Padworth Manor, Berkshire, England

The earliest mention of PADWORTH occurs in 956, when 5 cassates of land there were granted by King Edwy to his man Eadric.t is possible that this estate afterwards became the larger manor of Padworth, which was held by three thegns in parage in the reign of Edward the Confessor, and was in 1086 the property of Stephen son of Eirard. The manor was held of the king in chief by serjeanty, the overlordship of the Crown being last mentioned in 1571. In 1164 the tenant was Miles de Padworth. His successor Robert, who was perhaps his son, seems to have taken part in the revolt of 1173, for his land was in the king's hands two years later. Whether this Robert de Padworth can be identified with the Robert de Coudray who died early in the reign of Henry III is uncertain, but about 1240 Fulk de Coudray was holding Padworth by the serjeanty of finding one man to hold a rope in the queen's ship when she crossed the sea between England and Normandy. He gave the manor, together with that of Sherborne Coudray (co. Hants), to Maud de Herriard and Nicholas Sifrewast her son for their lives, in exchange for the manor of Herriard, which Maud had granted to him and his heirs for ever.

Fulk died in 1251, leaving as his heir his son Peter, whose wardship and marriage were sold by the king to Ralph the son of Nicholas for 300 marks. Peter's marriage with Agnes the daughter and coheir of Aimery de Sacy had, however, already been arranged, and in 1252 the king agreed that it should take place, 'as he had granted to Fulk in his lifetime.' Peter de Coudray was afterwards knighted.He was still living in 1297, in which year he granted three manors, of which Padworth was one, to his eldest son Thomas at an annual rent of £100.Thomas succeeded his father before 1305, in which year he demised certain of his lands in Oxfordshire to his mother Agnes, while retaining the manor of Padworth for himself. He was afterwards knighted,and in 1342 obtained licence to settle this manor on himself and Joan his wife with remainder to his right heirs. He died in May 1349, and his widow only a month later, possibly of the Black Death, which made fearful ravages in the neighbourhood; it is noted in the inquisition taken after his death that the pleas and profits of the manor court were worth nothing that year 'because all the men are dead.'

Sir Thomas was succeeded by his kinsman Fulk de Coudray, who in 1368 obtained licence to enfeoff Sir Aimery de St. Amand and others with the manor of Padworth, probably as trustees.

Fulk died before 1378; his wife Joan survived him, and held the manor for her life, the reversion being in the hands of William Mulsho, kinsman and heir of one of the feoffees of 1368.This William Mulsho in 1379 sold the reversion 'by command of the king' to William of Wykeham, Bishop of Winchester, who was in possession of the manor in 1401. In 1402, however, Edward Coudray, a cousin of Fulk,obtained, on payment of 100s., licence for Wykeham to enfeoff him and his heirs of the manor of Padworth. He seems to have been succeeded by his son Thomas, who died childless, the estate passing to his brother Peter. Edward the son of this Peter died in 1464 seised of the manor, which passed to his son another Peter, on whose death in 1528 it was divided among his three daughters and co-heirs, Joan, Elizabeth and Margery.

Elizabeth afterwards married Richard Paulet. In 1540 she and her husband obtained licence to alienate half her share to her sister Joan, the wife of Peter Kydwelly, and in 1542 they released the remainder to her other sister Margery and her husband William Rythe. Joan settled her moiety of the manor in 1559, after her husband's death, on herself for life with reversion to William Kydwelly, her son, and his heirs. She died in 1562, and William had livery of a moiety of the manor ten years later; he died in 1575 seised of this moiety, leaving as his heirs his sisters Mary and Elizabeth, the wives of Jerome Stanshawe and William Davison respectively. Later in the same year William and Elizabeth had licence to alienate a fourth of the manor to George Littlefield. In 1586 Jerome Stanshawe and Mary his wife and Richard Pershowse and Elizabeth his wife, possibly their daughter, obtained licence to alienate their fourth of the manor of Padworth to George Littlefield and his heirs.

George Littlefield settled the estate in 1589 on himself and Alice his wife, with successive remainders to his sons John, James and William and their heirs male. He died in 1603, leaving as his heir his grandson George, the son of John Littlefield, then eleven years old. The sons of this George, Adam and John Littlefield, dealt with his property in Padworth by fine in 1655.

