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Thanks go to John Clark for the History Articles |
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The first people came to live in our village over 2000 years ago. They founded a settlement on a hilltop site outside the present village. Only earthworks now remain of this time, and the people subsequently migrated southwards to form our present village. In the Domesday Book (1086), Eastwick was a thriving agricultural community. The Eastwick Hall manor house was situated close to the hilltop village, and was to be occupied by the de Tany family. They rebuilt the church of St Botolph, a building of some quality. The family remained here for some two centuries, and we are reminded of them today by the quite magnificent 13th century marble tomb effigy of Sir Richard de Tany. Later Eastwick was bought by the Lord of Hunsdon House. An absentee landlord was Ann Boleyn, the vivacious wife of Henry VIII, who was given Eastwick as a wedding present. She didn't keep it long! In the early 17th century the village was purchased by the Lord of Gilston, and a unity was formed which remains to the present day. Georgian Eastwick was prosperous: observe the superb merchants' house now called Culverts and the village was also a noted centre of Nonconformity. In 1852 the great reformer John Hodgson appeared, and tore down practically the whole village, including, sadly, the church. In its place arose a cleaner and more attractive village. Savagely blitzed in the Second World War, Eastwick evolved once more to become what it is today, a small agriculturally based village cloistered around its small church and public house. THE VILLAGE TODAY Little remains that is old. The Victorian church contains old memorials which were salvaged from the earlier building. There is a brass and some quite exceptional chancel arch pillars. The present Eastwick Manor has no connection with the past one. It is in fact the 19th-century rectory, no longer in church use. The Lion Inn is an old farmhouse, and opposite is a range of fine late-Victorian almshouses. The Georgian house Culverts remains the grandest house in the village. The old school, long closed and put to industrial use, looks rather sad. Gilston first appeared in 1135 when the Norman warlord Geoffrey de Mandeville built his village on barren land. Three manor houses - Overhall, Netherhall and Giffards, were built across the estate and surrounded by the cottages of the farm labourers required to work on the farms. Gilston was and always has been an agricultural community where the growing of grain predominates. The church of St Mary was consecrated at this time, and nothing grander than this building was to be seen until 1550 when Henry Chauncy built himself a fine mansion (New Place) on the site of Netherhall. It was not; however, until 1632 that Gilston finally became united under a single ownership when the Gore family (London merchants) moved into New Place. Henceforth this was to be the centre of all village life. Land was enclosed to form Gilston Park, the other manor houses being relegated to the status of farms and the pub, the Plume of Feathers, was built. By Mid-Victorian times Gilston was small and rather seedy, in need of restoration, this came about when the wealthy London shipbroker John Hodgson arrived in 1852. In thirty years he conceived and executed a remarkable plan to demolish the entire village and replace it with modern buildings. New Place was pulled down and the sumptuous Gilston Park mansion built on the site. New farms, a school, dairy and a magnificent collection of red-brick cottages were also built. Before he died in 1882 Hodgson saw the completion of his model village, which basically remains to this day. THE VILLAGE TODAY John Hodgson would still recognise the village. It is all there. Gilston Park manor house has now been converted into apartments. The farms are still active in the growing of cereals, but mechanisation has done away with the need for labour and practically all residents now work outside the village The pub still thrives after 350 years and most of the brick cottages survive, although by now the majority have been enlarged or modernised. The village school was closed in 1959 and converted into a private house. The church, fortunately, was not demolished by Hodgson: there is much Victorian work, but a fine 13th-century wooden chancel screen survives, as does a font which is even older. During the Second World War, Cock Robin Lane was used as an access route to Hunsdon Aerodrome. Rumour has it that it was a metalled road. After the war the tarmac surface of the lane was removed and the lane became a bridleway. Gradually over the years, the width of the lane became reduced by water erosion from the brook which runs alongside the lane and creeping vegetation from the woods and hedges which border the lane. The northern end of the lane eventually became impassable and in the early 70' s a group of volunteers