BEGINNINGS
If ever the question, “What did the Romans do for us?” is put to the residents of Stony Stratford, the answer is simple and straightforward. They built the road. The way from London to Wroxeter which followed its present line was made soon after the Roman occupation and is now almost 2000 years old and for almost that whole length of time armies and civilians have perennially moved up and down the highway. Without it there would have been no opportunity for an inn trade nor any scope for the development of the town we came to call Stony Stratford. As we shall discover, there were many factors in the eventual development of the town and the thriving inn trade but the road is a starting point.
It is one of those random acts of decision-making that has a long-term impact on history. Had the Romans been less addicted to constructing roads that followed straight lines we might just as easily been talking about Passenham today. Passenham was always the older settlement, and could have been chosen because of its easy river crossing. The Romans didn’t do detours, so their road forged straight ahead, addressing whatever obstacle was in the way, in this instance taking them across the River Ouse at a wide crossing.
The road was built for military purposes. The Romans took their military conquests seriously and established a full government for the land they called Britannia and in order to keep the native population under control the Roman garrison needed to be able to move swiftly across the country. Roads were the answer, and we might observe from the fact that the Romans remained for 400 years that these communications links were very effective. Many of these roads fell into disuse over the centuries but this famous road, which in Saxon times became known as Watling Street, retained its function and line until the post war period, when the huge increase in motorised traffic necessitated the building of town by-passes and newer, more important roads.
Along the course of these roads the Romans established small military outposts to provide for the victualling of men and horses. These were known as mansiones and the keepers mancipes. They were official outposts whose sole purpose was to support the military force. We do not know if they were ever used to sustain the travelling public but the likelihood, given concerns about security, is that they were for the exclusive use of the Roman garrison. The next question, whether or not a local settlement grew up around the Mansio, is more difficult to answer.
Stony Stratford and Old Stratford are at a river’s crossing point and many people intuitively assumed that this would be an obvious spot for a Roman station. Many early historians eagerly adopted this view and up to the 19th century the conventional opinion, even recorded on maps, was that Lactodorum had to be Stony Stratford, or at the very least Old Stratford. However, 20th century research has firmly identified the site of Lactodorum with Towcester and no-one to date has found any substantial evidence of Roman occupation in either Stony or Old Stratford. The one journey along this road that was recorded, the march of the Emperor Antoninus to the south in at some point in the second century AD (the actual date is uncertain), records him marching from Bannavantum (Whilton Lodge) to Magiovintum (Dropshort - south of Fenny Stratford), a distance of 28 miles, without stopping overnight at Lactodorum (Towcester). This is scanty evidence but without any archaeological evidence to support the idea of a Roman settlement or camp on either side of the river, we must conclude from this that they were prepared to negotiate the river crossing of the Ouse and march on to either Magiovintum or Lactodorum and although one can argue for (and people have) a provisional resting place on either side of the River Ouse we must conclude that it was not significant in Roman times and it is unlikely that any tabernae were to be found here. It can also be noted that there were many river crossings along this road where the Romans did not trouble to build a settlement or camp. One might further observe that the Ouse crossing is at a mid point between Magiovintum, just to the south of Fenny Stratford and Lactodorum a distance of 16 miles. A party with laden wagons, travelling at, say, two miles an hour, could comfortably reach the Ouse from either place in the morning, cross the river, and reach an overnight stop in the afternoon.
Nevertheless they built the road and the road endured. Throughout the early middle ages it must have been well-enough used to form a boundary between all the manors on either side of the street. Calverton and Wolverton are good examples of this. Each are bounded by the River Ouse on the north and a line signified by Two Mile Ash in the south with the Watling Street as a division between them.
That there was probably no organised Roman settlement at or near the Ouse crossing gives us no reason to discount the possibility that some enterprising soul did not establish some kind of hostelry there in the early middle ages. There must have been travellers and travellers need sustenance. Some house near to the river on either side may have been established although we have no evidence of this. However, evidence from other parts of the empire tell us that tabernae were set up by enterprising individuals at points along these roads where there was sufficient traffic for money to be made. These tabernae are the ancestors of the medieval tavern. Whatever may have existed has been covered by centuries of development so this thought will remain speculation only.
We should also note that there were two ancient cross country roads in the district. These were ridgeways, high roads that generally took a line above the valley. Early travellers or drovers preferred to take the high road. They were generally drier and more passable in poor weather conditions and it was easier to keep a lookout for potential trouble. The road to the north followed a line above the valley from Buckingham to Old Stratford and from there following the contour above Haversham westwards. The southern route made its crossing at Gib Lane and took a westward line to Green Lane, part of which still survives.
It will be noticed that neither of these cross roads goes anywhere near the present site of Stony Stratford and intuitively one would expect to find any early traces of a mansio or taberna at either the Gib Lane crossing or the Old Stratford crossroads. No evidence has been discovered, which is not to say that no such place existed.
The first 1000 years of the history of inns in and around Stony Stratford is therefore a complete blank and we must fast forward to the great enterprise of William I, the Domesday survey of 1086. The record provides details about Wolverton and Calverton but is silent on Stony Stratford. What can we infer from this? Were there any roadside inns at the time of the survey? One ought to expect some provision. Those who moved goods up and down the road might expect to average 2 miles an hour which may have meant that 12 to 16 miles was a day’s journey. Travellers on foot and on horseback could do better but even so would need places of refreshment and overnight stay along the road. Were there such places in Calverton and Wolverton along the roadside? We may speculate.
