Horton-cum-Studley

Horton's toponym is derived from Old English horu 'dirt' and tūn 'settlement, farm, estate', presumably meaning 'farm on muddy soil'.[4] The oldest known record of Horton is from the reign of Æthelred the Unready: a charter of 1005-11 that records its agricultural land as five hides. However, the Domesday Book of 1086 has no separate entry for Horton[3] as it had been part of the manor of Beckley since before the Norman Conquest of England. Until the Norman conquest of England the manor of Beckley was one of many that belonged to Saxon Wigod, thegn of Wallingford. Thereafter ownership of Horton followed the same descent as that of Beckley.

After the Norman conquest of England the Norman baron Robert D'Oyly acquired Wigod's estates by marriage and then passed a number of them to his brother-in-arms Roger d'Ivry. Beckley and Horton became part of the Honour of St Valery in the 12th century, were held by the Earls of Cornwall in the 13th century, Hugh le Despenser and then The Black Prince in the 14th century and the Crown in the 15th century. Beckley and Horton passed from Princess Elizabeth via Sir Walter Mildmay in 1550 to Sir John Williams, whose descendants were titled Baron Norreys from 1572 and Earl of Abingdon from 1682. Beckley and Horton were broken up into lots and sold by Viscount Bertie, son of Montagu Bertie, 7th Earl of Abingdon, in 1919.[3]

Before the Norman Conquest a man called Azor son of Toti, who held allegiance to Edith of Wessex, consort of Edward the Confessor, held the manor of Lesa or Ash. Azor also had the manors of Iffley in Oxfordshire and Lillingstone Lovell in Buckinghamshire, and other Oxfordshire landholdings at Chastleton and Marsh Baldon. The Domesday Book in 1086 recorded that Roger d'Ivry held the manor, which was assessed at two hides. Ash followed the same descent as Beckley and Horton until 1300, when they were estates of the Honour of St Valery.[3] By 1190 the tenants of the Honour of St Valery at Ash were the Ash and De Bosco families.

Between 1190 and 1213 the two families granted land at either Ash or Marlake (see below) to the Knights Templar. The Order may have disposed of the land before its dissolution in the 14th century, as the Hundred Rolls for the Hundred of Bullingdon for 1279 do not record any Templar landholding in Beckley parish.[3] In 1361 John of Ash enfeoffed John and Margaret Appleby, the lord and lady of Boarstall. In 1365 the Applebys granted Ash to trustees, who in turn enfeoffed the manor to a second set of trustees. In 1389 the latter trustees were licensed to alienate Ash to the Prioress of Studley. John Appleby died in 1371 and Margaret quitclaimed her rights in 1391.[3]

Studley Priory

The founding date of the Benedictine Studley Priory is not known, but earliest known record of its existence is from 1176, when Bernard de St Valery granted half a hide of land at Horton to the priory. Studley's toponym is derived from Old English meaning "pasture for horses". The priory's foundation led to the abandonment of Ash in favour of a new hamlet of Studley that grew up next to the priory. At one time the priory had 50 nuns but by 1445 their number had fallen to nine. In 1520 there were still only 10 nuns and the priory to be significantly in debt. In 1530 the debt was £60 and the buildings were in disrepair.[5] Under the Dissolution of the Monasteries Studley Priory surrendered its lands to the Crown in November 1539, which sold them off in February 1540. John Croke bought the priory's lands at Studley and Horton.[5]

In 1621 another Sir John Croke sold Studley to George Croke, who was a lawyer and in the 1630s defended John Hampden in the ship money case. Sir George died in 1642, leaving his estates to his wife for the remainder of her life, with reversion to their son Thomas and thence to other members of their immediate family. Thomas Croke was a Royalist in the English Civil War so Parliament sequestered his estates in 1644, but they were discharged in 1646.[3] Sir Alexander Croke (1758–1842) succeeded to the estate in 1777. Alexander became a maritime lawyer and was the senior justice of the vice admiralty courts of Nova Scotia from 1801: a term of office that included the War of 1812 against the USA. Sir Alexander also wrote satirical verse, many letters and a genealogy of his family. In 1877 Sir Alexander's younger son John Croke sold Studley to John Henderson. In 1953 Studley was still in his family, with his grandson Captain John Henderson being lord of the manor.[3]

Before the English Reformation the Preceptory of the Knights Hospitaller at Sandford-on-Thames held land at Marlake. The Order was suppressed in England under Henry VIII and the Crown seized all its property. John Croke, who had bought Studley Priory's lands in 1542, bought the former Hospitaller estate at Marlake in 1542. In 1877 the Crokes sold Marlake and Studley to John Henderson.[3] Building of the country house called Studley Priory began in the 16th century. The house's plan is irregular, which suggests that parts of the Benedictine priory buildings were absorbed into it. The house had been converted into a hotel by 1953[3] but ceased to be so in 2004.

A map of 1641 shows that by then inclosure had embraced at least two thirds of the Manor of Studley: 670 acres (270 ha). This included only a small proportion of the land around the manor house but a much larger proportion of the land of the former hamlets of Ash and Marlake.[3] Studley Mill Field continued to be cultivated under an open field system. By 1786 Horton had no large inclosures but about 150 small ones covering a total of 90 acres (36 ha). A further 460 acres (190 ha) continued to be worked as common fields. West Farm at Horton was built in the 17th century.[3] In 1829 Otmoor was inclosed and some of its land was added to the parish of Beckley, including 262 acres (106 ha) for Horton and 200 acres (81 ha) for Studley. In 1831 the parish of Beckley itself was inclosed.[3]