Project Purley

The Local History Society for Purley on Thames

The St John Family

F0007 22/6/2019

Lords of the Manor

The St John's association with Purley began with the marriage of Joan (Jane) Iwardby to John St John (1473-1512). Joan was the daughter of Sir John Iwardby (d 1525) and Sanchia Carew. Sanchia's father Nicholas (d 1466) was the last but one of five Nicholas Carew's to have been Lords of the manor of Purley Magna. When her brother Nicholas died in 1485 Sanchia inherited the manor with reversions to the heirs of Nicholas Carew ie Joan. (refs 26,589-148)

John St John was the son of Oliver St John, a cousin of King Henry VII who knighted John in 1497. (ref 589-148)

Joan seems to have been given the manor as part of her dowry and when Sir John St John died in 1512 it was settled on their son John. Sir John was buried at sea. (ref 589-150)

John St John (1505-1576) of Lydiard Tregose inherited Purley Magna in 1512 although still a minor. Presumably the manor was administered by his mother Joan who married Nicholas Saunder. He would have beome Lord at his majority in 1526. Very little is known of happenings during his lordship and he died in 1576 the manor passing to Nicholas St John, who had been named on a settlement of the manor by Joan together with his intended bride Elizabeth Blount of Mapledurham House. The latter couple came to live in Purley, at the old Manor House, often referred to as the Great Farm House adjacent to the church.

Elizabeth & Nicholas had eight children: John, Oliver, Richard, Elizabeth, Catherine, Eleanor, Dorothy and Jane and one may suppose that most, if not all were born in Purley, or at least were brought up there. (ref 590)

Nicholas St John of Purley, along with George Phetyplace of the Middle Temple was granted the manors of Shrevenham, Salop, Compton Beauchamp and Stamford in the Vale, Berks and other lands in 1566.

Nicholas St John died in 1589 and in his will he left 40s for the poor of Purley. He was succeded by his son John. Elizabeth, nee Blount had died in 1587 and both were buried at Lydiard Tregose in Wiltshire. (refs 589-148, 590)

Viscount Grandison

Their second son Oliver was born in 1559, was knighted by Mountjoy in 1601 and became Viscount Grandison. He died in December 1630 shortly after providing much of the funding for the rebuilding of his childhood parish church in 1626. (refs 589-69 &151)

He was a colourful character who had been born in 1559 and educated at Trinity College Oxford. He had intended to become a lawyer but he got involved in a duel and killed George Best, the captain of Queen Elizabeth's Guard. He was forced into exile in 1584 and joined Sir Francis de Vere's campaign in Flanders where he served with distinction. He returned to England when it felt safe to do so and became MP for Cirencester in 1592. (refs a, 100, 216)

He married Joan Roydon of Battersea and was knighted in 1599. He earned the favour of King James I by his service in Ireland where he had been Lord Deputy from 1616. He was elevated to the Irish Peerage as Viscount Grandison of Limerick in 1620 and to the English Peerage as Baron Tregoze of Highworth in 1626. (ref 216)

He had acquired the manor of Battersea having purchased it from Prince Charles in 1625, although the transaction did not go through officially until Charles had inherited the throne on the death of his father James I.

Establishing the Dynasty

John St John (1552-1594) married Lucy , daughter of Sir Walter Hungerford and had 11 children: John, (d young),Oliver (d young) Walter (d aged 21), John (1585-1648), Katherine (d 1633), Anne, Jane, Eleanor, Barbara, Lucy and Martha. (ref 590)

When John died in 1594 the house at Purley was left to his wife Lucy as her dower for life. The manor was inherited first by Walter who died shortly afterwards in September 1597 aged 14 and then by John. Letters of Administration were granted to their mother Lucy. (refs 61, 424-33412 f109, 589-150)

John St John (1585-1648) was only 9 years old when his father died and still only 123 when his brother Walter died leaving him the inheritance. The estates were adminstered first by Lucy , but she died in 1598 and his step father, Anthony Hungerford, took over until he reached his majority. (589-158)