cleared the lane and made it passable again. However, the problem of water erosion was never really addressed and during the winter months, it has been impossible for horses to use the bridleway. For many years, Eastwick and Gilston Parish Council have campaigned to have the lane restored to its former glory but unfortunately funding was never available for such a major project. In the late 90's, a scheme was drawn up to re-direct the path of the brook and re-instate the surface of the bridleway. Funding was made available from the Landfill Tax. The appointed contractors, D. Honour and Sons started work in July 200I and were supervised by engineers, surveyors and footpath officers from Hertfordshire County Council. The work was completed in mid September and we are now blessed with a superb bridleway through some lovely Hertfordshire countryside with all weather access. It will become a great asset to the many horse riders and walkers who use the public rights of way network within the parishes of Eastwick and Gilston. Special thanks to the people who distribute the Landfill Tax and made the whole project possible, to all the staff from Herts County Council who were involved in the project, staff of the Environment Agency who offered their advice and Albert Towse who supervised the project on behalf of the Eastwick and Gilston Parish Council. Thanks also to Richard and Nick from D Honours and Sons who actually carried out the work over a six week period and to local farmers who helped by storing materials and equipment on their premises. Although Gilston is an ancient parish, it is not directly mentioned in the Domesday Book of 1086. The only clue therein to its existence is the mention of 'Aefwine of Godtone', who held land in Hunsdon, Stanstead, Sawbridgeworth and Sheering. In those days, People frequently took their names from the place they came from, and it is possible that this Saxon landowner belonged to Gilston, which was also called variously Godtone, Godelston or Gedeleston. Gilston was probably no more than wasteland and water meadows in those days. After the Norman Conquest, it became part of the vast estates of Sir Geoffrey de Mandeville. His grandson, Geoffrey de Mandeville, was created Earl of Essex by King Stephen in 1140, and was also Constable of the Tower of London. The Earl was an ambitious man and his lust for power eventually brought him into collision with the King. The Earl of Essex founded Walden Abbey at Saffron Walden, and later endowed it with nineteen churches, together with lands, tithes and other revenue. Gilston Church formed part of this gift. In 1241, after an ecclesiastical dispute, the church passed into the gift and possession of the Bishops of London. The Bishops remained Patrons of this living with the exception of the years 1419 1425 and 1600 until the middle of the 19th century, when it passed to John Hodgson, and subsequently to the Bowlby family. St. Mary's Gilston church has few remaining relics of its Norman foundation, but the 12th century font is a good example. The church was largely rebuilt in the 13th century. The tower is largely 16th century; there are two bells, a tenor dated 1628 and a treble dated 1663. The church was restored in about 1852. There are a number of interesting monuments, including a painted glass shield with the arms of Sir William Estfield, Lord Mayor of London in 1429 and 1437. He owned the Manor of Netherhall. The chancel contains several 17th century monuments to members of the Gore family. The chancel screen incorporates some remains of a 13th century screen. In the middle ages, Gilston was divided into three manors. The Manor of Overhall took in the higher ground near the church. The original Manor House was on the site of what is now Overhall Farm. The Manor of Netherhall took in the lower ground, and the Manor of Giffards took in the southern part of the parish. There are the remains of a moat in a spinney almost opposite the 'Plume of Feathers' Inn, which is the probable site of the Manor House of Giffards. These Manors, or portions of them, frequently changed hands, sometimes forming part of the estate of a local family or a more distant landlord, sometimes part of a gift to a religious house or a church. Overhall and Netherhall Of the several families whose fortunes were closely connected with Gilston, the de Roos (or de Ros) family is of interest, for from it was descended Henry Chauncy, who built Gilston Park. This family was founded by Sir Robert de Roos, second son of Baron Roos of Hamlake (Helmesley, Yorkshire). He was knighted in 1306 and was a Member of Parliament for Hertfordshire in 1311. He had acquired Overhall Manor by 1302, possibly by marriage. His eldest son was a Knight Templar, and went on a crusade, and the estate is believed to have passed to the younger son, Sacer de Roos. On his death, Sacer left Overhall to his son John. (Later Sir John de Roos) and Netherhall to his son Robert. Robert de Roos of Netherhall had only one