Some writers have opined that towns like Stony Stratford were not mentioned because the Domesday commissioners were interested only in the land and the major tenancies. Burgesses, where they existed, counted for less. Professor Francis Hyde argued cogently that the relatively high assessments of Wolverton and Calverton in the Domesday book, compared to equivalent sized manors along the Ouse, may have been due to commercial activity along the Watling Street. There is some merit to this argument.
The Norman Conquest did actually change everything. The Wolverton manor at 1066 was divided between three thanes. Sometime after that it was one of the possessions of Manno le Breton, one of Williams supporters and one of some 200 magnates in the new realm. Calverton meanwhile was given to Hugh of Bolbec, in some ways a more important man than Manno; however Manno decided to make Wolverton the caput or head of his barony and thereafter Wolverton held more importance.
It is very difficult to construct a history for inns at Stony Stratford before the 12th century. While we have concluded that it was a sensible place to stop because of the river crossing, it must be noted that although river crossings can become a focus for communities this is not invariably the case. Other factors have to come into play.
The cross country ridgeways did not come anywhere near the later site of Stony Stratford and it is a curiosity that neither place formed the crux of a town settlement. What compelling reason could there be for east-west travellers to go a mile out of their way in search of accommodation?
The answer may lie in security. What transformed Wolverton in particular after 1066 was that a baron chose to established himself at Wolverton. This meant, whether he was in personal attendance or not, he maintained a few household knights to provide a continuous military presence in Wolverton. We know that at least two knights were maintained on the manor and this in addition would have led to the creation of a number of men skilled in the use of arms. This must have been a deterrent to highwaymen and footpads who might otherwise prey on travellers. The eventual site of Stony Stratford was in plain view of the castle at Wolverton. The road crossing at Gib Lane was out of sight and Old Stratford was beyond the baron’s control. This must have been a factor in its choice for roadside settlement.
In the 11th and 13th centuries two events made cross country travel through or near Stony Stratford necessary.
The Middle Ages were dominated by Christianity and the fervent desire of all to achieve salvation. The rich could achieve this through good works, such as building churches or priories and going on expensive pilgrimages to Jerusalem. The merchant classes, could make smaller bequests or travel on pilgrimages closer to home. These opportunities expanded and one such related to a woman who became known as The Lady of Walsingham. She was the Lady of the Manor of Walsingham Parva in Norfolk. Her name was Richeldis. In 1061 her devoted life of prayer and good works brought her a vision, in which she was taken by Mary and shown the house in Nazareth where the angel Gabriel had announced the birth of Jesus. Mary then urged Richeldis to build a replica of this house at Walsingham. Accordingly, the house was built and Walsingham acquired a reputation as England’s Nazareth.
As the news spread across the country Walsingham became a focal point for pilgrimage and travellers from the west tended to take a route that would bring them close to Stony Stratford. There was a rise in the number of pilgrimages in early medieval times. Although they have rather fallen out of fashion in western Europe, pilgimages were central in medieval times to one’s existence in a transitory life. The pilgrimage, for those who could afford it, was an important way to gain credit in the next life. A century after Richeldis a benefactor built a priory at Walsingham and the fame of the shrine grew, and this coincided with the beginnings of Stony Stratford.
The other significant event was the breakaway of Oxford scholars and their foundation of a new university at Cambridge in 1202. Any journey between the two centres of learning would take them close to Stony Stratford.
The confluence of these factors that led to the creation and growth of Stony Stratford. Certainly, by the end of the 12th century when a lord on the Calverton side is aggressively seeking a market charter, Stony Stratford was already a place.
In the late 12th century, the fog that surrounds Stony Stratford begins to lift. There are definite land transactions during the time of Hamon, the third Baron of Wolverton. They are undated, but the barony of Hamon prevailed between 1155 and his death in 1184 so theoretically they could have been made at any time during this period; however, given the speedy growth of Stony Stratford at the end of the century, the dates would probably be closer to 1184 than 1155. Three strips of land, each at one acre, were granted abutting the Watling Street. We don’t know their precise location but from the subsequent development of the town we might reasonably suppose that the town found its beginnings on land opposite St Giles church. The site of the Cock Hotel may well have been one of the earliest, a point we shall return to later. At the turn of the century Stony Stratford is mentioned in royal charters. This is without doubt the birth of medieval Stony Stratford.
So far, we have reasons for establishing hostelries at the roadside. The actual location is still puzzling. A logical location for any hostelry to service the needs of travellers would be a cross roads. Near Stony Stratford there are two, one at Gib Lane and another at Old Stratford. Neither one established itself, perhaps for the reason the reason given earlier. The land first allocated in strips in the 12th century was in the gift of the Baron of Wolverton and there must have been a preference for being close to the castle. Cross country travellers would have to make a slight detour which they were obviously prepared to do since the amenities were there and the site offered security at night.
Early medieval England had managed well enough without urban development. Urban centres like London. Winchester, York and Norwich were unusual. The majority of the country found its livelihood and social organization in agricultural villages. Circumstances changed towards the end of the 12th century after Henry II's long reign had brought peace and prosperity to the country. In these conditions trade increased and new market settlements started to emerge. Many places which later became large towns and cities owed their origin to this period. Improvement in trade brought traffic along the Watling Street, and it was obviously not too long before someone saw the commercial possibilities at the place we later came to call Stony Stratford.
