The ancient castle gave the distinguishing appellation, and its stately ruin constitutes one of the most interesting features of this beautiful rural village , which is surrounded by a country pleasantly diversified in its appearance, and rich in agricultural productions.

The village contains many good houses, and a large meeting-house belonging to a society of Independents. It is distant from Braintree nine, and from London forty-seven miles. One of the earls of Oxford established a weekly market here, on Mondays, in the reign of King John; which, according to Camden, was renewed, with a new charter, by Henry the Seventh; and three annual fairs were appointed, on the respective days of the invention of the Holy Cross, to which the nunnery was dedicated; St. James, the patron saint of the old church; and St. Nicholas, of the present church. The market has been a long time discontinued, but fairs are held yearly on the 14th of May, the 15th of August, and the 25th of October

The eminence on which the ruin of the castle is situated rises above the village, and, from its appearance, is believed to be partly of artificial formation, at least to some distance beyond the outworks of the fortress, which occupied an area of considerable extent; but the keep is the only part which, by its great strength and solidity, has effectually resisted the attacks of man and the ravages of time. The exact period of the building of this castle is not certainly known, yet its pure Anglo-Norman style of architecture, with its striking resemblance to Rochester Castle, and other buildings by Bishop Gundulph, is considered to be convincing evidence of its having been erected sometime between the years 1088 and 1107.

At the bottom , the walls are from eleven feet six inches, to twelve feet six inches in thickness; and, at the top , from nine feet six inches to ten feet. The eastern wall is thicker , by at least a foot, than any of the others ; so ordered , without doubt , to resist the stormy weather, which is known to be more generally prevalent in this country from that , than from any other quarter. Its form is a square , of nearly equal sides, on the east and west measuring about fifty - five feet, and, on the north and south, sixty-two. Its height, from the ground to the top of the square turrets , which rise at the corners , is at present one hundred and ten feet . There used to be four of these turrets , but only two are now seen to rise above the platform of the upper story; the battlements of both are destroyed , and the parapet - wall swept away . The materials of this building are flints and stones , imbedded in fluid mortar ; and square calcareous stones, handsomely wrought , and laid with great neatness and regularity, cover the whole of the outer surface.

These stones are believed to have been brought from the quarries at Barnack, in Northamptonshire, and seem to be formed of a mixture of minute shells and earth. The original entrance is on the western side, where a flight of stairs conducts to the principal door of the first story. On either side of this entrance, the grooves for the portcullis are yet to be seen; and about six feet from the entrance, on the north, there is a circular staircase , descending to the ground-floor , and ascending to the upper stories.

The interior consists of five stories, and was constructed with strict attention to security from external enemies. The ground-floor , displaying massive strength without ornament , received no light but from loop-holes, simple in their form , and only of sufficient dimensions to allow the discharge of offensive weapons from within ; * above , the windows increase in size , and are somewhat ornamented ; above these , the apertures are still larger, with similar embellishments ; in the next story , the windows are double , admitting more air and light; and in the upper or attic story , they are richly ornamented with the usual zigzag of that age ; thus, as the distance from danger was increased , the architect seems to have introduced into his structure air, light, and ornament . The entrance story is not only more lofty than the lower apartments, but the arches are somewhat more embellished, and the architecture is altogether of a lighter kind . The story next in succession is the armoury, or hall of audience and ceremony : this is a noble apartment , thirty - eight feet by thirty - one , exclusive of the space occupied by a gallery, by which it is sur- rounded . Its height , from the floor to the centre of the great arch, which extends across and supports the upper part, is twenty - one feet , and to the ceiling twenty - eight feet . The style of building here is still more embellished ; the bases and capitals of the pillars displaying more elaborate ornaments.

The ancient barons in this apartment used to receive the homage of their feudal tenants, and entertained their visitors in all the ostentatious hospitality of the times. Above is the attic , or uppermost floor ; and , last of all , the platform , commanding an extensive view of the surrounding country.