He was created Baronet in 1611. He was one of the earliest members of the order and appeared in the first list of creations dated 22nd May 1611. (ref 26)

It would appear that the manor was being administered in 1623 by a James Winch and when Henry Chitting (Chester Herald) and John Philpott (Rouge Dragon) did their visitation on behalf of the College of Heralds, they ordered James to cease to use the title of squire or gentleman. (ref 90)

Sir John St John came down to live in Purley and his brother-in law, Sir Allan Apsley (who had married Lucy) was staying there at the time of his illness in 1627. Another sister Anne married Sir George Ayliffe and their daughter Ann became the bride of Edward Hyde (later Lord Claredon). Ann died of smallpox in 1632 on her way from London to Wiltshire. She had been taken ill in Reading and was taken to Purley, presumably to her uncle's home by the church. She was buried at Purley and is commemorated in a marble monument, now in the tower. (refs 12, 26, 216)

Sir John married Anne Leighton on 9th July 1604 at Hackney. She died in 1628 and two years later he remarried to Margaret Whitmore in October 1630. It was around this time he inherited the manor of Battersea from his uncle Viscount Grandison and they moved to live in the manor house there, also alongside the Thames in preference to Purley. (ref 589-162)

He and Anne had 13 children: Oliver (1612-41), John (1615-1642), William (1616-1643), Edward (1617-1645), Nicholas (1620-29), Walter (May 1622-July 1708) Francis (1623--33), Thomas (1625-30), Henry (1628-79), Anne (1614-96), Barbara (b 1618), Lucy (1621-1661) and Elizabeth (1624-1629)

He dealt with Purley Magna by fine in 1633 and two years later in 1635 the family gave a bell to be added to the two dated 1629 and one dated 1627. (ref 26, 85)

The Civil War and its Aftermath

The Civil War dealt further blows to the family. Sir John was a staunch Royalist and three of his sons died in the King's army: John (who had married Anne Ayliffe's sister Deborah) died in 1642 in the fighting in the north, William fell at Cirencester in 1643 and Edward died of wounds in 1645. Sir John himself died in 1648, without having to suffer the additional distress of seeing his king executed.

The estates passed first to John St John son of Oliver who had married Catherine the daughter of Lord Vere in 1635. John was born in 1636 and died in April 1656, still a minor. It was his uncle Walter who inherited and founded the Bolingbroke dynasty.

Walter married Johanna, the eldest daughter of Oliver St John, the Chief Justice sometime around 1649. They had 13 children (Henry (1652-1742), ? (b&d 1655), John (1657-61), Oliver (1660-79), Walter (1666-85), John (1667-89), William (1668-1707), Edward (b 1670), Francis (1672-92), Anne (b 1650) Johanna , Barbara, and Elizabeth (d 1702). Walter settled the manor in 1673 and issued a release on Purley Magna on March 30th 1694.

Johanna died in 1705 and old Sir Walter died in July 1708 aged 87. His son William had married Frances Compton and he had died before his father in 1706. The following year his widow Frances married the Reverend Nathaniel Gower, a minister of Battersea who had become Sir Walter's domestic chaplain around 1693. The Release made on Purley Magna in 1694 could have been occasioned by the marriage of Sir William and Frances in order to provide them with a home. If survivors rights had been granted to Frances this could explain why she and Nathaniel came to live at the Great Farm House in Purley where they were recorded in 1711 as responsible for part of the church rails. (refs b, 27, 546, 589-88&148)

Henry (1652-1742) inherited in July 1708 on his father's death and became the fourth Baronet. He lived mainly at Battersea and was described as a 'dissipated man-about-town' He got into trouble in 1684 for killing Sir William Estcourt in a brawl and was obliged to pay King Charles II <£16,000 for a pardon (ref 216) He was created First Viscount St John in 1716 and was MP for Wilts for 21 years. He had married Lady Mary Rich (daughter of the earl of Warwick) in 1673 and they had three children, Walter (d 1675) another Walter (d 1677) and Henry (1678-1751) Mary died in Sept 1678 and Henry remarried in 1686 to Angelica Wharton (nee Pelissary) a widow, who died in 1736.

