" The parish of Foxearth extends from the south and south-west of Pentlow to the Stour, and is computed to be about seven miles in circumference; distant from Sudbury three, from Halstead seven, and from London fifty-six miles. The lands are very good, but lie low , and are at the north-west extremity of the extensive agricul- Foxearth . tural district of various or miscellaneous loams.

In records the name is written Foxhearth , Foxherd , Foxhale , Foxhole , Foxhorne, Foxyerde, Forscarde, Foxearth; and , in Domesday , Forsearde . In the Saxon era , under Edward the Confessor, this district was in the possession of nineteen sochmen and four freemen ; and, at the survey of Domesday, the manor of Foxearth Hall, which was of very limited extent, had become the property of Richard Fitz-Gislebert, ancestor of the lords of Clare; and the manor of Weston Hall, also named Brook Hall, was in the possession of Roger Bigot. "

" In the rolls belonging to the honour of Clare, the name is written Borle Parva, denoting either that it was a small parish of itself, or that it anciently belonged to Borley parish, though it has been separated from it for several ages, and joined to Foxearth: as is indicated by its secondary name, it lies low on the borders of a brook. "

" From the account in Domesday, it evidently appears to have been the manor which yet retains the name of Liston Weston, and these two manors constitute the hamlet of Westons. About three quarters of a mile from the church of Foxearth, near the road to Liston and Pentlow, is the old house called Listons, or Westons; some of the lands belonging to it extending into the parish of Liston. Westons continued in possession of the Bigot family, earls and dukes of Norfolk, till the reign of King Henry the Sixth, * when, about the year 1286, the two manors of Foxearth Hall and Westons became united . The mansion - house of Foxearth Hall is near the church , and having , from the commencement of the Norman period, belonged to the lords of Clare, was, in 1123, given, with the advowson of the church, to the priory of Stoke, by Richard, the son of Gilbert de Clare ; and , in 1202 , Hugh , prior of that house , conveyed this possession to Walter Fitz-Humphrey ; and , in 1286 , Sir Walter Fitz - Humphrey , of Pentlow , granted all his right in this manor, with advowson of the church , to Sir Andrew de Bures , of the ancient family of Bures , in Suffolk.t Westons, or Brook Hall , in the commencement of the reign of King Edward the First , belonged to Thomas de Wancy , under whom it was held , by enfeoffment for life, by William de Montchency, who , dying in 1286, it reverted to its former owner ; and , in the reign of Edward the Second , is recorded to have been in the possession of Simon de Cantebridge , named also Candelent and Candelion. "

" In 1332 , a moiety of this manor was in the possession of John de Liston; and , in 1339 , it was made to constitute a part of the dower of Mary, countess Mareschall , being at that time styled half a knight's fee . Afterwards , Roger de Reynes held part of it , as the moiety of a knight's fee . The house stood near the green , on which the foundations of a chapel may yet be traced , and where human bones are also found, indicating that formerly there was a burying place here . United In the year 1286 , the two manors of Foxearth had become united in the possession of Sir Andrew de Bures , and were held under him by John Fermer , and Katharine his wife , widow of John de Goldington ; and , in 1344 , King Edward the Third granted John Fermer view of frankpledge of his men and tenants here : he was living in 1354. * "

