Project Purley

The Local History Society for Purley on Thames in the Royal County of Berkshire

Publication L0030

A Village History

The story of Purley on Thames

by John Chapman

Part 1 Prehistory to Tudor

Contents Introduction

PART 1 1 Prehistory 2 Norman Purley 3 The Plantagenets 4 The Tudors

PART 2 5 The Stuarts 6 The Georgians 7 The Victorians

PART 3 8 Edwardian England 9 The First World War 10 The Interwar years 11 The Second World War 12 Modern Purley

Introduction Purley on Thames in the Royal County of Berkshire began as an obscure Saxon village, probably in the 7th century. It lies about four miles to the west of Reading and has been in its shadow for nigh on 1500 years. The village gave its name to a part of Surrey to the south of London and has frequently been confused with it. By the Millennium it had grown to a parish of around 5000 souls with a strong local identity, albeit without a centre or any visible industry and very little commerce. In writing its history I have drawn on the work of many people who have been researching the subject for many years. We have been staggered by the volume of ancient records which document that history, at least in parts. It first gets a mention in Domesday, like so many other similar villages so for the earlier days I have had to draw on a more general history of the area. I have used the several dynasties which rule England from the 11th to 19th centuries as a framework. A few topics have slipped either side of these rather artificial boundaries for the sake of convenience but on the whole the framework does indicate the significant changes in attitude and social changes which have transformed the village from a typical Saxon settlement scraping a living from the soil to a vibrant community earning its crust from technology and commerce and fairly high in the league table of affluence. The history is told in three parts, First from prehistoric times to the end of the Tudor period, then from the Stuarts to the Victorians and finally from Edwardians to the Millennium. Chapter 1- Before the Conquest

Prehistoric Times

The Thames Valley has probably been populated for around a million years, although the earliest traces are only 250,000 years old. The area is particularly rich in remains from all the stone ages; there are traces of a neolithic camp in the western parts of Purley and a large number of flint implements have been found on the surface and dredged from the Thames. Until about 2500 BC it was peopled by the peaceful neolithic farmers of the Windmill Hill Culture, but the next three millennia saw a succession of invasions and migrations, mainly coming along the Thames valley. Whether or not there was an actual replacement of people following an invasion, or whether the process was more one of assimilation of fresh cultural and technical concepts remains a matter for debate. However the phases of change are characterised first by the so-called Beaker People who brought the Stone Age to a close and then by the Wessex Culture in which metal working first appeared and hence the name ‘Bronze Age’ For the next thousand years there was a period of slow development characterised by the spread of more permanent settlement and the establish- ment of long distance routes for trade and commerce such as the Ridgeway, and of course the River Thames. Along these routes came a continuous stream of new fashions and ideas together with the goods. Around 750 BC the movement of people began again, with each successive wave bringing a more martial outlook on life and improved weaponry which resulted from the development of iron based technologies. Successive cultures are known by such names as ‘Carps Tongue Sword People’ (750 BC); ‘Hallstatt’ (500); ‘La Tene’ (300) and ‘Belgic’, the early refugees from the Roman Conquests on the continent (75). The dates are very roughly when the lands around Purley were affected. In 50 BC came the final Belgic invasion when the Atrebates, under Commius established their capital at Silchester and they remained a major influence throughout the Roman Period. Commius had been made king of the Atrebates by Julius Caesar after he had conquered the tribe, then living in the Arras area in northern Gaul. This was in 55 BC. Caesar was intending to invade Britain so he sent Commius as an emissary with a mission to visit as many tribes as possible to persuade them to entrust themselves to the protection of Rome. The reception that Commius got in Britain seems to have been fairly unfriendly as when Caesar did visit Britain the next year Commius was delivered to him bound hand and foot. A few years later in 51 BC Commius led the Atrebates in a revolt against the Roman administration and inflicted a defeat upon Volusensus, a Roman general. In the end however they were defeated by the Roman cavalry and Commius sued for peace. As part of the settlement he was exiled to live somewhere he was unlikely to encounter any Romans and so he and his followers came to Britain. The Atrebates were well organised and rapidly extended their territory along the south bank of the Thames to Surrey in the east and to around Goring in the west and thence south taking in most of Berkshire, Hampsh- ire, East Wiltshire, western Surrey and West Sussex. Commius was later succeded by his son Verica. A second, and more powerful, Belgic kingdom the Catuvellauni was established north of the Thames under Tasciovanus, originally centred in Hertfordshire the capital moved to Colchester when the Catuvellauni defea- ted the Trinovantes. Under Tasciovanus’ son Cymbelline the Catuvellauni extended their territory, first to Kent and the rest of Surrey and Sussex and then to take over the Atrebatan territory. Cymbelline reigned from around 5 AD to the time of the Roman conquest over a huge area on south east Britain, although the princes of the Atrebates continued as client kings at Silchester. It was a period which saw the introduction of a stable currency, and many other economic features copied from the Roman model. Under strong leadership the area prospered and trade links were established which exten- ded well beyond the immediate borders of the kingdom. It was this increas- ing prosperity which attracted the Romans once more.

The Roman Period The first Roman invasion had taken place in 55 BC when Julius Caesar came to survey the possibilties. He came again in 54 BC but travelled nowhere near Purley. He eventually retired permanently to Gaul having established a pattern of trade and commerce between Britain and the Roman Republic. The major invasion of Britain took place in AD 43 when, in the time of the Emperor Claudius, Plautius began the process of permanent conquest. The recorded history of England begins. The Atrebatans were quite receptive to the Romans as they were familiar with their ways and had been trading partners for many years. They offered no resistance to the new order and seemed rather to welcome freedom from rule from Colchester. In fact the Atrebatan princes continued to provide most of the local administration until their power was ended in AD 61 and all the reins of government were firmly taken under Roman control after the rebellion by Boadicea. However the separate identity of the Atrebates seems to have persisted until 96AD. At first Purley came under the Roman Province of Britannia, but in AD 197 this was split and Purley came under Britannia Superior. A further split took place around AD 300 when Purley was part of Maxima Caesariensis. The status of Britain within the Roman Empire had changed dramatica- lly from the time of the revolt of Carausius who proclaimed himself Emperor of Britain in AD 286. Thereafter there were a number of local Emperors who were in effect Usurpers of the Emperor in Rome, on occasions the usurpers succeeded leaving Britain to be governed by Rege- nts or Vicars, at other times they were defeated and replaced by Military Governors. Such was the concern with power struggles that civic and economic matters were left unattended to. This created a period of increasing inflation with high taxes and debasement of the currency, allied to corruption and neglect on a grand scale. It was a period when the wealthy citizens were able to move out to their estates outside the towns and develop their villas leaving the towns to fend for themselves. There are several Villa sites in the area, perhaps the most noteworthy being near the M4/A340 crossing. There is a suspicion that there is also a site beneath Purley Parva and Pangbourne was certainly the site of a Roman crossing of the Thames. The Age of Arthur In AD 410 the administration in Rome finally abandoned any attempts to administer Britain and she was left to get on as best she could. Britain was subjected to repeated raids from Irish, Scottish and Germanic tribes and often local rulers hired other German groups as mercenaries to protect them. The fifth century is full of shadowy figures such as King Cole (Coel Hen), Vortigern and Ambrosius, who seemed to exercise a unifying force over the former Roman provinces. This succession culminated in Arthur who fought a rear guard action against the invaders being pushed further and further westwards until he was finally defeated around 515 AD. It was also a period when Christianity emerged as a force in the land. A Christian chapel has been identified at Silchester and a baptismal font at Caversham, both dating to the fourth century. There are plenty of legends of much earlier Christian influence but they remain generally unsupported. In the fifth century however England emerges as both a seat of heresy through Pelagius and a source of inspiration through Patrick. Throughout this period Britain was unique among the former provinces of the Roman Empire in western Europe in that the native language was not a derivative of Latin and hence Latin survived as a literary language among scholars and clerics whilst elsewhere it devolved into French, Italian, Spanish and Portugese. Thus the usual soubriquet of 'The Dark Ages' is not appropriate. Britain developed trade links with the residual Empire in the east and retained a high culture which encouraged economic growth.

The Coming of the Saxons There seems little doubt that Saxons had been living in the area from the middle of the fifth century, coexisting with the decaying Roman estates and settlements. They were probably the families of the mercenaries, hired by the Britons to protect them, who had settled down to farm. There is absolutely no evidence that they ever formed more than a tiny majority of the population but they brought to Britain a language which was easier for the Celts to learn than for the Saxons to learn Celtic. The Saxons brought about a cultural change in that their culture was more adaptable to the realities of the situation in Britain and the native Celts, along with the newcomers developed into the English. What developed was, in a sense, similar to pre-Roman Britain with local chieftains emerging to provide protection and rule of law for their communities whilst owing allegiance to an authority at a regional level. From these arrangements came the development of the early English kingdoms as communities expanded when their easily farmed hinterland was insufficient to sustain a growing population and groups moved away to form new settlements. The pattern of settlements in the south and midlands of England displays these developments clearly in that there is a fairly regular spacing between settlements of around 1500 metres. 750m is roughly the distance that a ploughman could plough out and back in a day and was thus the limit of easily farmable land. Occasionally the limit was determined by a natural boundary, such as a river or range of hills but there were also political limits, one of which was important for the Purley area. The local kings who emerged at the top of this pile were fairly well settled as regards to the extent of their domains by 700 AD. They all developed a need for a sense of inherited superiority and invented genealo- gies which derived from the Gods. Part of the imported culture was the legends of the Norse gods and the local kings were all anxious to trace their authority back to Odin or another of these gods. This required that someone in the recent past had come from overseas and established suzerainity over their kingdom. This as far as Purley was concerned there were two contenders. The Angle Aella invading from the east and coming up the Thames Valley and the Saxon Cerdic invading from the south. The boundary between the two kingdoms was a line roughly from Pangbourne to Theale and then around the southern Berkshire and Surrey borders. The limit of settlement spread from the east ended abruptly at this border by AD 511 when Aella negotiated a pact with the Saxons under Cerdic When Aella died in 518 the boundary moved to the east and central Berkshire came firmly under the control of the Saxons forming part of the kingdom of Wessex. But by now the settlement boundaries had been fixed and are reflected in parish boundaries today. It was the West-Saxons who gave England a well recorded early history with the Anglo-Saxon Chroni- cle, although they recorded precious little of the affairs of our area, presum- ably because it was far from the seat of power and remained relatively peaceful. Christianity was reestablished in the area by Birinus who had been sent to Wessex in AD 635 to follow up the work of Augustine in Kent. He was nowhere near as successful as Augustine and although he converted King Cynegils and was given a place to establish himself at Dorchester, he never fulfilled his original mission which had included Mercia. He spent much of his time tramping around the downs to visit and preach to the newly founded settlements and it is quite likely he came our way, but there is no evidence of any visit anywhere, let alone here. In 648 there is a record of a gift of 300 hides from King Cenwahl to his kinsman Cuthred and this act is believed to be the establishment of Berksh- ire as a defined territory. In 661 King Wulfhere of Mercia launched an attack upon Wessex and defeated King Cenwahl at a site called Posentesburh. This brought Berksh- ire under the control of Mercia where it remained until 685 when Caedwa- lla became King of Wessex and set about recovering his lost territories. A century later Offa the Terrible launched a second conquest of Berkshire by Mercia. He defeated King Kinewulf in 758 and once more Purley became part of Mercia. In 844 King Brihtwulf of Mercia was granted 14 hides of lands in Pangbourne by Coelred, who as Bishop of Leicester, was the Diocesan for the area. Brihtwulf promptly made the land over to Ealdorman Aethelwulf and a few years later in 851 Purley returned to Wessex when Brihtwulf was defeated by the another Aethelwulf, who was king of Wessex. It is possible that the transfer had actually occurred by negotiation around 849 but the defeat in 851 made it a fait accompli.