Near the loop-holes and windows, on most of the floors, there are recesses within the wall; supposed to have been sleeping places for the soldiers. Throughout the whole of this building , as in similar structures of the same age, we may observe that the ornaments of the imposts and bases of the same arch are made to differ from each other; and this singularity is a distinguishing characteristic of Anglo-Norman architecture.

The ballium, or inner court, in which the castle was inclosed , contained nearly three acres; and within it there were several towers and other buildings, which were erected by John de Vere, the thirteenth earl, soon after the battle of Bosworth Field; these were mostly destroyed by order of Edward, the seventeenth earl, in the year 1592; and the whole building was brought to its present ruinous condition during the first Dutch war, in 1666, to prevent the town being troubled with the prisoners taken in the sea-engagements, and the soldiers that would have been appointed for their guards , both of whom would have proved unwelcome guests . Governor.

This castle had a governor, or officer called a constable, who , besides his salary, had a meadow near the town, yet known by the name of Constable Meadow.
* There were three parks belonging to this castle : the park which extended to the town, and inclosed the castle, was named Castle Park; another, extending towards Gestingthorp, and containing six hundred acres, was named the Great Park; and a third, which was stocked with red deer, and was bounded on one side by the pond, was called the Little Park.
+ Cressals Farm was the lodge.

The lordship of Castle Hedingham was divided into the manors of Hedingham Borough, Hedingham Uplands , the manor of the Nunnery , and Kirby Hall manor . Of these , the three last are not distinguished from each other in the inquisitions post mortem , but comprehended under the name of the manor of Castle Hedingham , and it is not known at what time the other subdivisions took place . The courts of these manors are called at the same time in the market - house , and have distinct juries , ren- tals , and quit - rents . It was independent of all other lordships , and holden immediately of the crown , none of the lands belonging to any other person but the noble owners of the castle, who had no under tenants here except Nicholas Picard, and Nicholas Hawkwood, who held half a knight's fee under John, the seventh earl; and Edward Picard and Thomas Baret, the holders also of half a knight's fee, under the tenth earl, in 1399.

This lordship, which, in the time of Edward the Confessor, had belonged to a Saxon thane named Ulwine, * was given by the Norman Conqueror to Alberic de Vere, ancestor of the earls of Oxford of that name. The town of Vere, in Zealand, † Family of is supposed to have been the place whence the ancestors of this family derive de Vere. their surname, and where they had estates.

Alberic, the first of this family that came into England, was a man of fame, and one of William the Conqueror's generals, whose posterity flourished here, in the enjoyment of great riches, honour, and power, during a period of six hundred and thirty years. ‡

