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It appears that during the 13th century the Stanners manor was once part of the Hesle estate. In 1309, Sir John de Hamme exchanged part of his Hesle estate "the whole arable land moors and pastures lying on the western part of the Kings way which leads from Chertsey towards Chobham by the tenement called Stanors together with a certain moor called Holehurst for ever". 1 Vol XII 758 The King's highway is likely to refer to the Stonehill Road, in which case the land being given is the area around Chobham Park. Entry 761 of the same year refers to the 'manor' called Stanors. The following is a transcription from the The Victoria History of the County of Surrey, Published for the Institute of Historical Research (London: Oxford University Press, 1902, repr. 1967). Edited by H.E. Malden. For footnotes see the complete document on the 'Sources' page. Volume 3.A HISTORY OF SURREY The Godley HundredSTANNERSThe manor of Stannards, Stanyors or Fords was held of the abbey of Chertsey with the manor of Ham, next Chertsey by John de Hamme and Alina his wife in 1307. During the reigns of Edward II (1307-27) and Edward III (1327-77) it was held, under the de Hammes, by a family of the name of Ford, whose name became attached to that of the manor of Stanners and Ford. It seems to have remained united to that of Hamme for some time longer. It is at least probable that Nicholas Fitz John, who held the latter (q.v.) about 1400, also held land at Stanore.42 After this date there appears to be no record of it until 1532, when the manor, then in possession of William Lambert, was leased for thirty-one years to John Rogers of Chobham at the rent of £7 2s. 8d.43 William Lambert died before 1539, when his widow Alice and daughter Collubra, wife of Richard Warde, conveyed the manor to the king in exchange for other lands.44 In 1554 the Crown extended the lease previously made to John Rogers to his son Henry for a term of twenty-one years.45 The manor in 1559 was granted to Thomas Reve and George Evelyn and the latter's heirs, to hold by knight's service,46 Reve being only a trustee. Evelyn died in 1603, and the manor of Stannards passed to his second son John Evelyn, a settlement having been made on the marriage of George eldest son of John Evelyn with Elizabeth Rivers.47 In 1618 the moiety of the manor was conveyed by John Evelyn and his wife to Robert Hatton as a settlement on his younger son John Evelyn on the latter's marriage; George Evelyn released his right to his brother, and in 1621 the other moiety of the manor was conveyed to him.49 John Evelyn the younger apparently re-sold the manor to his brother George and his son Sir John in 1624,49 and the latter was in possession in 1636,50 when he conveyed it to George Duncombe and Henry Baldwin in trust for James Linch, who died seised of the manor of Stannards and Fords in 1640, leaving as heiresses his granddaughters Eleanor, Susan, and Elizabeth Gauntlett.51 It is probable that Eleanor and Susan married Robert Parham and Robert Hussey respectively and released their right in the manor in 1651.52 In 1687 the manor was in possession of Francis Swanton,53 son of William Swanton, who married Elizabeth the youngest granddaughter of James Linch.54 Francis Swanton is said to have sold it to Nathaniel Cocke in 1694.55 In 1721 his widow Anne Cocke was seised of it, with reversion to Zachariah Gibson,56 to whom Joseph Paris and Sara, probably the daughter of Anne Cocke, had released their interest.57 In the same year Anne Cocke and Zachariah Gibson conveyed (the minor or lordship or reputed manor or lordship of Stannards and Fords) to John Martin, who in 1728 sold it to Thomas Woodford for £2,300,58 the sale including two farms known as Forde Farm and Coxhill Farm, a common called Mynfield Green, and other lands. Thomas Woodford's son Thomas inherited the major part of his father's estate in 1758,59 and in 1761 sold the manor of Stannards and Fords to Thomas Sewell, whose son and heir T. B. H. Sewell inherited it in 1784, selling in 1795 to Edmund Boehm, who owned it till 1819.60 Mr. Boehm's property was sold in 1820 after his bankruptcy, and the manor was acquired by Mr. James Fladgate, corn merchant of Chertsey. He died in 185760a and left it to his son James Fladgate. The latter's son Henry sold the manor. The manor-house now belongs to Sir Henry Denis le Marchant, the land and manor to Mr. Ottexxx J.P., of Queenwood, and Miss Peele.61 The manor house, now tenanted by Mr. A. E. Greenwell, in part an early 17th-century building with some good Jacobean woodwork. It was probably erected by one of the Evelyns, the old manor house being timbered house still standing on the other side of the road, or Stanner's Hill Farm belonging to Mr. Baker of Ottershaw Park. The former is a large, picturesque old cottage of whitewashed brick and half-timber with a tiled roof. It is on the plan of a T with gable ends to the head and hipped roof at the foot; and is in two stories. It is now divided into two cottages. I am grateful to John Beddall of the East India Club for the following story regarding Edmund Boehm who owned the house until 1819. Edmund Boehm's wife was a celebrated hostess at their home at 16 St James's Square, a house they'd built on acquiring the land in 1804 from Thomas Anson, First Viscount. The Lichfield family had owned property in that area for a number of years.
References: 1 Chertsey Cartulary, Surrey Record Society |