Reference
L6
Title
Deeds of Gravenhurst
Date free text
1352 - 1826
Production date
From: 1352 To: 1826
Admin/biog history
The deeds of the Grey property in the parishes of
Gravenhurst together with the hamlet of Ion within them, contain,
as might be expected, little on the family itself, though there
are some leases to members of the Pigott family during the early
17th century, descendants of the second husband of Margaret, wife
of Hy. Grey, who died in 1545. (6/279 et seq).
Some documents relate to the Whitbread family and include
the sale of their property at Ion farm, of which there is a
detailed description (6/63, 6/66). Other well known south
Bedfordshire families about which there is information in these
documents include the Reddalls (6/11 - 6/60) and the Hanscombes
(6/136 - 194).
The documents show clearly the purchase of freehold land in
Gravenhurst by the de Grey family. Adjoining as the parishes do
their park at Wrest, this might be expected, but the way in which
it occurred is of some interest. A draft enclosure map (MD.L 6)
together with the enclosure award shows that in 1820 or so, apart
from the Lady Lucas, there were few freeholders in these parishes
except the church, a Cambridge college, and Charity lands; of the
three considerable freehold properties bought by the de Greys
between 1628 and 1820 in Gravenhurst whose title deeds have
survived in this collection, all three were purchased from non
resident land lords although they were occupied by their owners
at the earlier date. Ion farm, the Whitbread property was sold
in 1639 to a London grocer; it was sold to the Duke of Kent in
1725 (6/61 - 6/135), and the Whitbread's ownership of the
Elstow tithes passed to the Reddall family, via Ralph Baldwyn of
Ashwell, Herts (6/20 - 6/31) to whom they were sold in 1669 by
Wm. Whitbread then removed to Langford, before being bought by the
Duke of Kent. The property occupied by William Myllward in 1635,
and sold by him that year to James Hanscombe of Shillington, was
certainly not in the occupation of the latter's descendants when
they sold it to the Duke of Kent 145 years later, if indeed ithad ever been. (6/173, 194). Another Myllward property was
sold to James Hansombe in 1631 - Chapman's farm, of which the
farm house and some of the land was purchased by the Duke of
Kent in 1725. (6/140).
The two properties purchased in 1725 both contained
land in vicinity of Wrest Park, whereas the bulk of that bought
in 1779 lay in the north of Upper Gravenhurst.
The leases of land in Gravenhurst include a number of
the manors of Bowells and Briansbury in the 17th cent.,
(6/275 -285) and a draft lease of a mill in late 16th. (6/292).
Of more intimate items there is a correspondence arising
from the purchase of a small estate in 1826 by the local agent
' to prevent it falling into other hands' (6/264), and a forged
will in the title deeds of the same property (6/253-254).
Reference
Level of description
sub-fonds