|
In 1671 Elizabeth Hodsoll, widow, of
the parish of Stansted, widow of William Hodsoll of South Ash in the
Parish of Peters Ash refers to "my house called Bakers (at
Stansted) wherein I now dwell".
In 1770 we know that William Hodsoll Gent., owned the
Manor of South Ash, 4 houses, 8 barns, 8 stables, 8 gardens, 4
orchards, 370 acres of land, 10 acres of meadow, 20 acres pasture and
55 acres wood in Ash, Kingsdown, Stansted, Wrotham and Kemsing, and
when he died in 1778 he left all to his cousin Mr Charles Hodsoll of
Ash. Difficulties arose and on 20th December 1831, we have the printed
particulars of sale of the Manor House and Manor, sold "with the
concurrence of the mortgagees of Mr Hodsoll". There were 4 farms
totalling 577 acres in all, and named South Ash, Little Ash, Crowhurst
in Kingsdown, and Bakers Farm in Stansted.
The final tragedy of the Hodsoll’s came on January 26th
1847 when there appeared the advertisement of a sale by auction of
"Valuable Modern Household Furniture and Effects at South Ash
Farm by order of the assignee of William Hodsoll, a
bankrupt." The list of articles would make any antique-dealer
envious, for they must have been collected through several centuries.
There was a map of the estate, apparently about
1831,"The Manor of South Ash of which John Wild and William Wild
are Lords." The Wilds were vintners of London, and their
descendants resided at South Ash up till 1926.
Beneath the stone slabs in the Hodsoll Chapel of Ash
Church, and in the churchyard near to that Chapel, lie the remains of
many a Hodsoll.
The Court Rolls of South Ash Manor, which remained in the
possession of the Wild family have the name Rogers frequently
mentioned in them. |
|
HALYWELL MANOR alias HODSOLL
The Manor of Halywell took its name from the Benedictine
Nunnery of Halywell, situated on the west side of the street running
from Bishopsgate to Shoreditch in London, and later from the Hodsoll
family who became the lessees of the priory during the 14th century.
After the dissolution of the sisterhood in the reign of Henry VIII,
this Manor was granted by the King to Sir Martin Bowes since which
time it has had the same owners as the Manor of Ash.
ST JOHN’S ASH
This manor anciently belonged to the Latimer family, one
of whom, William de Latimer senr. obtained a grant under Edward I for
a market on Thursday and a fair on the feasts of Saint Peter and Saint
Paul. It later became the property of the Knights of St John of
Jerusalem. This famous military and monastic order originated as a
hospital for Christian Pilgrims in Jerusalem, during the years of the
First Crusade. In time it spread throughout Europe, and was
established here during the twelfth century, with its headquarters at
the Priory of St John, Clerkenwell. The gate of this ancient priory,
largely rebuilt in 1504, still stands. The Order possessed much land
in Kent, and at the time of the document dated 13th
February 1207, which is concerned with the purchase of the advowson of
Ash ( the right to elect the Rector) by the Knights of St John, they
had already built a priory at Sutton-at-Hone on the banks of the River
Darenth. Parts of this house and chapel still survive in "St
Johns", the residence of Sir Stephen Tallents, K.C.M.G., which
since 1943 has belonged to the National Trust. The Manor of St Johns,
Ash, was built as an appendage, or sister house, to the Sutton-at-Hone
headquarters, and from these |