![Photograph of ruined stables of a destroyed manor house in Wheatfield, Oxfordshire [c 1930s-1980s] by John Piper 1903-1992](https://astonrowant.files.wordpress.com/2018/06/wheatfieldoxon.jpg)
Wheatfield is a small elongated Parish lying at the foot of the Chilterns between Watlington & Thame. The modern acreage is 740-acres, but until 1886 when Lower Rofford (48½-a), a detached part of Wheatfield, was transferred to Chalgrove, the Parish comprised 789-acres. The only natural Boundary is the Haseley Brook which separates Wheatfield from Tetsworth & Adwell in the North & East. The Parish lies mostly between 350 & 240-ft & is characterised by its rich Meadows & fine Trees. A Road from Tetsworth to Stoke Talmage, running from North-east to South-west, bisects the Parish & a Branch Road runs Southwards past the Church of Wheatfield & then Eastwards to Adwell. A further Road that runs Southwards from the Adwell Road to South Weston & Lewknor was made in 1860. The alternate Limes & Sycamores along it were Planted by the Lord of the Manor, the Rev Charles Vere Spencer.
Today the Church, Park Farm, the Old Rectory or Wheatfield House, as it is now called & a few Cottages are all that is left of the former Village. It can never have been Large & by the early-18thC it was no more than a Hamlet – ‘a pleasantly situated one‘ as Rawlinson noted. William Burgess’s Estate Map, drawn in 1700 for Sir Thomas Tipping, then Lord of the Manor, shows that there were 8-Houses in the Village besides the Manor-House. 2-Farmhouses of which one is now (1960) Lower Farm, Lay in the Fields to the North of the Village & 4-Lay in the South-east on the Adwell Boundary. One of these last is at present Upper Farm & another Lay close beside it. The Old Village Lay along the Road that runs past Wheatfield House & along a Branch Road to the Manor-House, through the Park where Mounds still denote the Sites of a few former Buildings. In 1778 there were said to be 2-Farmhouses & 8-Cottages.
Michael Burghers – Enlargeabnle Map Of Oxfordshire 1677
Beautifully Embellished Map of the County of Oxfordshire Engraved by Michael Burghers for Robert Plot’s “The Natural History of Oxfordshire” Published in 1677, a work that contained descriptions and images of Fossils found in the County including the 1st known Illustration of a Dinosaur Bone. The defining characteristic of the Map is the extensive decoration of the Borders & Cartouches with 178–Coats of Arms of the Colleges of Oxford University, Noblemen & Clergy. Also Included is a Key explaining the Symbols used to identify various Types of Locations on the Map.
There is now no Ancient Manor-house, but something is known both of the 17thC House and its late-18thC successor. Since 1594 the Tippings had lived at Wheatfield & when Lady Dorothy Tipping died in 1637 the House is described in her Inventory. It consisted of a Great Parlour, Hall, Great Chamber, Drawing-Chamber & 5 other Principal Chambers. These seem to have formed the Front part of the House. In addition, there was a Beer Cellar, Buttery & Wine Cellar & 9 other Chambers & various Offices such as the Bakehouse & Brewing Kitchen. The Principal Living-rooms, judging from the valuation of the furniture in them – £40 in each case – were the Great Parlour, the Drawing-Chamber & the 2nd Chamber. In 1662 the Tippings returned 15-Hearths for this House; Burghers’s Map of the County depicts it & the Arms of Tipping are given in the Border. William Burgess’s Map of Wheatfield Manor in 1700 shows the House & Flower Garden lying directly to the West of the Church. The West Front of the House, which was T-shaped, faced on to a ‘New Pond‘; a Square Flower Garden Lay to the North and to the South were a Bowling Green, Wilderness, Warren, Walks, etc. The whole covered 29-acres. In the Middle of this Garden was the ‘New Fountain‘; there was a New Dovehouse to the South-west of the House & beyond the Garden to the North was a Hop Garden surrounded by a Canal. On the Map, an Avenue of Trees runs North from the Manor-House to Scholar’s Bridge Meadow on the Tetsworth Boundary, but this seems to have been a Project which was never carried out. There is no trace of any such Avenue now & the fact that on Burgess’s Map Hedges cut across the Avenues makes it probable that it was not then in existence.
