Buildings Connected With The Eacotts
Notes taken from Buildings Of England Gloucestershire: The Cotswolds (Vol 2) by D. Very
Bagendon - St. Margaret Church
The walls of the nave are 2 ft thick and indicate a Saxon origin. The lower part of the small west tower is early Norman. The diagonal buttress was added in the 1400's. the church was liable to flood so in the middle ages the floor was raised. The chancel was built or rebuilt in the 1400's. There are some Norman coffin lids
Manor house - built in 1700's it is on the site of the old manor
Trinity Mill - a Saxon mill site, the current mill is 19th century. There is a long leat.
Bagendon Dykes - half a mile east and south east of the village are iron age ditches. The huts had stone floors and foundations with half timbered walls covered with a thatched roof. Finds from these digs are in the Corinium Museum in Cirencester.
Colesbourne - St. James Church, 1300's
- Rapsgate Park 1600's
- Norbury iron age hill fort
- Roman Villa with a mosaic floor. No known use
- Colesbourne Park 1854 - rare trees
Elkstone - Norman church 1160
- Combend Manor
North Cerney -[pg 333]
Church - has definite connection with Eycotts
It was begun in the 1100's with a low west tower. A bell stage was added in 1200's. The chancel added to the east included a stone alter from 1100's. the nave and alter were gutted by fire in 1300's. The nave and tower were added in 1465. the present roof is 1732. Original windows exist in the 1100's tower. A saxon sun dial is on the tower doorway. the east window in the Lady chapel has a Yorkist badge 1485, the north transept widows have original glazing. The north window is a memorial to the rector Wm. Whitechurch 1464. the East window is a gift of John Eycot, assistant minister (curate) of the church. His figure appears under the crucifix. The windows were reglazed in 1732 inside out and became weathered with loss of much glaze. They were reversed in 1912. the medieval chest is reported to have belonged to the Eycott family. It is located in the chancel. there is a monument to Thomas Tyndale and Thomas Rich (master of the chancery for Henry VIII)
Rectory - 1694. A cartouche on the east wall has the arms of University College, Oxford. There are Oxford related items in the church. The college has been a patron of the church since 1753.
Old Church house - 1470
North Cerney manor - 1700's. The old mill was moved to Arlington in 1966 to be part of a collection of old buildings. Scrubditch half a mile west of the church is part of the Bagendon Dykes.
Woodmancote is a hamlet of North Cerney with a 1600's gabled manor house
Rendcomb - Church early 1500's [pg 376] named St. Peters.
Eycott house of Rendcomb College was designed by Norman Jewson in 1930's.
South Cerney - All Hallows church was restored in 1862, originally a Norman church and contains the oldest woodcarving in England a wooden crucifix.
Withington - St. Michael's church 1200's, Norman contains monument to John Eycott 1789 by Franklin.
The Eycotts of Woodmancote
It is not known when the Eycotts came to live at the hamlet of Woodmancote which is on top of the hill which drops away to the old Eycot manor. The early references to the family locates them in respect to the churches at Bagendon, North Cerney and Rendcomb. Woodmancote is located at the place where the three parishes meet. This included an ancient plot of land deliberately claimed by no one. A form of no mans land at the point where the parishes met. Eycotts had strong connections with Bagendon and North Cerney churches but not so much with Rendcomb.
According to the book, History of Bagendon, pub 1932, by Rev. Geo. Edward Rees a minister of Bagendon church for many years, the Eycotts lived at The Moor, or Moorwood as it was also known. They were yeoman gentry and went by the names Mr. and Mistress. That is they were not titled but did hold their land freely. The Moorwood farm also held a woods which was mentioned in a document from king Johns reign. It was held at one time under the lordship of the Marquis of Bath (Thynne family) and was the last property over which he relinquished his lordship. The farm, The Moor was held by the Eycott, Agg, Small, Haines, Long worth and today by the Robinson family.
The feudal lordship of the land at Domesday 1086 indicated that Hugo L'Anse (Hugh Donkey) held BEDWEDENE(Bagendon) and Gilbert (son of Turold) sub held it from him. They rebelled against the king and the land was taken from them and given to the de Chandos'. In 1283 Richard de BATHENDEN(Bagendon) held it from Robert de Chandos. In 1346 (Testa de Neville) Roger de Chandos held the land. There was a double ownership, perhaps father and son. The division of ownership separated Bagendon and Moorwood manors. LLanthony II shows that an earlier time the parish had been divided in two. King John's charter, July 30,1199 refers to Robert making a gift of wood from Moorwood and Roger the Younger joining in the gift of wood to the mill. In 1383 Sir John Chandos was the lord,(a baron).The De Bagendon were the knights. By 1543 the lordship was taken over by the Marquis of Bath, Sir Thomas Thynne.(said as thin).
