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SAFFRON WALDEN HISTORICAL JOURNAL |
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Article
from Saffron Walden Historical Journal No 1 (2001) SKULLDUGGERY
IN THE HISTORY OF STRETHALL
A
Millenium of Malfeasance in the Smallest Parish by
David Melford
Even
very small communities, when surveyed over almost a thousand years, can be
expected to have accumulated an assortment of misdeeds, the records of
which have in some cases survived. These
can make interesting reading in their own right as well as offering some
small insights into the times in which they took place. Distilling a
selection of them from a wide variety of sources has yielded the following
examples. There was for example: 1084 AD. The Norman Usurper In
1066, two men, William and Alwin, farmed Strethall for the Abbot of Ely
and were not permitted to leave the land - or so the Domesday Book tells
us. This cosy arrangement was
upset by one Hugo de Berners, who had arrived with William the Conqueror.
In line with established custom and practice for victorious invaders, he
usurped 3 hides of land in Strethall - some 60% of the parish. Parochially
speaking this was larceny on a grand scale and, to give credit where it is
due, King William soon obliged his friends to return such items of real
estate to their rightful owners. A Charter recorded in the Liber Eliensis
dated 1082 - four years before the Domesday Book - lists the miscreants
and the amount of land stolen and goes on “Let
the Abbot of Ely reclaim the lands that these men hold; if the Abbot is
able to show that the above lands are part of the demesne of his Church
and if the above men cannot show that they hold these lands by my gift”.
The
Abbot in question was now a Norman, Abbot Simeon, and he solved the
problem of reclaiming his property by a simple device. The Abbey was
deemed a Barony and obliged to provide 40 knights for the King’s army when required to do so. In
effect, Simeon allowed the usurpers to keep their land in return for
helping him with this military obligation. Thus Hugo de Berners came to
hold Strethall for one knight’s
fee. The de Berners held Strethall for almost 200 years until 1263 when
they were involved in another major misdeed: 1263
AD. Treason & Rebellion This
time it was a John de Berners who joined Simon de Montfort’s
rebellion. The rebels were defeated at the Battle of Evesham in 1263 and
their lands were forfeit. Strethall thus became Crown property once more
and two years later, at the Battle of Chesterfield, John de Berners was
killed. It
could be argued, however that these weighty affairs qualify as sins of
state and are scarcely the rustic peccadilloes that could be expected to
characterise a tiny hamlet. They had little effect on daily life in
Strethall which revolved mainly around subsistence farming, grazing sheep
on the chalk hills, spinning and probably weaving. This modus vivendi was
to persist until another 650 years had passed. Nevertheless, in 1309,
there is evidence of a minor ripple in an otherwise bucolic scene - a
monumental mugging - although even this rural punch-up was brought to the
attention of the King. 1309
AD. The Strethall Mugger The
Calendar of Patent Rolls records that Henry Le Drivere of Strethall joined
with no fewer than 27 others, led by Alice de Bello Monte, in assaulting
the unfortunate Michael Cherne at Elmdon. It is tempting to think of Alice
as a somewhat muscular lady of Wagnerian proportions, egging on her
overwhelming force to beat up Michael Cherne who must have offended her
deeply. In fact she held one
of the Elmdon manors in chief and hence was indeed something of a force to
be reckoned with. We
would not know about the incident at all were it not that a whistle-blower
was present in the person of Nicolas de Segrave who later “held
the Manor of Heiden of the King in chief by the serjaunty of holding a
basin and towel in the the king’s
hall on the day of the king’s coronation”. The
consequence of his intervention was that the king set up a Commission of
Oyer and Terminer to enquire into the incident. This should have revealed
the cause of the dispute and the outcome but unhappily, according to the
Public Record Office, no records of such Commissions survive from this
early a date. The
next misdeed has no national overtones and is a simple matter of debt.
