The effects of
the Reformation
on the local Church and Manors
using information from many sources
Many of
the places named in this study have changed over the generations
see… Name
of the village and House & farm names
Between 1534 and the 1547 Henry VIII closed all the
monasteries and Abbeys in England. Parish Churches were stripped of their
ornate and valuable artefacts which were seen as characteristic of the Catholic
church and under the control of the Pope in Rome. The Church of England was
created at this time and St Peters Church at
Goldhanger was included in this transformation. The manors and lands owned by
the monasteries and abbeys, were sold off to the monarch’s wealthy supporters
and the gold and riches were kept by the monarch. Local people were allowed to
take what they wanted of what was left in the way of building material, bricks
and stone, etc. which made the acquisitions popular with most of th
population. Beeleigh and Coggeshall Abbeys were included in this “Dissolution”,
and their manors, estates and farms at and near Goldhanger were affected. They
included Follyfaunts, Vaulty Manor, Beckingham
Hall and its estates including Highams, Longwick, Joyces, Frame and Manor Farms. Also
included, and once within Goldhanger Parish, was Canterbury Farm now part
of Heybridge Parish.
Beeleigh Abbey held many properties and large areas
of land around Goldhanger, which was a major source of its income This extract
from Beeleigh Abbey, Essex, published
in 1924 by R.C. Fowler gives the values for the year of 1288, and shows that
the parish of Goldhanger was its largest source of income...
...the reasons for this were most likely because
several wealthy manors and farms were located in the parish, including those at
Barrow Marsh which included a tide mill, plus the fish traps on the north bank of the Estuary and
the saltworks at Goldhanger and Barrow Marsh were all
part of the Beeleigh estate.
Beeleigh Abbey in the 1700s
In 1977 Maura Benham
wrote about this phase of local history in her book: Goldhanger - an Estuary Village. Pages 31 &
32 describe the local effects of the Reformation and Disillusionment…
Today much more information is available via the
internet to give a more complete picture of the impact on the Church and the
manors. This 1549 inventory of Goldhanger Church goods was published in 1909 as
part of the history of Wickham Bishops and surrounding areas…
No references to most of these items has been seen
since that date, and together with the reference to “solde” and the
wording: “…be delivered unto the custody of…” it is likely that this list represents the
items with were removed from the Church as part of the Royal Injunction of
1547.
The ancient corner cupboard in The
Chequers Inn, next door to St. Peters Church, is said resemble a type of
secret shrine that would have been used to continue to hold Catholic communions
after the Reformation, with the communion vessels being hidden in the enclosed
boarded lower part…
Not a great deal is know about the ownership of
lands in the Parish before the Reformation. Maura
Benham refers to the “Manor of Goldhanger” being described in the 1085 Domesday book entry for Goldhanger but no other manors
or properties are named, just the people who owned them. Maura also tells us
that Robert Mantel, Lord of Little Maldon and the founder of Beeleigh Abbey,
gave Follifaunts and Fawlty manors to Beeleigh Abbey in 1180, and it seems that
between 12th century and the 15th century most, if not all of the lands around
Goldhanger progressively became owned and controlled by the local monasteries
and abbeys…
The following extracts from ancient documents refer
to the manors and farms that were acquired by the Henry VIII and then gifted or
sold…
Artists impression of the
original Beckingham Hall
(draw in 1905)
(Frame
Farm is to the northeast of Beckingham Hall)
An article in The Times in December 1912
reported on recent acquisitions of The Victoria and Albert Museum…
A fine piece of panelling, bearing the date 1546,
has been purchased from a house known as Beckingham
Hall at Tolleshunt Major, Essex. It is
elaborately carved with decorations in the style of the Renaissance, among
which are the Royal Arms as borne by Henry VIII, and those of Stephen
Beckingham. The old Hall at Beckingham from which the panelling originally came
was built by Richard Beckingham on an estate granted to him by Henry VIII in
1543"
the Beckingham Hall panel in the
V&A today
The
charter granted by Henry VIII to Stephen Beckingham for the Manor of Tolleshunt
in 1544 is still held in the Guildhall Library in the City of London.
From… 'Henry VIII:
Appointments to Offices', Letters and Papers, Foreign and Domestic, Henry VIII,
Volume 17: 1542, pp. 690-705
“Thos. Myldmay, of
London. Folyphauntes manor and lands called Caunterberyes
in Goldaunger, Essex.
on surrender of a
fifteen years' lease to Thos. Wyrtleke, of Goldaunger. by Bylegh abbey. 23
Sept.1533”.
(Caunterberyes
is most likely be Canterbury Farm, Goldhanger Rd, in Heybridge)
From Essex Records Office D/Y 1/1/31/1 dated June 1723…
Letter to William Holman from John Bradley from
Enfield ( Middlesex), about his manor of Tolleshunt
Beckingham in Tolleshunt Major. Giving
details of the descent of the manor, originally known as Folly Faunte, and
held by the Monastery of Beeleigh at the Dissolution, and also of Tolleshunt
Major, also known as Tolleshunt Grange and Longwycke which was held by the Monastery of Coggeshall at
the Dissolution.
more
about… Charles Brandon , Coape-Arnold
family & The Higham Family
Charles Brandon, Duke of Suffolk
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