The first Alberic de Vere was rewarded by the Conqueror with fourteen lordships Alberic I. in Essex , § besides many others in different parts of the country.
He was the founder of Colne Priory, where, toward the close of life, he took the habit of a monk ; and where, on his death , in 1088 , he was buried in his son William's grave . By his wife, Beatrix, daughter of Henry Castellan, of Bourbourg, by Sibil, daughter and heiress of Manasses, count of Ghisnes, || he had Alberic, Geofrey , Roger , Robert , William , and a daughter named Roesia, married, first, to Pagan de Beauchamp, and afterwards to Geofrey de Mandeville, the first earl of Essex of that name. Alberic, the son of Alberic, was made great chamberlain of England by King Henry the First. In this reign he was also one of the chief justices; and, in 1140, in conjunction with Richard Basset, at that time justice of England, he executed the office of sheriff for the counties of Surrey, Cambridge, Huntingdon , Essex , Hertford , Northampton , Leicester , Norfolk , Suffolk , Buckingham , and Bedford: in the same year he was killed in London, in a popular tumult.¶ By his wife , Adeliza , daughter of Gilbert de Clare , he had three sons; Alberic, a second son , who was canon of St. Osyth's Priory , Robert , and two daughters ; Adeliza, married to Henry de Essex, and Juliana, married to Hugh Bigot, earl of Norfolk . * Alberic III . first earl . The third Alberic succeeded his father , and advocating the cause of Queen Maud , was rewarded by her with large grants , and high and honourable offices . He had confirmed to him all his father's estates , with the office of chamberlain . He had also given to him the lands of William de Abrincis ; the service of William de Helion , consisting of ten knights ; the lordship of Dedham ; the lands of William Peverel , at Thurrock ; of Solomon , the priest , at Tilbury ; and of Geofrey Talbot ; and to his bro- ther Robert , one barony . She also granted to Alberic the castle of Colchester and the chancellorship of England ; likewise the earldom of Cambridge , or his choice of the earldoms of Oxfordshire , Berkshire , Wiltshire , or Dorsetshire . + All these grants were afterwards confirmed to Alberic by King Henry the Second , Queen Maud's son , who also constituted him earl of Oxford , with the grant of the third penny of that county ; a perquisite formerly belonging to the English earldoms . He founded the nunneries of Hedingham , and of Jackledon , in the Isle of Ely . Being a partisan of King John , his castle was besieged by the barons , and taken by the French . This earl died in 1194 ; and his son Alberic , the second earl , died without issue , in 1214 . Robert , the third earl , and brother of Alberic , succeeded ; he was a soldier in the third earl . Holy Wars , as appeared from his effigy , which was cross - legged ; it was removed from Hatfield Priory into the choir of St. Paul's , where it was destroyed in the great fire of 1666. He was a liberal benefactor to the monks ; and it is supposed to have been this earl , on whose shield a star is said to have fallen from heaven , as he was fighting against the infidels . From this tradition , the family of Vere had a mullet added to their arms . Alberic IV.second earl . Robert I. Earl Robert , in right of his wife Isabel , was lord of the barony of Bolbec , which descended to his posterity . During the contest between King John and the barons , in 1216 , the castle of He- dingham was besieged and taken ; and again , in the following year , on the accession of Henry the Third , it became an object of contention , and was surrendered to Prince Lewis , the dauphin of France ; who , however , was soon afterwards dispossessed of it , by the firm resolution and wise policy of the Earl of Pembroke , governor to the king . Earl Robert , who , for the active part he had taken in favour of the barons , had been by name excommunicated by Pope Innocent the Third , was also pardoned , and re- stored to his inheritance . On his death , in 1221 , he was buried in the priory church of Hatfield. The fourth earl was Hugh, the son of Robert , who commanded armies and fought against the Hugh, infidels in the Holy Land; he built the steeple of the church of Earl's Colne , in 1228, fourth in which church he was buried , on his death , in 1263 . earl . fifth earl . Robert , the fifth earl , son of Hugh , was baron of Sampford, in right of his wife , Robert II . Alice . In the early part of the reign of Henry the Third , this earl joined the discontented barons against the court faction, headed by Peter , bishop of Winchester, and was taken prisoner ; yet he afterwards enjoyed the confidence of the king , who made him one of his generals, in which capacity he conducted a victorious army against the French. He was buried at Colne, in 1296. The sixth earl was the son of the last , and also named Robert ; he was surnamed Robert III the Good, being esteemed a saint : he was also a brave general , and overcame the Scotch and French in several engagements . On his death , in 1331 , he was buried at Earl's Colne . seventh earl . The seventh earl was John , the nephew of the last Robert, and the son of Alphonsus John I. de Vere ; he was a general in the army in Scotland , France , and Flanders , and was taken prisoner in his tent, by the French , but immediately ransomed by King Edward the Third , and afterwards fought with great bravery against the French , particularly at the famous battle of Poictiers. He married Maud, sister and co - heiress of Giles , lord Badlesmere , and in her right enjoyed the family title , and died in 1358 . Thomas , the son of John , succeeded as the eighth earl ; he was a general, much Thomas, eighth employed in the French wars , and died in 1370 . earl . ninth earl . Robert , the ninth earl , the eldest son of Thomas , in 1385 , was created marquis of Robert IV . Dublin, by Richard the Second , and soon afterwards , by the same prince , created duke of Ireland . These extraordinary instances of the king's favour were highly displeasing to many of the nobles, who considered this court favourite to be a person altogether unworthy of his or the nation's regard. He was , indeed , hated as one of those who , becoming his favourite , gave evil counsel to the king. The Chronicles of those times inform us , that this nobleman was remarkable for nothing but lewdness and cowardice : to escape from his enemies , he fled into foreign countries , put away his duchess , who was one of the royal family , and married a servant girl . His death was caused by a wound received from a wild boar ; passing his