Ufford Hall, in Fressingfield

THIS MANOR was held by Robert de Ufford during the reign of Edward 1 (1272-1307), and seems to cover the area of the parish of Cheapenhall formerly known as the hamlet of Chepenhall, now spelt Chippenhall. Robert assumed the surname of Ufford once he had acquired the Lordship. There is a large entry for Chippenhall in Domesday Book (1086):

In CHIPPENHALL nine freemen under patronage; two and a half carucates of land (see Glossary). Always 17 smallholders; 10 ploughs. Meadow, 12 acres; woodland, 300 pigs. Value then 100 shillings now £6. Half a church, 20 acres. One plough. It has two leagues in length and one in width; 15d in tax. The jurisdiction is in the bishop (of St Edmunds’) manor of Hoxne, but Edric held half from Bishop Aelmar. Of this manor, Walter holds four freemen; one carucate of land. (Value) 30 shillings. It is in the assessment of £6. Robert (Malet’s) mother (holds) three (freemen); 80 acres. Humphrey (holds) one (freeman); 20 acres. Value 5 shillings in the same assessment. Walter son of Grip (holds) one (freeman); 120 acres. Value 40 shillings in the same assessment.

Robert de Ufford was the younger son of the Suffolk landowner John de Peynton, and attended Edward I on his crusade to the Holy Land between 1270 and 1273. On their return Edward sent him to intensify the introduction of English laws into Ireland, which had been started by King John more than sixty years before. He also built Roscommon Castle ‘at countless cost’. On the 21 November 1281 Stephen de Fulburn, the Bishop of Waterford, was appointed as Justice in his place, since Ufford ‘by reason of his infirmities’ could no longer perform his duties. Later in Edward’s reign, Adam, son of Sir Robert le Bevant granted and confirmed by ‘deed without date, to Henry, son of William de Sancroft and Margery his wife and the heirs of the said Henry a certain messuage together with his houses and buildings in this parish of Fressingfield.’ The centre of the Lordship was and remains Ufford Hall, a half-timbered building, dating from the 16th century (for the avoidance of doubt, not included in the sale of the Lordship of Ufford Hall).

The de Sancroft family held the Lordship of Ufford Hall for several centuries, starting with William, who was married to a Margery, and living in the reign of Edward I. The male pogency of this family has been worked out as follows:

Henry

Simon, 1304

John, 1338

John, son or more distant descendant, such as

great grandson, 1414

Stephen, 1432

John, 1470

John, 1478

Robert married Alice William, 1528,

married another Alice Francis, perhaps a great great grandson, died 1628,

married Margaret Francis,

married Catherine

Dr William Sancroft, Archbishop of Canterbury

Francis Sancroft married Margaret Boucher and was the father of Archbishop William Sancroft. The Archbishop was born at Ufford Hall, and was the leader of the seven Bishops who were imprisoned in the Tower of London in the autumn of 1688 for opposing the policies of the Catholic James II (VII of Scotland). More specifically, Archbishop Sancroft and his eminent colleagues refused to read the king’s Edict of Toleration, which included Catholics. It was in this year that James married Mary Beatrice, the daughter of the Duke and Duchess of Modena, a Catholic. This prompted Parliament,to attempt to prevent the the marriage being consummated, or to ensure that any children were bought up as Protestants. James was one of our more bone-headed kings and was totally committed to the Catholic cause in a country that was Protestant. He had star ted to fill the shrievalties and lord lieutenancies with Catholics. Army officers who were Catholic were promoted, and his inability to perceive the resentment of the overwhelming protestant population at his actions. He also ‘dispensed’, of his Royal Prerogative.

Six leading noblemen wrote to the the Stadtholder of the Netherlands, William of Orange, a Protestant, to come to England with an army. He was married to King James’s daughter Mary, by his first wife, Anne Hyde. Archbishop de Sancroft and many Anglicans refused to read the ‘Second Declaration of Indulgence’ and he, with six other top bishops, were tried for seditious libel. The king, however, unlike his ancestors, no longer controlled the judiciary, and the Seven Bishops Case was dismissed. Their acquital was greeted with popular rejoicing. William of Orange landed at Torbay, Devon, and began marching towards London. James sent John Churchill, Earl of Marlborough, to stop him, but Churchill was also a Protestant and joined William. James then took to flight and went to France where Louis XIV welcomed him. Despite his opposition to Catholic James, Archbishop Sancroft was greatly troubled in accepting Willaim who had been offered the crown by Parliament in 1689 jointly with his wife. He would have to crown them William III and Mary II. Consequently, Sancroft was removed as Archibishop of Canterbury in 1690. He died at Ufford Hall in 1693, where he was buried in the Chantry of the Chapel.

Francis Sancroft died in 1708, and the Lordship passed to his son William, and on his death it was devised to his widow Catherine for life. The Lordship was purchased by Sir John Major, whose posterity were created Lord Henniker and Lord Hartismere, and he sold Ufford Hall Lordship in 1987 to the present owner. A descent of the Henniker family is given with this Memoire. There are about 900 inhabitants and the architecture of the manor house is printed in Nikolaus Pevsner’s Buildings of England series.

A selection of Documents associated with the Manor in the Public Domain:

1581-1581: minister’s accounts Suffolk Archives - Ipswich

1664-1664: court roll

1673-1686: court roll

1693-1697: court roll

1698-1782: surrenders and admissions

1760-1760: survey

1793-1925: court books

1800-1900: court book

1802-1819: presentments

1803-1803: precept to seize premises

1815-1824: notices for holding court

1888-1888: quit and free rental

1890-1890: index of tenants

1892-1919: quit and free rent accounts,

1902-1929: court extracts

1909-1922: quit rent accounts

1921-1935: quit and free rent accounts

1929-1929: correspondence rel to stewards’ fees and admissions

Historical holder / succession information

1. Robert [source claim requiring identity review]
   purchased · historical_holder_or_transferee
   Source wording: Robert assumed the surname of Ufford once he had acquired the Lordship.
2. de Sancroft family [source claim requiring identity review]
   held_manor · historical_holder_or_transferee
   Source wording: The de Sancroft family held the Lordship of Ufford Hall for several centuries, starting with William, who was married to a Margery, and living in the reign of Edward I.
3. his son William, and on his death it was devised to his widow Catherine for life [source claim requiring identity review]
   1708 · passed_to · historical_holder_or_transferee
   Source wording: Francis Sancroft died in 1708, and the Lordship passed to his son William, and on his death it was devised to his widow Catherine for life.
4. Sir John Major
   1987 · purchased_by · historical_holder_or_transferee
   Source wording: The Lordship was purchased by Sir John Major, whose posterity were created Lord Henniker and Lord Hartismere, and he sold Ufford Hall Lordship in 1987 to the present owner.