The Bolingbrokes

The younger Henry was educated at Eton and Christchurch, Oxford where he was awarded an honorary degree in 1702. In his early life he was a hard drinker and was once reported to have run naked through a park in London in a state of intoxication. He travelled widely on the continent and was eventually 'elected' for his father's old seat at Wooton Basset to Parliament.

Sir Henry was appointed Secretary for War in 1703 having made himself conspicuous by his brilliant speeches in favour of the Occasional Conformities Bill. This appointment brought him into close contact with the Duke of Marlborough who had great confidence in Henry. He resigned in 1707 along with Robert Harley, Secretary of State who had been forced out by Marlborough. The fact that Henry had to go as well was a matter of great regret to Marlborough who had treated him almost as an adopted son. The family connections were made by the marriage of Henry's nephew, Frederick and Marlborough's granddaughter Diana. (ref 589-88)

Henry married twice, first in 1701 to Frances Winchcombe of Bucklebury who died in 1718 and then to Marie Claire, a French widow, who died in 1750. He left Parliament in 1708 and retired to his wife's estates in Bucklebury. He was elected MP for Berkshire in 1710 but two years later was elevated to the House of Lords as the first Viscount Bolingbroke in 1712. This was the recreation of an earldom first held by Oliver St John in 1624 and Henry was deeply resentful that the title had been re-created at a lower rank. On his elevation to the House of Lords he had to relinquish his seat in the commons to Robert Packer. (ref 216)

One of the first Acts of the new King (George I) was to dismiss Bolingbroke from political office. Shortly after an Act of Attainder was passed which stripped him of his peerage. He fled to France in 1714 as although he had been brought up as a Presbyterian, his early years had been so soured by that form of religion he had become a high Anglican and had distinct Jacobite sympathies. (ref 216) He returned to England in 1723 and went to live at Dawley near Uxbridge but in 1736 he returned to live in France, returning to England only for pressing business reasons. He inherited Purley Magna on the death of his father in April 1742 and finally returned to England to live at Battersea where he died of cancer on the 12th December 1751. (ref 216)

He left no children so on his death in 1751 the manor passed to Frederick the son of his half brother John, son of Marie Claire, who settled the manor of Purley in 1754. Frederick became second Viscount Bolingbroke and 3rd Viscount St John. He married Lady Diana Spencer, daughter of the third Duke of Marlborough and died in 1787. Frederick was in constant financial trouble and tried to resolve them by selling his inheritance. He sold the patronage of Battersea and then the manor for <156>30,000 and effectively disposed of Purley to Philip Worlidge who had rented lands from him in Surrey. However in the former case the estate was not entailed and he was able to dispose of it relatively easily whereas in Purley's case the entailment prevented a final sale until by a legal tour de force the sale was effected in 1789. (ref 589-92)

It was their son George (1761-1824) who finally disposed of the manor of Purley Magna and the connections, which had been pretty tenuous for many years, between Purley and the St. John's were severed.

The Church

The St John's had many connections with Purley Church. If we are right in assuming that Nicholas and Elizabeth St John spent their early married life in Purley, they would have been regular attenders at the church which was within 100 yards of their house. It would then have been the first church known to the young Oliver and one may assume that he along with the rest of his family was a follower of Archbishop Laud who had been advocating more spiritual forms of worship and was campaigning against the way in which holders of ecclesiastical endowments had grown rich on the tithes and other benefits of the livings while appointing clergy at pitifully low salaries.