John Rudge, MP for Evesham and a London Merchant, bought the Manor in 1727 & came to Live in Wheatfield. It was he who was probably responsible for re-Building the Manor-House & the present Stables. On his death in 1740 he was commemorated in the Church by an Elaborate Monument. When his son Edward died in 1763 the House was described as having 10-Rooms on a Floor, with a Dovehouse, Coachhouse & all other convenient Offices. The Gardens & Wood Walks still covered about 30-acres. Edward Rudge & his father were said to have Laid out at least £10,000 on the House & Gardens, & it was estimated that its Grounds, the Timber & Underwood, which were worth £500, would fetch at least £3,000 even though the House were pulled down.
There is a sketch of the House by William Burgess on his Stoke Talmage Map, Drawn in 1750. It depicts a typical Georgian House of 2-Storeys with Dormered Attics in the Roof, 5-Bays of Building & a Central Doorway.
Early OS Map of Oxford County
Surveyed by a Local man, Richard Davis of Lewknor & Published in 1797. This Large Map consists of 16–Sheets at an impressively detailed Scale of 1:31,680 or 2-ins to 1-mile. No more than 200–Copies were ever made, the evidence is based on all Sets of the Map having Manuscript Serial No.s – this Image is part of No.34. Very few complete Copies survive. In terms of what the Map shows, a clear break has been made from the Christopher Saxton-led Traditional County Map, as here far more detail than previously is featured. Not only are County & Hundred Boundaries, Rivers & Streams, Towns & Villages, Parks, & Woodland depicted, but here we have Roads, Tracks, Hedges, indeed every Field can be seen & relief is beautifully represented by the use of Hachures. Davis was also Topographer to His Majesty, George III.
It was probably the Rudges who planted so many of the fine Trees described in an Account of 1853 & of which many still flourish. This Account by Mrs Glanville of Wheatfield refers to the Chestnut-tree Walk, a remarkable Silver Fir Tree, 110-ft high & an Elm-Avenue leading across the Fields to Shirburn Castle, which had been cut down before 1853 as the large Trees interfered too much with the Cultivation of the Fields. Mrs Glanville also states that Cottages had been pulled down & rebuilt on a New Site, sometime in the 2nd-Half of the 18thC, with the object of giving Wheatfield House a more extensive View of Parkland. An Embankment was thrown up to conceal the Road from the House’s View.
In 1769 the House was Leased to Lord Charles Spencer, the 2nd son of the 3rd Duke of Marlborough & as the Purchase of Wheatfield Manor was completed in 1770 it may be supposed that the Old Manor-House was then partly rebuilt. An Architect’s Plan shows that a North Wing with a Bow Front facing Eastwards continued up to the 2nd-Storey was added to the Rudge’s early-18thC House & that the older South Wing was altered & adapted internally. The new Wing contained the Drawing Room & Dining-Room with Billiard-Room & Bedchamber above. On the Southside, there was a Library & ‘Bird Room‘.
Lord Charles Spencer was in Residence by 1771 & a View of the New House was Published in 1787. It is depicted with a Lake in front of it, which must have been Constructed since 1700 for Burgess’s Map shows no Ornamental Water. This View later appeared in Picturesque Views of the Principal Seats of the Nobility and Gentry and was accompanied by a brief description that stated ‘that for the beauty of the situation & the charms of nature which owe little to the touch of art, few places exceed this small but elegant Seat‘. Fire destroyed the whole on 1st January 1814. Owing to the severe Frost which had frozen all the Water, the efforts of the Villagers, Organised by a French Officer & his men who were Prisoners of War on Parole at Thame & of the Fire Engines from Shirburn & Watlington, failed to save the Building. The Officer’s proposal to Blow-up part of the Building to save half was rejected by Lord Charles Spencer as he feared for the safety of the large crowds of people & of the Church. The detached Offices & Stables are now all that remain, though in dry weather traces of the Groundplan of the Mansion are discernible in the grass between the Stables & the Church.
