HASELEY OF THE PAST

Pre-Norman

But as Roman coins have been dug up in the churchyard (two being in the possession of Mr Harry Payne) it is thought there must have been a settlement here very early, and there is evidence in a document now in the Bodleian Library that by 800 A.D. there was a church here, dedicated to St. Peter, as it still is. Part of the font is also thought to be Saxon.

By the time of Edward the Confessor this area, known as Hazeley, belonged to the Queen.

Norman Period 1066 - 1150

Milo Crispin built a wooden manor house very like a barn, where the Manor farm milking sheds are now. In 1105 he gave the tithes of his land to the Abbey of Bec in Normandy, and dues were paid annually to that abbey for centuries.

Middle Ages 1150 -1485

Evidently Haseley was of some importance by the time of John, for he held his court, hunted in the woods, and dispensed justice here on at least one recorded occasion, and in 1228 Henry III granted permission for a Monday market to be held here. and later for an annual fair lasting three days to be held the day after St. Peter's day (29th June). Iron, salt and woollen cloth were the chief articles sold, and there was always a collection for St. Peter's Pence, which went to St Peter's church in Rome.

The chancel of the church was built in Henry III's reign (1216??1272) when the Manor belonged to Roger le Bigod, Earl of Norfolk and Marshal of England. In 1332 as a result of a quarrel with Edward III, v the lands were taken from Roger's family and bestowed upon William de Bohn, Earl of Hereford and Northampton. He commanded three divisions at the Battle of Crecy, 1346.

By 1415, the time of the battle of Agincourt, Haseley had given its name to a family, for a George Haseley is mentioned in records in that battle.

By about 1440 Little Haseley and Lachford (lache = sluggish stream) were owned by a family called Pypard, who, in return for their lands, had to follow the King 80 days in the year with two men in full armour.



Haseley itself and the patronage of the Rectory were given to the College of Windsor (it had belonged to Lincoln) and up to Queen Victoria's time the Dean of Windsor was also Rector of Haseley, though he usually put in a priest and let out the Glebe land belonging to the Church on lease.

William Lenthall of Herefordshire married one of the Pypards and came into possession of Latchford, where there was a chapel and small monastery built by one of the priests of Haseley. There was constant trouble with the Abbot of Thame during the 15th Century because the people of Latchford paid dues to Haseley instead of to him and at one time he sent men to burn down the chapel. They took the silver candlesticks and crucifix and burnt the charter. The monks of Latchford appealed to the King for redress; he said they could claim damages if they could produce the charter, but since it had been burnt, this could not be done, so the chapel was never rebuilt.

One of the Lenthall family left money for candles for the Church and for fourteen poor men and sixteen poor women to have a feast in the churchyard on certain occasions. The food was to consist of white bread, roast meat, beer, apples and pasties. Money was also left for the replacement of rushes on the floor of the Church.

A brass in the South aisle, known as the Lenthall aisle, commemorates one of this family.

At Little Haseley in the 15th Century the Barrentyne family had what was described as a 'fair mansion and marvellous fair walks with orchards, pools and topiary' (clipped yew hedges in the form of birds or cutting in the form of chess men as one can see now at the Court is mentioned about 1580). The stone effigy by the font may be of one of this family, though one authority claims it as that of William de Mandeville, Earl of Essex, who died about 1220. The gloves and tilting helmet in the North aisle certainly belonged to one of the Barrentyne family and the altar tomb at the East end of the North aisle is theirs.