last moments in great distress and poverty , in 1395. He was buried at Colne Priory , attended by the king, with several bishops and abbots . tenth earl . Alberic , the uncle of the last Robert , was the tenth earl , and a general in the war Alberic V. against the Scotch , in the reign of King Richard the Second : he was also entrusted to make a treaty of peace with France : on his death , in 1400 , he was buried at Earl's Colne . Having surrendered the office of high chamberlain to the king , his two immediate successors did not enjoy this office . The eleventh earl was Richard , son of the fifth Alberic ; he was knight of the Richard, garter , and employed by King Henry the Fourth in his war with France : he died in 1415 . eleventh earl . John II . twelfth earl . John III . thirteenth earl . John , the son of Richard, was the twelfth earl ; he was taken by Edward the Fourth , at the battle of Towton Field , and beheaded for his attachment to the house of Lancaster. His eldest son , Alberic , was also taken with him , and was beheaded before his father . This fatal engagement took place on Sunday , the 14th of April, 1461. The armies were forty thousand against sixty thousand ; command was given for no quarter on either side ; the battle lasted ten hours , and the lives of thirty - six thousand , seven hundred and seventy - six Englishmen were sacrificed . The thirteenth earl was John , the second son of the last John ; he was restored to his honours and estates , but could not forget the cruel murder of his father and brother in cold blood ; for , in the battle at Barnet , on Easter - day , in 1471 , he fought so valiantly with his men , that he routed the Yorkists in the wing to which he was opposed ; but his men having the star , * ( the earl's badge ) on their right arm , were mistaken for enemies , and shot at by their friends . When the earl , crying out treason , fled, and the Yorkists regained the victory . On this occasion he escaped from the pursuit of his enemies , first into Wales, and afterwards into France , where he equipped a ship , and , with a force of seventy men , surprised and took St. Michael's Mount , in Cornwall , which he fortified and defended for some time , against the king's forces . Being at last obliged to capitulate , he conditioned for his life , but was sent to Normandy , and imprisoned twelve years in the castle of Hammes , where he was so strictly guarded , that the lady Margaret , his countess , was not allowed access to him ; but , in the last year of the reign of Richard the Third , being favoured by the prison - keeper's wife , he effected his escape , and joined the Earl of Richmond , under whom he had the principal command at the great and decisive battle of Bosworth Field , where Richard the Third was slain , on the 22d day of August , 1485 , and the Earl of Richmond crowned on the field of battle, as Henry the Seventh . The Earl of Oxford was now restored to the family inheritance , and amply rewarded for his services . He was made admiral of all England , Ireland , and the duchy of Aquitain ( now Guienne ) for life : also constable of the Tower of London for life . On surrendering the patent for this last , he had a new one granted , on the 29th of June , 1487 , with a salary of £ 100 pounds a year , and a grant for keeping the wild beasts in the Tower , of 1s . a day for himself, and 6d . a day for each animal , to be paid out of the king's revenues in the city of London . He had also other grants . All these favours , expressive of kindness and gratitude , were indeed due from the king , for no one had contributed more to raise him to the throne than this nobleman , CHAP . V. who therefore was made his principal servant , both in affairs of war and peace ; and , when not necessarily and officially engaged, he seems to have passed much of his time at his Castle of Hedingham . He appears to have been wise , magnificent , learned and religious, and to have lived in great splendour , with much hospitality . * These qualities seem to have excited the jealousy and resentment of his master against his old and faithful servant ; and that at a moment more proper to extinguish than to actuate the baser passions , being at the close of a sumptuous and expensive entertainment given to the king at the castle . The story is authenticated by our best historians , and thus related by lord Verulam : " At the king's going away , the earl's servants stood in their livery coats and cognizances , ranged on both sides , and made a lane . The king called the earl , and said to him , My lord , I have heard much of your hospitality , but I see it is greater than the speech : these handsome gentlemen and yeomen , which I see on both sides of me , are sure your menial servants . ' The earl smiled , and answered , ' If it may please your Grace , that were not for mine ease : they are most of them my retainers , that are come to do me service at such a time as this , and chiefly to see your Grace . ' The king startled a little , and said , ' By my faith , my lord , I thank you for your good cheer ; but I may not have my laws broken in my sight . My attorney must speak with you : ' and it is reported that the earl compounded for no less a sum than fifteen thousand marcs , ( that is , £ 10,000 , ) for this offence against the Statute of Retainers . " 6 This earl survived his ungenerous sovereign about four years , having enjoyed his confidence as general of his army , after this occurrence . On his death , in 1512 , his body was conveyed from the castle to the parish church , where it lay in state previous to its interment at Colne Priory . We may form an estimate of the expense and parade attending the funerals of noblemen of that age , from a document preserved in the British Museum , + which contains these words : - " There were given of black gounes the number of nine hundred and more ; and so was my lord brought to the parish church , and laid in the quire . " four- The last John de Vere dying without issue , was succeeded by the son of his brother , John IV . Sir George : he was knight of the garter , and called Little John of Campes , from teenth Castle Campes , where the family had a seat and castle . He was also named John the earl . wise , the good , and the rich , which last term at least was strictly appropriate ; for , on his accession to the earldom , he was offered £ 12,000 a year for his estates ; leaving , in his occupation , all manors , houses , castles , parks , woods , forests , and all the demesne lands thereto belonging ; the yearly value of which last might be more than many present earldoms.

