Medieval village, Ingatestone (EHER 5376)

Ingatestone village can be traced back to Domesday book in 1066 but is likely or earlier origin, as indicated by Anglo-Saxon finds (see EHER 5289). It has a well documented history of ownership under St Mary's Abbey of Barking. A series of maps give a good representation of the nature and extent of the village at the end of the medieval period.

Ingatestone village area. A plan of the village dated 1600-1601 gives a clear indication of house plans and facades. "Best documented late medieval village in the county". <1> <2> Copy of 1600-1601 map in EHER. <2> The place-name evidence suggests that Ingatestone and Fryerning formed part of a large Saxon estate known as Inga or Ginga. Five Anglo-Saxon pennies dating to around 875-880 were recorded from the Ingatestone area in 1896 (EHER 5289) attesting to Saxon activity in the area. By the later Saxon period the manor of Ingatestone belonged to St Mary's Abbey, Barking. The Abbey had been founded in 666, however Ingatestone does not appear in the 692 survey of the Abbey's possessions and it is thought that the area may have been granted to them in around 950 when King Edgar re-established the Abbey following its sacking by the Danes in 870. The Domesday Book records Ingatestone in 1066 when the Abbey's manor covered 3½ hides and 10 acres (approximately 400 acres), there was a total of 10 households and presumably a steward and staff for the Abbey's manor-house. There was sufficient woodland for 500 pigs but only 20 pigs were actually kept, other livestock included one horse, 9 cattle and 16 sheep, the horse presumably belonged to the Abbey or the single Freeman on the manor. It is thought that the original manor held by Barking Abbey consisted of the area to the south-east of the Stock Lane and High Street junction, between the High Street and Ingatestone Hall, bounded by the River Wid. It is probable that the manor house was located on the site of the later Ingatestone Hall. The Church of St Mary and St Edmund is probably also Saxon in origin, certainly the dedication to St Edmund (the martyred Saxon king) suggests a Saxon origin whilst the dedication to St Mary reflects the church's affiliation to St Mary's Abbey. It is not known whether the 10 households which comprised the population of Ingatestone were scattered throughout the manor, clustered around the manor house or sited along the main road, as was the case in the medieval period. Fryerning comprised three separate manors prior to 1066, with a total of 25 households including that of the thegns or manorial lords. In area Fryerning covered 7 hides and 4 acres. There was in total 4 plough-teams, 15 cattle, 48 sheep, 1 cob and 42 pigs, although there was woodland for 540 pigs. It is not known which of the three manors held the land that adjoined the main road at Ingatestone. St Mary's Abbey, Barking still held the manor of Ingatestone following the Norman Conquest, whilst the three manors of Fryerning came under the control of Robert Gernon who in turn sub-let two of them to Ilger and William. Gernon's property passed into the hands of the Mountfitchet family; Gilbert Mountfitchet in 1167-1168 or 1175 (Cambridge Peterhouse Ms. 62.2) gave part of Fryerning to the Knights Hospitallers. In 1289 the Knights Hospitallers were granted the right to hold a market every Saturday at Ingatestone and a three day annual fair (PRO Rot. Cart. 17 ed. 1). A medieval pottery industry was sited at Mill Green in the northern half of Ingatestone parish, which exported pottery in large quantities to London. The maps by the Walker family compiled in 1600-1601 and 1605 give a good representation of the nature and extent of Ingatestone at the end of the medieval period. The village is shown as houses sited on either side of the main road with the church sited on the south-eastern corner of the Stock Lane (Rey Bridge Lane)/High Street junction, There were a number of dwellings on either side of Stock Lane (Rey Bridge Lane) also. The market, which consisted of a widening of the main road was sited to the south of the church. There was a row of single storey cottages located on the edges of the churchyard, between it and the main road. <3> <4>