Généalogie and Heritage

Source: British History Online: Elmely Castle

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Type	Valeur
Titre	British History Online: Elmely Castle

Entrées associées à cette source

Personnes
WILLIAM de Beauchamp Baron of Salwarpe

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Notes


Elmley Castle, which stood on the summit of a hill in the deer park to the south of the village, is supposed to have been built by Robert le Despenser, brother of Urse the Sheriff. After the castle at Worcester fell into decay Elmley was for a time the chief seat of the Beauchamps, and it followed the same descent as the manor of Elmley Castle until the death of Thomas Byrche Savage in 1776. The house and park went to his widow, who sold them to Richard Bourne Charlett, at whose death in 1822 they were purchased of his executors by Colonel Thomas Henry Hastings Davies, M. P. for Worcester. He died in 1846 without issue, leaving the estate to his widow for life, then in succession to his two brothers, Warburton, who died in 1870, and General Francis John Davies, who died in 1874. Colonel Davies's widow married Sir John Pakington, afterwards Lord Hampton, and died in 1892, when the castle passed to the present owner, Lieut.-General Henry Fanshawe Davies, J.P., D.L., son of General Francis John Davies. In 1216 the king committed the custody of Elmley Castle to Walter de Lacy, Hugh de Mortimer and Walter de Clifford to keep while Walter de Beauchamp went to the Papal Legate to obtain absolution for his lapse from fidelity to the king. In 1298 the castle was found to be in need of much repair, and after the death of Guy de Beauchamp Earl of Warwick in 1315 it was in such a bad state as to be valued at only 6s. 8d., evidently a nominal valuation, as in another survey taken at the same time it was said to be worth nothing. The castle was granted by the king to the executors of Guy's will in 1315–16 on condition that they should not grant it to any other without the king's licence. The custody of the castle was, however, taken from them and granted to Hugh le Despenser the elder about 1317. In November of that year Hugh was ordered to fortify it, and to put in 20 fencible footmen to be retained at the king's wages until further orders. Hugh le Despenser having been banished in 1321 the Sheriff of Worcester was ordered to take the castle into the king's hands, and to cause it to be safely guarded and to make an inventory of the arms and victuals and other goods contained in it. Later in the same year Elmley Castle was taken by the rebel barons under Humphreyde Bohun Earl of Hereford, and suffered considerable damage. It is not known whether it underwent a siege, but the gates and some of the houses were burned and many of the defenders slain. Peace having been restored, order was given in 1322 to the keeperof the castle to disband the extra menat-arms placed there during the war. Some slight repairs were made in the castle in 1413 and 1425, (fn. 24) and again in 1480 and 1492. William Adams was appointed keeper and Thomas Brugge steward in 1478, the castle being then in the hands of the king on account of the minority of Edward Earl of Warwick. Sir John Savage, the younger, received a grant of the constableship in 1488. (n 1528 the castle seems to have been still habitable, for Walter Walshe was then appointed constable and keeper, and 10 years later Urian Brereton succeeded to the office. In 1544, however, prior to the grant to Sir William Herbert and Christopher Savage, a survey was made of the manor and castle of Elmley, and it was found that the castle, strongly situated upon a hill surrounded by a ditch and wall, was completely uncovered and in decay. Leland writing at about this time says, 'Ther stondithe now but one Tower, and that partly broken. As I went by I saw Carts carienge Stone thens to amend Persore Bridge about ii miles of. It is set on the Tope of a Hill full of Wood, and a Townelet hard by.' Of the fabric of the ancient castle, which stood on the summit of the hill about half a mile to the south of the existing building, only a very small amount of masonry, probably forming part of the keep wall, remains. The outer and inner ditch and the site of the barbican can be distinctly traced. The present mansion of Elmley Castle is a large stone Elizabethan house of two stories with gabled attics. The plan seems to have been originally E-shaped, but in 1702 the house was entirely remodelled and the character of the plan transformed by filling the arms of the E with brick additions, the south or garden front being refaced with brick to harmonize in appearance with the new building. At the same time large sash-windows were substituted for the original mullioned openings, one or two of which still survive in the attic story and in the cellar. The finest feature of the house is the handsome staircase hall added at this period to the south of the entrance hall. The ceiling is a particularly good example of Queen Anne plaster work. The stairs are ofoak with twisted balusters