This was taken very seriously however in 1435 and the nature of the debt
in this case is rather intriguing. 1435
AD. The Welshing Parson The
Parson involved was John Waleys, clerk, who, together with John Pound, was
appointed to the living in Strethall in 1433 by the then Lord of the
Manor, William Bredewardyn. Newcourt’s
Repertorium which records this appointment says also that it was twinned
with Broxbourne and that the incumbent “permutated” to share the
livings. John Waleys must have resigned within the year because John Pound’s
appointment is said to be “per resig. Waleys”. The cause of Waleys’
resignation may have been that he had got himself irretrievably into debt
and had ended up being pursued in a court of law by his main creditor. The
fact that he was in debt is not in itself a great surprise. At this time,
Strethall was a very poor living and remained so until the arrival of John
Gardner, a wealthy Inner Temple lawyer, as Lord of the Manor in 1500. It
cannot be without significance that, of the nine rectors appointed before
his arrival, eight, including Waleys, all resigned, the ninth having died
in office after two years. After 1500, the next eight rectors all died in
office, one of them holding the living for 63 years. What
is rather remarkable, is that John Waleys’ debt was to Ralph Pennarth,
citizen and tailor of London, to whom he owed 40 shillings. The journey
from Strethall to London in 1433 must have been hazardous, time-consuming
and expensive. For a country parson from a poor living to have his clothes
made by a London tailor could be thought a somewhat extravagant
undertaking. The fact that we know about the incident at all is due to the
fact that Waleys failed to appear before the magistrate to answer the
charge brought against him. Nevertheless, he must have discharged the debt
and/or produced some very convincing
explanation, for he was pardoned for this non-appearance - and it
is this pardon that in 1435 is recorded in the Calendar of Patent Rolls. 1560
AD. The Armed Robber Robert
Turner of Strethall, who described himself as a husbandman, was a wealthy
farmer with both freehold and copyhold land in Strethall and the
neighbouring Catmere End and at least two houses.
When he died in 1558, he provided handsomely for seven children,
the eldest of which was John Turner. Sometime shortly before 1560, Robert,
or more likely John, built a new house to the latest lobby-entrance design
with a cross wing and central chimney stack.
Such ostentation seems to have attracted the undesirable attentions
of one Lawrence Pave or Pathe. The outcome is summarised in the following
extract from the records of the
General Sessions of the Peace
held at Chelmsford [Assizes] :- “...Thursday after Easter, 1560,
before Anthony Browne and Rich. Weston, justices of the Common Pleas,
Wm.Bendlowes, serjeant-at-law, and Edmd. Bockinge Esq., justices of the
peace on the oaths of [a list of 17 names], who say that Lawrence
Pave alias Pathe lately of Stratford
in the county of Herts., yeoman, on the 27th day of March in the second
year of the reign of Elizabeth, by the Grace of God, Queen of England,
France and Ireland, suddenly with arms, namely staffs, swords and
cutlasses, burglariously entered the dwelling house of the same John
Turner at Strethall, about 7 o’clock
at night, and put him in fear of his life, and stole from him 13s.4d in
money. Guilty;
judgement given, to be hanged. It
seems likely that “Stratford” is a simple mistranscription for Stortford, travel in those days
being a matter of some difficulty, particularly when burdened with “staffs,
swords and cutlasses”. 1585
AD. The Recusant Recusancy
qualified as a crime in an era when adhering to the Catholic faith and
celebrating Mass was against the law of the land. Thomas Crawley, Lord of
the Manor of Strethall, was a member of one of the wealthy and powerful
Catholic families who endured considerable harassment and persecution
during the reign of Elizabeth. He was imprisoned, fined on numerous
occasions, forbidden to leave London and a constant target for malicious
informers. Finally he decided enough was enough and, rather than abjure
his faith, he sued for peace, petitioning the Queen and contracting with
Her Majesty in the following words recorded in a document held by the
Public Record Office:- “I Thomas Crawlie being called before her maties
Commyssioners the xxiii Daye of Marche the xxviiith yeare of her maties
raigne to understand what yearlie portion I would transfer to her highness
receite of the Exchequer, to be exempted from a statute made against
recusants, free from all vexation of informers touringe the shire. In
considerton whereof, I am
contented to paye into her maties receite the sum of thirtye poundes by
the yeare and for her maties gratious favour herein towards me, I do
acknowledg myself bounde to praye unto Almmightie God for her longer lyffe
and prosperous raigne. And thus I am most willinglie to doe.