One such was a man called Gilbert Bassett who was married to Egelina, daughter of Reginald de Courtenay, probably before 1194. Neither had an obvious connection to Stony Stratford until we discover that Egelina had first been married to Walter de Bolbec, Baron of Whitchurch. One of Walter's manors was Calverton and it is probable that part of the manor, approximately that part from the Calverton Road north to the river, had been given to Egelina in dower. Walter died in 1190 and as a widow with property Egelina would have been of great interest. Gilbert was the successful suitor.
The couple understood the economic potential of this neck of land and in the late 12th century there was money to be made through the establishment of a market. Because of the money involved, markets were restricted, and were only possible through a king's charter. This the couple sought, and first managed to get a charter under Richard's seal on 30th April 1194. It was granted at Portsmouth on one of the rare occasions that Richard I was in the country.
The lucrative potential of this market is underscored by the Bassett's anxiety about their charter, which must have cost them a good deal of money. The charter of 1194 was authenticated by the king's seal, but this seal had fallen into Austrian hands when Richard had been captured on his return from the Crusade. A new seal had since been made, but the Bassetts, fearing that their first charter might be open to legal challenge, took the precaution of seeking a second charter under the new seal. This was granted on 20th January 1199. And again, after John had succeeded to the throne, the couple acquired a third charter under John's seal on 21st March 1200. John, always on the lookout for additional revenue, was only too agreeable. The timing of the charters was no accident. Richard I’s reign was very expensive, beginning with his Crusade, continuing with his costly ransom and concluding at his untimely death with a huge military campaign in France. His brother John inherited an almost bankrupt treasury and was assiduous in finding ways to replenish it. An easy solution presented itself with the sale of rights to fairs and borough rights. An annual payment of £200 to King John from 1200 gave Southampton the right to self-government, together with the right to keep any surplus revenue. On a medieval scale this can be compared to the UK government’s sell-off of public utilities in the 1980s.
The date of 1194 offers an "official" date for Stony Stratford as an entity. Commercial settlement had preceded that date but now there was a critical mass of activity that made its recognition inevitable.
In the 13th century the new town grew quickly. By 1230 there were at least 19 plots in one acre or half acre strips abutting both sides of the street, coalescing into a recognisable town settlement. By the end of that century the number had increased to 29. Each plot would have buildings on it. Some of these would be inns and alehouses. The churches of St Mary Magdalen and St Giles can trace their foundation to these years, probably beginning as Chapels-of-ease for travellers, but as the town expanded served the local population. By the end of the 13th century both were fully fledged church buildings.
This new growth must have resulted in new wealth for Wolverton and Calverton. Travellers needed to be accommodated and victualled, horses required stabling and feeding. Some families could now support themselves in specialist trades and this period must opened opportunities for blacksmiths, wheelwrights, brewers, and innkeepers.
The new town did not acquire borough status. The separate ownership of land on both sides of the street may have posed barriers to such an arrangement. Wolverton controlled one side and Calverton the other. There were two lords and two parishes and as you can still see today the east and west side grew differently. The Wolverton side grew along the street in strips abutting the road and extending quite a distance to the east. They are thought to have been one acre each. The Calverton side appears to have grown around the Market Square, which was possibly the land first designated by Gilbert and Egelina Basset for their market. Similar field areas were later established, such as Horse Fair and Cow Fair (now Silver Street) and naturally buildings grew on all sides of these squares. There may have been a similar market area on the Wolverton side. If there was one such, it may have been in the field surrounding St Mary Magdalen church.
Over the years some form of town administration developed but Stony Stratford never achieved borough status.
If ever the question, “What did the Romans do for us?” is put to the residents of Stony Stratford, the answer is simple and straightforward. They built the road. The way from London to Wroxeter which followed its present line was made soon after the Roman occupation and is now almost 2000 years old and for almost that whole length of time armies and civilians have perennially moved up and down the highway. Without it there would have been no opportunity for an inn trade nor any scope for the development of the town we came to call Stony Stratford. As we shall discover, there were many factors in the eventual development of the town and the thriving inn trade but the road is a starting point.
It is one of those random acts of decision-making that has a long-term impact on history. Had the Romans been less addicted to constructing roads that followed straight lines we might just as easily been talking about Passenham today. Passenham was always the older settlement, and could have been chosen because of its easy river crossing. The Romans didn’t do detours, so their road forged straight ahead, addressing whatever obstacle was in the way, in this instance taking them across the River Ouse at a wide crossing.
The road was built for military purposes. The Romans took their military conquests seriously and established a full government for the land they called Britannia and in order to keep the native population under control the Roman garrison needed to be able to move swiftly across the country. Roads were the answer, and we might observe from the fact that the Romans remained for 400 years that these communications links were very effective. Many of these roads fell into disuse over the centuries but this famous road, which in Saxon times became known as Watling Street, retained its function and line until the post war period, when the huge increase in motorised traffic necessitated the building of town by-passes and newer, more important roads.
Along the course of these roads the Romans established small military outposts to provide for the victualling of men and horses. These were known as mansiones and the keepers mancipes. They were official outposts whose sole purpose was to support the military force. We do not know if they were ever used to sustain the travelling public but the likelihood, given concerns about security, is that they were for the exclusive use of the Roman garrison. The next question, whether or not a local settlement grew up around the Mansio, is more difficult to answer.