supporting the hand-rail. The east wing contains the principal apartments, and the panelling, where not replaced by later work, dates from the 1702 remodelling. The drawing room at the south end of this wing has been increased to its present size by the removal of a partition. In the southernmost of the two rooms out of which it has been formed Queen Elizabeth is said to have slept when she visited Elmley Castle. Between the drawing room and the dining room is a small room called the cedar parlour from the panelling of this material which lines its walls. At the side of the doorway opening from the hall to the staircase was originally an entrance to a secret chamber or hiding hole which can now be entered from one of the first floor bedrooms. The kitchen and offices are in the west wing, which retains some original 16th-century detail, including a stone fireplace with moulded jambs and a four-centred head, and a small external doorway now partly masked by a brick porch. The PARK at Elmley, which belonged to the lords of Elmley Castle, was possibly made about 1234, for in that year Walter de Beauchamp received from the king a gift of ten does and three bucks for stocking his park at Elmley. (fn. 33) In 1298 the wood in the park was worth 4s. yearly. Thomas de Beauchamp Earl of Warwick complained in 1349 that several persons, including Robert de Amyas, parson of the church of Great Comberton, had hunted in his free chase at Elmley Castle and carried away deer. The park wasenlarged about 1480 by the addition of part of the demesne land of the manor called Court Close. In 1478 William Adams was appointed keeper of the park and warren at Elmley Castle. In 1480 John Mortimer was appointed master of the game in Elmley Park, and in 1484 John Hudelston succeeded to this office, but it was granted in the following year to Richard Naufan, and in 1488 to Sir John Savage. Henry VIII appointed Sir John Savage and his son John Savage keepers of the park and warren in 1512. Walter Walshe was appointed keeper in 1528. He died in 1538, and Thomas Evans and Rowland Morton both wrote to Cromwell asking for his aid in obtaining the position, the latter saying, 'if it please the King by your Lordship's mediation to prefer me, I and mine shall stand balanced in also et basso, live and die in your Lordship's retinue.' He also begs credence for his messenger 'and will give your Lordship £20.' Neither of these suppliants received the post, which was granted to Urian Brereton. The park was included in the sale to Christopher Savage, and remained in his family until 1822, when it was sold with the castle to Colonel Thomas Henry Hastings Davies. It now belongs to Lieut.-General Henry Fanshawe Davies, J.P., D.L. HONOUR Elmley Castle was the caput of the Worcestershire honour of the Beauchamps. The chief part of the honour descended to them from Urse the Sheriff, but Elmley Castle came to them from Robert, Urse's brother. The honour seems to have consisted of the land which Urse held of the Bishop of Worcester in 1086, and was held in 1166 and in the 13th century by the Beauchamps for fifteen knights' fees. The manor and castle were included in the honour and followed the same descent. A rent roll of the honour in 1698 is preserved at the British Museum. When the castle was purchased by Colonel Davies he revived the claim to chief rents due to the honour, which had been allowed to lapse. The owners of most of the manors compounded and their lands were enfranchised. The court of the honour of Elmley seems to have been held at Worcester in the 14th century, for in the inquisition taken on the death of Guy de Beauchamp in 1315 it was said that the pleas and perquisites of the court of the castle of Worcester called thecourt of knights pertained to the manor of Elmley. MANORS King Offa is said to have granted the land of two manentes in ELMLEY to the Bishop of Worcester in 780, and the overlordship of the manor remained with the see of Worcester until the middle of the 15th century. In 1478–9 the manor was said to be held of the king in chief. ¶Brihteah, Bishop of Worcester (1033–8), gave the vill of Elmley to a certain servant of his, but Bishop Lyfing, his successor, restored it to the monastery. Later, however, on the entreaties of his friends, he gave it to Aegelric Kiu, one of his knights,to hold for his life only, with reversion to the monastery. 'After the death of Kiu, it was restored to the monastery and one Witheric was bailiff, but Robert le Despenser, the brother of the sheriff, with the authority of the King took it away from the monastery.' This Robert held 4 hides in the manor of Cropthorne, evidently representing the manor of Elmley, at the date of the Domesday Survey. He died without issue, and the manor of Elmley Castle passed to the Beauchamps, the heirs of his brother UrseD'Abitot, the Sheriff of Worcester. Emmeline daughter and heir of Urse married Walter de Beauchamp, who is mentioned as the owner of these 4 hides in an early 12th-century survey of Oswaldslow. He was succeeded in 1129–39 by his son William....

