Panfield 1848 Whites Directory
PANFIELD , or Pantfield, is a pleasant and salubrious village and parish on the western side of the vale of the river Pant, or Blackwater, 2 miles N.N.W. of Braintree. It contains 299 souls, and 1475 acres of land. Panfield Hall, a fine old mansion, commanding extensive prospects, has been much altered by frequent repairs, but its quadrangular tower and handsomely clustered chimneys still retain their ancient appearance. It has long been occupied with the farm by the Lambert family, and belongs to Guy’s Hospital, London. It was built in 1546, and enlarged in 1583, by George Cotton, Esq., whose family obtained the estate by marrying the heiress of the Langham family ; before whom it had belonged to the Water- vils. Captain S. H. Henderson, John Barnard, Thomas White, and a few smaller owners have estates in the parish, mostly freehold. Near the church was a Priory, founded at a very early period, and made a cell to St. Stephen’s Abbey, in Normandy, in 1070, by Waleran Fitzralph, who en- dowed it with the little manor of Panfield. It was one of the alien priories seized by Edward II. , in 1285. It was afterwards restored, but was finally suppressed in 1415, when it was granted by Henry V. to John Woodhouse, of Norfolk, to be held by the service of a red rose. It reverted to the Crown in 1460, and afterwards passed to the Bourchier, Capel, Wright, Wilson, and other families.
The Church ( St. Mary and St. Christopher, ) is a small neat structure, on an elevated site. It has a tower, containing three bells, and crowned by a shingled spire. The chancel is large in pro- portion to the nave, and has an elegant altar- piece, given by the Rev. Thos. Kynaston, a late rector; and several monuments belonging to the Cotton and other families. The rectory, valued in K.B. at £10.10s. , and in 1831 at £349, is in the patronage and incumbency of the Rev. R. L. Page, who has a good residence and 94. of glebe.
Butcher John, blacksmith, wheel-wright, and parish clerk
Newman John Baker, carpenter and vict. Bell Inn
Page Rev. Rt. Lemon, M.A., Rectory
Reynolds John, shoemaker
Willis John, bricklayer
Willis Martin, shoemaker
Willis Steel, bricklayer, shopkeeper, and beerhouse
FARMERS. ( * are Owners. )
*Barnard John, Light Waters
Byford Henry, Lee Thongs
Challis Nancy, Perry
Childs Lambert John, Panfield Hall
Metson Stephen, Cold Hall
Pool George, Great Priory
Ratcliff John, Little Priory
*White Thomas, Panfield Farm