Stony Stratford and Old Stratford are at a river’s crossing point and many people intuitively assumed that this would be an obvious spot for a Roman station. Many early historians eagerly adopted this view and up to the 19th century the conventional opinion, even recorded on maps, was that Lactodorum had to be Stony Stratford, or at the very least Old Stratford. However, 20th century research has firmly identified the site of Lactodorum with Towcester and no-one to date has found any substantial evidence of Roman occupation in either Stony or Old Stratford. The one journey along this road that was recorded, the march of the Emperor Antoninus to the south in at some point in the second century AD (the actual date is uncertain), records him marching from Bannavantum (Whilton Lodge) to Magiovintum (Dropshort - south of Fenny Stratford), a distance of 28 miles, without stopping overnight at Lactodorum (Towcester). This is scanty evidence but without any archaeological evidence to support the idea of a Roman settlement or camp on either side of the river, we must conclude from this that they were prepared to negotiate the river crossing of the Ouse and march on to either Magiovintum or Lactodorum and although one can argue for (and people have) a provisional resting place on either side of the River Ouse we must conclude that it was not significant in Roman times and it is unlikely that any tabernae were to be found here. It can also be noted that there were many river crossings along this road where the Romans did not trouble to build a settlement or camp. One might further observe that the Ouse crossing is at a mid point between Magiovintum, just to the south of Fenny Stratford and Lactodorum a distance of 16 miles. A party with laden wagons, travelling at, say, two miles an hour, could comfortably reach the Ouse from either place in the morning, cross the river, and reach an overnight stop in the afternoon.
Nevertheless they built the road and the road endured. Throughout the early middle ages it must have been well-enough used to form a boundary between all the manors on either side of the street. Calverton and Wolverton are good examples of this. Each are bounded by the River Ouse on the north and a line signified by Two Mile Ash in the south with the Watling Street as a division between them.
That there was probably no organised Roman settlement at or near the Ouse crossing gives us no reason to discount the possibility that some enterprising soul did not establish some kind of hostelry there in the early middle ages. There must have been travellers and travellers need sustenance. Some house near to the river on either side may have been established although we have no evidence of this. However, evidence from other parts of the empire tell us that tabernae were set up by enterprising individuals at points along these roads where there was sufficient traffic for money to be made. These tabernae are the ancestors of the medieval tavern. Whatever may have existed has been covered by centuries of development so this thought will remain speculation only.
We should also note that there were two ancient cross country roads in the district. These were ridgeways, high roads that generally took a line above the valley. Early travellers or drovers preferred to take the high road. They were generally drier and more passable in poor weather conditions and it was easier to keep a lookout for potential trouble. The road to the north followed a line above the valley from Buckingham to Old Stratford and from there following the contour above Haversham westwards. The southern route made its crossing at Gib Lane and took a westward line to Green Lane, part of which still survives.
It will be noticed that neither of these cross roads goes anywhere near the present site of Stony Stratford and intuitively one would expect to find any early traces of a mansio or taberna at either the Gib Lane crossing or the Old Stratford crossroads. No evidence has been discovered, which is not to say that no such place existed.
The first 1000 years of the history of inns in and around Stony Stratford is therefore a complete blank and we must fast forward to the great enterprise of William I, the Domesday survey of 1086. The record provides details about Wolverton and Calverton but is silent on Stony Stratford. What can we infer from this? Were there any roadside inns at the time of the survey? One ought to expect some provision. Those who moved goods up and down the road might expect to average 2 miles an hour which may have meant that 12 to 16 miles was a day’s journey. Travellers on foot and on horseback could do better but even so would need places of refreshment and overnight stay along the road. Were there such places in Calverton and Wolverton along the roadside? We may speculate.
Some writers have opined that towns like Stony Stratford were not mentioned because the Domesday commissioners were interested only in the land and the major tenancies. Burgesses, where they existed, counted for less. Professor Francis Hyde argued cogently that the relatively high assessments of Wolverton and Calverton in the Domesday book, compared to equivalent sized manors along the Ouse, may have been due to commercial activity along the Watling Street. There is some merit to this argument.
The Norman Conquest did actually change everything. The Wolverton manor at 1066 was divided between three thanes. Sometime after that it was one of the possessions of Manno le Breton, one of Williams supporters and one of some 200 magnates in the new realm. Calverton meanwhile was given to Hugh of Bolbec, in some ways a more important man than Manno; however Manno decided to make Wolverton the caput or head of his barony and thereafter Wolverton held more importance.
It is very difficult to construct a history for inns at Stony Stratford before the 12th century. While we have concluded that it was a sensible place to stop because of the river crossing, it must be noted that although river crossings can become a focus for communities this is not invariably the case. Other factors have to come into play.
The cross country ridgeways did not come anywhere near the later site of Stony Stratford and it is a curiosity that neither place formed the crux of a town settlement. What compelling reason could there be for east-west travellers to go a mile out of their way in search of accommodation?
The answer may lie in security. What transformed Wolverton in particular after 1066 was that a baron chose to established himself at Wolverton. This meant, whether he was in personal attendance or not, he maintained a few household knights to provide a continuous military presence in Wolverton. We know that at least two knights were maintained on the manor and this in addition would have led to the creation of a number of men skilled in the use of arms. This must have been a deterrent to highwaymen and footpads who might otherwise prey on travellers. The eventual site of Stony Stratford was in plain view of the castle at Wolverton. The road crossing at Gib Lane was out of sight and Old Stratford was beyond the baron’s control. This must have been a factor in its choice for roadside settlement.
In the 11th and 13th centuries two events made cross country travel through or near Stony Stratford necessary.
