Colne Wake and Colne Engaine

(otherwise known as "Little Colne")

Morant, the Essex Historian, says of this Manor (vol. II, p. 221):

“There are two Manors in this Parish (1) Wakes Colne, and (2) Crepping Hall. Wakes Hall stands low on the North side of the River Colne. It is a very ancient building; part of which has been burned down.” Reference to the plan attached to the particulars of sale of the Wakes Hall Estate will show the position of this building (No. 268) and also of the modern Hall (No. 183).

It is curious that properties in Wakes Colne and Colne Engaine should be referred to in the full title of the Manor as in Little Colne. The compiler of these particulars has no information as to why Little Colne is referred to, but that is the exact title given to the Manor in the Conveyance to Joseph Beaumont of Coggeshall, Essex, on 27th February, 1869, and by the Copyhold Commissioners in their Report of 1870 on the enfranchisement effected by Mr. Beaumont in 1869. Perhaps some local historian can throw light on this. Could a possible explanation be that the Manors of Colne Priory and Earls Colne, both at one time large Manors and now owned by Colonel G. O. C. Probert, C.B.E., and Sir Reuben Hunt respectively, were regarded as the main Manors, while the other Manors being sparsely populated and lying outside the main village were regarded as Little Colne.

The Manor of Crepping Hall, which included land in the parishes of Wakes Colne and Chappel, was sold by the Executors of the late Mr. G. F. Beaumont in the first Auction of Lordships of Manors for £450 to Mr. H. C. Percival of Wakes Colne and Goldington was sold in the same sale to Mr. A. C. Westwood of Clacton-on-Sea for £360. Other Colne Manors are Berewyck Hall in White Colne, of which Colonel and Mrs. Crawford are the owners, and Overhall and Shreves in Colne Engaine, but these are not included in this sale.

The Manor of Colne Wake, according to Morant, went in 1349 to Margaret, wife of Edmund of Woodstock, Earl of Kent, youngest son of Edward I, “who was cruelly beheaded for design to release his brother, Edward III, from imprisonment”. He left two sons who died without male issue and the Manor came to his daughter, Joan, “She was, again according to Morant, on account of her beauty, styled ‘the Fair Maid of Kent’”. She had three husbands, the third in 1361 being Edward, Prince of Wales, by whom she became mother of King Richard II.

Coming down to modern times we find John Lay (A Great Tey family) Lord in 1811. That was the year in which a survey book was brought up to date and a Map drawn by Isaac Johnson of Woodbridge, Suffolk. This Map measures 30in. by 25in. and the properties surveyed are numbered and coloured. It will be handed to the purchaser on completion of his purchase and in the meantime can be inspected at Mr. J. L. Beaumont’s office at 79 Church Street, Coggeshall, upon an appointment being made by letter or postcard. Coloured photographs can be had (delivery about two weeks after order placed) at a reasonable price.

Among the properties scheduled and coloured on the above-mentioned Map are blacksmith’s premises opposite Colne Engine Church, which was apparently the same property as that now occupied by H. W. Bone & Co. Ltd. Philip Hills is shown as the owner of Mill Brook and Dunmow Field. One Sheep appears as the tenant of 35a.37a.4p., including Langley Meadows and Langley Green. Mrs. Sarah Collier and John Start are shown as the tenants of 39 and 10 acres respectively near Booses and Gallifants Greens. In the recently published book, The Common Lands of England and Wales, by L. Dudley Stamp and W. G. Hoskins (Collins, 1947), Booses is given as Rooses. Its area is stated to be 1½ acres.

It might be mentioned that Joseph Beaumont, who was a Solicitor practising at Coggeshall in 1863, purchased this Manor solely for the purpose of a quick profit. Under Copyhold Acts, passed early in the last century, it was possible for Lords to require tenants of copyhold lands to enfranchise their lands either in consideration of a lump sum payment or of an annual rent charge. It was also possible to negotiate terms privately without calling upon the copyholders themselves by the Acts. Anyhow, Mr. Beaumont proceeded to negotiate with the tenants of this Manor so effectively that, having completed his purchase on 27th February, 1869, by the end of the year twenty-eight enfranchisements had been effected and the Manor was, so he thought, dead. The title deeds and the Court Rolls were therefore put away and he probably thought no more about them. He would have been surprised and no doubt glad, if he had known that in just under 100 years his grandchildren or great-grandchildren would benefit from the sale of the Manor and share in the net proceeds of sale. The same happens in several other Essex Manors. Mr. Beaumont acted for Charles and James Taylor of Bow End, Braintree, Dr. Thomas Simpson of Coggeshall, Sidney Pattisson of Woodlands, Coggeshall (now Messrs. Beaumont & Sansom’s offices in Church Street) and later of the Abbey, Coggeshall (now Mr. M. Brew) and Richard Tupper of The Hamlet, Little Coggeshall (now, under a rearrangement of parishes, Little and Great Coggeshall have become simply Coggeshall).

The Manors of some of these persons or their descendants are included in this auction, viz., Rendham Barnes, Westhorpe Hall and Worlington Scales in Suffolk and Bures at the Mount in Essex.