Laud and his Arminian party had been buying up endowments so that they could personally influence matters and shaming other holders of advowsons and lord of manors to do something more for their parish churches. They were advocating returning the holy table from its place in the middle of the nave, whence it had been moved in Elizabethan times, to be returned to a more secluded place in the sanctuary.

This started a spate of church restoration and it would be quite likely that pressure had been brought on the St John's to take responsibility for Purley, even though the advowson was held by the crown. This would have been one way of helping the king with his financial problems. In the event the church was extensively rebuilt and a tower added which bears a date of 1626 and the arms of Viscount Grandison. (ref 589-70) The arms take the form of a stone shield quartering Grandison, St John and Tregoze. It is dated 1626 the year in which Oliver was created Baron Tregoze.

The Norman church had been rebuilt in the 14th century and probably consisted of little more than a small apse to the east of the norman chancel arch and the original nave which was quite small. A new square chancel was constructed at the east end with Stuart/Tudor style windows to the east and south and two romanesque lancets to the north. (a drawing of these was found in the British Library) The east window depicted St John the Evangelist and St John the Baptist. This was not just coincdence as the same two saints John were incorporated into the window of the church at Lydiard Tregoze. The heads of the saints must have been damaged as they were later replaced by by two coats of arms of the St Johns.

Ashmole visited the church in 1664 and recorded the windows as depicting 'St Mark and St John the Baptist etc.' Jeremiah Millis in 1714 noted them as 'St John the Baptist and an Evangelist' Nevertheless the attribution to the two St John's seem more sound. (refs 28, 424-15801 f11)

At the west end a tower was built to accomodate a peal of bells. It is likely that this replaced a two stage tower only with a small bell hanging exposed to the elements. The oldest bell is dated a year after the tower (1627) and so presumably was part of the original project. All the early bells were cast by Ellis Knight of Reading. Three further bells were provided by the family, two in 1629 and one in 1635. It may be just co-incidence but the St John's lost two children (Nicholas and Elizabeth) in 1629 and Francis in 1633 - could it be that the bells are their memorials? Three were enscribed 'Prayes ye the Lord ' and the date but one of the 1629 bells is named 'Lord Grandison' so perhaps this one was his memorial or his swan song as it was cast before his death. There was another bell which was re-cast in 1788 but we have no details of its original dating.

The church remained in this form until 1870 when it was reconstructed. Only the tower survives as a major structure in its original position, but the norman arch, font and several windows were saved and used in the new church.

One suspects that the St John's had a hand in the appointment of Daniel Raynor as Rector in 1659. Daniel, a Congregationalist, had been rector of Clyffe Pypard in Wiltshire a parish where the St John's held land.

There are fleeting references to the St John's in the Parish Registers. Mr St John heads the list of contributors to 'Trophy Money' in 1707 when he gave 3/6 out of the parish's total of 13/9. This seems to have been an annual tax to provide supplies for the local militia. (ref 27. 589-148) Also in 1714 there is a reference to a plan drawn up for Mr John St John (presumably the second Viscount's brother) whom we may assume took over the Manor house after the Gowers. (ref 589-148)

The Memorials

There are two memorials remaining in the Church at Purley with connections to the St John's. They are those to Joan Iwardby and to Ann Hyde. Both may be found on the south inside wall of the tower.

The Memorial to Joan Iwardby was erected by her great-great grandson Sir John St John and reads:

Iana filia et haeres Iohannes Iwardby equis aurati domini hujis manerij de Purley castissima Ioannis Saint John coniux pientissima demum vidua vesata eisq duo ex Nicholao Saint John nepote pronepotes Michael et Ricardus sub beatae resurrectiones spe hic requiescunt sacrum hoc memoriae pie posuit Iohannis Saint John Miles et Baronettus dictae Ianne quartiis haeres.

(translation) Jane, daughter and heir of Sir John Iwardby, knight, Lord of this manor of Purley, the most chaste and pious wife and at length the veiled widow of John St John. Also two of her first cousins, Michael and Richard, sons of Nicholas St John rest here in hope of a blessed resurrection. To her sacred memory Sir John St John, knight and baronet, fourth heir of the said Jane, has piously placed this.