By me Thomas Crawlie”. In
other words, he bought the right to cleave to his faith as long as he
adopted a low profile and made no trouble. Thirty pounds was a very
considerable sum to pay annually even for a wealthy man and shortly
afterwards he sold Strethall to his brother-in-law, Giles Greene, another
staunch Catholic. 1607
AD. Seduction in the Rectory Although
not exactly a crime, seduction must be one of the most common
misdemeanours to occur in any community - although not always in a
rectory. The parties involved were Robert Parker and Agnes Ewens, both of
whom at the time were servants to Francis Lynsell, the longest-serving
incumbent Strethall has ever had and whose 63 years service has already
been mentioned. It appears that, at this time, the costs of raising a
child born out of wedlock fell upon the parish unless the responsibility
could be laid elsewhere. As soon as Agnes’
condition was discovered, Francis Lynsell took the case to the Essex
Quarter Sessions at Easter 1607. Robert
Parker was the son of John Parker of Elmdon, husbandman. To judge from
their wills, those describing themselves as husbandmen were comparatively
affluent. Certainly this is true of the Turners of
Strethall whose wills in several cases were written by Francis
Lynsell himself since he was probably the only person available who was
sufficiently literate to perform this task. The case was therefore brought
against John Parker for his son Robert
Parker “late
servant to Mr Lynsell”
(Robert had clearly been sacked) who was “charged by Mr Lynsell with
begetting Agnes Ewens, servant also in the house of the said Mr Lynsell, who therefore required security on his
behalf and that of the rest
of the parishioners for saving harmless their parish from the further
charge of the said child”. Robert was ordered “to appear and not depart before some further order be
taken, until the said Agnes be delivered, and to keep the peace towards
the said Mr Lynsell”. This
last admonition was probably justified. Robert would not have been popular
at home, had lost his job and probably saw his former employer as the
author of all his misfortunes. In those days, it would not be unusual if
the child died at birth but Francis Lynsell’s
pre-emptive action clearly established responsibility whatever the
outcome. 1670
AD. Simony. This
rather recherché misdeed is a crime against an ecclesiastical law which
may seem somewhat arcane to the layman. The relevant provision is simply
that a clergyman may not purchase the next presentation to a living for
himself - particularly if the living is already vacant. John
de Berners started something of a trend for Lords of the Manor of
Strethall when he joined the rebellion against the King in 1263. Thomas
Crawleys recusancy in Elizabeth’s
reign continued the trend and during the period of the Commonwealth it is
no surprise to learn that the then Lord of the Manor, Robert Newport, was
a staunch Royalist. This allegiance proved disastrous for the Newport
fortunes and it is understandable that, when a vacancy occurred in the
living in Strethall, Robert was not averse to profiting from the
opportunity to exercise his advowson.