They had also the advowsons of several churches; and of the priories of Blackmore, Colne, Hatfield Broad Oak, Hedingham, Trenhalle, and Swaffham. This earl, dying in 1526 , without surviving offspring , his sisters became his heirs to all the estates not entailed on the heirs male . * He was buried at Colne Priory . John V. fifteenth earl . John VI . sixteenth earl . Edward , seven- teenth earl . The fifteenth earl was John , the grandson of Sir George de Vere , by his son John , nephew of the last earl . He died in 1539 , and was buried in the church of Castle Hedingham , under a marble tomb , which bore the effigies of Geofrey , his third son , who was the grandfather of Mr. John Vere , and of lord Horace Vere , both of Kirby Hall . John , the eldest son of the last John de Vere , succeeded his father as the sixteenth earl . He was a general under King Henry the Eighth , at the siege of Boulogne ; his second wife was Margaret , sister of Sir Thomas Golding , by whom he had Edward, his son and successor. This earl was deprived of his estates by the sin- gularly cruel and unjust practices of the Duke of Somerset; they were , however , restored to the family , after the duke's conviction and punishment. This earl died in 1562 , and was buried at Hedingham . Edward , the seventeenth earl , succeeded his father: he wasted , and nearly ruined his noble inheritance . For , having a very intimate acquaintance with Thomas Howard , duke of Norfolk , with cruel injustice condemned for his attachment to the queen of Scots, he most earnestly interceded with William Cecil , lord chancellor Burghley , to save the life of his friend; and , failing in his attempt , he swore he would ruin his estate at Hedingham, because it was the jointure of his first wife , Anne , lord Burghley's daughter . According to this insane resolution , he not only forsook his lady's bed , but sold and wasted the best part of his inheritance ; he began to deface the castle , pulled down the outhouses, destroyed all the pales of the three parks , wasted the standing timber , and pulled down the walls that inclosed the castle . The father of the lady Anne , by stratagem , contrived that her husband should , unknowingly , sleep CHAP . V. with her , believing her to be another woman , and she bore a son to him in consequence of this meeting. This lady died in 1588. His second wife was Elizabeth , daughter of Thomas Trentham , Esq . who , when her husband was about to sell the castle and estate at Hedingham , contrived , by the assistance of her friends , to purchase and preserve it for the family . * He died in 1604 , and was buried in a private manner at Hackney . + Henry , the son of Edward , by his second lady , succeeded as the eighteenth earl ; Henry , he was born in 1592 , and married Diana , daughter of the Earl of Exeter ; he was teenth engaged in the wars of the Netherlands , and died at the Hague , in 1625 . eigh- earl . nine- earl . Alberic VI. twen- tieth earl . The nineteenth earl of Oxford was Robert de Vere , the son of Hugh , and grandson Robert V. of Alberic , one of the sons of John , the fifteenth earl ; the earldom was adjudged to teenth him by parliament : but the office of lord chamberlain was voted to belong to Robert Bartu , then lord Willoughby , ancestor to the dukes of Ancaster , in right of Mary , daughter of John de Vere , the sixteenth earl of Oxford . Robert de Vere was slain at Maestricht , in 1632 , and Alberic , his only son , succeeded him as the twentieth earl ; he died in March , 1703 , at the advanced age of seventy - eight , leaving no surviving male offspring , in consequence of which , the title of earl of Oxford , in this truly noble family , became extinct . With his first lady , Anne , daughter and co - heiress of Paul , viscount Bayning , he had a very large fortune , but no issue . His second lady was Diana , daughter of George Kirk , Esq . by whom he had a son , who died young ; Diana , his eldest daughter , who was married to Charles Beauclerk , duke of St. Albans , and three younger daughters , who all died unmarried . The third son of the duke of St. Albans , by his lady Diana , was named Vere , in honour of the most ancient and illustrious family of his ancestors , and was created baron Vere , of Hanworth , in Middlesex , in 1750 ; having married Mary , eldest daughter and co - heiress of Thomas Chambers , Esq . of that place , by whom he had a son , named Alberic , and a daughter . Henry , the eighteenth earl of Oxford , was , by the prudence of his mother , assisted by her opulent relations , restored to the Hedingham estate , an agreement being entered into with his three half - sisters and their husbands ; on his death , without surviving offspring , in 1625 , it was held in jointure , by his countess Diana , second daughter of William , second earl of Exeter ; and , on this lady's death , in 1655 , it returned to a branch of the Vere family , and to Francis Trentham , Esq . brother to the late countess , whose son , Sir Francis , gave it in marriage , with his daughter Elizabeth , to Bryan Cockaine , viscount Cullen . * The lady viscountess Cullen was remarkable for her extraordinary beauty ; she lived to the age of eighty - one ; and , a few months previous to her death in 1713 , sold this estate to Robert , William , and Samuel Ashhurst , Esqrs . The ancient family of Ashhurst is of Ashhurst , in Lancashire , where they had possessions , and from whence they derived their surname . Adam de Ashhurst re- sided there , soon after the Conquest , and was succeeded by eight generations , from Roger , his eldest son , to Richard , all resident at the family seat . The last of these lived in the reigns of Edward the First and Second ; and Sir Adam de Ashhurst was a warrior under King Edward the Third , in his French wars . Sir John de Ashhurst , † his son , married Margaret de Orrell , ‡ by whom he had Roger , Geofrey , and John . Roger , by Matilda Ince , had Robert , who flourished in 1420 ; he married Ellen , daughter of Ralph Anderton , by whom he had John , who , by Catharine , daughter and co - heiress of Roger Dalton , Esq . had Robert , living in 1459. He married Margaret , daughter of Richard Byram , Esq . by whom he had John , whose name appears in writings in 1516 , and who married , first , Martha , daughter of Sir William Leyland ; and , secondly , Alice , daughter and heiress of John Orrell , Esq . by whom he had William , whose son , by Elizabeth , daughter of John Ogle , Esq . had his son William , living in 1574. He married Cecily, daughter of Nicholas Taylor , and had by her a son , named William , who , by his wife Margaret , daughter of Thomas Welton , Esq . had Henry Ashhurst , who married Cassandra , daughter of John Brad- shaw , Esq . by whom he had five daughters , Jane , Anne , Margaret , Mary , and Rachel ; and four sons : William ; John , from whom descended a family settled in Ireland ; Henry , and Robert . William , the eldest son , inherited the estate at Ashhurst , where he was suc- ceeded by his son ; followed by his grandson , both named Thomas . Henry , the second son , was the founder of the family at Castle Hedingham . This gentleman having settled in London , acquired great riches , and distinguished himself by exemplary piety , charity , and a dignified and virtuous conduct . He was one of the chief promoters of the institution of a society for propagating the Gospel in America , and zealously assisted the translators of the Bible into the Indian language . He married Judith , daughter of * Lodge's Irish Peerage , vol . iii . p . 21 . Reresby , Esq . by whom he had four sons and two daughters . Henry , William , Joseph who married the daughter of Henry Cornish , Esq . , and Benjamin , who died unmarried . Of the daughters , Mary was married to Sir Thomas Lane , and Judith to Robert Booth , merchant , of London , by whom he had Judith , his only daughter and heiress , married to William , lord Cowper , lord chancellor of Great Britain . Henry , the eldest son , created a baronet in 1688 , was one of the executors of the right hon . Robert Boyle , Esq . and one of the trustees of his lecture . He purchased the manor of Waterstoke , in Oxfordshire , where he built a handsome seat , and married Diana , daughter of William , lord Paget . Wil- liam , the second son , knighted in the time of King William and Queen Mary , was lord mayor of London in 1693 , and represented that city in parliament many years . He married Elizabeth , daughter of Robert Thompson , Esq . by whom he had