The Manor of Stambourne Hall

It is an attempt to list owners from all sources from Domesday = LDB, Magna Carta = MC, Wright = Wr, Morant=Mo, Newcourt = Nct, Cartulary of Stoke by Clare = SC
NJE = a typescript prepared by my son

1088	LDB Hamo Dapifer, syn King’s Steward, becomes Lord of a Manor held by Goti before 1066. [chap 28, top rhc; sn 11, lh margin; ciphers @ foot are folio pagination.] This is probably in Toppesfield. Hamo has an annexation, whatever that may mean, in ch 90 sn 33 of a holding of Alstan a Freeman, before 1066 & now; who shares this with 12 others; he has himself 2 doz parcels. Geoffrey de Mandeville has an annexation in ch 90 sn 26 of land which Alstan held in lordship before 1066, & now. This is Moone Hall. I think these three data mean that Alstan was effectively Lord of Stambourne Hall Manor, under Hamo. see the discussion under Domesday in Chapter 2.
1066	& earlier Alstan and 12 others.
1066-88	& after Alstan, a Freeman under the overlord Hamo the King’s Steward. The lands were then divided in 3 parts all called after a Hall.
1162c	Theobald de Stanburne gives some property to the church (Becket).
1130-90	Tebald’s probable life-span. NJE thinks the de Stanburn family built the Hall. If there was one at this time he may well be right: it would have been of timber: it certainly was not the present Elizabethan brick structure which dates from about 1550 AD.
1163-8	In charter SC301 Robt de Gnvl originally grants the advowson of the church to Stoke Priory. Morant writes “It has always been holden of the Honor of Clare”. Is this when the Manor first became of the Honour of Clare? From 1088 it seems to have been held of Hamo the Steward of the King. See Richard de Clare under Nortuna.
1212	Richard de Clare, E of Clare & Hertford was 1 of 25 barons enforcers of Magna Carta. Gilbert de Clare, his son, E of Gloucs was another Geoffrey de Mandeville, E of Essex & Gloucs was another. I see no other name relevant to Stambourne & none who was actually here.
1218	Roberto de Stanburn is Capellano SC581. If (a) he be the same man as that active in 1251 and (b) the de Stanburns did in some way control their eponymous manor, then he may be the last of them to do so.
1212-35	Hugh deStanburn is in SC 618 – he could be the last controller of the Hall.
1242	Pever Family given the manor by K Hy III [reigned 57 years, 1216-72]. They are also called Piper which name survive both here & in Toppesfield. It seems unlikely that he lived here so the de Stanburns may well have retained beneficial occupation.
1242-60	Lordship of Paulinus; probably in absentia for he had built a new grand house @ Tuddington in Berkshire. Rogere is here – perhaps as locum tenens.
1251-2	Robert de Stanburn is a landowner in charter SC623. He also appears as Roberto Capellano in SC624 which is probably of the same date.
1260-90	Lordship of William Pever s o Paulinus.
1290-1300	Lordship of William’s brother, John.
1300-30	Lordship of William Pever, the Younger, s o John.
1330-50	Putative Lordship of Innominatus who is postulated to fill in the gap.
1350-70	Lordship of Thomas = Margaret, d o Sr Neal Loring.
1370-95	Lordship in some form of his daughter Mary = Sr John Broughton. John, Edward & Thomas de Stanburn were active as witnesses & signatories in these same years; if they did build a Hall it had already passed to the ownership of the Pevers line by this time, even if it was not occupied by them.
1399-1414	Rgn of King Hy IV.
1395	McWilliams first appear as landowners here – though the record of the family begins with Milo who lived about 1299-1340.
1395-1430	Lordship of Edwd [i] McW, guessed from his life-span.
1430-50	Lordship of Thomas [ii] McW.
1450-64	Lordship of William McW.
1464-79	The lordship passes sideways to his brother Edward [ii]. In 1456-79 Margaret de Alkaberwe, which is both her name & an estate in Bathorn, holds land in Stambourne too. At his death in 1479 this Edward says he holds Alkaberwe. The heraldic commentaries gives the name as Awkborough. In fact Ed ii m Elizabeth Inglosse; I think this refers to Ed [iii] v.i.