John Buckley was his appointee and his incumbency lasted only three
months and three weeks. For such prompt action to be taken to remove him,
someone must have informed the authorities and a likely suspect is John
Debnam, his successor. 1849
AD. The Killing at Strethall Hall. Not
the least surprising aspect of this bizarre affair is that the crime
turned out not to be the killing but the burglary that the victim was
engaged in when he was killed. Comparisons with the recent case of the
Norfolk farmer, Tony Martin, (sentenced to life imprisonment for shooting
the gypsy lad Fred Barras while the latter was burgling his farmhouse late
at night), are particularly striking. Nehemiah
Perry, in the middle of the 19th century, lived in Strethall Hall and
farmed virtually the whole of the parish of Strethall. He was a
flamboyant, hard-drinking character who had his clothes made in Bond
Street and who, early in his career, had fallen for Sarah, a young gypsy
girl. In due course he married her in rather a hurry by special licence -
probably she was pregnant - and she bore him three children none of whom
survived him. After
some time, Nehemiah tired of her and Sarah was banished to live in a
nearby cottage on his farm, dire consequences being threatened to any man
who should visit her. Her kin were displeased at this treatment, swore
vengeance on Nehemiah and the scene was set for the tragic consequences
that ensued. The
night of Wednesday, February 28th/March 1st, 1849 was cold and snow lay on
the ground. Shortly before one in the morning, the household at Strethall
Hall was aroused by a crash downstairs (it subsequently transpired that
the burglars had knocked over a plate rack while entering via the scullery
window). Nehemiah came out on the landing with a shotgun and a figure
wearing a sacking hood with eyeholes cut in it, appeared at the bottom of
the stairs. In one hand he carried a lantern and in the other, what
appeared to be a bludgeon. As he advanced up the stairs, Nehemiah shot him
dead at virtually point blank range. The victim’s
companions dragged the man into the back parlour and then fled.
On
the Thursday morning the police were called, statements taken and a
Coroners Jury convened to meet over the body on the following Saturday.
The Foreman of the Jury was a Mr Bewsher who ran the mill at Littlebury
and Nehemiah was probably one of his best customers. Witnesses were sworn
- although, interestingly, Nehemiah was not - testimony was given and
eventually the Foreman rose and said that the jury were unanimous in
considering it Justifiable Homicide and that it was their bounden duty to
express their feelings at the conduct of Mr Perry who was not only
entitled to the thanks of the Jury but of the whole neighbourhood and of
the country generally. The Coroner then said he entirely concurred in Mr
Bewsher’s
observations and begged to add his congratulations to those of the Jury. The
body had not yet been identified and so was then placed in the tower of
Strethall Church for the populace to view. An enterprising sexton charged
them 3d for this privilege and large numbers came. The following day,
Sunday, the turnkey of the Borough gaol in Cambridge arrived and
recognised the corpse as that of Abraham Green, a well known poacher, who
had been in his gaol on several occasions. All
the above was reported in detail in the broadsheet of the time, the
account closing with the words “The
body of Green has been interred and the usual church service read over it”. This
was not true. Nehemiah packed up the body in a game hamper and sent it to
his medical adviser in the Department of Anatomy in Cambridge. It was
subsequently transferred to the Museum of Anatomy and, when this
collection was dispersed, the skull of Abraham Green eventually ended up
in the Department of Biological Anthropology and about half of the rest of
his bones in the Museum of Zoology. Neither
Nehemiah nor anyone else at the time saw the slightest need to justify his
action. Nevertheless, in fairness it should be remarked that intruders
armed with clubs who persist in their intrusion after knocking over a
plate rack and waking the household, may well have had some more serious
intent than burglary on their minds. Conclusion It
may now be necessary to emphasise that the present population of Strethall,
is, of course, composed entirely of peace-loving, law-abiding citizens who
pay their taxes with alacrity and good humour. Over the past thousand
years, however, there is persuasive evidence that they have, on occasion,
strayed somewhat from the straight and narrow. Bibliography
Liber
Eliensis,
E.O.Blake, 1962. Royal Historical Society, London. NOTE Fuller
details of all references except those on the web sites can be found in:
D.A. Melford A History of the Manor & Parish of Strethall
(available in Saffron Walden Town Library, Cambridge University Library
and Essex Record Office). This contains a full transcription of the Cambridge
Chronicle articles. © David Melford & Saffron Walden
Historical Journal 2001. |
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SAFFRON WALDEN HISTORICAL JOURNAL |