The Middle Ages were dominated by Christianity and the fervent desire of all to achieve salvation. The rich could achieve this through good works, such as building churches or priories and going on expensive pilgrimages to Jerusalem. The merchant classes, could make smaller bequests or travel on pilgrimages closer to home. These opportunities expanded and one such related to a woman who became known as The Lady of Walsingham. She was the Lady of the Manor of Walsingham Parva in Norfolk. Her name was Richeldis. In 1061 her devoted life of prayer and good works brought her a vision, in which she was taken by Mary and shown the house in Nazareth where the angel Gabriel had announced the birth of Jesus. Mary then urged Richeldis to build a replica of this house at Walsingham. Accordingly, the house was built and Walsingham acquired a reputation as England’s Nazareth.
As the news spread across the country Walsingham became a focal point for pilgrimage and travellers from the west tended to take a route that would bring them close to Stony Stratford. There was a rise in the number of pilgrimages in early medieval times. Although they have rather fallen out of fashion in western Europe, pilgimages were central in medieval times to one’s existence in a transitory life. The pilgrimage, for those who could afford it, was an important way to gain credit in the next life. A century after Richeldis a benefactor built a priory at Walsingham and the fame of the shrine grew, and this coincided with the beginnings of Stony Stratford.
The other significant event was the breakaway of Oxford scholars and their foundation of a new university at Cambridge in 1202. Any journey between the two centres of learning would take them close to Stony Stratford.
The confluence of these factors that led to the creation and growth of Stony Stratford. Certainly, by the end of the 12th century when a lord on the Calverton side is aggressively seeking a market charter, Stony Stratford was already a place.
In the late 12th century, the fog that surrounds Stony Stratford begins to lift. There are definite land transactions during the time of Hamon, the third Baron of Wolverton. They are undated, but the barony of Hamon prevailed between 1155 and his death in 1184 so theoretically they could have been made at any time during this period; however, given the speedy growth of Stony Stratford at the end of the century, the dates would probably be closer to 1184 than 1155. Three strips of land, each at one acre, were granted abutting the Watling Street. We don’t know their precise location but from the subsequent development of the town we might reasonably suppose that the town found its beginnings on land opposite St Giles church. The site of the Cock Hotel may well have been one of the earliest, a point we shall return to later. At the turn of the century Stony Stratford is mentioned in royal charters. This is without doubt the birth of medieval Stony Stratford.
So far, we have reasons for establishing hostelries at the roadside. The actual location is still puzzling. A logical location for any hostelry to service the needs of travellers would be a cross roads. Near Stony Stratford there are two, one at Gib Lane and another at Old Stratford. Neither one established itself, perhaps for the reason the reason given earlier. The land first allocated in strips in the 12th century was in the gift of the Baron of Wolverton and there must have been a preference for being close to the castle. Cross country travellers would have to make a slight detour which they were obviously prepared to do since the amenities were there and the site offered security at night.
Early medieval England had managed well enough without urban development. Urban centres like London. Winchester, York and Norwich were unusual. The majority of the country found its livelihood and social organization in agricultural villages. Circumstances changed towards the end of the 12th century after Henry II's long reign had brought peace and prosperity to the country. In these conditions trade increased and new market settlements started to emerge. Many places which later became large towns and cities owed their origin to this period. Improvement in trade brought traffic along the Watling Street, and it was obviously not too long before someone saw the commercial possibilities at the place we later came to call Stony Stratford.
One such was a man called Gilbert Bassett who was married to Egelina, daughter of Reginald de Courtenay, probably before 1194. Neither had an obvious connection to Stony Stratford until we discover that Egelina had first been married to Walter de Bolbec, Baron of Whitchurch. One of Walter's manors was Calverton and it is probable that part of the manor, approximately that part from the Calverton Road north to the river, had been given to Egelina in dower. Walter died in 1190 and as a widow with property Egelina would have been of great interest. Gilbert was the successful suitor.
The couple understood the economic potential of this neck of land and in the late 12th century there was money to be made through the establishment of a market. Because of the money involved, markets were restricted, and were only possible through a king's charter. This the couple sought, and first managed to get a charter under Richard's seal on 30th April 1194. It was granted at Portsmouth on one of the rare occasions that Richard I was in the country.
The lucrative potential of this market is underscored by the Bassett's anxiety about their charter, which must have cost them a good deal of money. The charter of 1194 was authenticated by the king's seal, but this seal had fallen into Austrian hands when Richard had been captured on his return from the Crusade. A new seal had since been made, but the Bassetts, fearing that their first charter might be open to legal challenge, took the precaution of seeking a second charter under the new seal. This was granted on 20th January 1199. And again, after John had succeeded to the throne, the couple acquired a third charter under John's seal on 21st March 1200. John, always on the lookout for additional revenue, was only too agreeable. The timing of the charters was no accident. Richard I’s reign was very expensive, beginning with his Crusade, continuing with his costly ransom and concluding at his untimely death with a huge military campaign in France. His brother John inherited an almost bankrupt treasury and was assiduous in finding ways to replenish it. An easy solution presented itself with the sale of rights to fairs and borough rights. An annual payment of £200 to King John from 1200 gave Southampton the right to self-government, together with the right to keep any surplus revenue. On a medieval scale this can be compared to the UK government’s sell-off of public utilities in the 1980s.
The date of 1194 offers an "official" date for Stony Stratford as an entity. Commercial settlement had preceded that date but now there was a critical mass of activity that made its recognition inevitable.