The Barrentynes had about 50 people working on their land, of four kinds: Freemen, who paid rent for their land in money or services e.g: one Maltida Tyrell had to cart hay and wood for the lord of the manor six days in the year and was entitled to meals in the house on those days. Others had to do a week's ploughing on the lord's land with their own oxen, or to give geese, capons, honey etc., at certain times: villeins, cottars or cottagers, and serfs, were bound to the land and had to work for the lord when he required, e.g. Walter of the Beard, villein of Haseley, held a cottage and ten acres, but had to help plough, cart hay and do threshing on the estate 'at his lord's will'. Villeins had strips in various places ? some up by the windmill, others in the Grove or along Back Lane, others in Little Haseley. Lots were?drawn each year to decide which strips were to go to which man. Pictures were drawn on the strips to show to whom they were allotted, as most people could not read. (Mr Leach had an old map showing the position of strips). Land raised into a sort of bank where the plough turned at the end of strips was known as the 'baulk'. This is still to be seen below the windmill and in the Grove. The hay?field of the parish was near Haseley Court ,and the common land, where people could graze animals was here also. A record of 1380 tells of a quarrel when a man in Warpsgrove brought his geese on to Haseley Common and in the evening drove off a number of geese belonging to Haseley folk, and in 1460 another record tells of someone. stealing part of the Rector's harvest. The thief had to give the Rector three times as much barley as he had stolen.

On the way to the 'Pigeons' were the Butts (now often called Bittsey Bottom) where all able-bodied men had to practise shooting with bow and arrow in case they were needed to fight, and every year the Sheriff of the County came to inspect their marksmanship.

By the 1400's the Parslers (Mrs Lovell and Mrs Payne were Parslers), The Allens, slaymakers and the Shrimptons were settled families in Haseley.

During the Middle Ages the Church, of course, played an important part in the life of the village. And Haseley church is remarkable in that it shows an almost complete succession of architectural styles from the 12th to the 16th Century.

The South doorway is considered to belong to the 11th Century, the West doorway is a fine specimen of the Early English period, date about 1200, with three concentric arches, the outermost one decorated with dog tooth ornament. The tower dates from about 1300: the four main arches of the nave are Norman in character, but are thought to date also from about 1200, and the arches between the naive and chancel from slightly later.

The chancel windows are 14th century and the masonry of the East Window, damaged recently by lightning, is considered to be the finest in Oxfordshire.

Notice, too, the long slits in the arches between the nave and chancel, to allow the congregation sitting on stone seats along the side of the nave or in the chantries, to see what was going on at the High Altar. N.B. Most of the congregation stood. I understand the transparent sort of window is made of horn.

And to finish with the Middle Ages - a ghost story. One of the rectors of the 14th Century is said to have murdered another clergyman during a drunken quarrel and to have buried him under the floor of the Rectory. The ghost of the murdered man is still supposed to haunt the surroundings of the Old Rectory.

Tudor and Stuart Period 1485 - 1714

Landlords now began to enclose fields in the interests of better and more profitable farming. Many.villeins were turned out of their holdings and strips farmed by them for centuries past were taken away. This was the main reason for the decline of Latchford and for the increase in the number of beggars and of crime in Tudor times. (Main road - footpads, highwaymen - gibbet 3 Pigeons).

Between 1500 and 1600 Haseley became celebrated for its gardens. That at the Court was already well known, now the Manor garden became famous for its quince trees and for an enormous vine, from whose grapes the owner made his own wine. At Rycote there was a great park with a maze and herds of deer. Here lived Lord Williams, rich London merchant and founder of the Boy's Grammar School at Thame. After the Reformation he formed a syndicate to buy up monastic lands cheaply and resell at a great profit for farming. During Mary's reign he pretended to become a Catholic and Elizabeth was put in his charge under virtual house arrest, because Mary trusted him. He treated Elizabeth so well that when she became queen she conferred a title on him and made him many gifts.

At Little Haseley, the Barrentynes, goldsmiths of London, also bought up much monastic land when Henry VIII turned out the monks at the Reformation. I have already mentioned their family tomb and the tilting helmet and gloves in the North aisle. One of the daughters, who married a Huddleston, has a fine brass to her memory on the floor of the nave near the pulpit under the strip of carpet. She died in 1581 and was mother of five daughters, who are shown below her on the brass.

A second rectory was built on the site of a previous one. The Tudor kitchen of this occupying two floors of the present house, most of which is of the 19th Century, still remains. The timbered hall, with its long scrubbed tables, huge fireplace, and great copper pans, is well worth seeing. Rumour that underground passage from it led to crypt of church.