Elmley Castle, which stood on the summit of a hill in the deer park to the south of the village, is supposed to have been built by Robert le Despenser, brother of Urse the Sheriff. After the castle at Worcester fell into decay Elmley was for a time the chief seat of the Beauchamps, and it followed the same descent as the manor of Elmley Castle until the death of Thomas Byrche Savage in 1776. The house and park went to his widow, who sold them to Richard Bourne Charlett, at whose death in 1822 they were purchased of his executors by Colonel Thomas Henry Hastings Davies, M. P. for Worcester. He died in 1846 without issue, leaving the estate to his widow for life, then in succession to his two brothers, Warburton, who died in 1870, and General Francis John Davies, who died in 1874. Colonel Davies's widow married Sir John Pakington, afterwards Lord Hampton, and died in 1892, when the castle passed to the present owner, Lieut.-General Henry Fanshawe Davies, J.P., D.L., son of General Francis John Davies.

In 1216 the king committed the custody of Elmley Castle to Walter de Lacy, Hugh de Mortimer and Walter de Clifford to keep while Walter de Beauchamp went to the Papal Legate to obtain absolution for his lapse from fidelity to the king. In 1298 the castle was found to be in need of much repair, and after the death of Guy de Beauchamp Earl of Warwick in 1315 it was in such a bad state as to be valued at only 6s. 8d., evidently a nominal valuation, as in another survey taken at the same time it was said to be worth nothing. The castle was granted by the king to the executors of Guy's will in 1315–16 on condition that they should not grant it to any other without the king's licence. The custody of the castle was, however, taken from them and granted to Hugh le Despenser the elder about 1317. In November of that year Hugh was ordered to fortify it, and to put in 20 fencible footmen to be retained at the king's wages until further orders. Hugh le Despenser having been banished in 1321 the Sheriff of Worcester was ordered to take the castle into the king's hands, and to cause it to be safely guarded and to make an inventory of the arms and victuals and other goods contained in it. Later in the same year Elmley Castle was taken by the rebel barons under Humphreyde Bohun Earl of Hereford, and suffered considerable damage. It is not known whether it underwent a siege, but the gates and some of the houses were burned and many of the defenders slain. Peace having been restored, order was given in 1322 to the keeperof the castle to disband the extra menat-arms placed there during the war.

Some slight repairs were made in the castle in 1413 and 1425, (fn. 24) and again in 1480 and 1492. William Adams was appointed keeper and Thomas Brugge steward in 1478, the castle being then in the hands of the king on account of the minority of Edward Earl of Warwick.

Sir John Savage, the younger, received a grant of the constableship in 1488. (n 1528 the castle seems to have been still habitable, for Walter Walshe was then appointed constable and keeper, and 10 years later Urian Brereton succeeded to the office. In 1544, however, prior to the grant to Sir William Herbert and Christopher Savage, a survey was made of the manor and castle of Elmley, and it was found that the castle, strongly situated upon a hill surrounded by a ditch and wall, was completely uncovered and in decay. Leland writing at about this time says, 'Ther stondithe now but one Tower, and that partly broken. As I went by I saw Carts carienge Stone thens to amend Persore Bridge about ii miles of. It is set on the Tope of a Hill full of Wood, and a Townelet hard by.'

Of the fabric of the ancient castle, which stood on the summit of the hill about half a mile to the south of the existing building, only a very small amount of masonry, probably forming part of the keep wall, remains. The outer and inner ditch and the site of the barbican can be distinctly traced.

The present mansion of Elmley Castle is a large stone Elizabethan house of two stories with gabled attics. The plan seems to have been originally E-shaped, but in 1702 the house was entirely remodelled and the character of the plan transformed by filling the arms of the E with brick additions, the south or garden front being refaced with brick to harmonize in appearance with the new building. At the same time large sash-windows were substituted for the original mullioned openings, one or two of which still survive in the attic story and in the cellar. The finest feature of the house is the handsome staircase hall added at this period to the south of the entrance hall. The ceiling is a particularly good example of Queen Anne plaster work. The stairs are ofoak with twisted balusters supporting the hand-rail. The east wing contains the principal apartments, and the panelling, where not replaced by later work, dates from the 1702 remodelling. The drawing room at the south end of this wing has been increased to its present size by the removal of a partition. In the southernmost of the two rooms out of which it has been formed Queen Elizabeth is said to have slept when she visited Elmley Castle. Between the drawing room and the dining room is a small room called the cedar parlour from the panelling of this material which lines its walls. At the side of the doorway opening from the hall to the staircase was originally an entrance to a secret chamber or hiding hole which can now be entered from one of the first floor bedrooms. The kitchen and offices are in the west wing, which retains some original 16th-century detail, including a stone fireplace with moulded jambs and a four-centred head, and a small external doorway now partly masked by a brick porch.

