Mathias Manor- The Grange Estate

THE GRANGE ESTATE (FORMERLY MATHIAS MANOR)

After the boundary dispute between King David of Scotland holder of the Honor of Huntingdon and the Abbot of Ramsey was settled in 1128, King David’s fee in the East of Great Crawley was held by his steward and an under tenant Mathias de Gaule who held a large part of common field arable land.

Another subtenant William Dault conveyed to Robert de Braybrook around 1200 his Manor House, Mill & Mill Pond which was to the east of Chicheley Brook just south of North Crawley. Tenants had to grind their corn there.

Baldwin Filliol at his Manor Farm who had to cross a ford gave permission to both Dault & Braybrook to raise the level of his Mill & Fish Pond to enable the Mill to operate and grind corn.

Daults Manor House and holding tallies with that of Franklins Farm, named after Richard Franklin who was in possession in 1557.

In 1489 when John Broughton died, his Will gave directions for the sale of Mathias Manor, Broughtons & Filliols when the three merged, Mathias & Filliol were then under the name of Broughtons or Great Crawley Manor.

Before 1600 Anthony Tyringham bought Franklins Farm, Hollows Manor & Broadmead Farm and had inherited Tyringham Manor (Pateshull)? in the village. Tyringham’s children Arthur & Thomas sold Franklins with 80 acres of pasture and 60 acres of open field arable to Roger Hackett for £1900.

Hackett also bought Rookery Farm & 25 acres and Church End Farm with the adjoining Newtons Close (4 acres) and Roles Close (3 acres).

In 1621 when Hackett died his son Roger who was living in Franklyns Farmhouse in 1630’s took 17 acres of open field arable in Mill Hill Field to the south west to enlarge his home close.

He thus denied villagers right of pasture of this land and was presented at Lord Exeter’s Court in 1638. Settlement of the dispute took until 1659 when Roger’s son Thomas settled.

Thomas acquired Dallows Farm (Dollars Grove) 80 acres.

His son Nicholls acquired two more farms, one a small farmhouse west of the church with a cottage and 2 Caldwell Closes 16 acres & 14 acres arable. Brook End Farm with 176 acres arable a 2 closes of 2 acres each.

East Field Farm also came into the Hackett Estate via Hollows Manor.

Nicholls Hackett had no male heirs so his estate was settled on his only child Elizabeth who was married to Sir Nicholas Carew of Beddington, Surrey.

Sir Nicholas was a spendthrift and in February 1716 he mortgaged the Estate for £7000 to the Lord Chief Justice, Sir Peter King.

In 1722 Sir Peter foreclosed on the mortgage & sold the Estate tot William Temple (a nominee of Sir Peter) who took up residence in the mansion. On the 25^th November 1723 it was sold to William Lowndes (Senior), it descended with the Winslow & Whaddon Estates until purchased in 1803 by Thomas David Boswell, younger brother of Johnson’s biographer.

(Note the conveyance to William Temple is in the Boswell muniments with full particulars of each farm or holding and the open field arable land enumerated strip by strip and parcelled out into three seasons of the cropping program).