The Foundation of Purley It was during this period, in 834, that the parish church of Pangbourne was founded and it is thought that Purley could not have been far behind. As a river crossing Pangbourne would seem to be a more significant place than Purley, but when one looks at Parish boundaries it is noteworthy that until 1991 the territory of Purley extended into modern Pangbourne, indicating fairly strongly that it was established first. The pattern seems to have been that settlement began first in Reading around the mouth of the Kennet and its land extended westwards to around where Greyfriars church now is. This was the western edge of the ancient borough. A second daughter settlement was then founded at Norcot which reached out to share meadowlands with Kentwood which had been founded on the slopes of the hill. Purley seems to have originated at an island in the marshes where the river begins to swing northwards and its territory runs west almost to Pangbourne. When Pangbourne was founded later it could only go further west up the hillside as Tidmarsh had established itself to the south across the marshes from Sulham. If the events had been reversed, ie Pangbourne had been founded first it would undoubtedly have extended its territory eastwards well beyond the Sul Brook, but this did not happen and it too went west. This tends to reinforce the view that there was a Roman villa in the Purley Parva area which had established its territory and quite firmly restricted Pangbourne to a small settlement servicing the river crossing, so that when it too came to look for parish land it had to go west. In any event the main outlines of the parishes had been formed well before the time of Alfred.

Alfred and the Danes From the beginning of the ninth century the major problem facing Wessex was how to counter the Danes. Between 835 and 880 no fewer than twelve major Danish invasions upon England were recorded, few of which affec- ted Wessex. However many raids were made upon the coastal areas around Southampton. The invasion which affected the area most was that of 870 when the Danish Army, which had been ravaging the country for several years, established itself at Reading. Three days after they arrived a raiding party lead by two Danish Earls was intercepted by Aethelwulf, who had been granted lands in Pangbourne, and routed at the battle of Englefield. The actual site of this battle is not known but legend has it that it was fought on the slopes of the hill above Englefield and finished off in the area of Dark Lane and Long Lane. In any event it is almost certain that all the able bodied men from all the surround- ing villages would have been called to arms. Four days later King Aethelred and his brother Alfred arrived and attacked the Danes at their camp in Reading. The attack was a failure and afterwards the Danes regrouped at Ashdown ridge, to the west of Reading. Again they were attacked by a now stronger Saxon force and this time the Saxons prevailed and the Danes were soon in flight back to its camp at Reading. King Aethelred died the next year and was succeeded by Alfred who continued his efforts to defeat the Danes, but without success. There were innumerable battles and eventually Alfred bought a respite with money but his did not bring a lasting peace. The conflicts rumbled on for many years and Danish influence strengthened over all the country, but especially in the east. Alfred extended Wessex to virtually the whole of the midlands, south and west of England, engulfing Mercia and managed to retain an independ- ence for Wessex which was denied to the other kingdoms who were forced to pay continuing tribute to the King of Denmark, a tax known as Danegeld. Within Wessex, Alfred exerted an influence in two major spheres; he fostered learning and literacy and developed the system of civil administra- tion which was to survive for around a thousand years. By the time he came to the throne, the pattern of settlement had been essentially completed and the country was covered with a patchwork of villages, grouped into hundr- eds which in their turn were grouped into shires. Rule of conduct for both public and private affairs were established and ancient Saxon traditions enshrined in the Common Law. Charters were used to define land areas and ownership. A complex system of mutual obligations was developed which regulated landlord and tenant relationsh- ips and which developed into the feudal system which was adapted by the Normans, not introduced. The whole system was governed by courts and meetings, known as moots, at all levels and at which all free men were able to speak. So far as we are aware no Saxon charters survive which refer to Purley and although it is quite clear that the area was settled at a fairly early date, there is no documentary evidence whatsoever.

The Unification of England The invasions of the ninth century tapered off leaving many Danish colon- ies spread out all over England, but chiefly in the east. Gradually the influence of Wessex extended to the rest of England and in 959 Edgar was able to be crowned in Bath as King of all England, not just of Wessex. Danish raids began again soon after and in 1006 there was a major invasion which saw a Danish army come up from Hampshire to Reading around Christmas time and burn down a major part of the town. They went on to Wallingford and Cholsey and it must be highly likely that Purley was not unaffected by them. The next sixty years saw a struggle between the dynasties of both England and Denmark for the kingship, and, in the confusion the rise of the Godwin family. They had started out as earls of Berkshire but by shrewdly siding with whoever looked like winning had managed to extend their power and influence. In 1051 King Edward won a temporary victory and Godwin’s lands in Berkshire were forfeited and redistributed to Edward’s supporters. A year later Godwin made a comeback and took all his lands back, the earldom of Berkshire going to his son Swein. Swein and Godwin died soon after and in 1053 the earldom came into the hands of his other son Harold who was destined to be the last Anglo-Saxon king of England, although perhaps to be more accurate the last Danish king of England. 2 - Norman Purley 1066-1154

Introduction Very little is known of Norman Purley although we know the names of some of the major landholders. By the time of Domesday the manorial system was well established and the two principal manors of Purley Parva and and Purley Magna are listed although not under those names, rather as two holdings of land within Purley. Other portions of land are listed under Burley and these could well have formed parts of other manors. We know that something happened to the church that necessitated it being rebuilt around 1150 and suspect thast it was burnt down during the civil war between Stephen and Matilda.

The Domesday Survey When the survey was made in 1086 the King's officials set up courts of enquiry to determine who had held land before 1066 and who at the present time. Each village and settlement was investigated in detail and the results tabulated according to who held it in 1086. There were considerable practical advantages to be gained if the land were adjudged to be held 'of the King' The manors owned by King Edward formed ' The ancient demesne of the crown' and the peasants had to pay rents at the nearest king's town (in Purley's case this was Reading) but were generally exempt from Danegeld and National Taxation. It was perhaps for this reason that many claimed their land had been held direct of the king instead, for example, via the Earl of Wessex who had undoubtedly been the principal landowner. The citizens of such manors also had direct recourse to the King's Courts so that disputes could be settled more quickly and more cheaply than were they to have to go via the great Earls and other intermediaries. The decreased need for bribery was but one of the explanations. The Godwyn family, as the Earls of Wessex, had previously exercised a strong control over Berkshire, treating it virtually as their kingdom, so that the claims that the manors had belonged directly to King Edward must be treated with some considerable scepticism. However as the Godwin family were no longer an influence and the lands had been given to others anyway, King William was probably not minded to worry about the past. The other information given in Domesday relating to meadow acreage and population can perhaps be relied on a little more as William's officials were fairly shrewd in assessing what they saw and there was little incentive to misrepresent the situation as it had been twenty years before. The reduction in hideage over the period shown for Purley Magna is likely accounted for by the adjustments made to allow for the reduction in the value of land caused by war. A hide was a unit of economic assessment and was originally the amount of land which could be ploughed in a year by, and support the family of a tenant. It varied from 60 to 180 acres depending on local conditions, but for Berkshire is usually reckoned as around 120 acres However the average area of a hide can more easily be deduced from the pattern of settlement expansion in the Saxon period. In the time of King Edward it was the custom in this part of Berkshire for each hide to give a geld of 3½ d to the king every Christmas and Pentecost. If the king was sending out an army then one soldier was due for every 5 hides. If the soldier failed to appear then lands could be forfeit. It was for this reason that most villages were assessed in multiples of 5 hides and then this assessment divided between the landowners who were liable

The Domesday Entries The Domesday entries which refer to Purley are as follows:-

LAND OF RALPH SON OF SIEGFRIED In Reading Hundred Roger also holds PURLEY. Brictward held it from King Edward. Then it answered for 4 ½ hides; now for 4 hides. Land for 4 ploughs, in Lordship 2; 9 villagers and 3 smallholders with 3 ploughs. Meadow 16 acres. The value was 100s, later £4, now 100s. This is assumed to be Purley Magna

LAND OF THEODORIC THE GOLDSMITH in Reading Hundred in PURLEY half a hide. Edward held it and answered for it as much then as now. Land for 2 ploughs. In Lordship 1. 1 villager and 3 smallholders with one plough. Meadow 5 acres. The value was 40s; now 50s. This assumed to be Purley Parva.

LAND OF MILES CRISPIN Miles Crispin holds PANGBOURNE and William from him. Baldwin held it from King Edward. 6 hides and 1 virgate. They did not pay tax before 1066 and now only for 5 hides. Nothing in lordship. 3 villagers and 5 small holders with 2 ploughs. A mill at 10s, meadow 12 acres. A man at arms holds one hide of this land. He has one plough, meadow 2 acres. The value of the whole was £6, later £5 now £4 The one hide is assumed to be La-Hyde

LAND OF ODO AND OTHER THANES In Reading Hundred Aubrey the Queen's chamberlain holds one hide from the Queen in BURLEY. Alfward held it from King Edward he could go where he would. Then it answered for one hide, now for nothing. Land for one and a half ploughs. The value was 30s now 20s.