![Photograph of ruined stables of a destroyed manor house in Wheatfield, Oxfordshire [c 1930s-1980s] by John Piper 1903-1992](https://astonrowant.files.wordpress.com/2018/06/wheatfieldstables.jpg)
The remaining Brick Buildings, now occupied by Park Farm, form 3-sides of a Square of which the North Range consists of a Square Brick Coach-house with 3-Wide Doors framed with engaged Doric Columns of Wood. They support an Entablature & Pediment with a Brick Tympanum & Central Circular Window. Above there is a Central Clock-Turret of Wood with a Square Base & Octagonal Cupola. These Stables were probably Built early in the 20thC by the Rudges. There are also an 18thC Barn & other Farm Buildings to the West.
Wheatfield Park Coach House, Stables & Farmhouse (formerly Park Farmhouse)
Coach House & Stables, part now converted to Farmhouse. c.1730. For John Rudge.
Coach House: Red Brick to End Walls & Rear; Wood Doric Columns support Red Brick Parapet; old plain-tile Hipped Roof with Central Wall; Wood Cupola. 3-bay Coach House.
4–Doric Columns support Parapet with moulded Stone-dressed False Pediment. Double Plank Doors with round Tops between Columns, except 20thC Plank infill to left. Round Window to Tympanum of Pediment. Stone Ball-Finials to ends of Parapet. Cupola to centre of Roof, having Square Base; Octagonal, boarded, 2nd-Stage; Octagonal Dome.
Interior not inspected. Flanking Stables, at right angles, connected by Walls with Doorways, forming Courtyard. Stables, to left & right, of Red Brick, with plum brick panels & Stone Dressings; old plain-Tile Hipped Roofs. Single-Storey, 9-Bay Ranges. The Central 3-Bays project forward. Each Bay has double rubbed-Brick Arch on Flat Piers. Moulded Stone Cornice to the Base of Parapet. Moulded Stone False Pediment with Brick Tympanum to centre 3-Bays. Moulded Stone Coping to Parapet. Most Stable Openings have either plum Brick Infill with Fanlights above or 20thC Doors.
Interiors not inspected. Opposing ends of Stables to Coach house have Brick Walls with Piers having Stone Ball Finials forming Entrance Approach. Formerly the Stable Block to
Wheatfield Park, destroyed by Fire in 1814.
(Buildings of England; Oxfordshire, 1974, p.837; VCH; Oxfordshire, Vol.VIII, 1964 p.264-5).
The other Gentleman’s House in the Village was the Rectory. It was rebuilt by Adam Blandy (1709-22), the Rector who was so Civil to the Antiquary Rawlinson when he Visited the Church in about 1718. The Old Rectory must also have been a good House in its day for it was Taxed on 6-Hearths in 1662. Blandy’s House was described in 1763 as an ‘exceeding good House & Garden in extraordinary good repair‘, but by the early-19thC it was ‘shamefully dilapidated‘. It was ‘much improved‘ in 1807 when C L Kirby was Rector & it was in this House that Lord Charles Spencer & his Family took Refuge at the time of the Fire at Wheatfield Park.
Wheatfield – Wheatfield House formerly Rectory
House, Early-18thC, early-19thC addition to Rear, mid-20thC Alterations. Rendered Plinth; Brown Brick with Red Brick Dressings; old plain-Tile Roof; Brick end Stacks. 2-Storey, 5-window Range. 12-pane unhorned Sashes to all Openings, those to 1st Floor with painted Wood Architrave surrounds. Left return: 4-panel Door, with 20thC Porch on Doric Columns to centre; regular Fenestration of Sashes.
Interior: not inspected.
History: Built for Adan Blandy, c.1709-22, enlarged c.1823 for Rector Frederic Charles Spencer & Stuccoed – (now removed).
(VCH.: Oxfordshire, Vol.VIII, 1964, p.265).