This was erected by Sir John St John (1552-1594) It refers to Sir John St John (1473-1512) who was Jane's husband, NIcholas St John (-1589). The two cousins Michael and Richard form the subject of a debate and while we may assume them to be sons of Nicholas, this is the only evidence for their existence. Another suggestion has been that Richard was in fact Sir Richard Carew (Jane's second cousin) who died in 1520. He had been Sheriff of Surrey. The second memorial is that to Ann Hyde. it reads:-

Here lyes the body of Ann the wife of Edward Hyde of ye Midle Temple London Esqr & daughter of Sr George Ayliffe of Grittenham on the County of Wilts knt who dyed on the 2d day of Iul in ye yeare 1632 aged 20.

Vale anima candissima vale mariti tui quem dolore et luctu conficis aeturnum desiderium vale faeminorum decus et saeculi ornamentum.

Translation - Farewell thou soul most fair, farewell thou eternal desire of thy husband whom thou killest with sorrow and grief, farewell of woman the glory and the age's ornament.

Both memorials were moved to the tower after restoration of the church in 1870. Ann Hyde's memorial was originally in the south wall of the chancel overlooking her grave which was marked by a black marble stone enscribed:-

Here lyes buried under this stone Anne the wyfe of Edward Hyde of the Middle Temple London esq who dyed the 2d day of July in the yeare 1632 aged 20.

The Sale of the Manor

In mediaeval times land was entailed and could not be sold. It could be passed down a line other than the direct one by a process of Quitclaim, whereby all possible claimants would sign a document giving up their rights. On occasions the king would take land back into his own hands and dispose of it to someone else, but otherwise it was very difficult to effect a land transfer.

The St John's seemed to be content to dispose of Purley from around 1690, even though members of the family lived there for at least another 20 years.

On March 30th 1694 Sir Walter issued a Release on the manor of Purley Magna. This was to James Compton, son and heir apparant of Sir Francis Compton, and William Foot of Battersea. Also parties to the agreement were William St John, son of the said Walter St John; Sir Frances Compton and Frances Compton, second daughter of the said Sir Francis (third part); Reverend Henry, Bishop of London, Sir Francis Nicholas KB, Francis St John of Thorpe, Northants and Thomas Hardiman (fourth Part); and Sir Francis Markham of Oates Essex and John Wildesley of the fifth part. This may have been occasioned by the marriage of Sir William St John to Frances Compton.

This was followed up on October 12th 1726 with an Indenture of Lease and Re-lease by Lord Viscount St John, son of Sir Walter St John to Henry Bowes Howard, Earl of Berkshire and Butreins Williams of Greys Inn (second part) and John St John and Holles St John the two younger sons of Viscount St John of the third part. (ref 546)

The next deed is an Indenture of Bargain and Sale enrolled 11th Feb 1754 when the parties were Lord Viscount Bolingbroke of Lydiard Tregoze and Viscount St John of the first part; Henry Furness of Gunnersbury, Middlesex of the second part and Philip Worlidge of St Michael's Cornhill of the third part. (ref 546)

In an exemplification of Common Recovery lodged soon after; (Hilary Term 27 Geo II) Henry Furness was the tenant, Philip Worlidge the Demandant and Frederick, Lord Bolingbroke the Vouchee and Inscriber. (ref 546)

These transactions of 1754 were undoubtedly occasioned by the death of Sir Henry St John in 1751 and the consequent need to settle the manor on Frederick

On the 4th November 1765 there was an Indenture of Release with Lord Bolingbroke and St John with Diana Lady Bolingbroke and the party of the first part; Henry Earl of Pembroke and Montgomery and Francis Earl of Guildford of the second part, John, Earl Spencer and the Honorable William Bateman of the third part and George Duke of Marlborough and John , Earl Waldegrave of the fourth part. (ref 546)

