1830.1

Mr. URBAN,

Account of Biggleswade, co. Bedford.

Biggleswade, April 14. IGGLESWADE, a market town D in the county of Bedford, is situate on the great north road at the distance of 45 miles from London. It gives name to the hundred in which it is situate; the ancient name, according to Domesday Book, was Bicheleswade; but since the compilation of that book it has undergone several changes, for the most part orthographical, viz. Bikeleswade, Bigelesworth, Biglesward. In ancient records it is called the Borough and Foreign of Biggleswade, and it hath now its bailiwick or fran chise, to which the tolls of the market and fairs are payable; the present proprietor of the bailiwick is Mr. Simeon Sell, We learn from the Norman Survey, that the Manor was then held by Ralph de Lisle, and was rated for ten hides; 1 there were seven villeins, ten bordars, and three servants; also two mills of 47s. yearly value. Its value was 171. yearly. In the time of King Edward the Confessor, Stigand the Archbishop held this manor, and it was then worth 107. Richard, the tenth and last Abbot of Ely, perceiving that encroachments were daily being made upon the privileges of their monastery, obtained a grant from Henry 1. making their Abbey a Bishoprick, but Richard died before it was put into execution. Now as there was no province assigned, the King sent for Robert Bluet, then Bishop of Lincoln and Lord Chancellor of England, and obtained of him that the county of Cambridge might be the province of the new Bishop; in

19.

lieu of which, three manors, part of the possessions of the Abbey of Ely, were surrendered to the Bishop of Lincoln viz., Spaldwick, Biggleswade, and Bugden."

The grant of Henry I. only mentions the vill of Spaldwick, and is to this purport: "The King having taken into consideration the state of his kingdom of England, and finding that the harvest was great but the labourers few, and therefore the labour too much upon them, &c., with the advice of the Pope Pascal did convey and make over the Vill of Spaldwick, in the county of Huntingdon, part of the possessions of the monastery of Ely, with all its rights and appurtenances, to the Church of Lincoln, and to Robert Bishop of the same see, and to his successors for ever, in as free and ample a manner as ever the monastery of Ely had held it," &c. Browne Willis states that Biggleswade was obtained by the successor of Bluet, for which he was to make the King an annual present of a rich gown lined with sables, worth one hundred marks: and we accordingly find that the manor was granted to the Bishop of Lincoln without any allusion to any assignment of the county of Cambridge as a diocese for the Bishop of Ely.

The Bishops of Lincoln continued to hold the manor and enjoy the privilege, as is evident from the extracts from the public records given beneath, until 4th Edw. III., when Henry Bishop of Lincoln was summoned to answer by what authority he claimed to have, in his manor of Biggleswade, view of frank pledge, with all things to view of frank pledge belonging, twice in a year,

Coke's account of the Franchise of Ely, in the 4th Vol. of his Inst.

"Inspeximus insuper cartam celebris memoria Domini H. quondam regis Angliæ progenitoris nostri in hæc verba: H. rex Angliae Archiepiscopis, &c. Sciatis me reddidisse et concessisse Deo et Ecclesiæ beatæ Mariæ Lincoliæ, et Alexandro Episcopo et omnibus successoribus suis imperpetuum, manerium de Bicheleswada cum terris et hominibus et omsibus ipsi manerio pertinentibus, in bosco et plano, in aquis et extra, in pratis et pasturis, in molendinis et ecclesiâ: in via et semitis, in piscariis, cum soca et saca et tol et team et infagenetheof, cum omnibus libertatibus et quietationibus et consuetudinibus et omnibus relas eidem manerio pertinentibus, ita bene et in pace et honorificè et quietè optinendis Ecclesie Lincolniensi et præetaxato Episcopo, et omnibus successoribus ejus, sicut ego unquam materiam illud melius et liberius tenui dum fuit in manu meâ, vel aliquis qui illud liberius aate me tenuisset. Hanc itaque redditionem et concessionem meam, sicut superius determitum est, factam collaudo, collaudatam confirmo, et illam præfatæ Ecclesiæ et Episcopo Alexandro et successoribus ejus integrè illibatèque permansuram regiâ auctoritate et a Deo mihi concessa potestate corroboro. Testibus Rogero Episcopo Sarum, &c. &c.; apud Gilingham, anno ab incarnatione Domini millessimo centessimo tricessimo secundo."Dugd. Monast. col. iii. p. 261.