In the 13th century the new town grew quickly. By 1230 there were at least 19 plots in one acre or half acre strips abutting both sides of the street, coalescing into a recognisable town settlement. By the end of that century the number had increased to 29. Each plot would have buildings on it. Some of these would be inns and alehouses. The churches of St Mary Magdalen and St Giles can trace their foundation to these years, probably beginning as Chapels-of-ease for travellers, but as the town expanded served the local population. By the end of the 13th century both were fully fledged church buildings.
This new growth must have resulted in new wealth for Wolverton and Calverton. Travellers needed to be accommodated and victualled, horses required stabling and feeding. Some families could now support themselves in specialist trades and this period must opened opportunities for blacksmiths, wheelwrights, brewers, and innkeepers.
The new town did not acquire borough status. The separate ownership of land on both sides of the street may have posed barriers to such an arrangement. Wolverton controlled one side and Calverton the other. There were two lords and two parishes and as you can still see today the east and west side grew differently. The Wolverton side grew along the street in strips abutting the road and extending quite a distance to the east. They are thought to have been one acre each. The Calverton side appears to have grown around the Market Square, which was possibly the land first designated by Gilbert and Egelina Basset for their market. Similar field areas were later established, such as Horse Fair and Cow Fair (now Silver Street) and naturally buildings grew on all sides of these squares. There may have been a similar market area on the Wolverton side. If there was one such, it may have been in the field surrounding St Mary Magdalen church.
Over the years some form of town administration developed but Stony Stratford never achieved borough status.
In 1283, a few miles down the road at Dunstable, the Prior of Dunstable supervised the installation a large mechanical clock. It was designed to signal the regular divisions of the day for those in holy orders. The word clock derive from the French word cloche, which means bell. This elaborate timepiece had an audible signal. Most people had little need for a clock. The rhythms of the day were determined by the rising and the setting of the sun. Work started at daybreak and finished with the setting of the sun. The regular division of the day into hours and minutes was probably of little concern. The regular division of time would not matter to the inhabitants of Stony Stratford until regular stage coaches became a feature of Stony’s life.
The mechanical clock was symbolic of a new age. Mechanical devices were being applied to make work and warfare easier and more successful. The clock was perhaps the most sophisticated of these, but two centuries later Leonardo da Vinci was to fill his notebooks with drawings of devices that could evolutionize human affairs.
As 1300 began the new century the population of England had swelled to 5 million from perhaps a million and a half at the end of the 11th century. The bubonic plague that spread through Western Europe after 1348 wiped out as much as 40% of the population. This meant that after 1349 England’s population fell back to 3 million. It was not to recover until the 18th century.
Its social and economic impact was to free the bond between the agricultural worker and his lord. These ties had already been loosening but the extreme labour shortage after 1349 meant that landlords could no longer depend on feudal ties (land for service) and had to pay wages in order to get their crops sown and harvested.. This added to the economic life of the newish towns such as Stony Stratford. The introduction of more money into the economy meant that a villein working on the manor at Furtho could give that up and go to work, for pay, as an ostler in Stony Stratford. Or better still, find plentiful work as a farrier.
There is evident growth in Stony Stratford during this century. Two churches had been built at the close of the 13th century and the population were clearly able to support these two foundations. The record of Grilkes Herber in 1317 suggests to us that the town may have extended to its northern limit, at least on the west side.
By accident, one record from the 14th century does survive.
It's in Latin. The deed relates to the transfer of rights to the fish ponds between the Stony Stratford bridge and "Grilkes Herber" from John le Forester to Sir John de Wolverton. It is dated in the tenth year of the reign of Edward II, which makes it 1317. The fish ponds were on the west side of the High Street and Sr John was keen to get some control of land on that side. Grilkes Herber is named in the deed to help locate that land in question, and it is not part of the sale. However either the de Wolvertons of the Longuevilles must have acquired Grilkes Herber because it does appear in the particular of the Wolverton manor in 1713 under the name of “Gregg’s Arbour.”
So from this casual reference we can infer that there was an inn near to the river, probably on the very north edge of the town. The word herber probably derives in this case from the French word to mean an inn - now auberge. "Grilke" is probably Grik or Gryk and about this time there is a Thomas le Gryk who appears as a witness to documents dated 1206 and 1304.
There is a consensus that this inn was most likely on the site of the house which used to be The Barley Mow. Some partial excavation has revealed some medieval foundations although it has to be said that a full excavation has not been undertaken. In 1713 this piece of land was still in the hands of Sir Edward Longueville and known as Gregg's Arbour. Shortly after it was leased to William Perry, the miller, with rights to moor boats. There is no indication that this included any buildings, so if there still was an inn here, it must have been separated from the land at some point.
There is not sufficient evidence to say that there has been an inn continuously on this site since the middle ages. An inn called The Angel may have been here in 1677 according to Sir Frank Markham, although he does not say where he found this reference. The licensing records for the latter half of the 18th century identify two houses called The Angel from 1753 onwards. One of these was at 11 High Street, so it is fair to assume that the second was at 185 High Street. Towards the end of the century this house adopted the name of Barley Mow. Except that there was still a barley Mow on the Market Square at the time so this became the New Barley Mow which the Old Barley Mw remained in business. The confusion came to an end when the Old Barley Mow was auctioned in 1810.
The building below, plainly 19th century, was The Barley Mow for many years but is now a private residence.