Woodmancote, in the middle ages had its own chapel. The church was located in chapel field. At an unknown time it was abandoned. The wheel cross from it is located on the vestry of Bagendon church, a part of the North Cerney churchyard cross is made from a fragment of the chapel.
The Moor was not the only manor house at Woodmancote. The Moor belonged to Bagendon parish. The second manor went with North Cerney parish. It was dated to the 16th C. The hamlet of Woodmancote was recorded in the 13th C.. There were 7 taxpayers in 1327. In 1710 there were 13 houses. The Woodmancote manor house was bought by Thomas Taylor in 1566 and was claimed by his descendants and by the Stafford family. Lady Mary Stafford was named lady of the village in 1608.Later the Pooles and Guises lay claim to the lordship. A third part of Woodmancote, also called the Manor of Woodmancote went to the De la Mare family and subsequently went to Rendcomb at the time of the Tames ownership.
Thus when references occur about the Eycotts it is uncertain just where at Woodmancote they lived, other than at the Moor. In Rees' book he reports Eycotts living there until at least 1776. (Francis Ashmead lived with an Eycott at the Moor until her death that year). By 1832 the Haines lived at Moorwood.
There is an earlier record of John Eycott of the Moor being married to Alse who died in 1631.
The following is an account of some land transactions which show what became of the land held by some Eycotts, who were thought to be Roman Catholics.
In 1680 Thomas Eycott gave his lands to Richard. He gave land between Cross Piece and Moorcomb Piece which was bounded on three sides by land owned by the Stevens. In 1708 Thomas secured a mortgage for 700\. At the same time Berkeley Eycott held other property at Bagendon. In 1723 John Eycott gave up his rights to Thomas, his brother. In 1747 Robert Saundes bought the land from Thomas Eycott at the time he, Robert, married Thomas' daughter Elizabeth Eycott. In 1753 Elizabeth Eycott gave to her daughter Elizabeth Saunders her share of the estate. The marriage to Saunders took place at Tyndale but she later lived at Little Farringdon Berks. The land next passed to Wm. Bolt in 1777 and back to Robert Saunders of Little Farringdon in 1807. In 1812 Wm. Croome purchased parcel #809 and in 1832 he is listed as owning a farm house.
At the time of the registration of papists in 1717 this record exists:
Woodmancote QRNC 1 (22) -John Eycott held two houses and several arable parcels of land, meadow and pasture ground with appurtenances in Chedworth, also 1 yard lands of common pasture of diverse sorts and cattle. He held two closes in Woodmancote, one called Dorothy's Leaze and one Linkham's Piece. He was required to pay his sisters Robertta and Martha 3\ each for these until they are married and subject to a mortgage made by Thomas his late father with Jonathan White for a principal of 100\. This was signed by John.
[QRNC (21)] Another registration by a Thomas Eycott of Woodmancote who held four yardlands of arable meadow and pasture as well as a house. His sisters Robertta and Martha held a cottage which was apparently rented to a William Sherrall. There was a mortgage on the farm for 700\. This Thomas or another of the same name was constable of Bagendon in 1715.
It would appear from this that Thomas in 1680 left his land to his son Richard who passed it on to his son Thomas. This man had two sons John and Thomas and two daughters. John may have lived at Chedworth and arranged to place his share at Woodmancote in his brothers hands, 1723. Thomas was to have no sons but did have a daughter Elizabeth, named after her mother. She married Robert Saunders in 1747 and the Eycott name left the property. Other Eycotts may have lived at Bagendon for a few more years.
The will of Thomas 1715 says that he had two sons Thomas (the eldest) and John. John was the executor of the will and Robert Moran of Fairford was the trustee. Thomas had three daughters, Rebecca, Elizabeth and Martha. John was given a house and grounds in Chedworth and was also given Dorothy's Leaze and Linkham's piece.
In 1730 the will of Thomas, made and read that year, listed his son Thomas as the executor. He had three daughters Dorothy, Rachelle and Hester. This Thomas also lived at Bagendon and may have been the one listed as constable in 1715. The father of this man might have been a Richard (if he was in his 80's(84)) or it may have been Berkeley (if he was 35), or it may have been another person.
There were no Eycotts on the church rolls renting seats in 1778.
References and notes
Subsidy Roles for Cirencester, Bagendon, Woodmancote 1327, 1381
Red Book of Worcester
Manor Court Roles for Bagendon, Woodmancote,
Cromhall in Glos. was an Abbott's Parish records dating
from 1653. 2.5 miles from Wickwar. Cromhall Abbotts (Cromale) at Domesday was Kings land, now Abbottside Farm. Cromhall Lygon records were lost.
Gaunts Earthcote - Hardicote original name
Rendcombe - 1863 mansion now school Parish from 1566
Purton parish 1558 in Archdiocese of Wiltshire, Salisbury diocese. Held by Glastonbury Abbey at 1086
Woodmancote a tything parish of North Cerney
Cirencester - Kings Land
Chedworth - Kings land