Famous rectors of this period were:
John Leland, historian and chaplain to Henry VIII

John Harding, who helped in the translation of the Bible, Authorised Version commanded by James I and Christopher Wren, father of the famous architect.

The Huddlestones of the Manor were ardent supporters of Charles I in the Civil War and at the time of the Restoration of Charles II were said to hold great orgies there. According to stories, the wall separating the garden from the path leading to the Church, was put up to prevent parishioners from being shocked be seeing what was going on at the Manor when they were on their way to and from church. Remember that at this time every one had to attend church or pay a heavy fine.

The Manor was later held by Sir William Cutler, surgeon to the King, and afterwards sold to the Blackhalls, alderman and merchants from London. They kept six fine carriages, horses and a good stable, as well as being good farmers, experimenting with new breeds of cattle and new types of seed.

Up to about 1600, children had been taught in the church or churchyard; now a school, aiming to teach boys Grammar, English and Latin Literature, was started, the building being where the school coal sheds are now. The schoolmaster earned £15 a year, plus £10 for weighing out coal for the poor of the parish. A famous schoolmaster was Thomas Delafield, historian, who later became vicar of Great Milton.

John Hampden, famous in the Civil War, was born at Latchford, and after being badly wounded at the Battle of Chalgrove, rode on horse back through Little Haseley (where he is said to have rested in what is now known as Hampden's Cottage) then rode on through Latchford to Thame, where he died later, and where there is a memorial stone outside Austin's shop.

Luke Taylor, who made his fortune in trade and whose brass rubbing is on the floor of the South aisle of the Church, left by will a 'considerable estate to ye poor of this parish'. According to stories, he was on the side of the King in the Civil War, had to flee from his home at Latchford because of threats from Parliament supporters and was murdered by his nephews in the Grove in 1647. They hoped to inherit his money but he had left much of it down a well and in his will bequeathed it to the poor of Haseley. What he left was added later to the Blackhall Charity, which will be mentioned shortly.

The Church in Tudor and Stuart Times

In the North aisle there is some perpendicular work of the Tudor period and in the South aisle some of the Stuart period. The pulpit and pews are of Stuart period as well as two chairs by the altars, one having the date 1603 on it.

At  the Restoration there were two rectors living here, one of whom had retired in Cromwell's time because of disagreements over the services. In Charles II's reign he reappeared and tried to turn out the rector who had replaced him. At one service both rectors tried to preach at the same
 time; the congregation took sides and there was a great furore, hats and other objects being hurled about and fighting going on.

The families of Cooper (stonemason), Parncott (now Pancott) sextons, Cornish and Belson date from this period.

Haseley 1700 - 1960

Records show that in the election of 1745, when only freeholders could vote, Haseley had six voters, Little Haseley three, Latchford four. Polling lasted three days, and there was a great deal of free beer drunk and many a free fight.

By 1800 there were 180 different  coats of arms displayed in the Church, but during the 19th Century the Church fell into decay; windows became broken and not repaired, masonry became damaged, and the roof leaked badly. Finally an appeal was launched to put it in order. Then a gallery was constructed between the nave and chance! and a brass band played there for services. One of the instruments is still on view by the font. None of the coats of arms was replaced when repairs were done, but the Muirhead family, who lived at the Court, traced their ancestry back to Roger le Bigod and had their coat of arms (with Norman ships and shells) placed in a window of the South aisle. The Muirheads were liberal benefactors to the Church and took their responsibilities as squires of the village very seriously.

The present Manor, built largely in the 1700's, was described as 'offering the amenities of spacious isolation desired by people of sensibility'.

The Blackhalls who lived there at that time, and whose typically 18th Century monuments can be seen in the vestry, were great benefactors to Haseley. George Blackhall started the Haseley Charity, now called the Taylor and Blackhall charity, and left a considerable sum for the education of children. The school was enlarged; its entrance now faced Gowing's shop and the children entered through a farmyard. The present playground was a rickyard and the now infants' playground was the village Pound, with a pond in the middle. Sundial House, opposite the school, was the Curate's house. It is on record that once in the 18th Century people threw dead cats and rubbish into his dining room to show their dislike.