Given the location of the Cock Hotel at the very heart of Stony Stratford it is not too outlandish to claim this as the earliest of the known medieval inns. The plot of land was probably one of the three that was granted by Baron Hamon at some time in the years around 1180. The southernmost of these three is also the sir of the Bull, but we have some difficulty here. The earliest known record dates to 1619 where there is a reference to The Bulls Head and a record from 1710 which speaks of the Bull being established 80 years earlier, placing its foundation around 1630. Either way it looks like an early 17th century foundation under that name. There may have been, and probably was, another establishment on the same land under a different name from an earlier date.. We do not know. What is clear from the 18th century documents is that the land had always been leased by the lord of the manor. None of the inns on the eastern side owned their own land, with the single exception of the Cock. We can only conclude, in the absence of a single written record, that the land was granted outright at some date before the 13th century when records survive. The land on which The Cock sits was granted to someone, possibly one of the baron’s household retainers in the latter part of the 12th century.
Now whether or not it started out as an inn is an open question. Its place on the road would certainly have caused passing travellers to knock at the door and enquire about accommodation and so it may have become quickly apparent to the owners that opening a hostelry was a good idea. It should be noted that this plot was at the most one acre and at a time when 30 acres was considered a viable unit for a prosperous peasant family this one acre would scarcely have been of much use unless it was used to generate inn trade. It seems probable then that improving trade in England at that period led the first owners to establish an inn on that site. If so then this place marks the starting point of Stony Stratford. All subsequent development, on both sides, radiates from this point. We can only offer some informed speculation
But there is a long period, until 1429 in fact, until we find any solid documentary evidence that there was an inn under the name of the Cock in Stony Stratford. It is therefore only possible to develop a plausible scenario from other evidence. Nothing is conclusive.
The Gough map, so named after the man who owned it when it was revealed in the 18th century has been dated to the latter part of the reign of Edward III. It is in essence a road map, showing by straight lines the connecting roads between important places. Of interest to us is the identification of Stony Stratford. The road is a straight line from London, through St Albans, Dunstable and Stratford, where it branches to Northampton and Buckingham. Woburn Chapel is also marked on the map, off the road, but indicated as a place to stay. We don’t know the purpose of the map, but if it was used as a guide for medieval travellers, then we can assume from this that Stony Stratford was of some importance.
We know that the restless King John stayed there for two or three nights in 1217, very early in the new life of the infant town. It would hardly become a stopover unless the town could provide for a large royal entourage, which apart from feeding and accommodating a large body of people would have to stable and provide pasture for the horses. Even in those early days of Stony Stratford’s life it was considered suitable to accommodate a king and his retinue. Later in the century the funeral cortege of Queen Eleanor also stopped overnight in Stony Stratford, confirming that it was already able to accommodate large numbers.
It is therefore not too outlandish to suppose that the main inn sites were established by the end of the 13th century - these would include the White Horse, the Cross Keys, The Horseshoe, The Swan, The Cock and the forerunner of the Bull, not necessarily under these name of course but places with accommodation. Smaller houses, such as Grilkes Herber may also have been open for business. It is worth asking why, apart from the almost accidental reference to Grilkes Herber, there is no early record?
The legal deeds that were preserved from the middle of the 13th century by the Wolverton Manor were only interested in transactions where there was, in effect, a sale. There are no deeds to records leases or rentals. Rentals were probably recorded elsewhere in a sort of ledger but the property always remained in the hands of the lord of the manor. Since these were accounting records rather than legal documents they most likely became out-of-date and of no value and were thus disposed of. Land that had been granted prior to the 13th century, and the Cock might fit into this category, never appear in the deeds of the Lord of the manor. That transaction was over and done with and any further transfers of the property (which there must have been) were the responsibility of the owners (old and new) of the property. They may have had deeds but they were obviously less scrupulous about keeping them over the centuries and are now lost to us
So by the time we get to the 18th century where we do have detailed records of leases, the inns that are detailed are the ones on land which was never sold. Thus, for example, we have much more detail about the Bull in 1710 than the Cock.
The mechanical clock was symbolic of a new age. Mechanical devices were being applied to make work and warfare easier and more successful. The clock was perhaps the most sophisticated of these, but two centuries later Leonardo da Vinci was to fill his notebooks with drawings of devices that could evolutionize human affairs.
As 1300 began the new century the population of England had swelled to 5 million from perhaps a million and a half at the end of the 11th century. The bubonic plague that spread through Western Europe after 1348 wiped out as much as 40% of the population. This meant that after 1349 England’s population fell back to 3 million. It was not to recover until the 18th century.
Its social and economic impact was to free the bond between the agricultural worker and his lord. These ties had already been loosening but the extreme labour shortage after 1349 meant that landlords could no longer depend on feudal ties (land for service) and had to pay wages in order to get their crops sown and harvested.. This added to the economic life of the newish towns such as Stony Stratford. The introduction of more money into the economy meant that a villein working on the manor at Furtho could give that up and go to work, for pay, as an ostler in Stony Stratford. Or better still, find plentiful work as a farrier.
There is evident growth in Stony Stratford during this century. Two churches had been built at the close of the 13th century and the population were clearly able to support these two foundations. The record of Grilkes Herber in 1317 suggests to us that the town may have extended to its northern limit, at least on the west side.
By accident, one record from the 14th century does survive.
It's in Latin. The deed relates to the transfer of rights to the fish ponds between the Stony Stratford bridge and "Grilkes Herber" from John le Forester to Sir John de Wolverton. It is dated in the tenth year of the reign of Edward II, which makes it 1317. The fish ponds were on the west side of the High Street and Sr John was keen to get some control of land on that side. Grilkes Herber is named in the deed to help locate that land in question, and it is not part of the sale. However either the de Wolvertons of the Longuevilles must have acquired Grilkes Herber because it does appear in the particular of the Wolverton manor in 1713 under the name of “Gregg’s Arbour.”
