local history in brief

In Saxon times Hamstead Marshall was a cluster of dwellings above the southern bank of the river. Little is known of this settlement because no records survive from this era. However Hamstead appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, when it is in the hands of a Norman called Hugolin the Steersman. The population was counted as four villeins, eight smallholders (three with ploughs) and 10 slaves. The mill was also noted.

Over the next 200 years Hamstead became important as the seat of the Earl Marshal, the monarch's chief adviser and administrator. The manor of Hamstead was owned by several of these title-holders in succession, during which time the park was enclosed and a wooden motte-and-bailey castle built. The church was also established, initially as an offshoot of Kintbury's parish church, but from 1241 as a parish church in its own right. Several medieval kings of England were known to have visited their Earls Marshal at Hamstead.

During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the village centre expanded from around the church and mill to additional sites in what are now Chapel Corner, the Kintbury Road and Holtwood. It was probably the poor quality of local farmland that caused the village to grow in this pattern of dispersed settlements. Irish Hill (counted as a separate manor in Domesday, but incorporated into the parish of Hamstead soon after) remained as a distinct community in the north-western corner of the parish.

In the early seventeenth century the manor was acquired by the Craven family, whose ownership continued without interruption until the mid-twentieth century. The first Earl of Craven was a close associate of the Stuart royal family, and the story of his romance with Elizabeth, sister of Charles I and one-time Queen of Bohemia, has entered local legend. The first earl's successors were less politically active, preferring field sports on their vast landholding, which grew to span several counties. The Craven Hunt and the original Newbury racemeetings were Craven-founded, not to mention the Craven-A cigarette brand.

In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the manor house in Hamstead Park was more often occupied by Craven widows than by Craven earls. Several of the title-holders died young, a trend which continued into the late twentieth century. Death duties took a heavy toll of the Craven fortune. In 1967 the manor house was leased to a nursing home, and in the following decade many smaller Craven-owned properties in Hamstead were sold off. In 1984 the rump of the Hamstead estate was put up for auction. The buyer re-sold several houses, farms and the fishery, but he retained the park and the manor house, which he reconverted to private occupation when the nursing home lease expired.

Today most of Hamstead's 267 residents are relatively recent incomers, and very few of them work on the land. There are however descendants of some of the former Craven tenant families living, if not in this village then close by. St Mary's Church, the village hall and the White Hart Inn continue to be well supported, and the village is still a predominantly farming environment.


			local history in brief
		Hamstead Marshall
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Your comments and questions are welcome. Send an email. Copyright Penelope Stokes 2011	In Saxon times Hamstead Marshall was a cluster of dwellings above the southern bank of the river. Little is known of this settlement because no records survive from this era. However Hamstead appears in the Domesday Book of 1086, when it is in the hands of a Norman called Hugolin the Steersman. The population was counted as four villeins, eight smallholders (three with ploughs) and 10 slaves. The mill was also noted. Over the next 200 years Hamstead became important as the seat of the Earl Marshal, the monarch's chief adviser and administrator. The manor of Hamstead was owned by several of these title-holders in succession, during which time the park was enclosed and a wooden motte-and-bailey castle built. The church was also established, initially as an offshoot of Kintbury's parish church, but from 1241 as a parish church in its own right. Several medieval kings of England were known to have visited their Earls Marshal at Hamstead. During the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries the village centre expanded from around the church and mill to additional sites in what are now Chapel Corner, the Kintbury Road and Holtwood. It was probably the poor quality of local farmland that caused the village to grow in this pattern of dispersed settlements. Irish Hill (counted as a separate manor in Domesday, but incorporated into the parish of Hamstead soon after) remained as a distinct community in the north-western corner of the parish. In the early seventeenth century the manor was acquired by the Craven family, whose ownership continued without interruption until the mid-twentieth century. The first Earl of Craven was a close associate of the Stuart royal family, and the story of his romance with Elizabeth, sister of Charles I and one-time Queen of Bohemia, has entered local legend. The first earl's successors were less politically active, preferring field sports on their vast landholding, which grew to span several counties. The Craven Hunt and the original Newbury racemeetings were Craven-founded, not to mention the Craven-A cigarette brand. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries the manor house in Hamstead Park was more often occupied by Craven widows than by Craven earls. Several of the title-holders died young, a trend which continued into the late twentieth century. Death duties took a heavy toll of the Craven fortune. In 1967 the manor house was leased to a nursing home, and in the following decade many smaller Craven-owned properties in Hamstead were sold off. In 1984 the rump of the Hamstead estate was put up for auction. The buyer re-sold several houses, farms and the fishery, but he retained the park and the manor house, which he reconverted to private occupation when the nursing home lease expired. Today most of Hamstead's 267 residents are relatively recent incomers, and very few of them work on the land. There are however descendants of some of the former Craven tenant families living, if not in this village then close by. St Mary's Church, the village hall and the White Hart Inn continue to be well supported, and the village is still a predominantly farming environment.

For a more detailed history of Hamstead Marshall see Craven Country, published in book form in 1996 and now out of print, but freely available online.