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Osborn of Chicksands

This collection was deposited by Sir Algernon Osborn in 1936. [blank] of the documents were returned to him at his request and are listed in this catalogue. He retained some valuable volumes relating to America and some Exchequer documents of the time of Sir John Osborn, Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer. The collection represents the muniments of the Osborn family up to the end of the 19th century and covers the Manor of Chicksands; the Manor usually called Hawnes Grange, together with Hawnes Rectory and advowson’ the advowson of Campton; property in Shefford including the ‘Cock’ Inn’ the Manor of Polehanger with appurtenant lands in Meppershall; tithes in Dean. The collection also contains two wills which relate to out-county property, ie the Manor of Little Wakering and the Manor of South Fambridge, both in Essex. The title deeds for Chicksands and Hawnes [O/3-O/48] add little to the account given in VCH, Bedfordshire [ii, pp 271-273 & 341-342]. At the Dissolution of the Monasteries in 1539 the Manor of Chicksands became the property of the king and in 1540 the house and site and the demesne lands were leased to Thomas Wyndham for 21 years [O/1]. In the same year William Ardren and Richard Cooke were granted free warren and certain loses with the Manor which they had in fact rented from the Priory since 1538. towards the end of the same year Henry VIII granted to Richard Snowe – described as being of London, gentleman – and to Elizabeth his wife the Manor of Chicksands and also the reversions of the leases held by Thomas Wyndham, William Ardren and Richard Cooke. Richard Snowe died in 1553 and was succeeded by his son Daniel who demised the Manor including the dovehouses, ‘fyshinge’, ‘appleyeardes’, various closes and woods [O/4] to Peter Osborn of Latchingdon, Essex, Keeper of the Privy Purse to Edward VI. In 1578 however, Edward Snowe, brother and heir of Richard brought a suit against the Osborns claiming the estate as Richard’s next of kin under the provisions of the will of Daniel Snowe dated 16 March 1576/7 [O/5]. After litigation the Manor was finally conveyed “for various considerations” to the Osborns by Edward Snowe in 1587 together with the Manor commonly termed Hawnes Grange and Hawnes Rectory which, in 1535 was described as being “well and sufficiently reparall’d, and in the same hospitality kept, and a priest to serve the cure” [see VCH, Bedfordshire, ii, p344]. In 1592 on the death of Peter, the property passed to his son John, Lord Treasurer’s Remembrancer who was knighted in 1618. he was apparently the first of the family to live at Chicksands where his descendants remained until the sale of the estate to HM Government in 1936. With regard to other property in Bedfordshire, the Osborns acquired a messuage called the ‘Cock’ with appurtenances, near “Le ffordys” at the “waterende” of Shefford from John Goodcheape, a wine cooper of Deptford, Kent. In 1635 [O/60-70]. In 1678 they finally obtained the advowson of the Church of Campton with Shefford – which in 1546 had been held by Lord Seymour of Sudley, High Admiral of England [O/49] – together with an adjacent close of land from Daniel Goldsmith of Campton, clerk in return for a payment of £270. in 1758 several pieces of land, comprising in all 20 acres were acquired from John Francklin of Great Barford for £300. they also acquired the Manor of Polehanger and appurtenants lands in Meppershall at the end of the 18th century [O/71-87]. The collection also includes a valuable amount of estate material including leases of property at Chicksands, Campton and Hawnes’ estate accounts giving details of rentals, payment of land tax, dairy accounts and details of the sale of wood from the Chicksands estate [O/148-154]. Information regarding tenancy and field names in Hawnes and Campton comes from terriers of the 18th century [O160-162]. The collection also includes a detailed Report (in the form of a book) dated 1855, which gives a general account of the Chicksands estate, ie condition, acreage, nature of soil, the main buildings and the nature of their construction, tenancy and type of estate cottage most commendable; in a word it includes information on all aspects involved in the general management of an estate. Going back to the Middle Ages there is an original bundle of papers comprising extracts from Tower records dealing with Hawnes and Chicksands which formed part of that third Barony of Bedford which passed to Matilda de Beauchamp, wife of Roger de Mowbray and their descendants [O/97, 1-4] [see VCH, Bedfordshire ii p271]. The personal documents in the collection include a number of wills [O/176-184]. Many of the bequests are fairly detailed and give interesting descriptions of clothes, furnishings etc of the period. The will of Margaret Osborn for example dated 161 is worth quoting. She bequeathed to Mary Hutton: “the bedd and all the furniture belonging to itt … and the yellow chaires and stooles suitable to itt”; “three paire of flaxen sheets”; “three paire of pillowbeares”; “a long Tuky worke cuishion”; “the second Beefe pott”; “the great Brasse kettle”. The collection contains a series of letters between Lord Torrington and his daughter Sarah Osborn, the theme of which is her monetary affairs with the father constantly adjuring his daughter not to sink under afflictions concerning money matters [O/185 nos 12-20]. The Osborns’ financial troubles a this period were further aggravated by the large family of Sarah’s father in law, Sir John Osborn who in reference to this was moved to write in his will [O/43]: “I do commend to my said son John the care of all my younger children and to remember that I have considered him with all the Kindness of a Father hath so many Children to take care of”. Miscellaneous documents of particular interest in this collection are the Royalist Pass made out for Lt Col Osborn (19 November 1645) and the Ambassadorial Passport of John Osborn esquire to the Court at Dresden (30 March 1771). For the warming pan bed see Parry p 118 also O/186 Select Illustrations of Bedfordshire

Deposited in the County Record Office in 1936, withdrawn in 1973 and subsequently purchased from Sir Richard Osborn in December 1994

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