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Cattysplace manor

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Cattysplace is a historical manor established in the 13th century in the parish of Redbourn, Hertfordshire.

Since 2024, the manor has been under the lordship of Alexandru-Cosmin Voica. 

A history of Cattysplace manor in Hertfordshire

Redbourn is a village and civil parish in Hertfordshire, England, lying on Watling Street, four miles from St Albans.

 

The village has been continuously settled since Saxon times and it is recorded in the Domesday Book. Its parish church, St Mary's, was built in the early 12th century. 

 

To the southwest of the village just beyond the M1 motorway is the site of an Iron Age hill fort called the Aubreys while to the north of the village is the site of a complex of Roman temples. Nearby is Aubrey Park, which dates back to the 13th century.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​

​​​​​​​​​​At the time of the Domesday survey, the area corresponding to Cattysplace manor may have been held by Amelger and was located northeast of the Redbournbury Watermill. In the 12th and 13th centuries, records show that land in Redbourn was held of the abbot of St Albans by Geoffrey de Redbourn, and in 1303 William Inge held 15 acres in the village. William died in 1321–2 but he had no children with his second wife Isolda. Isolda outlived her husband and held the manor during her lifetime.

​​​​​​​​​​After her death, it passed to Joan, who was William Inge's daughter by his first wife Margaret. Joan married Eudo la Zouche and they had a son, William, who became the 2nd Baron Zouche of Harringworth. When William died in the late 14th century, he left one of his sons the manor of Cattysplace and 53 acres of arable held by knight service of the abbot of St Albans. This property seems to have passed to another member of the la Zouche family, sometime in the early 15th century. From this point the descent of the estate is lost, having perhaps become merged in the manor of Inges in Wheathampstead. 

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By the 17th century, the main part of the manor became Beeson End farm which comprised of 101 acres. In 1717, Beeson End farm was sold to John Finch of Watford who married Ann Smyth of Annables, Harpenden.  The estate now totalled 151 acres. Their son, Henry, soon started taking out mortgages and as a result in 1799 James Grimston, 3rd Viscount Grimston (and the future Baron Verulam of Gorhambury), bought the farm for £2,800.

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Beeson Farmhouse is now two cottages. Built in the 17th century or earlier it has an exposed timer frame. In the late 17th century it was infilled with red brick. There is a plain tile roof, half hipped on the west. In the 19th century a stuccoed gable end was added onto the east. There is a central chimney stack from the mid-17th century with six red brick shafts. On the first floor there are five glazing bar casements, probably in their original openings. There are three larger ground floor casements. In the 19th century, two doors with tiled hoods were added.

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Alexandru-Cosmin Voica has resided in Redbourn since 2021. In 2024, Alexandru-Cosmin Voica became the new Lord of Cattysplace, by ownership of the lawful rights to the lordship. These rights are enshrined in the laws of England as incorporeal hereditaments and have been re-established through due legal process in compliance with the Honours Act of 1925.

Lords and ladies of Cattysplace manor

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