The purpose of this page is to share a little of the information I have collected on the village of West Wratting, where members of my family lived from at least 1582-1815. While my primary Cambridgeshire interests are covered in Great Queenslanders and on my Williams/Willings and Missen pages, I am also interested in the following families from South-Eastern Cambridgeshire and adjoining parts of Suffolk and Essex:
ADAMS, BRIGNELL, BROWN, CARTER, COLLETT, CROPLEY, FINCHAM, FREE, FREEMAN, GILBY, GLOVER, HATLEY, HAYLOCK, HEATH, JACOB, JAGGARD, LORD, MARSH, MARTIN, MORDEN, NORDEN, RANEWE, RANNOWE, ROBINSON, ROOKS, SALE, SMITH, SPARROW, STARLING, STARRE, TAYLOR, TEVERSHAM, WAPLES, WARD.
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The boundaries of this parish are formed by Weston-Colville and Carleton on the north and east, and by Balsham on the south an south-west. It contains 3,441 acres; the amount of assessed property is £ 4,394.; and the population in 1801 was 541; in 1831, 763; and in 1841, 912 souls. The soil in this parish is excellent and the principal proprietors are the Dean and Chapter of Ely; Edward Frost, Esq.; Jesus and Peter-house colleges, Cambridge; Mrs Frere; the Corporation of the sons of the clergy, Sir Charles Wager Watson, bart.; the Rev. John H. Watson, M.A., and Wm. Purkis, Esq. Manors.--A manor in this parish, which was given to the monks of Ely by Elfhelm, a Saxon knight, about the year 990, now belongs to the dean and chapter. At the time of the doomsday survey, a manor here, now called the Hall manor, was in the possession of Hardwinus de Scalariis, and it passed afterwards to the Frevilles, who possessed it for several generations. At a later period it was successively in the families of Dalton, Jacob, Smyth, and Shaftoe. About the year 1790 it was purchased by Richard Taylor, Esq., who sold it to General Hall, and it is now in the possession of Edward Frost, Esq., who holds it under the dean and chapter of Ely subject to a fine every seven years. Another manor here belonged to the family of Brigham, who in the reign of Edward III, conveyed it to Thomas de Lisle, bishop of Ely. The bishop gave it to the master and fellows of Peterhouse college. The manor of Charls was formerly held by the Shaftoes, and was purchased by the duke of Bedford, who erected a range of stables for his horses, and occasionally resided here during the Newmarket race meetings. He afterwards sold it to Sir Hedworth Williamson, and it is now the property of Jesus college. The family of Haylock, now extinct, was formerly an ancient and wealthy family in this parish : the greater part of their property, was purchased some years since by Edward Frost, Esq., of West Wratting-hall. The manor of Parys, so called from the family of that name which possessed it in the reign of Henry VI, was for many years in possession of the Daltons, who sold it about the beginning of the last century to the Corporation of the sons of the clergy. The Daltons resided here many years, and possessed the principal landed property in the parish. Michael Dalton, the purchaser of the greater part of it, and author of the Complete Justice and other works, settled here in the reign of queen Elizabeth, and died in 1644, and was buried in the parish church. The manor of Scarletts, which belonged to the family of Perne, is now the property of Sir Charles W. Watson, bart.; and the manor of Oxcroft, in this parish, and that of Balsham, now belong to Wm. Purkis, Esq. The Village of West Wratting which is situated on low ground, about 5 miles N. from Linton, and nine S. from Newmarket, contains some good houses. The Church dedicated to St. Andrew, like most of those in this neighbourhood is an ancient structure, and consists of a nave, chancel, south porch, and western tower containing five bells. The interior has a light and elegant appearance. The living is a vicarage in the deanery of Camps, rated in the K.B., at £ 7.17s.3-1/2d. but now worth £ 215 nett, per annum. The dean and chapter of Ely are the patrons, and impropriators of the great tithes, and the Rev. John Hewlett Watson, M.A., is the present incumbent. This church was appropriated by bishop Long-champ to the monks of Ely. Land was allotted at the enclosure in lieu of tithes. In the church yard, on the gravestone of Charles Haylock, who died September 13th, 1703, is the following curious epitaph:- And leaves the bad, too bad to take away. Wratting Park late the property of General Hall, and now the seat and property of Charles Wager Watson, Bart., is situated a little south of the village. Wratting Hall one of the ancient manor houses, is the residence of Edward Frost, Esq., and Oxcroft that of Wm. Purkis, Esq. There were considerable charities left to the poor of the parish, but from the inadvertency of the founders bequests the major part of them have been lost. |
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Locate a map showing West Wratting??
You will find more information on West Wratting and its families by visiting
John Marfleet's site.
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