Harding holds 1 hide in BURLEY. He held it himself from Queen Edith. Aelfeva held it before 1066; she could go where she would. Then for 1 hide, now for nothing. Land for 1 ½ ploughs. Nothing in Lordship but 3 villagers have 1 plough, woodland at 5 pigs. The value was 20s, now 12s.

LAND OF HENRY OF FERRERS In Reading Hundred In BURLEY 1 hide. Leofwin held it from King Edward. He could go where he would. He still holds it. Then and now it answered for 1 hide. 1 villagers and 1 smallholder with 1 plough. a fishery at 8d; meadow 2 acres, woodland at 5 pig The value was 10s now 20s. Burley has never been identified by Domesday scholars; but we believe it refers to the land adjacent to the Highway between Long Lane and Westb- ury Lane and the area around Beech Road which is still surrounded by an ancient boundary bank. This seems to have been home to craftsmen ranging from a blacksmith and forge at the junction with Long Lane to a miller and windmill just before Westbury Lane. We also have a wheelwright recorded in the area and assume they were plying their trades where they were passed by travellers from Oxford and Wallingford to Reading. It was later referred to as Lething or Leghing and then absorbed into La Hyde

Miles Crispin Miles Crispin is notable for being one of the major landholders in Domes- day. His connection with Purley is interesting as he was listed as having a holding in Pangbourne which has been identified with La Hyde. There is a hint that the area concerned was the remnant of a Roman estate which stood well outside of Pangbourne which at the time was a crossing point of the Thames. There is also a connection with the Huscarles who became lords of Purley Magna as well as Beddington Huscarle in Surrey from which our link with Purley Surrey came about. Miles was the third son of Gilbert Crispin, baron of Bec and came across with William on his conquest of England. As a result he was awarded considerable land holdings. Under King Edward the Confessor the lord of Wallingford, named Wigot, held very extensive lands in Berkshire and Oxfordshire. He held the positions of Sheriff of Oxford and cup-bearer to the king and, although not related by blood, seemed to have been treated as a kinsman by the king. Wigot was also a close confidant of William Duke of Normandy and when the latter had been victorious over the Saxons at Hastings, he came to Wallingford where Wigot received him in great style and ceremoniously delivered the town to William. William stayed in Wallingford several days and at the conclusion of the feasting there was a marriage between Aldith, the only daughter of Wigot to Robert D'Oily. Robert was the son of Seigneur de Oyley near Liseux in Normandy, one of William's most eminent chieftains. Wigot had had a son Tokig who was one of King William's officers and died at the Battle of Archenbrai. Thus Aldith became Wigot's heir and on his death she inherited all his holdings which had not been confiscated by William as had happened to the majority of Saxon Thegns. Her only child was a daughter, Maud who was married to Miles Crispin around 1084, certainly before Domesday was compiled in 1086. Thus she would have been around 18 at the time, considerably younger than Miles who must have been at least 35. After Miles' death she remarried Brien Fitzco- unt and played an active role in the politics of the period. Miles' Domesday holdings can be placed in two groups, first those that at the time of King Edward were held by Wigot and thus acquired by his marriage to Maude and second those which had been held by other Saxon lords and which we may assume he had acquired as his reward for his part in the conquest. It is interesting to note how many of Miles's holdings had a reduced assessment in 1086 over what they had been in 1066. We may add a further group of Robert D'Oily's holdings. For many of Miles' holdings no holder in 1066 is shown and it may be assumed that these were all held by Wigot. In the case of Chessington in Surrey it is stated specifically that Wigot did not hold it.

The Honour of Wallingford After the death of Robert D'Oily all his holdings came to Miles and became the Honour of Wallingford. He had made Wallingford Castle his seat and had become known as Miles of Wallingford. In 1084 the future King Henry I who was then 15 years old, was sent by his father to Abingdon Abbey for tutoring and Miles and Robert were invited, together with Osmund, Bishop of Sarum, to sit at the Royal high table at Easter. Miles granted the church of All Hallows in Wallingford to the 'Capel of St Nicholas in Wallingford Castel' just prior to 1101. The concept of an Honour is an odd one. It comprised a group of manors and seems to have derived from the Saxon concept of a burgh which provided shelter to an area of up to 15-20 miles around in time of danger. In return each manor had to contribute a number of men to defend the burgh and so there had been established an obligation which was not quite the same as that between an earl and his underlords whereby the earl could call men to the fyrd (Militia) and demand dues from his manors, and quite different from the relationship between a thegn or other holder of a manor and his undertenants. In many cases an honor simply became part of the holding of an earl and for practical purposes the differences ceased to exist, but while the holdings of a given individual could and often were taken into the king's hands and re-distributed, the set of manors which made up an honor remained fairly constant up the 16th century even though the ownerships were in different hands. Thus, while within a matter of a hundred years or so there was scarcely any common ownership between any of the manors which had once been held by Miles, the honor remained as an entity until it was merged with that of Ewelme in 1540 and sold in 1817. The honor was taken into the king's hands on his accession in 1154 and for many years thereafter was granted to the sovereign's eldest son and so became tied to the Earldom, later the Duchy of Cornwall. In 1106 Miles gave an Inn and its adjacent lands to the Abbey of Abingdon. He had fallen ill and had been nursed at the Abbey by the monks. He was particularly grateful to Abbot Faricus for his skill as a physician and in recognition granted the Inn at Colnbrook to the abbey. The Inn had been kept by Aegelward of Sutton and was roughly half way between Abingdon and London and thus would serve as a very convenient staging post for travellers between the abbey and London. Miles sent his steward to Abingdon to lay the title deeds of the hospice on the high altar of the Abbey. Miles finally succumbed to his illness and died in 1107. A few years later on 16th September 1115 King Henry I confirmed the gift in perpetuity which was noted as having been given 'in alms' by Miles and his wife Matilda.

The Church King William was concerned at the difference between the English church and that prevalent on the continent where bishops were centered on major cities rather than in England where their dioceses were regional. The English bishops were therefore ordered to live in towns rather than on their manors in the country as had been their custom. The bishop of Ramsbury had moved between his principal manors of Wilton, Ramsbury and Sonn- ing, and recently also Sherborne as Hereman was also bishop of Sherborne. As a result the See was moved to Old Sarum and hence Purley became part of the new Diocese of Sarum (which later became Salisbury) King Henry I founded Reading Abbey in 1121 as a Priory following the Cluniac observance. It was richly endowed and its initial endowments included the manor and church of Pangbourne. Later the manor of Tilehurst was also added In 1123 Henry I added the pensions from several local churches, formerly payable to the Church of St Mary le Butts to the endowment of Reading Abbey. Among these were 2s from Purley and 4s from Sulham. This was confirmed by Roger as he took office as Bishop of Salisbury. The payment to St Mary le Butts no doubt arose from its role as the Minster church for the area whereby priests based in the Minster ministered to their local churches on circuits which were later reinvented by the Methodists in the 18th century.King Henry died in 1135 and was buried in January 1136 at Reading Abbey. He had died in France and brought back to Reading sewn inside an oxhide. His death marked a real turning point in the affairs of England as he had exercised strong central control and had kept the barons in check. Jocelyn de Bohun, Bishop of Salisbury, issued letters recording that it had been proved in his presence, of sufficient testimony of reliable persons, that the Church of Purley should pay 2s annually to the Abbot of Reading.

The Anarchy After Stephen came to the throne in 1136 the country experienced a protracted period of civil war and anarchy. Queen Matilda, his rival to the throne spent a considerable time at Oxford and Wallingford and her knights roamed the countryside around pillaging and generally destroying everyth- ing they came across. In his book ‘A Legend of Reading Abbey’, .... gives a graphic account of the sacking of Purley, Tilehurst and Theale in 1138 by Matilda's soldiers. The characters are wholly fictitious but there seems more than a touch of reality in the story and explains nicely the need to rebuild the church around 1150. Around this time the church at Purley was rebuilt in the Norman style. The font and the chancel arch survive and their design can be closely dated to this period. It also seems very likely that the church was rededicated when it was reopened, to the Virgin Mary. This was a very common practice which arose partly from a wave of popularity for the Virgin and partly from a desire on the part of the authorities to remove dedications to Saxon saints and from the Pope to exclude Mary Magdalene.

Lords of the Manors After the initial allocation of manors to his followers, there were considera- ble changes as individual landholders and families sought to consolidate their holdings or sublet to lesser knights. Purley Magna came under the control of the Huscarle family but it is not until 1160 that we first learn of a name. Similarly Purley La Hyde came under the control of the de la Hydes. By contrast we know that the Siffrevast family gained control of Purley Parva from at least 1137, however in all cases their stories are best told within the Plantagenet context. 3 - The Plantagenets 1154-1485

Introduction The period in which the Plantagenets ruled England was the period in which England moved from being a newly born and minor country on the fringes of Europe to Europe’s most powerful nation. The Plantagenets ruled England and Wales, parts of Ireland and Scotland and most of what is now western France. It was the period that saw the Renaissance and the beginni- ngs of the Reformation which had such powerful effects upon the minds of men. But it was also a period in which the social structures established as far back as Alfred’s times hardly changed. The names changed but the people and their relationships, one to another, were essentially the same as they had been in Saxon times. There were the same courts, the same manors, the same tools, the same foods and the same grinding poverty for all but a few privileged people who acted out and wrote down all the history. From the history books one learns of Kings and Wars of dynasties and intrigues, but for the vast bulk of the population life just carried on much as before. They played little or no part in history. They might be drafted to fight for one party or another against another party, for a cause unknown. Their homes were occasionally burned to the ground as a power struggle swept by them. But it was all much of a muchness. Food was short for most of the time, but every few years there were disastrous harvests and many starved to death and every now and again disease ravaged the population. And so the struggle for life went on. The period saw wars with France and the Black Death and it was the latter which sowed the seeds which put an end to feudalism as labour became scarce and labourers could demand higher wages or escape to the towns to make a better living for themselves and their families. The principal change that did occur was the growth of the towns. It was the division between town and country that laid the basis for the tremend- ous political changes that took place in the seventeenth century. This was one area where there was a possibility of escape for the common people, from the town to the country or vice versa. For the people of Purley this was an important factor as Purley lived within the shadow of Reading which in its turn was dominated for most of this period by its Abbey. The town was within easy walking distance, its influence was pervasive and its trade passed by the village. We know very little about everyday life in Purley, although we do get a few glimpses, particularly towards the end of the period, from wills. We know a lot more about land ownership, because this was recorded regularly in charters and other documents. For most of the time there was the struggle between the Yorkists and the Lancastrians in the Wars of the Roses as well as the protracted wars with France, but on n Sunday August 21st 1485 was fought the Battle of Bosworth in which King Richard III was killed. This victory by Henry VII settled the Wars of the Roses and ushered in a new society in which trade and commerce flourished and the discovery of the New World would open the way for the first British Empire.

