Phil Rutherford Lord of Bretons Essex
Phil Rutherford
Lord of Bretons
Lord of the Manor
ABOUT
PORTFOLIO
Phil Rutherford and family
Bretons Manor, Essex
The manor of BRETONS or DANIELS or PORTER'S FEE lay beside the Beam river, about 2 miles south-west of Hornchurch village. It probably took its first name from the Breton family, which lived at Hornchurch from the 12th century to the 14th. Daniels and Porters seem to have been originally separate tenements, also named from families, which became attached to Bretons. Daniels was held along with Bretons by 1446, but Porter's fee was still separate in the later 15th century. William de Northtoft of Finchingfield, who was holding Bretons in 1355, was said to have acquired it from Richard de Stamyngden. In that year John de Cokefield and William Spalding unsuccessfully conspired to gain possession of the manor by force, and by fabricating evidence to show that Northtoft was an illicit coiner. In 1361 Northtoft conveyed Bretons to William Buckingham, chaplain, probably in trust. The manor was later held by John Newmarche, from whom it passed by successive conveyances, to Richard de Batheleye, to John Bredeford, and then, in 1373, to William, son of Geoffrey Chisleden.
Sir Richard Arundel (d. 1419), was holding the manors of Bretons, Baldwins (Lee Gardens), and Mardyke in 1417, when he made his will before going to France with the army of Henry V.
He devised Bretons to his wife Alice for life, but after his death his executors were involved in a long struggle for possession of the manor against Joan, daughter of Sir John Newenton and widow of Roger Swinnerton. She had inherited the manor of Redden Court. Her title to Bretons is not clear, but she may well have vindicated it, for in 1446, shortly after her death, the manor was conveyed to Thomas Scargill by trustees including Richard Newenton, presumably a relative of Joan. Scargill was also holding Daniels by 1446. He died in 1476, having directed that if his daughter died without heirs the manor should be sold. In 1501 Christopher Throckmorton conveyed Bretons to William Ayloffe (d. 1517), in whose family it remained for about 150 years. Sir Benjamin Ayloffe, Bt., a prominent royalist during the Civil War, sold Bretons to meet the costs of sequestration imposed upon him by Parliament. The purchaser was John Winniffe, who was holding the manor by 1659. Winniffe soon sold Bretons to John Austen, alderman of London, from whom it descended to his son of the same name. John Austen the younger was holding the manor in 1720.It was stated in that year that the entail had been cut, and that after Austen's death Bretons would pass to another family.
By 1742 the owner was John Hopkins, who also held Redden Court. He died in 1772, leaving both manors to John Dare. Bretons descended like Redden Court until 1858, when parts of the Hall-Dare estate were sold. Bretons remained in the possession of the Hall-Dares until 1869, when it was bought by Romford local board for use as a sewage farm. In 1976 the farm was being developed by Havering L.B.C. as a youth centre and sports ground. The earliest surviving buildings at Bretons are the walls of a 16th-century barn, which formerly had a roof of nine bays, and other buildings south-east of the house. Associated with these is some garden walling with bee boles, and the original house may have stood in the same area. The present house is of late-17th-century origin, and has some panelling and a fine main staircase of that date. It was much reconstructed by John Hopkins in the mid 18th century, when the external walling was rebuilt, most of the rooms were panelled, and the staircase was extended to the second floor, which was probably added then. About the same time the walled garden was enlarged and the forecourt of the house was enclosed by a clairvoyée with central gates.
Lordship of
Bretons
Lordship of Bretons