seven sons and six daughters . He died in 1719 , and his lady in 1723. Robert , his eldest died here , in 1726 , and was succeeded by his brother William , who died in 1735 , being succeeded by Thomas , his next brother . * son , The Ashhursts were succeeded by Sir Henry Houghton , of Houghton Tower , in Lancashire , and the present possessor is Lewis Majendie , Esq . who occupies a hand- some mansion - house , which , with its offices and out - buildings , was erected by Robert Ashhurst , Esq . in 1719 . Nunnery . Some time previous to the year 1190 , a religious house was established here , for The black veiled nuns of the Benedictine order ; Alberic , the first earl of Oxford , is re- corded to have built this house , but his countess , Lucia , who was the first prioress , is said to have been the foundress . On her death , the loss of this lady was exceedingly lamented by her successor Agnes , ‡ and prayers were offered up for her soul in the abbey of Westminster , and also in fifty other churches.§ This nunnery was dedicated to God , St. Mary , St. James , and the Holy Cross , and endowed with a field of four acres and other lands , and a mill in this parish ; a wood in Gosfield , called Ruthebrake ; the rectories , and the advowson of the vicarages of Gosfield and Hedingham castle ; with rents of assize in various parishes . || This house continued in the patronage of the Vere family till its dissolution , when it was granted to the same family , who , having been the original founders , were considered to have the best right to it . Part of the buildings have been converted into a farm - house . The family of Kirby were in possession of this manor at an early period , and it has retained their name . Richard Kirby lived here in 1256 ; Robert , his son , in 1263 , and Gilbert in 1289. In 1360 it was held , under the Earl of Oxford , by Nicholas Hawkwood and Nicholas Picard ; afterwards it belonged to Elizabeth Picard , and , undoubtedly , derived its secondary name of Picards from this family . In the reign of Henry the Sixth , this manor was in the possession of Giles and Margaret Lucas ; and , soon afterwards , became the property of the Kirby family . In 1468 , John Kirby lived here , and his son John was his successor , toward the close of the reign of Edward the Fourth . Thomas , the son of John , married Lettice , daughter of Edmund West , Esq . of Cornard , in Suffolk , sometime after the year 1495 ; by this marriage he had John and Gilbert , and four daughters . John , the eldest son , died in 1588. By Elizabeth , his wife , daughter of John Ald- ham , of Suffolk , he had one son and four daughters , of whom Jane , the second , was married to Lawrence Gent , in 1584. Henry , the only son , by his wife Elizabeth Kitteridge , had two sons , William and Henry , both of whom died young , and four daughters . + John de Vere , eldest son of Geofrey de Vere , Esq . the third son of John , the fifteenth earl of Oxford , was next in possession of this estate . He died in 1624 , having married Thomasine , daughter of William Carew , Esq . of Stone Castle , in Kent , but had no surviving offspring . He was succeeded by his brother Horace , who sometimes made this the place of his residence . He was created baron Vere , of Tilbury , in 1625 ; and married Mary , daughter of Sir John Tracy , of Tuddington , in Gloucestershire , who , with extraordinary constancy and fidelity , attended him in all his dangerous expeditions in foreign countries , and survived him thirty - six years , which she passed in a state of widowhood at Kirby Hall , where , dying in 1671 , in the ninetieth year of her age , her husband's heirs sold this manor , in 1675 , to Robert Sheffield , Esq . who , in 1702 , sold it again to Richard Springet , Esq . from whom it passed to his brother , William , who , in 1736 , sold it to John Page , attorney - at - law , whose heir , Even Patterson , in 1762 , sold it to Peter Muilman , Esq . The present possessor is Glasscock , Esq . The house is pleasantly situated , and has been made a convenient and elegant seat by the successive improvements of different pro- prietors . Rookswoods is a handsome modern mansion , on the confines of the parish, towards Sible Hedingham , the residence of Dr. Seymour .

