Faulkbourne is a small settlement and civil parish in the Braintree district of Essex, England, about 2 miles (3 km) northwest of Witham. The population at the 2011 Census was included in the civil parish of Fairstead. The name of the village (which was also spelled "Faulkbourn") is said to be derived from the Old English words "falk" or "folc" (meaning "folk") and "burn" (meaning "well").

By 1426 the manor of Faulkbourne had come into the hands of Sir John Montgomery who in 1439 was granted a licence to crenellate his house there; it is from this period that the present red-brick Hall dates, incorporating fragments of the earlier timbered house.

Sir John was succeeded in 1449 by his widow and then, in 1464, by his son Thomas who was well favoured by the monarchy. His wealth and power was reflected in a visit by Henry VII to Faulkbourne in 1489.

Sir Thomas' widow inherited the estate in 1495 and was succeeded in 1503 by Sir Thomas' sister, Alice Spice whose granddaughter Phillipa married John Fortesque. When John died in 1518, Phillipa married Sir Francis Bryan, who was also very popular at court, being a friend to Henry VIII.

Thus the status of Faulkbourne Hall and its estate remained high. One of the surviving garden walls may date from Sir Francis's time, but no other record of the landscape which surrounded his house has been found to date.

Henry Fortesque, Sir Francis' stepson succeeded and his descendants held the estate until 1637 when it was sold to Sir Edward Bullock.

His grandson, also Edward, added a south-east wing to the Hall in c 1693 and thanks to two marriages to wealthy wives, the Bullock family flourished at Faulkbourne during the C18.

They built the stables to the south of the Hall, the walled kitchen garden to the north, and laid out pleasure grounds and a park with a straight avenue running up to the Hall from the south lodge entrance. In 1832 they added the west front to complete the present facade of the Hall and in the mid C19 extended the park to the north, realigned the north drive, and added the lodges.

In 1897 the estate was put up for sale and was purchased by Mr Christopher Parker who undertook the development of the gardens, including using the remains of the moat to create cascades and a water garden. During the C20, under Christopher Parker's successors, the gardens have retained the layout he gave them. The site remains (2000) in single private ownership.

The name of this parish is supposed to have been derived from the Saxon Fole and burn, the Folk's brook, or well ; applied to a spring between the church and the manor house, dedicated to St. Germain, and which yet retains the name of that saint.

A Roman villa is supposed to have stood here, from the circumstance of a silver coin of Domitian having been found under an old wall, partly composed of Roman bricks, and particularly noticed by Bishop Gibson.