In 1768 an Act of Parliament was required to dissolve the marriage of Lord Viscount Bolingbroke and Lady Diana Spencer so that he could re-marry and this added further complication to the transactions . (ref 546)

On Sept 26th 1774 there was an Indenture of Lease and re-lease made between Frederick Lord Bolingbroke and Henry St John of Park Lane and no mention of Philip Worlidge (ref 546)

When his wife died in 1773 Philip Worlidge of Battersea was claiming to be Lord of the manor of Purley and created considerable difficulties for the Thames Commissioners in 1777 by refusing to allow horses to tow barges past his house. He was still obdurate in 1780 and the Commisioners decided to bypass the estate by a horse ferry. (ref 12, 43)

On 3rd Feb 1781 there was an Indenture of Lease and Re-lease, this time between Henry St John and Robert Macreth of Ewhurst Hampshire. and four years later on 12th Feb 1785 a further indenture of Lease and Re-lease but this time there were no less than six parties involved. In the first part were Richard St John, George Richard St John and Charlotte his wife. In the second part Robert Mackreth. In the third part the Honourable Frederick St John, brother of George Richard. In the fourth part Richard Jackson of Grays Inn. In the fifth part Robert Spencer (Lord William Spencer and in the sixth part John Martindale and Jeremiah Dyson of Compton Hants. (ref 546)

In June 1789 there was a very complex transaction whereby George Richard St John, Third Viscount Bolingbroke, finally sold the manor to Robert Macreth. Robert took out a mortgage for £7000. He had been in occupation at least since 1786 when he commissioned Robert Moss to draw up an estate map and held a Court Baron in Purley. Macreth was the proprietor of White's Club in London and an up-market money-lender and bookmaker, so it seems likely that George had been in debt to him. (refs 424-28661, 589 p92)

Macreth sold the manor a year later to John Martindale, of Hanover Square, Middlesex for £18,375 and he took over Macreth's mortgage. In the autumn of 1792 the contents of the manor house were advertised for sale in the Reading Mercury . By 1793 the manor had been acquired by Anthony Morris Storer for £15,000 and he cleared all the mortgages and encumbrances. The manor remained in his family for another 120 years. (ref 9)

Bibliography

9 Reading Mercury

12 Monumental Inscriptions in Purley Church

26 Victoria County History (Berks)

27 Purley Parish Registers.

28 Ashmole's Survey of Epitaphs (Berks) (1669)

43 The Thames Highway (Thacker 1920)

61 Wills

85 Fine Rolls

The Visitation of Berkshire

100 Patent Rolls

103 Inquisitions Post Mortem

216 Dictionary of National Biography

424 Additional ms in British Library

546 Deeds of the GWR

589 Our Lady of Battersea

590 North Wiltshire (Aubrey)

a State Papers

b Correspondence with Canon Brian Carne.

Appendix

The St John Lords of Purley Magna

1466 Nicholas Carew (V) (-1485)

1485 Sanchia Iwardby (sister)

Sir John Iwardby (-1525) (husband)

1525 Joan Iwardby (Daughter)

1526 John St John (1505-1576) (son)

1576 Nicholas St John (-1589) (son)

1589 John St John (1552-1594) (son)

1594 Walter St John (1576-1597) (son)

1597 John St John (1585-1648) (brother)

1648 John St John (1636-1656) (grandson)

1656 Walter St John (1622-1708) (uncle)

1708 Henry St John (1652-1742) (son)

1742 Henry St John (1678-1751) (son)

1751 Frederick St John (-1787) (nephew)

1787 George St John (1761-1824) (son)

Acknowledgements

I am indebted to Mr John Titterton formerly of Purley who collected so much of the biographical information about the St John's and to Mrs Jean Debney, also of Purley who identified many other sources of information. Also to Canon Brian Carne of Almondsbury for his constructive comments and additional information.




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