Land Ownership Outside of the towns land was the dominant issue for the gentry. In theory all land belonged to God as he had made it, but it was held from Him by the king and sublet to nobles and again to gentry. Thus the idea of ownership as we know it today was unknown. Land generated profits and what was at stake were the profits. These went to the person who effectively controlled the land. The term used was ‘siezed’. A man was said ‘to be siezed of a piece of land’ which meant that everyone who owed dues based on land acknowledged that it was this man to whom the payment should be made. On a person’s death his heirs were quick to register their rights by paying a fine to the king. Sometimes these rights lasted only for the heir’s lifetime and sometimes they belonged to the family in perpetuity. Thus for example a widow had the right for her lifetime to a third of the husband’s land, but upon her death it reverted to the eldest son or whoever had suceeded the husband. It was in fact not possible to ‘sell’ land only to sign away some of the rights for a temporary period. The records of the middle ages are filled with disputes over land and these almost invariably revolved around the question as to whether or not a person held the land in law (de jure) or whether he held it in fact (de facto). The major families of the land seemed to spend an inordinate amount of time and effort wrangling over such issues, spending months hanging around the king's court trying to get him to agree to a piece of parchment. Most of the disputes were as a result of one member of a family who had temporary possession, granting a right to a third party and then having that grant disputed by the remainder of the family. For the most part Purley was but one of several small parcels of land listed amongst many others as being in dispute. Its ‘owners’ rarely visited the village and it was even rarer for them to actually live here. The parish was spanned by three manors: La Hyde which was centered around Purley Hall and had incorporated Burley; Purley Magna, centered around the church and Purley Parva centered around Westbury Farm (to use modern locales) It is not possible to draw clear boundary lines between the lands of the three manors and there is plenty of evidence to suggest that there were other parcels of land belonging to none of them. This was further complica- ted by the fact that there were parcels of land forming parts of Sulham and Whitchurch parishes entirely within the Parish of Purley. In general it was not possible to evade ones responsibilities as a landholder, which were both to one's tenants and to one's lord. The obligati- ons were handed over from father to eldest son or sometimes to the husband of the eldest daughter. The land was entailed, that is it could not be disposed of and although occasionally it might be held by someone else, (eg a widow was entitled to a third share of her husband’s estate as her dower for life.) on the death of that other person the land reverted to the original direct line. Thus many charters refer to a transaction with ‘reversion to the heirs of the body’. On a person’s death the new owner had to register his or her claim and pay an appropriate fine. Even gifts had to be re-confirmed. The records of these transactions may be found in many different places and they tell us of the controversies and feuds which raged but also gave us names, albeit only of the gentry as a rule.

Mediaeval Knight’s Fees in Purley In most cases land was held in lieu of service to the King. The Saxons under Alfred had developed the idea of the Burgh and the obligation of all the people protected by the Burgh was to defend it in the face of invasion. Obligations came in fives, one knight and four men at arms was usual for an average sized community and the territory defined as 5 hides. The Normans took care to spread land holdings around so that any particular landholder did not have control of a large area as had happened with the Saxon Earldoms. They developed the basic idea but provided the option for the knight to be rented in return for a fee. Thus developed the feudal system where obligations and fees could be interchangeable. The same amount of land would be regarded as equivalent to an obligation to supply a Knight for a fixed period of time when the King so desired it. This would be known as a Knight’s Fee. This obligation could be discharged in several ways. The landowner could turn up and perform the duties himself, he could send one of his sons or tenants or he could pay a fee which enabled the King to hire a mercenary. It was also a convenient way of raising a tax for the benefit of the king. With manors and landholdings crossing traditional community bound- aries it was much more useful to refer to a particular land holding as worth either a multiple or a fraction of a Knight’s Fee. It was obviously in the King’s interest to keep a close record of these obligations and periodically lists would be compiled known as Feudal Aids. These would be used to check that either the service had been rendered or that a fee had been paid. The record of fees was usuallkept separate, eg in the Red Book of The Exchequer. The original rolls in which the early entries of Knights fees were made have not survived, they are reproduced in a document which was delivered to the exchequer in the summer of 1212. It is instructive to list the entries relating either directly to Purley or to land in Berkshire which is believed to include Purley. 1160 - William de Sifrewast held one knight’s fee for two marks in Berkshire. 1166 - Gilbert Huscarle held three knights fees in Berkshire in the Honour of Wallingford. 1167 - William de Sifrewast paid one mark in Berkshire 1171 - William de Sifrewast paid twenty shillings in Berkshire. 1176 - Richard Huscarle was due five marks. He paid two and a half marks into the treasury and owed two and a half marks. 1186 - Robert de Sifrewast and Holnad de Sifrewast each paid twenty shillings in Berkshire 1190 - Halnod de Sifrewast held one knights fee for which he paid ten shillings in Berkshire. 1194 - Halnod de Siffrewast paid twenty shillings for one knight’s fee. 1195 - Ralph of Purley paid one mark for recognition of his possession against William de Sifrewast 1196 - Halnod de Siffrewast paid twenty shillings for one knights fee in Berkshire 1196 - Richard de Sifrewast paid twenty shillings for one knight’s fee in Berkshire. 1199 - Halnad de Sifrewast paid two marks in Berkshire 1199 - Roland Huscarle, heir of Richard is mentioned in the Curia Regis roll 1202 - Gervase de Henton and Robert de Purley paid ten shillings and eight pence. 1212 - Halnoth de Sifrewast held one knight’s fee in Berkshire. 1212 - Thomas Huscarle held three knight’s fees in Berkshire. 1212 - Thomas Huscarle had succeeded Richard Huscarle 1220 - two carucates of land were held for a fee of four shillings in Purley within the Hundred of Reading, four and a half carucates held for nine shillings in Purley within the Honour of Wallingford and four carucates held in La Hyde for eight shillings also within the Honour of Wallingford. 1235 William Huscarle held one fourth of a knights fee in Berkshire in the Honour of Wallingford. 1242 - William de Sifrewast held eight parts of one knight’s fee in Purley in the hundred of Reading. 1242 - William de Sifrewast held one fee for Hampstead, Aldworth and Purley. 1242 - Roger de la Hide held one of the fees of Hugh de Vivun in East Hanney. 1293 - Richard de Sifrewast paid twenty shillings per annum at Windsor Castle for one knight’s fee 1293 - William de Sifrewast paid twenty shillings per annum at Windsor Castle for one knight’s fee 1401 - Reginald Malyns held Purley Parva for one knights fee. 1401 - Thomas Walshe held one knights fee in Purley Parva which Edmund Malyns had held 1401 - Nicholas Carew held a third part of one knight’s fee in Purley Huscarle (Magna) which Thomas Huscarle had held. The Manor of Purley Magna In general this can be recognised by being what is now the built up part of Purley. It occupied the eastern part of the parish and had its manor house adjacent to the church. Before the Conquest the land had been held by Brictward who held it from King Edward. At the time of Domesdayit was in the hands of Roger, son of Siegfried. He also held Berkshire lands at Clewer (which included where Windsor Castle stood) and Fulscot. By 1166 the manor had come into the possession of the Huscarle family. It is assumed that the name was derived from ‘House Carle’ the word for a group of knights who provided permanent service to the king. There were certainly such a group at Wallingford Castle in the earlier period and it would be highly likely that the family would be granted lands in the area. The actual evidence is merely the certain later association of the family with the village when in 1224 Thomas Huscarle granted a virgate of land in Purley, which his father had given him, to the Abbot of Thame . However in the early days all we know is that various members of the Huscarle family held three knights fees in Berkshire under the Honour of Wallingford. It remained in the Huscarle family until 1369. Sir Thomas Huscarle had died in 1354 and his widow Lucy remarried to Nicholas Carew. Her son Thomas Huscarle eventually succeeded before 1366 when he came of age but he died without issue in 1369 and the trustees of the estate granted the manor to Lucy’s new husband, Nicholas Carew. Thus the manor came into the hands of the Carew family, all of whom were called Nicholas and who held it for just over 100 years until 1485 when the fifth Nicholas died without issue. The manor went to his sister Sanchea who had married Sir John Iwardby. Her daughter Jane had married Sir John St John of Lydiarde Tregoze in Wilts and had a son John. It was the son of this son, Nicholas who established the manor under the St John family which held it for nearly 300 years.