The church , dedicated to St. Nicholas , is an ancient gothic building of stone , with an embattled parapet of brick. The carvings of the boar and mullet over the north The and south windows , on the outside , and on the ceiling in the inside of this building , are sufficient evidence of its having been erected by the family of De Vere ; and from the architectural peculiarities of the east window , of the chancel , and other parts of the fabric , it is believed to have been built in the reign of King John , * by Alberic , the second earl , who endowed it at that time , as appears from the record . The nave and side aisles are lofty and spacious , with circular and octangular pillars of stone , supporting gothic arches : the ceiling is of wood , ornamented with singular and curious carvings . The tower , which is lofty and of great strength, was rebuilt in the year 1616 , on which occasion four of its five bells were disposed of, to raise a sum of money towards the expense of the new erection .

The spacious chancel is separated from the nave and aisles by a lofty carved wooden screen ; and there were formerly a number of stalls here , which have been removed to the west end of the church . Ancient foundations of a former church have been dug up in the chancel , and it is also mentioned in records. It was dedicated to St. James , to whom a remarkable spring , St.James's near the town , famous for miraculous cures of diseases , was also dedicated ; and , in a small field opposite to this spring , stood St. James's Free Chapel. . There is a very ancient and stately monument in the chancel , to the memory of Inscriptions John de Vere , the fifth of that name , and fifteenth earl of Oxford ; lord of Bolbeck , Sampford and Seams , great chamberlain of England , knight of the garter , and lord chancellor to King Henry the Eighth : he died March the 19th , 1539. On the tomb are incumbent figures of the earl and his wife , the lady Elizabeth , and the arms and quarterings of the family, encircled by the garter . On the south and north sides are effigies of their children , four sons and four daughters , who are represented kneeling , with a book open before each . This tomb is about four feet high , seven long , and three broad . A brass inscription , which was fixed round the edge of it , was torn off in the time of Cromwell . The names of the sons were John de Vere , the sixth of the name , Alberic de Vere , the second son , Geofrey de Vere , the third son , ( father of John de Vere , of Kirby Hall , Sir Francis de Vere , knt . the great general in the Low Countries , and the defender of Ostend ; and of that renowned soldier , Sir Horatio de Vere , baron of Tilbury , ) and Robert , the fourth son . A mural monument on the north side of the chancel is inscribed