For the benefit of those who are interested in the terms upon which copyholders could convert their properties into freehold, i.e., enfranchise them, either by voluntary agreement with the Lord or under an Award of the Ministry, the following were matters to be taken into account. A good many properties were subject to heriots on death or alienation. Originally, the Lord was entitled to seize the best beast or chattel on the property at the time of seizure, but in most Manors by the 19th century it was the practice to substitute a money payment. In the report of the Copyhold Commissioners referred to the payments ranged from £10 to £20. In arriving at the amount payable on enfranchisement timber was taken at one third of its value and minerals at so much per acre, usually 10/-. Quit rents were taken at 25 years’ purchase and compensation for loss of periodical fines on death was calculated at so many years’ purchase, based upon the age of the tenant then enfranchising. If he was, for example, 60 years old his expectation of life was nil, so the compensation for loss of fines was as high as five years’ purchase, whereas if he was an infant it could be as low as 2½ years’ purchase seeing that the Lord might have to wait eighty years or more for his fine on death. The terms of the enfranchisement of the twenty-six copyholders in this Manor are set out in the Schedule to the Commissioners’ Report.

A good deal of local history can be culled from the plan or the Particulars of Sale of the Wakes Hall Estate. Although details are not given in the copy to be handed over, the compiler of these particulars knows from office records that the late Mr. Joseph Beaumont having acted for the Skingley family, that the total proceeds for the three lots was £14,590. The price for the Hall and Grounds was just over £12,000, the purchaser being Charles Page Wood. There was a number of mortgages paid off on the proceeds, including mortgages amounting to £8,000. Green & Co., Bankers at Colchester, and Hunt & Tewell of Earls Colne. The final balance, after all mortgages, interest and costs had been paid, gave the Vendor, Mr. Henry Skingley, just over £100. The plan attached to the particulars is also of interest in giving names of adjoining owners. These include Walter Skingley, Osgood Hanbury, Mrs. Mayhew’s Trustees and E. Brett.

The Records of the Manor which will be handed over on completion, except those for 1830–99 which are held by the County Council as having been presented by Major Round of Birch Hall, are as under:

Court Rolls: 1380–99; 1400–03; 1462–82; 1509–45; 1651–60; 1683–84; 1686–91; 1701–15; 1727–33; 1732–60; 1760–68; 1758–78; 1779–1819; 1820–1852. Presentment Roll: 1732–68. Survey Book: 1735 (with additions, 1811). Map prepared by Isaac Johnson of Woodbridge in 1811 in connection with the additions referred to. Particulars of Tenants and Properties: 1869. Particulars of Sale by Suridge & Son of Wakes Hall and the Lane Farm, 1883.

It is interesting to note from the particulars of tenants and properties that Mr. Beaumont’s Steward of this Manor was Mr. Frank Bawtree, predecessor of the present firm of Bawtree & Sons, of Witham and Kelvedon.

The village green shown on the Map as Booses Green has a P.O. Box and a large number of telegraph, telephone and electric poles on the Green itself as well as on the grass verges leading from it. The Vendors have not taken any steps to claim wayleave agreements with the authorities concerned, but it will be open to the purchaser to negotiate for rentals which might give him a small annual income.

The title to the Manor shall commence with the Will of Joseph Beaumont, who died on 18th July, 1889, and the Vendors sell as Trustees for Sale under the Will of George Frederick Beaumont. The actual Conveyance cannot at present be found, but the date and parties appear in the 1870 Report of the Copyhold Commissioners to whom it had to be produced in connection with the Enfranchisement referred to. The deed appears therefore to be dated 27th February, 1869, made between John Thomas Ambrose, Thomas William Nunn and the Rev. John Richard Nichol of the first part, Henry Skingley of the second part, Catherine Skingley of the third part and Joseph Beaumont of the fourth part. The Purchaser shall not raise any objection or requisition in respect of the absence of the said Conveyance.

MORANT, the Essex Historian, says of this Manor “There are two Manors in this Parish (1) Wakes Colne, and (2) Crepping Hall. Wakes Hall stands low on the north side of the River Colne. It is a very ancient building; part of which has been burned down”.

It is curious that Wakes Colne and Colne Engaine should be referred to in the full title of the Manor as in Little Colne, which is the exact title given to the Manor in the Conveyance to Joseph Beaumont of Coggeshall, Essex, on 27 February 1869, and by the Copyhold Commissioners in their Report of 1870 on the enfranchisements effected by Mr Beaumont in 1869. One possible explanation be that the Manors of Colne Priory and Earls Colne, both at one time large Manors and now owned by the Executors of Colonel G O C Probert CBE and Sir Reuben Hunt respectively, were regarded as the main Manors, while the other Manor being sparsely populated and lying outside the main village were regarded as Little Colne.

The Manor of Crepping Hall, which included land in the parishes of Wakes Colne and Chappel, was sold by the Executors of the late Mr G F Beaumont in an Auction of Lordships of Manors in 1954 for £450 to Mr Percival of Wakes Colne and Goldingtons was sold in the same sale to Mr A C Westwood of Clacton-on-Sea for £350.