Ep's Line' ten' in Bykeleswade Str'tton H'd'm' di' feod' de Baronia Eccl'ie sue. Testa de Nevill. Ep'us Lincoln omnes habet regales libertates infra maner' et Hundred' de Bykeleswade. 29 H. III. Inq. post mort. Pleas of quo warranto.

viz. one after the feast of St. Michael, and another after the feast of Easter, of all resiants and tenants within the same thanor; with soc, sac, toll, theam, infangthef and outfangthef, gallows, tumbrell, pillory, and thew at Biggleswade; and one market at Biggleswade on Monday, and one fair there yearly, on the eve and on the day of the exaltation of the Holy Cross, with pleas of market and fair, and toll, &c. and to have free warren in all their demesne lands in the aforesaid manor, &c.

And the Bishop, by Thomas de Huntington his attorney, came; and as to the view and also the aforesaid liberties of sac, soc, toll, and theam, infangthef, &c. &c. and the fair aforesaid, says, that he and all his predecessors from the time whereof the memory of man does not exist to the contrary, were seised both of the aforesaid liberties as well as the appurtenances to the aforesaid manor, and by that authority he claimed the liberties, &c. And as to the Market at Biggleswade, he said that the Lord King Henry, by his charter, which the Lord King Edward reciting confirmed, and which confirmation was then produced, granted to Hugh the second Bishop of Lincoln, a predecessor of the then present Bishop, that he and his successors for ever should have a market at Biggleswade, which his father grauted and gave to him, and which the same Bishop had always up to that time quietly enjoyed, with all liberties, rights, and customs of a kind appertaining to a market, and by that authority he claimed the aforesaid market, &c. And as to the freewarren aforesaid, he says, the Lord the King Edward, by his charter then produced, granted and confirmed to the then present Bishop, that he and his

successors for ever might have freewarren in all his demesne lands at Biggleswade, although such lands were not in the bounds of the King's forests, &c., and by that authority he claimed free warren, &c.

I find no change in the proprietor of this manor until the time of Edward the Sixth, when Henry Holbech, alias Rands, was removed from the see of Rochester, and confirmed Bishop of Lincoln, Aug. 20, 1547, in order that the estates belonging to the see of Lincolu might be given up to the Crown, which he readily yielded to: before he had been possessed thereof a month, he in one day confiscated all the principal manors belonging to his Bishoprick, alienating Sept. 26, 1547, the Lordship and manor of Biggleswade, with more than twenty others.

By an inquisition taken at Ampthill, Jau. 14, 3 Edw. VI. it was found that Sir Michael Fisher, Kut. who died June 18, 2 Edw. VI. possessed of this manor, together with that of Clifton and some others, left his granddaughter Agnes, the daughter of John Fisher, which Agnes was found to be his heir, being then twenty-two years old, and the wife of Oliver the first Lord St. John.*

The manor afterwards became a part of the Crown possessions, and was, Feb. 18, 1772, leased to Robert Earl Granville for the term of thirty-oue years, and by the then last survey was valued at 281. 3s. 24d

Soon after the expiration of the above-mentioned lease, it was sold (by auction at Garraway's Coffee-house, Sept. 10, 1807) w Sir Francis Willes, Kut. for the sum of 2180l. Sir Francis died Oct. 30, 1827, seized of the manor, which he devised to Peter Harvey Lo

* Created Baron of the Realm by letters patent bearing date Jan. 15, 1558, by the

title of Lord St. John of Bletsho.

Account of Manors held by Lease from the Crown.

In the Val. Eccl. of Henry. Vill. we find that Biggleswade was worth per annum

£. s. d. .36 4 6

...17

0 14

4

0 6

1830.]