So from this casual reference we can infer that there was an inn near to the river, probably on the very north edge of the town. The word herber probably derives in this case from the French word to mean an inn - now auberge. "Grilke" is probably Grik or Gryk and about this time there is a Thomas le Gryk who appears as a witness to documents dated 1206 and 1304.
There is a consensus that this inn was most likely on the site of the house which used to be The Barley Mow. Some partial excavation has revealed some medieval foundations although it has to be said that a full excavation has not been undertaken. In 1713 this piece of land was still in the hands of Sir Edward Longueville and known as Gregg's Arbour. Shortly after it was leased to William Perry, the miller, with rights to moor boats. There is no indication that this included any buildings, so if there still was an inn here, it must have been separated from the land at some point.
There is not sufficient evidence to say that there has been an inn continuously on this site since the middle ages. An inn called The Angel may have been here in 1677 according to Sir Frank Markham, although he does not say where he found this reference. The licensing records for the latter half of the 18th century identify two houses called The Angel from 1753 onwards. One of these was at 11 High Street, so it is fair to assume that the second was at 185 High Street. Towards the end of the century this house adopted the name of Barley Mow. Except that there was still a barley Mow on the Market Square at the time so this became the New Barley Mow which the Old Barley Mw remained in business. The confusion came to an end when the Old Barley Mow was auctioned in 1810.
The building below, plainly 19th century, was The Barley Mow for many years but is now a private residence.
Given the location of the Cock Hotel at the very heart of Stony Stratford it is not too outlandish to claim this as the earliest of the known medieval inns. The plot of land was probably one of the three that was granted by Baron Hamon at some time in the years around 1180. The southernmost of these three is also the sir of the Bull, but we have some difficulty here. The earliest known record dates to 1619 where there is a reference to The Bulls Head and a record from 1710 which speaks of the Bull being established 80 years earlier, placing its foundation around 1630. Either way it looks like an early 17th century foundation under that name. There may have been, and probably was, another establishment on the same land under a different name from an earlier date.. We do not know. What is clear from the 18th century documents is that the land had always been leased by the lord of the manor. None of the inns on the eastern side owned their own land, with the single exception of the Cock. We can only conclude, in the absence of a single written record, that the land was granted outright at some date before the 13th century when records survive. The land on which The Cock sits was granted to someone, possibly one of the baron’s household retainers in the latter part of the 12th century.
Now whether or not it started out as an inn is an open question. Its place on the road would certainly have caused passing travellers to knock at the door and enquire about accommodation and so it may have become quickly apparent to the owners that opening a hostelry was a good idea. It should be noted that this plot was at the most one acre and at a time when 30 acres was considered a viable unit for a prosperous peasant family this one acre would scarcely have been of much use unless it was used to generate inn trade. It seems probable then that improving trade in England at that period led the first owners to establish an inn on that site. If so then this place marks the starting point of Stony Stratford. All subsequent development, on both sides, radiates from this point. We can only offer some informed speculation
But there is a long period, until 1429 in fact, until we find any solid documentary evidence that there was an inn under the name of the Cock in Stony Stratford. It is therefore only possible to develop a plausible scenario from other evidence. Nothing is conclusive.
The Gough map, so named after the man who owned it when it was revealed in the 18th century has been dated to the latter part of the reign of Edward III. It is in essence a road map, showing by straight lines the connecting roads between important places. Of interest to us is the identification of Stony Stratford. The road is a straight line from London, through St Albans, Dunstable and Stratford, where it branches to Northampton and Buckingham. Woburn Chapel is also marked on the map, off the road, but indicated as a place to stay. We don’t know the purpose of the map, but if it was used as a guide for medieval travellers, then we can assume from this that Stony Stratford was of some importance.
We know that the restless King John stayed there for two or three nights in 1217, very early in the new life of the infant town. It would hardly become a stopover unless the town could provide for a large royal entourage, which apart from feeding and accommodating a large body of people would have to stable and provide pasture for the horses. Even in those early days of Stony Stratford’s life it was considered suitable to accommodate a king and his retinue. Later in the century the funeral cortege of Queen Eleanor also stopped overnight in Stony Stratford, confirming that it was already able to accommodate large numbers.
It is therefore not too outlandish to suppose that the main inn sites were established by the end of the 13th century - these would include the White Horse, the Cross Keys, The Horseshoe, The Swan, The Cock and the forerunner of the Bull, not necessarily under these name of course but places with accommodation. Smaller houses, such as Grilkes Herber may also have been open for business. It is worth asking why, apart from the almost accidental reference to Grilkes Herber, there is no early record?
The legal deeds that were preserved from the middle of the 13th century by the Wolverton Manor were only interested in transactions where there was, in effect, a sale. There are no deeds to records leases or rentals. Rentals were probably recorded elsewhere in a sort of ledger but the property always remained in the hands of the lord of the manor. Since these were accounting records rather than legal documents they most likely became out-of-date and of no value and were thus disposed of. Land that had been granted prior to the 13th century, and the Cock might fit into this category, never appear in the deeds of the Lord of the manor. That transaction was over and done with and any further transfers of the property (which there must have been) were the responsibility of the owners (old and new) of the property. They may have had deeds but they were obviously less scrupulous about keeping them over the centuries and are now lost to us
So by the time we get to the 18th century where we do have detailed records of leases, the inns that are detailed are the ones on land which was never sold. Thus, for example, we have much more detail about the Bull in 1710 than the Cock.