The Huscarles Three knights fees were held in Berkshire under the Honour of Wallingford by Gilbert Huscarle in 1166, one of which may have been the manor of Purley Magna Richard Huscarle, believed to be the son of Gilbert Husca- rle, was in possession of the manor of Purley Magna in 1176. He was due to pay a fee of 5 marks but he paid only 2½ marks and owed the rest. In 1180 Roland Huscarle gave four parcels of land and their rents to the monks of the Abbey of Thame. They were:- One virgate tenanted by Nicholas Esperner for 50/- pa; Half a virgate; six acres leased to Thomas Stone for 4/- pa; one acre held by Geoffrey Hosier for 12d pa. He was described as the heir to Richard Huscarle in 1199 when he was in possess- ion of the manor of Purley Magna, part of two knights fees held in Berkshire In 1211 Ruelart (or Richard) Huscarle was recorded in the Pipe Roll as having paid his Scutage of Wales in the Honour of Wallingford The next year he was succeeded by his son Thomas as Lord of the Manor of Purley Magna. Thomas was recorded in the Book of Fees as having three knights fees in the Honour of Wallingford. Roland's widow Olivia de Auvers claimed through her attorney a third part of two carucates of land with all its appurtenances in Purley as her dowry, wherewith Roeland Huscarle, her former husband had endowed her. This was agreed to by Thomas Huscarle in 1212. In 1224 he confirmed to the Abbot of Thame the virgate of land in Purley which his father had given the monastery and in 1225 he witnessed a formal agreement (convencio) between Sir Geoffrey de Chausey and the Prioress and Nuns of Claro Rivo In 1229 William Huscarle owed half a mark for unjust detention and 9 marks for three knights fees. John Huscarle accounted for 30s re his father. He paid 1 mark and owed 43s 4d William Huscarle had succeeded Thomas Huscarle as Lord of the Manor of Purley Magna. He held one fourth of a knights fee in Berkshire as of the Honour of Wallingford Roland Huscarle was in possession of Purley Magna in 1307 which he had settled on himself and his wife Margaret In 1313 Thomas Huscarle came of age and settled Purley in the name of himself and his wife Julian. As Sir Thomas Huscarle he witnessed a grant of the manor of Lethempstead at Newbury in 1337 Sir Thomas Huscarle was in London on the Thursday before St Barna- bas's day 1339 and was witness to two enrollments of release by John de Shoppenhanger to Sir Nicholas de la Beche. A ninth of all corn, wool and lambs and a tax on all churches had to be levied, the monies going to the king for his urgent need for the defence of the realm and his expedition of war. Certain lords of towns had tried to defraud the king of the greater part of this revenue. On July 15th Edward III wrote to a leading cleric and a number of prominent men in each county laying upon them personally the responsibility to collect. In Berkshire it was addressed to the Prior of Wallingford, Philip de Engelfield, Thomas Huscarle, Richard Paynell and Robert Marie. Edward used this money to raise a professional army (rather than a feudal levy) to invade France in the summer. His method of raising money created the monopoly of the wool trade known as the staple. In 1343 Sir Thomas Huscarle married his second wife Lucy, who was the daughter and heir of Sir Richard Willoughby. A fresh settlement of the manor of Purley Magna was made on them and the heirs of their bodies with contingent remainder to John son of Sir Thomas and his heirs. There was a suit over a debt of 120 shillings reputedly owed by John de Purle in 1352. Nicholas Carew mainperned himself for the 120s as well as costs and damages if the deed which could prove the rights of the matter was not found Lucy Huscarle, the widow of Sir Thomas Huscarle, did fealty to the Black Prince at Westminster on Feb 11th. 1354 She held the manor of Purley Magna, together with those of Beddington, Surrey and Brightwell for three knights fees and an obligation to provide two men at arms for 40 days to garrison Wallingford Castle if it became involved in war. On May 9th Gilbert de Crossley, Keeper of the Fees of the Honor of Wallingford, was enjoined by the Black Prince not to meddle in the affairs of the heir of Sir Thomas Huscarle (presumably his son Thomas) as his widow Lucy was the rightful holder of Purley Magna Lucy Huscarle was remarried to Nicholas Carew in 1357. Sir Thomas Huscarle's son John who had been named in the settlement of 1343 had died without issue. The Trustees of the estate of Thomas, son of Sir Thomas Huscarle and Lucy granted the Manor of Purley Magna to his step father, Nicholas Carew, with reversion to his son of the same name and the heirs of his body and contingent remainder to the right heirs of Sir Thomas. In 1370 John Hokkele who was the kinsman and heir to Sir Thomas Huscar- les, formally gave up his claims to Purley Magna in a Quitclaim dated 29th May. Presumably to Nicholas Carew who had married Lucy, the widow of Sir Thomas. The remaining heirs of Sir Thomas Huscarle also gave up their claims on the estate of Purley Magna in a quitclaim. One of these was Agnes Boukhede, his cousin who recognised the claims of Nicholas Carew the elder. This was the last mention of the Huscarles in connection with Purley. In the 1980s a road in Purley was named Huscarle Way to recall the family.

The Carews Nicholas Carew was named in 1377 as one of the executors of Edward III who had died senile and almost a pauper. He had obtained a grant of Free Warren in his desmesne lands in Purley in 1375. Nicholas Carew died in 1390 and the Lordship of the manor of Purley Magna passed to his son, also Nicholas Following the death of Nicholas Carew, Richard II took away some of the rights from the Lords of Purley. He granted to Robert Cholme- ley of the Farm, the form of the profits of the view of Frankpledge from Purley, Burghfield, Sulham and Tidmarsh In 1398 Nicholas Carew (II) was exonerated of 46 shillings and 9 pence per annum of the custody of the King's Sects of Purley his first wife Isabel de la Mare had died. Also in 1398 land in Great Purley was granted to Nicholas and Mercy Carew by Thomas Warner, William Horneby, John Bremmesgrave. Clerk and John Cook of Winchester and also by Thomas Payne. Around the same time Nicholas acquired the manor of Purley La Hyde. Nicholas Carew (II) (The Elder) died in 1432 and the lordship of the manors passed to his son Nicholas (III), with contingent remainder to the heirs of Thomas Carew, his son by his second wife Mercy. In 1424 he estate of Fulscot was held by Nicholas Carew by service of one sparrowh- awk or payment of two shillings. An action for Assurance was taken of the remainder of the estate of Nicholas Carew (the elder) in 1450 by Richard Forde and William Saunder in the right of their wives Mercy and Joan, the daughters and co-heirs of Thomas Carew who was the son of Nicholas by his second wife Mercy In 1454 Nicholas Carew (III) settled the estate of Purley Magna on himself with reversion to his son Nicholas (IV) and his wife Margaret, the daughter of Edward Langford. Mercy the widow of Nicholas Carew (II) who was still living, was a party to this settlement with her new husband, Arthur Ormsby. Nicholas Carew (III) of Bedyngton, Surrey died 14th November.1456. In his will, proved at Lambeth 10/5/1458, he left the manor of Much Pourlee to his wife Margaret, with remainder to his son Nicholas (IV) and his heirs. Mercy Ormsby brought a suit against Nicholas Carew (IV) in 1461 on the grounds that he had not given her enough dower. Nicholas Carew (IV) died in 1466 and the lordship of the manor of Purley Magna passed to his son Nicholas (V), who was then four years old, and his wife Margaret. Sir John Iwardby, the elder died on the 16th August 1470. A memorial plaque was erected to his memory in Mapledurham church. His daughter in law, Sanchia later inherited the manor of Purley Magna from her brother, Nicholas Carew. Nicholas Carew (V) came of age in September 1484 and died childless in 1485 His heirs were his three sisters, Sanchia (wife of Sir John Iwardby) who inherited Purley Magna; Elizabeth (wife of Walter Twynhoo) who inherited La Hyde and Anne Tropnell

The Manor of Purley Parva Purley Parva or Little Purley comprises farm land to the west of the modern area of settlement and north of the railway. It has remained almost untouc- hed by development and the original hamlet which was situated around where Westbury Farm now is. It was effectively deserted in the 18th century, leaving only the two farm houses and a few farm cottages. At the time of Edward the Confessor it was held by another Edward and it rated half a hide for which 40s was paid. After the Conquest it came into the hands of Theodoric the Goldsmith and was rerated at 50s. It is believed that the manor came into the hands of the de Sifrewast family in the early twelfth century. They were considerable landowners in Berkshire and were involved in many land transactions in the twelfth and thirteenth century. In 1424 a second sale took place when it passed temporarily to Thomas Walshe but it soon reverted to the descendants of the Malyns family but due to an obligation thought to relate to a gambling debt, a further transfer to the Norris family took place in 1462. The Siffrewasts William de Sifrewast was recorded as a Berkshire landowner in 1160. He was still a landowner in 1167, having paid one mark re his lands in Berkshire. He paid another twenty shillings in 1171 By 1186 William de Sifrewast had been succeeded as Lord of the Manor of Purley Parva by Halnoth de Sifrewast, possibly his grandson. Halnoth was recorded in the Red Book of the Exchequer as paying 20s Halnoth de Sifrewast paid 10s and one knights fee in Berkshire in 1190 and 20s and one knights fee in Berkshire in 1194 when for some reason his lands (in Purley, Aldworth and Hampstead Norris) were temporarily forfeit His sister Isabella was a also active in the courts (see below). Halnoth seemed intent on collecting in his debts and in 1195 Ralph of Purley paid one mark which he had owed to William de Sifrewast. The next year Halnoth again paid 20s and one knight's fee in Berkshire. Again in 1201 his lands were temporarily forfeit to the Crown Halnoth de Sifrewast was still Lord of Purley Parva, in 1212 when he held one knights fee in Berkshire Halnoth de Sifrewast is presumed to have died in 1217 and been succeeded as lord of the manor of Purley Parva by his son William who did homage and received seisin of his lands on payment of a relief of 100s. William de Sifrewast examined and confirmed the charter which had been made by his aunt Isabella in 1194(?) by which she gave a half virgate to Reading Abbey. The reason was that it had been given to her as a wedding portion and might otherwise have been thought of as properly reverting to the donor or his heirs on her death. The Great Assize came to Berkshire in 1220 to examine witnesses, among whom was Gilbert de Aubern, about conflicting claims by the Abbot of Hide and William de Purle (presumably William de Sifrewast) about a half virgate of land in Purley. It was decided that William had the greater right but that he should hold it from the Abbot in perpetuity. William de Sifrewast held one knights fee in 1229. He accounted for 20s re Ada de Muntsorel. He paid one mark and owed 2½ marks Also in 1229 a Richard Sifrewast paid 12s for 'escambio terre sue' Later in the year he rendered account for 8 marks as a levy for his son to hold the office of a painter. He paid 2 marks and owed 6 marks William de Sifrewast stood surety in 1233 for Simon de Fissburn and Ranulf de Whatvil who were imprisoned for going around armed, contrary to the King’s peace. In 1234 William de Sifrewast had paid a fine of 100s for the lands of Roger of Hyde at Hyde and the bishop of Winchester instructed the holder of the Honour of Wallingford not to trouble William further. Roger was William's brother and he and his other brother Richard seemed to be feuding about land all the time. It would seem that Roger had been in residence at La Hyde and moved to Purley Magna on his brother's death. In 1242 William de Sifrewast held a writ to confirm that he had paid his scutage in Berks, Oxon, Essex and Southamptonshire and held 8 parts and one fee in Purley and also had lands in Hampstead and Aldworth He died in 1242. the wardship of his heir Nicholas was given to Bartholemew Pecche. He held one fee in each of Aldworth, Hamstead Norris and Purley which he had inherited from his father Halenoth. Why the wardship should have been given to Bartholmew is unclear, as Nicholas' uncles Richard and Roger were still alive, it could be because the two of them could not agree. The brothers Roger and Richard de Syfrewast were in hot dispute about their inheritance (from their brother William). It had been agreed that the inheritance would be halved, as would the legal fees of acquiring the inheritance. The manor of Herriard should have been part of the inheritance and Roger had sued Fulk of Coudrai for it. He claimed that Richard had given Fulk a Quitclaim for his rights and this had cost Roger £100. Richard had denied he had issued a quitclaim. It was adjudged that ’Richard is without day and Roger is in Mercy’ Richard de Syfrewast was summoned to appear at Westminster in 1247 to answer Roger de Syfrewast and explain why he did not appear on 27th Jan. Roger was apparently living at Purley and was otherwise known as Roger de Purle. He appeared several times as a juror in the Berkshire Eyre. In 1248 there was a dispute between John, Vicar of Purley and Roger of Hyde who had complained that John had disseized him of a quarter of an acre of pasture which he had used to graze his beasts. Roger was given back his grazing rights by an Assize of Novel Disseisin The dispute over Roger de la Hyde's land had still not subsided by 1256 as he appointed John Hirdman as his attorney in a case he brought against Laurence, parson of Tidmarsh and Juliana de Bendeng at Windsor concerning tenements at Pangbourne and Lething. In 1253 Nicholas de Sifrewast finally succeeded to the manor of Purley Parva , presumably because he had come of age. He did homage at Windsor on Jan 25th 1258 for all the lands which he had inherited from his father William In 1266 he was granted a licence for life to hunt with his own dogs the hare, the fox, the badger and the cat through all the forests in the counties of Oxford, Berks and Southampton. In 1270 he obtained from Thomas de Clare, to whom he had sold Hamstead, a Quitclaim of 'all rights in the manor of Porleye which Alice Punchardon holds'. In return Thomas de Clare had a promise that when Nicholas died, the manor of Aldworth would revert to the de Clares Richard de Sifrewast died in 1274 and his widow Elizabeth was given as her dower a great chamber with a little stable and a little garden on the west side and with a third of a fishery, a dovecote and a wood on the south side. She was also given a third of the rent of assize of the free tenants including 2s from Ralph of Purley. William de Sifrewast paid 20s pa for one knight's fee in Berkshire in 1293 so we assume Nicholas had died by then. In 1302 he enfeoffed Henry Buskre de Malines and Cecily his wife, as Lord of the Manor of Purley Parva. Henry Buskres de Malines was a merchant from Belgium, and this lease seems to have turned into a sale although sales of land were virtually impossible to arrange in that period due to the laws of entailment. However the deal held and there were a number of quitclaims whereby other memb- ers of the original family formally renounced any claims. Isabella de Sifrewast and Thomas de Markant were granted a Papal dispensation in January 1347 to enable them to remain married even though they were n the third degree of affinity