The PARK at Elmley, which belonged to the lords of Elmley Castle, was possibly made about 1234, for in that year Walter de Beauchamp received from the king a gift of ten does and three bucks for stocking his park at Elmley. (fn. 33) In 1298 the wood in the park was worth 4s. yearly. Thomas de Beauchamp Earl of Warwick complained in 1349 that several persons, including Robert de Amyas, parson of the church of Great Comberton, had hunted in his free chase at Elmley Castle and carried away deer. The park wasenlarged about 1480 by the addition of part of the demesne land of the manor called Court Close. In 1478 William Adams was appointed keeper of the park and warren at Elmley Castle. In 1480 John Mortimer was appointed master of the game in Elmley Park, and in 1484 John Hudelston succeeded to this office, but it was granted in the following year to Richard Naufan, and in 1488 to Sir John Savage. Henry VIII appointed Sir John Savage and his son John Savage keepers of the park and warren in 1512. Walter Walshe was appointed keeper in 1528. He died in 1538, and Thomas Evans and Rowland Morton both wrote to Cromwell asking for his aid in obtaining the position, the latter saying, 'if it please the King by your Lordship's mediation to prefer me, I and mine shall stand balanced in also et basso, live and die in your Lordship's retinue.' He also begs credence for his messenger 'and will give your Lordship £20.' Neither of these suppliants received the post, which was granted to Urian Brereton. The park was included in the sale to Christopher Savage, and remained in his family until 1822, when it was sold with the castle to Colonel Thomas Henry Hastings Davies. It now belongs to Lieut.-General Henry Fanshawe Davies, J.P., D.L.

HONOUR

Elmley Castle was the caput of the Worcestershire honour of the Beauchamps. The chief part of the honour descended to them from Urse the Sheriff, but Elmley Castle came to them from Robert, Urse's brother. The honour seems to have consisted of the land which Urse held of the Bishop of Worcester in 1086, and was held in 1166 and in the 13th century by the Beauchamps for fifteen knights' fees. The manor and castle were included in the honour and followed the same descent. A rent roll of the honour in 1698 is preserved at the British Museum. When the castle was purchased by Colonel Davies he revived the claim to chief rents due to the honour, which had been allowed to lapse. The owners of most of the manors compounded and their lands were enfranchised.

The court of the honour of Elmley seems to have been held at Worcester in the 14th century, for in the inquisition taken on the death of Guy de Beauchamp in 1315 it was said that the pleas and perquisites of the court of the castle of Worcester called thecourt of knights pertained to the manor of Elmley.

MANORS

King Offa is said to have granted the land of two manentes in ELMLEY to the Bishop of Worcester in 780, and the overlordship of the manor remained with the see of Worcester until the middle of the 15th century. In 1478–9 the manor was said to be held of the king in chief.

¶Brihteah, Bishop of Worcester (1033–8), gave the vill of Elmley to a certain servant of his, but Bishop Lyfing, his successor, restored it to the monastery. Later, however, on the entreaties of his friends, he gave it to Aegelric Kiu, one of his knights,to hold for his life only, with reversion to the monastery. 'After the death of Kiu, it was restored to the monastery and one Witheric was bailiff, but Robert le Despenser, the brother of the sheriff, with the authority of the King took it away from the monastery.' This Robert held 4 hides in the manor of Cropthorne, evidently representing the manor of Elmley, at the date of the Domesday Survey. He died without issue, and the manor of Elmley Castle passed to the Beauchamps, the heirs of his brother UrseD'Abitot, the Sheriff of Worcester. Emmeline daughter and heir of Urse married Walter de Beauchamp, who is mentioned as the owner of these 4 hides in an early 12th-century survey of Oswaldslow. He was succeeded in 1129–39 by his son William....