" Sir Andrew de Bures died in 1360, holding these possessions of lady Elizabeth de Burge, as of the honour of Clare, besides other estates . He had , by Alice his wife , daughter and heiress of Sir John de Roydon , and granddaughter of Sir Robert de Roydon, by Alice , daughter and heiress of Robert de Ramis , Robert and Andrew . Robert succeeded his father , and died in 1361 , + leaving , by his wife Joane , an only daughter and heiress , Alice , who was married to Sir Guy de Bryon , son and heir of a celebrated warrior of the same name.I On his decease , in 1406 , his wife survived him , and held the estate till her death in 1434 , leaving two daughters , Philippa , married first to John Devereux , Esq . and afterwards to Sir Henry le Scrope , but left no issue . Elizabeth , the second daughter , was married to Sir Robert Lovel , whom she survived , and died in 1437 , holding the manor of “ Borle , alias Weston Hall , or Brokehall , and the manor of Foxherde Hall , " as stated in the inquisition . Her only daughter , Mand , was married to John Fitz - Alan , lord Mal travers , afterwards earl of Arundel , who died in 1435 , and Elizabeth , his wife , in 1436 , leaving Humphrey , earl of Arundel , who died soon after his mother ; and Amicia , her only daughter , who inherited the family possessions . She was married to Sir James Butler , son of the earl of Ormond , and , in 1458 , created earl of Wiltshire . On her death , in 1456 , her cousin , Humphrey Stafford , son of John , brother of her father , became her heir.9 But the earl , her husband , who survived her , and was beheaded in 1461 , was found to possess the manor of Foxearth , which being seized by the crown , was given to Henry Bourchier , earl of Essex , who had it in his possession at the time of his death , in 1483 ; his son's guardians presented to the church in 1485. || But it passed from this appropriation , and again became the property of the family of the Bures ; for William de Bures held his first court here in 1486 , 1 and the same year presented to the living . His son Robert, by his wife , Jane Markham , succeeded to the family inheritance, whose son, Robert de Bures , Esq . of Aketon , in Suffolk , on his death in 1528 , held the manor of Foxearth, advowson of the church , manor of Brokehall , and Weston Mill . * By his wife Anne , daughter of Sir William Waldegrave , of Smallbridge , he had four daughters , co - heiresses . Joane , the eldest daughter, was married to Sir William Butts , of Thornage , in Norfolk ; Bridget , to Thomas Butts , of Ryborough; and Anne , to Edmund Butts , of Burrow , in Suffolk . These were three bro thers , sons of the celebrated Sir William Butts , of Fulham , physician to King Henry the Eighth.t Mary , the fourth and youngest daughter , was married to Thomas Bacon , Esq . The only recorded issue of these co - heiresses was Anne , only child of the third daughter ; she was married to Nicholas Bacon , of Redgrave , premier baronet of England.f Anne , the mother of this Anne , survived all her sisters , dying in 1609 , possessed of the moiety of these two manors and estates , and of the advowson of the church , with other considerable estates ; but , by inheritance or purchase , the whole of Foxearth Hall , and of Westons in this parish , became the property of her daughter and her husband , Sir Nicholas Bacon . On his death , in 1624 , his eldest son , Sir Ed mund , was his successor ; who , dying without issue , in 1649 , was succeeded by his next brother , Sir Robert ; who , in the year 1650 , vested the manor of Foxearth , with several other estates , in trustees , for the payment of his debts , and of certain legacies . In pursuance of which , his son - in - law , Sir William Doiley , sold the manor of Fox earth Hall to Major - General Hezekiah Haynes , of Copford , in whose family it conti nued till 1763 , when it passed , by will , to the Rev. John Harrison , A.M. rector of Faulkbourne ; on whose decease the estates became disunited , and have been in the possession of various families and individuals . The manor of Carbonels , or Cardinels , in 1166 , belonged to a family named De Hausted , or Halstead , lords of the town of that name . In 1166 , Peter de Halstead granted that manor , with appurtenances , of which this manor was one , to Abel de St. Martin ; whose successor , Robert , in 1311 , conveyed it to John de Bousser , founder of the noble family of Bourchier ; and it was holden under Robert , lord Bourchier , in 1351 , by Sir William Carbonell , of Buckenham Hall , in Suffolk , from whom it took the name it has since borne . Elizabeth , Sir William's daughter , was married to Sir John de Liston , and conveyed the estate to that family ; from which it passed to Richard Lyons , to Venour , Say , and Clopton . It also passed into the possession of William , lord Maynard , and then to Sir Benjamin Bathurst , knt .; and to Allen , lord CHAP . V. Bathurst, knt.; and to Henry Dashwood , Esq . The church has a nave , with north and south aisles , and a chancel; adjoining the The church . north side of which is Kemp’s Chapel , which belongs to the hall. The whole building is of stone , and at the west end there is a square tower with five bells. "

" The rectory , which originally belonged to Gilbert de Clare , passed from that noble family to the priory of Stoke ; and afterwards to the lord of the manor of Foxearth Hall: it afterwards became the property of the Pemberton family . In 1368 , Sir Wil liam Waldegrave presented to this living , * but by what right is not known , as it does not appear that any of the manors have belonged to that family . On the ground , in the chancel , a black marble bears the following inscription : "

" The following short inscription is on a brass plate , on a very coarse stone in the chancel : "

" Mr. Bright left an annuity of twelve pounds , to be paid out of the estate of Brooke Charities . Hall , for poor prisoners and widows , and for the use of St. Edmundsbury school . Dr. Poley Clopton left a large estate in this parish , and extending into Liston , for the support of twelve poor persons in the hospital of St. Edmundsbury . A farm, called Huntmans, was given by the Rev. Moses Cook , for the augmen tation of the living of St. James , in Colchester , and any other three churches in that town , which the bishop of London should appoint . Five shillings a year are given to the poor here , and called wood - money . This parish , in 1821 , contained four hundred and thirty - six , and , in 1831 , four hundred and sixty - six inhabitants . "