The Loughton Manors

The old boundaries of Loughton are defined by the Watling Street from Two Mile Ash to near Bleak Hall and forming boundaries with Simpson, Woolstone and Bradwell. There were approximately 1500 acres; under the Saxon system this was 10 hides. Whaddon Brook divides Loughton and this naturally led to two manors: Great Loughton to the north of the brook, including all the high pasture, and Little Loughton to the south.

The name probably derives from one Luha (Lucca). The "gh" in the word would indicate that it was at one time sounded and in the 13th century we have documents where the name is written phonetically - Geoffrey de Lucton. So it may have been named for Luha ing tun - Luha's farm enclosure.

In 1066 Great Loughton was split between five thanes and Little Loughton was in the hands of Aelfric, a Thane of King Edward. Obviously they were dispossessed and we can only speculate about these men and their families. Presumably they continued to work the land with diminished status.

The Domesday Book of 1086 records Great Loughton in the hands of one Ivo, who holds in in service to Walter Giffard, one of the magnates of William's reign. Little Loughton was part of the territory of Maigno, the Baron of Wolverton, who has given it to two unnamed men-at-arms for their service.

The overlordship of Loughton was vested in Walter Giffard and in his descendants, variously the Clares and Valences and subsequently in the late 13th and 14th century in the lords of Buckingham and in the 16th century the Bishop of Peterborough.

Not that this mattered much to the peasants working the land; one overlord was much the same as another. The lord of the manor probably did matter as he was the one who led the management of the estate. Without getting into too much detail the manor does seem to have passed from Ivo to his descendants until 1313 when it was acquired by one Henry Spigurnel. We don't know how. It could have been through marriage. There was similar continuity on the Manor on the other side of the brook until the 14th century when both manors came under the control of one Thomas de Loughton.

While there were two manors there were two churches, at least until 1409 when the two parishes were amalgamated. All Saints, the surviving church, dates back to at least 1219 but has been much modified and enlarged over the centuries.

The Manor Farm house dates to the 16th century and was probably the site of the farm house for the Little Loughton Manor before amalgamation. There were three other farms in the 19th and 20th century: Old Farm, Rectory Farm and Loughton Lodge Farm on the Bradwell Road. I suggest that Old Farm, even in the 20th century quite isolated east of the railway, may relate to Grteat Loughton Manor. Rectory Farm, on Common Lane, may have been established when some land was given to the Rectory in the 19th century. Loughton Lodge Farm may also have been a 19th century creation, although I can find little about it.