The House is Built of Brick with a Central Door under a slender Doric Porch. It was enlarged & partly rebuilt by the Rector Frederic Charles Spencer in 1823 in preparation for his Marriage to Mary Ann Bernard-Morland, but incorporates the South Front of Blandy’s Queen Anne Rectory. When the Stucco was removed in 1960 the difference in the Brickwork clearly revealed these 2-Periods of the Building. After Spencer’s early death in 1831, Mrs Spencer married the Rev Edward Fanshawe Glanville, the New Rector of Wheatfield & continued to live at the Rectory. The Iron Veranda shown in a Watercolour by her was probably a Victorian Addition, which has since been removed. Since 1928, when the Rectory was Sold to Lt-Col Spencer, the Lord of the Manor, it has been used as the Manor-House & has been renamed Wheatfield House. There are a few Picturesque Cottages nearby which are also Built of Brick & date from the 17th or early-18thC.
Several notable Families held the Lordship of Wheatfield & Resided in the Village. In the Middle-Ages the Knightly Family of De Whitfield, many of whom were important in the Royal Service, took its name from the Place. From the 16th to the 18thCs the Family of Tipping, originally from Lancashire, but long Established in Oxfordshire, was Settled at Wheatfield Park. Many of the children of Sir George Tipping (d.1627) were Baptised in the Church & he & his wife were buried there. During the Civil War, the Family was divided in its Loyalties. The Tippings, on the whole, were Royalists, but Sir George Tipping’s 2nd son, born at Wheatfield in 1598, supported the Parliamentary Party & was known as ‘Eternity Tipping‘ because of his Theological Writings. At this time he was Established on the Family Estate at Draycott. Wheatfield was in an area that was hotly disputed between the Conflicting Armies and on one occasion when the Royalist Forces passed through, Charles I, according to tradition, breakfasted in the Park there, and Mrs Glanville, writing in 1853, relates how a clump of Beech Trees had been planted to commemorate his Visit.
At the end of the Century Sir Thomas Tipping, Baptised at Wheatfield in 1653, was Member for the County & for Wallingford. He was said to have supported the Prince of Orange by raising a Regiment for his Service & was afterwards created a Baronet. His eldest daughter made a good match and married Samuel Sandys, 1st Baron Sandys.
Another important Family also had a connection with the Village in the 17thC. Thomas Isham of Radclive (Bucks) & Wheatfield, to whom there is a Memorial in the Church, was the son of Sir Euseby Isham of Pytchley (Northants). In 1649 he compounded ‘in his own Discovery‘, doubting whether he was Liable to Sequestration for anything said or done in the Civil War. He married Elizabeth, the daughter of Sir Thomas Denton of Hillesden (Bucks) & he and his wife are often mentioned in the Verney Letters. A Letter from her to Sir Ralph Verney in 1662 has been preserved. ‘I could wish you here,‘ she wrote, ‘as you might drink some of the Cider as is here about us: it is so good.‘ She informed Sir Ralph that his was made too soon and that the Best Cider is made just before Christmas. The Ishams‘ son Thomas, probably born at Wheatfield, became a Bencher of the Middle Temple.
The Rudge Lords of the Manor, father & son, not only rebuilt the House & Landscaped the Park, but also remodelled the Church & refitted the Interior. Their Successor, Lord Charles Spencer, made his New Mansion House a Centre of Culture. His son John married his cousin Elizabeth, daughter of the 4th Duke of Marlborough. She is depicted in a conversation piece by Sir Joshua Reynolds at Blenheim. A smaller replica of the same picture, also perhaps by Sir Joshua, is in the possession of her descendant, Lt-Col. Vere Spencer, at Wheatfield House. This Match, the Duchess of Bedford is reported to have said, was the ‘most charmingest Match that can be, that Mr Spencer is a good Actor, a good Musician & a good Composer‘. It was he probably who played the Organ at Wheatfield House – a Visitor described it in a letter as ‘Roaring Loudly’ – & his Interest in Musicians may be seen in a letter to the Earl of Dartmouth in 1804, asking for Lord Dartmouth’s interest on behalf of Andrew Loder, a Violin Player of Bath. The Family’s attachment to Amateur Theatricals led to the disastrous Fire which destroyed their Home: the House was filled with Guests for a Play to be performed on New Year’s Day 1814 when Fire broke out. This Fire was graphically described by Mrs Glanville, whose 1st Husband was Lord Charles Spencer’s grandson, Frederic Charles Spencer, Rector of Wheatfield.
