The Ruggles Family in Belchamp Walter - 1741 - 1865

Updating my page on Finchingfield I find that there is much more information on the Ruggles Dynasty in the section of Thomas Wright's Essex on Spains Hall in Finchingfield.

The ownership of the Belchamp Walter Estate, not Belchamp Hall, from 1741 to 1863 is mentioned by Thomas but only in passing it seems. My suspicion is that Wright was taking his main source on Belchamp Walter in 1831/36 from Samuel Millbank Raymond, the then head of Belchamp Hall.

The Raymond who had sold the estate land to Thomas Ruggles in 1741 was Samuel Millbank's Great Grandfather Samuel (senior) who died in 1767.

Samuel Raymond (Senior) was the Reverand of Belchamp Walter and died in 1767. His Grandson, another Samuel was also the Reverand of St. Mary's from 1784 until 1826. Belchamp Walter Church was closed in 1857 and was possibly remained so until the 1859 "Renovations" carried out by John Mayne St. Clare Raymond.

The New School House = 1871

Interesting this was built 6 years after the Estate was recovered by John Mayne St. Clere Raymond in 1865.

Prior to this time, in the Ruggles Years, the village and church saw some pretty tough times. The agricultural base was in a state of transistion with the Ruggles as Estate managers selling back to the Raymonds in 1865 and the subsequent farm workers strike in 1891.

The aquisition of Spains Hall and the Belchamp Walter Estate

The Ruggles (Ruggles-Bries) family were the owners of Spains Hall, Finchingfield from ???? until the 2020's, when the Spains Hall and Estate was sold to Jamie Oliver. He is currenty filming his TV series and book promotions from his kitchens and gardens at Spains. The has many Christmas Specials that are filmed in his garden and feature his children and wife Jules.

This website is more concerned with the Ruggles family at Spains Hall and the running of the Belchamp Walter Estate and farms. From what I can determine the Thomas Ruggles was interested in agriculture although the family fortunes appear to be in the textile business.

Tenant Farmers

During the period from 1742 to 1865 the farms that we still see active or in name only, were farmed by tenant farmers. These farms effectively became tenants of the Raymond family when the estate was recovered. The land was then owned by the Raymonds and although a lot of it has been sold to other farmers of the farm houses are private dwellings. Clarks, Fishers, Crows and Mount farms were owned and farmed for the Raymond Family from 1865. Clarks is now owned and farmed by a different farming dynasty. Crows Farm and Fishers Farm houses are now private residences. Other farms that were farmed by tenants are now farmed by the farmers at Clarks Farm. The remainig farmland of what was Mount Farm now The Munt Farm is now farmed by contract farmers. The Munt Farm is now both a grain store and an industrial estate. Belchamp Hall is now the main office for a number of short-stay holiday rentals, including the Stables and the Water Mill.

Observing accesses to this page in 2025 it should be pointed out that this page is one of many on the history of Belchamp Walter. The fact that there are references to current properties and farms in Belchamp Walter are purely of historical significance.

This page is about the period between 1741 and 1865. It describes the situation in the village leading up to events in 1893 when the farm workers went on strike. The agricultural industry at that time was in flux and this possibly lead to the sale of many of the farms and associated buildings.

The Manoral Record book

On a first pass in attempting to decode the history of the village over this period the family name of Ruggles was a bit of a mystery to me. Thomas Wright mentions the sale of the estate to Thomas Ruggles but most of the other histories of the village seem to overlook this. It is particularly absent in any of the accounts of the current residents of Belchamp Hall, but I guess that is not surprising as they are quite happy with the generally held opinion that they have been the owners since 1611. I had not found much confirmation of what Wright had written until I was made aware of the Manoral Record book that appeared at a history presentation at the church.

The Manoral Record book clearly shows that the early entries, although written in Latin, were signed by Thomas Ruggles. The fact that gthe entries were in Latin is also not surprising as Thomas Ruggles was what we would know today as a barrister at Lincoln's Inn.