The Old Rectory was rebuilt in the 19th Century. When Canon Wooler lived here with his family, nineteen servants were kept.

The present Rectory was an undertakers, the Bakery was a jewellers, Highway Cottage a post office, Mrs Woods' house a police house, Mrs Gowings's a fish and chip shop, Mrs Greenway's a butchers shop. At Little Haseley, there was an off licence called the 'Sportsman Retreat', and at. Mrs Cook's on the corner of Little Haseley was a small school. A church service was held there on Sunday afternoon.

The village laundry was at the bottom of Church Hill. In 1885 a spark from the chimney set fire to the thatched roof. Flames driven by a high wind set fire to thatched roofs across the way, and six cottages were soon alight. Someone galloped on horseback to Thame to call the Fire Brigade, made up in those days of volunteers who had to be collected from their work. By the time the fire engine, horse-drawn of course, had arrived and got water from a quarter mile away, all the cottages had been burnt to the ground, and burning thatch from these had been carried by the wind beyond the Church to the Church farm, homestead which also caught fire. Altogether damage estimated at £1000 was done.

In the 19th Century a Carrier Service to Thame and Oxford was begun. This consisted of a covered van with two horses; benches ran along the sides of the van; straw lay on the floor and there were candles set in storm lanterns. Rugs were provided to cover the legs of passengers in cold weather. The carrier went to Oxford on Wednesdays and Saturdays at 9am reaching Oxford about midday, making several stops on the way to deliver and take on parcels etc. He started back at 4 pm reaching Haseley 8 - 9 pm. The cost was one shilling return. On Tuesday the carrier went to Thame. For this an open cart was used, with seats back to back along the middle. A large umbrella was provided for the passengers in wet weather.

The Report made in 1883 by Canon Ellison, the Rector, lists nineteen activities going on in the village then, including a Drum and Fife Band, a Night School, for which two pence a week was charged and a sum returned at the end of the winter for regular attendance, and a Lending Library.

In 1892 a Village Institute was opened for the use of the village every weekday evening in winter. When the school was rebuilt in 1902, this Institute became the infants' school and a Church Hall was constructed out of the Glebe Farm Barn opposite. Portraits of the benefactors, Colonel.and Mrs Muirhead still hang in the hall.

Most of the money in the Taylor and Blackhall charity was used up in the rebuilding of the school in 1902 and there is now only a small amount left to justify it being still called the Endowed School.

The Muirhead family, mentioned previously, lived at the Court until the Second World War. It was then occupied by various Army groups, including the US forces and Italian and German prisoners of war, during the war; considerably damaged during their occupation, and afterwards fell into decay. When it was almost .past saving, the Society for the preservation of Ancient Buildings introduced it to the notice of Mrs Lancaster, who bravely set to work to transform it into the beautiful place it is now.

As to the occupants of the Manor after the Blackhalls, I am somewhat confused. It was a boys' boarding school at one period and there is a ghost story connected with it in the 19th Century. From the accounts, I gather that a lady who died or was killed on her wedding day, is said to appear at intervals, and people whose forbears have lived here, tell of a room prepared for the wedding banquet being shut up and left untouched for years. But to my mind, this story resembles rather obviously the one told in Dickens's 'Great Expectations'. Certainly, however, while I lived here, there were from time to time rumours of ghostly figures and strange noises in the Manor, and one woman, an authoress who had lived many years in the Far East and who was interested in occult matters, claimed to have seen and spoken to an apparition at her bedside more than once.

Mr Leach bought the Manor a year or so before the outbreak of the Second World War. During the war the main building was rented to an engineering firm evacuated from Maidstone and Mr Leach had the old stables converted into a house for his own use, dividing the Manor after the war, into three flats for letting.

Until some years after the end of the war, most property and land in the area was still owned by the Muirhead family, in the person of Mrs Thomas, but early in the 1950's the estate was sold. Many villagers bought their cottages and set to work to improve them. Then new council houses were built in Horse Close and later bungalows were built in Latchford Lane, bringing many changes and newcomers to this ancient village.

(Author's name unknown)