Apart from the Eminent Families living at the Manor-House, Wheatfield is of interest on Account of the Learning of 2 of its Rectors, John Ellis in the 17thC & Henry Taylor in the 18thC.
OS Map – 1919 Sth Oxon XLV11-2 Stoke Talmage; Wheatfield & Adwell
Manor Estate – In 1086 a Manor at Wheatfield, assessed at 2-Hides, was part of Robert d’Oilly’s Fief. Subsequently, it was lost to the D’Oillys & by 1166 was in the Honour of Wallingford. Until the 19thC Wheatfield, as a Member 1st of Wallingford & then Ewelme Honour, attended the Honour Courts & paid 2s Cert money. The Demesne Tenant of Wheatfield in 1086 was a certain Peter, who also held 1-Hide in Lewknor of Robert d’Oilly & was perhaps the Peter who was Sheriff in the 1090s. He was one of Robert d’Oilly’s Knights & the Ancestor of the De Whitfield Family. Members of his Family are often found as Witnesses to D’Oilly Charters. Peter was succeeded by his son Robert (fl.1130-35) & by his grandson Geoffrey, probably by 1154. In 1166 Geoffrey was returned as Holding 2-Hides, i.e. Wheatfield Manor, of the Honour. His son Robert de Whitfield was a Royal Justice & Sheriff of Oxfordshire from 1182 to 1185. Robert may have been dead by 1193 & he certainly was by 1194 when Henry de Whitfield, his brother & Heir, owed 60-Marks as Relief for Robert’s Lands. This Henry, who was buried in Thame Abbey, probably died in 1226, when his son Elias paid 25s Relief & did Homage for his ¼-Fee in Wheatfield. Elias, a Knight, was still alive in 1243; his Heir was Henry de Whitfield, who was dead by 1264, leaving a young son Elias. It was this Elias who was Lord of Wheatfield in 1279. He also was a Knight & Lord of Bosmer Manor in Fawley (Bucks). He was still alive in 1289, but by 1300 had been succeeded by his son John, who was returned as Lord of Wheatfield in 1316.
There were 2–John de Whitfield’s: the Elder was probably the John de Whitfield who was an adherent of Thomas of Lancaster & was a Member of Parliament for the Shire & had died by c.1345; the other, also a Leading man in the County, was dead by 1361, when there was some dispute as to what should be done with the Manor. It was eventually Granted for life to the younger John’s widow Katherine, who married as her 2nd husband Lawrence de Lynford. On her death in 1390 Wheatfield was divided between her 1st husband’s Heirs. He had left 2-daughters, whose marriage the Black Prince, who then held the Honour of Wallingford, Granted in 1362 to Master John Streatley, one of his Officials & Dean of Lincoln. The Dean was a Member of the Streatley Family of Creslow (Bucks) & he immediately married Joan de Whitfield to Hugh Streatley, evidently a younger brother, since he did not Inherit the Streatley Lands. He thus became Lord of Wheatfield. Both Joan & Hugh were dead by 1390; their son Edmund Streatley was aged 17 & received his half of Wheatfield with the Advowson when he came of Age in 1393. His Share evidently included the Manor House, for Wheatfield became the Home of this Branch of the Streatleys.
Edmund Streatley was followed sometime after 1428 by John Streatley, who was still Alive in 1455 & by John’s son Thomas (d.1479). Thomas Streatley’s Heir was his uncle, Thomas Streatley, who was succeeded by his son John (d.1515) & by his grandson Edmund. Edmund was obliged to Mortgage Wheatfield in 1536 to William Body, which involved him in subsequent Litigation & at about the same time he Mortgaged & lost Bosmer. His son John later Mortgaged Wheatfield to Anthony Carleton, Esq, of Brightwell Baldwin. Edmund Streatley was alive in 1552, but both he & his son & Heir John were dead by 1568 when John’s Heirs claimed the Manor against Anthony Carleton. The Heirs were John’s 2-daughters: Margaret, who married 1stly Richard Lee & 2ndly, by 1571, William, a younger son of Sir Leonard Chamberlain of Shirburn & Elizabeth, the wife of Bartholomew Piggott the younger of Aston Rowant. In 1571 the Chamberlains & the Piggotts each held a Quarter of the Manor. Robert Lee, who was Living at Wheatfield in the 1570s & was the only Contributor to the Subsidy of 1577, may have been Margaret’s son. During these years this part of the Manor was the subject of a number of Chancery Suits, in which the Piggotts, the Lees, George Streatley, John’s brother & Anthony Carleton of Brightwell Baldwin all took part. They came to an end in about 1576, when Thomas Tipping, who was also to acquire the other half of the Manor, bought the Streatleys‘ half.