child, Margery. She married Ralph Giffard. Their grand-daughter, Margaret, widow of Sir John Chauncy inherited the estate in 1449. She gave it to her son John Chauncy, who bought part of Overhall at about the same time. John Chauncy appears to have owned considerable property in the district in addition to Gilston His estates included part of Eastwick, and he had a lease of Pishiobury Manor, near Sawbridgeworth. He died in 1479, and he and his wife were buried in Sawbridgeworth church. The Chauncys and New Place The Chauncy family was to be associated with Gilston for over 170 years and during that time did much to develop the estate as we shall mention later. John Chauncy was succeeded by his son, John, who received as part of his inheritance, a house and lands called 'Giffards', woodlands at Eastwick and part of the Manor of Overhall. John Chauncy died in 1510, and was succeeded by his son, yet another John. The family still lived at Pishiobury, and this John Chauncy tried to buy the Manor from its owner, Lord Scrope. He was unsuccessful in this, for the land was given in trust to King Henry VIII, who confirmed John Chauncy's lease. John's eldest son, who was reputed to have led a gay life as a student, became a Carthusian monk. When the Charterhouse Monastery was dissolved in 1537, he went to Bruges in the Netherlands, but returned in 1555 during the reign of Mary, to become her confessor and Prior of the Carthusian house at Sheen. He was again exiled on the accession of Elizabeth I, and died in 1581. He is the author of 'Historia Martyrum Anglorum', a history of those churchmen who had suffered for their faith at the hands of Henry VIII. At the death of John Chauncy in 1546, his estate passed to his second son, Henry. At this time there was friction between Lord Hunsdon, a favourite of the Queen, and the Chauncy family, because Henry would not sell him part of Gilston. Hunsdon then persuaded the Queen to cancel Chauncy's lease of Pishiobury. New Place It was thus that Henry decided to build a house at his Gilston estate. He enclosed forty acres of Netherhall Manor, and eighty acres of Giffards to form a Park. The house was completed in 1550, and was called New Place. All that remains of the house is the porch way, with a fine bust of Elizabeth I in a niche over it. There are extant a number of fine drawings of this house, which indicate that it was a handsome building. Henry had his share of the trials of that difficult period of our history. He had to pay a levy of £6.17.10d. to the Queen 'for the repression of rebellion and for resisting foreign invasion'. He also supplied a cavalryman to the muster at York. More serious, however, were the charges of Popery, which were laid against him. He married three times. In 1587 Henry died, and was buried at Gilston. He was succeeded by his son, George Chauncy. One of George's sons, Charles Chauncy, was sometime Vicar of Ware, but resigned his living and went to America following a disagreement with Archbishop Laud. Charles Chauncy later became President of Harvard. George Chauncy had gained considerable property on the death of his first wife, Jane Cornwall of Ardeley. In 1615, he sold New Place to Alexander Williams and went to live at Ardeley. Chauncy's great-grandson, Sir Henry Chauncy, wrote a history of Hertfordshire The Williams family did not stay long at New Place, and in 1632 it was sold to Sir John Gore, Alderman, and, in 1624, Lord Mayor of London. Sir John Gore bought several parcels of land, and did much to enlarge and beautify his estate. He died in 1636, and in his will, he left a rent-charge on the Manor of Giffards of £5.12.0d. a year, £3.0.0. of which went to the Rector of Gilston for catechising the schoolchildren, and the remainder to buy bread for the poor of the parish. The estate passed to his son, John, who had previously bought Overhall, and thus owned most of Gilston. John Gore became Sheriff of Hertfordshire in 1639, and was knighted by Charles 1st in 1641. The following year, the Civil War broke out, and in 1643 Sir John had to pay the sum of £500 to the Parliamentary forces. Despite this, he played a prominent part in public affairs, for he was again Sheriff in 1654, and became a member of the second Protectorate Parliament in 1656. He died, aged 61, in 1659, and was succeeded by his eldest son, Humphrey Gore. Humphrey was knighted by Charles 11 in 1660, and lived to be 75 years of age, having married three times. During the last four years of his life, New Place was managed by his son, Captain Henry Gore. By now, the estate was well established. Humphrey Gore is reported to have developed the gardens of New Place and planted many trees and shrubs. A catalogue of the fields, meadows, woods, houses etc. belonging to the estate (1699-1700) shows that the whole establishment amounted to 1,223 acres. Records of the quit-rents, (1695-1699) show that the estate included Eastwick Manor, Overhall, Netherhall and 'Fiddlers Brook' in the parish of Sawbridgeworth. In 