1479-90	Lordship of John McW.
1490-95	Lordship of Edward [iii] McW.
1506-39	Lordship of Henry [i] McW who built the chancel.
1539-86	Henry [ii] who inherited aet 7 y o. He m the widow Mary Hill-Cheke who lived to be 84 in 1616: she retained 1/5th of the estate from 1586 until her death. Elizabeth McWm, 1501 to perhaps 1590, m Geo Colt who d 1578. The shield in light 7 implies that she too was a part owner. Light 8 implies that she was followed by her son Henry Colt though strictly it belongs to the early XVc. Clearly there was complex part-ownership around this time but the data are incomplete. Wright does not mention Colt at all.
1586-99	Henry [iii] McW who was killed in the duel. The last of the male line, he was unmarried without legal issue.
1599-1616	Margaret McWm d o Henry [ii] & w o Sr John Stanhope was co-heir of Henry [iii] McW till her death. Her share went to her son Charles v.i.
1610-30	Edward Rane or Rone [from the parish registers; see handwriting analysis].
1630-54	Charles, Lord Stanhope, s o Margaret, bought the shares off each of the four sisters of his mother. He had no issue and sold it to Cambell v.i.
1654-58	Rachel Cambell, widow of Sr James Cambell held it till her death.
1658	Hester Cambell, Rachel Guise, Rachel & Abigail Abdy & Susan VanPaine.
1662	Choat has most chimneys in the Hearth Tax Records [perhaps he had this harem of four more girls of whom little is known; see 1630-54]. Does his family tree elucidate?
1672,3,6	Robert Wankford of Berwick Hall buys all the shares of the group of girls as did Lord Stanhope before him. His sister Dorcas bz 1680c. = Thos Todd, 1669-1710, Lord of Sturmer Manor [ex a stone on the wall of Sturmer church] v.i.1735. They have a son, Radcliffe Todd; Robert’s third child, Ann = George Gent of Moyn’s Hall.
1684	Luke Jackson, s.o. Robert & Mary, was buried 5 May v.i.
1688	“for some years” Shelley his son is Lord in 1710 a/t the deed giving the land to HHII for his chapel. He dies 28 Feb 1731. His d Catherine d 17 May 1705 following the death of his wife on 1st March.
1721	27 Aug. Robt Jackson dies in Nottingham; he is s o Luke Jackson = Susan VanPaine.
1735	Morant has “or to” Mr Gosling; another note has Mr Chas Jackson as Lord of the Manor in this year.
1737	There is no Essex Freeholder with > £10 in Stambourne. Mr Thos Crisp of Sturmer owns land worth £12 here. He must have owned the manor house & lands but whether he was Lord is unknown. Somewhere in this gap “Berners” was thought to be lord. From 1760 a Mr Frost lived in and married a servant of the Hall. One, Walter Frost, B.A. 1720/1, M.A. 1724, was a Fellow of Queens and married a lady who had been servant to Mrs Lowe; she is not in either Register. [v.i. Mrs King ch9.p1]]
1799	Barker Myall was Lord in a Mill House Manor Court Roll.
1816	A Myall, nephew of Barker was owner of Hall a/t J.H. A never gets a christian name.
1831	One Barker Myall was again Lord; was it the same one or a son? Wright also has him as owner.
1845-50	Barker Myell or Myall (as in the directories) moved to Stn Gn in 1850 which was owned by R Mumford Joslin from 1845; was this the Goslin family of 1735?
	Jas Smith.
1859	1st generation of Lewis Fry’s; they may have been absentees at first v.i.
1881	The census has John Willett, Farmer aet 57 = Sarah Ann, aet 44. Must have been an agent . The Frys are not mentioned.
1896 & 1911	Both Censuses (or are they directories) are the same..
1930	Perhaps Alex Peat & then Mrs Peat.
1966	Some people who put in the open riser staircase.
1971/2	Michael & Joanna Shelton; she d 1990c., he in 1994c.
1995-96	Vacant for some time – presumably the architect son of Michael with his lady friend owned the building. [Roger Hyde returns to live in Moone Hall.]
1997	It still appears empty in October but it does not look neglected.
1998	It is certainly occupied by Shelton’s son & his lawyer lady companion.

Return to Chapter 3 – The people