Though Berrick Salome formed an Independent Estate by 1066 it was subsequently absorbed into Chalgrove Manor, with which much of it passed in the late-15th & early-16thCs to Magdalen & Lincoln Colleges, Oxford. Both retained their Berrick Property until the 20thC. Lords of neighbouring Ewelme & Fifield owed Quitrents for Lands in Berrick in the 15thC and numerous Freeholds included one occasionally called a ‘Manor‘, while Tithes and some small Parcels of Glebe belonged from the Middle-Ages to the Rector (and later Vicar) of Chalgrove. Around half the Parish’s Land was still under non-Collegiate Ownership in the 1830s. Berrick Salome Tithe Map 1842
Early Estates & Chalgrove Manor: In the Late Anglo-Saxon Period Berrick belonged to the Royal Estate of Benson. Two Hides Granted in 996 to the Brothers Eadric, Eadwig & Ealdred, described as ‘King’s Men‘, may have Lain in the Ancient Parish’s North-Eastern Corner, but if so they apparently reverted to Royal Ownership. The Settlements Northern part, however, was Granted to Canterbury Cathedral Priory with Newington in the early-11thC, and (as Berrick Prior) remained in separate Ownership thereafter.
By 1066 the rest of Berrick, Rated at 4-Hides, was Held of the King by Ordgar, who had succeeded his father & uncle. The Estate was Held with Gangsdown in Nuffield, making a standard 5-Hide Unit. By 1086 Ordgar Held under the prominent Norman Baron Miles Crispin & Berrick (along with Gangsdown & attached Holdings in Roke) was subsequently absorbed into Miles’s Manor of Chalgrove. At Chalgrove’s Division in 1233 & 1356 the Berrick & Roke Holdings were apportioned amongst Chalgrove’s various Lords, with a few Properties Held in Common.
In 1485/7 the Barentin & Argentein Shares of Chalgrove Manor were acquired by Magdalen College, Oxford, and in 1507/8 the smaller St Clare’s Share passed to Lincoln College. Both Acquisitions included Holdings in Berrick Salome & Roke, which were formally Partitioned amongst the Colleges & George Pudsey (as Owner of Chalgrove Manor’s remaining part) in 1570. Magdalen’s Holdings were increased by Piecemeal Purchases in the 1520s–30s & 1569–70, and by 1833 it owned 193-a in Berrick Salome Parish compared with Lincoln’s 65-a, all of it Let to Tenants. Pudsey’s share passed with his Chalgrove Manor to the Winchcombe & Hall Families, but by the 1780s had apparently been broken up. At Inclosure in 1863 Magdalen received 270-a for its combined Estates in Berrick, Roke, & Benson, and following Purchases in 1884/5 & 1900/1 it Held over 700-a in the 3-Places. Its Berrick Estate (latterly 596-a) was Sold to the Tenant A M Hoddinott in 1970 & Roke Farm (192-a) in 1986, while Lincoln College’s Parsons’ Farm (then 75-a) was Sold to the Tenant in 1943.
Lordship was still shared between the Colleges in 1863, though from the 1850s Local Directories named the Blounts of Mapledurham as Lord, presumably as Owners of the former Pudsey Estate in Chalgrove. In 1995 the Sale of Magdalen’s Chalgrove Lordship to the Jacqueses of Chalgrove Manor was deemed to include that of Berrick Salome, though with no exercisable Rights. A few small Quitrents to Benson Manor remained payable in the late-18thC, while a Perambulation in 1826 still included Berrick within the alleged Bounds of Benson Manor.
Freeholds & ‘Berrick Manor’
Freeholds accounted for at least half the Manorial Land by 1279, when the largest (2-Yardlands) was held by Walter of Roke (del Ok’). The only traceable Estate, however, is an accumulation Focused probably by the 16thC on Lower Berrick Farm, which seems to have derived in part from a substantial Freehold in Chalgrove, Berrick, Roke & elsewhere owned in 1314 by John Marshall of Bovingdon Green (Bucks) and his brother Thomas. In 1336 they held a House & 62-a in Berrick partly by Military Tenure, but by 1343 they were in Debt, and in 1361 the Holding was confirmed to Sir Hugh of Berrick (d.1403), passing through marriage (with Hugh’s Bucks Lands) to the Butler or Botiler Family of Badminton (Glos). In 1422 & 1477 it was called Berrick Manor, and in 1542 John Butler Esq Sold it as such to Laurence Hanford of Beaconsfield (Bucks), with a nominal 200-a of Arable, 160-a of Meadow, Pasture & Heath & 6s-8d. Rent in Berrick & Warborough. Quitrent Payments suggest that the Tenancy (& eventually the Ownership) remained with prominent Berrick Yeomen, including (by 1503) John Smith, by 1550 the Hambledens, and in 1672 the Barretts, who in 1731 sold to the Blackalls of Wallingford & Berrick. They expanded the Estate (still occasionally called a Manor), which in the late-18thC passed through marriage to the Musgraves of Barnsley Park (Glos). In 1834 it was Sold to the London Lawyer John Smart, who in 1839 Owned Lower Berrick Farm with c.94-a & a Cottage, and a similar acreage in Berrick Prior, all Let to Tenants.
By then non-College Lands in Berrick covered 232-a (50% of occupied Land), the other Chief Owners being the Powells & Hutchinses of Benson (42-a & 30-a respectively), and the prominent Roke Farmer Thomas Weller (30-a). Powell’s holding included Ivyhouse Farm. Around 25-Owners were recorded in all, many with only a few odd acres, while the largest Holdings were all let to Tenants.
Ivyhouse Farmhouse. Late-18thC, probably partly earlier. Coursed Clunch rubble & Brick in Flemish Bond with Flared Headers; Plain-tile Roof with Brick Stacks. 2-Storeys plus Attics. Wing Projects to right of Tiled Porch & to left, are 2-Bays with 3-light 20thC Casements, segmental Arched at Ground Floor. Side Walls of Wing, and End & Rear walls of Main Range, are of Rubble with Brick Dressings; Front & Left Gable Wall of Main Range have stepped Plinth. Large Brick Lateral Chimney projection to Rear. Further Stack at Junction of Ranges. Graffiti on Front Wall includes the Date 1781.
Interior: through Passage with quarter-turn Stair; Beam with double-Ovolo Mouldings.
Shepherds Cottage – House 17thC. Timber-framing with plastered Infill; rendered Masonry; Thatch Roof with Brick Stacks. 4-Unit plan. 1-Storey plus Attics. Left half of front is Timber-framed and has irregular Casements, present Entrance, and a small Dormer; rendered Right half has further Casements & a Dormer. Roof has Stacks, to left Gable and to Centre and it sweeps down over a small Outshut to extreme Right of Front. Rear has further Casements & 4-Dormers.
Interior: not inspected.
Aston Rowant & Chilterns Spring Line Villages 