1695, the annual rents due from tenants amounted to £9.11.0. In addition to money, some tenants had to provide one or more capons. For several years, the Bailiff responsible for collecting the dues was a Mr. George Perrin. Captain Henry Gore came into the property in 1699, but in 1701 he sold it to Colonel John Plumer of Blakesware, near Widford, Herts. Blakesware has been immortalized by Charles Lamb in "Essays of Elia". His grandmother, Mrs. Field, was housekeeper there for over fifty years until her death in 1792. It was seldom occupied by the Plumers after 1778. Of especial fame were the marble busts of twelve Caesars. In 1824, this old mansion was demolished and its treasures, including the famous busts were taken to New Place. Colonel John Plumer died in 1719, and both Blakesware and New Place were left to his second son, William Plumer, who was a Member of Parliament for the county in 1757, and died in 1767, at the age of eighty years. His widow continued to live at Blakesware until her death in 1778, whilst her eldest son, William, lived at Gilston. By now Gilston was fairly prosperous, and in 1814, Arthur Young in 'Survey of Agriculture in Herts', notes that Mr. William Plumer kept a flock of 200 ewes, which he folded on his lawns. The population of the hamlet of Gilston steadily increased, and by 1811 there were 41 families living in 41 houses. William had been M.P. for the county for many years, and Lamb described him as 'A fine old Whig'. He died aged 86 years, and left his properties to his widow, Jane. Mrs. Plumer lived at Gilston Park, where she kept splendid estate. She drove around the countryside in a coach and four with liveried outriders. In 1825, she married Captain J.R. Lewin, R.N., who died two years later. Three years later, in 1828, Jane took her third husband, Robert Ward, who assumed the name Plumer Ward. Robert Plumer Ward was a man of many parts. He was educated at Christ Church, Oxford, was a barrister, and had been a Member of Parliament from 1802 to 1823. During that time he held several offices Under Secretary for Foreign Affairs, a Lord of the Admiralty and Clerk of the Ordnance. Later, on resigning from Parliament, he became Auditor of the Civil List_ and in 1830, High Sheriff of Hertfordshire. In addition, Robert Plumer Ward was the author of several novels, including 'Tremaine' and 'De Vere'. Under his influence New Place became the home of an important collection of paintings, armour and other objects d'art. The house had by now become a most opulent place. The Caesars were displayed on pedestals in the Octagon Hall, the floor of which was covered by a Turkey carpet especially woven to shape at Constantinople. The 'Volunteers', the forerunners of the Territorial Army, were fashionable at that time, and the Gilston Troop of Yeomanry appears to have had connections with New Place. There is a record that 120 of its members were entertained to dinner in the Octagon Hall. The library contained some four thousand volumes. There was a well stocked conservatory. Plumer Ward appears to have had an insatiable passion for collecting old objects, including stained glass from local churches. Many of these were sold to London dealers for a mere song when New Place was finally pulled down. But tragedy befell the family. The three daughters of Robert by his first marriage all died within a short time of one another. Mrs. Plumer Ward died in 1831. Although he was left the entire estate, Robert moved away from the district, and offered the house and all its contents for a rental of £2,000 a year. He subsequently married a Mrs. Okeover. He died in 1846, aged 79. The Present House In 1851, the estate was bought by Mr. John Hodgson, of London. Most of the furniture, art treasures and fittings of New Place were sold by auction, and the old mansion was demolished. The main staircase went to Rye House. The present house was built in 1852, a little further from the lake than New Place. The architect was Philip Hardwick. Some linen fold and oak panelling, a fine Tudor mantelpiece and some other carvings were incorporated into the new house. John Hodgson restored Gilston Church and became Patron of the living. In addition he rebuilt many of the cottages on his estate. He was a Justice of the Peace for Essex and Hertfordshire, and High Sheriff of Hertford in 1862. He died in 1882 at the age of 75, and was succeeded by his brother, William Hodgson, who died four years later. The estate then passed to a nephew, Edward Salvin Bowlby, who died in 1902. Gilston Park remained in the Bowlby family until 1947, when the estate was sold. The house was bought by Charles O'Brien, who ran it as a hotel and country club. During 1939-1945, War, Gilston Park became a billet for officers of the Army and Royal Air Force. In 1962, Gilston Park was taken over by Smith & Nephew Research Limited, and laboratory facilities were built. These and the house were occupied during 1963 |
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