The manor of Colne Wake, according to Morant, went in 1349 to Margaret, wife of Edmund of Woodstock, Earl of Kent, youngest son of Edward I, “who was cruelly beheaded for designing the release of his brother, Edward II, from imprisonment”. He left two sons who died without male issue and the Manor came to his daughter, Joan, known as the Fair Maid of Kent. She had three husbands, the third in 1361 being Edward, Prince of Wales, by whom she became mother of King Richard II.

Coming down to modern times we find John Lay of Great Tey Lord in 1811. That was the year in which a survey book was brought up to date and a map drawn by Isaac Johnson of Woodbridge, Suffolk, measuring 30" x 25".

Among the properties scheduled and coloured on the map are blacksmith's premises opposite Colne Engine Church, which was apparently the same property as that now occupied by H W Bone & Co Ltd. Philip Phillips is shown as the tenant of Mill Brook and Mill Bank Field. One Sheen appears as the tenant of 53a 3r 4p, including Langley Meadows and Langley Green. Mrs Sarah Collier and John Start are shown as the tenants of 39 and 10 acres respectively near Booses and Gallifants Greens. In the recently published book, The Common Lands of England and Wales by L Dudley Stamp and W G Hoskins, Booses is given as Roses. Its area is stated to be 11/2 acres.

It might be mentioned that Joseph Beaumont, who was a solicitor practising at Coggeshall in 1863, purchased this Manor solely for the purpose of a quick profit. Under Copyhold Acts, passed early in the last century, it was possible for Lords to require tenants of copyhold lands to enfranchise their lands either in consideration of a lump sum payment or of an annual rent charge. It was also possible to negotiate terms privately without calling upon the compulsory powers bestowed by the Acts. Mr Beaumont proceeded to negotiate with the tenants of this Manor so effectively that, having completed his purchase on 27 February 1869, by the end of the year 28 enfranchisements had been made. The title deeds and the Court Rolls were therefore put away and he probably thought no more about them. Mr Beaumont is a good example of the 19th century solicitor acting as steward. His clients included Charles and James Tabor of Bovingtons, Braintree, Dr Thomas Simpson of Coggeshall, Sidney Pattison of Woodlands, Coggeshall and later of the Abbey, Coggeshall and Richard Tupper of The Hamlet, Little Coggeshall (now, under a rearrangement of the parishes, Little and Great Coggeshall have become simply Coggeshall).

Some of the descendants of these families are East Anglian Lords to this day.

For the benefit of those who are interested in the terms upon which copyholders could convert their properties into freehold, (ie enfranchise them) either by voluntary agreement with the Lord or under an Award of the Ministry of Agriculture, the following were matters to be taken into account. A good many properties were subject to heriots on death or alienation. Originally, the Lord was entitled to seize the best beast or chattel on the property at the time of death, but in most Manors by the 19th century it was the practice to substitute a money payment. In the report of the Copyhold Commissioners, such payments ranged from £10 to £20. In arriving at the amount payable on enfranchisement timber was taken at one third of its value and minerals at so much per acre, usually 10 shillings (50p), quit rents were taken at 25 years' purchase and compensation for loss of periodical fines on death was calculated at so many years' purchase, based upon the age of the tenant enfranchising. If he was, for example, 80 years old his expectation of life was nil, so the compensation for loss of fine was as high as five years' purchase, whereas if he was an infant it could be as low as two and a half years' purchase seeing that the Lord might have to wait eighty years or more for his fine on death. The terms of the enfranchisement of the 26 copyholders in this Manor are set out in the Schedule to the Commissioners report.

Rights, customs and incidents

He left two sons who died without male issue and the Manor came to his daughter, Joan, “She was, again according to Morant, on account of her beauty, styled ‘the Fair Maid of Kent’”.
He left two sons who died without male issue and the Manor came to his daughter, Joan, known as the Fair Maid of Kent.

Associated manorial documents / archive references

• Court Rolls 1380-99, 1400-13,
• 1462-82, 1509-45,
• 1651-60, 1683-84,
• 1686-91, 1701-15,
• 1727-32, 1732-60,
• 1760-68, 1758-78,
• 1779-1819, 1820-1852
• Presentment Roll 1732-68
• Survey Book 1735 (with additions, 1811)
• Map prepared by
• Isaac Johnson of
• Woodbridge 1811

Source notes

((1964 Catalogue Begins)) | ((1991 Catalogue Begins))

Historical holder / succession information

1. his daughter, Joan, “She was, again according to Morant, on account of her beauty, styled ‘the Fair Maid of Kent’” [source claim requiring identity review]
   passed_to · historical_holder_or_transferee
   Source wording: He left two sons who died without male issue and the Manor came to his daughter, Joan, “She was, again according to Morant, on account of her beauty, styled ‘the Fair Maid of Kent’”.
2. his daughter, Joan, known as the Fair Maid of Kent [source claim requiring identity review]
   passed_to · historical_holder_or_transferee
   Source wording: He left two sons who died without male issue and the Manor came to his daughter, Joan, known as the Fair Maid of Kent.