Isabella de Sifrewast’s gift An earlier Isabella de Siffrewast was the aunt of William de Siffrewast who was lord of Purley Parva from 1217 to 1244. She was presumably the sister of Halnoth de Sifrewast (lord from 1186 to 1217). Her father was Robert de Sifrewast and her mother's name was Emma. Isabella de Sifrewast, with her husband Michael de Baseville, brought an action in Dorset against Richard de Sifrewast concerning the dower given her by her former husband, Simon, son of Robert Sifrewast It would seem she had been given some land in Purley as her wedding portion and she granted a half virgate of land to Reading Abbey around 1195 in memory of her parents and husbands all of whom were buried in Reading. One of these husbands, Michael de Baseville, is known as in 1194 he and Isobel brought an action against Richard de Siffrewast re the dower she had been left by her former husband Simon son of Robert. Her nephew William inspected the charter around 1230 as he suspected that as the land had been a marriage portion it might revert to the donor's heirs in due course. However the land seems to have remained with the Abbey as a similar portion in Purley was among the lands sold after the dissolution to John Dudley, Earl of Warwick in 1550. It lay just to the west of Purley Lane. The land in question had been held in villeinage by Osbert son of Gilbert the fisherman, free and quit from all custom and exaction and demand and immune from all secular service. It was left to the monks of Reading Abbey to determine whether he could continue in villeinage or pay an annual rent for the land. Osbert seems to have established an early connection between Purley in Berkshire and the area which was later to become Purley in Surrey. His son William was granted 'a moiety of a wood in Nithea in the manor of Saunderstead' sometime in the 12th century by the Abbot of Hide. Saunderstead was held by the Huscarles as their main manor and one can assume that William had gone from Purley, one of the Huscarles manors to work there for them.

The Malyns Family In 1312 Henry de Malyns paid a Fine of 100s which entitled him not to take up arms as a knight for two years. There was a covenant for warranty of lands in Little Purley in 1315. John Romayn of Willenhale recognised that he was in bond to Henry de Malyns for £22 in respect of a transfer of land consisting of one messuage with curtilage a croft with 13 acres of arable land and 3 roods of meadow in Purley Henry de Malyns complained in 1316 that his name had been wrongly returned to Chancery as of one having lands to the yearly value of £50 and hence liable take knighthood. He held lands and rent in Little Purley to the value of £4-15-8 Henry Malyns died in 1323 and on June 22nd the Escheator was ordered to take all his lands into the King's hands. The Escheator, John Walewayn, was removed from office and replaced by Richard le Wayte who was again ordered to take the lands of Henry Malyns into the King's hands as his predecessor had failed to obey the order of the previous year. On May 13th Richard le Wayte, was ordered not to meddle with the manor of Little Purley, as it had been determined that Henry Malyns and Cecily his wife held that manor of the King in Chief by Knight Service of 5 shillings yearly at Windsor Castle. All Henry's other lands had been held of other lords Henry Malyns was succeeded as Lord of the manor of Purley Parva by his wife Cecily who held it as her dower for her lifetime. His son Edmund was recorded as being '28 years and more' at the inquest. It was reported that 'he was seized in Purley of a capital messuage with dovecote, worth six shillings and eight pence; 180 acres of land worth 60 shillings; 15 acres of meadow worth 30 shillings; ten and a half acres of pasture worth 5s 3d and rents of assize to the value of 10s' Cecily Malyns died in 1331 and the heir to the manor of Purley Parva was her son Edmund, said to be 38 years of age. In 1339 Edmund de Malyns gave notice to all his tenants in Purley that he had enfeoffed his son Reginald and Edmund de Hampden of his manor of Little Purley and that thereafter they were to render all services and pay all dues to them or their attorneys. In 1346 Edmund de Malyns paid a fine of 25s re the manor of Purley Parva which he held by the service of a quarter of a knight's fee. Reginald Malyns returned to England in 1367 from France after his father's death to look after his estates which included Purley Parva Reynold (Reginald) Malyns died in 1383 leaving the Manor of Purley Parva to his son Edmund. He had been made a Knight and acquired lands in Oxfordshire. The manor was said at the time to be held of Sir Robert Ferrers who appears to have been the head of the Sifrewast Fee in Berksh- ire. Reynold's widow was Florence. Edmund Malyns died in 1386 leaving a widow Isabella. The manor of Purley Parva passed to his grandson Edmund, younger son of Sir Edmund Malyns The estate was settled on the young Edmund for life with reversion to his father's heirs and contingent remainder to Thomas Barentyne and his wife Joan (who was a daughter of Sir Edmund) for her son Reynold. One third of the Manor of Little Purley was ordered to be given in dower to Isabel, wife of Adam Ramesey and widow of Edmund Malyns in 1388. Isabel had recovered this from Thomas Barentyne, John Harewedaun et al. Edmund Malyns had apparently sold the manor to Thomas Barentyne without licence of the King. Adam and Isobel were pardoned for having married without first getting the King's permission. Thomas Barentyne was pardoned in 1391 for acquiring the manor of Purley from Edmund Malyns, deceased. He was given licence to Quitclaim two thirds of the manor to Edmund, younger son of Edmund Malyns, and one third to Isabel, Edmun- d's widow. Edmund Malyns died in 1399 and was succeeded as Lord of the Manor of Purley Parva by his eldest brother Reynold. Reginald Malyns paid 10s re the Manor of Purley Parva in 1402 which he held from the King for half a knight's fee. In 1424 Reynold Malyns conveyed the Manor of Purley Parva to Thomas and Alice Walsh and their son John, but on 5th Sept he appointed William Hynde and Thomas Rothwell as his legal representatives in a lawsuit against the Walshes concerning 3 acres of land and two acres of meadow in Purley Parva Thomas Walsh and his wife Alice and son John were pardoned in 1427 after paying five marks (in the hanaper) for acquiring to themselves and their heirs from Reginald Malyns, and entering without licence, the Manor of Little Purley. A licence was granted to the Walshes to have and to hold the premises. Thomas Walshe was still holding the Manor of Purley Parva in 1435. By 1433 the manor of Purley Parva had passed to Reynold Barentyne, the son of Thomas and Joan Barentyne, who had been named in the settlement of 1386. Drew Barentyne succeeded his father Reynold as Lord of the Manor of Purley Parva in 1451. In this year he granted the manor to John Norreys as security for the payment of an annual rent of ten marks from the manor of Chalgrove in Oxfordshire. John Norreys settled the manor of Purley Parva on himself and his wife Margaret in 1462. Apparen- tly the payments agreed to in 1451 had not been made by Drew Barentyne. John Norreys died in 1467, he was succeeded as lord of Purley Parva by his son John Norris by his first wife Alice. Sir William Norris was fined six pence for not attending a court. He had succeeded to the manor of Purley Magna either in late 1478 or early 1479.