This parish lies south from Cressing, and is two miles distant from Witham, in a north-easterly direction. The soil does not differ materially from other parts of the hundred, but it lies low. The population consists of eighty-three males and eighty-five females; total, one Population. hundred and sixty-eight. Faulkbourn was holden by Turbin in the time of Edward the Confessor, and was given by William the Conqueror to his nephew, Hamo Dapifer, who had numerous lordships in this county. He was Lord of Astremerville, in Normandy, and descended from Duke Rollo. His brother, Robert Fitz-Hamon, * obtained the Barony of Gloucester of William Rufus; and in 1091, was commander in chief in the conquest of Glamorganshire from the Welsh. He died in 1107, and was buried in the Abbey-church of Tewksbury, leaving four daughters, by his wife, Sibil, daughter or grand-daughter of Roger Montgomery, Earl of Shrewsbury. But King Henry the First, not permitting so large an inheritance to be divided among females, because not capable of performing military service, made the eldest, Cicely, abbess of Shaftesbury; Hawise, the second, abbess of Wilton; and Amice, the youngest, he gave in marriage to earl of Bretagne; reserving Sibil or Mabil, the third, for Robert, his natural son , to whom he gave , on her own account, the whole honour of Gloucester, a large inheritance in Normandy , and the whole estate of her uncle, Hamo Dapifer; he also conferred on him the title of Earl of Gloucester. And thus Faulkbourn, from Hamo Dapifer , who died without issue, came , by the marriage of his niece, to be involved in the honour of Gloucester , on which it depends, as to its tenure, being holden of the honour of Clare , as of the honour of Gloucester. William, the eldest son of Robert , succeeding to his father's honours and estates , sold this to Richard de Lucy , lord chief justice of England; the said William reserving to himself and heirs the service of ten knight's fees , which service , and consequently the tenure of this lordship , came to the honour of Clare, by the marriage of Amice , daughter , and at length sole heir of the said earl , with Richard de Clare , baron of Clare and Tonebridge , and earl of Gloucester , in right of this marriage . Richard de Lucy was sheriff of Essex and Hertfordshire in 1156 , and died in 1179 , leaving Geofrey , Herbert , Maud , and Rohaise . Geofrey , the eldest son , succeeded, but dying without surviving offspring , his inheritance came to his two sisters , and the lands in Essex to Maud , who had two husbands, Walter Fitz-Robert , and Richard de Ripariis , or Rivers . She had a son Richard , who died before her , and consequently , on her death , in 1243 , Richard de Rivers , her grandson , became her heir , who being at that time only four years of age , his wardship was given by the king to Philip Basset , for a thousand marks ; and in 1263 , he held ten knight's fees , part of which was Faulkbourn, under Richard , earl of Gloucester and Hertford . John de Rivers , his son and successor , died in 1294 ; whose son , of the same name , in 1339 , conveyed this , with other estates , to Sir John Sutton , of Wivenhoe ; and a great part of it was in the possession of Thomas Fabell , in 1353 , whose son and heir was John Fabell . It afterwards passed to Sir John Curzon , who was succeeded by Sir Thomas Mandeville , in 1364 ; who dying in 1399 , Alice , his eldest daughter , was the next heir : she was twice married ; first to Helmingius Legat , and afterwards to Roger Spice , of the family of Spice , seated at Bocking . Montgo- mery family . In 1411 , John de Bohun , earl of Hereford , held these possessions of the Earl of March , as of his honour of Clare , in which he was succeeded by Sir John Montgo- mery , who is supposed to have been a native of Scotland , his arms being nearly the same as those of Montgomery , earl of Eglington . This Sir John was created a knight of the bath , at the feast of St. George , held in Caen , in Normandy , where he was made privy counsellor to the regent , John , duke of Bedford ; captain of the strong castle of Arques , and other fortresses ; bailiff of Caux ; and nominated in the scrutiny of the order of the garter in the twenty - third of Henry the Sixth ; he also became famous for various military exploits in the French wars , and was first in the list of the gentry of this county returned by the commissioners in 1433. He died in 1449 , leaving his widow in possession of this estate , and the advowson of the church , which she retained till her death in 1464. The offspring of this connexion were , John , Thomas , Anne , and two other daughters , both named Alice ; one of these was married to John Fortescue , afterwards to Robert Langley , and lastly to Edmund Wiseman : the second Alice became the wife of Clement Spice . John , the eldest son , is supposed to have been the person of this name who was beheaded in 1462 for his attachment to the party of King Henry the Sixth . Sir Thomas Montgomery , the second son , was one of the most eminent men of his time ; from his infancy , educated in the court of King Henry the Sixth ; he was one of the marshals of his hall , keeper of the exchange and of the money in the tower of London , and had the wardenship of the coinage of gold and silver within the kingdom . Having the art of adapting his conduct to all changes , he became one of the greatest favourites , and of the privy council of Edward the Fourth , who heaped upon him places of trust and profit ; gave him the stewardship of Havering at Bower , of Hadleigh Castle , and of the Forest of Essex ; the constableship of Bristol , and of the castle of Caen , in Normandy , and the treasurership of Ireland , all for life : he was created a knight , a knight banneret , and a knight of the honourable order of the garter ; he was also employed in embassies and affairs of the greatest consequence , and was one of the knights of the shire for the county of Essex . He was as great a favourite with Richard the Third as he had been with his predecessor, for Richard granted him the whole estate of John de Vere , earl of Oxford , in this county . This , however , was taken from him on the fall of the CHAP . II . usurper . He was also in high estimation under King Henry the Seventh . He made his will at Faulkbourn , from which we learn that he was possessed of this manor and the advowson of the church ; of the manor of Blunt's Hall , and a water - mill called Mocon's Mill , in Witham ; of the manors of Rivenhall , and Great Tey ; Mulsham , Brayhams , and Warrocks , in Great Lees ; Bower Hall , in Mersea ; and Great Braxtead : he had also the manor of Shipton , in Oxfordshire , and of Chauton , in Hampshire . He died in 1494 , aged fifty - five , and was buried in the chapel of our lady , erected by him at Tower - hill , in the Abbey of St. Mary of Graces . His first wife was Philippa , daughter and co - heir of John Helion , Esq . , of Bumsted Helion : his second wife was Lora , daughter of Sir Edward Barkely , of Beverston , and widow of John Blount , Lord Mountjoy . He had no surviving offspring . * John Fortescue , Esq . , was the principal heir of Sir Thomas , and seated himself at Faulkbourn Hall . Another nephew and heir was Humphrey Spice , who , on his death in 1485 , left an only daughter , named Philippa , afterwards married to John , son of the before - mentioned John Fortescue , Esq . , by which means the greater part of the Montgomery estates came to the Fortescue family . † Philippa was , after her first husband's death , again married , having for her second husband Sir Francis Bryan , who , in her right , presented to this living in 1534. The family of Fortescue was of Wimpston , in Devonshire . The second son of Sir William Fortescue , of that place , was Sir John , who was captain of Meaux and governor of Brie , in France , in the reign of King Henry the Sixth , whose eldest son , Sir Henry , was lord chief justice of Ireland , and his second son , Sir John Fortescue , became chief justice of the King's Bench in 1442 , and lord chancellor of England toward the close of the reign of King Henry the Sixth . He was the author of " De Laudibus Legum Anglia , " and several other valuable works . From the third son , Richard Fortescue , Fortescue family . Esq . , proceeded the Fortescues of Poundsborrow , in Hertfordshire . John Fortescue , of that place , married Alice , daughter of Sir Geofrey Bullen , by whom he had several sons , one of which married Alice Montgomery , as above stated , and died in 1518 . Their son Henry was one of the four esquires for the body guard of Queen Elizabeth . The last of this family , who retained these possessions , was John Fortescue , Esq . , who sold Faulkbourn to Sir Edward Bullock , of Loftes , in Great Totham , in this county . The name of Bullock is of great antiquity in various parts of the kingdom , but it cannot be clearly ascertained from whence this family originally came . Richard Bullock lived in the time of Henry the Third , and had Gilbert Bullock , Gent . , father of Robert Bullock , who flourished in the reign of Edward the First . His son and heir , Gilbert Bullock , Esq . , married Anne , daughter and heiress of Thomas Nevil , of Barkham , in Berkshire . Dr. William Bullock , clerk , was one of the commissioners to negotiate a peace between England and Scotland in 1335 , and numerous persons of this surname were returned , as gentlemen , in 1431 , the twelfth of King Henry the Sixth . Henry Bullock , D.D. , Fellow of Queen's College , Cambridge , was a good linguist and general scholar : he was intimate with the celebrated Erasmus , whom he calls his master , and who in his letters styles him doctissimum Bovillum . Cardinal Wolsey was his patron . He was rector of St. Martin's Ludgate , in 1522 , and vice- chancellor of Cambridge in 1523 and 1524. George Bullock was fellow of St. John's , in Cambridge , and afterwards master of that college , and vicar of St. Sepulchre , London , in 1558. He was also prebendary of Durham , and was one of the most learned writers of the age in which he lived . Robert Bullock , Esq . , of Herburghfield , in Berkshire , was sheriff of that county , and of Oxfordshire , in 1389. He bore the same arms , and seems to have been the ancestor of the family of the Bullocks of Faulkbourn Hall : his son was Thomas , of the same place , who married Alice , daughter of William Yeading , whose son Robert married Margaret , daughter of William Norris , of Bray , in Berkshire , from whom descended the Lords Norris , of Ricot . The Bullocks of Thornborough , in Berkshire , were their descendants ; and John Bullock , Esq . , the first who settled in the county of Essex , was one of them ; he resided at Great Wigborough , and died in 1595. Edward , his eldest son , married Joan , daughter of John Collen , of High Laver , and died about the year 1601. His son and heir , Edward , succeeded him , and in 1609 was knighted by King James the First , and purchased Faulkbourn Hall in 1637 ; his posterity have remained here bourn Hall . to the present time . The manor house is a stately and spacious building , and exhibits the architectural features of various ages ; the tower gateway is a fine specimen of the early Norman , and is believed to have been built by the Earl of Gloucester in the reign of King Stephen , or in that of Henry the Second ; and the various other parts are the production of different intermediate ages up to modern times , including numerous improvements by the present family . In several of the apartments there are fine paintings by Vandyck , Vandevelde , Michael Angelo , Sir William Beechey , Sartorius , and other masters . The surrounding grounds are beautiful and extensive , and well watered , with numerous springs ; and there is a cedar tree here of extraordinary dimensions , believed to be the largest in the kingdom at six inches above the ground it measures eighteen feet nine inches ; at ten feet from CHAP . II . the ground , fourteen feet nine inches ; its height to the first branch is nineteen feet . This elegant seat is enclosed in a park , within which the church , dedicated to St. Church . Germain , is situated upon an eminence . It is kept in excellent repair , and has a small painted wooden spire , in which are two bells . St. Germain was bishop of Auxerre in the fifth century , and one of the champions of the Roman church , who came into England to confute the heretical opinions of the celebrated Pelagius . " He came , " says Mr. Morant , " to combat , but not to defeat his opponent . " There are inscriptions on two stones in the chancel to the memory of two of the Fortescue family , with the dates 1576 and 1598. And on the north side is the monument of Sir Edward Bullock , in black marble , with the date 1644. In the southern part of this chancel there is a costly and magnificent monument of white marble , bearing on a pedestal a female figure as large as life , with a scroll , on which is an inscription to the memory of John Bullock , Esq . , of Dives Hall , who died in 1740. There are also other inscriptions , particularly the following , on a neat marble monument : Near this place lies the body of the Rev. Dr. Richard Bullock , Son of Edward Bullock , Esq . And of Mary , the daughter of Sir Josiah Child , Bart . A gentleman of superior abilities in his profession , And strict purity of life and manners . An honest sincerity of heart heightened all his christian virtues , And a peculiar tenderness distinguished him As a friend , a son , a husband , and a father . He died at Streatham , in Surrey , Nov. 16 , 1754 , Aged 53 , And this stone is raised to his memory By Whalley Bullock , his widow , As a testimony of her sincere affection and esteem . The said Whalley Bullock departed this life July 10 , 1767 , And was interred in the same grave . A Captain Hutchinson gave by will (the time unknown) 200l. , the interest to be annually expended in bread, for the poor .