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The Parish of Hamstall Ridware
The name Hamstall in
Anglo-Saxon means homestead and indicates an
early settlement. The combination of
Anglo-Saxon elements with the Celtic rid-
makes a fascinating puzzle for students of
place names and suggests a time when
Anglo-Saxon settlers and the native Celtic
population lived side by side.
There
are
three entries pertaining to Hamstall Ridware
in the Domesday Book:
-
Land
of St Remy’s (Church) in Offlow Hundred
The Church holds 1 virgate of land
itself in Hamstall Ridware. Land for 1
plough. Godric holds it from the Church.
He has half a plough. 2 villagers have
half a plough. A mill at 2s; meadow 2
acres. Value 5s. Earl Algar gave these
two lands to St. Remy’s.
-
Land of Earl Roger in
Offlow Hundred. Hamstall Ridware. Walter
holds from him. 1 virgate of land. Land
for one and a half ploughs. 2 slaves; 4
villagers. Meadow, 4 acres; woodland 1
league long and a half wide. Value 5s.
Edmund held it; he was a free man.
-
Robert of Stafford also
holds 3 virgates of land in Hamstall
Ridware. Herman holds from him. 3 thanes
held it; they were free men. Land for 4
ploughs. In lordship 1, with 1 slave. A
free man holds 1 virgate of this land;
he has 2 villagers with half a plough. A
mill at 2s; meadow, 8 acres; woodland 1
and a half leagues long and in width 1
league. Value 15s.’
At the time of the Norman
Conquest, the family of Asser Geun, the
Saxon thane controlling Hamstall Ridware,
became the lords of the manor, taking the
name de Ridware. It is possible that the
field called The Moats, which contains a
moated site where 12th century
pottery has been found, may have been the
site of the first manor house. Or it may be
that two manors existed side by side for a
time. In the early Norman period the church
of St. Michael and All Angels was built on
its beautiful spot overlooking the River
Blithe, perhaps replacing an older house of
worship. Remains of this early period of the
village’s history can also be seen in the
ridge and furrow patterns which remain on
Cowley Hill, once part of the open field
system.
The
de Ridwares held the manor until the 1370s
when, there being no male heir, the land
passed to the Cottons. The brick watchtower
at the Hall was built at this time and
symbolises the aspirations of the Cotton
family. The large altar tomb in the church
also attests to their powerful presence.
Maud, or Matilda, Cotton
married Sir Anthony Fitzherbert and the
manor passed to the Fitzherberts of Norbury
in 1517. During his life Hamstall Ridware
would have glimpsed the larger world beyond
its borders, for Sir Anthony Fitzherbert was
a celebrated judge during the reign of Henry
VIII. He was involved in the trials of Ann
Boleyn and Sir Thomas Moore, amongst others,
and was the author of several books on the
law. He and his wife are buried in the
church at Norbury (Derbyshire), the home of
the Fitzherbert family.
It is said that, on his death
bed, Sir Anthony made his son and heir Sir
Thomas Fitzherbert, swear that he would
remain true to his Catholic faith. The
promise was kept, but he paid dearly for it,
dying in the Tower of London after thirty
years of imprisonment. During the last years
of the Fitzherbert ownership the gatehouses
and porch, buildings of great beauty and
prestige, were built.
In 1601 the ownership of
Hamstall Hall passed to Sir Thomas Leigh of
Stoneleigh Abbey, Warwickshire. For a period
of time it kept its prestige as the
principal residence of the Leigh heir. Well
into the 18th century the east
wing was retained as a suite of rooms for
the Leighs when they were in residence.
Eventually the hall was leased to a series
of tenant farmers, the east wing fell into
ruin and was eventually pulled down, and
Hamstall Hall took on the appearance of a
working farm. The estate was sold in 1920.
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