Account of Biggleswade, co. Bedford.

vell, esq. a minor, the present proprietor.

The parish Church, dedicated to St. Audrew, is in the Deanery of Shefford; but being a prebend, the Prebendary having a peculiar jurisdiction throughout the parish, is exempt from archidiaconal visitation: the wills of those persous who die possessed of personalty in this parish only, are proved, and other ecclesiastical affairs are transacted, in the peculiar of the Prebendary. The vicarage was endowed 1277 by one Thomas Northfleet, Prebendary of Biggleswade; he presented Walter Justice to the same, who was canonically instituted under duty of residence. It appears from the endowment, that the Prebendary reserved to himself and his successors portions of the altarage, viz. the tithes of wool and lamb, also all mortuaries, with the tithes of tradesmen arising from trade; the residue of the altarage, for the sustenance of the Vicar and his ministers, was stated to be the four principal offerings through the year, with the other offerings on the days of All Saints, and of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and others, as well at funerals as at marriages and purifications or churchings, and whatsoever else due in name of an offering: together with the tithe of milk, cheese, also of mills, with the tithes of calves, foals, pigs, geese, flax, hemp, and curtilages, with the payment at Christmas called ploughboot, and also the oblations which the faithful in Christ for the time to come, might put into the trunks or chests of Biggleswade and of Stratton. The Vicar by himself, and other necessary and proper ministers, was to serve the prebendal Church of Biggleswade, and find two waxlights in full service, and two processional lights, and one lamp burning in the chancel, together with wine, frankincense, and wafers, and

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was to answer proportionably for extraordinary charges; but the Prebendary was to provide priests, to do duty in the Chapels of the said Prebend, in such manner as he had been accustomed to do, &c.

In the Ecclesiastical Taxation of Pope Nicholas, it is thus recorded of "Eccl'ia Prebendal' de the Prebend,

Bikeleswade, 461. 13s. 4d.;" but the Vicarage is not separately alluded to. We find, however, from an Inquisition of Ninths,* granted 15 Edw. III. that the Vicarage was returned as worth 15l. 10s. 3d.

The Prebend is rated in the King's books at 421. 17s 6d.†

In Browne Willis's survey of the Cathedrals, is given the succession of the Prebendaries of this Church. The present Prebendary is the Rev. George Thos. Pretyman, of Wheathamistead.

The present Vicar is the Rev. Edw. Barker Frere.

Anciently there was a guild or fraternity called the Fraternity of the Holy Trinity in the Church of St. Andrew in Biggleswade," of which we find the following entry in the Val. Eccl. of Hen. VIII. made about the time of its suppression.

"Rob'tus Rypam p'sbit' frat'uitat sive gilde S'c'e Trinitats in eccl'ia S'ti Andree in Bygleswade p'dict' h'et in clar' denar' de gardianis d'ce fratʼnitat", 71.

"I'm p'd'c'i gardiani h'ent in terr' et ten' posit' in man' mort' p' nup' Regem E. išijtu et valent nisi ultra rep's, 61. 13s. 4d.”

A grant respecting this Guild may be seen Pat. 14 Edw. IV. p. 2, m. 4.

The chancel was built by John Rudyng, a Prebendary of this church (being collated 1467; he, however, resigned it for that of Sutton in Bucks, 1468.) The eastern window is of very uncom mon dimensions, and is much admired.

Upon entering the chancel door, to the right are three stalls, over each of

• In this aid 34 marka, 11s. 8d. were paid by the parish of Biggleswade.
The following extract is from the Val. Eccl. of Henry VIII.
Bygleswade. Will'in's Seg've vicarius ib'm h'et in clar' den’ijs ultra Į
rep's p' annu'.....

Georgius Hennege decanus Lincoln' p'bend' ib'm h'et
de firmario ejusd'm p'bend'.

In den'ijs solut' p'ori S'ti Joh'is Jer'l'm in
Anglia p' pens' antia,

...

