Eynsham, Oxfordshire - Genealogy Notes

Location and general description

Known as Ensham until the 19th C, Eynsham is a substantial village to the west of Oxford and 6km east of Witney, Oxon. It lies just north of the Thames. Nearby villages are Cassington to the East, Stanton Harcourt to the south and the Leighs (North and South) to the West.

Buildings

The Manor

In 1653 Thomas JORDAN, a Witney clothier purchased the furze and bushes on Eynsham heath ['Eynsham: Manor']. In the same year a parliamentary committee that held the former STANLEY interest in Eynsham, transferred that, together with the interest of Sir Henry MARTEN to a group of men from Eynsham for the benefit of Thomas JORDAN [Wright, 1985,38]

In 1657 Thomas JORDAN purchased the rest of Eynsham ['Eynsham: Manor'].

On 2 Oct 1673, Michael MARTIN was granted stewardship over the Eynsham property of John JORDAN, Lord of the Manor of Ensham and Newland, Oxon (Hampshire Record Office: Knight Archive, 39M89/E/T100). This was John JORDAN of Witney, Oxon (-1692).

John's son Thomas JORDAN (-1716) heavily mortgaged the estate to Sir Robert JENKINSON of Walcot, Charlbury, Oxon. By 1714 JORDAN owed c. £2,500 and was clinging to the vain hope that the coal mining venture he had established on Eynsham heath would prove profitable.

Thomas JORDAN died in 1716 and in 1717 Henry PERROTT bought the mortgage.

In 1719 Thomas JORDAN's freehold of the Eynsham estate was sold to Henry PERROTT

Eynsham Hall

The hall was built by Willoughby LACEY, whose fortune came from the London theatre. His father James LACEY (-1744) part owned the Dury Lane Theatre with David GARRICK.

Eynsham Mill

On 1 May 1676 William WISE of Ensham, Oxon, yeoman mortgaged land called the Rymes to John JORDAN of Witney, Oxon, gent for 500 years for £40 and with a 1d rent. This land was noted as being used and occupied as part of the mill. (Oxford Records Office, Blake/I/iv/1).

The mill was converted to paper production in 1682 and the history of Eynsham Papermill involves surnames such as HAGAR, MEALES, KEY and FAICHEN.

People

The JORDAN family

The JORDAN family of Witney, Oxon (a branch of the JORDANs of Fulbrook, Oxon and Burford, Oxon) held manorial rights in Eynsham. The JORDAN were involved in an unsuccessful attempt to mine coal from Eynsham Heath.

The HATTON family

From the reign of James 1 (1566-1625) there is a chancery proceeding, undated in the index, in which the plaintiff, Joan late wife and executrix of Timothy HATTON, brings a case against Benedict HATTON and Thomas and Roger HATTON, concerning messuages in Oxford and lands in Eynsham [Chancery Proceedings, 1922, 1:n.p., Ref. H26.24]. The same Joan may be mentioned in another action from the same reign in which the plaintiff Nicholas Benson brings a case against Joan HATTON concerning the personal estate of Timothy HATTON. The name of Benedict HATTON is associated with the villages of Charlbury, Noke and Fritwell in the seventeenth century, whilst that of Timothy, Thomas and Roger HATTON are found amongst the children of Roger HATTON of St Antholin (c1592-1637/8).

A handful of HATTON register entries from Eynsham, St Leonard may relate to children or relatives of Thomas HATTON of Widford, Oxon.

7 Aug 1737, burial of Elizabeth HATTON
14 Aug 1737, christening of Elizabeth HATTON, daughter of Thomas & Hannah [note that this and the previous date look as if they may have been transposed in the transcription that was examined, the original has yet to be checked]
23 Jul 1738, christening of Edward HATTON, son of Thomas & Hannah
1[4?] Sep 1740, christening of James HATTON, son of Thomas & Alice
7 Nov 1741, burial of Hannah HATTON

The christening and burial dates for Elizabeth HATTON look as if they may have been transposed at some point (though they were that way round in the register transcription I was using).

The burial for Hannah HATTON in 1741 is that of Mrs Hannah HATTON, the wife of Thomas. The grave is part of a group of tombs for members of the LORD family, thus providing strong evidence that this was the grave of Hannah LORD who married
Thomas HATTON in nearby Stanton Harcourt, Oxon. Monumental Inscription, for grave number C113, in the list published by
"In memory of / Hannah the wife of / Tho^s HATTON who / Departed this life Nov^r / the 14^th 1741 / Aged 29 / Also five of their children / who died in their infancy //"
As Hannah's monument is near to others from the LORD family, this appears to be the grave of Hannah HATTON, nee LORD. Thus, either the transcription of the date of burial in the register or that of the monument must be incorrect.

The LACY (aka LACEY) family

The LACY family built Eynsham Hall and may have been involved in the JORDANs coal mining enterprises. The father of Willourby LACY was stage manager at Covent Garden and later a co-patentee with David GARRICK of the Drury Lane theatre (in which Col Thomas HATTON of Saville Row, St James, Westminster owned shares).

The LORD family

In 1791 the Universal British Directory entry for Eynsham listed 'Lord James, (F.) Farmer'.

There is a small group of LORD burials in the churchyard, comprising a single chest tomb and a number of graves with headstones.

Bibliography

Index of Chancery Proceedings (Series 1) Preserved in the Public Record Office; James I. 2 Vols. No 47 in Public Records Office; Lists and Indexes. London:Public Records Office, 1922.
Monumental Inscriptions at the Parish Church of Saint Leonard, Eynsham (Oxford: Oxford Family History Society, 2002), 60.
WRIGHT, Lilian, "The Stanleys of Eynsham," The Eynsham Record; Journal of the Eynsham History Group, Number 2 (Eynsham History Group, 1985), pp. 32-38
'Eynsham: Manor', A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 12: Wootton Hundred (South) including Woodstock (1990), Victoria County History, pp. 120-23. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.asp?compid=1586.
'Eynsham: Economic history', A History of the County of Oxford: Volume 12: Wootton Hundred (South) including Woodstock (1990), pp. 127-142. URL: http://www.british-history.ac.uk/report.aspx?compid=10695. Date accessed: 06 May 2008.