The Manor of La Hyde This manor seems to have spanned parts of the parishes of Pangbourne, Purley, Sulham and Whitchurch It covered the western parts of the parish, around where now Purley Hall stands. Domesday records a holding of one hide by Baldwin in Sulham and six hides in Pangbourne in the time of King Edward.These holdings had come into the hands of Miles Crispin by 1086. The land is recorded under the de la Hide family before 1234 and the de Sifrewasts from 1234. Later on in the thirteenth century the St Philibert family were in control. In 1233 The Sheriff of Berkshire was required to give full possession of the manor of Hyde to John de Talbot which Roger de la Hyde had held from Aumericus de Sulham Hugh de St Philibert who held the manor of La Hyde in 1283 also held the manor of Cressewelle by the serjeantry of bringing measures of wine to the morning meal of the king. This service was known as 'La Huse' In 1292 Richard de la Hyde gave power of attorney to Richard of Pangbourne, clerk, to give possession to Hugh de St Philibert of lands in Purley. They were described as a field called Oxencrofte, land called Hugemead, his meadows in Greater and Lesser Purley (except what his villeins held in villeinage) and a field variously known as Hurland, Hegecr- oft and Rudinge. The use of the term croft in two of the fieldnames indicates a very early enclosure Hugh de St Philibert died around Nov 30th. 1304 He had inherited the Manor of Sulham from his mother Euphemia, who was probably the daughter of William of Sulham. He had also acquired possession of the manor of Purley La Hyde. Both manors had been granted to Benedict de Blakenham for his life subject to an agreement that if Benedict alienated the property or committed any waste, Hugh should be allowed to re-enter. Hugh's son John therefore did not inherit and had to wait until 1317. The early fourteenth century saw some protracted legal cases with ownership see-sawing between the St Philiberts and the de Somerys. By 1352 the disputes seem to have been settled by selling it to Walter Hayw- ood who sold it on to the Carew family who also held Purley Magna. Upon the death of Nicholas Carew the fifth in 1485 it went to another sister, Elizabeth who had become the wife of Walter Twynhoo. Richard de Byrlaunde was presented to Sulham church on 17th July 1305 by the king acting as custodian of the estate of Hugh de St Philibert and later in the year William de Wheteleye was presented by John de Drakensford and the archdeacon of Berks after an enquiry revoked the earlier presentation . The Manor of Sulham, which included La Hyde, was alleged to have been sold in fee to Agnes de Somery by Benedict de Blakenham. This was in contravention of the terms of the grant to Benedict. The heir of Hugh de St Philibert was then under age and in the king's custody. As a result an inquisition was held and part of the manor was taken into the king's hands. On July 6th 1305 at his Court in Canterbury, King Edward I was shown a Quitclaim made to Benedict and his heirs of half of the manor of Sulham and a Charter made later to Agnes and her heirs by Benedict. Agnes claimed her half of the Manor of Sulham and specifically said that she had no claim on lands in La Hyde and Tilehurst, except insofar as Benedict had asked her to look after them for Hugh de Philibert's son. As a result the king ordered that Agnes's other lands in Purley, Pangbourne and Leghyng which had also been put into the king's custody should be returned to Agnes On July 13th the King asked the Sherriff of Oxford and Berks to enquire as to who could testify to the circumstances of the Quitclaim. Alice (Agnes?) and Benedict were invited to be. Benedict and Agnes duly turned up on the Thursday after the feast of the Assumption (Aug 20th). It was ascertained that the Quitclaim was executed at Eton on a Saturday near to November 30th, 1304 and that Hugh died on the Monday following. The Quitclaim had been made because Hugh owed £100 of the £60pa that he was bound to pay Benedict for rents of lands in Berkshire. Agnes de Somery was in possession of La Hyde when she died in 1308 and it passed to her son and heir John de Somery In 1309 John de Drakensford was appointed Guardian of the land and heir of Hugh de Philibert. He was also awarded the right of presentation to Sulham Church to which Walter de Maydenhache and Henry Stately had been presented earlier in the year by Sir John de Somery but refused admission. On 11th May Walter of Maidenhatch was presented to the Bishop of Sarum by Sir John de Somery for the living of Sulham. A few days later Sir John de Drokensford presented Henry Staly. The dispute was taken to the King in June who ruled that no-one could be admitted until the dispute between the heirs of Hugh de St Philibert and Sir John de Somery were settled. In 1313 Adam de Shobenham was given the wardship of the manor of La Hyde at a rent of 100s John de St Philibert obtained a grant of free warren in his demesne lands in Sulham in 1317 On Feb 15th 1322 King Edward II ordered John de Somery to provide as many footmen and men-at-arms as he could muster and come to meet him at Gloucester. However Edward had left for the north before the end of January so no doubt John had to follow him. It is not clear whether John and his men managed to reach Boroughbridge by the 16th March to take part in the battle which defeated the Lancastrians. On May 6th John Somery made a request that Richard de Pyryton and Henry le Bande of Newport Pagnell should be released from their imprisonment as rebels. The request was granted so presumably John was on good terms with the king. John de Somery died sometime before November 15th 1322, still holding land in the manor of Sulham. His two sisters Margaret and Joan appointed advocates to obtain their inheritances. On November 22nd the King ordered that John de Somery's widow Lucy should hold the manor of Sulham and others as her dower. This was by the assent of the husbands of Margaret de Sutton and Joan Botetourt, who as John's sisters were his heirs. The manor of Sulham was valued at £4-9-6½ John de St Philibert settled the manor of Sulham, including La Hyde, on himself, his wife Ada and son Thomas in 1329 and William de Baren- tyn, nephew and heir of Drago de Barentyn, acknowledged a debt of £600 to John de St Philibert, set against lands in Essex. A mill worth 20s belonged to the manor of La Hyde in 1332. It was probably on the same site as the disused mill adjacent to Home Farm Sulham. On April 27th 1333 Robert Selyman, escheator of Berks, was ordered not to meddle further with the manors of Sulham and La Hyde and to restore the issues to Ada, wife of John de St Philibert and Thomas their son. All three had held the manor jointly on the day John died by the gift and grant of Henry, parson of Sulham and Richard Thurstayn by a fine levied in the court of Edward II. The manors were held as half a knights fee of the Earl of Cornwall as of the Honour of Wallingford John de St Philibert died. His wife Ada survived him but his first son Thomas did not. His heir was his second son John, then six years of age. John de St Philibert sold the manor of Sulham, including La Hyde, to Walter Haywode for 200 marks in 1352. Walter Haywode settled the manor of Sulham on himself and his wife Joan and their heirs in 1364. In 1398 Walter Haywode conveyed the Manors of Sulham and La Hyde to Stephen Haym and Nicholas Carew. Nicholas and Hayme's daughter Mercy were married and the estates joined to Purley Magna.

The Church The registers of the Bishop of Salisbury provide tantalising snippets of information about Purley and neighbouring parishes. In 1249 Bishop Robert Bingham confirmed the pension of 2s payable by Purley to the Abbot of Reading, but made it clear that the Abbey had no rights of advoweson in the church. Bishop Robert de la Wyle founded the College of St Edmund in Salisbury in 1269. It later came to own the benefice of Purley In 1290 Pope Nicholas required that all benefices should pay a tax towards the cost of defraying an expedition (Crusade) to the Holy Land. This tax known as Pope Nicholas' taxation was assessed at one tenth of the advowson and was to be paid for six years. In Purley's case the advowson was valued at £4-6-8 and the tax was therefore 8/8. The assessment made as the basis of this tax was used for several centuries thereafter until the reformation. The Abbot of Reading was patron of a number of benefices and cells (minor monasteries) which each paid him a pension. Purley paid two shillings a year but as Bishop Bingham had made plain earlier this did not give the Abbot advoweson. William de Cokham was instituted as the incumbent of Tidmarsh on 20th Dec 1298. Robert de Daleby was admitted as incumbent of Tidmarsh by John of Tidmarsh on 24th Feb 1304. He resigned later in the year and was replaced in October by John de Ely William de Montford, rector of Pangbourne, was given licence to live with the Abbot of Reading on 1st Dec 1301 . This was renewed again twice in 1303. The Abbot's country house was at what is now Bere Court in Pangbourne so presumably this is where they lived. Thomas de Baudak was ordained as a curate of Swindon, whilst the bishop, Simon of Ghent, was visiting Purley in 1306 and later that year James de Hynnecumbe was presented to the Bishop at his Palace at Sonning on 26th June and was instituted at Purley on 11th July as rector of Upcerne in Wilts by Bishop Simon All ecclesiastical goods were assessed at a farthing in the pound to support a teacher of Hebrew at Oxford University. The money had to be collected by the Archdeacon of Berkshire and delivered to the Prior of Holy Trinity in London by 7th July 1321. In the event the Archdeacon delivered 27s 6d from Berkshire. Walter Fachel, parson of Purley, owed 22 marks to James de Ispan in 1329. The bishop, Roger Martival, managed to extract one mark (13s.4d) which he sent to James by messenger. The debt was still owing a year later. In 1332 Ralph Scarpe was appointed Curate to Purley as Walter Fachel had gone blind. In 1334 Henry de Oxonia was granted a reservation of a benefice in the gift of the Abbot and Convent of Eynsham valued at 25 marks with cure or 15 marks without. A condition was that he resign the living of Pangbourne valued at 9 marks Roger, Bishop of Bath and Wells, granted a Charter in 1337 which was witnessed by Walter de Purle - was this the Walter Haywode who acquired La Hyde in 1352? Bishop Robert Wyvill held an enquiry into the affairs of the College of St Edmund in Salisbury. He reported that although there were supposed to be 12 priests in residence no more than seven had ever been in residence at one time and the revenues could barely support even the seven. Peter de Wymbourne had been appointed Provost in 1335 and he set about increas- ing the revenues of the college, mainly by acquiring benefices, of which that of Purley eventually fell into his hands. Robert Yonge was made Vicar of Purley in 1361. Later in the same year he was replaced by Robert Farnetby. They were both presented by the Prior of St Edmund's College Salisbury. Thus some time previously the Advowson must have been sold to the college by the Lord of the Manor of Purley Magna, or possibly it was left to the College in Sir Thomas Huscarle's will Walter, Rector of Purley was excommunicated by Robert Wyville, Bishop of Salisbury in 1373 for having failed to pay the dues ordered by the Archbishops of Canterbury and York. He was named with several others, most of whom were accused of usurping church revenues. The rectorship was held by the Prior of St Edmunds who was Walter Childenham. Roger Watford left Purley in 1383 and William Battesford became Vicar. They exchanged the livings of Purley and Wymering, Hants (near Portsmouth). The patron was Adam Charles, the Prior of St Edmunds in Salisbury. William Battesford exchanged the living of Purley with Adam Wrockwardyn of Tytherington, near Thornbury in Gloucestershire in 1384. Adam came from a well known family with seats in Gloucestershire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire. They eventually became famous as the namesakes of Throgmorton St in London William Smith became vicar of Purley in 1387, having exchanged livings with Adam Wrockwardyn who became vicar of Hannington near Kingsclere. Thomas Bonelythe came to Purley as vicar from Chobham, Surrey in 1390, having exchanged livings with William Smith. Stephen Atte Walle became Vicar of Purley in 1391 having exchanged livings with Thomas Bonelythe who went to Hanefield in Sussex. Stephen Atte Walle was summoned by John Waltham, Bishop of Salisbury, to appear before him at Sherborne Castle on August 17th 1394. He was to answer the charge that he held a lady named Rose at the Vicarage in Purley as his concubine. Stephen went to Sherborne and affirmed that he had not touched her for over six years. However the Bishop instructed him to abjure her completely on pain of deprivation of benefice and confirmed an earlier order that Stephen should appear again at Sherborne on Sept 1st to do penance. In 1405 Stephen atte-Walle exchanged livings with John Miderhill who had been vicar of St Peter's, West Clffe, near Dover since 1401. Stephen remained at West Clffe until 1416 John Midderhill exchanged livings in 1406 with Richard atte-Water, vicar of St Rumwold's Church in Winchester. Thomas Geoffray was instit- uted as vicar of Purley by the Archdeacon of Berkshire in 1413. He had exchanged livings with Richard atte-Water who went to Stantonbury (Bucks) near Wolverton. Thomas Geoffray exchanged livings with John Ferby, vicar of Little Bookham in Surrey in 1433. He remained there until he died in 1466. By 1436 the vicarage of Purley had been vacant and priests from Pangbourne and St Laurence in Reading had been ministering there. Will- iam Bolton was appointed as Vicar on the presentation of William Spaldyn- gton, provost of St Edmund's College in Salisbury He resigned in 1439 to be succeeded by Richard Cotton. John Braace became vicar of Purley after Richard Cotton resigned in 1444. He had been vicar of St Mary le Butts in Reading. In 1458 Henry Cooper, husbandman of Great Purle, was pardoned for not appearing before John Pryscot, Chief Justice, to answer John Braace, Clerk, touching a debt of £17. John Braace died in 1463 and Richard Fesant deputised for him. Richard was finally confirmed as vicar of Purley in his place and instituted 'to reside there personally and continuously" William Stele became Vicar of Purley in 1472 after the previous vicar John Strete had resigned. John was later granted a Papal dispensation to hold Hinton St George in the diocese of Bath and Wells and one other living. John Conyng, rector of Pangbourne was granted a Papal dispensat- ion to hold Pangbourne and one other benefice.

