Buckenham Tofts
Buckenham Tofts is a former civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. On 1 April 1935, the parish was abolished and merged with Stanford.
It was situated about one mile south of the small village of Langford, with its Church of St Andrew, and about one mile west of Stanford, with its All Saints' Church and one mile north of West Tofts, with its Church of St Mary, all deserted and demolished villages. None of these settlements are shown on modern maps but are simply replaced by "Danger Area" in red capital letters. In 1931, the parish had a population of 60.
Correct pronunciation
"Bucknum" The emphasis is placed upon the vowel in the first syllable. "Bucknum"History
It is situated within Breckland heath, a large area of dry sandy soil unsuited to agriculture. The parish church of Buckenham Tofts, dedicated to St Andrew, was demolished centuries ago and stood to the immediate north of Buckenham Tofts Hall, the now-demolished manor house, as is evidenced by a graveyard which was discovered in that location. The parishioners, few as they were, used nearby St Mary's Church, West Tofts, one mile to the south, where survive 18th-century monuments to the Partridge family of Buckenham Tofts. In 1738 the Norfolk historian Blomefield stated of Buckenham Tofts "there is nothing remaining of this old village, but the Hall, and the miller's house". The ancient manor house was rebuilt in 1803 by the Petre family in the Georgian style and on a grand scale, was sold with the large estate in 1904 and was finally demolished by the army in 1946, having suffered major damage from military training exercises and shelling. In the early 21st century the remains of the manor house were described as follows: "a grassy platform of raised ground and beside a short line of dilapidated stone steps. The raised ground made a sort of elevated lawn, large enough for a tennis court or two, and the steps went to the top of the platform, and then went nowhere."Descent (Buckenham Tofts)
The Domesday Book of 1086 records two manors at this location, one held by Hugh de Montfort and the other by Roger, son of Renard.Early holders
This lordship was held of the Montforts soon after the Conquest, by the de Bukenham family which took its name from the manor. William de Bukenham, son of Sir Ralph de Bukenham, had a charter for free-warren here, in Ellingham, and Illington, 38th Henry III and before this, in the 4th of King John, a fine was levied between William de Bukenham tenant, and Petronilla de Mortimer, petent, of the advowson of the church of Bukenham-Parva, and the moiety of a mill. In the 3rd year of King Edward I's reign Simon de Nevyle was lord, and had the assize of bread and beer of his tenants, and was patron of the church. In 1300, Hubert Hacon held it, and presented; after this, Margery, relict of Roger Cosyn of Elyngham-Magna, presented in 1313, as lady of the manor; and in 1323, John Polys of Wilton; but in 1337, Sir Simon de Hederset, Knt. was lord and patron, and 20th year of Edward III's reign. Sir John de Hederset, Edm. Le-Warde, and Edm. LeHall, held here and in Stanford half a quarter of a fee of Richard de Belhouse, as of his manor of Bodney, which Richard held it of the King. In the years 1349 and 1357, William de Hedersete was lord and patron, but soon after, it was in the hands of Richard Gegge of Saham Toney, who presented to the church in 1367. In 3rd Henry IV, Richard Gegge and Edmund de Hall held here, and in Stanford, half a quarter of a fee of John Reymes, as of his manor of Bodney, and in this family of Gegge it continued till about the reign of Edward IV, when it came to John Austeyn, Esq. by the marriage of Margaret Gegge, one of the daughters and coheirs of Rich. Gegge, Esq. After this, in Easter term, 17th Henry VII. a fine was levied between Thomas Spring, and others, querents, and Margaret Austeyn widow, defendant, of this manor, with lands in Stanford and Linford; and in Michaelmas term, in the 23d of the said King, another fine was levied between Thomas Spring and others, querents, and Hugh Coo, and Ann his wife, defendants, which Ann was daughter of John Austeyn, and Margaret his wife.Spring (& Wright)
Sir John Spring (d.1547)
Sir John Spring, knighted by King Henry VIII, died lord of the manor of Buckenham Tofts. He was the son and heir of Thomas Spring "an opulent clothier" and one of the richest men in England, by his wife Anne King. Thomas Spring was the son of Thomas Spring whose monumental brass in Lavenham Church states that he built the vestry. The will of Thomas Spring makes bequests to "the friars of Thetford and the nuns of Thetford". Sir John Spring married Dorothy Waldegrave, daughter of William Waldegrave of Smallbridge in Suffolk, by whom he had a son and heir William Spring and two daughters:- Frances Spring, who married Edmund Wright of Sutton Hall in the parish of Burnt Bradfield in Suffolk, a Member of Parliament for Steyning in Sussex in 1559 who became seated at Buckenham Tofts, his father-in-law's manor. He was the second son and eventual heir of Robert Wright of Sutton by his wife Jane Russell, a niece of John Russell, 1st Earl of Bedford. Sutton Hall had been inherited by Jane Russell from her mother Jane Jervace , daughter and heiress of John Jervace of Sutton. The arms of Wright were: Sable, a chevron engrailed between three fleurs-de-lys or on a chief of the last three spear heads azure. Edmund Wright by his wife Frances Spring left daughters and co-heiresses, one of whom was Anne Wright, heiress of Sutton Hall and of Barrett's Hall in Whatfield, who married Sir John Heigham of Barrough Hall. Edmund Wright sold the wardship of his nephew William Spring to Margaret Donnington .
