotments described and set out to CHARLES CHESTER are at the request of him set out and allotted to be convenient to the persons receiving them in exchange the hedges, ditches and fences of the first described allotment to CHARLES CHESTER on the SOUTH next the allotments to the said THOMAS SANDON and the RECTOR of NORTH CRAWLEY and on the WEST and SOUTH WEST next the open fields of CHICHELEY and they shall be maintained and kept in repair by CHARLES CHESTER
The hedges and ditches of the second described allotment to CHARLES CHESTER on the NORTH WEST next to the said RECTOR shall be kept in repair by CHARLES CHESTER or by CATHERINE LOWNDES STONE on her taking the same in exchange
The hedges and ditches in the third described allotment to CHARLES CHESTER on the WEST next the allotment to CATHERINE LOWNDES STONE shall be maintained at the expense of CHARLES CHESTER or by WILLIAM LOWNDES on his taking the same in exchange
The hedges and ditches of the fourth described allotment to CHARLES CHESTER on the NORTH next the allotment to ELIZABETH BRANDON shall be maintained by CHARLES CHESTER or by RICHARD LOWNDES on his taking the same in exchange
The hedges and ditches of the fifth described allotment to CHARLES CHESTER on the EAST or SOUTH EAST next to the allotment to RICHARD LOWNDES shall be maintained by CHARLES CHESTER or by MICHAEL NASH on his taking the same in exchange