The other moiety of the manor had been in the hands of Margery, the youngest daughter of Peter Kydwelly and wife of William Rythe. In 1586 she and her daughter Elizabeth, who was then the widow of Nicholas Tichborne, obtained licence to alienate a moiety of Padworth Manor to Martin Tichborne. Martin died in 1626, his heir being his brother Sir Benjamin Tichborne, bart., who sold the estate in 1629, with the consent of his son Richard, to Sir Humphery Forster, bart. It continued in the possession of the Forsters as late as 1681,but its descent after this date is obscure; possibly it was bought by one of the Brightwells, who were apparently regarded as lords of the whole manor in the 18th century.

Adam and John Littlefield sold their share of the manor in 1655 to Thomas Brightwell, who seems to have settled it three years later on his great-nephew Samuel, the son of his nephew John Brightwell. Samuel Brightwell's son Loftus died in 1738, leaving four daughters, Mary who married Christopher Griffith, Anne who married Richard Chicheley, and Susannah and Elizabeth who remained unmarried; in 1738 three-fourths of the manor were settled on Mary's son Christopher, who married his cousin Anne Chicheley, thus obtaining the whole. Christopher Griffith the younger married secondly Catherine St. Quintin; he died childless in 1767, and the estate went after the death of his widow to her nephew Matthew Chitty Darby, afterwards of the Grenadier Guards, who assumed the name of Griffith on his succession. General Darby-Griffith served with distinction in the Peninsular War and was severely wounded at Corunna, but lived until 1823. He was succeeded by his son Mr. Christopher DarbyGriffith, M.P. for Devizes 1857–68, whose son Major Christopher William Darby-Griffith is the present lord of the manor.

HUSSEIS.

There was a second manor at Padworth assessed at 2½ hides, which was held of William de Ow by Gozelin at the time of the Domesday Survey, and had been held by Ælfstan of King Edward.The overlordship afterwards belonged to the Earls Marshal, and apparently passed by the marriage of Isabel daughter and heir of William Marshal with Gilbert de Clare to the Earls of Gloucester. After the death of the last Gilbert de Clare in 1314 Padworth formed part of the portion of Margaret wife of Hugh Audley, one of his sisters and co-heirs. Her daughter and heir, another Margaret, married Ralf Earl of Stafford, and the overlordship continued in the possession of their descendants at least as late as 1460, when the last mention of it occurs.

A mesne lordship was held in the early part of the reign of Henry III by Ralf de Camoys, the tenant of North Denchworth. Ralf's son and namesake, who succeeded him, granted Denchworth to Adam Fettiplace about 1263, and Philip Fettiplace, Adam's heir, obtained a quitclaim of both manors from John de Camoys in 1291. In 1300 Philip Fettiplace settled the manor of North Denchworth with its appurtenances on himself for life with remainder to his sons Henry and Aimery and the heirs of Aimery. Among these appurtenances the mesne lordship of Padworth seems to have been included, for it continued to follow the descent of North Denchworth (q.v.) at least as late as 1460, when it was in the hands of the heirs of Aimery Fettiplace.

In the 13th century the manor was held of Ralf de Camoys the elder by John de la Husee, from whose family it received its distinguishing name. He seems to have been succeeded by Piers de la Husee who married Agatha daughter and co-heir of William Banister of Finchampstead. No mention of Padworth occurs in the inquisition taken on the death of Piers, but probably this was because it was not held in chief of the king, for the manor afterwards passed with Finchampstead (q.v.) to the families of Colle and Perkyns, and has since followed the descent of Ufton Court (q.v. in Ufton). Mr. James Herbert Benyon of Englefield is the owner at the present day.

Certain lands in Padworth were held, towards the close of the 14th century, as parcel of the manor of Ufton Pole, by Sir Thomas Ipre, who granted them in 1396 to John Lord Lovel and Holand and his heirs. Lord Lovel died in 1408 seised of this property, which was then held of Constance Paynell, lady of Ufton Robert. His heir was his son John Lord Lovel, whose son William Lord Lovel died in 1455,leaving the land to his son another John. Francis, the son and heir of this John, was attainted in 1485, on account of his support of Richard III, and died childless two years later. Ufton Pole (q.v.) was granted to Richard Weston in 1510, and these lands were probably included in the manor, which later came into the same hands as Ufton Robert.

At the time of the Domesday Survey there were two mills belonging to the larger manor of Padworth, which was afterwards called Coudrays. They seem to have followed throughout the same descent as that manor. Two water corn-mills were mentioned among the appurtenances as late as 1828, but there is now only one mill in Padworth. A moiety of a third mill belonged in 1086 to the same manor, another moiety being one of the appurtenances of the manor belonging to William de Ow