Meanwhile, in 1390, the other Moiety of Wheatfield Manor had been released to John de Whitfield’s 2nd daughter Elizabeth, probably the Elizabeth, wife of Reginald de Grey, mentioned in a Fine of 1377 by which half the Manor was Settled on the Grey’s. She evidently married as her 2nd husband Baldwin de Bereford, a prominent Knight & after his death in the early-15thC she held a Moiety of the Manor & Advowson until her own death in 1423. Her Heir was her daughter Maud (presumably the daughter of her 1st husband, for she did not Inherit the De Bereford Lands), the wife of John Barrow & in 1428 he Held 1/8-Fee in Wheatfield. The Barrows, whose name is spelt in many ways & eventually became Abarrow, lived at Charford (Hants), & their half of Wheatfield followed the Descent of that Manor until Sold in 1571 by Edward & Anthony Abarrow. In 1576 or 1577 it was bought by Thomas Tipping & the 2-halves of Wheatfield were United.
The Tippings were originally a Lancashire Family. Thomas, a younger son of William Tipping of Merton, bought a number of Manors in Berks, Bucks, & Oxon. On his death in 1601 they were divided among his 2-sons, George the Elder Inheriting Wheatfield & several other Manors. Since 1594 Sir George had been Living at Wheatfield & on his death in 1626, Wheatfield was Inherited by a young grandson Thomas, whose father John was already dead. Thomas, who was Knighted in 1660, lived until 1694. After the death of his Widow Elizabeth in 1698, their son Thomas, a Member of Parliament & the 1st Baronet to be created by William III, came into Possession of Wheatfield. He lived at Pyrgo in Havering (Essex), his wife’s Inheritance & died in 1718. His Oxon & Bucks Properties, heavily Mortgaged, were settled on his Widow & in 1727, after the death of her son Sir Thomas, with whom the Male Line of the Family came to an end, Wheatfield, Thomley & Worminghall were Sold to John Rudge. Rudge was a Member of a London Merchant Family & Member of Parliament for Evesham, who was in the fortunate position of having £26,000 left by his mother-in-law, Susannah Letten, for the Purchase of Landed Property.
John Rudge (d.1740) was succeeded by his son Edward, also Member for Evesham & a Member of the Royal Society. On Edward Rudge’s death without children in 1763 the Estate reverted to Mrs Letten’s Heirs at Law, who in 1769 Sold Wheatfield for £21,000 to Lord Charles Spencer, the 2nd son of the 3rd Duke of Marlborough & for 40-yrs Member for the County. His son John, who had married his cousin, Lady Elizabeth Spencer, succeeded him in 1820 & died in 1831 a few weeks after his eldest surviving son, Frederick Charles, Rector of Wheatfield. John Spencer’s young grandson, Charles Vere Spencer, was Heir to a heavily Mortgaged Estate; he was made a Ward of Chancery & much of the Family’s Land was Sold to preserve Wheatfield intact. He later became Rector of Wheatfield & was followed in 1898 as Lord of the Manor by his son Aubrey John Spencer (d.1935), Barrister-at-law & an Examiner of the High Court of Justice & then by his grandson, Lt-Col Aubrey Vere Spencer, DSO.
The Manor was never Coterminous with the Parish & 6½-Virgates of Wheatfield formed a Quarter of the South Weston Fee held by the Fitzwyth Family. From at least 1279, & very possibly from a much earlier date, the Lords of Wheatfield, the De Whitfield Family, were the Demesne Tenants of this Fee.
Aston Rowant & Chilterns Spring Line Villages 