Et p' pore'one solut' subdecano et Chore-
stall' Lincoln' p' aunu'

3 6 8

4 6 0

£. s. d. 10 0 0

50

0 0

60

0 0

ི|g

In toto................ 7 12 8

Et reman' clarè...... 42 7 4

1830]

Biggleswade.-Scraps from a Note-Book.

ut ægrum spiritum trahere desinit delectum, pro cineris consortio, receptaculum. An. D. 1706, ætat. 63."

On a plain marble monument, very near to the last, we read,

"Beneath this stone are deposited the remains of Harriot, daughter of Admiral Sir Richard King, Bart. married to BrigadierGeneral Charles Barnett, Feb. 22, 1796; died in childbed Sept. 17, 1799. She was deservedly loved, and ever will be lamented by her afflicted husband.

"The said Charles Barnett died at Gib

raltar on the 10th of October, 1804, of the fatal epidemic fever that raged there, and was by his own direction buried in the convent chapel without military honours. He was Major-General of his Majesty's forces, second Major of his Majesty's third regiment of foot guards, and second in command in that garrison. His civil and military virtue has been amply acknowledged and recorded."

In the chancel, near to the altar, are several monuments to the family of the Barnetts, who have for some time been seated at Stratton. The following inscriptions are copied from the

monuments:

"In the grave beneath are deposited the remains of Elizabeth Barnett, who died at Stratton on the 30th of July, 1775; she was twenty years the wife, and thirty years the widow of Curtis Barnett, Esq. who died at Fort St. David's, on the Coast of Coromandel, on the 29th of April, 1746, and was then Commander-in-Chief of his Majesty's squadron in the East Indies.

On the same monument, "In the grave beneath are deposited the remains of Amelia Barnett; she deceased on the 8th Feb. 1808."

Another has:

"In the grave beneath are deposited the remains of Charles Barnett, Esq. son of Cartis and Elizabeth Barnett, born in the city of Gibraltar, May 17th, 1783. Deceased at Stratton, July 27th, 1811."

In the north aile of the Church is a neat tablet, which is

"Sacred to the memory of Barbara Dorothea Lewis, the sister of Richard Lewis, Esq. of Lantrillio Grosseny, in the county of Monmouth, by whom this tablet is dedirated. She departed this life the ad day of June, 1828, aged 77."

In this aile are memorials to several of the Rudd family, who were formerly resident in this town; but as I have already trespassed upon the space assigned for topographical communications in your valuable Miscellany, I

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have thought it prudent to omit them.
I must also, from the same motives,
for the present, omit an account of the
hamlets of Stratton and Holme, in this
parish, which shall be cummunicated
in a future number of your Magazine.
Yours, &c.
C. C.

SCRAPS FROM A NOTE-Book. Tis a very old saying, and one not HAT" brevity is the soul of wit"

yet worn out. Many persons, it has been observed, will glance over a short essay, who are too occupied or too indolent to read a long and regular treatise, and many more, it might have been added, are more attracted by short and pithy sentences, than by the comparatively bulky essay. Under this impression, and, it is confessed, stimulated by the praiseworthy example of your excellent and acute correspondent, A. C. C. (disguised under which initials, I think I can recognise a character not unknown in the world of letters,) the writer proposes to transmit occasionally a selection of extracts from his note-book, on interesting local, lingual, and literary subjects, for the centenarian pages of the oldest Magazine of the day.

The French termination ism seems, in our language, to be generally applied to denote something spurious or false; for instance, philosophism, for a pretended philosophy; liberalism, for an affected liberality, &c. Our neighbours do not themselves seem to observe this difference, if we are to judge from their word for Christianity-Chretianisme.

May not the word tipsy be satisfactorily said to be derived from the tendency of the person affected to tip Over? The deduction is quite legiti

mate.

I am glad, as a citizen and an Englishman, that the late wretched attempt to inclose Hampstead Heath has been defeated. The formerly open spaces around the capital have been too much inclosed-too much for the health and recreation of the public, if not for the avarice of adjoining proprietors; but Hampstead Heath is really too lovely a spot to be resigned to the spoiler.

Residents in London often complain that they can see nothing without pay