- Bridget Spring, who married firstly Thomas Fleetwood, and secondly to Sir Robert Wingfield of Letheringham.
William Spring (1532/4–1599)
John Spring (1559–1601)
John Spring who married Mary Trelawny, a daughter of Sir John Trelawny of Trelawny in Cornwall. He died shortly after his father and left a son and heir Sir William Spring of Pakenham, MP, then aged 12, whose son was Sir William Spring, 1st Baronet, MP, created a baronet in 1641.Rich
In the reign of King James I it was held by the Rich family and in 1614 Sir Robert Rich presented as lord; His son Robert Rich, 2nd Earl of Warwick "of Buckenham Tofts" served as "Lieutenant of Norfolk", evidenced by Ewing by the fact that "upon a small full length print of him, is said to be his Majesty's Lieutenant of Norfolk, Essex, etc. but without the prefix of Lord, his name is considered to be inadmissible on this list ". He married Frances Hatton, the daughter of Sir William Hatton, Knight, and grand daughter of Sir Francis Gawdy, Knight, Chief Justice of the Common Pleas, and became lord of the manor of Barton Bendish and other manors, about 1610.Crane, Appleton
of Chilton, near Sudbury in Suffolk also had his residence at Buckenham Tofts. He was 6 times an MP for Sudbury and twice for the county seat of Suffolk. He died without leaving a male heir, but left four daughters as co-heiresses. His mural monument, with kneeling effigies of himself and his two wives, survives in St Mary's Church, Chilton. His second wife Susan Alington, a daughter of Sir Giles Alington of Horseheath, Cambridgeshire, survived him and remarried to Isaac Appleton, of Holbrook Hall, Little Waldingfield, Suffolk, a Member of Parliament for Sudbury in Suffolk in 1661, who resided at Buckenham Tofts until the second year of the reign of King Charles II, in which he died intestate after which his estates were divided between his three sisters. Buckenham Tofts was then conveyed to Samuel Vincent by Robert Fairford, Isaac Preston and Mr. Cradock.Vincent
Samuel Vincent acquired the estate and in about 1670/80 rebuilt the manor house as a typical Restoration-style house, as is depicted onan estate map circa 1700, held by the Norfolk Record Office. Vincent's house was still standing in 1738, when Blomefield commented on it as follows:
It was surrounded by walled formal gardens, typical of the period, as shown on the map of 1700. The grounds included a canal, a garden building, parterres and topiary. Samuel Vincent was an entrepreneur and land speculator in London, who was associated with the great and unscrupulous Nicholas Barbon, a self-made man who "dominated the late 17th century London building world". The Great Fire of London in 1666 had opened up great opportunities for building developers. Vincent was a pioneer in the field of insurance and in 1681, together with Barbon and ten other associates, he established the "Fire Insurance Office", which provided insurance for 5,000 houses. Barbon explained the principle of the business as follows to a correspondent in 1684:
In 1686 the company sought to obtain a patent for the exclusive use of the "invention" of fire insurance. In 1688 it was granted a patent or incorporation papers by King James II and adopted the symbol of a phoenix to be displayed as a "fire mark" on all insured houses, which would be recognised by its fleet of fire-engines in case of a fire breaking out. In 1705 it adopted the name "Phoenix Office".
"Samuel Vincent of Buckingham House in Norfolk, Esquire" bore arms: Azure, three quatrefoils argent, as recorded in Essay to Heraldry by Richard Blome, published in 1684. These arms were also the arms of Sir Anthony Vincent, 4th Baronet of Stoke d'Abernon in the County of Surrey. Vincent mortgaged the estate to Sir Thomas Meers and eventually Buckenham Tofts was acquired by Robert Partridge.