The Weather It is not often that one hears of weather conditions in this period, but in 1205 the Thames froze over in a spell of cold weather which lasted from 1st Jan to 20th March. The big freeze effectively put an end to any arable farming as the land could not be tilled. It was also reported that wine and beer were sold by weight in Reading as they had all frozen solid. There had been a very hard winter 1341/42 which had resulted in a lot of sheep disease. The lent corn had then failed.

The Irrigation Canal and the Weir In 1366 the Lord of the manor of Purley Magna conceived the idea that an irrigating ditch to convey water to his farms would increase the weight of his hay crops. Unfortunately for him, the Lord of Mapledurham owned both banks of the river and complained that water was being drawn from his mill. The matter went to court and the Lord of Purley, Sir Thomas Huscarle, was twice fined 200 marks for failing to meet deadlines to fill in the ditch. The remains can be still seen today running from the lock across the meadow towards Wintringham Way, especially when the river is high and the channel becomes flooded. The King ordered John Grey of Rotherfield to enquire into the state of weirs on the Thames between Henley and Streatley in 1369. He was particularly asked to comment on whether or not they were obstructing navigation. The major problem reported was at Sandford Lock. An entry in the Court Roll dated 7th May 1416 reported Nicholas Carowe and Richard atte-Lee have a lokke and a sewer at Purley'

Parliament and Taxation The dues owing to Henry III from Purley in 1220 were assessed as 4s for 2 carucates of land in the Hundred of Reading and 9s for 4½ carucates in the Honour of Wallingford. Also in the Honour of Wallingford was 8s for 4 carucates in La Hyde. The first Parliament was called to meet in Oxford on November 15th 1213. No returns have been found so we do not know who represented Berkshire. The first recorded MPs for Berkshire were Ricardus de Colesh- ull and Rolandus de Erele who were summoned to the Parliament at Westminster on 15th July 1290. Ricardus de Coleshul and Ricardus de Windlesore represented Berkshire at the Parliament at Westminster betw- een 13th and 27th November 1295. Adam de Brumpton and Hugo le Blund were Berkshire MPs at the London Parliament of 6th March 1299 John de Purley was recorded as the manucaptor of Robertus Siward who was returned as a burgess for Reading to the Parliament called on 13th October 1307 Thomas Huscarle was called to be one of the two Knights of the Shire representing Berkshire at the Parliament held on 13th Jan 1352 33 people in Purley paid a Poll Tax totalling £1.13.0 in 1381. This was a considerable sum of money at the time and explains why the Poll Tax was so unpopular. On July 12th, 1451 Thomas Broune of Great Purley obtained from John Purey and Thomas Kempston, a Recognisance for 200 marks to be levied in Berkshire. This is probably a continuation of the practice of the king raising money by by-passing Parliament, instituted by Edward III in 1340. A Protection with Clause Volumnus for one year was revoked in 1452 after having been granted to Thomas Broune, late of Great Purley, as staying in the company of Gervase Clyfton, treasurer of Calais, because he tarried too long there Other Vignettes Over the years there were many other mentions of Purley in the records, but it is not easy to identify many of the people named or exactly what their role was. In 1202 Robert of Purley owed money to Gervase de Henton In 1227 Walter de Purleia attested to a grant by the Dean of Salisbury of a messuage at Mere to Reginald son of Edith Walter de Purl was witness to the grant of the church of St Martin and all other churches in Salisbury to one Hervey on Jan 26th Tenants in Chief of the Church of Sarum were declared fee from tolls and other customs in the town of Reading. Among the people specifically listed were William Sifrewast and Thomas Huscarl The Black Death reached a peak in the area in 1239 and very severe again in 1348, when about a third of the population of Berkshire died between 1348 and 1349 In 1274 Ralph and William both of Purley and others stood surety for four persons accused of the death of Philip de Hakeford who had been imprisoned in the Fleet prison (ref 44-1274-98) In the Hundred Roll for Mapledurham Chausey it is recorded that the Lord has 'a free fishery across the Thames for a length of one furlong. The Lord at that time was John de Chausy Hubert le Constable died siezed of an estate in Purley in 1335. It is not clear who he was or which estate he held. Roger Zepeswych and William Kendale were administrators of the estate of John Rothewelle who had died intestate. In 1381 they obtained a writ of Supersedeas by Mainprise of Reynold Sheffield, Henry Persones of Basildon, William Stynt of Basildon, John Percy of Purley and John Warde of Purley in favour of Adam Whelere of Basildon and Walter Croppethorne of Purley for render of 40 shillings Chapter 4 The Tudors Historical Background The period from the reign of Henry VI to that of Queen Elizabeth saw England make the transition from the mediaeval to the modern. The 16th century brought with it bitter religious controversies as the English church broke from Rome and extreme protestants tried to make it in their image and catholics tried to return the church to Rome. The controversies affected every man and woman, every village and town and caused changes in English Society which were irreversible as many of them were based on changes in land holding from the church to the families of the cronies of Henry VIII The period also saw England build an empire - and lose most of it. Trade developed on a scale hitherto unknown and cottage industries arose which changed into factory operations and laid the foundation for the industrial revolution. Communications between towns and villages impro- ved. Public transport began to emerge both for the carriage of people and goods. Books, now printed, became common household items instead of the rarities they once were. Standards in education improved and this lead to the ordinary citizen beginning to develop a sense of his own worth and the rights that were due to him. The Reformation saw the dissolution of the monasteries, and with it a huge gap appeared in the social fabric. This was filled to some extent by provision for the poor in the form of Poor Laws and the emergence of the Inn as a national institution. Enormous constitutional changes occurred. The country moved from the near absolute monarchies of the two Henries VII and VIII, through government by two Queens, Mary and Elizabeth in which the idea of a Council of State took root .

The Impact on Purley Being an agricultural village, somewhat off the main highway, Purley was not as affected by the changes as many villages. Outwardly the pattern of life continued as in mediaeval times but fields were gradually enclosed and most of the land was was managed by bailiffs rather than by a resident lord, the process seeing the emergence of local yeoman farmers. For most of the period the manor of Purley Magna formed part of the possessions of the St John family of Lydiard Tregoze in Wiltshire. Simila- rly Purley Parva belonged for the most part to the Norreys family although towards the end it changed hands to become owned by the Lybbes of Hardwick. The manor of Purley La Hyde was occupied for the most part, quite co-incidentally by a new (catholic) family of Hydes. Almost all the religious upheavals affected Purley. The dissolution of Reading Abbey and the College of St Edmunds in Salisbury changed the living from a vicarage to a rectory under crown patronage. Its last vicar John Leke was one of the first to be ejected by Queen Mary and his successor, Richard Gatskyll one of the first to be ejected by Queen Elizab- eth. His protestant successor lasted only a few months, being ejected by the zealous bishop John Jewel

The Manor of Purley Magna When Nicholas Carew died in 1485, he held two of the three Purley manors, La Hyde and Purley Magna. However they went to different sisters thus effecting a final separation which has never been reversed. Purley Magna became the property of Sanchia Carew who married Sir John Iwardby. Her daughter Joan had married Sir John St John of Lydiard Tregoze and when their son Nicholas was ready to marry the estate was settled on their grandson Nicholas and his bride to be, Elizabeth Blount of Mapledurham. The couple came to live in Purley and in the 1540s rebuilt the ancient manor house by the Thames as a typical Elizabethan timbered structure, some of whose timbers survive today in the ancient manorial barn. Nicholas died in 1589 leaving as his heir his son John who preferred to live at Lydiard Tregoze until he too died in 1594. John's heir was his son Walter, but he died under age in 1597 and the estate went to John's other son, also John. The Manor of Purley Parva When the 16th century opened the manor of Purley Parva belonged to the Norreys family. Sir William Norris had succeeded to the lordship around 1479 but he died in 1507 to be succeeded by his son Richard. On his death in 1527 there was a dispute about the ownership of his former manors between his brother Lionel and his sister Anne who had married Sir Richard Bridges. Rather than go to court they agreed on a board of arbiters consisting of Richard, Bishop of Winchester, Sir William Sandes and Lord Sandes. The award is dated 18th feb 1527 and presumably Purley Parva was awarded to Lionel as it remained in the Norris family until 1630. The next reference to the manor was in 1565 when following the death of Sir John Norris a writ 'Dodiem clausit exhemium' was issued. The case was heard by jurors who were unable to come to any conclusion as to the manner in which the manor had been held by Sir John although it was valued at £8-3-1. In 1601 Francis, Lord Norris acknowledged by Fine his lordship of several manors including those of Westbrook, Westbury and Purley (presu- mably all the same manor, ie the manor of Purley Parva) At the same time Sir Edward Norreys released all his rights and interests in the manors in Berkshire and Oxon.

The Manor of La Hyde

The Reformation Period 1500-1553