In 1553, Mary, Henry VIII’s daughter from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, became Queen of England. Noted as the first Queen Regnant.[1]

She, like her mother, was a fervent Catholic and became, known as “Bloody Mary” when she started burning Protestants after her marriage to Prince Philip of Spain, probably under his influence. She even burned Archbishop Cranmer and imprisoned her half-sister Elizabeth in the Tower of London, as she feared an uprising to replace herself with Elizabeth.

People were burned in East Anglia, Sussex, Kent and London, including women and boys, the aged and blind and many others. No doubt William Manser, who was appointed Rector of Sharrington in 1554 by Sir Richard Southwell, was a Catholic.

One interesting point about Mary’s reign is that, in 1554; she had minted Shillings and Sixpences showing the heads of both Mary and Philip, with the titles. “Philip et Maria. D.G. Rex z Regina Ang.”, Philip and Mary, by the grace, of God, King and Queen of England. Philip was never actually crowned king in spite of Mary’s wishes.

Elizabeth 1

In 1558, Queen Mary died and Philip was back in Spain. So ended Spanish influence in England and the burning of Protestants. Mary’s half-sister, Elizabeth, the daughter of Anne Boleyn, a fervent Protestant, ascended the throne, to the dismay of Catholics.

In Sharrington, the Bishop’s Vicar General appointed Thomas Whitby as Rector. By this time, the ordinary farm workers and shepherds must have been completely confused over religion. In 1565, Christopher Daubeney, the last of the Daubeney name to be patron of the church, appointed Nicholas Ruckesby as Rector. The Reverend Ruckesby would have been officially a Protestant Priest, but who knows, as Sharrington had been visited by a Recusant Catholic Priest at the time Elizabeth’s father reigned.

During this period secret rooms were prepared in large houses to hide recusant Catholic Priests, known as ‘Priest Holes’. Catholic troubles were at their height when Mary Queen of Scots, a cousin of Elizabeth who had been ejected from Scotland by Protestants, and under restraint in England, was executed for being involved in plots to usurp Elizabeth.

1584 – Christopher Daubeney – his Last Will and Testament

The Daubeney family held the Lordship of Sharrington for over two hundred and fifty years. Various spellings of the name are given in different documents and sometimes in the same document, for example:- John Dawbney de Broughton; Daubney Gent; Barthilmew Dawbnie; John Dawbeney of Caistor; Robert Dawbany of Norwich.

One of the last Daubeney Lords of Sharrington, and certainly the last one as patron of the rector, was Christopher Daubeney. He died in November 1584 and whose Will is extant and worth quoting in full:

“1584 November 15. Christopher Dawbeney of Sharrington. Co. Norfolk, Esq. To be buried in the quier (sic) – of Sharrington Church amongst my ancestors. To the Poor of Sharrington 20 shillings:- of Bale 10s:- and of ffielddalling (sic)10s:- to my wife Phillipe all my manors and lands in:. Sharington, & c.’in Co..of Norf. for life; remainder to my son Henry Dawbeney:- my sons Thomas, Clement and Robert. Agreement between me and Edmunde Gresham that if my son Henry Dawbeney and Mris, Anne Gresham marry, the said Anne shall have during the life of said Henry an annuity of £30 out of the above lands in Sharington during life of my wife: My daughter Frances Dawbenye £200:- My Water Mill in Sharington to my son Henry, and all my lands in Bale, Letheringsetti and ffielddalling. He to be my sole executor, My Friend Wm. Boyton, Dr. of. Physic, supervisor Witnesses, Wm. Lomnor, Thos. London, Nicholas Ringolde”. Proved…Somerset House, 19 October, 1585.

From this Will, we learn that the Dawbeneys also owned, as well as in Sharrington, lands in Bale, Letheringsett and Field Dalling.

When Sharrington was an individual parish and not part of Brinton, Sharrington extended south down the hill into what we now think of as Brinton, though it is sometimes known as Lower Sharrington, through which runs a stream. This must have been the location of the Water Mill that Christopher left to his son Henry. One presumes there was also a millpond and sluice, to regulate the water and turn the millwheel. In Mediaeval tithes, the Lord of the Manor always owned the local mill and farmers had to take their corn to the Lord’s mill to have it ground into flour, an extra form of taxation.

The last Daubeney Lord of Sharrington we hear of is Henry, son of Christopher, who was probably the Henry Daubeney Gent., buried 3rd. August 1624 at St. Luke’s, Norwich. So, sometime between 1585 and 1601, when William HUNT was patron of a new rector, John Stallon, the Manor of Sharrington passed to the Hunt Family.

By Peter Chapman 2000

References:

(i) A History of England, 1966, Redwood Press Ltd.

(ii) An Historical Atlas of Norfolk. Published by the Norfolk Museums Service. 2^nd edition.

[1] A queen in her own right rather than through marriage to a king.